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&kwatch tower presence an d herald of chr]sts a faithful watchman son yolo xl pittsburgh pa january 1 1919 n o 1 view from the tower ll m ning from me ezekiel 3 17 tn these words does the lord appoint ezekiel to be a pasto russell s mission wakhmlln over israel after the flesh and bi,ble students have pastor russell was co=issioned of the lord to warn the learned that llntitypically these same words apply to that wicked that they should surely die if the watchman would faithful man of god who for over forty years past has served faithfully give this warning he would deliver his boul but a watchman to spiritual israel the israel of god dharles if hc were not faithful in this respcct god would require the taze russell how few people eveu of the professedly re blood of the wicked at his hands ezekiel 3:18 19 the li~ious realize that god always has his special servants unfaithful watchmen on the contrary told the wicked that whosf work is to serve as watchman to give special heed to they would not surely die but they they would live on forthe lord s word and to sound out the warnings as these are ever in fiery torment see also genesis 2 17 3:3-5 necessary this is exactly the meaning of our text faithfurthermorl pastor russell forewarned that we are living fulness is required on the part of au who would serve as the in the end of the gospel age that a new age is about to be lord s watchmen for they must give an account of their ushered in that the end of the age would be accompanied stewardship as the apostlc suggests obey them that with a great time of trouble distress and perplexity he have the rule over you and submit yourselves f r they watch foretold that christ s kingdom would ,be esta.blished by force for your souls as they that must give an account that they during this troublous period-the force of the iron rule years may do it with jor and not with grief hebrews 13 17 ago he foretold the federation of churches and a tacit union rut alas the scriptural record reveal the fact that a between protestants and catholics and pointed out that each majority of watchmen are unfaithful would hate the other even while co-operating one with the it might be asked what should these watchmen be other he also foretold the return of the jews to their own watchinll for the prophet answers this question quite land moreover he warned the people that all these events plainly in these words i will stand upon my watch a,nd were but incidental to the overthrow f satan s kingdom and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he shall the establishment of the kingdom of christ he forewar,ned say unto me and what i shall answer when i am disputed the religious systems both catholic and protestant of their with habakkuk 2 1 th ir watching then consists in final and complete overthrow unless they repented of their watchin to see what the lord will say ftnd what answers sins and changed thcir course but his message went unthey will give if ever any man was faithful in this work heeded except that many scoffed and ridiculed the ideas which it was pastor russell v note again that every faithful he presented seemingly unawares that even their scoffilng had watcher has always been the object of envy and jealousy on been foretold 2 pet 3:3 4 the part of the unfaith,ful wa,tchmen leading on eventually true to the teachin s of the scriptures and to the wlrd to persecution and violence of godls faithful watchman a federation of protestant watchmen faitbfl1l ajm unl aitid trl churches and a closer affiliation of protestants and oatholics prior to the time of jesu the faithful watchmen were began to tak pl~e a few years ago gradually the two ends ~foses and the prophets the unfaithful watchmen of the of the ecc~esiasbcal hea.ven oatholic and protesta~t have same perioo were the scribes pharisees and the doctors of been drawmg to/l~th~r until less than a year ago it would the law wh persecuted the faithful wateners and for a seem that the affiliation was omplete and that the tw great pretense made long prayers on the street corner gave alms ;e1igi bodies-federated protestantism and federated publicly to be seen of men thanked god that they were not jatholl ism-had tolled to ther as a sproll scr?ll rolls as other men gave tithes regularly and particularly of their toget hcr from both cnds for ye~rs this affili.ation with each mint and cummin but at the same time devoured widows othcr had be n sou ht and negotiations to this end had been houses they constituted thl class who our lord deelared ecretly carried on .by those high in authority in bo~h sides so secretly was this work done that the great majority of were hypocrites and to whom he said ye blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel since our the mcm~rs of the protestant sects did n~t know and have lord s time the faithful watchmen have ,been the apostles not yet found out .t~at they have ,been delivered over to the john wycliffe martin luther pastor russell and others the papa y by their rehgwus leaders but the papacy understood unfaithful watchmen have jeen the money-loving pleasure the situation well for the whole scheme had been concocted loving honor-seeking clergy class wh instead of listening by h r to the lord s words and declaring his message have been many of god s prophets wrltm ~rom two thou.sand to preaching for doctrines the commandments of men speak four thousand years ago had foretold .lust such a union and ing of the faithful watchmen the prophet said thy watchhad warned of the consequences c enesis l 15 ibr.iah 8 1215 34:4 the apostle peter a the i rd s mouthpiece very men shall lift up the voicc with the v ice tog ether shall they sing for they snail see eye to eye when the lord returns clearly pomted out that when the union was complete the to zion but of the unfaithful watchmen he said his symbolical heavens would come to an end 2 peter 3:9·12 watchmen are blind they are all ignorant they are all dumb sti.ll another prophet had foretold tha t~ese two ends of .the dogs they cannot bark sleeping lying down l ving to slum religtous heavens while outwardly affiliatl!1g and co ojh;rat~ng ber yea they are greedy dogs which can never have enough woyld hate one anot~er each a thorn in the other s side and they are shepherds that cannot understand they all look n ahum 1 10 durmg the p few years the tend.ency t their own way everyone for his gain from his quarter toward affiliation and co lperation has been very manifest isaiah 52 8 56 to 11 and seemingly the ancient hatred was forgotten but this how ardently this latter class hated pastor russell how w!1s merely how the matter appeared and really was a decepmuch they threatened and persecuted how diligently they twn the word of the prophet jeremiah written over two tried to stop the message and how signally they failed hear thousand years ago was true the old hatred still existed the word of the l rd ~n this point but the house of they were indeed folded together as thorns israel [nominal spiritual israel will not hearken unto thee gbtting their eyes open to i aots for they will not hearken unto me for all the house of israel recent events are revealing these ancient foes as enemil are impudent and hard-hearted behold i have made thy still and protestants are lust awakening to the knowledge face stron against their faces and thy forehl lld ~trong that they have been duped again the ediwi 6 of various against their foreh ads ai an adamant harder than flint have denominational journals are g l1ashing tbf ir teeth with ra e at i made thy forehead fear them not neither be dismayed at papacy and it now looks as if she has passed the zenith of their looks for they are a rebellious house ezekiel 3 :7-9 her power and that the doom foretold by the apostle nineteen 0 man i iull p /lwde thee a wmc:hmall unto the muse of israelj therefore hear the u:ord at my molltli and give them [6373 3 4

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4 5 the watch tower pi ttsburgh j pa hundred years ago is about to be fulfilled upon her ravelation 17 16 meantime papacy keeps on uttering her great swelling words and making her boasuful claims daniel 7 :9 11 20 the matter was brought to a head during the great warchest drive beginning november 11 in which seven organizations participated it was then that these editors awoke to find that papacy had herself on the list for $30,000,000 and that all protestant bodies were excluded what a howl went up from the protestant press even though the protestant clergy had assisted papacy into this very position oi prominence we quote there is of course widespread dissatisfaction with the arrangement-most especially because the catholic war council which includes the knights of columbus will receive $30,000,000 the position is taken by thc>se who object to the united ,budget that the knights of columbus as an organization has no more right to cantonment and trench privileges than have other secret societies and that the catholic church should have no privileges in the camps and on the field that are not extended to other religious bodies with this objection we agree why should either the catholic church the jewish church or the salvation army be elevated above the methodist baptist or any otller church if it is the privilege of one reiiglous hody to look after the welfare of lloldiers of its own faith or to do general humane and religious work in the army why tihould it not be the privilege of all when the war is over and people buckle down to sane thinking irregularities indiscretions and political plans and acts upon the }lut of many will be held up in the limelight and looked at 111 a way which will clear the atmosj;lhere and start far·reaching and valulilble reforms the catholic church in ~articular will stand out in the open as a political organization which during the entire length of the war left no stone unturned to advance p8lpal interests the sentiment against the roman hierarchy checked by the war will come forth anew and with greater vigor than ever before in our country s history and among the charges to ,be preferred again!lt the catholic church after the war will be her peculiar participation in cantonment and trench privileges and the mandatory method by whieh she secured a place in the war chest the apostolic review nov 19 1918 protbs fants in an ebarrassing l osition the christian index organ of the baptists of georgia in the issue of september i says many baptists will either have to walk over their own consciences or not contribute at all in the november [war chest drive they want to give liberally to the y m c a because they believe in the work it is doing but they do not want to give a penny for the support ~f roman catholic work among the soldiers especially when they are deprived of doing work among the soldiers as baptists even at their own expense the unionists or roman datholics or both a.re responsible for putting the baptists in this embarra.ssing situation under the caption protestants awake the americe.n protestant a southern presbyterian journal says the writer has just learned of a shrewd form of romish propaganda among our protestant young men at the army cantonments in this country and protbably abroad rome ever exhibits the proverbial wisdom of the serpent in her efforts to proselyte among protestants and is willing to serve in the most humble capacity if thereby a pervert can be secured for her idolatrous system she blows no trumpets makes no proclamations offers no resolutions nor appears to be engagcd in gathering converts but quietly and uno.btrusively she makes impressions by her works which to those iwlorant of romish practise history and doctrine give her the appearance of an angel of light in this instance she is engaged in a form of good works which protestants seem to ignore and having a monopoly of this kind of service for our troops she is reaping a rich reward a soathing oritioism perhaps the severest criticism is found in the christian leader of november 5 it cites the percentage of denominationa increase for the past ten years as follows baptists 28 per cent methodists 24.8 per cent disciples 25 per cent episcopalians 24 per cent presbyterians 23 per cent con rregatlonalists 12.8 per cent lutherans 12 per cent and catholics 10.8 per cent then it calls attention to the fal t tha.t there are 15,700,000 catholics as ~ainst 81.000,000 proteatanta and their adhe rents u s religious cpnsus for 1916 and adds the roman catholics claimed membership increased in the ten years covered 1,531.000 or 10.08 per cent in the sa.me period the eight larger evangelical bodies made a com bined increase of 24.1 per cent in other words the evangelieal bodies are growing more than twice as fast as the romanists the hold of the hierarchy upon the press enables them to get themselves advertised much but the danger of romanism is not in its numbers but it is in its manipulation of politics in the interest of a foreign autocratic sovereign this indicates strikingly that roman catholicism can not flourish in this republic as an indigenous religion this is well it does not deserve to flourish for it has cursed every country in which it has come into dominance and is even now making itself despicable in america to every patriotic citizen who has his eyes open how do the priests figure it out that they have 40 per eent of the soldiers in the armies of the country the direct and adequate answer is that they do not so fig are it they claim it but they must know that it is untrue it is a,bsolutely clear that the ratio of catholic soldiers to evangelicals is approximately one out of six how could it be otherwise it took the assurance of romanism to make that claim we have come to a dangerous pass in america when these priestly adherents to and sponsors for a foreign hierarchy which arrogantly claims sovereignty over its memo bers in civil as well as in spiritual matters can so browbeat and frighten the newspaper press of this free country that they can use their columns freely to flaunt before the public eye the most abburd and ridiculous claims these papers get and must get the large majority of their support from people whose religious faith is misrepresented and whose sense of justice is outraged by the insolent and untrue emanationll of rome the palpably misleading and boastful claims of the roman hierarchy as to its relative membership in america spem to have been adopted by our government in the allotment of chaplains while the five times more numerous evangelicals are allowed two-thirds rome s proportionate population would give her one chaplain in six she got one in three with the few notable ell:ceptions the american secular press except country weeklies is blind deaf and dumb to the most palpable outrages against common justice if rome is the instigator the simple truth is that the available evidenee indicates that the priests have nearly all the daily papers muzzled this speaks well for rome s political acumen but is unspeakably vicious as a matter of principle or policy in this american republic not even in the south where the papists are hardly more than two per cent of the populati-on can evangelical .eligion get a square deal in most of these papers it is a shame there is little danger in catholicism so far as its ability is concerned to win the people in an atmosphere of free and unhindered americanism but it is dangerous ,because it is subtle and unscrupulous because with it the end justifies the means if the end is the exaltation of the hierarchy because it is in politics and gives fealty to a foreign potentate who claims spiritual as well as civil sovereignty we do not object to the catholic having a spiritual sovereignty at rome if that is what he wants but we do objcct to his mischievous and selfish political activity in which led bv his priests he engages in the service of a spiritual lord who claims the right to dominate governments and nations thank god romanism is having a rough time tryinlr to grow in america for all its boastful claims may evangelical religious bodies grow in power and grace leading america forward in the freedom which is in christ we are not giving our sons to bleed and die in europe with the idea of allowing freedom of america s soul and political life to be l nsnared by the servants of a spiritual autocracy which elaims also political sovereignty we are not scotching the writhing snake of hun autocracy in europe with the idea of giving our nation up to be dominantly catholic after the war let rome see to it when thir war is over there is going to be a close scrutiny of influances in america which are not one hundred per cent loyal and american often as the autocrat of the tiber has through his servants insolently rought to break down ameril ans without receiving effective rebuke he will face and ought to face a new and aroused american patriotism after the war is over and not all the subtlety and astute diplomacy of the vatican will be wble to rave him from the demand to accept american principles or lse get out of america journal and messenger a well :known faot it is a we ll known fact that the papal sympathy in the rl ce nt ~eat war was secretly with the centra i powers until she saw which way the wind wrr blowing and that then she openly espoused the cause of the allies in order that she migdit be on the winning side might claim the glory of the [8874]

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january 1 1919 the watch tower victory and have a voice in the final settlement hoping thereby to save herself from destruction it 1s amusing now to see her chaxging the war to the protestants a arrogatin to herself the credit for the victory the subjolned quotations are interesting london nov 25 17 the vatican is accused in an editorial in the morning post of being implicated in the propaganda which the newspapcr says was largely responsible for the recent italian reverses reviewing what it de8cribes as vatican machinations the i ost declares that its political activities during the war can by no sop histry be regarded as consistent with the principles of neutrality the gaelic american of april 8 1916 a catholic journal says the smashing of wholly catholic austria and of partly catholic germany-betwcl n thcm the largest aggregation of catholics in the wholc world-would be a great misfortune for the church [the roman catholic of course and as the erushing of thc central powers would be disastrous to the catholic church so the defeat 00 the anglo·french·russian alliance would in the same degree be :beneficial commenting on the above the apostolic review of july 23 1918 under the caption the allies victory-the pope s calamity says the preceding was written a year before america entered the war but if the smashing of the central empires was not then desired bv the papacy it stands to reason they are yet of the same mind and a.re doing wha,t they can to avert their overthrow the russian situation is about what the papists desired as we know the russians profess a religion the greek orthodox that opposes the pope and papists desire to see it overthrown what i cannot understand is that knowing that tbe papacy is really in favor of germany and austria our officials will persist in appointing to high respon· sible positions subjects of the pope it is a fact that many of our hi~h officials are eithl r roman catholic or at least favor them greatly wake up sleepy protestants a serious breaoh of etiquette protestants are also waking up to the fa.ct that the sinister power of papacy was mani,fested in the order sent out ii few months ago excluding methodists baptists presbyterians and episcopalians from army cantonments while admitting cath· olics jews and mormons the richmond va times-dis· patch of sept 9 contains protests from seven different baptist ministers in both south and north we quote a few criti· cisms some time ago a committee ,was a~pointed but not by the churches composed of six men to arrange religious affairs in the camps this committee of six had one jewish rabbi rev cutler one roman catholic priest father burke and drs brown and perry of the federal council with dr john r mott representing the y m c a i ant certain that this committee does not officially represent the protestant denominations of this great country the above order was issued upon the recommendation of this committee 1 respectfully submit that this order is entirely out of order in this land of the free and home of the brave it is in essence the very saide sort of pernicious thing we are fight· ing on the other side it is almost unbelieva-ble that such an un-american species could be trotted out upon our free soil z it is hardly fair to permit the roman catholic church to denominationally safeguard its ,boys in the army as well as have a free hand in the propagation of its doctrine in the camp through its own distinct organization and at the same time shut out ail other religious bodies from a like privilege 3 i hold it as a serious breach of etiquette to say the least for a committee one-third of which is made up of jewish and roman catholic members to administer affairs for our government concerning the method in which the prot· estant religions shall be conducted in relation to the hundreds of thousands of protestant boys in our camps the new york evening world of nov 30 1918 says the pope desires to attend the peace conference in order that he may /oi ain some temporal power and adds that the vatican is reeking to establish a private telpgraph office in the va.tican with private wires to au governments so as not to have to use the italian telegraph lines boman oatholio views tember 1914 germany was admitted by protestant writers to be the most protestant country on earth the home of protestantism and the hirthplace of protestantism carlyle called germany prussia where the world war was hatched and where another imponant event was hatched in the sixteenth century stands out in front number one in the protestant world it is amusing now to read some of the books and speeches written and delivered by english and american protestant controversialists prior to the fatal year of 1914 in most of them you will find germany pointed out as lelliding in civilization because she was protestant and held up as an example to the catholic countries of europe go through the files of non-catholic newspapers and magazines published in 1870 and 1871 and read of the delirium of insolent joy in anti·oatholic circles when the news of france s humiliation was published protestant publications in the united states hailed the gjod news as a victory for protestantism we wonder if the anti-catholic forces to whom valerian refers realize that marshal foch ia a fervent oatholic and a brother of one of the most distinguished jesuit priests in europe do they know that on his shoulders now rest our fate and that of civilization he commands the largest army the world hag ever known at least 10,000,000 soldiers twothirds of whom are catholics is it not sickening to know that while the german legions are once more reeling under the blows of this great catholic soldier wretched patriots in ala.bama florida and other states are endeavoring to perse· cute his coreligionists is it not an outrage that in these trying times anti jatholic bigots are asking our soldiers seek· ing promotion and even applicants for responsible positions in certain munition plants the cowardly question what is your religion elsewhere in truth we publish luther did more than any other one man to enslave religion to make it sub· servient to politicians to weld the ohurch into an instrument which might be used for tyranny in the hands of a bismarck or a william ii when luther revolted against the authority of his superiors at rome he appealed to the german electors to support him it was an appeal to national prejudices he skillfully played upon the fa.ct that rome was ,foreign and the electors seeing their opportunity eagerly availed themselves of the opening today we can see that the church in germany simply changed masters she gave up the comparatively mild rule of rome in exchange for the blood and iron of prussia if we go ,back far enough into the roots of history to trace the causes of this war we shall place the responsibility upon luther he was not an apostle of liberty but he has really made necessary this awful struggle of democracy against a.utocracy and so far from freeing religion luther ensla.ved it luther made it subject to the whims and plul8ions and intrigues of petty german princes until the hobenzollerl1ll succeeded in dominating the whole teutonic group of peoples it had been ,better for the world if luther had never been born it had been better for the world if luther bad died before his revolt what was the freedom he gave religion the freedom of prussian tyranny what was the freedom he gave the world the freedom of a violated belgium of a crushed roumania of a ruined serbia of a desolated montenegro what were the triumphs of civilization we owe to luther t the sinking of a thousand men and women and children in the lusitania a warfare of frightfulness on sea and land submarines poison gas liquid fire ruin havoc rapine spread systematically over the whole continent forbidden publioations now listen to papacy as she charges protestantism with the grl at world war and appropriates to herself the glory of the victory the following excerpts are from the catholic truth for nov 1 1918 only a few years ago non·catholic writers were claiming that the most progressive nations in the world today foremost in civilization are the protestant nations up to sep the same issue nov 1 1918 of the same catholic journal the truth contains the follo.wing clipping which explains why catholic prelates have forbidden their people to read the bible namely because it is dangerous to faith and morals we quote it is noted that the war department has listed books which are considered dangerous for the soldiers to read at this time these books are excluded from the cam ll libraries among them we find the book entitled ireland s oase written by scumas macmanus the only reason we can see for placing this work on the list is that it might lessen the esteem of our soldiers for our co·belligerent great britain it might do this of course ,because it tells the truth there are time when it is deemed the part of wisdom to withhold the truth from the youthful mind for a while in placing the ban upon certain books that re considered dangerous reading for the men of our army at the present time the war department of our government is following the e cample of the holy see which forbids the reading by cath· olics in general of books dangerous to faith and morals the [6375]

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6-10 the w ate h to we r pittsburgh pa index expurgatorius is the name by which the church s list of ,for,bidden publications has been known for centuries and the wisdom of the holy see in prohibiting certain books has furnished one of the stock arguments of enemies of romc who say that our church is tyrannical and seeks to obstruct educa.tion and enlightenmcnt every wise and loving parent is a tyrant and prevents the enlightenment of his child when he excludes from the fa.mily library and rea.ding table books and other literature that are dangerous for the child s immature mind we remember a tra.ct -put out by pastor russell over twenty-five years ago entitled protestants awake it called a~tention to the encroachment of papacy as outlined above bible students will do wcll to read again pages 358-361 vol 2 studies ix the sciljptures written twenty-eight yean ago and dealing with this very subject the inner sanctuary there is a ca.lm a ha.llowed epot deep deep my heart within a refuge from the tempter s art and from myeelf and sin this is the picture he hath drawn himself in his own word of his elect his hidden saints as in the sight of goo in the clear glass of tha.t blest word behold thyself my soul see all thy being lost in him in him made fair and whole then go thy way forgetting not how he regardeth thee but revelling in his light and love exultant grateful free clothed with the sull on high remain the moon beneath thy feet thy changing moods regarding not in him always complete o blissful haven of my soul presence pure and sweet no shadow there can follow me a calm and sure retreat no enemy can enter in no evil thing defile while hidden there my spirit is a spirit without guile without a fault before the throne i stand in light arra.yed benea.th jehov1l.h s searching eye fearless and undismayffi o who is he that condemneth itlti artide is a reprint of that published in issue of august 1 19 2 whi h please spe the light of love love will not discuss the weakness of anotller love will raise the estimation of a brother love will ie-ilt not on past labors of her hands love anticipates the pleasure from commands loving deeds to the unthankful count not loss think how jesus bore the burden of his ~rors think how god disperses sunshine over all and let your light so shine beloved though tis small god is love we shall be like him love divine what a high and holy calling yours and mine god has called us to be copies of his son so let us then in love and patience heavenward run in what sense god rests from his work a nd on the seventh day god ended hia u ork which he had maap and lie rested em the 8eventh dwy trom au his work which he had made genesis 2:2 god is not now judging the world he judged ilie world people of the world other nations will flock to them more than six thousand years ago in ~ather adam the result isaiah 2:2 3 mica h 4:1 4 god s dealings from that time of that judgment was the sentence of death on adam and all on will be with the whole world no longer with the church of his children in due time god made preparation for the for these will be glorified redemption of adam and his ra.ce and sent forth his own son this matter is distinctly stated by the apostle paul who jesus to be their redeemer in the divine plan the death of declares that god hath appointed a day in the which he will jesus was designed to be the offset for the sin of adam 80 judge the world in righteousness acts 17 :31 god is not that as by one man [adam came death by one man [jesus now judging the world but is preparing the church to be should come the resurrection from death sharers in the work as the apostle again says know yp god has not yet finished the outworking of this plan not that the saints shall judge the world 1 corinthianr through the son its operation be gan more than eighteen li:2 the world s judgment is not yet begun they are all hundred years -ago but has not yet progressed to the place still lying in the wicked one 1 ,john 5 19 although where it is dealing with mankind during this present age christ has died for all men he has not yet taken possession god s dealings have been only with the church his dealings of thpm thl y haye not yet been turnl d ov r to him they during the jewish age were only witli the jews and during are still under condemnation the millennial age his dealings will -be with the entire world with the close of this age and the g-lorification of the of mankind through the jews god s dea.ling with the church church will come the inauguration of the new covenant which during the past eighteen hundred years h&8 been to eelect god promised through the prophet jeremiah in these words ijome from every nation -people kindred and tongue to belong the day cometh saith the lord that i will make a ~ew to the new nation the spiritual seed of abraham this work covenant with the house of israel and with the home of has not yet been completed this gospel age therefore is not ,judah etc jeremiah 31:31-31 this covenant is to go ye-t qnite finished when this work shall have been com into effect as soon as the spiritual israelites shall be complete and the new covenant will be with israel and with judahpleted the present age will have ended the completion of the church is the resurrection ooa.nge all the house of israel and will extend through them to all and thl n ilie church with christ will constitute the great thc families of the earth until the whole world shall ha.ve spiritual seed of abraham which god declares is to be as heen blessed through abraham and his seed-sp,iritual and the stars of heaven genesis 22 18 this spiritual seed of natural durini t.hp six thousand years since man w&8 created the abraham will begin immediately to bless all the families of the earth as the blessing was to the jew first in the open nations of the world have bcen permitted to go as they pleased ing of the gospel age so it will again ,be to the jew first in with respect to criminals and others except as they would the opening of the millennial age for the bible assures us have gone too far if these should undertake to i 0 too far in that to israel will come the grea.t blessing favor witll g a the work of criminality they woulj be restrained as in the under messiah s kingdom and their eyes will be opened to see ase of the ca.na.anites ve remember that the lord declared that god is ll ain graciously dealing with them the new to abraham that before he would bring the children of israel covenant is to be ma.de with the jews they will have learned into the land of canaan there wa to be n e-rtain delay certain lessons from the cast-off condition in which they have because the amorites had not yet come to the full of their been for nineteen centuries and they will become the leadinl wil kedness gene-sis 15:12-16 indicating that there was a [6376]

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january i 1919 the watch tower 10-15 limitation toward which they were going rapidly but that god would not cut them off or permit them to be especially cut olt under his supervision until their iniquity had reached a certain degree of fulness see also 1 kings 21 :25 26 xow with the world in general nations have ri,en whidl indeed have been very wise god permits them to do largc:y as they plca~e only wht n their pluns intel fere with his doe he limit them thus far shall they go and not further and so they put people to death sometimes righteously and sometimes unrighteously sometimes justly and sometimes unjustly under one pretext or another the manner of their death makes no matter so far as god is concerned for all these pnlple are under the sentence of death and hav been since they were born sentenee was passed upon them in ada.m vhether the v are kllled it 0111 manner or anoth r does not ma.tter at all so far as the divine sentence is concerned god does not interfere he i c~ts tilt matter for the present the ajxlstle panl says that joel is resting f lm his works if has rcstf d in the s

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15-23 the watch tower pn 1 srvrgh l a the tower for ~ov i 1018 is solid ground i have read it twice here are my heart and my hand trusting that we ahall all stay in the ship storm or no storm until we reach harbor his hand is on the helm his voice is speaking peace to the warring elements how very good to have him with us to be with him to be his his forever in a general way the lord a family while yet in the f sh reaemble a natural family in some thinga we manage by the grace of god to hang together it takes much graee so to speak we hug and scratch we kiss and make faces but we are trying to be good i believe that the dear master loves us dearly for his grace hides our imperfections we do not always do ao and it hurts but the sea is rough the ship rolls and is tossed the passengers are jostled but it is safe to stay on board your brother by his grace j p m oh1o an exfression of love and oonfidence let a little pride and desire for honor shut us out from our eternity of honor and glory with sincere love to all we beg to remain by his kind favor brother and sister j g t qmo appreoiatdlg tn lord s provisions dear brethren i wish to express my appreciation for the meat iii due season and things new and old provided by our lord through tue watch tower for the household f faith my earnest prayer is that god may fill you with his holy ~pirit ann overrule and direct your actions to his praise and glory forever surely our faith should multiply and we should put forth double effort in overcoming the world the flesh and our advenlary and in perfecting holiness as we see the unmistakable signs of the end of the age and the inauguration of the kingdom of jesus christ may love abound in the bonds of peace and may we be filled with the joy that no man taketh from us your fellow-la.borer c f md a few words of kindly greetings dearly belov ll bri thren in christ at a convention of assoriated bible students assembled in east palestine ohio on dec 1 a motion was made which carried without a dissenting vote t.o send you an expression of our love and confidenre the re.olution follows resoln o that we associated bible students here assembled hereby rl nll w our pledge of loyalty and support to our brethren in charge of the work at the offices of the wateh tower bible tract society we believe the watch tower i being uaed of the j.ord today as mueh as at any time in the past it is indeed meat in due season to all who abide in the holy be assured dear brethren of our continued prayers that the lord will direct and uphold you in the work he has plaeed in your hands god bless our soeiety and all the faithful co-laborers co m 1.1 ittee glad to see harmony deab bbf:l hren dear brethren just a line to greet you at the new offices of the society and to assure you of my warm christian love for you all and of my hope and trust to continue faithful to our lord the truth and the brethren not only in great matters but also in the little things of life we still continue to remember you all in our daily prayers with warm christian love i remain sincerely your brother in the lord g b ont tilulltful dear bbethben :ro inoreased light loving greetings to all the dear ones at the wateh tower offiee we appreciate more and more the loving service of the dear ones whom the lord is using to gh-e us the food i was so glad for the little visit to pittsburgh and glad to see the harmony there may the dear lord keep you all humble servants worthy of a place in the kingdom how foolish to vol while our society like its lord and head is moving about doing good we are joyous to know that we are absolutely in harmony with its management its movements its sayings a.nd its doings we are indeed happy to know that those who represent the society in the true sense of the word know backed by seriptural evidenee what the ma.rk of the beast is so beautifully was this matter explained in conneetion with a discourse delivered by our dear brother thorn on last sunday that many of the dear brethren who heard it acknowledged to him their mistaken ideas re this matter l hank god for the inereased light now shining your brothl r and fellow servant r h j i exa8 xl pl rtsbuhgii p january 15 1919 no :2 lord teach us to pray [paragraphs 12 and 13 were reprinted from article entitled pray without ceasing published in issue of april 15 1904 the remainder was reprinted from article entitled lord teach us to pray published in issue of july 1 1906 please ilee the articles named t.he lord will direct the issue it is as important as ever to keep ,before our minds the thought of our lord s personal relationship to every feature of his work if the early church were to remember his words lo i am with you always even to the end of the age the thought of the lord s perronal presenee now in the harveet should ,be still more imprl ssive to us if he kept a supervision or control of all the afl airs of his people throughout the age does not the thought of his serond coming and still more intimate association with every little detail of what is planned make 1.lj8 rejoice to be more eall ful more zealous to the extent that we are able ii keep this clela.rly before our minds it will make us happy iii respect to right fighting and right doing for installt £ ,hi ii ht the adyer~ar;v make su gestiolls to us of discontent or dissatisfact.ion 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 for the ljm1 himsclf is prescnt 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 negleeted the supervision of his work and is allowing the adver.sary to da.sh 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 mattl rs that the lord has put into the hands of another let this thought rt btrain us and counsel us to give closer attention to that which the master has eommitted to our care and to reml mber that to his own master each servant stands or falls and that 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 viewa upon others but rather to do our part as faithfully as possible and to leave the results to the lord z 09 p 5 annual meeting of shareholders in view of events which have taken place during the paat o ear the dear friends everywhere have taken the keenest interest in the annual meetin of shareholders of the v atch tower bible tract soclet whieh was held in the soldipl s memorial hall in pittsburgh i a oil saturday ,january 4th 1919 with eagerness has eve-ry bible student the wol ld over lookerl forward to the events whieh would transpire there and count!e.ss prayers have ascended to the throne of heavenly grace that the will of the lord might be cllearly manifested at this meeting we are sure these pra,yers were answered and the unanimity with which the results were received by all present seems unmistakaoble evidenee that the same mighty otle who has directed the affairs of hill church throughout the centuries still stands guard over the interests of his little ones and that no weapon f rmed against them shall prosper for this is the heritage of all the servants of righteousne8ll isaiaill 54 :17 how comforting a.nd reassuring is our year text for 1919 in this regard four days of sweet fellowship preliminary to the shareholders il.nnual meeting of sat [6378]

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janca y 15 1919 the watch tower urday january 4th the thousand or more friends who had gathered from all parts of the united states and canada were privileged to enjoy a two days fea.st of spiritua.l good things spread by our present lord and served to us faithfully by va.rious pilgrim brethren this program was also continued on sunday following the business sessions it was indeed good to be there and the sweet spirit of the friends especially manifest on the last day of the gathering was an inspiration and a stimulus to each and lli11 and has proved a great source of encouragement to every member of the wa,teh tower office force in po.rticular :many bitter tria s have been the portion of the church during the year just past and these seem to have whetted the a.ppetites of the dear friends to participate more fully in the spiritual food which the lord has so gradously provided us the discounws of the pilgrim brethren throughout the convention were timely and helpful and the ill cd for greater scrutiny of our footsteps during the remainder f our journey to the kingdom was vividly brought to our attention the zest with which the friends participated in the praycr praise and testimony meetings showed that it was the determination of all of them to please the lord above all thin/ls else and to press forward for the great prize that awaits the faithful friends from all parts of the united states and canada brought to the convention the same encouraging messa l!e of love and zeal for the cause so dear to our hearts and the sweet spirit of loving devotion to our master was never more mllnifest than at this convention the annual meeting the shareholders meeting convened at 10 30 o clock on tll morning of january 4th opened by song and prayer vicepresident c h anderson addr~ed the assembly briefly calling attention especially to the peculiar situation existing by reason of the incarceration of our president and seven other officers and members wh~e ease is shortly to be argued in the appellate court the following resolution was unanimously passed by the shareholder,s assembled and was also enthusiastica11y participated in ,by the hundreds of spectators in the rear of the auditorium and in the galleries without a dissenting voice being heard the resolution reads wher s seven of the principal offieers and leaders of this society to-wit j f rutherford president w e van amburgh secretary-treasurer a h macmillan r j martin f h robison g h fisher and c j woodworth were sentenced on june 21st 1918 to a term of twenty years in the federal prison a.t atlanta ga for alleged vio1a,tion of the espionage act and g de cecca a clerk sentenced to ten years in the same institution on the bame charge where they are now conflned without being admitted to bail and herms it appears from the llssignments of error upwards of one hundred in number appearing in the records of the court that the j udgment of convic.tion will likely be reversed upon rippea1 and whereas there was no evidence tha.t any of these defendants was moved by any intent or purp08e to injure the government in the prose cution of the war or otherwise and it was a fact conceded by coudsel for the government that he could point to no vindictive spirit against the government existing in the minds of these brethren be it there~fore resolved that we the share· holders of the watch tower .uible and tract· society in generai annual convention assembled this 4th day i d th .a 1 l of january d 191 9 hereby express unammoub your con ence!ll e illtegritv of these eight defendants and in their loyalty to the gover~ment and people of these united states as as their loyalty to the lord and our utmost confidence that judgment will be reversed and that they will be completely vindicated when all the facts are fully and impartially reviewed by th appella.te court be it further resolved that we recognize the imprisonment of these our brethren to have been permitted lei by divine providence for lul all·wise purpose in the outwor ng of his designs in connection with the church in this evil and that they are our exemplai ll in suffering for christ s e a sweet savor unto god we also express our confidence that their incarceration and future release may rel!lult in a worldwide witness for the truth on _a hitherto unprecedented seale when all facis connected therewith are made publicly known and we pledge ourselv as a body to co operate in all lawful wavs to aid in their release from bonds to the end that this witness mil!ht result derstood to he a reflection upon our imprisoned brethren in any sense others were of the opinion tha.t such action on the part of the shareholders might be misconstrued in some wa.y by the public generally as being a repudiation of these brethreno all seemed desirous of doing only the lord s will a.nd every bpeaker expressed the fullest confldence in the loyalty of the imprisoned ones and believed they would be completely vindicated when all the facts in their case itre reviewed after a prolonged discu~sion therefore as to the advantag and disadvantages of postponing the election pending the decision in the appellate court it was considered proper to proceed with the election of officrs a.nd directors in the regular way the society s charter requires that at first a board of directors of seven members be elected and that from the seven elected the officers of the society shall be chosen as soon as the motion for postponement of the election was withdrawn brother e d sexton who had been appointed by the vicepresident as chairman of a nominating committee took the platform and placed in nomination for directorship the following seven brethren brother .j f rutherford brother c ii anderson brother c a wise brother w f iiudgings brother w e van amburgh brother e j coward brother r h barber other nominations were then presented by variolu shareholders as follows b th h e s 11 rother g f kendall ro er pi brother e h thomson brother h h riemcr brother e f crist brother j f st~phenbon it was then moved and seconded that the nominations be closed and that the ballot be taken seven brethren were appointed by the ehair a inspectors of election each of whom took and subscribed to the required oath to perform their duties as judges and inspectors with fidelity it required about four hours to check up all the proxies and certificates and to count the votes at about 8 :30 p.m the result of the ,ballot was announced as follows j f rutherford il2,ooo c h.· ndf rson 70,il:1 c a wise 111,712 e .·j coward 59,917 r h ba.rber 97,828 h h riemer 53,1:14 v e van amburgh 88,307 .t f stephenson 52,081 w e spill 84,148 e h thomson 48.410 w f hudgings 75,942 g f kendall 1.769 the seven who received the highest number of vot cast and who were declared by the judges of election as having been duly elected members of the board of directoi l of the vateh tower bible and tract society for the ensuing year were f r th fdwev b h j u er or an m urg c a wise w e spill r h barber w f hudgings c h ander!klij a election of officers wen the next order of busine!ls was the eleetion of a president a vice president a.nd a secretary-treasurer the chairman of the nominating committee then placed before the assembly the names of t.he following brethren :for presidcnt j f rutherford for vice president-c a wise for secretary-treasurer-w e van amburgh there beinl no further nominations the sh areh 0 id ers y unanimous rismg vote directed the chairman of the jud~s of election to cast all the ballots for the above mentioned p6l 8ons ss officers of the society for the ensuing year thereupon the chairman declared the three brethren mentioned to have been elected by unanimous vote to the positions named when the announcement of the election of officers was h a t p d t made brother c h anderson t e retmng c mg resl en called brother c a wise to the platform and introduced him to the assembly a his successor brother wise was received with applause and then spoke briefly expressing his thanks for the confidence shown and his belief that he would have unanimous support from the members of the society throughout the do wm-ld as well as the lord s blessing upon our united enorts to serve him to the best of our ability in these trying times close of the convention board of directors blected the legal aspect of the situation created by the absence of the society s president and secretary-treasurer wa discussed in detail it ,being the thoug ht of some that new officers should be elected to all positions but that this may in no way be un the annual business meeting was then closed by prayer many were the expressions of gratitude and love one to another as the dear friends acknowledged the overruling providence of the lord as manifested in the outcome of this annual election there was not an expression of dissatisfaction to be heard on the part of any ~hareholder present and it was manif that all were determined to work shoul~er to shoulder during the months that are before us in carrymg forward the [6379]

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18-26 the watch tower great work which we believe the lord in his providence has for his church to do ere their exaltation to heavenly glories be· yond the vail of death the outstanding thought entertained by the brethren throughout the convention and particularly at its close seemed to be that the society s work in the future will be ,b~essed to the spreading of the truth on a hitherto unprecedented scale and that the numerous thousands of sleeping christians foolish virgins shall be aroused from their slumbers to a recogniticti of the presence af the lord and the establishment of his kingdom upon the ruins the existing order as always those prcllent said that it had been the best con 0 vention they had ever att,ended and that never had they seen the spirit of unanimity jilqre manifest than at the dose of this annual meeting this is of course what should be expected when we realize the fact that we are standing upon the very threshold of the messianic kingdom and that soon the lord shall be pleased to take us home if we have denloped his spirit and proven faithful to him and to his caullc through all circumstances and conditions with calmness and sobrietv let us press forward doing the work that the lord has for his people to do and above all showing his loving spirit toward one another and we shall shortly have the blessed privilege of being ushered into the eternal glories of immortality marah and elim today tis elim with its palms and wells and happy shade for desert weariness twas marah yesterday all rock and sand unshaded solitude and bitterness the soft the and same desert holds them both the same breezes wander o er the lonely ground same low stretch of vallev shelters both the same mountains compass them around sometimes god turns our bitter into sweet ~ometimes he gives us pleasant watersprings sometimes he shades us with his pillar-eloud and sometimes to a blcllsed palm.shade brings what matters itt the time will not be long farah and elim will alike be past our desert-wells and palms will soon be done we reach the city of our god at last so is it witl ub here on earth and so i do remember it has ever been the bitter and the sweet the grief and joy lie near together but a day between bere we shall end our dcllert-wanderings o happy land beyond thcse lonely hills where gush in joy the everlasting springs o holy paradise above these heavens obtaining money under false pretenses letters are coming into the offi~e indieating that the friends everywhere are being imposed upon by professed brethren who are soliciting money upon various pretenses several times in the past we nave warned the friends of the unwisdom of giving money to those who solicit it working on the sympathy of the friends ,by using as an argument their connection with the so i ty or the record of past service vi e suggest that all letters solieiting money be submitted pither to the home elms of t.he ode asking assistance or to the watch tower bible tract society the law of development [this artiele was a n>print of that published in issue if december 15 11l!l5 which pleas 8 j love as brethren be pitiful be courteous we then that are 8tr0i1 g ought to bour the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourseltje8 rom 15 i it would appear that in the originaj greek this text has the thought of bearing with sympathizing with being merci· ful toward the infirmitil s imperfections of the weak especially the weak among the lord s people some who come to christ are very weak aecording to the flesh and others are strong some of god s people are stronger spiritually in that they have been longer in the good way or have rna-de mor rapid development than have others but the fact that god has accepted any as his children is sufficient indication that we shoufd accept them as brcthren a.nd if thcy are brethren we should aet accordingly that is in a brotherly way-sympathetically if we ,see that certain ones are weak in some respects we a.re not to be harsh unsympathetic not to hold them in contempt take heed that ye despise not one of these litt.le oncs atthew 18 10 we might be naturally inclined to iraw away from these and to say to ourselves i will not associate with thoile people i prefer those who are stronger better looking or better educated etc for my associates my friends we might feel a,n impulse hardly ever tn speak to the others or if at all in a patronizing way this would not be hearing with the infirmities of the weak but pleasing ourselves our flesh doing the things that naturally we would prefer to do keeping company that naturally we would prefer to kl ep separating ourselves from the weakl r the humbler etc living for belf the apostle points out that this is not the proper course even if we are stronger than some others of the members of the body the fact that they are real brethren in the lord accepted into our father s fanaily is an all-sufficient reason why we should rerognize them why we should sympathize with them be helpful bear with their infirmities those who are defjc ient in various ways realize that they have an inflrmity in these respects and those who arl naturally fastidious have an opportunity of demonstrating how much of the master s spirit they possess these have an opportunity of bearing something in this connection in that they will speak to the others fellowship with them as brethren in christ when they are not very popular not very influential when to be known as thl ir friends would seem to be rather a compromise in standard from a natural viewpoint for there is neither jew nor greek bond nor free male nor female for ye are all one in christ jesus gal 3 28 this does not mean necessarily that we are to forsake all the most highly intellectual friends of the truth all the cduea:ed or all the c omely in appearance and associate only with those who are 1ackin in these respects but it does mean that we should bear with the infirmities of the weak ones that we should be sympathetic merciful and kind-spirited should love them its brethren ve are to love all who are christ s loving them in proportion to their manifestation of the spirit of the master and not to think merely of what would be most pleasing to ourselves in a natural way our father in hea,ven who searches the heart esimates each of us according to our development of the precious fruits of the holy spirit and not according to social standiil or color of skin or outward comeliness and we are to follow his example to the extent of wbility god has left open before us various doors of opportunity for service to thl brethren and the degree of our love for them is measured in his sight by the zeal with which we endeavor to use in that service the talents in our control therefore let this thought nerve us to greater energy and faithfulness in the joyful service of the ljord for our love zeal and devotion for the brethren testify to the master the degree of our love and zeal for himself the giving of the manna fthe first paragraph of this article was a reprint from article entitled give u thi day our daily bread published in issue of .july 1 h102 thp remainder was a reprint from article led by a way that they know not published in issue of june 15 11107 pimse llce articles named [6380]

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partakers of the heavenly calling holy brethren chosell bj the soverl ign voice of might sec your high and holy cal1in out of darkness into light called according to his purpose and the riches of his love won to listen by the leadings of the gentle heavenly dove called to !tulfer with our ~faster patiently to run his race ailed a blessing to inherit called to holiness and grace called to fellowship with jesus by the ever faithful one called to his eternal glory to the kingdom of god s son hom he calleth he preserveth and his glory they shall bee he is faithful wh hath called you he will do it fear not ye then holy brethren onward i thull make y ur calling sure .for the prize of the high calling bravely to the end endure jethro s counsel [the last three par,tgraphs of thb article were reprinted from chapter iii vl>lume i of scripture i ludi thp first two paragraphs w re reprinted from article pntitled god s covenant at sinai published in i~sue of auguht l i9i:t the remaindl r was rpprintell from lhti lc god first-in the dc alogup puhlished in issue of july 1 1902 please see articles named.j be thou faithful unto death faithful when with tears thine eyes are dim ilaithful when .loy s cup o ertlows its brim faithful when god seems to veil his face aithful whpn he crowns thy work with grace faithful though thy loved nes turn aside i_ips that praised thee once with harshness chide faithful though success enwreathe thy brow faithful should the world before thee bow faithful till hath fled life s fleeting breath eager hands lie folded still in death the ten commandments [p:uagraphs 4 to j of thi arti h w n reprint d irom article entitled god s t n commandments publi~hed in j s je of august i l!lla ]laragraph f wa rcprintpd f m an ~rhele entitled who is my }i;eighbor pllblished in issue of ,arne

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18 35 the watch tower of sacrifice together with the subject the two parts of the harvest i am fully b88ured dear hrethren that the lord is using the same channel in giving the necessary food for the upbuilding of his people our prayers have been and are yet on your behalf that the dear lord may continue to guide and direct your work and labors of love to the praise of the g1>d of all grace in the nov 15th issue the article on self-denial in fact all the articles are exeellent ilnd we feel that we could not do without the meat in due season things new and old from the storehou6e with love to all a.t the watch tower office i remain your ibrother in ohrist j 0 01140 bail denied-appeal pending applieation for bail in the case of brother rutherford and associates was denied by the circuit court of appeals on de· cember 3rd last probably without a full review of the facts and circumstances by reason of the near date of argument the case is expected to be reviewed in the appellate court within thirty days and an early decision is anticipated newspaper clippings requested the society would be pleased to receive newspaper clippings bearing upon the subject of ~eneral amnesty for political prisoners and particularly anythmg in reference to the case of j f rutherford et al please mark the name and date of the paper from which the clipping is taken resolutions of love and loyalty so many resolutions of loyalty to the society and pledges of co-operation have been received from .classes within the past few days that it is impossible to publi80h them all we lwlk that the dear friends accept this as acknowledgment of any such resolution and pledges with the assurance of our deepest ap preciation therefor pwblication of as many as p ssible will be made from time to time in the vater tower columns a correction an unfortunate reference to a brooklyn sister whose name howlwer was not given appeared in the second paragraph of a circular letter sent out from this oftke under date of dec 12th we now learn that our information was inac· 01 xl eurate and so far as we are aware no brooklyn sister is responsible for false report as described vile are glad there· fore to make this correction at this time pittsburgh p a february i 1919 no.3 views from the watch tower n,ow that the great war has come to an end and the definite conclusion of peace seems to be a near reality the year 1919 appears big with possibilities from practically every viewpoint men who have been grappling with momentous problem.s and who have often been on the verge of complete de!lpair during the four years struggle just ended now we new eourage as they emerge from the world chaos and look out into the immediate future notwithstanding this happy aspect however serious-minded statesmen of all nations seem onscious of the fact that the greatest precautions must be taken in the manipulation of the world s affairs at this juncture lest there arise international jealousies suspicions and misunderstandings and a general discontent on the part of the masses that may lead to grave difficulties in all lands bolshevism is a terror to every conservative statesman the world over particular concern is being expressed in the public press of england and also of america that delay in dealing liberally with political prisonei s now being held in penitentiaries and disciplinary ,barracks beyond the period of hostilitfes abroad may breed such wide-spread dissatisfaction as would prove detrimental to the best interests of the state we quote from the nero republic n y of jan 11 1919 as follows in england there is already on f60t a movement for the release of all persons held in prison for conscientious refusal to do military service it is not a radical movement nor is it a sentimental movement among the signers of the petitions for amnestv we find such names as thoee of viscount bryce viscount lorley sir .john simon lord buckmaster etc these men have been wholehearted supportl rs of the war and of the mealilures necessary to render england s war policies effective they would be among the last to urge any action that would be prejudicial to the good order of the state they recognize that no civil purpose is advanced in the least hy further penalties infiicted upon conscientious objectors therefore whv not lilet them free no froo state can possibly make a crime out of refural to serve in war when such refutlal is actuated by sincere conscientious motives we may consider such an attit lde illogical absurd but we have passed beyond the point of barba.rism to attempt by threats and penalties to force such a man into military service would be tyranny as hideous as that of the roman proconsul who slew the seven hrothers and their mother because they refused to eat swine s flesh the conscientious objectors in disciplinary barracks or in jails represent nothing but a part of our machinery of conscription that was a hideous bit of machinery to use but we were at war and did not stick at means but now the war is over and we have scrapped the rest of our machinery of conscription is there the slightest reason why we should keep this least defensible part of our machinery in motion is there the least ground for subjecting to further privations and tortures the men who have committed no crime against the state no crime but how does it come that they arc serving penitentiary terms of ten twenty and twenty-five years 1 that is a result of the infinite stupidity of our war policy which we ought not to seek to justify but for which we ought to make amends men have been manacled confined for outrageous periods in solitary confinement thrust into a dangerous condition of physical debilitr driven insane to what end in g

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i rhri ary i 1919 the watch tower 36·-37 and bi,ble students have heen apprised of these lapts for the past forty years through the writings of pastor russell even the discontent which would follow the war and the numerous complications in world politics have bccn picturcd by the holy prophets as well fl the glorious kingdom of messiah which is to be established on the ruins of the present order incident to the great time of trouble in which we find ourselves at the present moment the lord s people are called upon to undergo special trials and test s along with the rest of the world hut while the worldly-minded ones chafe under their experiences the lord s people have the blessed assurance that all things shall work together for their good and that no weapon formed against them a new creatures shall pro per for this is their heritage as servants of the lord.isaiah 54 17 among the numerous consljientious objectors and political pri~oners now in confinement will be found many members of the international emu studt its association they have consecrate their all upon the altar 00 sacrifice and are accl pting thl cup which the father hath poured for them in the true spirit of the master tn considering the arious articles now appearing in the newspapl rs and magazines on the subject of amnesty for political prisoners and its possible effect upon the release of our own brethren in bonds we are reminded of the experienoos of jcrcmiah in the days of israel s iftst king he was imprisoned for his cojlvictions and teachings and was later rell ased through the agitation caused by the radical element of that time he was lifted from the dungeon by means of rags whethet all the features connected therewith are typical we would not venture to say but there are many things involved which make the general circumstances pictorially interesting who knows ·hut that it may be through the newspaper agitation of the country that the release of all political prisoners may be shortly l rought about and particularly those of the i,ord s people who have been incarcerated for conscienoo s sake we quote from the slyt antonia-n of scranton pa under date of dec~mber 15 as follows time f0 p ardo the fnnshed :mystery editors a new j~rsey paper f recent date has the following that is worthy of the consideration of every man who believes in justice time to pardon the finished mystery editors modification of their punishment public sentiment was too warm against anything that looked like an attempt to hamper the washington government but it is different today and it se~iiis time to make reparation for the error of classing these honest and loyal men who nlight perhaps be religiou fanatics with red-handed criminals who for money secured from the ger jilan government stood ready to stir up dissension burn buildings and commit murder in the interest of their employers the slyt antonian has no interest in the sect formed by the late pastor russeli and cares nothing for the teachings of the late bible exponent we have no afffiliation with the cult or whatever it may be called hut the sarantonian believes in fair play and conservative people evt>rywhere who are onversant with the proceedings beginning with the arrest of the l r vsjied mystery editors and followed by their trial conviction and sentence must admit that the alleged offense did not call for any such punishment as was meted out rome in :politics about one of the first things that president wilson should do is to pardon the followers of the late pastor russell who were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for alleged violation of the espionage act some people think these men are more sinned against than sinning that the administration will seriously consider this hint if the matter is properly presented at washington there can be no doubt it seems to conservative people that the imprisonment of the russellites was a mistake that bordered on injustice it will be remembered that a number of men two of them from this city engaged in the work of eompleting a book that was being written by pastor russell at the time of his dl!ath certain pasbllges in the book which in the main is a jumble of references to the bible denounced war on general principles when the attention of the editors was called to what seemed disloyal utterances they quickly withdrew the finished mystery from circulation and offered to re-write it or suppress it entirely until the end of the war with germanv they declared that they had no thought of committing a di sloyal act when the russellites were sentenced several months ago it would have been useless for anyone to attempt to secure bible students are familiar with the teachings of the scriptures which indicate that the catholic church would figure very largely in the political affairs of th world for a brief period at the end of this age the revelator referring we believe to the papal system as a world power says and when he cometh he must continue a short space revelation 17 10 students of prophecy are therefore interested to learn with accutal y the views of the pope on the coming league of nations the habitus interest of papacy in the politics of the country is well expressed in the followlllg extract from the christian ijeade1 of january 7 1919 it is no new thing that the church of rome seeks to con-· trol the political movements of any country in which it i strong enough to make it worth while to try in the early history of our country rome was too weak to make itself felt except in a small way in two or three of the states but of late it thinks of itself somewha.t as germany has been doing-able to control the government and derive its own nourishment from the life of the nation usually it proceeds very slyly and rarely publishes its purpose to the world but occlllsionally it forgets discretion and allows its inward thought1lll to escape one of our contemporaries has lighted upon an article credited to the nationa.l cathouc register which lets fall statements of fa.ct and purposes which may well open thc eyes of our people the paper referred to congratulates itse i and its readers in such paragraphs as the following it is god s plan that the holy fathcr of rome should be the temporal and spiritual head of his kingdom on earth it is the same today as in the time of the first pope the best way to accomplish this is through political power through religious education and service god has doubly hlessed the catholic church of america by placing one of its most faithful sons at the right hand of president wilson next to the president hon joseph tumulty a knight of columbus of the 33rd degree wields the grea.ust political power of a~y mati in america and as a true catlwhc he is exercising the greatest trust which god has given into his hands for the glory of the holy church through his tact and holy zeal he has created a warm friendship between the catholic church and president wilson this is the first time in the history of the country when the president and a great political party have openly sought an equal and honest alliance with the catholic church through the e1jorts of hon joseph tumulty pre~i dent wilson has practically granted that education in the philippines shall be under control of the catholic church andl that religious activity in the great american army shall 1ll under the direction of the knights of columhus this mealjl the addition to the church of one million of the country s best and bravest young men or at least their strong preference and sympathy for the catholic church satan s snares and delusions surely he sm deliver thee from the 8nare of the fow!er pblllm 91 :3 throughout the bible satan is pictured as a great fowler further declares them to be the author of many of the false sctting snares for the feet of the unwary and in this work he doctrines extant and asserts that by believing and teaching has the eo-operation of a host of unseen spirit beings all actu· these false doctrines the lord s people may be unwittingly ated by one common purpose namely that of hindering the fellowshiping with these devils this fact alone should be a ljord s people from making their calling and election sure sufficient rea~on why the lord s people should be on their these evilly inclined beings are variously referred to in the guard against such fellowship matthew 6:24 ephesians scriptures as devils unclean spirits wicked spirits 2:2 1 timothy 4:1 revelation 16:14 i corinthians 10 lying spirits seducing spirits the angels that smned 20 21 deuteronomy 32 17 matthew 8 28 12 45 mark 1 :23 2 the only sucoossful way to resist these evil spirits is to be peter 2 4 they obsess or possess human beings using the armed with the truth on all doctrinal points ephesians 6 tongues and the voicps of these unfortunate persons to utter 11-13 the scriptures still further teach clearly that these their own lying deceptions matthew 4:24 luke 8:2 satan evil spirits approach the human mind by using cunning crafty is repeatedly declared to be their prince or leader the bibll suggestions couched in biblical language often quoting scrip [6383]

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37-38 the watch tower p,ttsburgh pa ture itself professing great piety and much love and sympathy and claiming to be representatives of the lord 2 corinthians 11:13-15 sometimes these messages are spoken in the ear so that no other person can hear thedl at other times they are given by a series of impressions or suggestions made on the mind either direetly or through anoth.er person various traps to ensnare the unwary a successful fowler must conceal his sllares and so satan hides his deceptions under it cloak of piety e remember well the record of his attempt to deceive our lord by sugg~st ing to jesus mind certain scriptures and at the same time giving also a distorted interpretation of these texts but our ijord was so thoroughlv armed with the truth that he could ell~ily discern the deceptive arguments and thus was able to answer with another text that bared the false interpretation suggested by satan for the ignorant and curious satan arid his associates u e the cruder forms of deception through rappings table tipping hypnotism mt smerism spiritism clairaudience clairvoyance jugglery blllck art the planchette and the ouija boanl for those of more esthetic tastes and more religiously incline,l he has a still more subtle snare in christian science theosophy new jllought faith cures and divine healing the bait is physical healing and the snare lies in the deception that the healing comes from the lord these appeal to a class who erave occult power over others it gratifies thh ambition and appeals to tileir vanity conscious of this supernatural power persuaded that it must be god-given they are not aware that the bible explicitly declares that satan will he permitted to cast out satan-that is satan will have power to heal his own sick ignorant of the bible teaching on thi point they are not prepared to see that satan and his ministers will appear as an angel of light bringing blessings of health and prosperity when the truth on this suhject is brougllt to the attention of this class they are so eompletely ensnared in the error that they resist the truth reprohate concerning the faith 2 timothy 3 8 they ml1y not be reprobate in morals however ~iany of our best moral citizens are thus ensnared this device of satan is especially designed for a class who hold to a high standard of morals hence we find among its votaries scholars professors teachers the refined the educated and tlw aristocratic this snare is so cunningly hidden that it is very difficult to discern extremely few are willing to admit tljat satan ean be the author of any good work this erroneous idea helps to coneeal the snare gift of healing in the early ohuroh investigate when this matter is brought to their attention and when investigation can he made with little effort on the contrary it is quite generally thought that the possession of these powers of healing evidences a very close relationship with god we notice that our lord told his followers that they would tio greater works than be did j ohn 14 12 jesus healed the sick and performed many wonderful works we might therefore ask vhat could be a greater work than these y the bible gives the answer opening the eyes of those who are blind to the truth unstopping the ears of those who are deaf to the truth healing soul sickness and satisfying heart hun~er -these are the greater works which the church is pnvileged to do it is a far grander and more notablc work to perform spiritual healing than to heal physically the latter is at most only a temporary matter affording temporary bles ing the former affects the eternal future welfare satan s snare is to get people so infatuated with the id tl of physical healing that they will spend t1wir time and their money to this end-a selfish one rather than in study meditation and prayer while the hait of physical healing is quite effective and is ensnaring more people than is any other bait that satan is using yet he has other varieties also one of the snares above mentioned would catch thc lord s people the truth people satan coul,l not usp this bait with thenl therefore he must needs use a different kind some prror more subtle than any we have hcretofore described he is a wily fowler never at a loss to know just what to do besides he has a great advantage in that he knows not only our thoughts but our weaknesses also yea better than we know them our· selves he is wpll aware that the truth people cannot be caught in any of thp ordinary snares mentioned abovc therefore he has designed sompthing still more ,mbtle and deceptiw for them this is a great sehemc and it works to an am:lzing extent among those who are not on guard two methods of attack then too there are some scriptures that lend plausibility to the thought of divine healing it is argued that jesus rnd the apostles healed the sick but the deluded ones fail to note that thcse healings ,vere instantaneous and complete and that tlj healer always spurned the proffercd reward again they fail to note that the gifts bestowed upon the ear ly ehurch were not alike to all some could heal some could ,peak ith tongues etc i corinthians 12:s-io 28-30 they also fail to note that our lord and the apostles never healc one of the disciples but always one of the multitude and that they di,1 not heal all of the multitudes for ,jesus passed hy t.he pool of bethesda where ·there was a multitude of impotent folk but the }iaster healed just one and then went his way -john 5 1,9 the special gifts bestowed upon the early church served a goo,1 purpose at that time the new testa ment had not vrt been written and the disciples needed some eredentiab lse the public would not listen to their message awl so the apoour tells us these gifts were for a ign to the unbelievers they wl r not intend i d for h sig-n to the helievh the christian notiee how positively this is stated prophesying teaching is the method used ami intendc1 to i ilstruct an,1 <·onvince and tcaching is p pressly pelan d to hc of more importanee than are gift i corinthians 14:5 22-24 the church to do gbeatjlr works another thing whieh lends eo lor to these deceptions and which is nearly always quoted as proof is the text found in mark 16:17 18 anll these signs shall follow them that believe .in my name shall they cast out devils they shall ~pellk with new tongues they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them the;y shall lay hands on the siek and they shall recover this is supposed to be incontrov rtible evidpnce that the bible is authoritv for divinp healing but the ar ument falls flat when it is known that all of tlw last chapter of iark from yerse 9 to yerse 20 is spurious adjed by some priest or monk long afu r thc bible was eompleted and after mark s death neverthp· lpss those ensnl1red in this dol trinc of divine hc:ding arc 50 thoroughly rooted and grounded in the error that they will ii t thcre are two lilethodg of attack both of which appeal to fleshly weakness eithpr of these methods seems to be buccessful with some who could not be ensnared in any less subtle way they are 1 satan suggest to the mind something whieh will flatter the vanity or will bring his victim into the limelight of popularity this is thp ea~ie~t way to catch thc unwary for the reason that thc majority of people have the organ of approbativenebs or that of self-esteem very largely dcveluped and therefore vanity or ambition or pride makes them an easy prey 2 another very successful method of attack is to suggest to the mint something in the nature of an appeal to sentiment sympathy-pasaion this snare is always the morl dangcrous if the spntiment relates to someone who is espeeially dear to us by ties of blood or of friendship the sympathy or emotion being arousel the victim will not listen to reason bllt is led to belirvl that there is a principle at stake when really he is aetuated purely by passion-sentiment in other words satan gets before the mind a false standard and hoodwinks us into believing that it is a principle this i a very eommon snare whieh satan sets among the people of god the snare consists in the fact that we find ourselves fighting for principle when thpre is no principle at stake and the bait is sympathy for one whom we love it is always those less devploped in character and spiritual attainmcnt who are most liable to attack and who are most liable to iall yet these are a class who credit thems lves and who are credited by others with possegsing a larger degree of spirituality and character dcvelopment than the llverag those who have natural gruel s of mind and body who are better born who have inherih d more of adamic perfection are most liable to fall into this snar hccause less on guard along these lines they and otljpr an apt to mistake the natural graces of kindness gen tlpnebs hencvolpnce ctl for the fruits of thc holy spirit and thus eredit tlwmselves with a greater spiritual development than thpy really possess the philosophy of the matter this well illustrntes the scriptural tcaehing that man lookcth on the outward appcarance but thp lord looketh on the heart 1 sfi,lilu 1 16 7 it also xplains why those who fall are usually tiiose who we felt quite sure would stand those who are usceptible to these more subtle temptations of the adversary ar from the standpoint of fleshly desires usulilly very bensitive easily oltpnded and become indignant if th trnth on this suhject i i hrought to th r attention ev r rpady to di if liowship or to withdraw with little provocation they fail to perceive that wllat thpy eonsider the strongest plement of their l haracter is reallv the weakpst they are only halll s in christ at times it is a source of astoni h [6384]

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l fbruary 1 1919 the watch tower 38-40 ment to see some who seemingly have loved and served the truth for years fall under such trials the bible indicates that these subtle delusions of the adversary will be especially strong in the end of the gospel age even him whose coming is according to the energy of the adversary with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood and wltll cvery deception of iniquity to those who are perish ing because they admitted not the love of the truth in order that they might be saved and on this account god will send to them all energy of delusion to their believing the falsehood in order that all those ml1y be judged who believed not the truth but approved the iniquity 2 thessalonians 2 9-12 diaglott in view of this fact brother russell wrote the fourth paragraph of the vow i vow to thee that i will be on the alert to resist everything akin to spiritism and occultism and that remembering that there are but the two masters i will resist these snares in all reasonable ways as being of the adversary everything ak to spiritism and occultism that is everything related to either of these subjects everything that savjrs of either to be able to detect quickly and surely that which borders on spiritism and occultism requires a large degree of spiritual development as well a.s an accurate knowledge of the operations of evil spirits it is always possible for the i.ord s people to be informed as to the methods followed by satan and his cohort of fallen spirits for as the apostle says we are not ignorant of his devices if satan nppear as an angel of light mercy truth what marvpl that his ministers or agents whether human or angelie will also thus appear again we are told that the special mission of satan and his assistants is to blind the minds those who have the largest measure of the holy spirit arc of quiek understanding that is quick to pereeive these snares of the adversary such do not find it necessary to judge after the sight of the eyes nor the hearing of the ears for they have a far better way of judging and their accurate knowledge of the methods used by the demons is an aid in the judgment others can judge only by what they see and hear isaiah 11:3 should anyone try to point out to the ensnared one the danger to which he is exposed his efforts are almost always misunderstood and wiu almost invariably bring down on his devoted head the wrath of the one thus controlled by the demons some practioal illustrations principle in various ways i by judging and condemning others who do not see as they do 2 by refusing to fellowship those who still believe in the ransom the restitution the high calling in other words they make this sfecial work or activity in which they cannot engage a test of fe lowship this class seems to be afflicted with a kind of spiritual pnde and somehow to imagine that they are superior to others they need to be more on the alert to resist everything akin to spiritism and demonism a few of this class have persuaded themselves of their superiority to such an extent that they can no longer fellowship the society nor endure the visits of the watch towt;r even though it still holds and teaches all the fundumentals exactly as brother russell has done another pervel ted view which we believe to be of demon origin is held by some who seemingly think that their prayers are more effective than those of others that they are in closer touch with the lord than are others this conceit leads them to hold themselves up as examples in this matter this con· dition is the result of spiritual pride often when another brother is asked to lead in public prayer this pride prompts its possessors to whisper a little private petition jf their own the thought seemingly being ~ither that their own prayer is more efficacious than that of the brother who had been asked to lead in prayer or else that god will hear their petition in preference to the brother s the proper thought should be that the brother asked to offer prayer is the representative of all and that for others to interrupt at such a time with a personal prayer would to our mind indicate a lack of reverence and an over-abundance of self-esteem usually those ensnared in this manner are unappmachable on the subject of which we are speaking for their spiritual pride prejudices them against reason here again we sound the warning in the words akin to spiritism violation of prinoiple of jljstioe that we may all be more on b liard against everything akin to spiritism and oecultism we wish to give some practieal illustrations which have come under our notice we lmve come into contact with several friends who seemed to be obsessed with the idea that god was especially indicating to them that they should go into their closet and pray for some brother or sister far away who was in special danger the thought would flash through the mind and they would take it as from god to them the thought of being especially ehosen to pray for another in danger would be pleasing for it would flatter the va.nity and magnify their own importance some have become so ensnared in this error that it has been impossible to get them to see that god is not thus dealing with his saints now but that he gives them his message through his word of truth he does not use mental telepathy to transmit his messages he does not send them by wireless we still must do as our lord jesus did in the volume of the 1io k it is written of me this error is something akin to ~piritism and occultism our observation is that as a rule those who are thus ensnared are not favorably inclined toward that :paragraph in the vow and that they seem also to have an antipathy to the exposition of the seventh chapter of the revelation since that exposition has appeared in print some of these deluded brethren are in antagonism to it such are nearly always very sensitive on this subject this very fact of touchiness a.nd resentment is one of the best evidences that they are getting their information from a wrong source we note that such friends act on their own impulses the question is this in harmony with the teachings of god s word t seems never to occur to them they are ruled solely by passion fepling emo· tion this class need to examine carefullv the distinction between passion and principle as set forth in the watch tower for 1917 page 176 col 1 par 3 spiritual pride manifests itself in still another way some brother in whom we have had great confidence and whom we especially love will tell something detrimental to another brother or to the society if we accept this story as t~ue without giving the accused person or persons an opportumty to explain or to correct the matter we thereby demonstrate that our minds are closed to reason that we are prejudiced to illustrate prominent brethren have persistently cir· culated the story that the society has invested in liberty bonds $10,000 of money donated to the tract fund this story is not true the society would have no right to use for bonds money which had been donated for another purpose a very few of those who have heard this story have assumed that it is true that the executives have betrayed a trust and they ha e written to us asking that their names be removed from the tower list their love for some brother leads them to violate the scriptural principle of justice which reads if thy brother trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone matthew 18 15-17 no one should believe an injurious or a scandalous story except on the word of two or three witnesses no one should condemn a.nother without giving the accused person an opportunity to defend himself after one has taken a stand and has rondemned another unheard all future explanations and dpnials are usually of no avail lie is permitted to believe the lie neoessity of a proper conseoration when will the lord s people learn the lesson that to believe a story detrimental to another brother or to the society withjut proper proof and without permitting the accused to defend himself is a violation of principle is forbidden by the word of god yet we know of harmful statements and letters which have been scattered broad-east and of some who have had the truth for years sitting down gleefully to type these falsehoods and to scatter the poison ~till further how ~uccessfully .the demons have blinded the mmds of such to the simplest of bible truths common justice some dear friends were very loyal to the truth to the society and to brother russell as long as he lived but as soon as he had gone to his reward they deserted the society and demanded the return of all the money which they had put into the work this class was also oontrolled by passion their consecration was to brother russell they loved the man not the work and the demons had persuaded them that their love for the man was principle any consecration which will other illustrations 01 spiritljal pride serve only as long as the one whom we especially love is carthe great adversary is wily and at all times is quick to rying on the work is an improper one appeal to passion he persuades some that they must take we have heard some of the friends make statements like a radical stand against some secular work or activity and to this i go to the thursday night meeting because i liloo proceed at once to disfellowship others who cannot conscienbrother so-and-so who leads it but i do dot especially care tiously take this same stand somehow they seem to think for the other elders such a motive for attendance at meetthat thpir radical stand entitles them in a very special sense to ings is purely selfish such it consecration cannot be pleasing divine favor and ble~sing this attitude leads them to violate to the lord such a person is controlled purely by passion [6385]

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t40-4i the watch tower pittsburgh pa and not by principle uere is a fertile field for demoniacal suggestion the unseen adversaries persuade others of the lord s ~eople that they can get just as much spiritual benefit by readmg the volumes at home as they can get in class study this is another appeal to the flesh spiritual pride self-esteem by following this course such disobey positive and plain teachings of the word of god and yet their conceit leads them to think that they have the divine approval pot7b dlpobt.ut t ponrrs sometimes the demons suggest to one elder that he ignore the wishes of the other elders or of the class and override these making him believe that he is standing for principle.when no principle is involved except his own conceit vhen anyone person in an ecclesia attempts to disregard the will of a majority such a person has cast aside all true principle and is controlled solely by his own passion sentiment and when passion controls common sense and reason as well as the bible teaching on the subject get scant recognition such conduct brings unnecessary trials on the cla.sses and causes diviaion those who do these things are like a horse that takes the bit in his teeth and runs away there is sure to be a wreck soon our lord describes this condition of mind in matthew 13 13·15 they seeing see not and hearing hear not neither do they understand · · for this people s heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have they closed satan and his agents have succeeded in fast closing their minds elsewhere the bible says blinded their minds 2 corinthians 4:4 this same class is evidently referred to b;r our lord in the parable of the sower those by the wayside are they that near then cometh the devil and ta.keth away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved the various anarchistic movements among the truth people indicate that the demons are more energetically active now than ever before and experience teaches that it is impossible to reason with those who have come under their influence this class seem determined to believe the lie and to prefer to do so alas we fear that some are not heeding the apos tie s injunction i would not that ye should have fellowship with devils l corinthians 10:20 we fellowship devils when we believe and teach their doctrines when we have and manifest their spirit or when we join with them in opposing the lord s people or the lord s work and it dol s not take long to reach the point where we justify ourselves in doing these things we could wish that we had a million tongues and were so able to sound out the warning that all of the lord s people could hear it never before have the demons been so active never before have so subtle temptations been put forth never before have they been so successful as now and what about the future the bible suggests that the future holds still greater tests along these lines consequently we are to expect the demons to be increasingly active and along new and still more subtle lines how can we be on guard against these dangers there is only one way and the apostle suggests it in tbese words put on the whole armor of god tllis is the divine method of delivering us from the snare of the fowler let us keep four thoughts in mind 1 that there are only two masters and that every unscriptural suggestion comes from demon sources 2 that the bible foretells that at the end of this age the demons will be granted special power to deceive 2 thessalonians 2 :9-11 revelation 7 1-3 jude 6 3 that the saints are the special objects of attack matthew 24:24 ephesians 6:10·13 4 that the mind is the battle ground romans 1 :28 2 corinthians 4:4 volume 5 page 189 concluding suggestions let us can over and over again these words i vow to thee that i will be on the alert to resist everything akin to spiritism and occj1ltism and remembering that there are but tbe two masters i will resist these snares in all reasonable ways as being of the adversary from the experiences of the past thirty years we are can· vinced that those who refuse to join with the adversary in any of his assaults on the society and its work are thereby to a large extent safe-guarded and that those who are ready to believe reports which are detrimental to the society and its work have not yet put on the whole armor of god and as a consequence are in great danger the word of god teaches us that we have no right to believe slanders against the society or against any individual saint without the confirmatory evidence of two or three witnesses and these witnesses must be those who have a positive knowledge of the facts in the case to do otherwise would be to fall into satan s snare finally let us remember the apostle s words i write not these things to shame you but as my beloved sons i warn you l corinthians 4 14 he knows he loves he cares how sweet to fl el that god doth always know about the things tha.t wound my poor heart so that he hath planned each path my feet must tmce and will supply his all-sufficient grace how strange that he should heed my faintest cry and keep me as the apple of his eye that he should love me as he loves his son the altogether lovely perfect one how precious is the thought he still doth care when clouds hang heavy as when skies are fair that he will never let me lose my way nor from his tender watch-care ever stray he knows he loves he cares is always near to bles8 and keep ab then why should i fear t and oh the glorious hope i soon shall rest y weary head upon his loving breast the liiiiabx of the bbast interesting questions question what is the mark of the beast t answer a clear understanding of what constitutes the beast is necessary to a correct answer in bible symbology the word beast often refers to civil governments daniel 7 3-6 but in connection with the mark of the beast of revelation it refers not to a civil government but to a religious system viz papacy brother russell so interprets it in all of the followin/l instances revelation 13:4,12,14,15 15:2 16 :2 10 19 20 comments brother russell interprets the mark of the heast as follows in revelation 16 2 characteristics that is characteristic teachings of papacy such as eternal torment trinity immortality incarnation clergy lordship etc comments in revelation 13 17 he refers to this mark as the orthodox stamp of approval it should be noted that it is non-catholics who are marked some accept the mark through fear of loss of name fame wealth or influence others accept the mark becausl they are in sympath;v with these teachings some actively support these doctrmes with their influence and means such are said to receive the mark in their right hand others mentally endorse or publicly profess without actively supporting such are said to receive the mark in their foreheads comments revelation 13:16 the tniljoritv of protestants are thus marked indeed ever since th e protl stant reformation began in the sixteenth century all protestants who have believed and tllu ht th op do · trines have been thus marked volume i of scripture studies published in 1886 is referred to in rrwlation 16:2 as a i inl poured out on the earth this ver8e tl lls us that there wl rp some men clergymen and others who were ma.rked at that time this conclusively proves that the mark does not con· sist in participation in certain governmental activities as some have inferred revelation 13:14-17 points to a future period when the image of the beast protestant federation will attempt to mark or stamp or brand everybody not already marked doubt· less laws will be enacted to make the matter compulsory at this time it seems that the beast and the image will hi related to civil governments as herod herodias and salome -mark 6 17-26 should this prove to be a type by its fulfillment in antitype the fulfillment will probably be on something like the following lines 1 there will be a partial re-union of church and statl 2 then it would become the duty of the true church to reprove the civil powers as well as the nominal church systems a.nd to declare their union unlawful-eontrary to the word of god 3 the effect of this would pretty surely be to awaken the animosity of both civil anj rl ligious powers but it would draw out especially the animosity and venom of the latter 4 the church nominal in her false position would be anxious to stifle the reproof8 to destroy the reprovers and the effect would he that the civil powers would be induced to pass such legislation as would restrain the lib· erty of the faithful ones and hinder them from public utterances-as john was hindered by imprisonment herodias [6386]

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