VOL. 81, NO. 1, ISSUE 841 JANUARY, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Ctubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIALNEWS: Denver 2
Fraternal Gatherings: Lampasas, Richard, Hye, Canton 2
1993 Berean Subscriptions 2
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 3
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
The Three Destinies 6
WHOM I LOVE IN THE TRUTH (bro. Roberts) 9
I WILL RETURN TO MY FIRST HUSBAND (bro. Growcott) 14
First Principles: IMMORTALITY: A CONDITIONAL
GIFT (bro. F. Higham) 19
HE THAT SHALL COME, WILL COME (bro. D. Clubb) 25
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
TURKEY: Political Turmoil And Ethnic Conflict;
UNITED STATES: A New President Comes To Power 2*7
December Answers: "Into" 35
100 YEARS AGO
Notes; Human Reason And The Bible; The Day Of His
Coming; Answers To Correspondents; Editorial Comments;
The Jewish Crisis; Signs Of The Times; Birmingham
Miscellanies; Different Bible Lectures 36
Bible Puzzle: "Gather" 36
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
DENVER, Col. — 7100 W. 44th Ave., Wheatridge, Col. — S.S. 10 am; Memorial
11 am; Midweek Class, Tues. 7 pm — bro. Dave Sargent, 7365 Lupine St.,
Golden, Col., USA 80403; phone (303) 940-7128.
It has been the better part of a year since we have contributed
news from our ecclesia to the Brotherhood. Since then, we have had
many changes which we shall pass along.
Last year, we were blessed to have bro. John Wolfe move to Denver
and as part of our ecclesia. As he has since moved to Lampasas,
Texas, we miss his help and association.
During the last year, we have had the privilege to welcome many
brethren and sisters into our midst They have included bro. Ed
Truelove, sis. Keren Crocker, bro. Buddy Banta, bro. Daryl Readman,
sis. Rachel Johnatty, bro. David Van Pelt and sis. Carolyn
McLaren. In addition, we were privileged to have the association of
52 brethren, sisters and Bible scholars last December in a study
weekend.
During the weekend we spent much time in study ofjames—and
(Continued on page 32)
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 12, 13 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
RICHARD, Sask. — Fri.-Mon., July 9-12 — bro. Gordon Jones, Box 48,
Richard, Sask., Canada S0M 2P0; phone (306) 246-4628.
HYE, Texas — Sun., July 25 to Sun., Aug. 1 — bro. Jerry Connolly, 12609
Dessau Rd., A-144, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,10 — bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
SUBSCRIPTIONS 1993
Please send to ANY of the following (as you choose) —
Australia: $9.50 (Aust.)—bro. Ray Hodges, 2 Emily St., Esperance,
W. Australia 6450.
U.S A.: $7.00 — bro. Max McLaren, 8008Junius St., Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77012.
Canada: $8.50 (Can.) — bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd,
London, Ontario, Canada N5V 2X1.
U.K.: £4r50 — bro. Phillip Hughes, 25 Heol-Y-Gelli, Fforchneol
Pare, Godreaman, Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South
Wales, U.K.
"THEBEREANCHRISTADELPHIAN(ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012." MO
o 93-B«r«an
Dr. Thomas1 Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas1 Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
(Having terminated his labors west of Richmond at Fine Creek,
travelling down the James River in a 'packet boat' (a scheduled
service plying the upper tributaries), to the Capitol, he passed
through to the North-East into King William County. Here he was
able to rest, and renew his energy for further service for the Truth.
This area was well known to brother Thomas from former years, and
here he had experienced the hospitality of many. Abro.J. B. Edwards
received him gladly as his guest upon this occasion. Under his roof
the Doctor was shortly advised of the report of a considerable
fortune bequeathed to him. The death had occurred before he had
moved to New York City, but the processing of the will had apparently
taken the usual delay. Though others believed the report
concerning the Doctor fs acquired wealth he in characteristic manner
had no belief in it. He had all the wealth he needed in the imperishable
riches of the living Word.
King Edward County inhabitants appeared to have been self-satisfied,
and in no need of salvation. They well illustrated the Laodicean
state of Rev. 3: 'they had need of nothing,' but if any reward of
eternal life was available they were quite content to receive it in this
place, King Edward County. The round of fleshly entertainment was
too satisfying to permit of hearing the Truth expounded, or devoting
time to a search of the voices of the prophets. These thoughts set
forth by bro. Thomas are serious warnings for the body of Christ's
declared friends 140 years later. They are more personal and urgent
now than to those to whom he refers in this place.
However in any generation those few who diligently apply themselves
to the Scriptures, are eager to learn and to add to their
possession of the fruits of the Spirit, will be broadly viewed as
heretics. Thus with the old Scripture proverb of the Campbellites
having fallen into disuse (prove all things, hold fast to that which is
good), the response to the efforts of bro. Thomas was meager.)
On arriving at my friend's, bro. J. B. Edwards, the question
was soon put to me, aHave you heard the news?" "What news?"
said I. "Why that a friend of yours has died and has left all his
property to you." "Well, that is news"; but I suspect, too
propitious to one whom 'fortune' has but little favored in this
world of trial. This was certainly very interesting, but at the
same time very indefinite news. That my friend is dead is true;
but that his good intentions towards me ever assumed a legal
form, I have yet to learn. Down to the time of my leaving
93 Borean 3
Virginia his will had not been found; and, it is a principle with
me to regard the goods of this life as nothing.
The only disappointment in the case I shall experience
will be to find the report a reality. But, if I am myself skeptical,
others appear to be quite credulous of the ^windfall" — for
from the wind or clouds a fall it certainly must be considered.
Others appear quite credulous of the report; for on my
return to New York I found it had preceded me, and my
friends had very freely discussed, and pretty well settled to
their own satisfaction, what disposition I ought to make of the
property!
But it will be quite time enough for this discussion when
I obtain the legacy, and when I seek counsel in the case. At
present I have it not, and most likely never shall. I only
mention it here as an incident by the way; and to disabuse the
minds of my friends of the supposition that I am rich, when I
am not, which is oftentimes inconvenient, and highly prejudicial
to them that are poor.
The affairs of the Gospel of the Kingdom are not brilliant
in King William; yet are they not worse than they were a year
ago, but if any thing, they are perhaps a little in advance. Its
affairs are brilliant nowhere, nor do its friends expect them to
be till their Lord appears ain power and great glory." The
progress of the Truth is like the moving of a house; it makes
many dead halts, and when it moves it is with much straining,
and tediously so. The obstacle to the Gospel in this county is
the worldly prosperity of the people. If they could only have
health and deathlessness, they would be satisfied with King
William as their haven forever. There is there plenty of marl
to enrich their lands, fish and sora are abundant, fish-fries and
barbecues not few; good cheer at home and gayeties abroad;
for what more could heaven give, and what more there to be
desired by — an animal man?'Yes, that's the turning point —
"natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned."
This is the difficulty wherever "the Gospel of the Kingdom"
is introduced. It is comprehensive of "the things of the
Spirit" which are foolishness to our contemporaries. "What!"
they exclaim, aGod going to set up a Kingdom in the old rocky
Palestine, and immortals to sit upon its thrones with Christ,
4 93 Beroan
reigning over Israel and the nations!" The thing is so contrary
to all their conceptions and mode of thought, that they cannot
receive it. How can they while they not only do not study, but
scarcely read the prophets even as a duty to be performed. Not
knowing these Scriptures, they have no spiritual discernment;
and therefore they cannot understand the things set forth of
the Spirit in the Gospel of the Kingdom. This is the great
obstacle to our progress everywhere. The people hear us
prove all we affirm, still they remain faithless; for they have no
true faith in the Bible: and therefore, as the Lord said to his
hearers, "If ye believe not Moses and the prophets, how can ye believe
my words?"—John 5:47; Luke 16:31.
Campbellism is in a dying state, and from present appearances
there, not likely to hold out till the Lord come. The
fashionable prosperity of the Baptists seems to overshadow it;
and as there is so little theological and practical difference
between them, and the crowd and fashion are with the
populars, "reformers" find themselves more comfortable with
them, and so one after another fall into the ranks of those they
used contemptuously to style "Old Baptists". The believers of
the Gospel of the Kingdom, however, are firm and bold for the
truth amid the general corruption. They study the word and
seem to delight in it. They are therefore the salt of the county
and not to be moved from their stedfastness in Christ by the
foolishness and folly on every side. Yet they are regarded as
heretics. They are the most intelligent people in the Scriptures
there; yet they are considerd as altogether out of the way.
Thus ignorance sits in judgment upon knowledge, and condemns
it upon the old principles of hating the light, because
its deeds, which are evil, and only evil, and that continually, are
reproved thereby.
The consequence is that it is but comparatively few of the
King Williamers that will come to hear Moses and the prophets
expounded and harmonized with the doctrine of Jesus and
the apostles. The Campbellites, whose motto used to be,"prove
all things and hold fast that which is good," are of all sectarians
the most unwilling to hear. They will crowd to a political
gathering and to popular religion-gettings, and be quite at
home; but for the testimony of God in demonstration of the
Gospel of the Kingdom they have no ear! The result is that
leanness has consumed their souls, and reduced them to
93 Berean 5
waling spectres among the people. This Reformation has
become a proverb; and, on account of its high pretentions as
compared with its existing Ichabod condition, an affair of no
repute in popular esteem. (To be continued, God willing)
S t u d i e s a n d T h o u g h t s BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
THE THREE DESTINIES
ABSOLUTISM, DEMOCRACY, OMNIPOTENCE
"He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I
give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers "—Rv. 2:26-7
BY BROTHER JOHN THOMAS - HERALD, 1852
THERE are 3 potent antagonists that stand related to mundane
affairs, who propose each for themselves 3 distinct destinies for
the nations of the earth, in which they shall each be supremely
glorified. These 3 hostile powers are Absolutism, Democracy, and
Omnipotence. ABSOLUTISM
The destiny which Absolutism proposes to carve out for the
human race is entire and unreasoning submission, in things spiritual
and temporal, to the imperial authority of mortal rulers whose
sword is their sufficient title to a sovereign and absolute disposal
of the lives and fortunes of mankind forever. Under this condition
of affairs, that "order" would reign throughout the earth which
is the watchword of reactionism, and which now triumphs amid
popular groans and execrations in Rome, Naples and Vienna.
Representative government would be abolished. Priestism, which
among the nations is diabolism—God-dishonoring, soul-destroying,
men-corrupting and debasing superstition—would be established.
Civil and religious freedom, the voice of truth and righteousness,
the Bible and the Press, would all be suppressed. The human mind,
by being reduced to inaction, would be prostrated, enfeebled, idiotized;
and the race would become universally brutish, and fit only
for beasts of burden to their imperial masters.
This is what Absolutism will establish in the world if it can. It
already exists in Rome,Vienna and St.Petersburg,where its effects
are conspicuous in the miserable creatures whose souls are devoted
to its law. Would not the universal and eternal triumph of Absolutism
over the earth fully realize the idea of Hell? Yea, verily,but with
this exception: it would be the friends of freedom, righteousness
and truth who would be tormented and made to burn therein, 8c
not the wicked! Yes, it would be "Hell"; and whenever, in whole
or in part, such a consummation should obtain, there would be
manifest'the Dragon, the Old Serpent, surnamed the Devil & Satan.'
Unfortunately for the Germanic, Slavonic and Romanian nations
of continental Europe, their destiny is to be subjected to this power.
Happily, however, it will not triumph over them forever: yet
6 93 B«rcan
sufficiently long to fill the heart of humanity with dismay, but not
long enough toidiotize their minds. There is hope of deliverance,
but that deliverance cometh not from man.
DEMOCRACY
Democracy, which is not obedient to God, wishes well to itself.
It is the prophet of what it conceives to be the interests of humanity;
and is therefore the natural antagonist to Absolutism, which
seeks only the gratification of its own satanic selfishness.
Democracy predicts a destiny for all the nations of the earth
which, through their own efforts, they shall attain by the overthrow
and entire destruction of Absolutism in its present divided
form; and in which every nation shall have its own constitutional
government elected by universal suffrage.
It predicts that all governments will then be republican; and
that consequently all popes, emperors, kings, priests, and aristocracies
will be suppressed: that every man will be his own priest &
prophet, and worship God or not as he pleases, and according to
his own forms: that the largest liberty short of anarchy will prevail;
that the press will be untrammeled; the earth a perfect network
of railways, telegraph lines and steamboat routes; and its
lands equitably apportioned among its inhabitants, so that every
man may have a vine and fig-tree of his own; that education will
be universal; that agriculture and commerce, arts and manufactures,
literature, science and philosophy will be perfect and unboundedly
prosperous; and that the nations, having then accomplished
the work of their own redemption and regeneration by
the sword, by education and philosophy, will constitute one universal
brotherhood which shaJl perpetuate itself by its own wisdom
and virtue upon the earth for ever.
It will be remembered that Democracy confides in its own prowess
for the introduction of its millennium upon earth.It proposes
to falsify the predictions of its enemy by an appeal to arms, while
Absolutism threatens to suppress Democracy completely by the
same means. Both parties are in earnest even unto blood. Now let
the reader mark what we say—
The Bible reveals that the war commenced will end in the ruin
of BOTH, one after the other; in the introduction of a destiny
that will falsify the predictions of Absolutism AND Democracy,
and relieve the world of the presence of them both.
OMNIPOTENCE
Omnipotence hath decreed a destiny for the world in which the
happiness of all nations will be in harmony with the rights of Jesus
Christ, and the honor due to God. 'Ilie rights of the Lord Jesus
Christ are based upon the underived, inherent sovereignty of
the Creator of all things, Who has indefeasible right to dispose
of mankind and their affairs according to His Own will and pleasure.
In conformity with this principle, He has decreed that all
governments now existing, or that shall exist, shall be transferred
to Him—peaceably if they will, by force and arms if they refuse:
under any circumstances, they must be His.
93 B«roan 7
Omnipotence victorious, the Eternal and Incorruptible God
presents the absolute dominion over all peoples to His well beloved
Son,whom He authorizes toappointoverthenationswhomsoever
he pleases. Being possessed of all authority in the heaven
and the earth, Jesus, the divinely constituted King, places the lives
and fortunes of men at the disposal of his brethren the Saints, whom
he associates with himself in the government of the conquered
world. Every one a king and a priest to God, the Saints become
the lords spiritual and temporal, the royal princes of the nations.
Having once been mortal men, denizens of a state then passed
away in relation to themselves, they are now incorruptible and
deathless, having risen from the dead to eternal life. In the passed
state, their faith in God and their character for truth and righteousness
were severely tried. They were condemned by men as evil;
but justified of God, and promoted to the honor, power, glory,
and riches of His dominion.
By such is the world to be ruled in the future state: by a Hierarchy,
or Sacred Order, of immortal and righteous men. Under
these the nations will be wisely, justly, and strongly governed.
Standing armies will be disbanded. Peace that cannot be disturbed
by war's alarms will be established. Good will obtained among all
classes of society. The poor and needy will be cared for. Ignorance
and superstition (Paganism, Mohammedanism, Catholicism
and Protestantism) will be exterminated. The fertility of the earth
will be increased; the duration of human life extended; trade &
commerce regulated upon just and liberal principles;vice suppressed;
evil restrained; good triumphant; all nations of one enlightened
faith; and the will of God performed on earth as in heaven.
Such is the blessedness Omnipotence hath in store for future
generations of nations. It is manifest, however, that so long as
Democracy and Absolutism prevail, such a destiny must be in abeyance;
for the contemporary existence of either of them is incompatible
with the sovereignty of Jesus and his brethren as the
princes over all the earth.
Absolutism will subdue the Democracy of Europe, and prove
to this generation the falsity of its predictions.
It is cheering, however, to the believer to know that the triumph
of Absolutism is only temporary, and that although it crush Democratic
liberty, God has something better in store for mankind.
The honorof 'breaking to pieces the Oppressor'. He has conferred
upon Jesus, the Redeemer and Enlightener of the nations. He, the
King of the Jews, with Israel and the Saints, are the regenerating
army under his vicegerency with which he will combat the destroyers
of the people,break in pieces & consume all their kingdoms,
and plant the liberty of Truth and Righteousness in the earth.
THEN will the Gospel of the Kingdom have become a fact, and
all the nations will be actually blessed in Abraham and his Seed.
— Herald, 1852
8 93 Berean
Whom I Love In The Truth
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
"For the Truth's sake that dwelleth in us, and shall be
with us forever" (2 John 2).
John's second epistle brings out a few things about "love,"
which it is important to recognize. "Love," in the world, is one
thing; "love" according to the ideal of the sects, another; and
the "love" of apostolic discourse, yet another. The two former
we may dismiss. The world's "love" is an ephemeral affair,
having its foundation in the instincts, dying with use and age,
and passing away in death. Orthodox "love" is a sickly distortion,
lacking the elements that give strength and comeliness
to the "love" of the Scriptures. It works spiritual mischief now,
and is destined hereafter to vanish like smoke.
The "love" of John's epistles has foundations, without
which it cannot exist. This partly comes out in the very first
sentence of this second epistle — "The elder unto the elect lady
and her children, whom I love in the Truth."
Outside the Truth, a brother's love is not operative. He
loves not the world, nor the things in the world, remembering
that— "Ifany man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
His friendships are bounded by the Truth, as regards both
men and things. In Christ, he is a "new creature" (2 Cor. 17).
After the flesh he knows no man. The friendship of the world
is enmity with God (James 4:4). Therefore he cultivates no
friendship with those who know not God, and obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. His love is bounded by the Truth.
Does he, therefore, shut up his bowels of compassion
against those who are without God? By no means. He recognizes
the obligation put upon him by the same law, to salute
not his brethren only, but to do good unto all men, as he has
opportunity, even to his enemies. But there is a difference
between doing good to unbelievers and cultivating friendship
with them; and the saint is careful to observe this difference,
lest he come under the rebuke that greeted the ears of
Jehoshaphat, on his return from friendly co-operation with
Ahab —
"Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them who hate the
Lord ? Therefore is wrath upon theefrom before the Lord."
We can have our conversation towards the world in all
courtesy and benevolence, without going on to their ground,
93 Berean 9
and joining affinity in the schemes of pleasure, profit, or
friendship.
The "love* that belongs to the Household of Faith is —
"For the Truth's sake that dwelleth in us, and shall be with us
forever" (2 John 2).
This is John's definition of its source and scope. Everyone
that is truly of the Household responds instinctively to it. To
the carnal mind it appears very "narrow, * but this is an illusion
of ignorance. It is the true breadth, for it relates to that which
shall be forever, while the world which would have us unequally
yoked, passeth away. The Truth connects us with "the
shoreless ocean of eternity,* while the friendship of the world
is confined to "a narrow neck of land"—the brief existence of
this animal probation.
The at present "narrow* operation of apostolic "love* is
also founded in wisdom; for unrestricted friendship with the
world is full of danger: it draws away from the fear of God, the
hope of the calling, and the holiness of the Master's house,
"Whose house are we, if we hold fast the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end."
It is, therefore, a snare; pleasant and advantageous meantime,
but having the suction of the maelstrom with it, drawing
us to death; for when the Lord of Light stands on earth, to set
in order destiny, according to the Father's purpose, the world
will have from His presence "fled away."
John rejoiced concerning those to whom he wrote that he
had found them "walking in the Truth. "Saints walk not otherwise.
Their actions, plans of life, friendships, aims, enterprises,
hopes—everything connected with them, in some way
or other comes from, originates in, and is conformed to the
Truth. The Truth is their inspiration—the controlling energy.
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." (2 Cor. 5:17).
Not that all answer to this. There are professors who serve
not the Lord Jesus, but themselves; but such are not children
of God. None but the sons will be gathered in the day of the
144,000. They are few now, as they have always been, and the
world "knoweth* them not in many senses; but they know what
they are about.
They are not dreaming; they are not fanatics. They are the
children of wisdom; and wisdom is justified of them all,
though the world understands them not. They understand
10 93 Berean
the world too well to be entrapped into its fellowship. They are
known of God, and will be publicly revealed in due time, in
glory, honor and immortality. Meanwhile, they "walk in the
Truth." On this ground they are to be met and understood.
Approached on any other ground, they will seem not what
they are. They are not to be comprehended "after the flesh."
"This is hue, that we walk after His commandments."
No man loves after the Spirit's fashion who disobeys.
Apostolic "love* is that state of enlightenment and appreciation
in relation to the things of God that impels a man to be
a "doer of the Word. "John gives this an application that was
special to his day; and yet is at all times appropriate wherever
the same need and the same danger manifest themselves. He
says —
"This is the commandment that as ye have heard from the
beginning, ye should walk in it " (2 J o h n 6).
We wonder what he means, then presently the light
dawns—
"For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not
that Jesus is come in the flesh" (v. 7).
He means that they should hold fast to the doctrine of
Christ as originally delivered; because many were drawing the
disciples away therefrom. The obedience of the commandment
is the evidence of New Testament "love," and it is also
necessary for our acceptable standing before the presence of
the Lord's glory at his coming. This is John's view, as evident
from the words immediately following —
"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have
wrought; but that we receive a full reward" (v. 8).
There would have been no need for these words if the
things that had been "wrought" were not imperilled by the
doctrine of the deceivers of which he is speaking. He indicates,
in strong language, the consequences to the individual
thus ensnared—
"Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ hath not God" (v. 9).
This may seem a strange saying in view of the fact that the
"deceivers" referred to believed in one God, the Creator of
heaven and earth; and also in Christ, after their own fashion.
But the apparent strangeness disappears when we look closely
at the matter John is writing about. To "have " God in the sense
of John's words, is to stand in His favor, now and hereafter.
93B«r«an 11
All things are "in"His goodness. As David says: "Thy goodness
is over all thy works'9: but the goodness of God in the
common benefits that come upon all alike, is a different thing
from that personal "favor" which guides, attends, and prospers
(even if by chastisement), with a view to a perpetual
sonship in the spirit-nature. The enjoyment of this favor is a
thing of conditions. One of those conditions is a recognition
of the channel in which He offers it.
Out of Christ, sinners cannot come near. They have the
goodness of God as creatures, like the sparrows, not one of
which can fall to the earth without the Father's knowledge;
but they are not in the privilege of children. They have not the
Father's favor and purpose concerning the ages to come. This
is only to be enjoyed in Christ; but even here, it must be the
Christ of God's appointing. Any other than this is presumption
and a mockery of His wisdom: and they who teach otherwise
than the truth concerning Christ, preach another Christ,
though it be intended to refer to the Christ of Nazareth.
This is evident from the case of those to whom John is
referring. They believed that the person known as Jesus of
Nazareth was the Christ; but in their reasonings upon him,
they reasoned away the truth about him, and consequently
believed and preached another Jesus than the Son of the
Father.
There were different sorts of the class, but all their heresies
had a common origin in an attempt to bring the mystery
of godliness within the rules of human reason, instead of
accepting the testimony with humble and childlike simplicity.
One set argued that such a character as Jesus was a moral
impossibility in flesh and blood, and that, therefore, his whole
life was a mere accommodation on the part of a spiritual being
to the senses of mortals. Another believing him to be flesh and
blood philosophized in a contrary direction, concluding that
as such, he must, from the nature of things, have been a "mere
man," and that the idea of his being God in flesh-manifestation,
was preposterous. The Papacy blended the two and
taught that though flesh, his flesh was not the corrupt and
mortal flesh of men, but a superior, clean, "immaculate" sort.
In our own day, as recent painful experience has made us
aware, a class of believers are treading the same dangerous
ground, in teaching that the flesh of Jesus was destitute of that
12 93 B«r«an
which, in the flesh of his brethren, constitutes the cause or
source of mortality. In relation to all of them, John's declaration
reveals the mind of the Spirit:
"Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son" (v.9).
The "doctrine of Christ" is that he is God made and
manifested in the mortal flesh of Abraham's race for the
deliverance thereof — on His own principles — from "that
having the power of death." Those who holdfast to this have both
the Father and the Son; for in Jesus they have the Son, and the
Father manifest in Him. As to those who "bring not this
doctrine," John's commandment is (v. 10):
"Receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed!"
This command we can no more evade than any other
commandment delivered unto us. The obedience of it may
cost us something. It is crucifying to the flesh to refuse friends
— some of them excellent people as human nature goes —
who in one way or other have been seduced from their
allegiance to the doctrine of Christ; but there is no alternative.
Friends are but for a moment; the Truth is forever; and if we
sacrifice our duty to the latter from regard to the former, the
latter will sacrifice us in the day of its glory, and hand us over
to the destiny of the flesh, which, as the grass, will pass away.
"He that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
This applies to all without distinction, and erects a barrier
to fellowship with even some who hold the Truth; for though
they may hold the doctrine of Christ themselves, yet, if they
keep up a "God-speed" connection with those who do not, by
John's rule, they make themselves partakers with them, and,
therefore, cut themselves off from those who stand for the
doctrine of Christ.
The epistle, as a whole, is singularly applicable to the
situation in which we find ourselves this morning. We have
been obliged to stand aside for the doctrine of Christ from
some we love. The Epistle of John justifies us in our course,
both as regards those who have departed from the doctrine of
Christ, and those, who, while holding on to it themselves, see
not their way to break connection with those who have
departed.
It is a painful situation, but we must not falter, nor need we
93 Beroan 13
fear or be discouraged. God is with us in the course of obedience,
and we shall see His blessing in the increase in our midst
of zeal and holiness, and love and preparedness for the great
day of the Lord, which is at hand. —Further Seasons of Comfort
I Will Return To My First Husband
BY BROTHER Q. V. GROWCOTT
"I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak
comfortably unto her. . . and I will give her the Valley
of Trouble for a Door of Hope"— Hos. 2:14-15.
The book of the prophet Hosea is one of the most beautiful
and powerful of the prophetic books. Hosea is the prophet
of the love of God, the gentlest and tenderest of the prophets—
the John of the Old Testament He speaks of the truest,
and most patient, and deepest of loves in the face of the
greatest of unfaithfulnesses.
He prophesied during the closing years of Israel's kingdom,
just as Jeremiah and Ezekiel did later for the kingdom of
Judah.
Like them—only in an even deeper and more intimate way
—he enacted in his own life the sorrow and tragedy of his
people.
To Jeremiah, God said, in Judah's last days—
"Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shall thou have sons
or daughters in this place . . .
"For I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the
Lord, even loving kindness and mercies" (Jer. 16:1-5).
Ezekiel's prophetic burden was more terrible than this.
God said to him—
"Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine
eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep,
neither shalt thy tears run down . . . forbear to cry; make no
mourning for the dead."
And Ezekiel says—
"At even my wife died, and I did in the morning as I was
commanded" (Eze. 24:16-18).
But Hosea's task was yet more difficult, more personal, and
more prolonged. He was commanded—as a testimony of
God's great, unmerited goodness and love to Israel—to love,
and marry, and nourish and protect, a faithless and licentious
woman, who should abandon him. but who should eventually,
14 93 Berean
after long patience and kindness, be reconciled to him in
faithfulness and truth.
Hosea prophesied during the reigns of Jeroboam II of
Israel, and Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah.
Jeroboam II was the second last of Jehu's line, to whom
God had promised four generations. Jeroboam's son Zechariah,
who followed him, was murdered after a six-months'
reign.
Hosea's period of ministry was about forty years — the last
forty years of the northern ten-tribed Kingdom of Israel, just
as Jeremiah prophesied during the last sad forty years of the
Kingdom of Judah.
Hosea began his prophecy in a time of prosperity for Israel.
The land had been in great distress before Jeroboam began
his reign, but God in His pity for the sad condition of Israel,
even though they were wicked, greatly strengthened and
helped Jeroboam and enabled him to recover Israel's lost
territory and defeat her enemies and even extend his rule over
Syria to the north.
It was one more opportunity for Israel to recognize and
appreciate God's goodness and love, and the wisdom of
drawing nigh unto Him in faithfulness.
But Israel did not respond. Because of their apparent
strength and stability, they could not believe the end was so
near. In spite of God's help, they and their king intensified
their wickedness and idolatry. God often blesses, as a last invitation
to repentance and reform, before pouring out His judgments on
sin.
***
Such was the background of Hosea's prophecy, as the
powerful but evil reign of Jeroboam II drew to its close. Israel
did not realize it, but this reign was to mark the end of any real
security or stability for the nation. In the remaining twenty-five
years of the Kingdom, six kings were to rise and fall, and the
dark shadow of Assyria, to whom they had first turned as an
ally, was to grow swiftly and terribly until it completely destroyed
and blotted out their nation, and carried them away.
Israel had looked to Assyria as a friend and helper, but
worldly alliances are always disastrous in the end.
93 Berean 15
Hosea begins his prophecy—
"Yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood ofjezreel upon
the house of Jehu, and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the
house of Israel" (\ A).
Hosea's message sheds much light on the relationship between
God's love for His people and their necessary chastening
and disciplining.
While it manifests the great beauty and the transforming,
appealing power of His infinite patience and affection, it
clearly speaks in the strongest terms of the sorrows and
bitternesses and hardships that must inevitably arise from
disobedience and wickedness.
Its basic message is the great tragedy of Israel's blindness
and unnecessary, self-caused miseries in the face of God's
choice of them as the special recipients of His love — a choice
not as a matter of respect of persons, but as a witness and
example to all the world of the beauties of His character and
the glories of His purpose.
Even in judgment, its tone is sorrow rather than anger, and the
severest condemnations always look forward to eventual reconciliation,
***
The book of Hosea contains many deep lessons on the
subject of marriage and divorce—deep spiritual principles of
patience and kindness and hope, and faithfulness, and a love
that bears and endures all things, and never fails.
The beautiful story of Hosea impresses us more than
anything else could with the great depth of meaning in the
words of Jesus to the Pharisees—
"Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses suffered you
to put away your wives."
"Because of the hardness of your hearts"—because of your
pettiness, your carnalness, your fleshliness, your smallness of
mind and heart, your obsession with your own comfort and
satisfaction and pleasure, your inability to comprehend the
true beauty and meaning of unselfish love and sacrifice—the
true meaning and purpose of life—
"He that hateth—disregarded—his life for my sake shall keep
it unto life eternal"
Consider the lives of Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others
—living tragedies enacted for the manifestation of God's
goodness and the bringing of many sons to glory.
16 93 perean
These things teach us that our lives mean nothing except
as they fit into the purpose of God, and contribute to that
purpose. The lives of these faithful men of God were not
tragedies when seen in light of their glorious eternal consummation,
and the comfort and instruction and benefit they
have brought to others.
Much more than we realize, our reasoning on many things is based
on the hardness of our hearts. Let us let our minds dwell on this
story of Hosea, which so wonderfully illustrates the divine
wisdom of love and self-sacrifice and infinite forbearance,
which to the mind of the flesh is foolishness.
In the great sweep of the divine purpose with mankind, our
own petty little passing circumstances do not have a fraction
of the importance that we in our self-centeredness attach to
them.
All that matters in the few brief troubled days of our
pilgrimage is the glory of God and the advancement of His
gracious plan of eternal salvation for those that love Him.
Let us constantly, joyfully thank God we are permitted to
play a part in that glorious plan. Nothing else has any importance.
***
"The beginning of the Word of the Lord by Hosea. And the
Lord said to Hosea—
"Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of
whoredoms, for the land hath committed great whoredom,
departing from the Lord" (Hos. 1:2).
And she bore him a son, and the Lord said (v. 4)—
"Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while and I will avenge
the blood ofjezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to
cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
"And I will break the bow in the valley ofjezreel"
Jezreel is one of the fortresses commanding the valley of
Megiddo, or Esdraelon. It is on the slopes of Mt. Gilboa, where
Saul died, and it controls the gateway between the mountains
down to the Jordan valley, the main entrance to Israel from
the east. This is Israel's historic battleground, right back to the
days of Gideon.
The "blood of Jezreel" that was soon to be avenged began
with the treacherous murder of the faithful Naboth byjezebel.
Jehu was raised up to destroy the house of Ahab for this
wickedness, which he did at Jezreel, but because of his own
93 Berean 17
subsequent wickedness and following in the ways of Ahab, all
the bloodshed associated with Jezreel is held against him and
his house, including his killing of Ahab's family.
Jehu had boasted, "Come and see my zeal for the Lord. " He
manifested a great zeal for vengeance and destruction, and
condemnation of others, but such a zeal—if it is not accompanied
by righteousness and gentleness and mercy and tenderness
toward the weaknesses of others—is merely an ugly,
hypocritical, Pharisaical manifestation of the evil of the flesh.
Jezreel has a double meaning, which comprehends both
Israel's judgment and her redemption. Basically it means,
"God will sow." It is the name of God combined with the root
word related to seed, planting, and conception—both animal and
vegetable. It also comprehends the meaning of the "seed or
offspring of God*9—the Fatherhood of God—the family relationship—"
We also are His Offspring," as Paul told the Athenians—
both naturally, and also potentially in a spiritual sense,
as John expresses it—
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God."
Jezreel also means "God will scatter"—as seed is scattered,
but with the idea of an eventual reaping and gathering—
"He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a
shepherd doth his flock.n (Jer. 31:10).
Hosea's own name means "Savior" or "Salvation"—another
form of Joshua or Jesus. He typifies God in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself His life storyis an exemplification
of Paul's words concerning Christ (Eph. 5:25-27)—
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
ecclesia, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.
"That he might present it to himself a glorious ecclesia, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish."
Hosea portrays the glorious truth expressed by Paul to the
Romans (5:8)—
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
***
"And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God
said unto him,
"Call her name Lo-Ruhamah—('Not having obtained
mercy') —for I will no more have mercy upon the house of
Israel.
18 93Berean
"And she bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Lo-
Ammi—('Not My people') —for ye are not My people, and
I will not be your God" (vs. 6-9).
And so the basis of the allegory is laid in Hosea's wife and
three children. The three names represent three successively
increasing stages of divine abandonment—Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah,
Lo-Ammi—Scattered, Unloved, Rejected.
In spite of these pronouncements from God, so strikingly
manifested to Israel in Hosea's own life, the chapter immediately
continues (vs. 10)—
uYet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand
of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered;
"And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said
unto them, Ye are NOT My people, there shall it be said unto
them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
"Then shall the children ofjudah and the children oflsra£l
be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and
they shall come up out of the land, for great shall be the day
ofjezreel."
"Great shall be the day of Jezreel"— Great shall be the day of
the Seed of God—
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the
house oflsra£l and house ofjudah with the seed of man, and
with the seed of beast. . .
"As I have watched over them to destroy, so will I watch over
them to plant, saith the Lord" (Jer. 31:27).
(To be continued, Cod willing)
FIRST PRINCIPLES
IMMORTALITY A CONDITIONAL GIFT
To Be Bestowed on the Righteous at the Resurrection
When Christ Returns
LESSON 6— "Christendom Astray," Chapter 4
"The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good to the resurrection
of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation"
Jn. 5:28-29
BECAUSE man desires immortality is no proof that he has it (as
Plato and his modern followers illogically argue). Rather it proves
the very opposite: that he doesn't have it. Because a man is very
hungry and craves desperately for food certainly does not prove he
has food. Anyone can perceive that fact in this case. It is the same with
immortality. And without food, man dies in short order. So with
93 Beraan 19
immortality: without it man soon dies and returns to the dust of the
ground.
The Scriptures throughout constantly refer to man as mortal,
and of brief, perishing existence: never as immortal and imperishable,
or any words with that idea. "Mortality" comes from the Latin
words mors (death), and signifies "deathfulness." Anything that is
"mortal" therefore, is subject to death, limited in power to continue
in life, because of the inherent tendency to decay and dissolution.
Truly, the life-power that sustains man, the Spirit of God, is indestructible—
but this is no proof that man himself is immortal, or
has any "immortal spark" in him. If it were, it would prove the
immortality of beasts, for they too are "living creatures," just like
man, sustained by this same universal life-power. The Spirit lifepower
itself belongs to, and is controlled by, God, Who gives it, and
takes it away.
Men and animals both being alike "living creatures," God has
stated — "That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts. Even one
thing befalleth them. As the one dieth, so dieth the other: yea, THEY HAVE
ALL ONE BREATH (ruach, spirit); so that a man hath no pre-eminence
(in this respect) above a beast" (Eccl. 3:19).
Moses also stated the same fundamental truth, speaking of the
Flood — "Allflesh died that moved upon the earth: both of fowl, and of cattle,
and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and
every man: ALL in whose nostrils was the breath of life, died" (Gen. 7 :21-
22).
Here again, men and animals are all linked together in a
common life-principle. They all breathe the same "breath of lives"
(literally, here, "breath of the spirit of lives": neshamah ruach
chaiyim). The righteous man Job said—
"The spirit (ruach*, breath) of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3).
"Cease ye from man, whose breath (neshamah*) is in his nostrils"
(Isa.2:22).
"If God set His heart upon man, if He gather to Himself His spirit
(ruach) and His breath (neshamah), ALL flesh shall perish together,
and man shall turn again unto dust" (Job 34:14).
Note that it is God's spirit. Man, like the animals, is the dependent,
receiving creature; the possessor for a short time of this animating
life-power from God. As is said here of man, exactly so the
Psalmist says of animals (104:29-30)—
*"Ruach" and "neshamah" both mean, and are used for, "spirit" or "breath" sometimes
together, as: "neshamah ruach" (breath of the spirit of - Gn. 7:22). Hebrew scholars tell
us "These words differ but slightly in meaning, both signifying primarily 'wind* then
'breath*. As applied to persons, there is no clear distinction between the words." A
comparison of their use confirms this (see Eng. Heb. Cone.). Ruach is by far the most
prevalent (400 times); neshamah only 25.
20 93 Berean
"Thou takest away their breath (ruach), they die, and return to their
dust. Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit (ruach: same word), they are
created."
It is the animals' spirit or breath while they possess it, but it
returns to God when they die. Let us turn back to the true "origin of
species," as recorded in Genesis BY GOD through Moses. We need
not be frightened away from this divine account by the impossible
"evolution" speculation. It is an unprovable "scientific" guess: ever
changing and unstable. The more men delve into and discover the
infinitely intricate detail and delicate balance of all Creation—
evidence screaming out of wisdom and power and design and
purpose—mathematically impossible a million times over to be the
random purposeless product of blind chance—the more utterly
absurd and inadequate the strange evolution theory appears, invented
and grasped at by wicked men to escape the authority of God
and obedience to His holy, flesh-crucifying laws. How can intelligent,
grown men believe such impossibilities? But man has always had his
fantasies, and has ever been willing to believe anything but the Truth.
An intelligent person can see a million faces of God everywhere he
looks in this glorious Creation: from the infinitely large to the infinitely
small. What are these poor creatures thinking of to be able to
believe all this beauty and wisdom and power came witlessly and
purposelessly and spontaneously from nothing? How can they call
such absurdity "science"?
If we accept Christ, and the direct words of God as spoken
through him (Jn. 14:24), then we must accept Moses' writings, for
Christ endorsed Moses, and accepted his statements as true and
divinely inspired. Jesus said (Jn. 5:46-47) —
"Moses wrote of me: if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe
my words?"
That is conclusive. And the New Testament Scriptures tie Adam
and Christ inseparably together as the 2 poles in the divine plan.
They stand or fall together as historic realities. So we see Adam and
Eve as keepers of the beautiful Garden of Eden, in a "very good" state
(Gn. 1:31), placed under law which required their submission,
obedience and affection to divine requirements. And this condition
prevailed with the purpose of showing that this way alone would
produce eternal happiness for mankind, and the pleasure and glory
of God.
Adam was prohibited from eating of the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil—
"But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat
of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die"
(Gen. 2:17).
Here was the simplest and most convenient mode of teaching
93 Berean 21
and training him in regard to his position before God. How long
Adam continued obedient we are not told, but we are informed that
in process of time he disobeyed (Gen. 3:6) —
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took
of the fruit thereof and did eat; and gave oho to her husband, and he
did eat.*
The result of this disobedience was exactly as God declared—
"Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten
of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shall not eat of
it; cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shall thou eat of it all
the days of thy life.
"In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground:for out of it wast thou taken. For dust THOU ART, and unto
dust shalt THOU return19 (Gen. 3:17-19).
Adam, who had had opportunity of attaining immortality, was
now doomed to return to his original nothingness: a condition which
through physical inheritance has been passed on to all his descendants.
We all possess the same corrupt, dying natures, on the
principle that: "The clean cannot come of the unclean" (Job 14:4).
Thus we are all mortal, dying creatures. After the disobedience
of Adam and Eve, and their sentencing by God, they were driven
outside the Garden of Eden, and excluded from access to the Tree
of Life, for this reason—
"Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat,
and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent himforthfrom the Garden
of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken " (Gen. 3:22-23).
Thus Adam's descendants, innumerable, sin-stricken and
wretched, are mercifully swept away, generation after generation,
like grass before the mower.
But, what reason for such a restraint, if they were already
immortal?—if they were "immortal souls," already destined to "live
for ever," either in heaven or hell? By this theory, it was not a matter
of getting to live for ever: it wasjust a matter of where and under what
conditions they would be living for ever. How could eating of the
Tree of Life have anything to do with that?
From the Bible alone we learn the only logical account of man's
present mortal condition. So also from this source alone we learn
about his future destiny. Job asked:
"If a man die, shall he LIVE AGAIN?" (Job 14:14).
The Bible alone answers this question. A seed placed in the
ground "dies," to spring to life again: that power being inherent in
the seed. Or a tree cut down may sprout again, as Job says (vs. 7-9). But
not so with man, for he makes the contrast (v.10): "But man dieth, and
wasteth away. Yea, man giveth up the spirit (gava: expires), and where is
he?"
22 93 Berean
He is nowhere. He has returned to the dust of the ground, to
remingle with all other dust. If he is to live again, it will be by a new
effort on the part of God. That he may live again under certain
conditions is the glad Bible message (1 Cor. 15:21)— "Since by man
came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."
Christ declared himself the Resurrection and the Life, adding
(Jn. 11:25) — "He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live. "Paul said that Christ, at his return to earth, would — "Change our
vile (low, base: tapeinos) BODIES, and fashion them like unto his own
glorious BODY" (Phil.3:21). And to Timothy he wrote (2 Tim. 1:10),
"Jesus Christ. .. hath abolished death (as the ultimate destiny of those
who obey God), and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
Gospel. "
The following verses teach the same thing (but why such statements,
if man now has immortality?)—
"I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly "
(Jn.l0:10).
"My sheep hear my voice. . . I give them eternal life" (Jn. 10:28).
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ" (Rom.6:23).
"God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16).
The alternative to receiving the gift of eternal life is perishing. As
to the meaning of "perishing," Paul uses exactly the same word,
saying that if Christ be not risen, those who have fallen asleep (died)
in Christ have "perished" (1 Cor. 15:18) — certainly not gone to
eternal torments, but as the word simply signifies: "perished"—gone
to nothing, ceased to exist. Look up "perish" (appolumi) in Young's
Concordance. The idea of it meaning eternal torments would make
obvious and utter absurdity in practically every occurrence.
But this is what we must make ourselves believe if we accept the
immortal soul theory: death doesn't mean death, but an unpleasant
form of life; perish doesn't mean perish; destroy doesn't mean
destroy.
It is clear from these passages that eternal life is not a present
possession of every human being, but a restricted, future gift of God
to a selected few. All these passages, and many more, show us that
immortality, or everlasting life, is a thing to be diligently sought for,
a rewatd, something to be given to those who by —
"Patient welldoing, SEEK for. . . immortality" (Rom. 2:7).
We learn what immortality is by our daily association with
mortality, which is deathfulness in relation to existence. A "mortal"
is a creature capable of death, and whose natural end is death; dying;
destined to death. We see it daily all around us. The Scriptures (and
we too ourselves) speak of an animal "dying" just as they speak of a
mortal man dying. We have no difficulty accepting the plain dear
93 B«r*an 23
meaning as to the animal. But under the "immortal-soul, eternal
torture" theory, when we come to the mortal man, we must give
"dying" an entirely different meaning.
Immortality is just the reverse of mortality: deathlessness, endless
existence. To be immortal, we require to be incorruptible in
substance, just as now we are corruptible. Paul, speaking of the body
of the righteous, present and future, in death and resurrection,
says-—
"It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption... it is sown a
natural BODY, it is raised a spiritual BODY" (1 Cor. 15:42-44).
And further in verses 51-53—
*W* shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed . . . This
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality."
This is the only way the Scriptures ever say we can attain to
eternal life: by bodily change at the resurrection at the last day. Till
then the dead "sleep. "Note the Scripture's constant emphasis on the
BODY. It knows nothing of existence without a body. And this
"spiritual BODY" the righteous will be changed to is a real substantial
body which can be handled and felt. Our bodies, we are told, will be
made like unto Christ's "glorious BODY" We learn what this is like
by events which happened right after his resurrection. He said to his
disciples —
"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I MYSELF: handle me, and
see: for a spirit (such as they imagined, an apparition) hath not flesh
and bones, as ye see me have" (Lk. 24:39).
The risen, immortal Christ had "flesh and bones." "It is I myself "
The disciples handled Jesus, and he ate before them (v. 43). To
Thomas he said later (Jn. 20:27) — "Reach hither thy finger, and behold
my hands: and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not
faithless, but believing."
This same body was to continue forever — "This SAME Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven " (Acts 1:11).
What "same Jesus"? The very one with "flesh and bones"—I
myself—whom they had handled a few days before. Such is the body
like unto which our bodies will be fashioned at Christ's return, if we
are accepted of him.
Animal, or natural, bodies are sustained by the blood coursing
through their veins:
"The life of all flesh is in the BLOOD thereof (Lev. 17:14).
NOT, we note, in some imaginary, abstract, immortal spark that
is just using the body. Present animal life is not inherent and selfsustaining.
It depends on all the continuing, uninterrupted, orderly
functions of this animal system—breathing, digestion, blood circu-
24 93 Berean
lation, etc. and is at the total mercy of the environment: heat, cold,
pressure, lack of air poison, disease, violence, accident, all these can
destroy it. And it is inherently, of itself, steadily tending to death. The
cleverest doctor cannot cure this condition: he may merely postpone
briefly death's victory. (To be continued, God willing)
He That Shall Come, Will Come
In the purpose of God, another year has come and gone. As
we commence a new year, we still await the day when the
Father will send His son back to this earth. And his coming will
be soon. Truly we are living in the latter days. The hour is
about to strike that will reveal Christ. When it does, the earth
will feel the judgments of God.
With the many groans and cries of mankind which arise
daily, there is little doubt that the return of Christ is greatly
needed. How much we all need the Master! Our incessant cry
should be, "How long, O Lord,"
While mankind are wondering what the world's troubles
are leading to, we, of all people, should be grateful to God that
we know that His purpose is to fill the earth with His glory, and
bless all families in Abraham and his seed. Therefore, we
should show our love by being in His way faithfully and by
keeping His commandments. As Jesus testified —
"He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he that is
that loveth me" (John 14:21).
It is very explicit that judgment begins with the Household
of Faith because of our responsibility in His sight. We have
given ourselves to Him in our calling to the Truth. Therefore
we will at the last day come under His scrutiny.
As we contemplate this, our thoughts should be upon that
which we must always do — "examine ourselves". Have we over
the past year grown up unto him who is our redeemer? Have
we developed spiritually? Have we overcome? Are we ready?
In the examination of these questions, the Scriptures
should come to mind with all the force they were intended to
convey—
"Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ" (Eph. 4:15).
"That ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all
wisdom, and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk
worthy of the Lord" (Col. 1:9, 10).
93 Berean 25
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7).
"Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour
when ye think not" (Luke 12:40).
These words are truth and righteousness, and need to be
the continuing watch-words in our lives in these perilous days.
Only when we are fully guided by the Word of God will He, in
love, grant us the desired and necessary eternal redemption.
We can say we are ready for Christ's coming; but are we
prepared to give an account before him? How very true it is
that we all fall short of our calling. But God is merciful and
compassionate toward those who are striving to overcome. He
will forgive and ulimately bless if our hearts and minds are
right in His sight.
In this another new year, in the calculation of this order of
things, let us make every effort not only to be looking for the
Master but ready to give a righteous account unto Him.
"Foryet a little while and he that shall come, will come and will
not tarry" (Heb. 10:37). -D.C.
"LETNOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED"
IT was a sober meeting in that upper room, when all outside was
feasting and gladness. "All ye shall be offended because of me this
night" (Matt. 26:31). The pain and perplexity of the disciples, caused
by this remark, can be imagined, especially when he added: "Verily I
say unto you, one of you shall betray me."
The simple loyalty of the disciples could but echo Peter's exclamation.
"Though all men forsake thee, yet will not I!"
Yet they could not penetrate the portentous sayings of their Master,
whose wisdom they had learnt to have in awe, though his teachings
they did not at all times comprehend. They sat still in the cloud, and
waited while light began to break. Having unburdened his own soul,
Jesus proceeded to pour the oil of consolation into their smarting
wounds—"Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God; believe
also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:1-2).
Herein have we the connection between the cross and the crown.
The sorrow of the hour was but part of the work of preparation for the
Great House of the Father, whose presence ("the tabernacle of God
with men") shall lead to a wiping away of tears, and a blotting out of
every curse and all death.
The first "going" of the Lord in the work of preparation was "to prison
and to death." This was the cup that could not pass. If the Lord
had not died, men would not have been saved, nor mansions developed.
Death had passed upon all through sin, under the law which constituted
death the wages of sin; and it had pleased the Father to require
this law to be fully upheld as the basis of the scheme by which salvation
had come by Christ. Without the blood of a sinless representative, the
covenants of promise must remain a dead letter. Without the slaying of
the lamb, there could be no "passing over" by the angel of death.—R. R.
26 93 Berean
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
TURKEY: POLITICAL TURMOIL AND ETHNIC CONFLICT
Almost seven decades after it became a nation (A.D. 1923) from
the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey is facing an identity crisis.
What had simmered since the earliest days of the republic has now
exploded. The turmoil comes at a critical time in Turkey's neighborhood,
as ethnic conflict and the collapse of Communism have
plunged the Balkans and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia
into a serious crisis.
The political foundation of the nation of Turkey is called Ataturkism,
named after its founder Kemal Ataturk, a stern military
officer. Ataturkism is a homemade blend of Western-style democracy,
socialism and authoritarianism.
Ataturkism has endured repeated economic and political shocks,
but now it is being rocked by political turmoil in the capital, Ankara.
Also, a relentless conflict is taking place between Turks and Kurds in
the southeastern part of the country. Civil war is now a real possibility.
The consequences of such a war would be felt far beyond Turkey.
Since the end of World War II, the country had been an anchor of
pro-Western calm. Situated at the intersection of Europe, the Middle
East and the Caucasus, it has now become an area wracked by war and
ruled by totalitarian anti-Western regimes. Turkey received Marshall
Plan* aid after the war, joined NATO in the 1950s and provided air
bases and other support during the Persian Gulf war. The end of the
cold war may have diminished Turkey's strategic value as a bulwark
against the Soviet Union, but because it abuts Iraq, Iran and Syria
and sits atop the region's major water supplies, its military and
political importance in the post-cold war Middle East has only
increased.
Geographically and religiously, Turkey is much closer to Central
Asia than to Europe. Its ties to Turkish populations and new governments
there could help determine whether Western secular democracy
or fundamentalist Islam becomes the dominant force in these
populous, unstable regions of the former Soviet Union.
Chaos in Turkey could connect a chain of separate ethnic conflicts
from the Balkans to the Caucasus into one enormous eruption.
At a time when Muslims and Christians are fighting the former Yu-
(The Marshall Plan or the European Recovery Program was formed to economically
reconstruct Europe after World War II. It was promoted by the United States and Is
credited
with rebuilding western Europe's war-shattered economy and also bringing Increased
unity among Its nations. There were also antl-Communlst motives Involved. Between
1947 and 1951, the U.S. provided some $13,000,000,000 for the program.)
93 Berean 27
goslavia and anti-Arab feelings are growing in France and Germany,
civil war in a Turkish state, that has long walked a fine line between
Islam and Western democracy, could open the door to a wider
ideological conflict between Muslim and Christian nations.
Turkey has survived unrest before, beginning with a Kurdish
revolt in 1925 and continuing to the present. Between 1960 and
1980, the military staged a coup every decade, ostensibly to safeguard
the country from corruption and violence. But in 1990, the anniversary
of the last coup came and went, to public relief, without military
intervention.
Turkey is also facing economic difficulties. Inflation is running at
70 percent. Economic growth has nearly halted, largely because of
the country's ingrained, corrupt system of state-run industries,
which the government has failed to privatize. — USN11/9
Ethnic and religious conflicts, accompanied with violence, are
growing around the world. It may be due to a number of reasons, but
the spread of democracy is providing a platform upon which some
of the conflicts are initially being expressed. South Africa, Yugoslavia,
Northern Ireland and the United States (Los Angeles riots, etc.),
are some current cases in point — all with differing degrees of seriousness.
The condition in Turkey could soon rank second to Yugoslavia.
Turkey, historically known as Asia Minor or Anatolia and prophetically
part of "Togarmah" (Ezekiel 38), is very outstanding in
history. It was, of course, a major focus of Apostolic teaching in the
first century. The Apostle Paul, and others, spent much time there.
Patmos, the island where John received the Apocalypse, is off its
coast. Galatia, Ephesus, Colossae, Laodicea, Smyrna, Sardis, Thyatira,
Pergamos, Lystra, Derbe, among others, were all in this region.
Anciently, Turkey was a stronghold of the Hittites, one of Israel's
original enemies. That empire was later eclipsed (circa 1200 B.C.),
by the Phrygians. Around the 7th century B.C. the Lydians arose, but
were replaced by the Persians. In 334 B.C. the Persians were driven
from the peninsula by Alexander the Great, and Asia Minor passed
into the Macedonian empire. Celts or Gauls were allowed to settle
there in the 3rd century B.C. By the time of Christ, all of Asia Minor
acknowledged Roman rule. The Byzantine era and rule lasted until
1071 A.D. when Moslem Seljuk Turks defeated Byzantine forces. A
new era of Asiatic rule had begun.
In the 13th century, following the Crusades, Mongols took control
of Asia Minor. That era came to an end by the power of the
Ottoman Turks. Constantinople fell to this power in 1453. The
Ottoman Turks ruled a vast empire for the next 400 years. This
brought Turkey's history up to World War I, when allied with Ger-
28 93'Berean
many, it lost in the war. This was one of the final stages in the drying
up of the Ottoman Empire, the Apocalyptic Euphrates River (Rev.
16). This had begun in a major way about A.D. 1820, by military
failures and terrible scourges and diseases.
In 1923 a republic was formed, with Kemal Ataturk (note opening
article) as its first President Ataturk is known as the founder of
modern Turkey.
The government has remained, in some sense, republican since
then. It has been a NATO country since 1952, and indeed an
important military post for Western powers.
The intensifying trouble in the country must be creating a growing
concern for these same Western powers. Turkey has been considered
a vital ally for strategic geographical purposes for five decades.
And its military strength, although less than formidable, has provided
some off-setting balance toward adversaries in the region.
But a Western military ally is not Turkey's final destiny. It will be
closer to the opposite. As Western powers (Britain, and her Tarshsish
allies ) are to maintain their prophetic position as pro-Israeli, Turkey
is destined to go to the other camp, at least by the time of Armageddon,
if notsooner, although all of the territory of present day Turkey
may not encompass the ancient region of "Togarmah."
It is specified in Ezekiel 38 that "the house of Togarmah of the
north quarters" will come down with their bands. The passage (v. 6 )
implies willingness. However, Russia's future connection with this
area, as "the Little Horn of the Goaf of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 8:8-
25), and their military use of the Bosphorus Straits will come by force
if not placed in their hand.
With the new picture of political transformation around the
world, and especially across Europe and Asia we cannot, at this time,
distinguish opposing camps by their political platform. As things are
currently progressing, democracy may become a common denominator
to both friends and enemies alike. A new monitor is needed.
Thus, if the crisis in Turkey culminates in an upheaval, and some
form of democracy continues there, that of itself may no longer
provide confidence to the West.
Future events will illustrate that the Divine purpose requires Turkey
to be allied with Russia against Israel. Turkey's desolating influence
over the holy land for over 900 years, following the Arab
scourge awaits the divine wrath. "That which is determined shall be
poured out upon the desolator" (Dan. 9:27).
We urge all to read Dr. Thomas' wonderful exposition in Elpis
Israel under "TheEastern Question in theTimeoftheEnd"(p. 413-421).
***
93 Berean 29
UNITED STATES: A NEW PRESIDENT COMES TO POWER
The 1992 U.S. Presidential election further strengthened the
scriptural position of non-participation in politics by followers of
Christ. The lesson is clear by the fact that this election campaign was
one of the most publicized and exposed. The nominees were
constantly before the public. But as far as who really is best qualified
(from natural and intellectual observation) to be President, the
"truth searching" unbiased mind would have to confess ignorance.
Who could know but God?; 'He alone sets up and removes according
to His will, sometimes the basest of men' (Dan. 4:25).
As important, is the fact that if "the best" were known, the Deity
may nof want "the best" in office. His overall scheme may require the
election of the Svorst'. The result of this election may be a point in
view. Time will tell.
President-elect Clinton now takes the helm. Very important
decisions facing the U.S.'s world role are pending; and Clinton is said
to be a novice in foreign affairs. Analysts admit that "if foreign policy
had been the main issue, George Bush would have won hands down."
But the attention of the U.S. citizens was turned to their national
interests. At the present time when USA may be recognized as the
only super power (currently) on earth and where such influence
could sway international positioning for the future, it appears the
American people have only local perception. But the cardinal point
to remember is that it is the Deity who removes rulers and sets others
in their places — all by natural means — and therefore no such
election result is a "mistake."
As to foreign policy, the Clinton administration will be facing
great tasks and decision making, some of which follow:
As to U.S. troops in Europe, Clinton had agreed with President
Bush to keep at least 100,000 troops there. However, there is some
suspicion that he is contemplating bringing the troops home from
South Korea.
It will be difficult to bring many troops home from around the
world unless national isolationism sets in. One of the most strategic
U.S. interests abroad, for example, is the Persian Gulf. Because the
U.S. has failed to reduce the need for energy imports, the Gulf now
supplies half the crude oil the country uses; and if the current rate
of consumption continues, the Persian Gulf area will supply 70% of
it by the year 2010.
The world presently is in disorder. Numerous situations are
unsettled, such as the future political platform of the former U.S.S.R.;
the fate of Yugoslavia, and just how the European theater will
mature. This great picture of disorder may get worse before it gets
better. Questions relating to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organi-
30 93 Berean
zation) are pondered. From many viewpoints, NATO no longer has
a distinct role, previously created by a Soviet threat. Expert analysts
admit that the Atlantic relationship (NATO), for a generation the
linchpin of U.S. foreign policy, is eroding. However, NATO warships
now assist the "UN" blockade of Yugoslavia.
It is also the view from much of Europe that "America is slipping
off the radar screen." And it is coming at a time when Eastern Europe
(the Balkans) is experiencing violence. The Yugoslav war, many
believe, will soon spread to Kosovo and Macedonia. And the crisis in
Russia could cause Yeltsin to be overthrown while the U.S. sits by in
silence. The overthrow could come at the hands of ultranationalists.
Mr. Clinton could mean significant consequences around the
world. These could lead to the re-positioning of other nations. The
'most favored nation Bush policy9 toward China may be withdrawn by
the new administration. China's undemocratic national attitude does
not fit with new world tolerance now sweeping many governments.
Among all foreigners, the Chinese and Arabs may realize that their
greatest concern is with Clinton.
Mr. Clinton has taken a conciliatory approach toward Israel in
Middle East negotiations. Indeed, this one particular desire for a
"change" toward Israel by Bill Clinton may be the reason George
Bush is a falling star and Clinton himself has been placed at the reins.
The Bush administration was at times harsh with the Israelis regarding
Middle East peace negotiations. Truly, a pronounced U.S. tilt
back to Israel in peace talks will have its consequences. It may send
Syria and the Palestinians packing at a time when the 44 year-old
quarrel was closer than ever to a comprehensive peace (Time Magazine).
This maybe exactly why the Deity has placed Bill Clinton as the
U.S. President elect — CS.
IF we do not have love, we are NOTHING—just an empty shelly a
rattling skeleton: love of God, love of Christ, love of the Brotherhood,
love of mankind, love of every vital, living blade of grass in God *s glorious
Creation, so full of endless marvels of beauty and design. And love
of Truth, of Beauty, of Holiness, Purity, Goodness, Nobility, Unselfishness:
love of the bottomless richness of the treasures of the Word. Love
scorns to descend to petty criticism and shallow victories, even in the
cause of Truth. Love grieves at sin, strives for good, yearns for universal
happiness and blessing. Love is life. Love is always busy, always
building, always working and praying for good. Love is compassionate,
and patient, and understanding of weakness. But it does not condone,
or belittle, or pamper sin and error, any more than a sensible doctor
belittles or pampers corruption and infection. He fights it vigorously,
and often violently, though an ignorant bystander might think him extreme
and harsh. Love discharges its unpleasant duty toward sin and
error faithfully and resolutely, though very carefully and self-searchingly
and prayerfully—ever conscious of its own weakness and limitation and
need. —G. V. G.
93 B«r«an 31
NeWS (Continued from page 2)
how we can apply the lessons to our lives. In addition, many took
advantage of the opportunity to ski in the nearby ski areas, and to see
God's handiwork in the majestic snow covered mountains. We are
very much appreciative of the brethren who encouraged us through
exhortation and study comments, and to all who helped us. We know
we have been encouraged by the fellowship and association with
those who hold the Word of God as their guiding light and hope the
efforts have been mutually beneficial.
On a sadder note, we found it necessary to withdraw fellowship
from bro. Wayne and sis. Brenda Osborne, due to a matter concerning
a first principle belief. We pray that God will help them see more
clearly the things we hold so dearly as truth. They will be sincerely
missed by the rest of us.
So, although diminished in number, we continue in our walk in
the Truth — knowing God is always watching over us. He knows our
thoughts, He sees our actions, and He draws near to those who draw
nigh to Him.
As the days draw closer to the return of Christ, we realize how
much we need each other. We would be most happy to have other
brethren and sisters visit us here in Denver, or to stop by on travels
elsewhere. May God be with you all, — bro. David Sargent
"MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY, AND NOT TO FAINT1
LET us not be discouraged if we find our present lot a bitter one because
of our submission to the will of God. We require to rally ourselves
on this point It is pleasant enough to talk about tribulation preparing
us for the Kingdom of God, but it is hard in the actual experience.
The heart sometimes grows sick. The waters come into the soul,
and the spirit is overwhelmed. Let us beware of straying from the path
for ease. Let us remember the words of Christ concerning some that
"in time of temptation fall away.** Let us not lay down the cross because
it is heavy. Christ asked us to take it up and carry it Let us,
when hardly beset, follow the example of David, who says, "From the
end of the earth will I cry unto Thee when my spirit is overwhelmed. **
This is what James exhorts (5:13)—"Is any among you afflicted?—let
him pray.** It is what Jesus himself says (Luke 18:1)—"Men ought always
to pray, and not to faint. **
"Watch and pray, lest ye enter into (fall a victim to) temptation.**
Resorting thus, in our trouble, to the Rock that is higher than ourselves,
we shall be given a strength that will enable us to endure, and a
help that will open a way of escape that we be not tempted above that
we are able to bear. —R.R.
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 236)
3) We do not think it likely there will be any re-union among
professors of the Truth before the coming of the Lord. The
Lord's own reference to the situation of things at his coming
assumes the existence of strife. The great point is to be found on
the right side.
32 93 Berean
AN article by brother Welch appeared entitled, 'Human Reason And The
Bible.' One of the main points he made was,—
'Reason' plays a large part in the so-called 'Higher criticism.'
What is reason and in what respect is it authorative in matters of
Truth? Reason may be defined thus: "the power to think, the
power to perceive truth; likewise the product itself of thinking
or mental conceiving." The power to think truthfully is the
essence of reason. Only one Being in the universe possesses this
power underived and as inherent quality of His nature, and that
Being is the God of Israel and Creator of all things.
Since He is the Fountain and Source of all reason, His reasoning
can alone be infallible as the criterion by which to judge all
reasoning in His creatures.
***
A further five pages was given to the subject of, "The Day Of His Coming." A
few comments made by bro. Roberts indicated that although the true day and
hour of the Lord's return are not revealed in the Scriptures, certain exhortational
value could be derived from its contemplation.
A brother remarks to this effect: "It is very nice to think of the
possibility, or let me say probability, of the Lord coming in 1896-
98; but is it not unwise to make so definite a suggestion as that?
Will it not have a weakening effect on the faith of the brethren
supposing the time should pass without bringing the Lord?"
No doubt it would have a discouraging effect on some, were the
century to run out without witnessing the appearance of the
Lord, after the reasonable grounds for expecting it exhibited in
the articles that have appeared during the past few months. But
this cannot be a reason for withholding recognition from the
manifestly probable conclusion that the joyful event will occur
within the time in question. The probability is too exhilarating
to deny ourselves the benefit of its contemplation in the midst of
the terrible evil that prevails.
(The day of Christ's coming is clearly unknown. But contemplation of it is truly
encouraging and uplifting In these evil days. Let us, as the faithful of past
ages, think on the soon coming glories of the Kingdom, the Joy of that age, the
gift of immortality and association with all the redeemed. What better
thoughts could occupy our minds!)
***
IN his "Answers to Correspondents", bro. Roberts considered such basic
subjects as: "Shiloh"; "Dust Thou Art"; "Jude's 9th Verse"; "England And
Ireland In The Time Of The End"; "Higher Criticism And Its Follies"; "Offences
Between Brethren"; and "The Son In Hebrews 1".
***
THE "Editorial" remarks from bro. Roberts indicated the response received
from the Brotherhood in regard to the Christadelphian Magazine for 1893.
We can make no adequate response to the friendly assurances
we have received from all parts of the world as the work being
done by the Christadelphian, and the approbation excited by the
policy it pursues. On all hands, there is a visible increase of
fervour towards the Truth, and the reverse of a falling off in the
93 Berean 33
material co-operation in which this fervour naturally expresses
itself.
We have about 5,000 readers (though not that number of
subscribers). They do not all write, but the number of them that
do so is far too great for us to think of communicating with them
separately. Some of them may think we might do so. Will they
please accept this acknowledgment as if addressed personally to
themselves. We would write to each one, if time and strength
permitted. If we are permitted to enter the Kingdom of God
together, there will be plenty both of time and strength to make
up all arrears in the communion of saints.
(The response of the Brotherhood toward the Magazine was very encouraging
to bro. Roberts, who toiled at It year after year. It was a continual duty that
he performed out of love for God, the Truth and the brethren and sisters. Bro.
Roberts was always deeply appreciative of the support from the lovers of the
Truth. It made a difficult task easier, for which he was thankful.)
***
THE following information was provided on the "Jewish Crisis".
The persecution in Russia continues. A Daily News correspondent
writes from Moscow: "The expulsion of the Jews goes on
daily. The Governor of Moscow, the Grand Duke Sergius (the
Czar's brother) dislikes the race, and his object seems to be to
turn every Jew out of the city."
In Romania, the same thing is going on. Mr. Finn, the secretary
of the Society for the relief of persecuted Jews writes that a secret
order has been issued in that country for driving all Jews out.
Even in Germany, Austria, and France, the anti-Jewish movement
is rising and spreading.
***
ON the 'Signs of the Times'we find mention made of "Increased War Preparations
—The Franco-Frogs still the Inciting Cause—The Secret Treaty of the
Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria and Italy) — Endeavours to End It — The
Human and the Divine Aspect of the Situation." Under this last heading these
comments were made —
It is impossible, in the absence of revelation, to know how a given
political situation will work out in detail. The political upshot
foretold in prophecy will come, but often by paths unanticipated.
The one fact before us at present is that the whole world
in under an oppressive cloud of political apprehension and war
preparation. The certainty for the future is that this cloud will so
burst as to eventually bring a Russo-German irruption upon Asia
Minor and the Holy Land, for the commencement of the
terrible struggle between Christ and the nations in which all
human governments will be overthrown.
(How true this is. We do not know the future except as revealed In the Word
of God. This is our only source of light and knowledge. And as surely as the
Deity lives, He will accomplish His purpose, as it pleases Him. Our prayer
should be, "Even so come Lord Jesus.")
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
There has been a marked improvement in the attendance at the
34 93 Berean
meetings during the past month. This is due to various causes,
but chiefly to revived interest in the signs of the times.
It having been made known that some among us are in need of
necessary clothing, which the hardiness of the times makes it
difficult for them to provide, an arrangement has been made, of
which sister Roberts has undertaken the superintendence, by
which the superfluous or cast-off clothing of those whom God
has more highly favoured may be deposited at the office, and
allotted, after enquiry, to those whose circumstances may render
them suitable recipients.
(In every generation there is always work to be done in the Brotherhood.
Every believer can occupy himself or herself continually with the work of God.
This is our responsibility as children of God.)
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"Forty Years to Come"
"Resurrection or the Time of the Dead"
"The Jewish Question"
"Popular Errors and Unpopular Truths"
"The Nature of Man, as Humanly and Divinely Estimated"
"The Destiny of the Earth: Ignominious Destruction or
Glorious Perpetuation?"
"The Two Minds — Carnal and Spiritual"
"A Divine Land Bill for the Nations of the Earth"
"The Death of Christ — Its Sacrificial Import"
"Ye Must be Born Again: Human Conceptions on the Subject
Contrasted with Bible Teaching"
"The Keys of the Kingdom"
"The Fall and Rise of the Jews: Will their Messianic Hopes ever
be Realized?"
"The Doctrines set forth in Peter's Sermon on the Day of
Pentecost Contrasted with the Doctrines set forth in
Modern Sermons"
December Answers — "Into"
1. Nostrils [Gen. 2:7]
2. Scapegoat [Lev. 16:10]
3.Moriah [Gen. 22:2]
4. Egypt [Gen. 45:4]
5.Pisgah[Deut 3:27]
6. Plates [Ex. 39:3]
7. Sisera [Jdg. 4:9]
8. Wept [Gen. 43:30]
9.Rest[Psa. 132:8]
10. Bread [Jdg. 7:13]
11. Wicked [Prov. 4:14]
12. Lot [Gen. 19:10]
13. Stone [1 Sam. 17:49]
14. Joy [Isa. 52:9]
15. Sea [Psa. 66:6]
16.Water[2Kgs. 6:5]
17. Commit [Psa. 31:5]
93 Beroan
18. Commandments [Matt 19:
19. Treasures [Job 38:22]
20. Ahithophel [2 Sam. 15:31]
21. Temptation [Matt. 26:41]
22. Labourers [Matt 9:38]
23. Pray [Matt 14:23]
24.Balm|Jer. 46:11]
25. Land [Eze. 36:24]
26. Glorious [Dan. 11:41]
27. Darkness [Joel 2:31]
28. Closet [Matt. 6:6]
29. Enter [Matt 25:21]
30. Jehoshaphat [Joel 3:2]
31. Assyrian [Mic. 5:5]
32. Brought [Eze. 38:8]
33. Sheaves [Mic. 4:12]
34. Sinners [Matt. 26:45]
17]
35. Sin [Rom. 5:12]
36.Rich[lTim. 6:9]
37. Grow [Eph. 4:15]
38. Eutychus [Acts 20:9]
39. Country [Mark 12:1]
40. Everlasting (Jn. 4:14]
41.Noe[Lk. 17:27]
42. Winepress [Rev. 14:19]
43. Wilderness [Lk. 7:24]
44. Martha [Lk. 10:38]
45. Light [Jn. 12:46]
46. Sayings [Lk. 9:44]
47. Sorrow [Jn. 16:20]
48. Thrust [Jn. 20:27]
49. Sword [Jn. 18:11]
50. Highways [Lk. 14:23]
35
H u n d r e d Y e a r S A g O Christadelphian,January, 1893
UNDER the title oV'Notes" in this January issue of the Christadelphian, bro.
Roberts dealt with such subjects pertaining to events in the Brotherhood as—
1) A revised edition of the Declaration is in the hands of the
printers, and will probably be ready before this number of the
Christadelphian appears.
2) No arrangement has yet been made for the publication of the
coming Town Hall Lectures. Those of ten years ago are in the
process of reprinting.
(Continued on page 32)
BIBLE PUZZLE — "Gather"
1. Jacob said to his brethren, gather...
2. He that. . . Israel will gather them
3.1 will gather them out of a l l . . .
4. As a . . . doth gather her brood
5. Gather up the . . . that remain
6. Gather them to battle of . . . day
7. Gather . .. instead of straw
8. Gather you into . . . of Jerusalem
9. They gather . .., brass and iron
1 0 . . . . days ye shall gather (manna)
11. Gather them together to . . .
12. Gather to me .. . men of elders
13. Gather all Israel to . . .
14. If He gather unto . . . His spirit
15. Assemble the elders, gather the . ..
16.1 will gather her that is . . . out
17. Gather not my soul with . . .
18. Of thorns men do not gather . ..
19. Will gather the . . . into his garner
20. Gather the wheat into my . . .
21. Gather my . . . unto me
22. Shall gather together his . . .
23. He shall gather them as . . .
24. Gather where I have not. ..
Arrows
25. Gather thyself in . .., O daughter
26. Gather together the . . . of Judah
27.1 will gather all nations and .. .
28. Faces of them all gather . . .
29. Shall gather the . . . with his arm
30. Shall gather the . . . as the sand
31. Gather all nations against. ..
32. He should gather together in . . .
33. With great.. . will I gather thee
34. Gather the . . . of the vine
35. Gather up thy . . . out of the land
3 6 . . . . day, gathered twice as much
37. Feed in gardens, 8c to gather .. .
38.1 will gather the . . . of my flock
39. Jonathan's lad gathered up the . . .
40. Gather them from . . . of the earth
41. He that gathered .. . had no lack
42. Body is, thither will. .. be gathered
43. Two or three gathered in my. . .
44. Before him shall be gathered all...
45. Was gathered unto him a great...
46. Paul had gathered a . . . of sticks
47. Found the . . . gathered together
48. Gather them out of . . .
49. Gather yourselves . .. round about
50. Glean and gather after the . ..
Barn
Battle
Blackness
Bundle
Captivity
Children
Clusters
Coasts
Countries
Dispersed
Driven
Eagle
Elect
Eleven
Figs
Fragments
Great
Hen
Himself
Jerusalem
Lambs
Lilies
Little
Mercies
Midst
Mizpeh
Multitude
Name
Nations
One
Reapers
Remnant
Saints
Scattered
Seventy
Sheaves
Silver
Sinners
Six
Sixth
Stones
Strawed
Stubble
Together
Tongues
Troops
Wares
Wheat
$7.00 U.S. per year Printed in the USA
Australian subs to bro. Ray Hodges, 2 Emily St., Esperance, W.Australia 6450 $9.50
(Aust.)
British subs to bro. Phillip Hughes, 25 Heol-Y-Gelli, Fforchneol Pare, Godreaman,
Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South Wales, U.K. £4-50 (U.K.)
Canadian subs to bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ontario,
Canada N5V 2X1 $8.50 (Can.)
USA subs to bro. Max McLaren, 8008 Junius Street, Houston,Texas, USA 77012 $7.00
(U.S.)
36 93 Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 2, ISSUE 842 FEBRUARY, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: Lampasas 38
Fraternal Gatherings: Lampasas, Richard, Hye, Canton 38
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 39
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
The Man Of The One Spirit 42
WHAT DOES HE THINK OF US? (bro. Roberts) 43
I WILL RETURN TO MY FIRST HUSBAND (bro. Growcott) (cont'd) 48
First Principles: IMMORTALITY: A CONDITIONAL
GIFT (bro. F. Higham) (cont'd) 53
IMPORTANCE OF THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES (bro. E. Williams) .. 57
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
WORLD: A Global Ebb Of Refugees; SOMALIA:
Anarchy, Starvation and U.S. Intervention 62
Correspondence 68
January Answers: "Gather" 71
100 YEARS AGO
Notes; Bro. Thomas' Writings; So-Called Higher Criticism;
The Day Of His Coming; Answers To Correspondents;
The Jewish Crisis; Birmingham Miscellanies; Different
Bible Lectures 72
Bible Puzzle: "What" 72
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. if you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
LAM PAS AS, Texas — S.S. 10 am; Memorial 11 am; Midweek Class, Eureka
Study 1:15 p.m. except on 4th Sunday, lecture at 7 pm — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Road, Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
LOVE and greetings to the brethren and sisters far and near.
We are pleased to report that Lampasas Ecclesia has five more
members: bro. and sis. Carwyn Smith of Belton, Texas; bro. Jason
Clubb from London, Ontario, Canada; bre. John and Dan Wolfe
from the Marlow, Oklahoma ecclesia.
Visitors at the Memorial meeting have been bro. David Clubb,
bro. 8c sis. Bob Wolfe, sis. Anne Wolfe, bro. 8c sis. Harry Cassidy, bro.
Bob Bent, bro. Joel Pando, sis. Susan Sumler, sis. Carolyn McLaren,
sis. Linda Askew and bro. Gary Stephen.
Brethren David Clubb, Joel Pando, Bob Wolfe and Gary Stephen
gave us encouraging words of exhortation.
Also we had many visitors the Sunday before the Hye Gathering,
at which time bro. Fred Higham Sr. gave the word of exhortation.
Our Sunday School outing on May 9th was enjoyed by all and at
the Sunday School program on Sunday, the 10th, it was certainly
encouraging to hear our young ones expound the Truth.
The Lampasas June meeting was a time of spiritual refreshing
while we wait the Master's return. Subjects and speakers were: Friday,
8 p.m., "Kingdom on Earth" — bro. Nick Mammone; Saturday, 11
a.m., "In Order to Build You up" — bro. Joel Pando; 2 p.m., "If Ye
Keep In Memory" — bro. Gary Smith; 8 p.m., "Scriptural Proof of the
Imminent Return of Christ" — bro. Don Newcomer; Sunday, 11
a.m., "Christ will Come and Glorify His Chosen" — bro. Braden
Edwards. — bro. Ross Wolfe
DO good, or thou wilt receive none. In the ultimate sense, this is a rule
without exception. — R.R.
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 12, 13 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
RICHARD, Sask. — Fri.-Mon., July 9-12 — bro. Gordon Jones, Box 48,
Richard, Sask., Canada S0M 2P0; phone (306) 246-4628.
HYE, Texas — Sun., July 25 to Sun., Aug. 1 — bro. Jerry Connolly, 12609
Dessau Rd., A-144, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,10— bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) Is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
38 93 Berean
Dr, Thomas' Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
(Bro. Thomas' labors were centered at the town of Acquinton
where five lectures were delivered to good audiences* The believers
there had not finished the construction of their own meeting house,
therefore the addresses were presented in the hall established in
former years of the reigns of the English kings preceding the reign
of Victoria.
Amongst the audience was a Baptist pastor who observed the
soundness of bro. Thomas1 arguments from the Scriptures. The
power of the Word, rightly exercised, will have its desired effect in
any generation as God determines. This incident is similar to Paul's
experience at Corinth (Acts 18:7-8), where Crispus the ruler of the
synagogue accepted the faith; and the reaction of King Agrippa at
Paul's preaching at Caesarea (Acts 26), "Almost thou persuadest me
to be a Christian.")
I spoke five times at Acquinton church, the old colonial
temple of the Anglo-Hibernian Lady. Those who have obeyed
the Gospel of the Kingdom, and who were all, with an exception
or two, formerly Baptists and afterwards Campbellites,
meet in this house twice a month; and at a school-house a few
miles off on two other Lord's days. The latter place, however,
they intend to forsake when they shall have completed the
meeting-house they are erecting near the Court-house. It was
not quite finished when I was there; so that our meetings were
restricted to the Georgian fane. Our audiences were not
multitudinous, but "good."
I had the pleasure of expounding and testifying the Things
of the Kingdom to people who seemed to be attentive and
interested in what they heard. The brethren were strengthened
in the faith, to which a friend from Essex, Mr. W. S.
Croxton, became obedient; and (how shall I record the fact!)
Major F—, the worthy pastor of the Sharon Baptist Church,
who heard me on the first day, admitted, that I had delivered
myself of a discourse in which there was no heresy at all! If this
be so, either I must be verging upon "orthodoxy," or he must
be becoming "heretical." The truth is, Major F— is more
enlightened than the generality of preachers; and, having
been trained for the law, is better able to appreciate an
argument and evidence than they. If he will only study the
Word and preach it boldly, he will not long occupy his present
position. "Go thou and preach the kingdom of God." Can he
93 Berean 39
give any good reason, why he should not obey these words of
Christ?
(Completing his efforts in King William, bro. Thomas travelled
by train to the North-West of Richmond to Louisa Court House,
where he was met by friends, who conveyed him to Corinth. This was
southward toward the Goochland County line. He had travelled
about seventy miles since leaving Richmond at 6:30 a*m«, stopping
for breakfast at Louisa, and then (probably by horse and wagon) to
Corinth by 12:30 p.m. A large assembly was waiting for him and
wondering if he was coming. However, in the circumstances, they
were expecting an earlier arrival and perhaps were not aware of what
had to happen that morning. He is caused to remark on the rapid
change in locomotion in ten years' time. This is a factor we should
meditate upon, and give thanks to our Heavenly Father that our
travels 140 years later are made so simple. We should learn to accept
without complaint any undue delays we may experience, and acknowledge
that we are greatly blessed in our present environments,
and show inward appreciation, as did bro. Thomas.
He addressed those assembled, after the lunch, for about two to
three hours, regarding the glorious prospects in store for the faithful
in the coming Kingdom age. That evening bro. Thomas accepted the
roof of Col. Bowles who attended the address. His estate was located
to the West in Fluvanna County, in its N.E. corner. Mr. Bowles had
previously owned a gold mine in this region, which was adjacent to
the estate. The Doctor's conversations with him led to considerable
observations on gold, its value, its relative importance to the gold of
God's Word, and the use to which man's fleshly efforts will be
employed in God's service in the Age to come. And yet this valuable
present day commodity will be converted to the honor and praise of
their original Maker. 'The Gentiles shall come to thy light — they
shall see and flow together — and their wealth shall come unto thee
— they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the
praises of the Lord' (Isa. 60:3-6).
Gold is not now listed as a product of Virginia, but crushed stone,
the remnants of such former operations is. The application to the
lives of believers is good exhortation. Tried faith (fine gold in God's
sight) is brought forth only by tribulation and suffering.
Returning to Corinth the following morning further presentations
of the Truth occupied the day. That evening he spent with a Dr.
Gillispie who also attended the lectures. As a parting admonition he
urged the users of this hall to secure it permanently in the interests
of presenting the Word of God, a place for open discussion. He
presented a method for true advancement in Bible knowledge. Let
none fear to speak, though their thoughts at first fail to clearly define
the message, as long as they seek knowledge, and accept the testi-
40 93 Berean
mony of God's messengers. With that assurance they were sure to
succeed. Without it, failure would be their lot.)
My visit to King William having arrived at its terminus, I was
forwarded to Richmond in a crank and ancient bi-rotal car,
the only one like it in the country, I suspect, and retained, one
might suppose, as a sort of Barnum-representative of Virginian
antiquity. The wind not proving high, and the roads not
very "sideling,* though often, as the eccentric Randolph used
to say of Virginia highways, umore gullies than roads," we journeyed
the twenty-five miles without being capsized.
Next morning at half past six, I was on the way to Louisa
Court-house by the Virginia Central. Elymas was in the same
train, but not in the same car, on his way to Gilboa in Louisa,
to "preach the funeral* of a Campbellite evangelist, recently
deceased in King William. An admirer informed me the day
after that "he preached a very pretty sermon from the text, 'I
have kept the faith, etc.'" I inquired if he defined "the faith*
Paul said he had "kept," and proved its identity with the
deceased's? But on this point I could learn nothing. If he did
not, it was a very capital omission in preaching a preacher's
funeral from such a text! How a preacher of Campbellism
could have fought the good fight and kept the faith Paul
preached, would "puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer" to explain,
much more Elymas.
He had much conversation with a friend of mine before he
left the train, in justification of his persecution of my character.
The principal reason that occurs to me now was the
magnitude of my errors and the harm I had done, he, of
course, being the judge! But, let it pass. The reason is the oldfashioned
justification of inquisitorial and papal cruelty in all
past ages practised upon the partizans of truth. The judges of
"the errors* and "the harm* have always been self-constituted,
and the enemies of the truth. They forget that the truth is one;
and that mankind in relation to it are but as plaintiffs and
defendants, not judges to execute vengeance upon their
opponents. Elymas persecutes our character because Adjudges
our views to be heretical and damnable!! Let him reason and
testify, and make plain to all the world, if he can, that the
Gospel of the Kingdom we believe and preach, is a false
gospel. We complain of no man for this. But "let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile;* if it be
possible, let him act the part of an honorable opponent, and
93 Berean 41
leave all judicial vengeance and execution till the appearing
of the Lord, when he will learn whether he will be accounted
worthy of executing judgment, the honor of all the saints; or
of exile from his presence and the glory of his power, the fate
of those who obey not the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
(To be continued, God milling)
Studies and Thoughts BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
THE MAN OF THE ONE SPIRIT — "His Arms"
"Who among the sons of the Mighty can be likened to Yahweh? 0
Yahweh Elohim of armies, who is a strong Yah like to Thee? Thou hast
a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand"
— Psalm 89:6, 8, 13.
From this passage and many others that might be produced,
it is evident that "arms," in a symbolical use of the
word, signifies power, forces, sovereign authority; and when
outstretched, power in energetic and furious operation.
"Behold the Lord's Yahweh with strong hand shall come, and His arm
be ruler for Him: behold His reward is with Him, and His work before
Hi"
"I will gather you, 0 Israel, with a stretched out arm and fury poured
OUt>y —Eze. 20:34.
"There is none like the ARM ofjeshurun Who rides upon the heavens in
thy help, and in His excellency upon the skies. The mighty Ones of the
East Thy refuge, and underneath the arms of the Olahm; and He shall
thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy. Israel then
shall dwell in safety alone" — Deut. 33:26-28.
"The arms of the Olahm," referred to by Moses in his
song, and termed "the everlasting arms" in the English version,
are in the highest sense, the armies of Israel, of which
the Eternal Spirit our Messiah and his brethren is, in that
manifestation, Yahweh. Hence the name of that spirit-incorporated
community, Yahweh Tsabaoth; an enigmatical title,
signifying, HE SHALL BE Commanders OF THE ARMIES of
Israel. These Spirit Commanders are each focalizations of the
One Eternal power. Hence the ungrammatical expression,
HE the Commanders.
These are the Arms of the Olahm — the arms to be outstretched
in "the Hour of Judgement;" and which are to
break the Bow of Brass (Psa. 18:34). Moses styles these Arms in
his song Elohai kedem, "Mighty Ones of the East," in the English
version rendered "the Eternal God." But John in Rev.
16:12, justifies our translation. He there styles them "the
Kings from the risings of a Sun;" but in the English version,
"the Kings of the East."
The kedem of Moses is the apo anatoton heliou, of John. John
42 93 Berean
paraphrases Moses. The Helios or Sun, is the "Son of Righteousness"
spoken of in Mai. 4:2, who is to heal, and afterwards
to send forth the sparkling gems of the Eternal, to
tread down the wicked as ashes under the soles of their feet
in the day that Yahweh shall do it.
The Jewels of Malachi, and the Elohim of Moses are the
Kings of John, and the Arms of Daniel's vision. Each individual
King is a rising of the healing Sun, in the sense of being
raised from the grave by his vitalising beams.
Collectively, the Kings of Power or of God, are the "risings
of a Sun;" and that Sun is He who proclaimed himself
"the Resurrection and the Life," even the Eternal Father,
who raises up the dead by the anointed Son of Mary (2 Cor.
4:14); styled by her royal ancestor, "the Handmaid of
Yahweh" (Psa. 86:16, Psa. 116:16); and so recognized by Gabriel,
Zachariah, Elisabeth, Simeon, and Anna, all instructed
and proficients in the law. When their mission is accomplished,
they also will sing the song of Moses, "and of the
Lamb," the prophet like to him (Ex. 15; Rev. 15).
These "Arms" of Daniel's vision, are represented by John
in battle array in the train of their Commander-in-Chief,
"the King of the Jews." John styles them —
"the forces of the heaven, following the Faithful and True One upon
white horses, arrayed in fine linen, white and clean"— Rev. 19:14.
Collectively, they are the four Chariots of the heavens seen
by Zechariah emerging from between the Two Mountains of
Brass (Zech. 6), which it is their mission to reduce to a molten
furnace, glowing with intense heat. In the symbol of "the
Lamb slain," the "Arms" are equivalent to the "Seven
Horns," or Spirit Powers, which are as innumerable, but
equal in number, whatever its amount may be, to the "Seven
Eyes" (Rev. 5:6). —Herald, 1849
What Does He Think Of Us?
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
Romans 6 — The first verse of the chapter read this
morning, contains in a sentence, the pith of all apostolic
exhortation. 'We then, as workers togetherwith him, beseech you also
that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. "This apostolic entreaty
suggests several profitable thoughts. It distinctly implies that
the grace of God is given for a purpose that may not be realized
in all who are the subjects of it. This cuts at the root of popular
conceptions of "grace;" according to which, grace is a spiritual
essence stealing over the senses, as it were, and influencing the
faculties of the mind; and working its own work apart from the
93 Berean 43
will of the subject. This is a sort of grace that would be
impossible to "receive in vain;* for once received, the effect is
as sure as sleep follows chloroform. The "grace" of apostolic
language is a grace that may be received in vain. This grace is
neither more nor less than favor of God, manifested in
benefits conferred and offered, with the object of evoking in
us certain results towards Him which He desires.
It is easy to understand this sort of grace being received in
vain. Israel, in all stages of their history, exemplifies it. The
generation that came out of Egypt, received God's grace or
favor in vain. His power was thrown away upon them. They
proved ungrateful, unappreciative, disobedient. They did not
yield that reasonable response of love and service which it was
calculated and designed to evoke; and they perished in consequence.
Paul makes a special application of this to believers. He lays
stress on the fact that "all our fathers were under the cloud, and
baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." They were all
constitutionally introduced to God's favor; but so far as their
individual benefit was concerned, it was in vain. "They fell in the
wilderness, "whereupon he makes the remark —
"Whatsoever things happened unto them were for our examples,
to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also
lusted" (1 Cor. 10:6).
Now, the grace or favor of God has come to us in the
forgiveness of our past sins, and the promise of eternal life and
inheritance in His glorious Kingdom; and Paul's entreaty to
the Romans, and, therefore, to us, who have been brought
into their position, is, that we receive not this grace in vain. Let
us seek to realize what it is to receive it in vain, that we may be
enabled to avoid so hapless a condition. We can best do this by
considering what its reception is intended to accomplish. It is
intended to induce certain results in which the Father takes
pleasure, and in the development of which He finds recompense
as it were for His goodness. These results are, by a figure,
styled "fruit "Jesus says, "Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear
much fruit. "Barrenness of the fruit referred to is displeasing to
Him. Paul's employment of the figure is in this striking form,
that the earth which bringeth forth herbs for them by whom
it is dressed receiveth blessing, but that which beareth thorns
and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing (Heb. 6:8).
This is the idea of the parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:6),
44 93 Berean
to which the owner came for three years in succession, "seeking
fruit and finding none." "Cut it down, "saith he; "why cumbereth it
the ground?"The occasion of this parable makes its individual
application unmistakable. Some had been telling Jesus of the
accident at Siloam, by which eighteen persons had been killed
by the falling of a tower, and of the cruel butchery of certain
Galileans by Pilate; with the suggestion evidently intended
that the victims of these calamities must have been extra
wicked; after the mode of argument employed byjob's friends.
Christ said —
"Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the
Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you nay:
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
Then comes that parable of the fig tree, teaching them
that their exemption from death was due to the divine forbearance,
and not to their excellence. This was the doctrine
of John the Baptist, who told them that the axe was laid at the
root of the tree: and that every tree that brought not forth
good fruit would be hewed down and cast into the fire: which
happened with unsparing severity in the days of vengeance
that soon afterwards descended on the Jewish commonwealth.
The application of the same principle to us, calls upon us
to consider some of the lessons suggested by the figure. A fruit
tree exists in itself but not for itself. A fulfillment of the objects
of its existence requires that it bring forth something for the
use and gratification of its owner. This is completely applicable
to those whom Paul exhorts to receive not the grace of
God in vain. Salvation has come nigh to them, not merely that
they may be personally delivered from evil; but that they may
be "to the praise and glory of His grace who hath made them the
accepted in the beloved. "
If our appreciation of the Gospel rises no higher than the
comfort of being saved, we receive the grace of God in vain.
Our heart must be filled with an appreciation of the greatness,
and goodness, and worthiness, and unspeakable excellence of
Him by whom all things have been made. The first feature of
a true son is that he knows, loves, and glories in his father. The
love of his father's property would not be accepted as an
equivalent for personal love. Our love of eternal life and the
Kingdom of God will not stand instead of the "loving of the
Lord our God with all our hearts," which is, "thefirst and great
commandment. n
93 Berean 45
The fruit that is acceptable to the great owner of the
vineyard is styled "thefruit of the spirit "This is because it comes
from the seed contained in the teaching of the spirit. No other
fruit is acceptable. Actions and conditions that spring from
any other source than the mind of the spirit expressed in the
word, are like the strange fire offered by Nadab and Abihu.
The commands of the Spirit obeyed: the likeness of the Spirit
taken on, will cause the Father to find pleasure in us. "If any
man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. "
The fruits of the spirit are thus defined by Paul —
"Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance."
With this state of mind, as induced by the teaching of the
spirit, God is well pleased, as a man is pleased with ripe apples
from his orchard. But this state of mind must, of course, find
expression in action. Faith without works is dead, being alone.
While, therefore, our hearts are established with grace —
"Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, which is
the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name; but to do good
and communicate forget not,forzvith such sacrifices God is well
pleased" (Ueb. 13:9,15,16).
Peter tells us that the offering up of spiritual sacrifices is
"acceptable to God by Christ Jesus" (1 Pet. 2:5). Paul thus alludes
to the ministrations of the Philippians to his need —
"Ye have done well that ye did communicate with my affliction
... not because I desire a gift, but I desire FRUIT THAT MAY
ABOUND TO YOUR ACCOUNT... the odor of a sweet smell,
a sacrifice ACCEPTABLE AND WELLPLEASING TO GOD "
(Phil. 4:14-18).
The nature of fruit-bearing in practical life is therefore evident.
To receive the grace of God in vain, is to be destitute of
this fruit; it is to know the Gospel without being so influenced
by it as to yield to it the results it contemplates in the
renovation of the heart, the purification of the affections, the
reformation of the life, the opening of the generous impulses
toward men, and the fountain of gratitude and adoration
towards God; and the abandonment and crucifixion of all that
is contrary to the mind of Christ.
Where this is the unfortunate state of things; where the
heart is still set on earthly things; and the sympathies are yet
undrawn out toward the things of Christ: where sin is yet
followed and God still distant; where holiness is unknown and
self-denial not understood, nothing waits but "a fearful looking
46 93 Berean
for of judgment and of fiery indignation which shall devour the
adversary. n
The "unprofitable servant "is to be cast out. The servant who
can show nothing done for the name of Christ; nothing
ministered to the wants of the saints; nothing beyond a life
spent at the shrine of self-interest and self-gratification—has
little to look for in the day of reckoning. Even those who do
their duty are sensible of the inadequacy of their claim upon
divine approbation; having done all, they say, "Behold we are
unprofitable servants; we have done what it was our duty to do, " even
as Christ enjoins (Luke 17:10). If this is the case with them,
where shall the faithless and unholy appear?
Now, let us consider for a moment the laws that govern
fruitfulness. They are pretty much the same in the substance
as in the figure. In the natural, there must be soil; so in the
spiritual, and this is sometimes deep and rich, and sometimes
meagre. For the character of the soil, we shall not be called to
account. If we are only equal to a crop of thirty-fold, we shall
not be held accountable to the measure of an hundred-fold.
God is just. We shall be judged with reference to what is
possible with us. This is where our whole care should be
bestowed. We may have good soil, producing weeds for want
of culture. Poor soil will improve under training. So much for
the soil.
But we are likened to fruit trees. Now fruit trees would
neither yield fruit nor grow, if left unwatered either by the
hand of man or the rain of heaven. Sunshine and moisture are
necessary to its development. It is no less so with the spiritual;
trees neglected will run to waste. They must be watered in
season by the Word, kept free from the insect blight by prayer,
and invigorated by the fresh air and sunshine of brotherly
intercourse as appointed.
The reading of the Word stands first in the process of
spiritual horticulture. We are told to "desire the sincere milk of the
word, that we may grow thereby. "Apart from the Word, there will
be no growth. We shall be like plants without rain. We shall
soon absorb what little moisture we have in ourselves, and
living upon ourselves, we shall soon wither and decay.
"Let my word abide in you. "This is Christ's prescription for
continuing healthy branches of the vine. Then "let us not
forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.n
The neglect of this item of husbandry will enfeeble the
spiritual plant.
93 Berean 47
A fact to be profitably noted is that growth, though certain
under right conditions, is slow and imperceptible. You cannot
see a tree grow while you stand and look at it, nor during many
visits. Would a gardener be wise in stopping the cultivation
because of this? After a long time, you see the great progress
made. This progress would not have been realized if the daily
process had been interrupted. So in the spiritual, you may not
be conscious of any advance in a week or a month, but
persevere. If you only take care to keep yourself subject to the
fertilizing influences of spiritual horticulture, you ensure
progress, which bye and bye will begin to be visible to your own
consciousness.
You will find yourself changing in a spiritual direction. In
the course of years, you will become a different person from
what you would be if the natural mind were left to itself. The
direction of the vessel determines the course of the voyage.
Her progress may be slow, but if she is always going one way,
she will be a long way on at last. The present drift is the thing
to watch.
These things have to be considered by wise men, and
applied in the great undertaking which the Gospel puts in
their hands. Vigilance and perseverance will be rewarded in
the day when, "the wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the
promotion of fools, " — Christadelphian, 1872
I Will Return To My First Husband
BY BROTHER Q. V. GROWCOTT
The book of the prophet Hosea
(Continued)
Chapter two repeats the same theme, with different figures
and details, ending with the same assurance and promise.
While chapter one was based mainly on Hosea's children
and their names, chapter two, under the allegory of his unfaithful
wife, is a representation of God's infinite patience and
love and kindness toward Israel, and their repeated unfaithfulness
and corruption. The lesson is for us, for we continually
fail and are so often unfaithful to the beautiful character of
godliness—
"Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither
am I her husband . . .
Tor she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread
and my water, my wool, my flax, mine oil, and my drink. For
48 93 Berean
she did not know that 1gave hercom, and mine, and oil, and
multiplied her silver and gold" (vs. 2-8).
She attributed her prosperity to her own efforts, and her
intimacies with foreigners.
All that she had, all that she could ever have, even her life
itself, and her every breath, was of the love and mercy of God
—but she did not know. Hosea says later—
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, "
— lack of the knowledge of God — lack of a realization of the
universality of His love and goodness. Paul emphasizes this
point to the Lycaonians —
"God left not Himself without witness, in that He did good,
and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling
our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17).
We take so much for granted, when we should be continually
awed by God's goodness. We attribute so much to other
causes, to our own efforts and accomplishments, when we
should be in constant humble recognition that we of ourselves
can do nothing and are nothing, and all good is of God.
"She shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake
them: she shall seek them, but not find them . . .
"Then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband,
for then was it better with me than now" (2:7).
Here is the patience and longsuffering of God—waiting till
she learns by bitter experience that there is no good but in
Him.
This is a divine characteristic to be marveled at in thankfulness,
but not to be presumed upon. Paul says in warning—
"Despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forebearance
and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4).
But still there must be divine longsuffering and patience in
infinite measure, or none at all could be saved. This is the
beautiful lesson of Hosea's personal allegory.
And this is the great lesson of the book for us—the lesson
of the unmerciful debtor— the lesson that we have been given
— that we should be eager and anxious to give all we can on
our part—that we have been forgiven so much that patience and
mercy and love and longsuffering should be our joyful manifestation
of thanksgiving toward God and desire to expand our
hearts and minds and be like Him in the limitless pouring
forth of goodness.
How small and cramped and ugly is the natural mind of the
93 Berean 49
flesh! How vast and glorious and beautiful is the mind of the
Spirit!
Any impatience, or bitterness, or unkindness, or condemnation
of others, put us into the position of the evil, smallminded
unmerciful debtor who was graciously forgiven a
fortune but who without mercy extorted a few pence from his
unfortunate neighbor.
Jesus' comment on the punishment of this evil man was—
"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also to you if ye from
your hearts — FROM YOUR HEARTS —forgive not every
one his brother their trespasses."
It was from Hosea that Jesus drew those memorable words
to the self-righteous, hypocritical Pharisees—
"Go thou and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy and
not sacrifices."
The greatest of personal sacrifices is repulsive to God if it
is in self-glory and harshness, and not in the spirit of humbleness
and mercy and tenderness and an expanding love toward
all mankind.
***
But in spite of God's great love for His people, they must
go through a long and terrible night of suffering for their
foolishness and sins.
Vs. 9-13 of chapter two describe Israel's Lo-Ammi period—
"Not My people"—cast off, rejected, scattered and afflicted.
No people has suffered like this people—the chosen and beloved of
God.
Then vs. 14 to the end describe, in pictures of great beauty,
the various aspects of the ultimate victory and triumph of
God's ever patient love for His people, as typified by Hosea—
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the
wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her" (2:14).
Once again God will deliver His people from Egyptian
darkness and bondage. Once again will He take them apart to
Himself in the wilderness, and renew the covenant, and
prepare them for the possession of the land.
"And I will give her the valley of Achor for a door of hope"
(v. 15).
Here is summed up the whole theme of the prophecy —
The valley of Achor—the Valley of "Trouble" — shall become
a Door of HOPE.
All that they have passed through will be found to be the
loving provision of God to lead them into hope.
50 93 Berean
"And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth."
The Song of Solomon is the song of the Bridegroom and
the Bride. The Song of Moses and the Lamb, the great Song
of the Redeemed, will be an antitype and memorial of when
Israel sang in their joy of deliverance on the shores of the Red
Sea.
"Atthatday thoushalt call Me Ishi — ('My Husband') —
and not Baali — ('My Lord')."
Here is a change of relationship.
Jesus said to his disciples, at the last supper—
"Henceforth I callyou not SERVANTS, but 1have called you
FRIENDS."
Paul expresses the same thought in describing to the
Galatians the glorious new relationship that the redeemed
bear to God through Christ—
"We were in bondage under the elements of the world, but
God sent forth His Son to redeem them that were under the
Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
"Wherefore thou art no more SERVANT, but a SON "
In his enacted allegory, as we read in chapter three, Hosea,
at God's instruction buys back to him his wife who had abandoned
him and had sunk to the miserable position of a bondslave,
just as Israel had abandoned God and sold themselves
into slavery by their sins.
"And in that day I mill make a covenant for them with the
beast of the field, and with the fowls of heaven.
"And I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out
of the earth" iy. 18).
Here are the glories of the millennium so greatly needed today—
peace and harmony among all mankind, and among the
whole animal creation.
"And I will betroth thee unto Me FOREVER, in righteousness,
and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and mercy,
and faithfulness" (vs. 19-20).
All things shall be made new again. All the estrangement of
the past shall be forgotten in the final glorious reconciliation.
"I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they
shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the
wine, and the oil, and they shall hearjezreel" (vs. 21-22).
The curse shall be removed, the long silence of rejection
and estrangement broken, and all nature shall be in tune and
in intimate harmonious communion together, and eagerly responsive
tojezreel—the redeemed Seed of God.
93 Berean 51
"And I will sow her unto Me in the earth" (v. 23).
She shall be the blessed and honored means whereby the
whole earth shall bring forth the fruits of righteousness unto
the glory of God—
"And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy,
and I will say to them that were not my people, Thou art My
people; and they shall say, Thou art my God."
***
These first three chapters conclude the personal allegory
of Hosea. Chapters four to fourteen are the more literal and
detailed application to the nation of Israel— their sins, the
judgments to come upon them, and the ultimate reconciliation.
In chapter thirteen the prophet climaxes his message.
After speaking of their long desolation by the four savage
beasts of the Gentiles—the lion, the bear, the leopard and the
unnamed wild beast (vs. 7-8)—he continues, in v. 14, with the
wonderful prophecy with which Paul similarly climaxes his
resurrection chapter, 1st Cor. 15—
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave: I will redeem
them from death.
"O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy
destruction."
Paul's application of this to the transformation of the
faithful in Christ from mortality to immortality gives it a far
deeper significance than just the political resurrection of
Israel to which it primarily applies.
We are taught by this, as we are so often taught elsewhere,
that as Hosea was an allegory to Israel, so Israel is an allegory
to us.
Therein lies the great significance of the final words of the
prophecy —
"Who is wise, and he shall understand these things ? Prudent,
and he shall know them?" (14:9).
Who is wise?
God said sadly through Hosea—
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (4:6).
How much do we care about knowing these things? How
much real, sincere effort have we put in this past week to learn
and understand the lessons of God's Word through which we
have been passing in our daily readings? To what extent have
we meditated upon it and prayed for understanding?
Let us face these questions honestly. Arc we truly ANX-
52 93 Berean
IOUS and concerned to learn more and more about God and
His Word?
It is so easy to just go through the motions and thinkwe are
in the Truth, without ever having the real love of and yearning
toward the knowledge of God which is essential to salvation. This is
what marks off the true disciple from the common run of
mankind.
These divine words are life. They are essential meat and
drink. In them alone is the power of love and of holiness and
godliness and of overcoming the flesh.
"WHO IS WISE: AND HE SHALL UNDERSTAND THESE
THINGSr
FIRST PRINCIPLES
IMMORTALITY A CONDITIONAL GIFT
LESSON 6— "Christendom Astray, "Chapter 4 — Continued
Jesus is the only true doctor, who can heal eternally. He offers
resurrection to a spirit body existence, independent of environment,
and free from any possibility of accident, dissolution, disease
or decay— "That which is born of the Spirit ISspirit" (John 3:6) —for the
"mortal and corruptible" has "put on" — been transformed to —
"immortality and incorruption" (I Cor. 15:53). Paul told the Roman
ecclesia (8:11) — "He that raised up Christ from the dead (the Example and
Forerunner) shall also quicken your MORTAL bodies by His Spirit which
dwelleth in you. *
Note well that eternal life comes only by a mortal BODY being
"quickened"— not by the flying off somewhere of some supposed
"immortal essence" in man.
This "quickening" (which means "being made alive") is the
second birth into literal life. (Scripturally, it is the 3rd "birth": birth
from the womb, birth from war at baptism into Christ, birth from the
grave by Spirit-transformation at thejudgment—Jn. 3:5). Daniel was
shown the righteous would have glorious, shining bodies, radiating
the Spirit of God (Dan. 12:3) — "They that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the
stars for ever and ever. *
And Isaiah describes their tireless strength and vigor, a glorious
gift of God to be like Himself (40:28, 31)—
"The everlasting God, the Lord, Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary.. . They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They
shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. *
This gift, so freely offered by God—for no man could possibly
earn or merit it still (and very reasonably so) is conditional upon
man's TOTAL submission to God and diligent obedience to His will.
93 Berean 53
We do not expect our children to be perfect; but we do expect
them—if we do our part properly (as God always does)— to submit
and obey in love to the best of their ability.
God alone is the Judge and Prescriber of what is right and
required in the way of obedience, as we have seen from Rom. 2:7—
"To them (and to them only) who by patient continuance in welldoing seek
for. . . immortality, (God will render) eternal life. "
"Patient continuance" is the key—a steady, consistent course in
the right spirit—
"He that DOETH God's will shall enter into the Kingdom" (Matt.
7:21).
"He that OVERCOMETH shall eat of the Tree of Life" (Rev. 2:7).
"They that DO His commandments shall have right to the Tree of Life "
(Rev. 22:14).
"Eternal salvation unto all them that OBEY him" (Heb. 5:9).
"If thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS"
(Matt. 19:17).
Such passages show that only certain ones who follow a specific
course of life will be given immortality. They give the death-blow to
Universalism—that flesh-pleasing theory that all at lastwill be forced
to be saved, in spite of themselves. God desires love and freewill
obedience. In direct connection with those who will be saved, the
Scriptures speak of those who will be destroyed. The next verse in
Rm. 2, for example, says of the same final "day of wrath and
revelation" — "But to them who do not obey the Truth, (God will render) indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man that
doeth evil.n
Contrary to Universalism, the Bible's message is that only a few
will be saved—
"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
FEW there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14).
"Cast him into outer darkness. . . many are called, but few chosen"
(Matt. 22:13).
Universalism is a gross over-exaltation of the importance of man.
And it is an understandable, humane revulsion against the dreadful
orthodox theory of hopeless, purposeless, never-ending torture for
the great bulk of mankind.
God's purpose, as revealed by the Scriptures, is not to perpetuate
forever, every human being, willy-nilly, that ever lived. The divine
plan is the development of a select, spiritually-minded, heavenlycharactered
family for God's Glory and Name. The world's vast and
teeming passing populations are merely incidental to that Plan. God
graciously invites all, but He forces none. Let not dust-and-ashes
animal man exaggerate his fictitious importance. God is — "Taking
OUT OF the nations a people for His Name" (Acts 15:14).
54 93 Berean
Jesus says, clearly defining the two FINAL destinies (Jn. 5:28-
29)—
"The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection
of damnation."
To many, indoctrinated in orthodoxy, "damnation" inescapably
carries the picture of eternal hell flames. But it simply means
"condemnation, rejection, judgment against"—and thejudgment is
total destruction — "Punished with everlasting DESTRUCTION"
(2Thess.l:9).
Some again argue that if it is "destruction" then it is not
"punishment"—that one must be conscious to be "punished." Have
they never heard of "capital punishment?" Deprivation of life—
especially where perfect, endless life is at issue—is the supreme and
ultimate punishment. And it completely rids God's beautiful universe
of the wicked without leaving billions screaming hopelessly in
hell to all eternity. Any who can believe in eternal hell tortures is not
fit material for the family of a loving God. God is just and stern, but
He is not a fiend, as orthodoxy's superstitions make Him to be. He
is truly, to the wicked, a "consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29)— but it is a
"consuming" fire not an ever-torturing one. "He that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption " (Gal. 6:8) —which ends in the triumph
of death. The wicked are finally overcome and swallowed up by the
Second Death. Being of no use in the divine economy, they are put
out of the way: "Where the wicked cease from troubling" (Job 3:17).
***
Beside the accepted and the condemned, a third class of people
are those who never knew the will of God, never having seen the light
of His Word. These will not be saved, as is commonly supposed. If
such were saved, it would be wiser to remain in darkness. Knowledge
would merely endanger their salvation. Preaching the Gospel would
be the height of cruelty, if ignorance assures salvation. Catholicism
is more logical than Protestantism in this respect, for it has its "limbo "
for problem cases. But both are wrong. The Bible reveals that (Rom.
2:12)—
"As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. *
Perfectly just, perfectly reasonable: no obedience or disobedience;
therefore no reward or punishment. Pagans, heathen, idiots,
infants—are not responsible to law. Resurrection does not take place
in their case. As Isaiah says, speaking of the heathen who had afflicted
Israel (26:14)—
"They are dead: they shall not live. They are deceased: they shall not
rise: Thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory
to perish. *
And of the same class, Jeremiah says—
93 Berean 55
"They shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake19 (Jer. 51:39).
"The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall
remain in the congregation of the dead" (Prov. 21:16).
"Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beasts that
perish" (Psalm 49:20).
(Does "perish" here, applied to beasts, mean eternal life in
torture? Who would say so? If not, neither can it mean that for man,
who is "like*1 them).
"Alienated (separated) from the life of God through ignorance"
(Eph.4:18).
"Having no hope, and without God in the world9 (Eph. 2:12).
All men are sinners in their natural state, though most are ignorant
and non-responsible:
"The whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 Jn. 5:19).
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23).
"The wages of sin is death " (Rom. 6:23).
"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (Jam. 1:15).
Orthodoxy's weird theories of saving these ignorant sinners en
masse (they dare not send them to eternal torments) puts a premium
on ignorance, and makes knowledge a thing to be avoided at all costs.
But God is just, and herein is His justice shown. God could not with
justice punish those who were not obedient to a law they did not
know. Neither could He injustice reward them for that they did not
do. Therefore He puts them aside. The true doctrine of the mortal,
perishing nature of man, just like the beasts, solves the horrible
orthodox nightmare of billions writhing in endless torture as the
ultimate result of God's purpose. What a travesty of a loving God!
What a colossal divine failure that would be!
Everlasting Life is not a present, universal possession. It is a
future reward to be bestowed upon the righteous and obedient,
through the mercy of God, at the last day judgment seat of Christ,
when he returns to the earth to reign.
***
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW OF PRECEDING MATERIAL
1. Where does the life power come from?
2. What is the similarity in the death of men and of animals?
3. What book presents the TRUE "origin of species"?
4. If we accept Christ, why must we also accept the Bible record of
Creation?
5. What words describe the physical condition of Adam before he
sinned?
6. What event brought about the mortality of Adam?
7. In what way did the sentencing of Adam affect all mankind? What
scripture proves this?
8. How do we know that Adam was not immortal?
9. Does man naturally spring to life again once he has died?
56 93 Berean
10. Through what man is resurrection made possible?
11 To what class will everlasting life be given?
12. Through what message is life and immortality possible to mankind?
13. What is the meaning of immortality?
Importance Of The Signs Of The Times
FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
This address serves as an introduction to the subjectmatter
of this Gathering — "The Signs of the Times." In our
remarks we will be looking at:
1. How signs are used in scripture.
2. How signs help us to build faith. How they have influenced
both the faithful and the unbelieving. And that by learning
about the signs of the times, both past and present, we can
develop faith, hope and understanding in the wonderful ways
of God concerning this earth and our salvation. And finally:
3. How the signs of the times help us to realize that Christ is
"at the door."
Solomon said, "Where there is no vision, the people perish. "The
word "vision"means: something to gaze at, mentally, to perceive
and contemplate. Solomon, with the wisdom from God
had great insight into human nature. He knew how we think
and what we need to sustain our perspective.
First, we need to know and understand the past—to form
a mental vision of what has happened. And we need to know
where we are in the great scheme of things. Is all about us a
haphazard arrangement or is it working out to a defined
conclusion? And is that conclusion to be joyous or disastrous?
We need to know. Unlightened man has established many
areas of study, many philosophies, religions and superstitions
in the attempt to find his purpose in creation —
uLo, this only have I found, said Solomon, God hath made man
upright, but they have sought out many inventions."
Man has devised many ways to understand the past, many
ways to perceive and handle the present, many fears of what
the future holds. But we, brethren and sisters, have the Truth.
We know that the universe is the creation of God and under
his control. We know that He has a plan and purpose with this
earth. We know of His dealings in the past. We know He is at
work through His angels in shaping present events; we know
that He has determined that the future will bring blessing and
93 Berean 57
joy and peace for those who commit their hope and trust in
Him. We have faith. But what is that faith built on? It is built
on a vision—an understanding, of what God has done in the
past, and a vision of what He is about to do as foretold in the
Scriptures of truth.
We all know the first verse of Hebrews chapter 11 —
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen,"
Or as bro. Thomas rendered it:
"Faith is the confident anticipation of things hoped far, a full
persuasion of things not seen."
Bro. Thomas regarded the fulfilled signs of prophecy as
the building blocks of faith, and the confident assurance that
God is in control and working out His purpose with this earth.
The word "evidence" comes from the Greek word meaning:
logical proof, evidence, demonstration, convincing agreement.
Hence faith is not blind. It is not figuratively blind nor
is it literally blind. Faith is also built on things that are seen, or
known, to give confidence about things not seen which are to
come. Yes, faith is built, faith is supported, faith is sustained
when the person bearing that faith sees the signs of prophecy
fulfilled or being fulfilled — the signs of God's power and
control of world events which have shown themselves in
almost every generation.
THE SIGNS OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
DATES
1805
1830
1834
1849
1862-68
1871
JOHN THOMAS
Birth
Emigrates to
America
'Apostolic Advocate*
'Elpis Israel'
'Eureka' published
Died
DATES
1820
1827
1828
1830
1842
1853
1877
1882
1914-18
DRYING OF THE
TURKISH EMPIRE
Greece revolts against
Turkey
Turkish fleet destroyed
War with Russia
Greece gains autonomy
France invades Algiers
Crimean War
Russo-Turk Wars
British occupy Egypt
WORLD WAR I
Palestine liberated from
Turkish rule.
58 93 Berean
The Bible has given every generation signs to watch for. In
brother Thomas' day, the signs being fulfilled were the drying
of the symbolic river Euphrates—the Turkish Empire. That
would have been the current events of his day, the signs of his
times, and they would have given him assurance to his interpretation
of the Apocalypse and an aid in sustaining his faith.
Christadelphians since brother Thomas' day, have seen the
complete removal of the Turks from Palestine by the end of
WWI to prepare it for the flood of European Jews who fled
from the Holocaust after the Second World War under the
control of the British. And then the greatest sign in this
century of fulfilled prophecy—the re-establishment of the
state of Israel in 1948.
We cannot help but think of the time when the Syrians
besieged Israel and the Syrian King sent a great host to Dothan
to capture Elisha because Elisha was giving Syrian intelligence
to the King of Israel. When Elisha's servant saw the great host,
he was afraid. But Elisha said —
"Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his
eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young
man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire round about Elisha>y (2 Kings 6:16,17).
When we see the signs of the times being fulfilled it is as if
the scriptures have opened our eyes and through faith we see
"chariots of fire"—the angels working to bring about the
purpose of God.
Now let's formulate a definition of the word "Sign "and see
how it is used in scripture. In the Old Testament the word
"sign" is a translation of the Hebrew word "ot". In the New
Testament it is a translation of the Greek word asemeionyt.
These two words translated asign "are defined as: a signal;
ensign; standard; a sign by which anything is designated, distinguished
or made known. A series of flags or ensigns which
could be read or a series of directional signs pointing the way.
This is the definition of the word. But we want to know how the
Scriptures use the word usign."
Sign is used five different ways in the Bible.
1. A mark or object intended to convey a distinctive message. Example:
Joshua 4 —
Joshua chapter four is the account of the monument that
Joshua built of the twelve stones that were taken from the
Jordan river when the Israelites crossed through it, made
93 Berean 59
possible by the power of God. We would like to spend a little
time on this example because it helps us to appreciate the
value of the fulfilled prophecies of our time
In Joshua chapter 3, it records that the children of Israel
approached the Jordan river and God gave instructions to
Joshua about the manner of the crossing —
"And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall
rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall
be cut off from the waters that come down from above, and they
shall stand upon a heap" (v. 13).
And so it happened.
"And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord
stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the
Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were
passed clean over Jordan " (v. 17).
In chapter 4, God gives Joshua more instructions:
"ThenJoshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the
children of Israel, out of every tribe a man; and Joshua said unto
them, pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst
of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his
shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of
Israel That this may be a sign among you, that when your
children ask their fathers in time to come saying, what mean ye
these stones ? then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan
were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it
passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off and these
stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever"
(v.4).
"And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did
Joshua pitch in Gilgal" (v. 20).
"That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the
Lord, that it is mighty, that ye might fear the Lord your God
forever" (v. 24).
Why did God commandjoshua to establish this memorial
of the crossing? Because He wanted to establish a sign that the
Israelites could look back upon to remind them of the power
of God and His ability to deliver His people through humanly
insurmountable difficulties. This would build faith, for faith is
confidence for a reason.
That pile of stones became a witness for generations to
come of the power of God manifested on behalf of His people.
Some people say, "Why study history? You cannot change
the facts." The answer is, "If you want to have faith and hope
60 93 Berean
for the future, you must build it on the knowledge of the past."
We should all be students of history with a Bible in our hands.
In the Bible, signs nearly always denote a token or event
which is an exhibition of Divine power to accomplish a specific
purpose. We sometimes say things like. "The crime rate is
soaring and there is so much family trouble—it is a sign of the
times." But the truest scriptural use of sign is an event or token
which indicates the use of Divine power bringing about the
will of God in human history. The signs of scripture set forth
hope as a reality. It makes clearer and more substantial the
joyous anticipation of the present.
Do we have a sign that we can look back upon as Israel had
in those twelve stones? The greatest sign of this century has to
be the return of the Jews to Palestine and the re-establishment
of the state of Israel in 1948. Talk to the brethren and sisters
who witnessed that event which fulfilled so many prophecies
and you will find that it was a joyous, faith-building time
Since then, every time we pick up a national newspaper
which almost daily covers a news event about Israel, or watch
a news broadcast with a segment on Israel, we are seeing a
mark, a token, a memorial, a sign of the power of God to bring
about His purpose through humanly insurmountable odds.
We look back upon the re-establishment of Israel in 1948 and
our faith is strengthened.
It is also a valuable way of preaching the truth, of convincing
the unbeliever of the existence of God. Many of you have
perhaps quoted to a friend the scriptural references about the
re-establishment of Israel. Perhaps you have shown them how
brother Thomas foresaw this event when he wrote Elpis Israel
And they were convinced or at least their criticism was silenced.
As Christadelphians, we are witnesses that these signs of
our times are due to the hand of God working in the nations
to bring His purpose to pass.
The next use of sign in scripture is:
2. Weather conditions indicating the will of God.
For example, the rainbow after the flood was a sign or
visible token that God's wrath had abated. Of the sun and
moon,in Gen. l:14itsays, uAnd God said, Let there be lights in the
firmaments of the heaven to divide the dayfirom the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons and for days and for years. "
Scientists have marvelled at the logic and accuracy of the
93 Berean 61
movements of the heavenly bodies. They have described the
universe as a clock or a giant computer working out a problem.
In Genesis, the appearance of the sun and moon mark
the passage of a day. The creation of the earth took six of these
time periods. On the seventh day, the Creator rested. Bro.
Thomas saw the creation week as a scale model of God's plan
for this earth. He wrote in Elpis Israel (p. 180) —
"It is proved, that the revealed mystery of God's will which He has
purposed in His own mind, is first to found a kingdom and empire of
nations which He will bestow on the crucified and resurrected king of
the Jews, and upon all those who believe the doctrine, or word,
concerning it, and become obedient to the faith, and secondly, at the
end of 7,000 years from the foundation of the world, to renovate the
globe, and to people it with immortal men "equal to the angels," who
shall all have attained to the eternal state and to the possession of its
transcendent glories on the principle of believing His "exceeding great
and precious promises, "and of lovingly and voluntarily obeying His
laws. " (To be continued, God willing)
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
WORLD: A GLOBAL EBB OF REFUGEES
Between 1979 and 1989, nearly eight million people were driven
from their homelands by the power struggles in Afghanistan, Angola,
Cambodia, Mozambique, El Salvador, the Horn of Africa and
elsewhere.
In the three years since the cold war ended, some 4.5 million new
refugees have fled their native lands to escape the civil wars and
ethnic cleansing that too often have followed the collapse of Communism.
"We thought that with the demise of the cold war, refugee
numbers would go down. But we didn't adequately foresee that there
would be anew crisis resulting from ethnic conflicts and nationalism
run wild." (Director of U.S. Committee for Refugees.)
From across half the globe, some 18 million people are waiting
to see whether they will eat tomorrow, waiting to see whether they
can ever go home again, waiting to see whether any nation will open
its door to them.
Donations and benefits exist, but the explosive growth in refugee
numbers has overwhelmed these efforts. Economic sanctions
and Western threats have not slowed the sad parade of displaced
Muslims from Bosnia.
Due to the violence and bloodshed in former Yugoslavia, 220,000
Croats and Bosnians have flooded into Germany. This has provoked
62 93 Berean
native sentiment and prompted a divisive debate over Germany's
once generous asylum laws.
Some 1.6 million (6.5%) of the people from former Yugoslavia
are now classified as refugees. Every week an additional 3,000 stream
into Croatia from Bosnia. Some 1.3 million more are "displaced"
inside Bosnia. At least 750,000 are living under siege and 7,000 are
confined in Serb-run detention centers in what are described as
"outrageous conditions."
One half million Serbs are refugees in Serbia. About 300,000
Croats are refugees in Croatia and an estimated 40,000 Hungarians
have fled Serbia. But the principle victims in this region are Muslim
Bosnians. — USN11/30; NY Times 11/19
The persecution of the Muslims in Serbia and Bosnia, which has
led to the flight and starving of this race, (those left in the area which
was overrun by the great Ottoman inundation of the 15th and 16th
centuries) is now a further extension of the latter part of their
prophesied history. Rev. 16:12, "The sixth angel poured out his vial
upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereofivas dried up," That
process was begun about AD 1820, and in various ways has been in
operation to the present This purging of an unwanted people may
continue in other parts of Europe (as we see evidence now in
Germany) until the divine purpose is completed, and the way is made
ready for the coming and manifestation of Christ. "That the may of the
kings of the east (or sun-rising) may be prepared."
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait sent as many as 380,000 Palestinians
from old exile in the Persian Gulf to new exile in an economically
hard-pressed and politically uncertain Jordan and in the Israelioccupied
West Bank.
The same bleak picture and story are now being repeated in such
places as Cambodia, because hundreds of thousands were shunted
westward by the murderous Maoists in the late '70s.
In Afghanistan, since the fall of t he Communist government in
Kabul last spring, some 1.2 million Afghans have made their way
home from Pakistan, about four times as many as the UN Refugee
Office had bargained for.
Somalia is currently a land of death and suffering. Due to great
water and food shortage Somalis have been on the move. Thousands
have flowed into Ethiopia itself. And in all, one half million Somalis
have flooded into the sprawling tent cities in the arid land where
Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya m e e t It has become a region massed
with refugees in desperation. — USN 11/30; NY Times 11/19
The great concern of western nations is a potential politico/
economic impact that may start threatening the stability of these
countries. The concern is for both the countries they are leaving and
93 Berean 63
the areas they are going to. A country receiving masses of refugees
can absorb only so many, and only so quickly. It is truly a picture of
plight and wretchedness — not counting the starvation factor.
Interestingly, in many of these regions, there was some connection
with the former Communist Soviet Union. They, like the United
States, provided various kinds of support, military supplies, or
simply infiltration in these countries to gain strategic advantages.
The Soviet Communist collapse has greatly contributed toward this
misery.
When world conditions are creating the production of millions
of refugees, with the number ever growing, there is some application
of Christ's prophesy of "the sea and waves roaring" (Luke 21).
What we are witnessing is a replay of history's recorded events of
6,000 years, man's long, sad, inhumane behavior. This condition is
everywhere pervasive. It is locally in broken households, it is in every
large city (though we may not be personally exposed to it), it
manifests itself in human greed, and avarice in every form of
government as party advantage is sought, it breaks forth in anyplace
where rulers are inadequate to establish laws and order. Serbia/
Bosnia are no different than Somalia.
Where autocratic authority is gone, the only law is "Might is
Right." Man confirms that he is worse than the most ferocious beasts.
They are "without natural affection." Truly the establishment of the
Divinely ordered "Despotic" government is necessary and due. The
world then will marvel at the contrast, and praise the King that blesses
them. Psa. 72, "He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in
pieces the oppressor, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall
serve him—men shall be blessed in him, all nations shall call him blessed."
***
SOMALIA: ANARCHY, STARVATION AND U.S. INTERVENTION
After two years of anarchy, chaos and massive deaths in Somalia,
the United States will conduct an experiment in world order: armed
peacemaking there, rather than peacekeeping. Anarchy rules in
Somalia, and the United Nations has resolved specifically to intervene
in that nation's domestic affairs to rescue a civilian population
that is dying at the rate of a thousand a day, not just from bullets but
from starvation as well. During the last two years, as many as half a
million Somalis have starved to death.
The previous Bush administration's mission to the Horn of
Africa was intended to be a quick fix, ajolt of military muscle to make
the country safe for humanitarian aid. Once the so-called secure environment
for relief operations has been achieved, U.S. troops are
supposed to hand over their responsibilities to a smaller, traditional
force of UN peacekeepers, not yet formed or financed.
64 «93Berean
Before the "mission" is complete, about 35,000 soldiers (some
from Canada and France as well) will have been activated in Somalia.
It has been made clear that the U.S. will not tolerate any opposition.
In fact, the UN Security Council resolution suspended the rules that
usually limit UN peacekeepers from shooting first. Germany has
ordered armed troops to assist at the "Horn." This is in violation of
their military neutrality since 1945 (WWII). — TM12/14, W.Alm. '92
Somalia is adjacent to, and east of Ethiopia, and fills a most
strategic position along the northeast African coast. It overlooks the
Indian Ocean, and any occupant in this country could monitor naval
and shipping flow in and out of the Red Sea. It also has an advantageous
"back-door" view of the oil-rich Arabian peninsula. None of
this was ignored by the former Soviet Union, who meddled in
Somalian affairs at one time; nor has it been ignored by the United
States, who has been in the country before. Surprisingly, both powers
have done some backing out of the country within the last thirty
years.
Anciently, Somaliland was known by the Egyptians as "Punt."
Other ancient historians knew the region as "Barbaria." It's northern
sea coasts may have been part of the biblical area where the "gold of
Ophir"was obtained by Solomon, (II Chronicles 9:10), although
most of that area is on the Arabian peninsula.
Most of the top third of Africa is a giant region with a very sparse
water supply, Somalia included. Undoubtedly, in the kingdom age,
these deserts will blossom as the rose, as shall be the case then with
the land of Palestine and Arabia. But for now and in retrospect, the
Deity has struck it with very, very long term drought. This has created
the stage and fate for what has been happening in Somalia (as well
as other African countries).
Somalia is predominantly a one-language and one-religion (Islam)
country, and for this reason, had been seen as having a greater
chance of living in unity than other tribal torn African countries. But
limited natural resources, as well as internal disputes, go back to
ancient times, when rival groups clashed over the same water wells
and grazing lands.
Colonial Britain was there in the 19th century, as well as Italy; the
land divided between the two. After World War II, part of Somalian
territory was turned over to Ethiopia by the British military. This was
due to Italy's defeat in the war, and to atone for pre-war European
aggression.
In 1960 the country was liberated and reunified. But lack of
leadership and experience in government kept the country backward.
Corruption and bribery began doing their work. Their President
was assassinated in 1969, and a one-man Marxist rule stepped
93 Berean 65
in. Somalia courted the Soviet Union, giving Moscow naval and air
stations on the Gulf of Aden. In return, the country received supplies
of heavy artillery to oppose the then Western-propped Ethiopia.
The strategic importance of the African Horn cannot be overemphasized.
Aden, the ancient rampart of British supply for commerce
and military preparedness in the Middle-East, is an ideal linchpin
in the world's chain of supply in every respect. The world's line
for the supply of oil and every other form of trade, must pass through
this narrow entrance to the Red Sea as it is bound for Europe. Its
value was never more evident than in the recent Gulf War. In hostile
hands it would have probably permitted Iraq to overrun all of the
Arabian Peninsula.
Bro. Thomas envisioned this as a pivot-point in the latter day
chain of events. The determination of USA to pull out of this region
shortly should be studied closely. Britain made such declarations
when she moved into Egypt in 1882, and into Sudan in 1897. Bro.
Thomas had stated in Elpis Israel, page 435, "a motive for the
merchants of Tarshish and its young lions to take possession of all
the coast from the Gulf of Persia to the Straits (Babel-Mandeb) and
thence to Suez, by which the lion-power will not only become the
Sheba and Dedan, but also the Edom, Moab, and Ammon of "the
latter days." page 442, "I know not the policy of Britain, — their
present intentions however, are of no importance one way or the
other because they will be compelled by events soon to happen to do
what under existing circumstances, heaven and earth combined
could not move them to attempt." — "The finger of God has
indicated a course to be pursued by Britain, which cannot be evaded,
and which her counsellors will not only be willing, but eager to adopt,
when the crisis comes upon them," (Dr. Thomas, 1850). Thus we
should watch closely coming events and what will happen in this area
of the Middle-east, and of US removal from Somalia.
When Ethiopia fell to socialism, Moscow abandoned the Somali
cause, as no longer being necessary.
Plagued with years of drought, and laden with a million refugees,
the Marxist rule turned to the US for help. The US had their
eyes on monitoring positions close to the Arabian oil fields. They
took the old Soviet military facilities. Hundreds of millions of dollars
of US money was spent to arm the country.
Washington began turning its back in 1990. Up to now, there
have been three years of civil war that killed thousands, bringing
much destruction to the country, and creating an exodus of hundreds
of thousands of refugees to neighboring countries. Starvation
is being used as a powerful war weapon among the fighting clans.
The US's outward objective to "get food to the starving" will
66 93 Berean
present a commendable image to the world. But there is surely more
to it than this. The one man Marxist ruler, who the U.S. backed since
1969, in return for other favors, is now out of the picture. It would
appear that the major objective is to move the country towards
another attempt for democratic rule, if any substance of leadership
can be found.
People are starving and dying in Liberia, southern Iraq, Peru,
Sudan, Burma and other places, but no massive aid is being offered.
Americans supported U.S. military intervention to get food to the
hungry in Somalia because the flood of starvation pictures and film
from the news media finally created an emotional sympathy. But
Washington may be challenged to justify continued political support
even there, where her presence must also mean heavy financial
backing and mammoth food supplies, while Americans are furious
and bitter about their failing economy, work instability, medical
insurance nightmares, thousands of existing homeless and a growing
distrust of the U.S. government in directing their own people.
The significance of the picture we see now may well be a preview
of what is to come in growing waves around the world, and until the
end. Presently, it is a stage set for a world population to greatly
increase; food production to remain the same, or possibly decrease
if the predictions on climate changes are accurate; ever growing
world-wide economic instability and world debt; and where the
healthier countries, — the food suppliers — like the U.S., are in
enormous debt themselves, and where problems at home will increasingly
plague them. Britain, Canada and Australia are not any
healthier.
Germany and Russia will restore military strength and organization
as time proceeds, and perhaps create more of this as they
progress toward their latter-day destined position. China, with a
population of 800+ million will not make a positive contribution to
world relief.
There is no other country or nation of any substance that has the
power to turn this tide. The consolation is that this misery will vanish
in the Age to come, when "every man shall sit under his own vine and fig
tree and none shall make them afraid" (Micah 4:4). — C. S..
DO what you should, rather than what you want to. It will give you
far more pleasure and satisfaction in the long run. It will lift you out
of fleshly babyhood into spiritual maturity. Self-pleasing now means
later regret, for self-pleasing has no LASTING benefit. Duty now
means permanent satisfaction: pleasure that does not cheatingly end
the moment the passing ecstasy stops: pleasure that not only lasts but
compounds with time: pleasure that does not need a constantly accelerating
input to maintain the output, like all the "pleasures" of the
world. —G.V.G.
93 Berean 67
Correspondence
Bro. and sister Ted Mingham, of Australia, have asked that their new
address be passed on to the Brotherhood. As February 1st —
Mr. and Mrs. T. Mingham
Unit 18 Cassia Court
Maranatha Retirement Village
1582 Anzac Avenue
Kallangur 4503
Queensland, Australia
THE MIDHEA VEN PROCLAMATION
(Revelation 14:6)
As to how long the period of proclamation will continue, it is not
possible to speak with certainty. The work to be done indicates that it
will not be an instantaneous operation. It is a work of "prophesying
before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings."
This will take time, and possibly years. The Deity is never in a
hurry, but deliberate, effective, sure. We need not be surprised if ten
years were consumed in the proclamation and the development of its
results.
Between the "memorial of blowing of trumpets" on the first day of
the month, and the Day of Atonement, there was an interval of ten
days.
After this pattern it may, therefore, be that between the beginning
of the proclamation in midheaven and the commencement of the
Second Angel judgment upon Babylon (14:3), there will be an interval
of ten years.
This would leave an "Hour," or month of years (that is, 30 years),
for the judgment to sit in slaying the 4th Beast of Daniel, and destroying
his body-politic in the burning flame (Dan. 7:11).
These 40 years after the manifestation of the Son of David and his
mighty ones on Mt. Zion, are the period of the "building again of the
tabernacle of David," and of the setting up of its ruins, as it was in the
days of old (Acts 15:16; Amos 9:11)—the exodal period of the gathering
under one King of all the tribes of the House of Jacob (Mic. 7:15)
-J.T
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 72)
3) The Good Confession: We have had this little work reprinted. It
is a conversation with an interested stranger desiring to obey the
Truth in baptism — prefaced by a few remarks in defence of the
practice of examining candidates for immersion — By the Editor
of the Christadelphian.
4) Are Englishmen Israelites ?: The Exeter Hall Debate between Mr.
Hine and the Editor of the Christadelphian, With lectures by the
Editor of the Christadelphian on the true destiny of Britain and
answers to Anglo-Israelite objections — We are having this
reprinted, and expect a supply from the printer in a few days.
5) The circulation of books on the Truth is too limited to admit
of any just comparison of them with popular works, either in
68 93 Berean
point of price or number. Other books have all the world for a
market; Christadelphianbooks, though precious to those who are
enlightened, would not be accepted gratis. The idea of large and
cheap editions is an enterprising thought: but there are several
practical obstacles. The wonder is that so much has been accomplished
in this way.
6) Now Ready: The Temple ofEzekiel's Prophecy — An architect's
demonstration of the nature, character and extent of the building
represented in the last nine chapters of Ezekiel. Illustrated
with 13 large finely-drawn plates. By brother Sulley, Nottingham.
(The Truth continued to grow through the efforts of many helping hands. The
increase in the publications of the Truth was a boon to the Brotherhood.
Through the love and mercy of God, many of these books and articles have
come down to our day. They contain the elements of the Truth and are a vital
addition to the shelves of our libraries. May we have the wisdom to open them
and study them, for they contain wonderful expositions of God's Word.)
***
THE article printed from the writings of Dr. Thomas was entitled, "The Impious
English, Greece, Russia And The Eastern Question." The substance of the
article by bro. Thomas centered around an article written by a Greek poet
about British interference in Europe and the East. The poet had stated —
"Let us, under the auspices of France, Austria, and Germany,
restore the empire of the great Constantine, and thus be in
possession of Western Greece from the Eurotas to Istra, and of
Eastern Greece from the Nile to Euxine, with three capitals —
Athens, the seat of learning; Constantinople, the seat of Government;
and Jerusalem the seat of religion!"
In answer to this, bro. Thomas proceeded to indicate that God's purpose for
the nations and cities of the world was far different from man's ideas. He
stated-
Why trouble we ourselves with England's quarrel with the Greeks,
and the ambitions and fanaticism of Russia, in the Herald of the
Kingdom and Age to Come? Because the events growing out of
them are the means by which the way is being prepared for the
introduction of that Kingdom and Age.
Prophecy is being fulfilled, and ever has been fulfilled, by
human policy antagonized and controlled by men and angels, to
which angels God hath put in subjection the present world.
***
IN an article by bro. Welch, "So-Called Higher Criticism", a few very interesting
thoughts were presented on the subject of the inspiration of the Scriptures
—
I ask any candid man to take up the entire Bible, look at its
literary composition closely, scan deeply the thought pervading
its every book in the unfolding of the Divine purpose and
inculcation of doctrine pertaining thereto, and see how wonderfully
prominent is its unity, its similarity, its harmonious trend of
thought in its one great work of recording the Divine will in His
dealings with the human race, even though many agents and
long centuries were employed in the work of making up the
record.
93 Berean 69
(At every opportunity, the brethren drew attention to the absolute inspiration
and infallibility of the Scriptures. This must be taught to the believers in every
generation. Any departure from them will only lead to ignorance and eternal
death. The Scriptures are the Word of God, and are profitable for doctrine, for
correction and instruction in righteousness. They are the only means to life
everlasting.)
***
CONTINUING the written discussion on'T/ie Day Of His Coming," bro.
Roberts considered the further enquiries on whether the Abomination of
Desolation set up, as recorded in Matt. 24:15, was Roman or Moslem. He
remarked —
While many endorse the conclusions reasoned out of these
articles, some feel held by the Moslem construction of the time
periods of Dan. 12, which would postpone the establishment of
the Kingdom till far into the next century. Of course if the
Moslem construction is right, we are not to be deterred from its
adoption by and consequence which that construction may involve.
At the same time, in judging of the matter, it is important
to note that while what we may call the Roman way of looking at
it, not only gives ground for the hope of early redemption, but
harmonizes and simultanizes, as we might say, the issues of
things east and west — the other way, the Moslem way —
postpones the the Kingdom till 1972, and makes an unnatural
gap between the ending of the misfortunes of the saints in Papal
Europe, and ending of Israel's dispersion from their land.
(The discussion centering around the time periods by bro. Roberts are intensely
interesting. Clearly no one knows the day nor the hour when the
Master will appear. But our hearts and minds should always be centered
around the coming of the Lord. We are living 100 years beyond these remarks,
and therefore we are standing on the threshold of the Master's return. As we
watch the signs, let us be prepared!)
***
IN his "Answers to Correspondents", bro. Roberts wrote answers on the
following subjects — "Temptation"; "What Will Become of the Religious
Buildings?"; "Ecclesial Corruption"; "Which is the Best Way?"; "Owning
Property"; "Smoking"; "Drinking Habits".
***
THESE comments were made on the continuing important "Jewish Crisis"—
There are no signs of abatement of Jewish troubles. The stoppage
of immigration at New York is a sore aggravation of the
evil; that is having the effect of concentrating attention on the
Holy Land, where the Sultan has reported to have removed the
last obstacle to Jewish resettlement.
(The Jewish Question continued to be In the forefront of the news articles.
Although they are sad reading, the Brotherhood was no doubt fully aware that
they were seeing God's Word being performed and that this was a sign of the
times. The process was In motion, God was redirecting the Jews back to the
Promised Land. Again, how much closer we are to the end of the matter!)
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
Bro. Challinor proposed the resumption of our annual Jewish
contribution which was suspended some time back in the absence
of immediate occasion. The proposal was favourably
70 93 Berean
received, but it was decided to hold the matter over till the
expenses of the approaching Town Hall effort are fully met.
Sis. Roberts acknowledges the receipt of several parcels of clothing
from various donors, containing things "new and old," for
distribution among those unable to provide them; also a sum of
money from an anonymous sister for the same purpose. To those
who have made themselves fellow-labourers in a good work, she
returns thanks.
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"The First Appearing of Christ, a Page that cannot be Blotted
from History: its Meaning in Regard to Human Hope and the
Character of the Bible"
"The Second Coming of Christ a Certainty"
"The Object of the Second Coming of Christ: Judgment on the
World for its Wickedness: the Overthrow of the Present Social
and Political Systems and the Establishment of a New Order in
which God will be Glorified and Mankind Blessed"
"A Much Needed Revolution"
"Where Are Our Dead Friends?"
"Resurrection and Judgment"
"Doctrinal Teaching of Christ"
"The Salvation Proclaimed in the Bible Contrasted with the
Teaching of the Religious World on the Subject"
"The Unknown God — Christendom Astray Regarding the
Truth Concerning God"
"Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah"
"Trinitarianism and Unitarianism Considered in the Light
of Scripture"
"England in Prophecy"
"The World's Saturday Night and the Great Sabbath Rest about
to be Introduced by Jesus at His Coming"
January Answers —"
1. Stones [Gen. 31:46]
2. Scattered [Jer. 31:10]
3. Countries [Jer. 32:37]
4. Hen [Luke 13:34]
5. Fragments [John 6:12]
6. Great [Rev. 16:14]
7. Stubble [Ex. 5:12]
8.Midst[Eze. 22:19]
9. Silver [Eze. 22:20]
10. Six [Ex. 16:26]
11. Battle [Rev. 20:8]
12. Seventy [Num. 11:16]
13.Mizpeh[lSam.7:5]
14. Himself [Job 34:14]
15.Children|Joel2:16]
16. Driven [Mic. 4:6]
93 Berean
Gather"
17. Sinners [Psa. 26:9]
18. Figs [Luke 6:44]
19.Wheat [Luke 3:17]
20. Barn [Matt 13:30]
21. Saints [Psa. 50:5]
22. Elect [Matt. 13:27]
23. Sheaves [Mic. 4:12]
24.Strawed [Matt. 25:26]
25. Troops [Mic. 5:1]
26. Dispersed [Isa. 11:12]
27. Tongues [Isa. 66:18]
28. Blackness [Nah. 2:10]
29. Lambs [Isa. 40:11]
30. Captivity [Hab. 1:9]
31.Jerusalem [Zech. 14:2]
32. One [John 11:52]
33. Mercies [Isa. 54:7]
34. Clusters [Rev. 14:18]
35.Wares IJer. 10:17]
36. Sixth [Ex. 16:22]
37. Lilies [S. of S. 6:2]
38. Remnant [Jer. 23:3]
39. Arrows [1 Sam. 20:38]
40. Coasts [Jer. 31:8]
41.Little[2Cor. 8:15]
42. Eagles [Luke 17:37]
43. Name [Matt. 18:20]
44. Nations [Matt 25:32]
45. Multitude [Mark 4:1]
46. Bundle [Acts 28:3]
47. Eleven [Luke 24:33]
48. Assyria [Zech. 10:10]
49. Together [Joel 3:11]
50. Reapers [Ruth 2:7]
71
One Hundred Years Ago
IN the "Notes" section there were several important items mentioned by bro.
Roberts, in his outline of events In the Brotherhood —
1) The Town Hall Lectures Of Twelve Years Agor. We are having them
reprinted. They will be in supply within a few days of the
appearance of this number of the Christadelphian.
2) Books To Spare: The brethren at Derby are about to form a
library for lending books to the interested stranger. If any
brethren have spare books which would be suitable for this
purpose, they will be thankfully received. (Continued on page 68)
BIBLE PUZZLE — "What"
l.What mean these 7 . . . lambs
2. What is . . . than honey
3. What mean these . . .
4. What thing soever I . . . you
5. What doth the Lord thy God . . .
6. Shew you by w h a t . . . ye should go
7. What hath G o d . . .
8. What shall we . . . the 7th year
9 , what of the night
10. To know what was in thine . ..
1 l.What are these two .. . trees
12. We wot not what is . . . of him
1 3 . . . . for they wist not what it was
14. What meanest thou O . . .
15. To what purpose is this . . .
16. What, could ye n o t . . .
17. What is that in thine . . .
18. What God is about to do He . . .
1 9 . . . . knoweth what things ye need
20. Ye know not what ye . . .
2l.What... of the dead should mean
22. What think ye of .. ., whose son
23. Knowest not what a . . . may bring
24. Righteous know what is . . .
25. Have ye not read what. .. did
26. What ailed thee, O thou . ..
Acceptable
Advantage
Advantageth
Appear
Arrayed
Ask
Become
Bleating
Calling
Christ
City
Command
Common
Communion
Concord
David
Day
Eat
Ewe
Father
Fellowship
Hand
Heart
John
Life
Manna
Memory
Mindful
Olive
Persecutions
27. What meanest then this .. .
28. What.. . then hath the Jew
29. What then, shall we . . .
30. Know what is the hope of his .. .
31. What manner of . . . this should be
32. What is your. .., it is even a vapor
33. Nevertheless, what saith the . . .
34. What s h a l l . . . of them be, but life
35. What. .. hath light with darkness
36. Keep in .. .what I preached
37. Lystra, w h a t . . . I endured
38. What is man, that thou a r t . . .
39. What shall I say, Father... me
40. What.. it me, if the dead rise not
41. What doth i t . . ., my brethren
42. Tell. . what things ye have seen
43. Hear what the . . . saith
44. What. . hath Christ with Belial
45. What is the . . . of the mystery
46. What city is like unto this great.. .
47. What God hath cleansed, that call
not thou .. .
48. What manner of . . . ought ye to be
49. Doth not y e t . . . what we shall be
50. What are these which are . . . in
white
Persons Sin
Profit Sleeper
Receiving Spirit
Require Stones
Rising Sweeter
Salutation Waste
Save Watch
Scripture Watchman
Sea Way
Sheweth Wrought
$7.00 U.S. per year Printed in the USA
Australian subs to bro. Ray Hodges, 2 Emily St., Esperance, W. Australia 6450 $9.50
(Aust.)
British subs to bro. Phillip Hughes, 25 Heol-Y-Gelli, Fforchneol Pare, Godreaman,
Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South Wales, U.K. £4-50 (U.K.)
Canadian subs to bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ontario,
Canada N5V 2X1 $8.50 (Can.)
USA subs to bro. Max McLaren, 8008 Junius Street, Houston,Texas, USA 77012 $7.00
(U.S.)
72 93 Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 3, ISSUE 843 MARCH, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: Canton 74
Fraternal Gatherings: Lampasas, Richard, Hye, Canton 74
DR. THOMAS1 TRAVELS (cont'd) 75
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
Inheriting The Kingdom 77
THE DAY OF THE LORD (bro. Roberts) 79
THE HAND OF OUR GOD IS UPON US (bro. Growcott) 87
IMPORTANCE OF THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES (bro. E. Williams) .. 91
SAMSON—IN WEAKNESS MADE STRONG 95
THE ORIGINS OF EASTER 96
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
WORLD: A Year Of Fratricide; RUSSIA: Theology Returns
To Russian Schools 98
February Answers: "What" 107
100 YEARS AGO:
Notes; The Twenty-Four Elders; The Significance Of The
Cross Of Christ; Honest Objections To The Truth;
The Day Of His Coming; The Jewish Crisis; Birmingham
Miscellanies; Different Bible Lectures 108
Bible Puzzle: "Pass" 108
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
CANTON, Ohio — YMCA Building, 231 6th St. N.E. — S.S. & Christadelphian
Key To The Prophecies class, 10 am; Memorial, 11 am; Lecture, 2nd Sun. of
month, 2 pm; Eureka class Wed., 7 pm, in homes — bro. David Sommerville,
3430 Dalecrest St. N.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 833-5843.
Greetings with love to all of like precious faith.
Since our last report we have enjoyed the company and fellowship
of the following visitors from whom we have received encouragement
and edification: from Dedham, Mass., bro. and sis. Steve
Osborne; Detroit, Mich., bro. and sis. Fred Higham, Jr., bro. and sis.
Fred Higham Sr., bro. and sis. Tim Stinchcomb; Edmonton, Alta.,
bro. and sis. Doug Luard; Lampasas, Tex., bro. and sis. Braden
Edwards; London, Ont., bro. and sis. David Clubb, bro. Jason Clubb;
Newark, Ohio, bro. and sis. John Phillips; Wanaque, N. J., bro. and
sis. David Van Pelt.
Upbuilding words of exhortation were delivered by bre. Braden
Edwards, Fred Higham Jr., Fred Higham Sr., David Clubb, Jason
Clubb, John Phillips, and Steve Osborne.
On the last Sunday of 1991, a Sunday School program was
conducted in our meeting hall for both the children and the
brethren and sisters, involving singing, talks and recitations. Again,
on the last weekend in August, Sunday School exercises were engaged
in at Baylor's Beach, where our annual Sunday School picnic
is held, and the Memorial service observed on the Sunday. It was a
pleasure to have several visitors with us on the occasion.
To some extent world events heralding the time of the end seem
to have mellowed in that the direct threat of Armageddon seems to
have been blunted; but we should not allow this to throw us offguard,
because the cup of the world's iniquity is almost full and the time for
the fulfilment of God's promises and salvation to His people draws
ever nearer as all signs indicate. The Providential Hand of God is
(Continued on page 104)
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 12, 13 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
RICHARD, Sask. — Fri.-Mon., July 9-12 — bro. Gordon Jones, Box 48,
Richard, Sask., Canada SOM 2P0; phone (306) 246-4628.
HYE, Texas — Sun., July 25 to Sun., Aug. 1 — bro. Jerry Connolly, 12609
Dessau Rd., A-144, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,10— bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
74 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas1 Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
We arrived at Louisa Court-house about 10 A.M., and
found two friends waiting to receive us. It was court day, and
therefore none were to be expected at our meeting from
hence. Breakfast being disposed of, we set out for Corinth, a
free house on the confines of Louisa and Goochland, about
ten miles from this station. We arrived here about 12:30, and
found "quite a gathering." They were getting doubtful of my
arrival, still had not become impatient. It was not amiss to
travel seventy miles to an appointment by half past twelve; and
in those parts some ten years ago [a time belonging to
antiquity] would have been regarded not only a phenomenon,
but impossible. The people having become hungry
concluded to refresh themselves before the meeting was
formed. They therefore spread out their provisions with a
welcome to all.
The stomach being at length quieted, the brain of the
multitude was prepared for the conflicting influences about
to operate upon it. These were the influence of the flesh, and
the influence of the word: the former, as the result of digestion
which often evinces itself in drowsiness, if not in profound
sleep; and the latter, as the effect of "the deep things of God"
exhibited from the Scriptures. I believe I can truly testify that
upon this occasion the influence of the word was stronger
than the flesh. I did not see any asleep; but all seemed to be
wide awake, if not to conviction, at least to the hearing, of the
New Doctrine—new to this generation, though old as the
promises of God made to the fathers thousands of years ago.
After talking to them between two and three hours about
the Age to Come, or "acceptable year of the Lord," I accepted
the hospitality of Col. Bowles, who resides in Fluvanna County,
about six or eight miles from the place of meeting. His
residence is a very pleasant one, in view of Commodore
Stockton's gold mine, which some years ago belonged to the
colonel. Sitting in his porch, we could hear the crushing mill
at work in the opposite woods. There are other mines about
here, but the Stockton mine is the most important, having
absorbed more gold than the rest; but whether the yield has
been in excess of the expenditure, I believe is known only to
93 Berean 75
the proprietor, whose hobby it is, and who spares no expense
in aiming to make it profitable.
An English company is also at work in this vicinity, crushing
the earth for gold; an occupation pretty general throughout the
world. Gold is good; but the love of it in the lust of it, is bad,
and the root of all evil. Its abundance is one of the good things
promised in the world to come—Tor brass I will bring gold,
and for iron I will bring silver." Hence, that world will be a
perfect mine of wealth, to the richness of which the Stocktons,
English companies, Californian and Australian diggers, are
largely contributing; for athe wealth of the sinner is laid up for
the just" (Prov. 13:22). This Age-to-Come goldmine is worthy
of a lavish expenditure of time and means to obtain an interest
in: but this generation's faith in it is so weak, so infinitesimally
small, that I fear but few of it will be able to show to the Master
of the mint more than a single talent, carefully concealed in
a napkin, which is worse than the possession of none at all.
Men in the present state will sacrifice life and character for
honor, glory, power, and gold; but they will jeopardize neither
for these things in the Age to Come. The world is offered them
on condition of believing and doing the words of God; but on
such terms they reject it. They would seize upon the offer, if
they might have it on their own terms—-of self gratification.
But this cannot be. No man can inherit the world that now is,
and that which is to come. Purple and fine linen will have to
give place to rags and tatters; for aIt is the poor in this world,
rich in faith whom God hath chosen to be the heirs of the
kingdom he hath promised to them that love him."
After meeting on the following day we adjourned to the
hospitable abode of Dr. Gillespie, who, I believe, is the real
proprietor of the meeting-house, which is sure to be afree one
so long as he controls it. If the neighborhood knew what was
best for it, it would purchase the house, fit it up comfortably
for winter, and make it free for all preachers, without exception,
until the resurrection. They need not trouble themselves
about what will become of it after that The resurrected will
attend to that matter; for all places of public assembly in all
countries will be theirs, and they will make a righteous use of
them, and for the best interests of the people; which the pulpit
and denominational pietists of these days are incompetent to
do.
76 93 Berean
Let the people meet there every Sunday, and choose one
from among themselves who can read best, and let him take
the stand and read the Scriptures to them, beginning at
Genesis. Let every man who goes take a Bible with him, and
follow the reader in his reading. When several chapters have
been read, let the reading be discussed as freely as men discuss
the weather, and crops, and the state of the markets, or the
political questions of the day. No doubt, many foolish things
will be said; but be not deterred from seeking to understand
the Scriptures for fear of that; no greater nonsense can be
spoken at such a meeting by laymen, than falls weekly from the
lips of the clergy.
After such a course as this, the people cannot fail of
becoming more knowing in the word; and this is the first step
to escaping from the errors which destroy them; and will be
more highly beneficial than all the preaching they are accustomed
to hear. The preachers will doubtless discourage such
a course, being apprehensive that the intelligence of the
people will outstrip their own. But never mind that. Let them
preach; but let the people also study the Scriptures, for these
only can make wise to everlasting life in the Kingdom of God.
(To be continued, God willing)
S t u d i e s a n d T h o u g h t s BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
INHERITING THE KINGDOM
I perceive a want of distinct apprehension of the difference
between INHERITING the Kingdom and being A SUBJECT
of the Kingdom. "Flesh and blood, or mortal men,
cannot inherit the Kingdom" (1 Cor. 15:50); not that "flesh
and blood" cannot be the subjects thereof, and consequently
intimating that none will live on the earth, or exist during that
Age (the Future) or Dispensation, but immortals, or such as
have either by the Resurrection or Transformation passed
from a state of corrupt ibleness to a state of indestructibility. Do
not the scriptures say, that "to him that overcomes I will give
power over the Nations, and he shall rule them?"
Under the New Heavens and New Earth, when Jerusalem
shall be a rejoicing and her people a joy, "the child shall die a
hundred years old; and the sinner being a hundred years old
shall be accursed." Here childhood sin and death, are set forth
as existing in Israel, the most favoured nation of the Future
Age, when the Lord rejoices in Jerusalem and joys in his people;
will they not also obtain throughout the globe?
93 Berean 77
There will be parentage, sin and death, under Messiah's
personal and only reign upon the earth. The expectation of
possessing a share in a Kingdon and Empire without subjects,
or of reigning, like a drover, over quadrupeds, as the dominion
of the Future Age, is no part of my Hope, or understanding of
the Law and the Testimony.
To inherit, or possess, an estate or thing, is a very distinct
idea from that of being a part of a thing inherited. A Russian
nobleman can inherit an estate in which are included the serfs
or slaves upon the soil; he becomes the head or chief, but he is
not, therefore, any part thereof. The serfs work the land, they
minister to his necessities, and his enjoyments but they do not,
therefore inherit or possess. If they hold any portion of the soil,
it is only as tenants at will — until death or the will of their
lord ejects them. So in the Future Age, the Saints are the
Nobleman — the Aristocracy of the World — who derive the
patents of nobility from God. They inherit or possess all terrestrial
things in a royal copartnery with Jesus, who is the Chief of
the Inheritance.
"The meek shall inherit the earth," and "the saints shall rule
the world," and command the services of the heavenly Host.
The nations will be their serfs — first subjugated by violence,
then yielding a willing and grateful service until seduced by
Satan from their allegiance — inherited by virtue of their
divine right to the soil of Palestine and the secondary dominion
of the earth attached.
Hence, the basis of the social fabric of the Future Age or
Dispensation of the Fulness of the Appointed Times, or world
to come, of a 1000 years' continuance — the true INTERMEDIATE
STATE; a state intermediate between the Times of
the Gentiles and the Third, or Eternal Heaven — the basis of
society in the coming age is the fruition of a convulsion by
which every principality, power and dominion, whether monarchy,
empire, or republic, now extant upon the globe, will be
demolished and forever abolished — by which nobles, princes,
kings, emperors, popes, priests, clergy, presidents, governors,
office holders, fleets and armies, will be suppressed, leaving
only an undistinguished and headless multitude, which ((shall
wait for His law," who shall "bind their Kings with chains,
and their Nobles with fetters of iron."
He shall appoint "princes throughout all the earth" (Psa.
45:16). These princes are "the children of the Promise;" become
the sons of God by believing the promise made to the Fathers
— "the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ;" and by such believers being immersed
into the glorious name in hope of the things believed, in
78 93 Berean
the full assurance of these and of those things affirmed concerning
Jesus. Having thus "put on Christ" and being "Christ's
they are Abraham's seed (for it is the children of the promise —
believers of the promise — that are counted for the seed) and
heirs according to the promise."
These sons of the Divine Father, and brethren of the eldest
Son of God, having, like him, become the sons of God with
power, according to their holy, spiritual and angelic nature, by
a resurrection from the dead — will be distributed and appointed
throughout the world as the undying and permanent
successors of "thepowers that be." Is not this sufficiently plain
to prevent future misapprehension? Herald, 1847
The Day Of The Lord
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
1 Thessalonians 5 — Paul had been speaking on the subject
of the coming of the Lord as the comfort of believers with
regard to those who were dead. He here says it was unnecessary
for him to write them on the subject of the times and
seasons. For this he gives two reasons: "Yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" How did
they know? By Paul's teaching: for we find him, in the next
epistle (2Thess. 2:5) saying, "When I was-with you, Itoldyou these
things." What did they know? That the day would come
unexpectedly—"as a thief." Upon the believers? No. Upon
those who should cry, "Peace and safety," when destruction
should be at the door.
This is not the case with believers. They know that there is
no "peace and safety" for the world until the Prince of Peace is
enthroned on Zion's Hill. "In his days the righteous flourish, and
abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth" (Psa. 72:7). "In
his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely" (Jer.
23:6). There is no peace to the world under its present
constitution of wickedness. And especially at "the end" is there
no peace to be looked for, but nations angry, and a time of
trouble such as never was since there was a nation upon earth
to that same time (Dan. 12:1).
But all the time and at the last will be found such (and
these very numerous) as cry, Peace and safety. The world has
been sounding this cry during all its troublous and bloodstained
history. After every war, there is to be everlasting
peace; and every war is a "guarantee" of the general repose.
93 Berean 79
Notably is this the case in our own day, when the world is
armed to the teeth, as it never was before, and trembling in the
uncertain balance of peace or war. Notwithstanding the most
unpromising situation of things, every potentate, statesman,
diplomatist, politician, and newspaper writer talks complacently
of peace as a thing to be secured. "Peace* has been
on their lips while war is in their hearts, and the heedless
throng, anxious only about business, have caught up the
strain. The saints are not of those who cry, Peace and safety,
except to such as fear God and keep His commandments. For
all the rest of mankind war is appointed, especially the war of
the great day of God Almighty, which, at the coming of the
Lord, is destined to sweep away all refuges of lies, and lay the
foundation for a reign of righteousness and everlasting peace.
The day of the Lord will not come upon the saints as a
thief. As a snare it will come upon all men that dwell upon the
whole earth (Luke 21:35), but upon the called, and chosen,
and faithful, it will come as the welcome deliverance which a
lifetime's expectation and preparation will have made them
ready to receive with gladness. Seeing the appointed tokens
among the nations, they lift up their heads, knowing that their
redemption draweth nigh.
But there was another reason why the day of the Lord
could not come upon the Thessalonians as a thief, and as we
are in their position, we do well to consider it. They were not
in darkness, that that day should overtake them as a thief. They
were all the children of light and of the day. Come soon or
come late, it could not find them unprepared, but ready to rise
in joy in response to the uprising of the Sun of Righteousness.
Paul did not mean to say that absolutely every individual of the
Thessalonian ecclesia was in this position; for you find him
mentioning some who were otherwise conditioned. UI hear,"
he says, "that there are some which walk among you disorderly; " and
he thought it necessary to direct the ecclesia to withdraw from
all who did not submit to his word (2 Thess. 3:6).
An ecclesia by position and profession belongs to the light
of the day. That is the description of the high calling which has
called it into existence; but it does not follow that all its
members come up to the profession. It is possible that many
of them may come short of the stature of the new man in
Christ, and consequently fail in obtaining the promise. It is
even possible that in a whole ecclesia there may not be a single
80 93 Berean
individual acceptable in the sight of God. We seem to discover
such a case in the messages of Christ to the seven ecclesias that
were in Asia. To all, with two exceptions, he speaks of the bulk
of their members in doubtful terms. Of one, he speaks as if it
lacked a single individual of the true type; which affords
matter for serious reflection for us who, living so long after the
authoritative proclamation of the word, are in much more
danger of being in that position.
To Laodicea he says, "I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. "Some wonder whyjesus
should wish anyone to be cold. We find the explanation in the
fact that, as a matter of temperature, cold or heat are acceptable
in food, while a middle state is unpleasing. As cold water
to thirst, or warm food to the hungry, so should the saints be
to Christ. In some form or other, they should minister to his
pleasure. He should find satisfaction in their love and obedience
and zeal in one shape if not in another. We should afford
him joy by our walk somehow. Lukewarmness is sickening.
This is the state of professors who yield him no pleasure. In this
state, they are in danger of being spued out of his mouth. This
was the disaster impending over Laodicea. The reason is in
these words —
"Because thou sayest, lam rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
This shows the possibility of a community thinking well of
itself, but being wretched before the Lord. Jesus says that
many on that day will say to him, "Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful
works?"Rut he will profess unto them: UI never knew you." Not
every one, "he adds, "that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven."
Self-congratulation is a dangerous luxury on the part of
either individuals or communities. Be thankful for privileges
and attainments, but make no boast. Enjoy the goodness of
God in meekness; flourish it not in the eyes of neighbours as
a matter of superiority; for what have we that we have not
received; and it may be that we have not received so much as
we think. Let us take care that we deceive not ourselves. The
boast of Christadelphian superiority to the sects is rank abomination
in the sight of God, if we are reprobate to His com-
93 Berean 81
mandments. It is good to know the Truth, and to stand in
Christ Jesus; but let us beware of saying, "We are rich and
increased in goods, and have need of nothing, "lest we are in the
position of the Laodiceans who, without being aware of it,
"were wretched, and poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked."
It may seem strange that anybody should be wretched and
miserable without knowing it. But when we understand these
terms to refer to one's actual relation to good and evil, and not
to our feelings for the time being, the matter is clear. A man
making merry on board a ship that is shortly to drown him in
the depths of the sea, is more wretched than a man cast away
on a desert island, from which he is about to be rescued, and
to be conducted to great comfort and plenty. So in Christ,
those people are truly wretched and miserable who, though
on very good terms with themselves, are objects of detestation
in the eyes of the Lord; while those whom he regards with
approval are truly blessed, though they may be in fear and
bitterness, and have much acquaintance with grief and suffering.
The former class have much need to listen when Christ
counsels them "to buy of him gold tried in the fire that they may be
rich;" that is, faith that stands the trial of grievous circumstances—
a faith more precious than gold that perisheth
though it be tried in the fire, showing itself in untiring
obedience to the commandments amid all the seductions or
discouragements of this mortal state. "White raiment, that thou
mayest see;" that is, the righteousness that comes from the
forgiveness of our sins and fruitfulness in the Spirit. "Anoint
thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see; "that is, to correct the
mental perceptions in such away as to see all things in the light
in which Christ regards them.
Jesus invites the shortcomers to purchase these things of
him. It is the same voice that we hear in Isaiah—the Spirit of
Christ in the prophet —
"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and
milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend
money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that
which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall
fiW(Isa. 55:1-3).
32 93 Berean
The same gracious words we hear from the mouth of
Christ himself —
"/ will give to him that is athirst of the water of life freely."
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest."
"Him that cometh unto me, I will in no -wise cast out."
"The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athrist come. And whosoever will,
let him take of the water of life freely."
Let us strive to realize what these beautiful metaphors
mean, as regards our acceptance of the invitation. In what way
are we to buy of Christ the things he commends to the
Laodiceans? We shall see this if we consider what they are.
Gold tried in the fire, or a tried faith. How cometh this?
"Faith," we are told, "cometh by hearing" (Rom. 10:17). By
hearing what? By hearing the Spirit; as saith Jesus: "He that hath
an ear, lethimHEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAITH to the ecclesias."
What that Spirit has said, in all the holy men by whom it has
spoken, and, lastly, by the Lord himself, has been written.
Consequently, in its literal application to us, the blessing is
connected with READING.
"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).
Let us, then, in obedience to the invitation of the Spirit,
read what has been written that we may acquire that faith
which cometh by hearing, and which, in its exercise, is likened
to gold tried in the fire.
This reading to be effective must be constant. It must be
all the days of our life (Deut. 17:19; 4:10). We must give
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we
let them slip (Heb. 2:1); giving all diligence to make our
calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). We must honour God
by listening every day to His voice which speaks to us in His
word. Thus shall we obtain the mind of the Spirit. Thus shall
faith grow strong within us, ready for the trial which shall not
destroy it, but purify it as gold. Thus shall we pray effectively
before Him that we may be assisted in time of need. This
figurative exhortation to buy gold tried in the fire, resolves
itself into an exhortation to read the word; to watch daily at
wisdom's gates, waiting at the posts of her doors, that finding
her, we may find life and obtain favour of the Lord (Prov.
93 Berean 83
The same line of thought will be traversed in the consideration
of the other items. "White raiment," or a state of
acceptance before Him by righteousness, is only to be attained
by allowing the Word of Christ so to operate continually on the
inner man that we become like-minded with himself, and
obtain the forgiveness of all our sins, and become energized
to the performance of righteousness as by a second nature,
even the new man renewed in knowledge after the image of
Him that created him. Eye-salve is obtained in like manner,
enabling us to see all things in their true light, and to act the
part of wise men accordingly.
These things are characteristic of all who are truly the
children of light and of the day. These things belong to the
day. The present time is night in relation to the world at large.
The earth's population, in all its teeming millions, walks in
darkness. The world lieth in wickedness. Folly reigns. Wisdom
is scarcely to be found. The fear of God is nearly unknown.
The mass, even in "civilization," are but brutish untutored
barbarians, uninfluenced, by the higher laws of intelligent
being, and governed only by the animal instincts of eating,
drinking, clothing, and herding together. We shall see how
intense has been the night we are coming through, when we
get into the full blaze of the glorious day. We shall realize it
more powerfully than we do now with our comparatively
blunted perceptions.
We are not of the night if we are Christ's. We are of the day.
We belong to the day of Christ: to the good time coming when
righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
We have now to realize the principles of that glorious era in
present and complete submission to them. "Let us not sleep as
do others, "so Paul exhorts, "but let us watch and be sober. "He does
not mean literal sleep, for literally, we are to sleep as do others;
for if we did not sleep, we should die, and the work of God be
frustrated. We are not to sleep in the sense in which the world
is asleep. We are not to share their state of unconsciousness
with regard to the great realities of existence, and spend our
time in illusory dreams. The world is unconscious of God; it is
unconscious of His universal presence and power; it is unconscious
of Christ, and of God's purpose with Him; it is unconscious
of the great claim He has on every living soul; it is
unconscious of the great plan He is working out, and of the
principles which He desires His creatures to recognize. It is
84 93 Berean
dreaming of life, and comfort, and prosperity without God;
the phantasm of a disordered brain.
With this state of mind, the saint has nothing in common;
but if he be not on his guard, he may sink into it. How are we
to preserve our consciousness of all the great things that
pertain to the "day?" How shall we avoid sleeping "as do
others?" By giving heed to what the Spirit saith; and the Spirit
speaketh in the word. By this companionship with God we are
kept in remembrance of the great facts upon which the
realities of life are founded. We are preserved in remembrance
of Him, having the fear of Him before our eyes all the
day long. We are enabled to have continually in view those
stars of our history—the death, burial, and resurrection of our
compassionate Lord and Master, who now lives a Priest for
those who hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope
steadfast to the end. We are kept in a state of continual
acquaintance with the things God would have us do and think,
and with which He is well pleased. We are kept in constant
recollection of the great purpose for which the Son of God has
appeared, and that the heavens must hold him only till the
times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
If we forget these things, we "sleep as do others," and drift
along the stream of death, concerned only, like the Gentiles
around us, with the questions, "What shall we eat? what shall
we drink? and wherewith shall we be clothed?" This is to be
prevented by the continued reception of the Spirit that will
keep us awake. We cannot keep awake in our day in any other
way. We are not reminded of these things by the aspects of
Nature presented to us as we walk abroad. The blue sky, the
shining sun, the gentle breeze, the murmuring waves, the
waving cornfields, the singing birds, or the thronging streets
of a great city, are powerless to enlighten us on the great things
of the Spirit. These things are based on history and promises,
and Nature is as silent on these as on the exploits of Bismarck.
We can learn them only where God has chosen to deposit the
instructions. We can learn them in His word, and in His word
only. Business is a continual weariness of buying and selling
and getting gain, useful in its way, but a deadly fever if it
monopolize the mind. Jesus gives us a correct estimate of it in
telling us there are those who, when they hear the word, "go
93 Berean 85
forth, and the cares of this world, and the lusts of other things
entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."
The wisdom of daily reading becomes more and more
apparent. This lesson cannot be too strongly enforced, or too
distinctly apprehended among those who have failed to lay
hold of the refuge set before them in the Gospel. Their life
depends upon it. They are in danger of being blinded to it.
Away from it, we are open to a hundred plausible exceptions
which lay hold with a death-grip all the more fatal because soft
and sweet. Spiritual decay potently prevails where the reading
of the word is neglected. A lamentable mistake is made by
those who conclude they have no time to read. What should
we say of persons concluding they had no time to take their
food? No more insane would this be than the other hallucination
in its ultimate effect. Man lives not by bread alone. He may
live an animal life by bread alone; but animal life is a brief
affair. There comes a life afterwards that springs from the
Word now stored into the heart; and deceived is the individual
who excludes the Word of God from his daily consumption on
the plea that he has "no time."
What is he so busy about? What should we say of a man in
the cabin of a sinking ship, who should neglect preparations
for the lifeboat on the plea that affairs in the cabin left him no
time? This is a dying life—dying, dying, dying; and slaves of
death are those who allow its transient concerns so to fill their
heads and hearts as to shut out the "one thing needful "A wise
man will not be found perishing so. He will not be cheated on
any pretext, out of that bread which shall be unto him "life
everlasting." If he is ever so poor, or ever so close-worked, he
will find twenty minutes a day, at least, to sit at the shrine of
God, and be taught by the voice that speaks to him as from over
the mercy-seat of the ancient tabernacle of the testimony. And
if rich, he will smite the golden beast with the rod of his
authority, and order it to be in the corner for a time every day,
while he listens to the Maker and Possessor of heaven and
earth.
The man—poor or rich—who acts not thus, is a fool; for
what does the struggle of life amount to, apart from the
attainment of that good which shall not be taken away? To a
complete vanity. The poor man sweats out his three-score and
ten, and lies down to be no more remembered. The rich man,
by much contrivance, draws the coin from his neighbour's
86 93 Berean
pockets, and, having scraped much to his corner, comes to his
weary end, closes his eyes in disappointment, and dies like the
fool with his barns, with a fearful awakening in store, when
God, whom he has cheated, will mete out his portion of
judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversary.
Let us, in these days, be wise; and we shall at last see the
glorious harvest in joy unspeakable, in the ranks of the blessed
company who shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom Of God. —Seasons of Comfort
The Hand Of Our God Is Upon Us
BY BROTHER GILBERT GROWCOTT
"His windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and gave
thanks before his God, as aforetime'7— Dan. 6:10
Daniel 3 is an inspiring record—of men who chose the
narrow way and who were prepared to follow it wherever it
led—men who went forward from strength to strength, building
for the future with purpose and determination upon a
firm basis of light and reality.
Nebuchadnezzar, the personification of human pride and
power, sets up an image of gold that all are commanded to
worship. All through history it has been the same image in
various forms, and it is the same today.
It is the image of man—sixty cubits high and six wide. Six is the
number of man and the measure of his dominion on earth.
And, from time to time, man has demanded that the
children of God worship his image. In early Christian times, all
that was required to secure a believer's release from death was
to throw a little incense into the sacred fires ofjupiter. A small,
harmless concession, it might seem, easy to do with mental
reservations, but the whole vital principle of allegiance to God or
man was involved.
We are repeatedly faced with the same subtle and fatal
choice in many ways today. Daniel himself does not appear at
this crisis, when his three companions are cast into the
furnace. Apparently he was elsewhere.
But seventy years later he was faced with the same issue, and
in a far more subtle form. This is recorded in chapter 6, and
occurred under the Persian king Darius. This time no open
93 Berean 87
act at all was demanded. All that was required was a refraining
from prayer to any but the king for thirty days. And so (v. 10)—
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went
into his house;
"And his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and gave
thanks before his God as he did aforetime."
He knew the penalty. Was he foolhardy? Why couldn't he
have taken care not to be seen? Why couldn't he have closed
the lattice window which is so pointedly mentioned as being
open? Wouldn't common prudence have demanded at least
that? God could hear just as well with it shut.
But why SHOULD he hide? Why should he be ashamed or
afraid? Who has supreme power, God or man? Naaman the
Syrian said (2 Kgs. 5:18)—
u When I bow myself in the house ofRimmon, the Lord pardon
thy servant this thing."
But Daniel was a man of different stamp. Why should he
temporize and interrupt his communion with God at the
whim of a heathen monarch? It was no sin to pray, it was his
duty. And if he intended to pray, why should he hide it?
He could not have faithfully followed any other course. His
allegiance to God was on trial, and he faced the issue squarely.
He did not go out of his way to flout the king's commandment.
He merely ignored it, and followed his usual custom of
worship, scorning subterfuge.
Our minds are turned to an action of somewhat similar
nature on the part of Ezra—an action which to the eyes of cold
common sense was foolhardy and rash, but which was wellpleasing
to God (Ezra 8:21-23) —
"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ofAhava, that we
might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right
way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
"For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers
and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because
we had spoken unto the king saying,
"The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him,
but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake
Him.
"So we fasted and besought our God for this: and He was entreated
of us."
Ezra was not overconfident or boastful. He did not presume
upon the providence of God. But he did not feel he
88 93 Berean
could consistently ask the help of man when he had spoken of
the limitless power of his God. Others may have regarded the
matter differently, but to him, the situation raised again the
same issue of allegiance and dependence—God or man—and
whenever that issue arises in whatever form, the answer of
faith must be the same.
He well realized the responsibility he had assumed in
leading his unprotected company through wild and hostile
country. It is clear that this weighed heavily upon him. There
were many other lives besides his own involved—many who
trusted him and depended upon him, and who were prepared
to make the journey with him relying on his judgment and
wisdom.
It would have been far easier to have asked for an armed
guard, but he felt that the honor of his God was at stake, and
so in prayerful hope, and with no armor but faith, they
ventured forth.
And no harm befell them.
***
These examples of individual courage and faith shine forth
during some of Israel's darkestyears. Ezekiel Jeremiah, Daniel,
his three companions, Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Out
of the deep shadow of the captivity period, these names
appear as scattered beacons of faithful endurance.
For the most part, these men worked out their course
alone, surrounded by bitter hostility. The support and comfort
of companionship was denied them.
Daniel's intense devotion to the land and people of God is
evident from his prolonged prayers on their behalf, yet in the
inscrutable wisdom of God it was decreed that he should
endure a long and weary lifetime in exile, with Jerusalem
desolate, the sanctuary in ruins, and the people of God a
derision and reproach.
And to Ezra and Nehemiah fell the thankless task of
welding a few forlorn and factious remnants into a surface
semblance of national unity, while the enemy derided the
pitifully small results, and those who remembered the former
things wept at the comparison.
Discouragement at times must have assailed these men at
the hopelessness of their task in their May of small things," but
a broader view of their position would carry them on.
93 Berean 89
At all times, the issue is an individual one, and the personal
relation to God is the important factor. This does not change,
though outward circumstances may vary greatly, and therefore
true satisfaction and confidence lie not in our material
circumstances or visible accomplishments, but in our proper
adjustment to them according to the expressed wisdom of
God.
Though destined to live during times of national collapse
and humiliation, this conviction of the passing and secondary
nature of present things would provide all these men alike
with a basic consolation. Truly they grieved sincerely over the
unhappy state of affairs, and labored heroically to alleviate it,
but they realized that behind all temporary and surface
calamities the eternal purpose was moving forward, unaffected
by the failures of men.
This did not, of course, relieve them from doing their part
in their day and generation, but it softened the bitterness and
despondency that external conditions would generate.
In their day, their heaven and earth were being shaken.
Things which had appeared stable were collapsing. And with
the collapse of the external things went the collapse of the
faith of many.
It was a time for determining what things were passing and
incidental, and what things were fixed and eternal. Those
whose faith had related to temporal prosperity and safety in
the land were cast adrift. Only those held firm who saw deeper,
and realized that faith in God means more than merely
expecting His favor and protection, and must carry through
times of darkness as well as times of light.
Of such was Daniel. Beholding his people's misery, his faith
was not shaken in the power of the God Who had chosen
them, but he looked to the spiritual condition of the people
for the answer to their woes.
So with Jeremiah and Ezekiel. While others lamented
God's departure from them, these men proclaimed the real
cause, and the only remedy. We, too, live in times of upheaval—
"Once again I shake both the heaven and the earth. . . that
those things that cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb.
12:26-27).
Whether we are shaken away or whether we remain de-
90 93 Berean
pends upon the things to which we cling. If we cling to the
things that cannot be shaken, then we can say with David—
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. The Lard of Hosts is with us.
"Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea"
(Psa. 46).
Importance Of The Signs Of The Times
FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
(Continued)
The Ages of Human History
ANTEDILUVIAN MILLENIAL
In accepting
God's plan
which encompasses
7,000
years, then we
can chart it
this way. Now
on the time
chart we have
a time line
going from creation to the end of the millennium. It is
interesting to note that the best studies to date based upon the
best historical, archaeological and chronological data have
determined that the birth of Jesus was approximately 4-5 B.C.
and that the creation week occurred about 4004-4005 B.C.
The first two blocks on the time line equal 4,000 years. Add to
that the millennium, a definite period of 1,000 years, leaves us
with 2,000 years between the birth of Christ and his second
coming, which according to the chart should expire in
1995-1996.
Now we firmly believe that no man knows the day or hour
of Christ's coming. Many calculations and specific dates set
have come and gone with none of the predicated results. But
we do believe that is just one of the many indications or signs
that we are very near the return of Christ.
Our third usage of signs in the Bible:
3. Omens named by the prophets as pledges of their predictions.
For example, the death of Eli's two sons in a day indicated
that God's judgment would come to pass upon the whole
house of Eli.
93 Berean 91
Next we have:
4. Signs are events understood to be the works of God or attestations
of His active presence among His people.
The greatest Old Testament example is the Exodus itself,
how a multitude of powerless people could gain freedom from
a tyrannical Pharaoh, survive a forty year wilderness journey,
then conquer a land for their own. The Jews of this century
were just as powerless, yet through the provident hand of God,
they regained the land of Palestine as a homeland. In both
cases this was a sign of the power of God among His people.
And last:
5. A meaningful God-given token indicating what God has done, is
doing, or is about to do.
This brings us to our times. What are the signs of our times
indicating what God has done, is doing, and is about to do in
our time?
One of the purposes of the book of Revelation is that the
saints may know what period of time they live in in relation to
the purpose of God. We do so by matching prophecy with
signs of the times. Our time — Biblically speaking, prophetically
speaking, began in 1820. Our time is referred to in the
Apocalypse as the 6th vial.
On the chart (The Historical Plan of the Apocalypse) you will
notice first a time line covering the period of the prophecy of
the Apocalypse. We begin at 96 A.D. when John received these
visions which would soon begin to be fulfilled, ending on the
right side of the chart with the establishment of the Kingdom.
historical plan o f T h e H i s t o r i c a l P l a n o f t h e Apocalypse
the apocalypse is
divided into
Seven Seal periods.
Six Seal
periods cover the
judgments on
pagan Rome.
The Seventh
covers the period
from 324 A.D. to
the establishment
of the Kingdom.
92 93 Berean
7th Seal
6 Seals
Judgment
on
Pagan
Rome
7th Trumpet
6 Trumpets
Judgment on
Catholic Rome
6 Vials
Judgment
on
Papal Rome
| 6th Vial
1820
96A.D. 324 1790
Israel
Established
1948
1
1
Our
ime
9
"When Thy judgments, O Jehovah, are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa. 26:9).
And in Rev. 15:4 it is written to the same effect—
"All nations shall come and worship before Thee; because Thy
judgments are made manifest" (Rev. 15:4).
Even so, speed it quickly, O Jehovah!
Whom I Love In The Truth
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
"For the Truth's sake that dwelleth in us, and shall be
with us forever" (2 John 2).
John's second epistle brings out a few things about "love,"
which it is important to recognize. "Love," in the world, is one
thing; "love" according to the ideal of the sects, another; and
the "love" of apostolic discourse, yet another. The two former
we may dismiss. The world's "love" is an ephemeral affair,
having its foundation in the instincts, dying with use and age,
and passing away in death. Orthodox "love" is a sickly distortion,
lacking the elements that give strength and comeliness
to the "love" of the Scriptures. It works spiritual mischief now,
and is destined hereafter to vanish like smoke.
The "love" of John's epistles has foundations, without
which it cannot exist. This partly comes out in the very first
sentence of this second epistle — "The elder unto the elect lady
and her children, whom I love in the Truth."
Outside the Truth, a brother's love is not operative. He
loves not the world, nor the things in the world, remembering
that— "If any man love the world, the love oftheFather is not in him. "
His friendships are bounded by the Truth, as regards both
men and things. In Christ, he is a "new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).
After the flesh he knows no man. The friendship of the world
93Berean 115
is enmity with God (James 4:4). Therefore he cultivates no
friendship with those who know not God, and obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. His love is bounded by the Truth.
Does he, therefore, shut up his bowels of compassion
against those who are without God? By no means. He recognizes
the obligation put upon him by the same law, to salute
not his brethren only, but to do good unto all men, as he has
opportunity, even to his enemies. But there is a difference
between doing good to unbelievers and cultivating friendship
with them; and the saint is careful to observe this difference,
lest he come under the rebuke that greeted the ears of
Jehoshaphat, on his return from friendly co-operation with
Ahab —
"Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them who hate the
Lord? Therefore is wrath upon theefrom before the Lord. "
We can have our conversation towards the world in all
courtesy and benevolence, without going on to their ground,
and joining affinity in the schemes of pleasure, profit, or
friendship.
The "love" that belongs to the Household of Faith is —
"For the Truth*s sake that dwelleth in us, and shall be with us
forever" (2 John 2).
This isjohn's definition of its source and scope. Everyone
that is truly of the Household responds instinctively to it. To
the carnal mind it appears very "narrow," but this is an illusion
of ignorance. It is the true breadth, for it relates to that which
shall be forever, while the world which would have us unequally
yoked, passeth away. The Truth connects us with "the
shoreless ocean of eternity, "while the friendship of the world
is confined to "a narrow neck of land"—the brief existence of
this animal probation.
The at present "narrow" operation of apostolic "love" is
also founded in wisdom; for unrestricted friendship with the
world is full of danger: it draws away from the fear of God, the
hope of the calling, and the holiness of the Master's house,
"Whose house are we, if we hold fast the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end. "
It is, therefore, a snare; pleasant and advantageous meantime,
but having the suction of the maelstrom with it, drawing
us to death; for when the Lord of Light stands on earth, to set
in order destiny, according to the Father's purpose, the world
will have from His presence "fled away."
116 93Berean
John rejoiced concerning those to whom he wrote that he
had found them "walking in the Truth. "Saints walk not otherwise.
Their actions, plans of life, friendships, aims, enterprises,
hopes—everything connected with them, in some way
or other comes from, originates in, and is conformed to the
Truth. The Truth is their inspiration—the controlling energy.
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." (2 Cor. 5:17).
Not that all answer to this. There are professors who serve
not the Lord Jesus, but themselves; but such are not children
of God. None but the sons will be gathered in the day of the
144,000. They are few now, as they have always been, and the
world "knoweth " them not in many senses; but they know what
they are about.
They are not dreaming; they are not fanatics. They are the
children of wisdom; and wisdom is justified of them all,
though the world understands them not. They understand
the world too well to be entrapped into its fellowship. They are
known of God, and will be publicly revealed in due time, in
glory, honor and immortality. Meanwhile, they "walk in the
Truth." On this ground they are to be met and understood.
Approached on any other ground, they will seem not what
they are. They are not to be comprehended "after the flesh."
"This is love, that we walk after His commandments. "
No man loves after the Spirit's fashion who disobeys.
Apostolic "love" is that state of enlightenment and appreciation
in relation to the things of God that impels a man to be
a "doer of the Word. "John gives this an application that was
special to his day; and yet is at all times appropriate wherever
the same need and the same danger manifest themselves. He
says —
"This is the commandment that as ye have heard from the
beginning, ye should walk in it " (2 John 6).
We wonder what he means, then presently the light
dawns—
"For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not
that Jesus is come in the flesh" (v. 7).
He means that they should hold fast to the doctrine of
Christ as originally delivered; because many were drawing the
disciples away therefrom. The obedience of the commandment
is the evidence of New Testament "love," and it is also
necessary for our acceptable standing before the presence of
the Lord's glory at his coming. This is John's view, as evident
from the words immediately following —
93Berean 117
"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have
wrought; but that we receive a full reward" (v. 8).
There would have been no need for these words if the
things that had been "wrought" were not imperilled by the
doctrine of the deceivers of which he is speaking. He indicates,
in strong language, the consequences to the individual
thus ensnared—
"Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ hath not God" (v. 9).
This may seem a strange saying in view of the fact that the
"deceivers" referred to believed in one God, the Creator of
heaven and earth; and also in Christ, after their own fashion.
But the apparent strangeness disappears when we look closely
at the matter John is writing about. To "have " God in the sense
of John's words, is to stand in His favor, now and hereafter.
All things are "in"His goodness. As David says: "Thy goodness
is over all thy works": but the goodness of God in the
common benefits that come upon all alike, is a different thing
from that personal "favor" which guides, attends, and prospers
(even if by chastisement), with a view to a perpetual
sonship in the spirit-nature. The enjoyment of this favor is a
thing of conditions. One of those conditions is a recognition
of the channel in which He offers it.
Out of Christ, sinners cannot come near. They have the
goodness of God as creatures, like the sparrows, not one of
which can fall to the earth without the Father's knowledge;
but they are not in the privilege of children. They have not the
Father's favor and purpose concerning the ages to come. This
is only to be enjoyed in Christ; but even here, it must be the
Christ of God's appointing. Any other than this is presumption
and a mockery of His wisdom: and they who teach otherwise
than the truth concerning Christ, preach another Christ,
though it be intended to refer to the Christ of Nazareth.
This is evident from the case of those to whom John is
referring. They believed that the person known as Jesus of
Nazareth was the Christ; but in their reasonings upon him,
they reasoned away the truth about him, and consequently
believed and preached another Jesus than the Son of the
Father.
There were different sorts of the class, but all their heresies
had a common origin in an attempt to bring the mystery
of godliness within the rules of human reason, instead of
118 93Berean
accepting the testimony with humble and childlike simplicity.
One set argued that such a character as Jesus was a moral
impossibility in flesh and blood, and that, therefore, his whole
life was a mere accommodation on the part of a spiritual being
to the senses of mortals. Another believing him to be flesh and
blood philosophized in a contrary direction, concluding that
as such, he must, from the nature of things, have been a "mere
man," and that the idea of his being God in flesh-manifestation,
was preposterous. The Papacy blended the two and
taught that though flesh, his flesh was not the corrupt and
mortal flesh of men, but a superior, clean, "immaculate" sort.
In our own day, as recent painful experience has made us
aware, a class of believers are treading the same dangerous
ground, in teaching that the flesh of Jesus was destitute of that
which, in the flesh of his brethren, constitutes the cause or
source of mortality. In relation to all of them, John's declaration
reveals the mind of the Spirit:
"Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son" (v.9).
The "doctrine of Christ" is that he is God made and
manifested in the mortal flesh of Abraham's race for the
deliverance thereof — on His own principles — from "that
having the power of death." Those who hold fast to this have both
the Father and the Son; for in Jesus they have the Son, and the
Father manifest in Him. As to those who "bring not this
doctrine,"John's commandment is (v. 10):
"Receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed!"
This command we can no more evade than any other
commandment delivered unto us. The obedience of it may
cost us something. It is crucifying to the flesh to refuse friends
— some of them excellent people as human nature goes —
who in one way or other have been seduced from their
allegiance to the doctrine of Christ; but there is no alternative.
Friends are but for a moment; the Truth is forever; and if we
sacrifice our duty to the latter from regard to the former, the
latter will sacrifice us in the day of its glory, and hand us over
to the destiny of the flesh, which, as the grass, will pass away.
"He that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. "
This applies to all without distinction, and erects a barrier
to fellowship with even some who hold the Truth; for though
they may hold the doctrine of Christ themselves, yet, if they
93Berean 119
keep up a "God-speed" connection with those who do not, by
John's rule, they make themselves partakers with them, and,
therefore, cut themselves off from those who stand for the
doctrine of Christ.
The epistle, as a whole, is singularly applicable to the
situation in which we find ourselves this morning. We have
been obliged to stand aside for the doctrine of Christ from
some we love. The Epistle of John justifies us in our course,
both as regards those who have departed from the doctrine of
Christ, and those, who, while holding on to it themselves, see
not their way to break connection with those who have
departed.
It is a painful situation, but we must not falter, nor need we
fear or be discouraged. God is with us in the course of obedience,
and we shall see His blessing in the increase in our midst
of zeal and holiness, and love and preparedness for the great
day of the Lord, which is at hand. —Further Seasons of Comfort
Lift Up Your Eyes On High!
BY BROTHER Q. V. GROWCOTT
Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen. The things seen are temporal:
the things not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
Isaiah in chapter forty, urges upon us a conception of God
and the purpose of life that is overwhelming in its immensity.
If we can by supreme effort, get in tune with his viewpoint,
present things shrink into their true insignificance—
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and
meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the
earth in a measure?" (v. 12).
"Behold the nations are as the small dust of the balance"
(v. 15).
"Hast thou not known ? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator ofthe ends of the earthfaintethnot,
neither is weary ? There is no searching of His understanding"
(v.28).
"Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these
things... by the greatness of His might, forHeis strong in power"
(v.26).
This is the scale of conception that it is wholesome to dwell
upon, and get away from the pettiness of our present sur-
120 93Berean
roundings. It is strengthening. It is uplifting. It engenders a
sober, godly frame of mind.
This is the true state of affairs. The world is but a handful
of dust—its troubled history an insignificant fraction of eternity—
the seemingly real and actual present but a brief interlude
that will pass like shadows before the rising sun.
This is the sphere of thought that is comforting and
worthwhile. Keeping our minds in THIS channel will result in
a course of action in harmony with these things and will fit us
for a place in them.
We are told by well-meaning but worldly-minded counselors
that if we want a better position we must fit ourselves for it.
We must fill our thoughts with its responsibilities and requirements.
We must, as it were, mentally live in that sphere and
accustom ourselves to it.
Now of course, this is entirely out of the question for those
whose minds, in obedience to the counsel of the apostle, are
wholly given to better things—they just haven't the time for it.
But it illustrates the effort we must make on a higher and more
satisfying scale. Often, sadly enough, the children of this
world show more wisdom and initiative and energy in their
aspirations than the children of light do in those things which
are eternal.
***
The human mind is not bound to its immediate surroundings.
If it were so, life would often become unbearable. But
consciousness is largely made up of memory and anticipation,
beside that which is present to the senses.
Many people choose their solace by living in the past,
comforting themselves with reminiscence and recollection,
escaping monotonous or unpleasant reality by an absorption
in what has gone.
Most are wrapped up in the immediate present and the
very limited future which comes within the scope of present
undertakings. But such a course does not satisfy the contemplative
mind.
"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die," is the
universal doctrine, but only the shallowest, dullest minds can
find merriment satisfying under such circumstances. Such an
attitude requires the cruelest, bitterest form of self-deception
and wilful blindness.
93Berean 121
But, in the mercy of God, there is a third alternative for
those who feel the need. How is one brought to feel the need?
By a recognition of the sadness and perversions of the present
dispensation, due to the incapability and inhumanity of man.
Is this brought home to us easily or quickly? Usually not.
At first the world is a place of bright promise, of comradeship
and love, a gay and thoughtless adventure. This is the common
first impression in the innocence and buoyancy of
inexperience.
How do we learn differently? What prompts us to turn for
comfort and satisfaction elsewhere? Usually it requires the
rough hand of misfortune and disillusionment to make us
fully appreciative of the vanity of present things. We are aware,
it is true, in a vague, theoretic way, of the vast preponderance
of sorrow overjoy in the world, but we feel nobody's troubles
as keenly as we do our own. This is in the very nature of things.
Our minds can only work on what is being continually presented
to them in some form or another. Unless constantly
reminded either by circumstances or direct efforts of our own
will, we soon forget and our attention is taken by other things.
This, too, demonstrates why we must constantly supply
our minds with material for thought from the Word of God.
If we do not, our minds will feed on other and unwholesome
things that so easily present themselves to them.
What is the course of mental satisfaction that is offered to
counteract the depressing effect of present considerations?—
"Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is
accomplished and her iniquity is pardoned. "
Such are the opening words of the reading from Isaiah 40.
"Her warfare IS accomplished and her iniquity IS pardoned. "
These things have been recorded for over 26 hundred
years and the end is not yet. Some may be reminded, perhaps
a little bitterly, of the statement by Paul to the Romans (4:17)
that—
"God calleth those things which be not as though they were
already."
Clearly there could be no more striking example.
To speak assuringly of warfare being over when it still had
a cruel course of over 2,000 years to run may seem poor and
misleading comfort—but is this the truth of the matter? A
122 93 Berean
thoughtful consideration will show that this is but a narrow
and unreasonable viewpoint.
Comfort depends upon the state of the mind. The comfort
offered by the Scriptures is not dependent upon immediate
fulfilment. It is the assurance of an ultimate reign of peace and
good, that is separated from no individual by more than the
brief span of a human life-time. Its comfort is not that distress
is finished, but that distress is a controlled and necessary
ingredient of the final result.
This is the viewpoint that prophet and apostle exhort us to
maintain. We must live in patience and godliness, buoyed up
by hope. We must center our minds resolutely upon that
which is to come andface all present trouble in the confidence
of this expectation.
"Sorrow endureth for the night," says the Psalmist—and
the night may be long— "butjoy cometh in the morning." The
course of wisdom is not to ignore or belittle the sorrow, but to
balance the whole picture. We shall not be overwhelmed by
the one if the other is kept rightly in mind.
Thus we can enter into the spirit of these words of Isaiah
and reap the comfort intended. We are not to regard the delay
with skeptical impatience or lagging faith, but we are to build
our lives and hopes upon these things in the quiet and calm
confidence that they represent the realities and that in God's
good time all will be accomplished. Verse 6—
"The voice said, 'Cry9. And he said, 'What shall I cry?'"
What good tidings are there?
"All flesh is grass . . . the grass withereth . . . surely the people is
grass."
Where is hope?
This is the thoughtful but purely natural view. It sees
things only as they appear and leaves out the most important
feature.
Verse 8 answers: Truly "the grass withereth"—truly present
things are a shadow—
"But the Word of our God shall stand forever... Lift up thy voice
with strength; lift it up, be not afraid!
"Say, Behold your God!. . . Behold the Lord God will come with
strong hand . . . and His reward is with Him. "
Then the chapter breaks into the long, exalted eulogy to
the power and greatness and unchangeableness of God, of
which we have spoken. What is its purpose?
93Berean 123
To raise and broaden the mortal conception of the meaning and
purpose of life. To train the mind into channels that give a balanced,
proportioned, spiritual outlook.
The human mind can be engrossed in the meanest and
most trivial matters, or it can be devoted to the highest and
loftiest considerations of divinity and holiness. The natural
tendency of gravity pulls it downward, but the mighty divine
magnetism of the Spirit draws it upward.
As the mind thinks, so it becomes. A man is but the aggregation
of his own thoughts.
Every spiritual thought is an ingredient of the new creature—
a strengthening of the spirit—a step towards life. Therefore,
says Paul (Ph. 4:8):
"Whatsoever things are true, lovely, gracious and just, THINK
on these things."
—and thereby become gradually like them.
What To Watch For In Relation To Europe
A FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
Our attention has been directed to the purpose and value
that the Signs of World Events hold for God's people. We have
been impressed with the imminence of the coming of Christ,
and of the necessity of preparation for that momentous time.
From our position, nothing on the world scene has to transpire
before that event. Any time we have should be used to
build up faith and confidence, that we may be found in a
prepared condition for personal inspection by ourJustjudge,
Christ Jesus. God is still CALLING OUT a people for His
service in His Kingdom. Because God is longsuffering, not
willing that any should perish, the day of Christ's manifestation
is delayed.
The Ministers of Europe are concerned by what is happening
there. They are gravely troubled regarding their future
and what the 21st Century will bring. They are in darkness.
They are as Christ said, "Blind leaders of the blind". But for us,
events now transpiring are most important. Yet before we, as
brethren and sisters, can comprehend the full meaning behind
these troublous times we must know the root cause of the
problems. It is our intent, to demonstrate from God's Word
the necessity of something being corrected. We have just sung
from Hymn 91, "RideForth, Thou Mighty King." Christ and the
124 93 Berean
Saints ride forth to execute that of which Europe knows
nothing, yet it is what is needed. This is our hope.
"Faith is the substance of things being hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen." Bro. Thomas in Eureka, vol. 1, said — "Faith is
reality and proof, the reality of the things about to happen on this
earth." The glorious hope of Hymn 158 is extended to every
one of us:
"Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear! —
The Day of Earth's redemption,
That brings us unto Thee!"
This is 'the substance,' 'the reality.' The basic point that we
now stress is 'the proof.' 'The proof is taken from the very
Word of God. In our remarks we hope to present that 'proof.'
Without 'the history', consecutive history, we miss the whole
spirit of what God is doing. God has revealed it for our sakes.
THE ROOT OF ALL THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS
Genesis 3
V. 14: "And the Lord God said unto the serpent,
V. 15: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Jam. 4:1-2: "From whence come wars and fightings . . .?
Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your
members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to
have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have
not, because ye ask not",
1 Pet 5:8: "Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary
the devil (Diabolos), as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour"
This is the "root problem." Every one of us is inflicted with
this problem. We ourselves are very much affected by it. The
Serpent was told that God would put enmity between him and
the woman and between his seed and her seed. "Thou (the
serpent) shalt bruise his heel, but he shall bruise thy head. " Sin has
to be eradicated and the time to eradicate that, as far as we are
concerned, if we hope to have a part in that age, is right now;
to work on it in ourselves. James tells us the same thing: "From
whence come wars and fightings among you. " Every nation is inflicted
by it and with it.
"Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members ?
93 Berean 125
Ye fight and war and kill, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."
Peter's warning —
"Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the diabolos is manifested
in all the nations of the world in their power, as a roaring
lion, walking about, seekingwhom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5:8).
These are some of the final words of the Apostle Peter. He,
by experience, learned it himself. He was able after a long
ministry to present it to others.
To understand the present day European scene, we go
back to the foundation of its nations in the book of Genesis,
the cradle of all peoples after the flood (Gen. 9:27; 10:20-21)
— "And God shall enlarge Japheth. " He was the eldest son of
Noah," I will enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents ofShem. "
Shem, being the faithful line, was divinely selected to carry
forth the Truth. "Canaan shall be his servant. "The tenth chapter
outlines the genealogy of Japheth. "The sons of Japheth are
Gomerand Magog. "Notice this final statement, "by these were the
isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands. "Here is the beginning
of the dividing.
In Gen. 11, we
read of the intent
of men to build a
tower that would
reach unto heaven.
They assumed to
change the purpose
of the Creator.
They would
build a tower unto
heaven, instead of
building God's
Temple in themselves,
in their
hearts and minds.
Therefore, God confounded their language and caused
them not to know one another's speech and thus they wandered
away throughout the world. They were scattered over
the face of the earth. One of the basic problems today is,
nations do not understand one another's speech, their boundaries
are constantly in quarrel. This was the beginning of the
spreading, the scattering and the dividing of the earth amongst
1 2 6 93Berean
ncrerorc is me name 01 u
Babel; because the LORD
there confound the language
Noah's descendants, and it has only brought confusion, for
this is the meaning of "Babel"
"Therefore, is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did
there confound their language."
However, the international scene is built on one thesis,
'God's dealing with the Jews — His chosen people, His national
people and spiritual people.'Thus we are drawn to what
Moses recorded in Deuteronomy (Deut. 32:8) —
"When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,
when he separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the
people according to the number of the children of Israel."
Europe Divided
WIIIUJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII MAGOGUE FOUNDED THE MAGOGAE
WHOM THE GREEKS CALLED SCYTHAE
COMER FOUNDED THE GOMERI
WHOM THE GREEKS CALLED GALATAE
HJJI 111111 I
NORTH
ATLANTIC OCEAN
||DEUTERONOMY 32*
8 When the Most High divided
to the nations their inheritance,
when he separated the sons of
Adam, he set the bounds of the
people according to the number
of the children of Israel.
Man's scattering began at the Tower of Babel; Gomer
spreading to the west across the southern part of Europe, (the
Isles of the Gentiles), settling in what is France and Spain at
the present time, and coming down even to the Canary
Islands; one of these Islands presently called Gomera. Magog
spreading to the north and up into the Russian territory as we
know it, moving westward to the shores of the North Sea and
the Baltic. Thus by these two were the Isles of the Gentiles
populated.
The relationship of the Chosen People, Israel, to world
events is covered separately. We, at present, are considering
93Berean 127
forces on the outside of God's household, used and being
used by God to effect His overall purpose with mankind.
About 600 years before Christ, Nebuchadnezzar, the first king
of Babylon, had a vision of a great human image. Being
divinely implanted in his mind, it portrayed prophetically,
world events to come, controlled by God to accomplish His
will. It is important to remember clearly that this Image has never stood
on its feet as a whole at any time in the past, except in Divine
foreknowledge, and as implanted in the king's mind. The Kingdom,
represented by the image, has never stood completely at any
time in history.
Our attention was directed to the word "vision"as a "sign"
— the signs of the times of the end—the return of Christ This
desired consummation shines clearly in what Daniel told the
King, that it was for the sake of God's people the message was
revealed. Notice what we see illustrated is a "great Image of a
man." This shows the outlook mankind has of himself. That
picture we must remember, because when God demonstrates
through the Prophets 'the proof that we are looking for, He
shows man as a BEAST.
Dan. 2:31 begins Daniel's interpretation
for the King; Head of Gold,
Breast and Arms of Silver, Belly and
Thighs of Brass, Legs of Iron, Feet part
of Iron and part of Clay We center our
attention on, 'Legs of Iron, Feet part of
Iron and part of Clay. 'In the description
of the destiny of the Image 'a Little
Stone cut out of the mountain without
hands strikes the Image, not on the head,
but on the feet. * The Image is not stricken
from the top, but at the bottom. However,
it shows that the whole Image
stands together as one unit, and falls
as one unit. Reading from verse 24 —
"Thou sawest that the stone cut out of the mountain 'without hands'
smote the Image upon its feet of Iron and Clay and brake it to pieces.
Then was the Iron, the Clay, the Brass, the Silver and the Gold (constituting
the Image) broken to pieces together." 'Together' is the
key word. The Little Stone takes the place of the Image. This
is God's key declaration in Daniel of the end of Europe and all
IDOHS
128 93 Berean
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM
—"HIS LEGS Or IRON,
*MS FEET PART OF IRON & PART OF CLAY.'
THE FOURTH KINGDOM SHALL BE STRONG AS IRON?
world powers. The Stone that smote the Image becomes a
Great Mountain and fills the whole earth.
Nowwe center
attention upon
Europe, the Two
Legs, the twofold
division of the
Roman Empire.
These Two Legs
were of Iron, the
Feet part of Iron
and part of Clay.
We were shown
this division at
the Tower of
Babel; they do
not cleave together.
God had
TKFEET&P
PART OF POTTtRS CLAY
4PART Of IRON —
THE KINGDOM
SHALL BCWyiDCD.
AFRICA
confounded
their language.
In the end these two elements are broken to pieces. That
was the conclusion of Nebuchadnezzar's view of this great
Image. In Daniel 3, we read that Nebuchadnezzar made a
great Image and caused all to bow down and worship it. This
chapter illustrates particularly that the faithful refuse to bow
down before or to pay homage to that Image. Let us remember
this exhortation. This is why it has been preserved for our
times.
In Daniel 7, God shows man as he really is, without the
Word implanted in his heart. Here Nebuchadnezzar's Head
of Gold is shown as a Lion with Eagle's Wings. The Eagle wings
are plucked off and the Lion stands upon its feet and a man's
heart is implanted. The fierce characteristic of the Assyrian
Power was changed into the Babylonian, which was more
93 Berean 129
humane. Replacing the Lion was another world power — a
Bear comes up out of the waters of the nations. In that Bear's
mouth were Three Ribs (the three Princes that ruled over
Persia). One part of the Bear came up higher than the other
(the ascendancy of the Persians over the Medians).
This is replaced by a third world power, the Leopard, with
four wings and four heads. The four heads represent the
Greek Power coming in and replacing the Bear Power, and
the four wings show that fourfold division of the Greek
Empire after Alexander, and the four directions unto which
Grecia would extend. The four heads illustrate four ruling
powers.
THG RAM
20 The ram which thou sawesi
having Itoo horns are the kings of
Mc'-dl-5 and Persia.
21 And the rough goatisthe king
of Gr£'-cl-5: and the great horn
that is between his eyes is the first
king.
Daniel chapter 8 shows a vision of a Ram and an He Goat
in deadly combat.
"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of
Media and Persia" (v. 20).
These beast visions lead into the prophetic picture of
Rome and all Europe. The prophecy shows an He-Goat coming
from the West, Greece, crushing the Persian Power. The
Greek Power came in and destroyed everything in its way.
Alexander, the son of Philip of Macedon rushed eastward,
and in a matter of a few years it was all over. Like a burning,
fiery comet, "The rough Goat is the king of Grecia and the great horn
that is between his eyes is the first king" (v 21). First the Ram had
pushed to the west and was defeated in the area of Corinth, in
Greece; and then the Greek Power came from the west and
overcame the Medo-Persian Empire.
"Behold the he goat came from the west on the face of the whole
earth, and touched not the ground: he had a notable horn between
his eyes — he was moved with choler against the ram, and smote
130 93 Berean
the ram, and brake his two horns — he cast him to the ground,
and stamped upon him, and none could deliver the ram" (v. 7).
DANIEL 8
9 And out of one of them came
forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south,
and toward the east, and toward
the pleasant land.
DANIEL VIII 8-12.
FOUR. NOTA&LE HOCLWS
POUR. WINDS OF HEAVE.NJ .
LY5IMACHU5-
(HQftTHEKM HORKV
8 Therefore the he goat waxedi
very great: and when he was
strong, the great horn was broken;
and for it came up four notable
ones toward the four winds of
heaven.
-ROMAN EMPIR.E-
(UTTLE HOR.W)
^TOWARD SOUTH >&AST L
PLEASANT LAMP i* DAM .
These world events lead us to the present position of
Europe. This is brought about by the history of Greece,
starting with Alexander. We see the transition stage between
the Greek Empire and the prominence of Rome. The Notable
Horn on the He Goat's Head represents Alexander the Great
who extended Greek influence as far as the borders of India.
His short life appears to terminate by dissilution. The empire
then divided between four generals. This was foreseen by God
in the prophecy, (the He Goat is now shown with Four Horns).
A Horn in Scripture always symbolizes power. These generals
were, Ptolemy in the south (Egypt), Cassander in the
West (lower Greece), Lysimachus in the North and Seleucus
in the East (Syria). The Selucid Power is the eastern Horn
which has always been an enemy to Israel. It is upon the Syrian
territory that a Fifth Horn was to appear. Reference to Dan. 8:9
speaks of "a little horn"growing out of one of the four horns.
This is where Europe and Rome enter the prophetic scene
amongst the beast nations. It was effected by the armies of
Julius Caesar moving eastward into Syria, BC 48-46.
Returning to Daniel 7:7, the prophet is shown an unnamed
beast, not known in the category of the listed animals
on earth. Its description causes the Spirit to define it as
'dreadfuland terrible', and exceedingly strong. Its main features
93 Berean 131
were great Iron Teeth, Ten Horns, and persecuting actions
against God's people.
DANIEL 7
THE" DRAG ON M? 7 After this I saw in the night
\}if' visions, and behold a fourth beast,
rV dreadful and terrible, and strong
, exceedingly; and it had great iron
' teeth: it devoured and brake in
pieces, and stamped the residue
with the feet of it: and it was diverse
from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns.
What Daniel saw, represented a period of 2,000 years, from
its first appearing in prophecy in BC 46, and extending to
Christ's return. That Beast is still existent in some way. Bro.
Thomas stated it would continue until it is eradicated in all its
various forms. That Beast represents Rome. It was to begin
with 'The Little Horn*. In various expositions it is designated as
The Greek Little Horn,' to differentiate it from the Tapal
Little Horn' of the West. Its first phase began BC 46 and lasted
522 years till 476 AD, when the Ostrogothic Power came into
the Roman Empire and removed the Imperial aspect in
Western Europe. What was left in the east, the Eastern Roman
Empire, was 'the Dragon', the Greek Little Horn.
This course of European history provides another manifestation
of Daniel's and John's Beast, 'dreadful and terrible.'
Daniel's nondescript beast shows Rome as it first appeared.
Then it changed as the Ostrogothic power was removed in
about 550 AD. The Ostrogothic power in their short tenure in
Rome from AD 476 to 550, is prophetically designated as the
Seventh Head in Rome. The events of this period of Europe's
history are explained in Rev. 17:10 —
"There are seven kings, five are fallen, and one is, (in the time
132 93Berean
thatJohnwrote,AD96) and the other is not yet come, (this was
the Ostrogothic) and when he cometh he must continue a short
time (that is 74 years)."
After 550 AD, this beast assumes ten (10) horns. John
speaks of this phase as "The Beast of the Sea" (Rev. 13:1). It is
identified with the sea, having risen out of the sea of nations
adjacent to the Mediterranean. Daniel records —
"After this I saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast,
exceeding dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly; and it
had great Iron Teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with the feet of it and it was diverse from all
the other beasts that were before it; it had ten horns" (Dan. 7:7).
(To be continued, God willing)
THE SIX DA YS OF GENESIS
THE 6 days of Genesis were unquestionably 6 diurnal revolutions of
the earth upon its axis. This is clear from the tenor of the sabbath law:
"Six days shalt thou labor (O Israel) and do all thy work, but the
7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do
any work, for IN 6 DAYS THE LORD MADE HEAVEN AND
EARTH, THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS, and rested the
7th day. Wherefore He blesseth the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.'1
Would it be any fit reason that, because the Lord worked 6 periods of a
1000 or more years each, and had ceased about 2000 until the giving of
the Law, therefore the Israelites were to work 6 periods of 12 hours,
and do no work on a 7th period or day of like duration? Would any
Israelite or Gentile, unspoiled by vain philosophy, come to the conclusion
of geologists by reading the Sabbath Law?
Six days of ordinary length were ample time for Omnipotence, with
all the power of the Universe at command, to reform the earth, and to
place the few animals upon it necessary for the beginning of a new
order of things upon the globe. —J.T.
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
RELIGION: DARKLY EXPOSED WORLD COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES
A meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has been
held in Canberra, Australia. Before the opening worship service
began at the last general assembly, delegates passed through the
smoke of burning leaves. It was a pagan cleansing rite. A South
Korean theologian invoked spirits of the dead.
Today the WCC, which includes 322 churches in over 100
countries, has formed a path desiring to accommodate radical anti-
Western and Third World pressure groups.
An anti-Christian movement within the organization is commonly
known. When a study group at the Canberra assembly wanted
93Berean 133
to consult the Bible on a point, a WCC staffer protested stating it was
"Christian Imperialism to suggest that the Bible has more to say than
other books." What has become primary with the WCC now is
political.
Tojustify its political action, the WCC has encouraged "contextual
(inter-related) theologies" to suit different groups: liberal theology
for South and Central America, urban theology for inner cities
in the U.S. and a special theology for South Africa—all interpreting
the Bible selectively to support radicalism. It is a marriage of religion
and revolutionary politics, where the politics are basically Marxist.
It was also on record that the WCC was largely silent about the
crushing of religious freedom in the Communist bloc. For 25 years
it supported revolutionary and activist groups, opposed Western
European defense policy and denounced capitalism. Previously kept
secret KGB (Russian secret police service) documents now provide
at least part of the answer. The KGB had a plan to penetrate and
manipulate the WCC. Orthodox priests who were WCC delegates
were often KGB agents acting on Communist Party orders. —Rdrs.
Dig. yFeb 1993
The World Council of Churches (WCC) came into being in
August 1948. It was a product of 100 years conception and growth,
until just after WW II. It was the result of an Evangelical Alliance
movement begun at the time bro. John Thomas was about to separate
from the Campbellite movement. It could be seen therefore as part
of the Resurrection of the Witnesses (Rev. 11).
During the 19th century the movement was given further force
by alliances with other church organizations, and spread its wings
around the world, incorporating early in the 20th century religious
bodies from Asia and Africa. Before the last war, association was
obtained with the Oxford Conference of Life and Work, which
promoted the development of secular institutions. With such an
amalgamation and constitution, we see why it has been possible for
the incorporation in following years with radical groups, as is
illustrated in the current events regarding the WCC.
The Witnesses have again been "killed" as they were by the
forces of evil, so that the mention of the Living Word can no longer
sound forth. God permitted this to happen in AD 1685 (Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes), because the same Witnesses had joined the
Catholic armies, and failed to stand as witnesses in defense of the
Word of Life. What is happening now should be a warning for those
classed as "The Holy City," that they do not become partakers of the
wine of the Apostacy. Our blessed privilege of sounding forth the
Word without fear at this time is only of God's mercy.
The WCC organization was spiritually corrupt from the begin-
134 93 Berean
ning. The degree of its decay is manifested in this quotation: An
organization originally "founded to promote Christian fellowship
and unity" transformed into a Marxist infiltrated political platform.
Two warnings can be indirectly seen: firstly, unless constantly
and closely monitored and enforced, standards and objectives will
dilute and digress with human nature; and secondly, unless clearly
agreed in the beginning, and repeatedly re-enforced, the basis of the
standard(s) will inevitably be ignored. The fellowship of the One
Body must be constantly and closely monitored and enforced. Our
standards and objectives are clear, lest we allow them to digress. Our
source and basis for decision making and points of judgment are the
scriptures of which the first principles are articulated in the Birmingham
Amended Statement of Faith (BASF). A lack of constant recognition
of the scriptures as the holy and infallible Word of Deity, and
that it must be the basis of our stand, will lead to our loss of the Truth
and all our efforts, regardless of its good intent.
***
JEW/ARABS: AMERICA IS A SAFE HAVEN FOR HAMAS
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's deportation of 413 activists to
Lebanon represented not only retaliation for murders but also was
intended as a pre-emptive strike to curb the rise in terrorism by
followers of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas.
Some see the move as possibly rash, and that the Hamas members
should have been kept in detention instead. Israel's Supreme
Court will rule on the legality. But now, the clanger is that to return
them under United Nations pressure would grant Hamas a major
political victory and possibly affect peace talks, since Hamas oppose
the peace process.
Tensions are running high, not only between the Palestinians
and Israel, but with the rivals of the Palestinians themselves. The area
could face a small number of assassinations or a bloodbath.
According to Israeli intelligence, America has become the home
of a dozen prominent Hamas leaders, some having lived there for 15
years. Some Hamas publications are printed in major U.S. cities. —
NYT1/27
About 30 years ago under former governments and a strong FBI
and CIA, such subversive elements would have been hunted out But
with the increase of civil liberties (which Democracy is all about) such
elements can always appeal to the Supreme Court (if necessary) and
gain the rights which the U.S. Constitution supposedly allows. The
now perverted arm of freedom and Democracy in the U.S. began at
the formation of the country, when the U.S. was the champion of
Democracy in 1776, with the aid of "Lafayette." The "disease" was
taken back to France and thence came forth the "plague" of the 5
vials upon all Europe which is still eating its vitals (Revelation 16).
93Berean 135
Of course, the Hamas cause is directly anti-Semitic. In virtually
all other instances, a country which "protected" leaders of such an
organization would be seen as supporting the cause itself. But then,
many Americans are anti-Semitic, and they are quite vocal about it
Currently, the Clinton administration is hung with Israel on the
latest proposal of repatriating the 400 deportees. One move is to
return 100 now, and 300 in less than a year. Arabs have rejected this
and want nothing to do with it, and condemn Clinton as being partial
in judgment of world nations, with a strong bias toward the Jews. It
appears that either the new U.S. President must support the Jews, or
condemn them before the United Nations with sanctions to follow.
How wonderfully does the Creator work His will among the nations
to bring about what He needs at the right time.
The body known as Hamas, is primarily Islamic in outlook,
entirely anti-Semitic, not willing to make any compromise with Israel.
Their only purpose is the retaking of all Palestine, and the extermination
of the Jewish nation. It is the militant arm of the "Party of
God" and is not limited by any national boundaries. This is clearly
illustrated in the penetration the Hamas have made into USA, and
freely express their purposes. Neither are they restricted by the
Syrian forces who are located in many parts of war-battered Lebanon.
With such a policy of annihilation there is no possibility of any
negotiated peace agreement with the Palestinians and the Jews
having any permanence. Arrangements for a renewal of negotiations
between the Palestinians and the Jewish government representative
has been announced for March or April in Washington. This was
noted in Moscow after a visit by Secretary of State Warren Christopher
to confer with Boris Yeltsin. Timed with this event and the
recent visit of Christopher to Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and
on the anniversary of the murder of the Party of God leader Sheik
Abbas Musawi by Israeli soldiers, the Hamas carried out the worst
raids on the Israeli army stationed in Southern Lebanon. The
continuing expulsion of the 400 Palestinian extremists in No-Man's
Land there is certain to be a thorn irritating the negotiators in Washington.
But Hamas wants no part in such endeavors. The extremist
Palestinians are simply a catalyst in the continuingstruggle. It will not
be resolved in any permanent fashion until mandated by Christ and
the saints.
*•*
RUSSIA: FINANCIAL AID TO RUSSIA
The most important foreign challenge for the United States, and
perhaps for the West as a whole, is the question of financial aid to
Russia, which is still on an accelerated pace of disintegration. The
136 93Berean
challenge is to move the country closer to a stabilized Democracy
without threatening the safety of its neighbors.
Investigations continue to report that Russia is on the brink of
disaster. The Yeltsin government has lost control of the central bank,
which has poured billions of excess rubles into dead factories. The
result is inflation near 50 percent per month. This is called hyperinflation
—which if allowed to persist, will virtually guarantee economic
chaos and political breakdown. It was such a scenario, including
hyperinflation, that formed the ascent of Hitler in Germany.
Truly, for Russia to get on its economical feet, it will have to do
the major work. But historically, no country — including West
Germany after World War II, and, more recently, Mexico, has successfully
undergone economic transformation without substantial
external help.
The West has promised Russia a $24 billion aid package. But it
has delivered virtually nothing. Most Western political leaders are
finding difficulty justifying the expense while their own domestic
needs are in serious trouble and crying for help.
Signs of further chaos within the former Soviet Union are seen
in the falling value of the Russian ruble. It has plunged as much as
15% in one trading day, and is now at aratio of 500 rubles to one U.S.
dollar. — NYTJan. 1993
While urgency of aiding Russia is high on the agenda of world
problems, the U.S. at least, must decide whether it is to be sent there
as an "outright" grant, which, of course is an expense to the
populous, via taxes; or, western banks must continue to loan money
to Russia with no collateral to back the transaction. Either way, the
populous ultimately pays.
The most recent bank loans to Russia since Communism collapsed
are due very soon. As it is, Russia has no way of paying up. The
fact staring the West in the face is, are they willing to gamble with the
fate of Russia? It hardly seems a gamble they can afford. As a result,
Yeltzin holds all the trump cards.
Acute devaluation of a foreign currency can have serous impact
internationally, especially if trade and commerce of that country is
quite close to other nations. Although the fall of the ruble will have
its effect on some, Russia appears too distanced and too disconnected
to create economic tidal waves elsewhere.
***
MIDDLE EAST: SYRIA STUDIES A BALANCED POSITION
At the 65th meeting of the conference of Liaison Officers of the
Damacus-based Arab Economic boycott of Israel, something had
changed. The usual public proclamations of Arab unity and Syria's
hawkish anti-Israel propaganda were missing. This time, the conference
was held in virtual secrecy.
93Berean 137
Syria is now keeping two faces: One of an iron-grip military foe,
the other a face hinting of peace. But until recently the country has
had to do a balancing act, due to losing its most powerful patron, the
Soviet Union, though President Assad has overcome this crisis now.
Meanwhile, however, the Syrians are re-evaluating where they now
stand in formidability and influence in the Middle East.
Although Arab/Israeli peace talks are stalled over the issue of
Muslim fundamentalists deported by Israel, Syria is now sitting
astride the road to peace.
The real testimony to Assad's diplomatic skill is the fact that he
has raised expectations and softened Syria's rejectionist image in the
West without making a single binding commitment, without halting
his support for terrorist groups based in Syria and Syrian-controlled
Lebanon, without giving up Syria's alliance-of-convenience with oilrich
Iran and without improving one of the world's worst human
rights records.
Moreover, while Assad talks of peace, he is still busily arming
Syria with everything from Czech tanks to North Korean missiles.
And despite a pledge to George Bush that Syrian Jews could finally
leave, exit permits have been all but halted. Fortunately for them,
more than half of Damascus's 4,000 Jews had already boarded their
homes and departed. In the northern city of Aleppo, where Jews
settled in Biblical times, only five families remain.
Certainly, Syria/Israeli negotiation — positions appear deadlocked.
Assad warns that the best Israel can hope for is replacing a
formal state of war with a formal "state of peace" — not recognition
of diplomatic relations. Still other indications show that Syria's
position is evolving toward warmer ground with Israel. —USN2/15
Syria had found itself in a very precarious position after the fall
of the Communist Soviet Union, for the Soviets were suppliers of
military weaponry, military intelligence information, and a considerable
sense of physical backing, which undoubtedly gave Syria and
Assad great confidence in previous years. This was a great blow, but
Assad is surviving and regrouping and has been playing his cards
well, proving he is a shrewd and cunning man.
We know the absence of Russian support is temporary. Things
will turn around as the end nears—whether Assad is present or gone.
In the meantime, Syria is experiencing a real quandary as it feels
vulnerability in the absence of the Soviets. It is faced with two
choices: regain the lost support and strength from another power, or
start acting more amicably with the Jews.
For Syria the former is the more desirable, for they hate the Jews
no less, but their choices of military partnership seem limited. The
possibility of Iran has been mentioned. But Assad is well aware of
138 93 Berean
Iran's temperament and unpredictability. As a nation, they are
perhaps the radical's radical.
So, the appearance of wanting to negotiate with Israel is currently
a possibility that is in the best interest of Syria. Could peace
possibly happen between it and Israel? Prophecy doesn't prevent it
from occuring, but it does prevent it from having any meaningfulness
or duration. — C.S.
THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND SONG
In breaking bread and drinking wine, as we do from Sunday morning
to Sunday morning, in obedience to the commandments of Christ, we
bring not only Christ to memory, but his Father and our Father—the
Creator of heaven and earth, Who fainteth not neither is weary, and
there is no searching of His understanding; and with Whom there is no
variableness nor shadow of a turning. We can say with Moses and Israel
when they came out of Egypt:
"The Lord is my strength and song, He is become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's
God, and I will exalt Him."
We can shout with David:
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God,
my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler and the horn of my
salvation and my high tower.9*
Yea, and we shall, like David, commune with our own hearts and soliloquise
with a delight unknown to the poetry of the heathen:
* Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed
like the eagles.ff
Rising with a stronger flight we shall emerge from soliloquy and ascend
boldly to the throne with words which, acceptable at the mouth of the
man after God's own heart, will not be rejected at our hands if we approach
with contrite spirits, clean hands, and a pure heart:
"I will extol thee, my God, O King, and I will bless Thy Name for
ever. Every day I will bless Thee and I will praise Thy Name for
ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised: His greatness is
unsearchable. I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy Majesty and
of Thy wondrous works." —R.R.
NeWS (Continued from page 110)
reminded of this constantly, as time passes so quickly and world
events demonstrate a steady progression towards the coming Kingdom.
Even as we struggle with trials we thank God and take courage
as Paul did, when we see that we are not alone but rather that the
worthies of old suffered much more than we do, yet they remained
faithful. May we also do so.
A reminder that, God willing, our Fraternal Gathering is coming
up July 9-12,1993, and we hope it will be a positive experience for all
attending. The intended theme is "The Kingdom of God on Earth
Restored."
On behalf of the members at Richard. — bro. Gordon Jones
93 Berean 139
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 12, 13 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
RICHARD, Sask. — Fri.-Mon., July 9-12 — bro. Gordon Jones, Box 48,
Richard, Sask., Canada SOM 2P0; phone (306) 246-4628.
Hye, Texas Sunday, July 25 - Sunday, August 1,1993
Cod willing, another Fraternal Gathering will be held this year at the Hye, Texas,
grounds. The following information will be needed for those planning to attend.
DATE/TIME: The Gathering will formally begin with the 11:00 a.m. Memorial
Service on Sunday, July 25, and end with Memorial Service (followed by lunch) on
Sunday, August 1, which is an eight (8) day meeting.
DAILY READINGS/MORNING STUDY CLASS: The Daily Bible Readings will be
read, followed by the reading and discussion on Genesis, chapters 36 through 41
during the week..
AFTERNOON (2:30 P.M.) STUDY CLASS: Matthew 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13, Sunday-
Thursday. Discussion on Military Conscientious Objection: Friday.
SATURDAY YOUTH PROGRAM: Information for Sunday School Scholars may be
obtained from the Youth Superintendent: bro. Jim Phillips, Route 2, Box 148,
Lampasas, Texas, U.SA. 76550.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
We try to meet all accommodation preferences, but are not always able,
1. Cabins located on the grounds (no monetary charge).
2. Tent, camper and trailer spaces on the grounds.
3. Motel rooms (at going motel rates):
a. Stonewall: approx. 5 miles from the grounds (only one motel)
b. Fredericksburg: approx. 25 miles from the grounds
(variety of motels).
c. Johnson City, approx. 10 miles from the grounds
(variety of motels).
MEALS: Served 3 times daily on the grounds. Payments are voluntary. If you are able
to pay (no records kept), then: Adults = $5.50/day; Children = $3.50/day.
FACILITIES: Showers and Restrooms are located on the grounds. Towels, washcloths,
bed linens, pillows and fans can be provided if you are not able to bring these.
(All Texas members should bring extras of these items).
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO COME: We need the following information as soon
as possible:
1. All coming in your party or family, including each adult and child. (This
request includes all living in Texas as well, regardless of past attendance).
2. Your accommodation preferences (or plans, if providing your own
accommodations).
3. Transportation needs once you arrive in the Austin or Houston area.
This information is not only needed for accommodation purposes, but
also for general organizing, expectations and meals.
A Fraternal welcome to all!
REPLY TO: bro. Jerry and sis. Kitty Connolly, 12609 Dessau Road A-144, Austin,
Texas, U.SA. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct.9,10— bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 14 4)
which obtained access to the drawer where it was waiting use, and
reduced the paper to a heap of paper dust
3) It depends upon the grounds upon which the name 'Christadelphian'
might be refused as to whether the refusal would be
140 93 Berean
a bar or not to fellowship. Objection to the name, on the ground
that 'it is blasphemous presumption to call ourselves brethren of
Christ' would be a fatal objection because it would be the denial
of an elementary principle of the truth (see Christadelphian
Instructor, pages 1 and 2). If we are not brethren of Christ now,
we never will be.
4) The World's Fair In Chicago: We learn that the brethren at
Chicago have resolved to proceed with the contemplated steps
for the opening of a stall for the Truth's literature at this huge
bazaar. Itwill be in place, therefore, if those who propose aiding
the project will remit the amount they may have resolved to
devote to this purpose. The few remittances that have come to
the office of the Christadelphian have been forwarded. We shall
be happy to forward others.
(The work ethic ofbro. Roberts is astounding when we consider how month
after month, and year in and year out, he laboured in the Truth. His efforts, for
the things of God, are an outstanding example for us. He fully realized, as we
must, that the brief life we have received must be given to God in work and
service. May we, like bro. Roberts, continue to labour with all our strength in
the glorious saving Truth we are blessed in knowing.)
***
THE lead article printed from the writings of Dr. Thomas was entitled, "The
Christadelphian Attitude." Bro. Thomas' comments are very much to the
point —
Our faith embraces "the things of the Kingdom of the Deity, and
of the Name of Jesus Christ" as outlined in Acts 2 and 3; and
recognize none as Christians who have not first believed the
Gospel of the Kingdom and Name; and after so believing, been
immersed "into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit." We recognize no immersion as the "One Baptism,"
the subject of which has not been previously enlightened
in the "One faith" and the "One Hope of the Calling."
We regard all enlightened believers of the Gospel of the Kingdom,
who have been immersed, as "citizens of the Commonwealth
of Israel." During the absence of Christ, we hold these in
all ages and generations, by whatsoever name they may be called,
to be "the Israel of the Deity," "the Temple of the Deity," and "the
Holy City;" and none else.
***
CONTINUING his article on, "Honest Objections to the Truth", bro. Welch
stated these thoughts —
In truth there never was and neverwill be any other plan than the
one God adopted for developing immortal children for this orb
of His universe of worlds. The plan He has pursued in relation
to the earth is the only one that comports with all the attributes
of His nature, and reflects that exalted wisdom which He alone
possesses. He created a single pair, subjected them to the law of
natural regeneration, whereby a race of beings possessing their
nature might spring from them. Out of this race, by the instrumentality
of truth and judgment, He proposes to elaborate a
93 Berean i | TRUMPETS
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5 VIALS POURED OUT UPON
CATHOLIC EUROPE—•
\ \ REV. 8,9,11,16.
A , D , - 3 9 6 A.D.-14
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AGAINST
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- OSTROGOTHS 1
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JUDGMENTS
In epitome the following remarks outline God's plan explained
by bro. Thomas between 1860/1868, in vol. 2-3 of
Eureka. There have been other expositions of the Revelation.
These have departed from the 'continuous' theme of bro.
Thomas and taken the fulfillment back to the days of the First
Century, and identified Jerusalem with Great Babylon; or
93 Berean 165
carried it forward to a future fulfillment in some great anti-
Christian power arising on the world stage. Such expositions
encourage some to placate the Romish system which is the
subject of all the judgments outlined so forcefully in the
revelation of this Divine message.
The diagram is set out to visually present the harmonious
unfolding of the various stages of scriptural judgments against
all who have persecuted the true saints. Note that each of the
series of Seals, Trumpets, Vials, and Thunders are identified
as the execution of the Divine wrath upon the persecutors.
Our attention is now directed to the Beast that John saw,
as recorded in Rev. 13:1. While it represents the same political
arena of Europe as Daniel's Fourth Beast, and has many details
which are identical, it gives more historical events in John's
exposition of the Divine plan.
"Isaw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten
horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the
name of blasphemy.n
While Daniel saw One Head
with Ten Horns and no crowns,
John saw the Beast with Seven
Heads, and Ten Horns, with
crowns on all the horns. The
identity of this Beast with
Daniel's is established by the
further remarks of the Spirit—
"The beast which I saw was like a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet
of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave
him his power, and his seat, and his great authority."
The Leopard Body links the Beast with Greece, the Bear
Feet with Persia, the Lion Mouth with Babylon, and the
Dragon with the Roman sphere. The political and ecclesiastical
influences of this Beast have incorporated aspects of all of
these countries and have encircled the globe, and still influence
world decisions. This Beast has continued in some form
of its manifestation even to the present. While Democracy has
impeded it in some ways, there is even now a resurgence of its
'great authority.'
There are two aspects to the 'Heads of the Beast9. Firstly, it is
a well-known fact that the city of Rome rests on seven mountains.
A Roman coin of AD 69, shows 'ROMA' seated on these
166 93 Berean
seven. The obverse side shows Caesar Vespasian, Emperor at
the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. These
mountains are noted as Coelius, Verminal, Aventine, Esquiline,
Quirinal, Capitoline, and Palatine.
The second aspect is the seven forms of government which
have ruled over the Empire and city. These were the Regal,
Consular, Dictatorial, Decemviral, Tribunital, Imperial (that
was in existence when the Revelation was given to John), and
the Gothic (which superseded the Imperial, in AD 476).
These are details which could not pictorially be represented
on the Beast of Daniel. Daniel's Beast was that which combined
the terrible monster with its Little Horn, (replacing
three others), and seven other Horns. The Little Horn had
Eyes and a Mouth speaking great things, which embodied all
aspects which will carry forth to the day of perdition in the
presence of Christ and the saints. The Ten Horn presentation
refers to the period of time in Europe after the fall of the
Ostrogothic Empire in about A.D. 550. Ten nations took the
place of the Gothic and Roman powers.
Bro. Thomas identifies the following as the most likely
nations to fit this picture at the time southern Europe was experiencing
this revolution: 1. Huns; 2. Vandals; 3. Visigoths; 4.
Burgundians; 5. Gepidoe; 6. Lombards; 7. Franks; 8. Suevi; 9.
Alans; 10. Bavarians. As he indicated in other places, these
have not always remained the same, nor are there necessarily
ten at all times. But it would appear in the prophetic sense of
both Daniel and John's records, at the time the Image stands
upon its feet to be smitten by Christ and the saints, that there
will be ten clearly exposed to the eye.
Daniel records
that as he
considered the
Ten Horns, an
operation was
performed on
the condition
of three of the
ten horns.
These three
were plucked up by the roots, and lay prostrated. This is described
in Dan. 7:8 —
93 Berean 167
"I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them
another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns
plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the
eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
Thus Daniel speaks of die development of that dreadful
power which began in the Sixth Century, and was to continue
until the end of Gentile times. But other aspects had to be
portrayed at that time, to encourage the saints of the closeness
of the control of world events under the Divine fiat. Thus John
speaks in Rev. 13:3, 5 —
"I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his
deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the
Beast. And there was given him a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies; power was given unto him to continue forty
and two months."
The "Eyes"and "Mouth" were the two prominent features
of the appendages of this monstrous Beast which arose on the
arena of the Ten Horns of Europe. These features have been
historically confirmed in several ways. The 'Eyes' are manifested
in the insidious 'confessionals' which pried into the
lives of all people, from the least of their followers to the
greatest. This was augmented by the institution of the Order
of the Jesuits, established in AD 1534 by Ignatius Loyola, a
Roman Catholic priest, who was only answerable to the reigning
Pope in Rome. Webster's dictionary defines a 'Jesuit' as
one given to 'intrigue' and 'deception'. This well illustrates
the established character of this terrible appendage of the
Roman Beast.
The "Mouth" became the means of Papal denunciations
against those considered as heretics and opponents of the
Roman Catholic 'power.' These Popes spake as 'thunder'
upon all those who 'maintained' the Truth in any way as the
Apocalyptic Holy City class, or those who exercised the 'literal
sword' against the system that persecuted the righteous, 'the
Woman who had to flee from the wrath of the Beast and the
Dragon that gave the power to the Beast.'
Historically the uprooting of the Three Horned nations
was effected in the following manner, as explained by bro.
Thomas in Eureka. 'The Vandal kingdom' in Spain was removed
by the authority of the Dragon Emperor in Constantinople
under the power of Belesarius his military general in AD
554. 'The Langobards (Lombards)' a tribe from the north
153 93 Berean
gradually moved into the upper part of Italy and caused
trouble for the Byzantine emperors over a period of 200 years,
and also afflicted the 'bishop' in Rome. The power of the
rising Frankish empire from southern Germany (the first to
accept Trinitarianism and recognize the Roman Bishop), was
able to destroy the Lombard kingdom in AD 774. Their areas
of Italy were later conferred to the authority of the Popes and
became the 'Papal Patrimony' or Papal States. 'The Gepidoe
kingdom', which had established itself in what is now Austro-
Hungarian and Yugoslavian territory, had been subdued by
the power of the Lombards in AD 566.
3 And I saw one ot his heads as
it were wounded to death; and his
.-•.»». - \s~ deadly wound was healed: and
AND I stood upon the sand of all the world wondered after the
l\ the sea, and saw a beast rise beast,
up out of the sea, having seven 4 And they worshipped the
heads and ten horns, and upon dragon which gave power unto the
his horns ten crowns, and upon beast: and they worshipped the
his heads the name of blasphe- beast, saying, who is like unto
my. the beast? who is able to make
2 And the beast which I saw was warwithhim?
like unto a leopard, and his feet
6 And he opened his mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme
his name, and his tabernacle,
and them that dwell in
heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to
make war with the saints, and to
overcome them: and power was
given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the
—,—, — _„ ,w 5 And there was given unto him earth shall worship him, whose
were as the feet of a bear, and his a mouth speaking great things names are not written in
the book
mouth as the mouth of a lion: and and blasphemies; and power was of life of the Lamb
slain from the
the dragon gave him his power, given unto him to continue forty foundation of the world.
and his seat, and great authority, jmd two months. 9 If any man have an ear, let him
hear.
10 He that kadcth into captivity
shall go into captivity: he that
killeth with the sword must be
tailed with the sword. Here is the
patience and the faith of the
saints.
From the Fourth and Fifth Centuries the Bishop in Rome
was vying for independent power and authority with the
ruling political power in Italy. In AD 325, the bishop claimed
descent of their religious authority from the Apostle Peter.
Theodosius the Great, the eastern Emperor declared the
Roman bishop as guardian of the Faith with supreme authority.
This was in spite of the Council of Nicea in AD 325 stating
that the four main bishops had equal authority. In 445 AD,
Leo I was declared the first authentic Pope (Papa), and
FOUNDER of PAPAL PRIMACY. During the office of Pope
93Berean & f 93Berean
Symmachus (498-514), it was declared that the Pope could not
be judged BY ANY MAN. These events and declarations were
laying the foundation for the decrees to follow in the Sixth
and Seventh Centuries byjustinian and Phocas, the holders of
Imperial Authority in control of the 'DRAGON'.
"And the Dragon gave him (the Bishop in Rome) his power,
and his seat, and great authority" (Rev. 13:2).
In AD 535, Justinian pronounced that this Roman Bishop
was the supreme bishop, and that all decisions of an ecclesiastic
nature were subject to his judgment. In AD 606-08, Papal
supremacy was confirmed by the authority of the Emperor
Phocas. History records that Phocas was the worst man ever to
disgrace a throne. But this was no impediment to the Bishop
of Rome pouring great praises on Phocas for his act of
recognition. Itisstated, 'the choir of angels sang withjoy at the
accession of such a worthy Caesar as Phocas.' Thus the Apocalypse
records —
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the
beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the
beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13: 4).
The power that was given to the Papacy to continue
speaking great things and blasphemies was to last for forty and
two months. This prophetic time period is translatable into
1,260 years as follows — 42 x 30 days in a month = 1,260 days
— 1,000 days for a year (2 Pet. 3:8) = 1,260 years. From the
Justinian Papal decree of 535 AD + 1,260 brings history to
1790, the time of the French Revolution, when the power of
the Papacy was revolted against by French power in the hands
of the common people, and the hating of that system of
oppression began to manifest itself. This is when the period of
the Ten Horns hating the Harlot begins (Rev. 17:16), which
leads to AD 1870, when the Papal Patrimony was removed
from the Popes.
From the time of the decree of Phocas AD 606-08 + 1,260
comes to 1866-68, the time that the temporal power of the
Pope (noted above) was taken over by Garibaldi, and Victor
Immanuel. All during the period from 1790 to 1870 AD, the
Spirit of God was causing the first Five Vials to be poured out
upon Roman Catholic Europe. These events are also incorporated
in the words of Rev. 11:1-2 —
"Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them
170 93 Berean
WESTERN EUROPE
'9V CENTURY
AACHEN • FRANK CAPITAL
that worship therein — And the holy city shall they tread under
foot forty and two months."
Retracing
our steps to
the inauguration
of the
Bishop of
Rome as the
supreme
Pontiff of
the Roman
World, we
find that the
power of the Dragon in the west started to decline.
Thus the Dragon was left to another scene, a power was to
arise in the east which was to afflict it because of its ecclesiastical
bias toward Catholicism. The Moslem and Ottoman
powers warred against this Roman Dragon for over 800 years,
until they overcame them in AD 1453; setting the Dragon
power in the hands of the Ottoman, where it has remained for
over 500 years.
Meanwhile, a new power was emerging on the European
continent, on what could be classed as the Sea Nation territory.
As amalgamation of small tribes between the Rhine and
the Weser Rivers in what was known as Westphalia, now part
of the German Ruhr marshland area, was taking place. Because
of their origin they adopted the Trog' as their heraldic
symbol. The frog appears on the ancient banners of Childric
and Clovis, Frankish kings of the Fifth and Sixth Centuries.
The epithet 'frog' has continued as the common designation
of the French.
The power of the Franks or French became supreme over
all the horn nations and their territory except Spain, under
the sovereign Charles the Great or Charlemagne. Crowned in
AD 768, by the consent of his father Pepin, king of the Franks,
he established affinity with the Papacy, by again overthrowing
the Lombards in Northern Italy. He had been appealed to for
help by the Pope, due to the inability of the Byzantine Dragon
Empire to come to his aid. During the succeeding years the
Franks overcame the areas of Europe now identified with
Austria, Hungary and upper Yugoslavia. Its capital was established
at Aachen near the present Frankfurt Germany.
93 Berean C^° ^e continued, God willing)
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
MIDDLE EAST: ISRAEL, LIBYA AND IRAN
The Middle East, with Israel as the central focus, is exhibiting a
turmoil of activity. With the overall spectrum in view, peace efforts
in the region seem to be a pathetic pursuit. However, the United
States is going through the motions in this direction again.
U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has stated that
Middle East peace talks' co-sponsors — the U.S. and Russia—were
issuing invitations to the negotiating parties to resume talks during
the first half of 1993. Of course, this co-sponsor combination is
wrongly matched. It is the "ox plowing with the ass." With this setting,
Israel's interests will be threatened. Russia, at the end, will "think an
evil thought" against the land of Israel (Ezek. 38). Their motives even
now may conform to this. Thus, unless Russia is temporarily off
course for its latter day purpose, it will undoubtedly be representing
all of Israel's enemies incognito at peace negotiations.
While the U.S. peace charade ensues, violence and signs of
future military activity continue to develop: In Lebanon, Pro-Iranian
Muslim guerrillas fought large-scale artillery and rocket battles with
Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, in what is the worst flare-up of
violence in the area in some time.
The Iranian-backed Party of God organization continue to
commit their acts of violence at every opportunity.
The Iranians are continually becoming a greater concern. Israel
is employing widespread diplomatic contacts to halt Iran's nuclear
weapons program. Wherever Israel has relations with countries
having contacts with Iran, they conduct campaigns explaining what
is going on, in order to put pressure on the Iranians. Not only do the
Iranians support terrorism, but the country is in an arming phase.
Libya's hatred for both the U.S. and Israel is undiminished. This
makes their potential danger equal to Iran's. They are destined
enemies of Israel at Armageddon.
It is with "significant concern" that Western intelligence has
concluded that Libya is building a subterranean chemical-weapons
plant capable of producing and storing poison gas. It is being
disguised as part of a water project.
While some of Israel's Arab enemies may feel there is a current
advantage to having a peace agreement with the Israelis, some
Middle Eastern countries, and Arab organizations do not want peace.
It appears to violate their ideology and perhaps, with some interpretations,
their religious philosophy. This very closely describes Libya's,
Iraq's and Iran's position.
The Palestinian issue continues to be a "thorn in the flesh" for
172 93 Berean
the nation of Israel. Without giving the Palestinians territory, it
seems to be beyond resolve. And territory is the most valuable
commodity the Jews have.
An area of Jordan becoming the Palestinians' residence is a
suggestion, but frought with obstacles. The peace dilemma tarries
and remains complex — as it seems it should. —NWS 3/8,Jerus. Post
2/27, 3/8; NYT3/93
***
TERRORISM: THE U.S. BECOMES A VICTIM
The World Trade Center in New York City has become the target
of a massive bomb explosion. The detonation was so powerful it
shook all 110 floors of the building. It killed at least five people and
injured more than 1,000. It trapped tens of thousands of frightened
workers and visitors in smoke and darkness. The blast knocked local
television stations off the air and caused massive traffic problems.
The explosion shook more than Manhattan. It rattled the U.S.'s
confidence of the smug illusion that Americans were immune to the
plague of terrorism that torments so many other countries.
An incredible stroke of discovery has led the crime to Muslims
in New Jersey, led by one Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Sheik Omar
has a reputation as one of Egypt's most prominent and radical
fundamentalist leaders — a fiery voice of Islamic holy war — who
exhorts the faithful to their "religious duty," including the use of
violence if necessary.
The Muslim leader was arrested, imprisoned, then acquitted, for
encouraging the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat. U.S. and Egyptian officials suspect him of issuing fatwas, or
religious decrees in the 1990 slaying of Jewish militant Rabbi Meir
Kahane.
Cairo officials also blame Sheik Omar and his 10,000 hard-core
disciples in Egypt for twenty attacks against tourist targets.
The Force of Terror Worldwide
Truly, terrorism is an ongoing activity around the world. The
Middle East is one of the largest suppliers of both terrorists and
terrorist sponsors, but there are a number of sources.
Among the major terrorist sponsors, supporters, or leaders,
Libya's Kaddafi ranks in the top group. He still harbors the chief
suspects in the Lockerbie, Scotland plane disaster. This includes
Lamen Fhimah one of the two Libyan intelligence agents charged in
the Pan Am 103 bombing. He is cozy with Kaddafi.
Known as the Belgrade (Yugoslavia) Bully, Vojislav Seselj is the
leader of the extremist Serb Radical Party. Seselj has threatened to
retaliate against U.S. aid in Bosnia.
Equally top-ranked is Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq. He had a
93 Berean 173
full house of terrorists until the gulf war. Due to his losses there,
Hussein would love to pay back those who helped defeat him.
Among world terrorists, there is also a "gun for hire." He is
Ahmed Jabril. He is with the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine. His connections are of Syrian origin.
The best-known of the Palestinian terrorists, is Abu Nidal. He is
the author of massacres at airports in Rome, Vienna and Karachi. He
has a support group in New York.
Many other terrorist groups and sponsors exist, and continue to
gain in numbers. In fact, one of the initial suspects in the World Trade
Center bombing were Russian nationalists. Not a terrorist group per
se, they represent those who want to install a reactionary, law-andorder
regime in Moscow They blame much of their country's
troubles — from corruption to economic chaos and crime — on
Western, and mainly U.S. influence. They have stepped up their
attacks on Boris Yeltsin in recent months, forcing him to distance
himself from free marketers and from his Western-oriented diplomacy.
Terrorists by trade or not, the New York bombing was a display
of terrorism.
Terrorist Bomb Techniques
The "bomb" has virtually become a synonym for "terrorism."
And the car or vehicle bomb particularly may be the most terrible
weapon in the terrorists' arsenal. Its utter commonplace nature only
makes it more fearsome: an everyday item, turned shockingly,
randomly lethal. A bomb-loaded car looks just like any other car or
vehicle in public.
Load the average sedan with the right charges, and the explosion
can equate to a military bomb dropped in Desert Storm. Load
a truck with explosives and the blast can be apocalyptic — as proven
by the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983.
Terrorists have proven as far back as 1970, that terrible devastation
can occur with minimal bomb-making expertise. A mixture of
fertilizer and diesel fuel was used to blow up an Army research center
at the University of Wisconsin over twenty years ago by leftist radicals.
The proliferation of car bombs as weapons of random terror —
or as blunt, bloody instruments of targeted assassinations — can be
seen today in every corner of the globe. In places like Northern
Ireland, Colombia, Lebanon, Spain and Sicily, car bombs go off so
frequently that they barely make headlines. In mid-February, seventeen
people were killed by a single explosion at an oil port in
Colombia. Last October, car bombs placed by the Irish Republican
Army detonated — or were discovered — almost daily in the streets
of London. — NWS 3/8; TM 3/8, 3/15
The surprise bombing attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec. 1942), went
174 93 Berean
down in infamy because of its dishonorable and despicable tactic
during undeclared war. Terrorist bombings are deceptive, merciless
and cold ploys. They are acts of "Pearl Harbor" being committed
over and over. If there is ever a philosophy where "the end justifies
the means" this modern day act applies.
In a world of frustration and hatred the use of terrorism should
be expected to increase. In most cases, its frequency over the past
nine years has made it a common occurrence, and a little less news
worthy as it gets overshadowed by so many of the other major
problems around the globe. Of course, the World Trade Center
explosion was prime news.
Bombing is not terrorists' only means. Other methods include
murder, torture, kidnapping, hijacking and destruction of property.
It is significant that a number of Middle Eastern countries sponsor
these radicals, or in fact make them. And most Middle Eastern
countries are haters of Israel. To be a Jew surrounded by such a
mentality is doubtless a discomfort that most do not understand. But
the experience is growing for others, with the smug U.S. getting a
taste of this world-wide reality.
At least two significant points can be seen by terrorism's contribution
to the "Current Events." First, the continued confirmation of
the truth of the scriptures of the base cruelty of the human mind.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked..."
(Jer. 17:3). Of course, this is being proven in many ways in today's
times, such as the crimes on humanity in Yugoslavia/Bosnia. In this
region, it is a state of war though. Camp against camp, with brutality
and victimization an historically documented consequence. Terrorism
is a differently twisted perversion on man's menu of violence.
Secondly, terrorism makes a very fitting contribution to Christ's
latter-day prophesy that "men's hearts would fail them for fear, and
for looking after those things which are coming on the earth . . ."
(Luke 21:26). — C.S.
MAKE the total dedication and devotion of your life your sincere desire
and goal. Realize clearly that this is the only possible way to either
present joy or future life. Do not be discouraged by repeated failures.
Just keep doggedly at it, with determination and prayer. Try to make
each day a new accomplishment of some kind and not just a piece of
colorless passed time. Try to make each day a little better than the one
before. Think big and eternally. Make yourself face and realize the
foolishness and emptiness and uselessness of present things. Think!
Keep thinking! Keep examining yourself, and what you are doing, and
WHY. The flesh is your enemy, a very deceptive and hypocritical one:
promising everything, delivering nothing. Don't mistake it for a friend.
There is no real joy and satisfaction except in spiritual things. To realize
this in youth is a tremendous blessing. Most realize it too late—or
never at all. Thank God for the light—and walk in it. —G. V.G.
93 Berean 175
NeWS (Continued from page 146)
On April 11,1993, we held our 80th annual Sunday School program.
It was a time of recitation, short talks and hymns prepared and
delivered by the Sunday School scholars. The day was quite profitable
as we saw them participating in this effort. Several visiting
brethren and sisters from the Canton, Waterdown and Detroit
ecclesias were with us on that day to enjoy the events planned.
God willing, we are planning to hold our annual Sunday School
outing on Saturday, June 19, at Springbank Park. We welcome any
who can be with us on that occasion.
Continually, we see the world's troubles are multiplying. There
are tribulations in every nation on the face of the earth. These are all
precursory to the return of Christ. Russia and Israel are in the news
daily with all their problems, which causes us to continue to watch for
further developments in God's purpose. All these things herald the
coming of the Master and the coming changes to be wrought in the
earth. While we stay alert to world events, let us ever remember our
spiritual development. He that is prepared for the Lord, shall surely
inherit all things. Behold, the day of redemption is near at hand.
With love to all the brethren and sisters throughout the Vineyard,
in the Hope of Israel, — bro. David Clubb
One Hundred Years A g o (Continued from page is>o)
Dr. Thomas should be thinking of attending the fair, we shall be
so pleased to have them stop over a day or so. It would be a nice
resting place for them on a long journey.'
3) Your enquiries on the position of those who knowingly refuse
to obey the Truth (with respect to resurrectional responsibility)
we had purposed dealing with this month. Indeed, our answer
is written and handed to the printer but had to be withheld for
want of space. We had it in contemplation to enter fully upon a
demonstration of the scriptural soundness of the position taken
by Dr. Thomas on the question. Although it ultimately relates to
a class that will perish, it has a present importance as bearing
upon contemporaries, and as affecting the solemn claims of God
on those who come within range of His voice.
(These items again show us the enthusiasm of the brotherhood 100 years
ago, in their work and effort for the Truth. They were ever busy in the things
of God, in publishing the Truth, and defending it against all error. We are
labouring 100 years later, how do our efforts stand in the sight of God?)
***
THE feature article from the writings of Dr. Thomas was entitled, "The
Character And Aim And Interpretation Of The Apocalypse". These remarks
of bro. Thomas cover the point of the address —
The Apocalypse is its own evidence of its divine authenticity. Its
perfect harmony with Moses and the prophets, the discourses of
Christjesus, and the teachings of all the apostles: its unique and
inimitable structure, and its complete frustration of all the
attempts of "the wise and prudent" to comprehend it (Matt.
11:25), are evidences that it originated not from John or any of
176 93 Berean
his learned or unlearned contemporaries, but from the mind of
Him to Whom are known all His works from the beginning. It
brings to nothing "the understanding of the prudent," and
resolves into outer darkness the wisdom of all the world's rulers
and soul-merchants, in whatever name or denomination they
may rejoice in Church and State.
***
IN the article entitled "Meditations — No. XXXIX", the following exhortational
thoughts were expressed —
A) 'Judge not according to the appearance, butjudge righteous
judgment" (Jn. 7:24). How practical and pointed are Christ's
precepts. They give human nature with its legion of evil ways no
quarter. How common it is for one man to pass sentence on
another on flimsy and imperfect evidence, or mere surmise or
guess.
B) 'The Apocalypse/ scoffingly remarked the Daily Telegraph,
'either finds the student's reason already unhinged, or leaves it
so.' This is a compliment to the book, though not intended to be
one. Students do not, as a rule, go off heads over the vagaries of
a madman, or a tipsy dreamer, which John is alleged by one and
another to have been.
But to come nearer home, how do we view the book? . . . Do we
regard it as thousands in the religious world regard it, as a book
too deep to be understood? The Apocalypse is not sealed —
"Seal not the sayings of this book" (22:10). That this book is
understandable, Dr. Thomas' Eureka is a witness. With Eureka
before him, let no brother foster the idea that the Apocaypse is
a book beyond comprehension.
"But some brother may reply, "I don't want Eureka. I object to
read through another man's spectacles, I want to interpret for
myself, without bias." Be consistent my brother. If through the
assistance of the Doctor you have acquired a knowledge of the
first principles of the Truth, why scorn his help in Eureka ?If your
own ability is insufficent to unravel the wonderful contents of
this last book of Holy Writ, gratefully accept the providential
help of Eureka. Oh! the innate ingratitude and shortsightedness
of human nature.
(This is an excellent response to those who would defer from bro. Thomas'
writings on the ground that they wish to uncover the Truth for themselves.
Any having this philosophy are only deluding themselves, and will soon
disappear in the surrounding apostacy of ignorance and superstition known
as popular Christianity.)
***
THERE is a very good presentation by bro. Welch on the subject of, "Speaking
With Confidence And Walking In The Truth." A few of his thoughts were —
"The words I speak unto you, spirit is and life is." These words are
the words of the Spirit. They are power; they are truth. The Bible
is the Word of God, the Spirit's revelation to man in communication
of the purpose of God. Let no man undervalue or
disparage the written Word any more than the personal Word of
God, for the Lord, "hath magnified His word above His name."
93 Berean 177
Once again, in his "Answers to Correspondents, bro. Roberts dealt with such
subjects as: "France, One of the Ten Horns"; "Politics"; "Elijah and the Restoration";
"Dancing and Cards"; "No Contradiction, Certainly"; "The Two
Witnesses".
***
IN reference to the "Jewish and Holy Land Affairs", the following items were
mentioned —
The movement against the Jews is gaining strength in Germany.
The Christian Age, for March, has an article entitled 'Israel returning
to the Holy land," as follows — 'There are over 100,000
Jews in the Holy Land. The Jewish population there is larger
than it has been at any other time since the end of the First
Century of the Christian era. In the City of Jerusalem itself,
according to a report of the British Consul there, the Jewish
population is now fully 40,000; and a large part of the real estate
in and around the city is in Jewish hands."
There was also a series of letters received from a Mrs. Davis in Jerusalem and
printed in the Christadelphian. They reveal some interesting events —
'We have had the greatest rainfall ever known here. The great
storm commenced on the 21st of March, and rain has fallen
nearly every night and day since. On the 29th, ten inches had
fallen in nine days. I have not been able to get the record since;
at that time 37 inches had fallen during the winter. The rain
record has been kept for the past 60 years and nothing like this
appears. All the people are surprised and say, "It is the latter
rain."
(Although this is not the latter rain' spoken of by the prophet Joel, it does
raise some interesting thoughts as to the work of God in the restoration of the
Promised Land for the Jews. For centuries it was a dry, parched land, but the
Word of God proclaimed that, it would blossom like a rose. The Land has been
brought back enough to allow the nation of Israel to exist How much better
it will be during the wonderful Millennial reign of Christ.)
***
CONSIDERING the "Signs of the Times", bro. Roberts took a look at — The
British Attitude in Egypt; The Troubles in Turkish Armenia; and A Political
Outbreak in the Balkans.
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
The negotiations (mentioned last month — D. C.) for the debate
between Mr. Chas. Watts, the Secularist, and bro. Roberts are at
a standstill through Mr. Watts insisting that the merits of Secularism
as a system of human conduct must also be the subject of
debate during two nights.
Our tea meeting on Easter Monday was a very large and hearty
affair. There were visitors from Acocks Green, Dudley, Great
Bridge, Leamington, Kidderminster, Leicester, Lichfield,
Tamworth, and Warwick. Over 300 sat down to tea. After tea,
bro. Roberts presided and introduced the topic of the evening:
"Wherein the Bible Differs from all Other Books." He was followed
in a series of most interesting addresses by bro. Powell,
bro. Challinor, bro. Jakeman, bro. C. C. Walker, bro. Mosley,
178 93 Berean
bro.John Todd, bro. James Allen; bro. Batty, and bro. Shuttleworth.
The meeting was felt by all to be the most edifying tea
meeting we ever held. On some other occasion, we may present
in a condensed form a summary of the features exhibited in the
differences between the Bible and other books.
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"The First Appearing of Christ, a Page that Cannot be Blotted
from History"
"The Persecution of the Jews and their Return to the Holy Land,
a Certain Sign of Christ's Speedy Return"
"The Trumpets of Revelation 8"
"Eternal Torment Unscriptural"
"The One Faith, Without which Salvation is an Impossibility"
"The Life and Inheritance Promised through Christ"
"How to be Saved, According to the Scriptures, versus
Popular Teaching on the Subject"
"The Bible True: Its Inspiration and Reliability Demonstrated"
"The Kingdom of God: What will be the Nature of Those who
Possess it, Seeing that Flesh and Blood cannot do so?"
"The Infallible Book vs. the Infallible Pope"
"Over 200 Sects and all Calling Themselves Christian: Are
They Such?"
"The Death of Christ, its Necessity, Application and Doctrinal
Significance"
April Answers - 25> n c s h [Rom 8:13]
"Divine punishment" 26.Destruction [Pro. 10:29]
1. Holy angels [Rev. 14:10] 27. Desolate [Jer. 50:45]
2. Flood [Gen. 6:17] 28. Magog [Eze. 39:6]
3. Bundles [Matt. 13:30] 29. Flame [Psa. 106:18]
4. Fight [Zech. 14:3] 30. Slaughter [Isa. 34:2]
5. Strangers [Eze. 28:7] 31. Break [Psa. 2:9]
6. Nadab-Abihu [Num. 26:61] 32. Smite (Jer. 21:6]
7.Sunder [Luke 12:46] 33.Jezcbel [1 Kgs. 21:23]
8. Perish [Isa. 60:12] 34. Staff [Isa. 14:5]
9. Chastening [Heb. 12:5] 35. Plagues [Rev. 18:8]
10. Scatter [Deut. 28:64] 36. Fifty [2 Kgs. 1:10]
11. Perish [Psa. 37:20] 37. Mighty [Luke 1:52]
12. Devoured [Lev. 10:2] 38.Judged [Rev. 19:2]
13. Violence [Rev. 18:21] 39. Root [1 Kgs. 14:15]
14. Living God [Heb. 10:31] 40. Pestilence [Eze. 38:22]
15. Hail [Psa. 105:32] 41. Evil [Isa. 13:11]
16. Rain [1 Kgs. 8:35] 42. Vengeance [2 Th. 1:8]
l7.Sword [Isa. 66:16] 43.Vengeance [Rom. 12:19]
18. Ease [Isa. 1:24] 44. Serpents [Num. 21:6]
19. Unquenchable [Luke 3:17] 45. Blood [Rev. 16:6]
20. Smote [Acts 12:23] 46. Stubble [Mai. 4:1]
21. Smoke [Psa. 37:20] 47. Unrighteous [1 Cor. 6:9]
22. Guilty [Eze. 34:7] 48. Dash [Psa. 2:9]
23.Snares [Psa. 11:6] 49.Seven [Lev. 26:18]
24. Bear [Hos. 13:8] 50. Consuming [Deut. 4:24]
93 Berean 179
One Hundred Years Ago 0*10*4***, Ma>
UNDER the heading of "/Votes", for May, 1893, we note the following items of
interest —
1) There is no present intention of re-publishing, in pamphlet
form, the articles on "The Day of His Coming." But we shall see
when they are complete.
2) English Visitors to the Chicago World'sFair: Bro. E. H. C. Parkin,
58 Magill Street, Hamilton, Ont, Canada, wishes it notified that
all tickets to the World's Fair, which commences in May, are
available for stoppage at Hamilton, en route from New York to
Chicago. He says — 'If any brethren or sisters in sympathy with
(Continued on page 176)
BIBLE QUESTIONS
Book of NUMBERS
1 . . . . shall take tabernacle down
2. Shall . . . by own standard
3. Number all . . . of males
4. Thirty years unto . . . years
5 . . . . head in day of cleansing
6. Lift up h i s . . . upon thee
7. Six .. . wagons, and twelve oxen
8. Lay hands on heads o f . . .
9. Fourteenth day of first month
10. Rise up, let thine enemies be . . .
11. Mixed multitude fell a . . .
12. Nothing at all beside this . . .
13. Would God, all Lord's people . . .
14. We were in their sight as . . .
15. Who is faithful in all mine house
16. Come out ye three unto . . .
17. Shut out from camp seven days
18. Let us make a . . . and return
19. All . . . shall be filled with glory
20. Wherefore lift ye up yourselves above . . .?
21. Made into plates to cover altar
22 returned to tabernacle, plagued stayed
23. Bring her forth without the . . .
24. They fell upon their . . .
25. Must we fetch you . . .
26. Ye believed me not to . . . me
27. Let us pass through thy . . .
28. Moses stripped . . . of his garments
29. Moses made a . . . of brass
30. Bring a red . . . without spot
31. Moses was very . . . above all men
32. Will make myself known in . . .
33. Is Lord's hand waxed . . .
34. Crushed . . . foot against wall
35. Saw angel, and his . . . in hand
36. People shall dwell...
37. God not a man that he should . . .
38. There is no . . . against Jacob
39. People rise up as a . . .
40. Was zealous for his God
41. Not a man left save . . .
42. Died in own sin, no sons
43. Be sure your . . . find you out
44. Avenge Israel o f . . .
45. Bring us not over Jordan
46. To make an atonement for our . . .
47. Abide in it unto death of...
48. Six cities shall ye have for . . .
49. Egyptians buried a l l . . .
50. Get up into Abarim and see . . .
Aaron
Aaron
Alone
Balaam's
Bullocks
Caleb/Joshua
Camp
Captain
Censers
Congregation
Countenance
Country
Covered
Earth
Enchantment
Faces
Fifty
Firstborn
Firstborn
Grasshoppers
Great Lion
Heifer
High Priest
Land
Levites
Lie
Lusting
Manna
Meek
Midianites
Miriam
Moses
Passover
Phinehas
Pitch
Prophets
Refuge
Reuben/Gad
Sanctify
Scattered
Serpent
Shave
Short
Sin
Souls
Sword
Tabernacle
Vision
Water
Zelophehad
$7.00 U.S. per year Printed in the USA
Australian subs to bro. Ray Hodges, 2 Emily St., Esperance, W.Australia 6450
$9.50(Aust.)
British subs to bro. Phillip Hughes, 25 Heol-Y-Gelli, Fforchneol Pare, Godreaman,
Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South Wales, U.K. £4-50 (U.K.)
Canadian subs to bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ontario,
Canada N5V 2X1 $8.50 (Can.)
USA subs to bro. Max McLaren, 8008Junius Street, Houston,Texas, USA 77012 $7.00
(U.S.)
180 A -, 93Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 6, ISSUE 846 JUNE, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada NSV 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed'' -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: Edmonton 182
Fraternal Gatherings: Lampasas, Richard, Hye, Canton 182
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 183
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
The Song Of Moses And The Lamb 186
SIGNS AND TRADITIONS (bro. Roberts) 191
IFIMAYBUTTOUCHHIM (bro. Growcott) 196
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN RELATION TO EUROPE (cont'd) 199
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
FRANCE: France's Political Turn; MIDDLE EAST: An
Upsurge Of Violence In Israel; BALKANS: A Vicious
War Continues 208
May Answers: "Book Of Numbers" 215
100 YEARS AGO:
Notes; Ashcroft Magazine; Aberdeen Evening Gazette;
Coming Ascension Of The Saints To Power; The Day Of
His Coming; Answers To Correspondents; Jewish And
Holy Land Affairs; Birmingham Miscellanies; Different
Bible Lectures 216
Bible Puzzle: "Found" 216
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
EDMONTON, Alta. — A.C.T. Recreation Centre, Rundle Park — Sunday
School, 10 am; Memorial, 11:10 am, except July and August, 10:30 am; Bible
class in homes—bro. Arthur Luard, 12019-52 Street, Edmonton, Alta., Canada
T5W 3J7.
Greetings of love to all of like precious faith.
Since our last contribution of news, we have had the pleasure of
visitors at the Lord's table and Bible Class, from the ecclesias at
Denver, Lethbridge and Richard. Brethren Gordon Jones, Sid Jones
and Frank Truelove ministered to us the word of exhortation.
Bro. Peter Mingham, from Brisbane, Australia, spent ten months
in Edmonton. We appreciated his company and assistance in our
meeting, and now miss his help. We know that the Hengoed ecclesia
in Wales, will benefit through our loss.
We have now moved our place of meeting (except for mid week
class), to a rented room. Since there is no street address for it, those
not familiar with the area will need to get directions from one of our
members.
With love in the Truth, — bro. Arthur Luard
MARRIAGE must be "only in the Lord.1* This tells us that marriage is
only for mature, godly adults: not for immature children who are not
yet ready or competent to face life's basic decision of divine dedication.
It tells us that any who have not reached the stage of spiritual maturity
to discern the Truth of God, and accept it, and LIVE it, are not ready
for marriage, nor that which leads to marriage. We are not speaking
about the dead, ignorant, animal world, with its totally debased and
promiscuous carnality. We speak about those very few who have the intelligence
and spiritual potential to rise far, far above the common corruption
into and unto eternal things. Marriage has tremendous possibilities
for good if it is entered into maturely as a spiritual communion for
mutual assistance in spiritual things. The tragedy is that most "marriages"
are mere animal unions of convenience and or caprice, motivated
by lust, selfishness and self-gratification. —G. V.G.
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 12, 13 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lampasas, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
RICHARD, Sask. — Fri.-Mon., July 9-12 — bro. Gordon Jones, Box 48,
Richard, Sask., Canada S0M 2P0; phone (306) 246-4628.
HYE, Texas — Sun., July 25 to Sun., Aug. 1 — bro. Jerry Connolly, 12609
Dessau Rd., A-144, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,10 — bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
182 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas' Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
Having discoursed about two hours to the very few who
cared not to run after the multitude to assist or countenance
it in its fanatical orgies, we returned to Charlottesville, being
very doubtful if our friends would be ever permitted again to
make appointments at Free Union. Since my return from
Virginia bro. Magruder has informed me of the issue of this
affair. He writes, "Though turned out, we are in Free Union
again. It seems that the widow of the donor of the land did not
unite in the Deed; and though a Baptist, she is both just and
liberal, and has assigned to us her rights, which secures us one
third of the time; and as the Baptist persecutors cannot get a
parson to occupy more than two days in the month, and
cannot do anything, good souls, without a preacher, we get
one other day of necessity, and thus we have two a month, and
so are in statu quo ante helium: or as the militia captains say, "as
you were." Mr. Magruder inserted the following notice in the
paper:—""Free Union Church,—The Disciples of Christ meeting
at this Church (like their brethren of the apostolic age, 'the
sect everywhere spoken against*—Acts 28:22, having obtained
the proper authority to reopen the church-doors, will resume
their regular meetings there on the first Sunday in November,
and thenceforth on the first and third Sundays as heretofore—
The Public are invited to attend, Bible in hand, that
they may 'prove all things, and hold fast that which is good' —
Oct. 27th, 1854."
Thus, the friends of the Gospel of the Kingdom are in a
better position than before the attempt to eject them. Before,
they occupied the house by courtesy; now, they have as much
a vested right there as any of "the four orthodox denominations"
recited in the deed. The donor of the land could not
give a full title to it, unless his wife had united with him so as
to alienate her thirds.This, it appears, she did not do, so that,
if she wished to preach there, she could claim and occupy onethird
of the time, to the exclusion of "orthodoxy.* She has now
assigned her rights to "heresy;" so that she can no longer claim
to preach, but heresy, her representative, may; and all the
"orthodoxy" of the mountain-foot combined cannot expel
the pestilent fellow she has so liberally and anti-baptistically
patronized. What a world is this!
93 Berean 183
(On the following Tuesday bre. Magruder and Thomas journeyed
to Richmond to lecture to its citizens. He expressed great reluctance,
recalling his earlier treatment in that city, of Campbellites
defaming of his name, which caused him to cease any efforts to
present the Truth to its inhabitants. However, bro. Thomas finally
conceded to make the effort at the pressure of his friends. With extensive
advertising and personal contact by these, a goodly assembly
convened at the Universalist meeting hall, a place of many orthodox
religious assemblies. He probably lectured upon the Middle East in
prophecy, because of the very recent actions of Russia in the region
of the Balkans, and their pressure toward the capital of Turkey,
Constantinople, and the prevailing war in the Crimea.
The newspaper report and editorial comments justified the
effort made at that time and urged further attendance to what Dr.
Thomas had to present, while extolling his ability as a reasoner from
the Word of God. This was his final stand for the Truth in 1854 in the
State of Virginia, for he departed for Baltimore, Maryland at 6 a.m.
the following morning.)
On the following Tuesday, I returned to Richmond, accompanied
by bro. Magruder, who had some professional
business to attend to there. This, though the metropolis of the
State, is by no means a holy city, though abounding with
temples made with hands, some of which pierce the firmament
with spires—sharp, tall, and spindling, as the sky-scrapers.
There seems to be a sort of rivalry among some of the ecclesiastical
corporations in the article of spires. Which church
can sport the loftiest spire is an affair of architectural ambition
with the unworldly and humble professors of skyism, who have
vested capital in Persian hassocks and crimson-plush, springcushioned
pews below! The pride of life, after the order of the
Old Man, reigns High Priest of the kingdom of vanity as
imperiously in this city as can be conceived of in Rome itself.
Charlottesville and Richmond are but country villages, compared
with other places; still, according to their means, they
are not a whit behind Babylon herself in devotion to "all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the
pride of life." Yet there is great profession of religion here. But
then it is that sort of religion that practically ignores the Bible.
This might easily be demonstrated by a man taking his
stand in the tribunes of St. Paul, St. James, and of the other
houses dedicated to unheard-of saints and to no saints, and
showing to the "refined" and fashionable, the tender and
delicate occupants of the consecrated seats below, the stern
184 93 Berean
and homely truths taught by Christ and his apostles to the
poor. Let him announce that God dwelleth not in temples
made with hands, nor is worshipped by the works of men; that
he has chosen the poor to be the heirs of his kingdom; that it
is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter that kingdom; that riches are deceitful;
that unless they be converted and become as little children,
they cannot enter there; that fornicators, adulterers, effeminate,
covetous, drunkards, extortioners, and etc., shall not
possess that kingdom; that the obedient only shall be saved;
that there is no obedience without faith in the gospel of that
kingdom; and that there is no justifying faith without baptism
into Christ:—let him press these great truths upon their rebel
consciences, and he would either find himself whirling from
a parapet of their temple; or, if still a tenant of the tribune, the
piety of his audience smoking from the wet blanket he had
spread over it, or fallen hysterically into fits.
It was in such a city as this a few personal friends were
desirous I should address the people. From my knowledge of
Richmond, I was very loth to make any such attempt. It was
there that my personal enemies, Mr. Alexander Campbell's
partizans, had done their utmost to make me a byword and
reproach among the people. I had been held up to popular
scorn and contemptin newspaper advertisements; denounced
and ridiculed from the pulpit, and so forth; until many had
really concluded I was mad and had a devil. For some time
before I removed from that city, I had forborne from addressing
the public, confining all my operations in Virginia to the
country parts. I spoke four times in the capital, but, besides
these, I do not remember that I spoke publicly in the city after
my return from England. Our meetings were confined to a
private house in the suburbs, and Richmond was to me only a
post-office and place of publication.
My repugnance, therefore, to speak here was great, and but
for the earnestness of my good friends, the Suttons, Maddux,
Davis, and the promptings of Messrs. Magruder and others, I
should certainly have given Richmond the go-by, as we had
already done to Charlottesville. I had strong doubts if a congregation
could be obtained, especially in the week; but
others were more sanguine, and I consented to serve. The
Universalist meeting-house, which had been sanctified in
93 Berean 185
popular estimation by certain orthodox meetings held there,
was hired; and the proposed discourses announced in the
principal papers. Mr. Sutton was indefatigable in canvassing
his acquaintances, many of whom, since the breaking out of
the eastern war, had expressed a desire to hear me, if I should
speak there.
By dint of his efforts, a very respectable and intelligent
audience, as I was informed, was got together, notwithstanding
many obstacles had to be surmounted. The things submitted
to them seemed to interest them, and they came to
discover that, if mad, there was certainly a very rational and
scriptural method in my madness. In proof of this, an editor
of one of the city papers, who was there on the first night,
inserted the following notice in his columns on the ensuing
day:—"It will be seen, by the advertisement in another column,
that, by special request, Dr. Thomas will lecture again
this evening at half past seven o'clock, at the Universalist
Church. We had the pleasure of hearing the doctor's lecture
last evening, and we can bear our humble testimony to his
ability as a reasoner and theologian. We venture to assure our
readers, that if they will attend the lecture this evening, they
cannot fail to be interested and instructed."—Bulletin,
(To be continued, God willing)
Studies and Thoughts BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMB
"And they sing the Song of Moses, the servant
of God, and the Song of the Lamb"—Rev. 15:3.
BY BRO. JOHN THOMAS
The Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-21) is admirable for the
boldness of its imagery, the sublimity of its sentiments, and
the dignity of its style. It was sung by the Hebrew people
standing upon the shore of Edom's (Red) Sea.
They were now "a people saved by Yahweb"—a national salvation,
coeval with the signal overthrow of their enemies, and
the destruction of their power. They had just put on Moses,
having been all baptized into him in the cloud and in the sea,
as Paul explains in 1 Cor. J0:2.
They now constituted the One Body of Moses, and the Firstborn
Son of Yahweh (Exo. 4:22; Zech. 3:2; Jude 9). And when
they arrived at Sinai, fifty days after the institution of the
Passover, they became the Kingdom of the Deity (Exo. 9:5-8).
These events signalized the katabole tou kostnou, or "founda-
186 93Berean
tion of the world"; to which frequent reference is made in the
New Testament, in connection with the preposition pro, before,
and apo, from, since, etc. (Matt. 25:34; 13:35; Luke 11:50).
They also signalize the beginning of the Aion, or Olahm, or
COURSE OF TIME, the duration of which was hidden from
all but the Father, Who reserved the precise year of its termination
as a secret with Himself (Mark 1332; Matt. 24:36).
The Mosaic AION was a Course of Time identical with the
continuance of the Mosaic KOSMOS, or Order of Things. The
beginning of the one was the beginning of the other, and
synchronical with the singing of this beautiful prophetic ode.
But at that stage of their history the Israelites could only
sing the Song of Moses. They could sing it commemoratively
and prophetically—commemoratively of their deliverance, and
the destruction of the Egyptian army; and prophetically of that
still future and greater deliverance awaiting them in the time
of Jacob's trouble, and of that grander and more marvelous
overthrow of Babylon and the Beast by the Lamb and those
who accompany him whithersoever he goes.
The song celebrative of these victories over the system of
nations "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt"—the "Song of
the Lamb"—they could not sing. No man can sing the Song
of Moses who is not a member of the Mosaic Body. Nor can
any one sing the Song of the Lamb unless he be a citizen of
the Commonwealth of Israel, and be one of the conquerors
of the Beast, his image, his sign, and the number of his name,
and unless these have been already vanquished and destroyed.
True, he can repeat the words; but he cannot sing the words
as expressive of the agents and the events that have come to
pass. This is the sense in which songs are apocalyptically sung.
This song celebrates the Name bestowed upon Himself by the
Eternal Father in His interview by His angel with Moses.
"Ehyeh asher Ehyeh," said He on that occasion—"I will be
who I will be." EHYEH—"I will be"; and in the third person
—YAH, or YAHWEH—"He shall be."
"Thou shalt say to the children of Israel, YAHWEH Elohim
of your fathers hath sent me to you.
"This is My NAME for the Olahm, and this is My MEMORIAL
for a generation of the race" (Exo. 3:14-15).
"Extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His Name
YAH" (Psa. 68:4).
This Moses has done in this ode, saying (vs. 2-3)—
"YAH is my strength and my song, and He hath become
my salvation! He is my AIL, and Him will I extol; my
father's ELOHIM, and Him will I exalt.
"YAHWEH is a Man of War; YAHWEH is His Name."
The great prophetic subject of this song is YAHWEH as a
Man of War—that Man of War to be manifested, who shall
stand a conqueror upon the "glassy sea like to crystal," when—
as the Spirit of Christ in Zech. 14:9 testifies—
93Berean 187
"YAHWEH shall be for King over all the earth. In that daythere
shall be one YAHWEH, and His Name one."
This Man of War is that symbolic Son of Man seen by John
in Rev. 1:13-16; and that Mighty Angel he speaks of in 10:1;
and the Son of Man upon the white cloud in 14:14; and the
Word of the Deity and his celestial brethren in arms in 19:13;
and the Lamb with the 144,000, who constitute the Bride.
In other words, he is the One Body glorified, the head of
which is Christ Jesus, whose Head is the Eternal Father (1 Cor.
11:3). This personification of Jesus and his brethren as constituting
ONE MAN is illustrated in Exo. 4:22, where the whole
multitude of Israel (of which the adults were estimated at
600,000—Exo. 12:37), is styled the Son and Firstborn of Yahweh.
The "He Who shall be," promised to Abraham 430 years "before
the foundation of the world," and prophesied of to Moses
in the "Memorial" apocalypsed at the bush, is the Eternal, by
His power, incorporate and manifest—first in Jesus of Nazareth,
and hereafter in his resurrected, accepted, and quickened brethren
"glorified together with him." These all as one glorified
body are the "ONE YAHWEH" manifested in "One Name,"
which, enthroned in Jerusalem, is "King over all the earth."
"YAH is my AIL, and my father's ELOHIM,"
—say Moses and the Israelites. That is, the ETERNAL INVISIBLE
SPIRIT (John 4:24), Who made all things by His power
(Gen. 1:2), even YAH, is the "Strength of Israel" (1 Sam. 15:29)
manifested in the ELOHIM, or incorruptible and immortal
angels who made themselves visible to Abraham and Jacob, and
"who do His commandments," "His ministers who do His
pleasure" (Psa. 103:20-21), whether that pleasure be to fit the
earth for the indwelling of mankind, as related in Genesis; or
to execute judgment upon Egypt, and upon the cities of the
plain—the invisible YAH-Spirit working everything through
oft-times visible ELOHISTIC SPIRITS.
The Invisible One, "Whom no man hath seen," was visibly
manifested in them (the Elohim) to Adam in Eden's Garden;
to Lot in Sodom: to Abraham, Isaac, and Tacob: to Moses,
Joshua, Aaron, Hur, and 70 of the elders of Israel (Exo. 24:10-
17); to David; to Mary, the mother of Jesus; and in many other
instances not necessary to mention here.
This is the doctrine of GOD-MANIFESTATION expressed
by Moses in his song—a manifestation of One through Many.
But Moses did not confine himself simply to what existed. His
words were prophetic of a future Spirit-Manifestation; for he
adds, "Yahweh is a Man of War."
But Samuel says that "the Strength of Israel is not a man"
Moses and Samuel, however, are not at variance; but were
contemplating the YAH-SPIRIT in different periods of manifestation.
The Strength of Israel was "not a man" until "manifested
in the flesh" in the days of Jesus. The man Christ Jesus
188 * 93Berean
was the YAH-Spirit manifested Adamically; that iSy in our
nature; but He has not yet been manifested as a "Man of War."
These facts indicate that Moses in his song was referring
to YAH'S manifestation as exhibited in the scene of Rev. 19:11-
16, where He appears as a Man of War in the midst of his
"called, and chosen, and faithful" brethren in arms who, with
their invincible Chief, are the Yah-Spirit Conquerors standing
victorious upon the glassy sea as they sing the Song of Moses
and the Lamb.
The Song of Moses will be sung by the victorious saints
when the Spirit's omnipotence aiding them shall have led
forth in His goodness the people whom He hath redeemed,
and shall have conducted them in His might to the habitation
of His holiness.
He wiJl then have brought them in, and planted them in
the mountain of His inheritance; the place He will have made
to dwell in; the holy place for his Adonim (Lords) which He
will then have established.
The Beast and his Image being destroyed in the marvellous
work of the "restitution of all things" pertaining to the Kingdom
and Throne of David; the Twelve Tribes of Israel being
all restored and grafted into their own Olive Tree, and established
as the mightiest and most glorious of the nations by
the military prowess of Christ and his brethren—the regenerated
nation and its immortal rulers will then be able, in the full
prophetic import of the Song, to sing it as marvellously accomplished
in the then established constitution of the world.
Therefore, YAHWEH gloriously incorporate in his newlydeveloped
and glorified ELOHISTIC FAMILY shall reign for
the Millennial Olahm and beyond—Rev. 5:9-10; 20:4-6; 21:23.
"And they sing the Song of the Lamb" (Rev. 15:3).
When the anointing Spirit in the mystical Body of Moses
gave the song celebrative of the destruction of Pharaoh's host,
it was only in connection with the typical Lamb of the Passover
they had so recently eaten, and whose blood was upon the doorposts
and lintels of the houses they had left in Egypt.
But when the same song comes to be sung by the saints
in connection with the Song of the Lamb, the Lamb of the
Deity himself—who beareth the sin of the world—is a conspicuous
personage of the choir. It is the Song of the "seven
spirits of the Deity," incorporate in Jesus and his brethren
glorified together," and which had been "sent forth into all
the earth" (Rev. 5:6).
The Anointing Spirit—omnipotently manifested in the One
Body or "Man of War" sanctified by the sprinkled blood of
the true paschal Lamb "Yahweh Elohim Almighty" (Rev. 21:22)
—stands the Conqueror upon the glassy sea, and sings the Song
of Moses, the servant of the Deity ("faithful in all His house"—
Heb. 3:5) and the Song of the Lamb, saying (Rev. 15:3-4)—
93 Berean -jgg
"Great and marvellous are Thy works, O Yahweh Elohim
Almighty;
Just and true Thy ways, O Kings of Saints;
Who shall not fear Thee, O Yahweh, and glorify Thy NAME?
For Thou only art absolutely pure;
For all the nations shall come, and do homage before Thee;
Because Thy righteous judgments have been manifest."
Yea, verily, the works of YAHWEH Elohim in that great
day of His wrath will be grand and marvellous. The kingdoms
and empires of Europe and Asia will have been swept from the
arena, as the chaff of the summer threshingfloor.
The "popular sovereignties" and "universal suffrages" of the
Western Hemisphere will have reached a destiny so manifest
that none will fail to see—that they are the mere devices of
Satan for the perpetuation of his rule.
"The kingdoms of this world" will have "become the kingdoms
of YAHWEH and His Christ/9 personal and mystical,
and, as Moses sang—
"YAHWEH shall reign for the Olahm and beyond."
Or, as the same is rendered in Rev. 11:15—
"He shall reign for the Aions of the Aions."
—in the Common Version, "for ever and ever." He will have
"judged among the nations," which will have been "filled with
corpses" (Psa. 110:6), and in so doing "marvellous deeds" will
have been shown to Israel; by whose prowess the nations will
have been confounded, and caused to "lick the dust like a
serpent" (Mic. 7:15-17).
Then, when the newly-developed and glorified ELOHIM
stand victorious upon the glassy sea, all the earth, "blessed in
Abraham and his Seed," will (Psa. 66:1-2)—
"Make a joyful noise to the ELOHIM; sing forth the honor
of YAHWEH'S Name, and make His praise glorious."
Having by terrible deeds in righteousness (styled in the Song
of the Lamb "righteous judgments") stilled the noise of the
seas, the roar of their waves, "the tumult of the peoples"—-this
glorious NAME will have become the confidence of all the
ends of the earth, and of them far off beyond the sea.
These will all then fear YAHWEH, the Strength of Israel,
and "the Glory in the midst of Jerusalem," and glorify His
NAME. His works will then have been terrible for the manifestation
of the greatness of His power, by which His enemies
will confess themselves subdued.
Therefore "all the earth," enlightened by His glory (Rev. 18:1)
shall do homage to Him, shall sing to Him and to His NAME,
for He will judge the people righteously and govern the nations
Upon the earth (Psa. 65, 669 67).-Extracted from Berean, 1956
IT mill help you to be merciful if you remember that you do not deserve the
goodness God has allowed you. — R.R.
190 93 Berean
Signs And Traditions
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
It is profitable to remember that the basis of our meeting
this morning, and of all the meetings we hold, and the basis of
our hope concerning the future, is the work of the apostles in
the first century. Keeping this distinctly in view, we are able to
judge our position scripturally, and to conform it to the right
model in points where it may lack. As an ecclesia, or assembly
of the called, we are acceptable to God through Christ, only in
so far as we are what Paul laboured to make the ecdesias in his
day. He gives clear expression to his aim in this matter in the
words found in 2 Cor. 11:2 —
"I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused
you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ"
Let us try to imagine ourselves members of the community
to which Paul addressed these words, and it will help us to
realize our true position as brethren and sisters of the Lord
Jesus. There was no drying Euphrates in those days; there was
no Eastern Question engaging the universal thoughts of men,
and stirring actively the hopes of those looking for Christ. The
hope of Christ's appearing was before the minds of the
brethren, but not as a matter of imminent expectation. Paul
told them plainly, in writing to the Thessalonians (2 Thess.
2:2), that that day would not come until the development and
manifestation of the man-of-sin power, symbolized by the little
horn of Daniel's fourth beast. They had therefore none of the
excitements that belong to the hope of Christ's speedy reappearing.
Their position was one of fidelity to Christ, based
upon deeper and more lasting considerations.
The question we must address to ourselves is: Do we participate
in their standing in this respect? Is our position one of
"repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus
Christ," without reference to the sensationalism of public
events? It is to be feared that in some cases, at all events, the
true answer would not be a satisfactory one. The nature of the
times we live in exposes men more or less to the liability of
being absorbed in the signs of the times from a merely
political point of view, to the sacrifice of the real and lasting
claims of the truth on their affections. There are, doubtless,
cases in which the withdrawal of the political aspect of latter-
93 Berean 191
day expectations, connected with Christ's appearing, would
leave the mind destitute of all interest in the purpose of God.
It is for us seriously to examine ourselves on this point. Mere
prophetic politicianism would be no qualification for association
with Christ in the day of his appearing. The preparation
of the bride for union with her Lord consists of something
much higher than acquaintance with the political symptoms
of his approach. This acquaintance is, of course, a characteristic
of true disciples living in our period of the world's history;
but it is outside the essence of true discipleship.
True discipleship existed vigorously in the days of the
apostles, when as yet the signs of the times, in some of their
details, had not been revealed. It is to this class of discipleship
that we must conform, if the advent of Christ is to be of any
advantage to us. This discipleship, while greatly interested in
the signs of the times, is independent of them for its existence.
Its life is drawn from sources deep and lasting as the universe
itself. It depends not for its warmth and activity upon the
transient phases of God's political work among the sinners of
the earth. The basis of its vitality and its love is broad as the
whole work of God, from the day that Adam left the garden in
sorrow. It is substantial and deep as the history of Israel spread
over the centuries to our own day. It is lively and real, as the
power and wisdom of the God of Israel. And true and permanent
as the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only abiding fact in
human history, though men see him not yet.
There is a present life in true discipleship which contrasts
strikingly with the state of mind which lives only on the
sensations of expectation. We see the features of this life
reflected in all the writings of Paul and David by the Spirit.
God is an every-day fact in such a life. To thank Him and praise
Him and trust Him are its every-day exercises and luxuries.
Christ is a reality in such a life, as the priest who ever liveth to
make intercession for us, and who is able to save to the
uttermost all those who come unto God by him. His mastership
is recognized every moment, and wisdom sought in doing
his commandments. Joy is experienced in the contemplation
of his excellence, and sobriety and purification acquired in
the realization of his holiness. Prayer and meditation in
solitude are the natural reliefs of a life based on these foundations;
and the benefit of others in temporal ministration and
the work of the truth, its congenial expression. All pleasure-
192 93 Berean
following, and politician-mongering are alike foreign to its
vital bent. It finds adequate sphere in the jog-trot monotony
of everyday life, enduring as seeing Him who is invisible, and
"choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season."
The signs of the times, to a mind modelled thus after the
image of the new man in Christ, afford gratification, but do
not supply motive. The motive exists independently of them.
It is drawn from the fact of God's proprietorship of all things,
and His purpose disclosed in the Gospel, to glorify His name
on the earth and abolish all curse by Christ. Indications of the
near approach of the fulfilment of this purpose are reviving
and stimulating to those who are the subjects of this motive;
but they are not essential to its life or continuance. Abraham
and all the prophets walked acceptably before God under its
power, while seeing the day afar off; consequently, their true
children are everywhere characterized by a patient and warmhearted
continuance in well-doing, without respect to the
tokens in the political sky.
In our conceptions of well-doing we must beware of being
guided by popular standards, whether in religious or secular
circles. Polite society embodies the mind of the flesh in its
precepts and practices: and religious society, where it is to be
found, is as a rule, but the organic manifestation of superstition,
originating in the long established apostasy from apostolic
principles, which occurred in the first century. We must
draw our inspiration from one source only. There is no safety
outside the oracles of God. The well-doing that is acceptable
to God consists of the doing of those things He has required,
and we cannot in our age learn what these things are otherwise
than by the study of the book where they are recorded. We
cannot learn them from the common talk and the current
thoughts of society. Men have long since gone away from the
Bible in this matter. In fact, the world at large never have at any
time received and practised Scripture principles. The beginning
of things was barbarism, and the present situation of
things is but the adaptation of barbarism to the new circumstances
created by the State adoption of a form of Christianity.
Some Bible principles are to be found in contemporary
recognition, but these are only such as are common, more or
less, to all forms of civilization. Not to steal and not to lie, are
maxims which even the Pagans delighted to honour. True
93 Berean 193
Bible principles go much higher and deeper than the socalled
morali ty of popular discourse. They are scattered thickly
all over the surface of Bible composition, and many of them
are such as the most cultivated morality of the natural mind
cannot receive. The keeping of the commandments of God,
because they are His commandments, is a rule of action out of
the reach of the natural man: yet it is the simplest rule in the
household of God—one of the first of first principles. There
is no safety for any of us apart from the adoption and practice
of this simple principle.
There is, however, one peculiar danger which has to be
guarded against in the matter. It is illustrated in what has been
read this morning from the words of Christ to Israel after the
flesh. He told them they had made void the commandments
of God through their tradition. He makes his meaning plain
by giving an illustration. Moses had enjoined the reverence
and support of father and mother. To this the Jewish Rabbis
had not a word of objection. They boasted in the law, and
therefore in all parts of the law. They did not dare to say
parents were not to be honoured and maintained by their
children. Nevertheless, they took the pith out of the precept
by adding to it a notion of their own on the subject. They
taught that a man by a large gift to the Temple, might redeem
himself from the obligation to maintain his parents, and thus
they made void the commandment through their tradition.
This is the danger to which we in another form are
exposed. Jesus has said, "Ye are my friends if ye keep my commandments,
" and he gives us to understand that by these commandments
he means those delivered by his apostles as well as those
spoken by himself. Now there is not much danger of our
objecting to any of the commandments of Christ in a direct
and formal way. We may, as the Scribes and Pharisees did with
Moses, make a boast of Christ and our submission to him; at
the same time like them we may make void the commandments
we confess by the traditions we invent.
This is not an imaginary supposition. Christ has forbidden
us to resist evil, or recover again the goods that may be taken
away from us (Luke 6:30). To this the traditionists do not
object directly; but they say duty to society requires the
prosecution of the thief. The application to this doctrine
makes it impossible that there can ever come a time for
194 93Berean
Christ's commandment to be obeyed. Consequently, it is a
tradition making void his commandment. Christ has commanded
the relief of all need that may come under our notice,
and the Samaritan-like interesting of ourselves in the distress
of those who have no claim on us. The traditionists say "Very
good, a noble precept": but in practice they hold that it is
encouraging pauperism to entertain the cry of the needy, and
that "every place should maintain its own poor." Consequently,
when the opportunities arise for obeying the commandments
of Christ, their tradition comes in to make it void,
and they shut up the bowels of their compassion, and shutting
their ear to the cry of the poor, depart to their inglorious
comfort: forgetting to fear the time that will come, when it may
be said to them "Thou in thy lifetime hadst thy good things, and thy
brother his evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented."
Again, Christ has forbidden the encouragement of friendship
with the world, and declared the impossibility of retaining
the friendship of God and the friendship of the world at
the same time. The traditionist who loves the present world,
comes in with a tradition to the effect that too much isolation
of society narrows a man's opportunities of serving the truth,
and that if the world can see that we are good fellows, they will
be more likely to listen to what we have to say for Christ. The
obedience of this tradition draws a man into association with
the lovers of pleasure, and a participation in their pursuits,
with the result of a friendship which takes away all meaning
from the words of Christ, making void his commandment.
Illustrations might be multiplied, but these must suffice
on the present occasion. No form of disobedience is so dangerous
as that which is proposed under the plea of doing
good. It is an old doctrine,"Let us do evil that good may come."
Paul himself had to oppose it in his day, and his verdict on its
advocates is vigorous and unmistakable: "Whose damnation is
just." Such apologists for disobedience are far more dangerous
than those who oppose Christ out and out; for they may
beguile the unwary to their destruction. A knowledge of
Christ, and a profession of subjection to him will be of no
ultimate value to us, if it turn out that through the power of
our traditions we are living in daily disobedience of his commandments.
The course of obedience may be trying to the flesh and
93 Berean 195
blood. It is intended to be so. No test of our faith could be
more complete or beneficial than the command to do things
contrary to our natural inclinations, and which there is no
reason for doing but the simple one that they are commanded:
but if the trial is heavy, the prize of victory is beyond
our power to estimate. And our trial is only short at the
longest. It will soon be over, even if we live the full age of man.
Ahuman lifetime is not even a tick on the clock of eternity, and
when past, it is past never to return/Well therefore may we
accept whatever portion of the suffering of Christ comes to us
through the obedience of his commandments. Well may we
say with him, "The cup which my Father has given me to drink, shall
I not drink itVy If we suffer with him we shall reign. Our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
— Seasons of Comfort
If I May But Touch Him
BY BROTHER GILBERT GROWCOTT
"Behold a gluttonous man and a ivinebibber!"—Luke 7:34
We are apt, in our fancy, as we read the story of Jesus, to
envision a quiet, majestic figure slowly traveling about Judea
and Galilee with respectful throngs following him, a person at
least of general respect, if not of wholehearted general approval.
But this is not the true picture. Multitudes thronged him, truly.
But they were not the 'respectable* people. The respectable people,
unless they were of exceptional courage, came secretly at
night, like Nicodemus, if they came at all. The respectable people
whispered, as they viewed his simple followers—
"Behold a glutton and a winebibber: a friend of publicans
and sinners!" (Luke 7:34).
The "respectable" were afraid to be associated with him, for—
"The Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess
that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue."
And because the man who was born blind confessed him, they
did cast him out. The respectable people could say, with triumphant
contempt (John 7:48-49)—
"Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him?
but this people who knoweth not the Law are accursed."
And it is further recorded (John 12:42),
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed
on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved
the praise of men more than the praise of God."
It is clear that to confess him meant ostracism from respectable
society. As Isaiah tells us (53:3), he was not only rejected,
but despised—
196 93 Berean
"A reproach of men, and despised of the people" (Psa. 22:60).
"Him whom man despiseth, him whom the nation abhorreth."
He, no less than Paul (1 Cor. 4:12-13), was—
"Reviled, defamed, made as the filth of the world, and the
offscouring of all things."
And those that followed him were told to expect the same—
"If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,
how much more shall they call them of his household?"
"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you for my sake."
But—
"WOE unto you when all men shall speak well of you!"
•••
In Mark 4, we have first the parable of the sower, emphasizing
the three great dangers to faith. First, the fowls of the air,
organized opposition, the specious falsehoods of men, the deceits
of the adversary who snatch away the seed before it has time to
take root. Then the poor, thin, shallow ground—no depth, no
real grip on the truth, no stability or constancy. And lastly, the
cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the thousand and
one little things that can, almost unnoticed, steal away, piece by
piece and day by day, our precious time and opportunities, until
at last we look up in dismay and find ourselves far from our
goal and the day nearly spent.
Then the storm on the sea, and the fear of the disciples—
"Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38).
They had many lessons to learn by experience, and experience
is usually hard. Yet each experience, whether we fail or succeed,
can be a stepping stone forward, if we are rightly exercised by
it. Even if we fail still our failure can be profitable and useful:
subsequent reflection can tell us why, and can also impress us
with the unsatisfactory and depressing character of a past whose
milestones are instances of weakness — thus giving added incentive
to overcome. So even here—
"All things work together for good to them that love God."
Then when he stilled the storm with a word, they feared even
the more, because of the powers which they saw and did not
understand.
"What manner of man is this?**
***
"He was asleep, in the hinder part of the ship" (Mark 4:38).
This tells us many things. It speaks first of his perfect peace of
mind. He had many troubles, but no worries; countless sorrows,
but no anxiety.
Then it speaks of the fatigue that would make sleep possible
upon such an occasion, tossed about in a small boat on a rough
sea. And it gives us a glimpse of the life he led—unsettled and
wandering — no fixed dwellingplace, or mode of existence —
spending long nights in prayer—sleeping when the opportunity
afforded. He enjoyed none of the external elements of rest and
peace, but was the greatest example of them inwardly.
93 Berean 197
"My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27).
"Come unto me and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28).
Then he adds, lest we should harbor an illusion,
"Not as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:27),
The world would not call it rest, nor would they recognize
his peace. He, even more truly and deeply than Paul, could say,
"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content."
A perfect mastery of the xnind over external circumstances.
His peace did not consist in ignoring the circumstances, or excluding
the facts from his consciousness, or not caring about
them. It consisted in the confidence that whatever came, he was
ready, with God's help, to face it, and make the best of it; and
in knowing that in all things he conducted himself in perfect
harmony with the will of God. He said (John 8:29)—
"I do always those things that please the Father."
That was his peace. Consider the whole statement—
"He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me
alone; for I do always those things that please Him."
Many times he said that: "/ am not alone." That was his
anchor and confidence through every storm. "I am not alone."
God said in the beginning, "It is not good for man to be alone."
For the first Adam, the natural man, He made one provision,
but it remained for the Second Adam to demonstrate the full
truth and depth of the statement. "I am not alone/* Though all
the world was against him, he was still in the majority: though
all his companions forsook him, he was not alone. As the last
hour approached, he said (John 16:32),
"Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall
be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone:
and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These
things have I spoken to you that in me ye might have peace."
When the ship reached the eastern side of the sea, the country
of the Gadarenes, the incident of the swine occurred, in connection
with the curing of the maniac.
"And they were afraid . . . and they began to pray to him
to depart out of their coasts" (Mark 5:17).
It seems incredible that any should beg him to depart, after
seeing a demonstration of his healing power. But they were
afraid—afraid of the implications that that power carried with
it. For it worked both ways. He not only healed the maniac, but
he destroyed the swine, Therefore, knowing themselves, they
wanted him to leave them alone. With such a power among
them, there was no knowing where it would stop, or what it
would search out. The works of darkness could not live within
the circle of his light. Wherever he went, the issue of right and
wrong—righteousness and evil—was joined and could not be
evaded. He would not let it rest-
He came proclaiming righteousness and the power of God;
the loving and perfect and self-sacrificing way of the spiritual
mind. All the specious arguments and attempt to confound the
198 93 Berean
issue and justify the flesh that were put forward were gently
but relentlessly exposed. The common people heard him gladly
—though few comprehended the depth of his teaching. But
those who began to perceive the full implication of his words,
and did not want to face it, begged him to go away and leave
them alone. And the vested interests and ruling classes persistently
sought to discredit and destroy him, because in quiet,
everyday words he preached a revolution that was deeper, more
fundamental and more searching than man has ever conceived.
•»•
He returned again to the other side of the lake, and among
the throng that followed him was the woman with the issue of
blood (Mark 5:25). Consider this woman's faith. She felt that,
though she knew not how, if she could only get close enough to
Christ, the evil would of itself disappear. "// I may hut touch
him"! And that indeed is true, and is the simple, universal solution
to all our problems. Other solutions may be quite logical
and convincing, but they are lifeless, and we find when the issue
comes that they lack the power to carry us through. We are
convinced, and confess it, but we are not moved, transformed
and regenerated. As Paul says, law merely convinces us of sin,
and leads to the exclamation,
"O, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death?" (Rom. 7:24).
We must have the personal impetus that comes of a vivid
loving perception of and close proximity to Christ, as a living
person. Otherwise the path of right, as opposed to the path of
pleasure, is an intolerable and seemingly meaningless burden.
Paul found his incentive in his affection for Christ, and his desire
to approach him (Phil. 3:8)—
"I count all things but loss that I may win Christ . . . I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
He expressed unlimited confidence in this power—more than
equal to all circumstances (Rom. 8:35-6)—
"Who shall separate us from the lave of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword?—Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us . . . As it
is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long."
That is the keynote—"For thy sake.19 We must have a living,
personal reason; someone we love and are striving to please. We
are constituted that way. (n b g ^ w > God mlling)
What To Watch For In Relation To Europe
A FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
(Continued)
At the end of AD 799, the Pope crowned Charlemagne as
Emperor of all lands of Europe where the ecclesiastical authority
of the Pope was acknowledged, and the King became
93 Berean 199
the defender of the Catholic religion. This concordat (compact)
continued between Emperor and Papacy throughout
Europe for 1000 years, until the time of the French Revolution.
However the Papal seniority of position and authority
arose above the emperors in about 300 years, thus fulfilling
further prophetic declarations concerning this Beast. This
affinity between church and state, beginning in AD 800 is
described by John in Rev. 13:11 —
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon,"
Historical aspects in relation to Charlemagne and Pope
Leo III, clearly define Europe's rulers for many years. The
Beast of the Earth, so designated from its having risen upon
the interior parts of Europe, enveloping as well as the territory
of the Beast of the Sea (whose place it took), became thereby
a later manifestation of European politics.
The Earth Beast had two horns. History of the Papacy illustrates
its horn had three crowns, while the Emperors horn had
but one crown. Three on the Papal horn were by the Pope
having received the Papal Patrimony in Italy, a gift that was not
removed therefrom until AD 1870. This close fraternity between
Emperor and Papacy (with overpowering influence of
an ecclesiastical voice), gave rise to the identity of'THE HOLY
ROMAN EMPIRE,' a name which it carried to the Nineteenth
Century.
The badge of
empire as affixed
by these
potentates, was
the TWO
HEADED
EAGLE. Interestingly
this
symbol continued
with many
remnants of the
Two Headed
Beast, such as
the German, Austro-Hungarian, Polish nations.
This is where the Catholic influence has been and remains
the greatest. Now with the reconstitution of the Russian gov-
WESTERN EUROPE
ST PITER.
UNDS CUIMED 91 CMUKN.
Holy Roman Empire of
German Nation had long daimed
to tfw We of tha original Caaby
displaying a gold bamar with a
DEUTERONOMY, 28
49 The 'LORD shall brine a nation
against thee from far, from
the end of the earth, as 'swift as
o whose
200 93 Berean
ernment the same two-headed Eagle is being advanced as
their banner.
The Eagle was displayed on the Roman Legion's banners,
thus the words of the Spirit to Moses, 1500 years prior to
Rome's prominence as the afflictor of the Jews. Deut. 28:49
reads —
"The Lord shall bring a nation against thee - as 'swift as the eagle
Jlieth;9 a nation whose tongue (the Latin tongue) thou shalt
not understand."
Lamb-like characteristics are ascribed to this Beast. It
presents itself as the representative or 'Vicar of Christ' on
earth, (its own pontifical claim) — Pope Pius Xth declared,
athe Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he
is Jesus Christ himself hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does
the Pope speak? It is Jesus Christ who speaks". He assumes the
place of "the Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world " (Jn. 1:29).
This prophetically illustrates him as having a Christian aspect,
"Two horns like a lamb."
One other feature of this Earth Beast is mentioned, "and
he spake as a dragon". The character of the original Dragon
power of Rome is perpetuated in this animal. By the decrees
of the Popes issued against any who opposed their teaching,
and laws, the Imperial Horn executed its 'bulls' (Papal edicts
— sealed with a red seal or Bulla). This was carried over from
the Beast of the Sea, thus, Rev. 13:12 —
"He exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and
causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
During the following centuries after the reign of Charlemagne
and some of his successors the center of power of the
Earth Beast shifted to Germany, Austria and Hungary. The
struggles for power during the long 1000 year ascendancy of
this political condition in Europe brought misery to millions
of their subjects. The insistence of adherence to the decrees
of the Papacy was effected by military intervention in relation
to countries, rulers and so-called heretics. The only manner in
which the true worshippers could keep their faith alive and
perpetuate it amongst others, was to flee to other parts more
remote from the power of the Beast's two horns. This has been
foretold in the words of the Master, and his message in Rev. 11.
But those who were their persecutors would finally experience
the wrath of God, as Rev. 13:10 indicates, "He that leadeth
93 Berean 201
into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must
be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the
saints". This is Europe's final destiny, and it is fast approaching.
T
o direct our minds to the realities of the European scene
as the stage upon which all these prophetic events have been
working out, we have seen the Continent divided under the
authority of bestial powers from the rise of the Papacy by the
decrees of the various Imperial potentates from AD 535 until
the wrath of God has started to descend upon the head of "The
Mystery of Iniquity". Paul identifies this persecuting power —
"That man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition: who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God — The mystery of iniquity doth
already work — and then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with
the brightness of his coming; even him whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. "
In the purpose of God this system was revealed, as the
Truth became adulterated with pagan philosophy. God indicated
through Paul that, 'he would send them a strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie, because they believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness' (2 Thess 2:11-12). Europe, the
scene of the Apostle's untiring efforts, was to be successively
subjected to the will of those under this delusion. The Beast of
the Sea' ruled over the Ten Horned nations for over 270 years.
'The Beast of the Earth' in its imperial and ecclesiastical affinity
ruled a greater or extended territory of Europe for 1000 years.
But even in this conjoint society, the Ecclesiastical Horn
predominated in influence over the Imperial Horn.
'The Dragon9
power, remnant
of the old Imperial
Rome in
Constantinople,
was to decline as
the Charlemagne
power
arose in the area
of the Rhine in
lower Germany,
about AD 750.
202
93 Berean
Meanwhile another scourge was arising in the Arabian
sphere, as the Arabs brought the wrath of God on that power
which had given authority to the Beast of the Sea against the
people of God. These were succeeded in their destructive
vengeance by the Ottoman inundation from eastern lands of
Asia, until the Roman vestiges of Catholicism were reduced to
imbecility in Constantinople, in AD 1453. Remnants of these
Ottoman are still in the Balkans, hated by the Serbians in the
Bosnian war.
The Dragon 'power' assumed by the Ottoman, will continue
in that region until it is taken over by the rise of Russia
to invade the Holy Land, at the time of Christ's return. This is
the sphere of the Earth, upon which the drama of the ages is
now being worked out, and the remnants of whose successive
powers are still contending for the mastery over the hearts,
lives, and their very economy.
THE IMACE Or THE BEAST" REV 13:14
Or TKg>BEASTf EEV17;11
THE WORKS OF THE BEAST
MASSACRE Or ST BARTHOLOMEW DAY 1572
EDICT or nunts 1598
REVOCATION Or THE EDICT OF MARES 1685
THE HENCH REVOLUTION 1789
THE WITNESSES
DOMATISTS
ALBICERSES
HALDEHSES
ROUNDHEADS
FU1ITAMS
LOLLARDS
LEOMISTS
PAULICIANS
"IN THIS HORN WERE EYES LIKE THE EYES OF A MAN,|
AMD A MOUTH SPEAKING GREAT THINGS," DAN 7:8
"THE SAME HORN MADE WAR MITE THE SAINTS, AND
PREVAILED AGAINST THEM," DAM 7:21
"HE SHALL SPEAK GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST
HIGH AMD SHALL VEAR OUT THE SAINTS," DAN 7:25
"THE MAM OP SIN SHALL BE REVEALED, THE SON OF
PERDITION,WHO OPPOSETR, AND EXALTETH HIMSELF
ABOVE ALL THAT IS CALLED GOD,— SO THAT HE AS
GOD SITTETH IN THE TEMPLE OP GOD, SHOVING HIMSELF
THAT HE IS GOD," 2 THESS 2:3*4
"HE OPENED HIS MOUTH IN BLASPHEMIES AGAINST GOD,
TO BLASPHEME, —IT WAS CIVEM UNTO HIM TO MAKE
WAR AGAINST THE SAINTS, AND TO OVERCOME THEM,
REV 13:6-7
"I SAW THE WOMAN DRUNKEN WITH THE BLOOD OP THE
SAINTS Or JESUS," REV 17:6
"I BEHELD TILL THE BEAST WAS SLAIN, AND HIS
BODY DESTROYED AND GIVEN TO THE BURNING PLANE,"
DAN 7:11
HUGUENOTS
The Two Horned Beast of the Earth which for centuries
dominated this scene, was to suffer a further modification,
and experience limitations to the exercise of its influence,
even to its subjection to a far more insidious system. This new
power was created by the very Beast which it later subjected
and ruled over by the exercise of its inquisitions. Of this
change we read in Rev. 13:14-15 —
"The Beast (commanded) that they should make an IMAGE
93 Berean 203
OF THE BEAST, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
And he (the Beast) had power to give life unto the Image of the
Beast, that the Image of the Beast should both speak, and cause
that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should
be killed".
The Beast 'which had the wound by the Sword', was the
Imperial Head of the Beast of the Sea, which we have already
noted. The 'wound' was inflicted on the Sixth 'Head' by the
Ostrogothic nation. This Sixth Head power is shown as experiencing
a resurrection, and gradually coming back to life in
the rise of the Papacy. The exercise of this power of Rome, was
localized in the Papacy in two stages. When the Carolingian
(Charlemagne) dynasty of the Franks emerged as supreme in
France and Germany, they were crowned by the Pope of
Rome. The crowned monarch conceded at the time of coronation,
Dec. 799, that 'the Pope was supreme over the ecclesiastical
department of his subject nations;' while the Pope accepted
that 'the Emperor was supreme in political affairs.'
This concordat lasted for about 300 years. However, the Papal
policy from the beginning was to gradually assume the ascendancy
of both the religious and the national interests of all
peoples under its realm. History very well verified this dominance
over the Emperors, as in the reign of Henry IV of
Germany, who was excommunicated by Gregory VII.
This was the beginning of the war between the Papal Mitre
and the Political Sceptre over the Holy Roman Empire. (This
Pope was known as Hildebrand). He appealed to the 'Forged
Decretals' (compiled by a Spanish priest in the 800s) and he
exercised the Papal authority over all European rulers in his
domain. These Decretals declared that —
1. The Roman Church had never erred,
2. The Pope is supreme judge, may bejudged by none, and
there is no appeal from him,
3. No synod may be called a 'general' one without his
order,
4. He may depose, tranfer, reinstate bishops, and most important,
5. He alone is entitled to the homage of all princes, and
6. He may alone depose an emperor.
This was a complete violation of the concordat established
in AD 800, between the Pope and the political authority of the
204 93 Berean
Lateinos, the number of his
name, "which Is the number of a man," -and
Apostates, the mark, the brand of the apostacy,
both fault/ contain the same prophetic number.
[NOS
. 3O1
. 3OO
5
1O
. 5O
. 7O
2OO
666
APOS1
APos
t
at
es
1
8O
7O6
1
3OO8
2OO
666
Alexander Keith;
This Interpretation has been given by expositors
from the time of Irenaeus in the second
century, A.D.
The Bible is still read in Latin in ever/ Roman
Catholic Church throughout the world.
Emperor Charlemagne. This was the, "mark of the beast — that
no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev. 13:16-17).
It is therefore important that we understand the true
identity of this historical power, which has enslaved millions
in Europe for centuries. In simple terms the Spirit's prophecied
mark illustrates that by which this System may always
be identified.
'LATIN' is the language commonly
used in all the Beast's deliberations,
and declarations. The
terms 'LATEINOS' and 'APOSTATES'
have each a numerial
value of C666\ Thus the Spirit
caused the Apostle John in AD
96 to record the following in Rev.
13:18 — "Let him that hath understanding
count the number of the
BEAST: for it is the number of a man;
and his number is six hundred, threescore,
and six."
The Apostle Paul in 2 Thess. 2:3, had prophecied of this
apostate system —
"Let no man deceive you -for that day shall not come, except there
cornea falling away' (Grk. APOSTASIA) first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."
Paul was stating that the coming of the Master could not
take place until this Apostacy was revealed.
A commemorative medal was struck in AD 1825, a Catholic
Jubilee, by the authority of Pope Leo XII. Illustrated hereon
is the 'woman' described in Rev. 17:6 —
"The woman, drunken with the blood of the saints of Jesus."
Leo XII hunted out and destroyed, with a vengeance, the
class of Civil Witnesses denominated as the Carbonari, found
throughout Europe, but especially in Italy and France. Remember
this was in Europe just 150 years ago.
These strenuously fought against Papal pretentions, and
sought to establish a monarchy in the 'Boot' of Italy. The Two
Witnesses are Spirit defined in Rev. 11:3 — "1 will give power
unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." We note that
this is the time when the witnesses had been resurrected (Rev.
93 Berean 205
11:11), and during the overlapping time between AD 1790
and 1870.
Leo's claim to world au-
XJ9MT APOSTACY
IDENTIFIED
C S PROPHECY.
thority is emblazoned for
all to observe, 'SEDET
SUPER UNIVERSUM',
'seated over the Universe.'
This Pope had perpetuated
the terrible persecutions of
the Two Witnesses, which
had contended with this
corrupt and oppressive system
from the time that Constantine
revolutionized
Rome, in turning it from
Paganism to Christianity (so called).
The Two Witnesses have been variously designated through
that long period of time. About AD 312, we find them under
the names of Donatists, and the Circumcellions in North
Africa. About the Seventh and Eighth Centuries they appear
in Armenia as the Paulicians, and from thence they, by persecution
from the Eastern Catholic powers, migrated to Romania
and Hungary, and finally to the south of France in the
areas of the Mediterranean. In the 11th and 12th Centuries
they are the Albigenses and the Waldenses of southern France.
The Waldenses, following the teachings of Peter Waldo,
(Lyons, France), settled in the province of Toulouse in Southern
France, where they greatly increased. The Albigenses,
(from the town of Albi in southern France) were of the same
class, at the same time. At the instigation of the Popes, the
Catholic line of kings in France (called the Capets — Hugh
Capet, king of France, AD 987-996) forced these defenders of
truth and liberty, to flee to Holland, Germany and Bohemia,
the outreaches or wings of the 'Great Eagle'.
In the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries we find them identified
with the Huguenots throughout various parts of France.
These were found amongst the princes and merchants of that
land. One of these witnesses, a Huguenot (Henry of Navarre),
attained to the throne of France, AD 1589, having overcome
the Catholic forces in warfare after AD 1572. He enacted laws
in favor of the Huguenots, that permitted their continuing to
206 93Berean
preach and exercise Civil and Religious Liberty in their
designated areas of France. This decree was 'The Edict of
Nantes/ AD 1598.
As King Henry IV, he married Marie de Medici of Italian
origin (a strong supporter of the Catholic faith). The Catholic
power never accepted Henry IV as their king. Henry was
assassinated by a Jesuit priest in AD 1610. Under his wife
(urged on by the Papacy) the persecution began again in
France, a conflict which lasted until 1685. The wars between
Catholic forces and the Huguenot armies assumed their
former bitterness. In AD 1685, the French ruler King Louis
XTV (by the urging of Pope Innocent XI) revoked the Edict of
Nantes. The kingly line from the time of Henry IV until Louis
XVI (guillotined in 1792 with his wife Marie Antoinette), were
called the 'BOURBONS'. This terrible line of persecutors of
the Witnesses, and the Holy City classes, filled up the cup of
iniquity in the hand of the Papal Harlot in Rome. These
monstrous events prepared Europe for the beginning of the
judgments of the Creator upon the Beast and its adherents,
and supporters. These judgments were to be the Seven Vials.
This terrible age of Papal persecution of the true saints, and
their supporters has justified what has been happening in
Europe from the beginning of the 19th Century, AD 1800.
(To be continued, God willing)
"MEN OUGHT ALWA YS TO PRA Y, AND NOT TO FAINT"
Let us not be discouraged if we find our present lot a bitter one because
of our submission to the will of God. We require to rally ourselves
on this point. It is pleasant enough to TALK about tribulation
preparing us for the Kingdom of God, but it is hard in the ACTUAL
EXPERIENCE*
The heart sometimes grows sick. The waters come into the soul, and
the spirit is overwhelmed. Let us beware of straying from the path for
ease. Let us remember the words of Christ concerning some that "in
time of temptation fall away. " Let us not lay down the cross because it
is heavy. Christ asked us to take it up and carry it Let us, when hardly
beset, follow the example of David, who says,
"From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee when my spirit is
overwhelmed/7
This is what James exhorts (5:13)—
"Is any among you afflicted?—let him pray."
It is what Jesus himself says (Luke 18:1)—
"Men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
"Watch and pray, lest ye enter into (fall a victim to) temptation."
Resorting thus, in our trouble, to the Rock that is higher than ourselves,
we shall be given a strength that will enable us to endure, and a
help that will open a way of escape that we be not tempted above that
we are able to bear. — R.R.
93 Berean 207
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
FRANCE: FRANCE'S POLITICAL TURN
France's main conservative coalition has trounced the governing
Socialist Party by winning a huge parliamentary majority in arunoff
election. Previously, the Old Assembly had been split, with the
Socialists and allies composing 48% of the political seats. The New
Assembly is divided at about 4% for the Communists and allies,
11.6% for the Socialists and allies, and the remaining 84.4% being
held by the Conservatives and allies. This is the largest parliamentary
majority enjoyed by any political group in France since 1815.
Meanwhile, acting Socialist President Mitterrand is determined
to exercise his power to the full. His tenure is not up until 1995, but
he is 76 years old, and is fighting prostate cancer.
The once prominent Socialist platform is being held responsible
for France's rising unemployment, corruption scandals and a feeling
of insecurity and fatigue with that ruling party. Mitterrand's sweep
to power in 1981 came with the promise to create more jobs. The
Socialist's tax-and-spend policies lost jobs. Unemployment is now
10.5%, versus Germany's 7.5% and the United States' 7.1 % national
average.
The individual who is poised to take the leadership of the
country is Jacques Chirac. He is France's politically center-right
candidate, who continues to strengthen his already leading popularity.
— N.Y. Tms. 3/29/USN3/22
The bastions of Socialism and Communism in Europe, find their
power eroded on every hand, as all their governments are experiencing
the "domino" effect, with former associated countries becoming
disenchanted with totalitarian authority. France, the cradle of European
Democracy, has now experienced one of those political disruptions
which have rocked her government for over 150 years. From
the high-handed policies of ''nationalization" of domestic industries
during the Mitterrand tenure, the democratic philosophy of the
Conservatives has shaken out the French National Assembly.
The above election results have given a more liberal appearance
to the French Parliament; and while Mr. Mitterrand does not step
down until 1995, he will be a sick man trying to work with an assembly
whose political agenda is completely opposite to his.
In view of the prophetic position which France has had to play
and must yet play, Conservative Democracy is a more fitting atmosphere
to suit the Divine destiny for this country. Their identity and
influence as Jthe "frog" power must be sustained in His plan, as
"Three Unclean Spirits like Frogs, go forth unto the kings of the
earth, and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great
208 93 Berean
day of God Almighty" (Rev, 16:14). With the unchangeable divine
schedule, and the nearness of the end, this recent upheaval in France
fits the picture, more than Mitterand's totalitarian stance.
***
MIDDLE EAST: AN UPSURGE OF VIOLENCE IN ISRAEL
Violence and violent death have been a way of life in Israel for
a long time. It is nothing new to the Israelis or the Arabs living in the
occupied territories. But what is new is the magnitude and intensity
of the current violence and killing. In one month in the first quarter
of the year, thirteen Israelis and twenty-five Palestinians have died.
Analysts say the nature of the violence is changing. Attacks by Arabs
are increasingly random and indiscriminate, provoking a quick
Israeli response that is even harsher—and angrier—than usual.
The escalation has also eroded domestic support for the peacemaking
policies of Israel's Rabin. It appears that the popularity of
Israel's right-wing is growing, which means that the relatively new
peacemaking attitude of Israelis may already be fading. The problem
is also putting Palestinian peace negotiators on the defensive with
their own people
As a result of the problem, Rabin indefinitely sealed off the
occupied West Bank and Gaza. This is sure to create financial
problems and stress, as some 120,000 Arabs usually enter Israel from
the territories each day to work.
As the bloodshed continues, it is being found that militants from
the PLO and Islamic fundamentalist from the Hamas organization
try to upstage each other with more-daring attacks. Occasionally,
they are joined by free-lance assailants who are driven by private
grievances. Attackers are also better armed than in the past. — USN
4/12
After weathering the bitterness of winter deportation of several
hundred belligerent Arabs from their homeland in Israel, and world
condemnation against the Jerusalem government's hardness, renewed
plans to negotiate have been established between Jews and
Arabs. Through the efforts of the USA Clinton administration,
meetings have been planned. For several years under the Bush administration
similar attempts have ended in failure.
The positions adopted for negotiation have not changed, the
Arabs insisting on territorial grants with autonomy of government in
Palestine; the Israelis' insistence on very little land surrender, and to
maintain complete military and overall governmental supervision.
No permanent peace can be established by human negotiations or
aggression.
Israel's possession and occupation of the present territory is
necessary when Russia descends upon the land with world powers,
93 Berean 209
and at Christ's appearance, as Michael of Dan. 12:1," the great prince
which standeth for the children of Daniel's people, when there shall
be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." This
is necessary because Israel must be there to be defended by "the
Tarshish powers" and she must be there to be delivered from Russian
domination. All that is happening is moving in the desired direction,
and is encouraging to the people of God. Only with such a scene is
it possible for Israel to be dwelling "Safely, Confidently, Securely,"
when the day of the Lord arrives.
The present Arab /Israeli political atmosphere is that of increased
violence as the days continue. Some of the most vicious
attacks are now being made and retaliated against. It is noteworthy
that the very day agreed Washington negotiations were announced,\
bombardments between Arabs and Israelis increased. These were
initiated by the PLO and Islamic forces, coupled with the implacable
Hamas group in Lebanon. The more strident position of the present
Israeli government manifests that they feel appeasement with Arabs
is impossible. We watch the tenor of the proposed deliberations in
Washington, the first such under the aegis of the Clinton administration.
***
BALKANS: A VICIOUS WAR CONTINUES
In Belgrade, there is a Genocide Museum containing pictures of
the men, women and children butchered during the Balkan war. But
here, the victims being graphically displayed are Serbs, those accused
of doing most of the current atrocities. The Serbs being
mourned were killed not only in the recent fighting in Croatia, but
also during World War II, when the Hitlerite Croat Ustasha movement
wiped out tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and
dissidents. The message is coming through clearly: despite what the
Western media might say about the war in Bosnia, Serbian history is
in fact a tragic drama of suffering and slaughter at the hands of
others, and the current war is only the latest installment.
That will come as a surprise to the rest of the world. A year of
Serbian "ethnic cleansing" against Muslims in Bosnia has brought to
light murder, rape and expulsion on a scale not seen in Europe since the
Nazi era. Appalled by the carnage but unable to find effective means
to stop it, Western governments are stepping up the pressure on the
Serbs to sign a Bosnian peace plan they have so far rejected. The West
continues to find ways to further tighten the economic noose on
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's nationalist government,
which is already reeling from 225 percent monthly inflation.
The current genocide being done is greatly explained if it is
understood that Serbian identity is rooted in an age-old feeling of
210 93 Berean
victimization. Because they have suffered in the past, Serbs believe
their actions today are, by definition, "defensive." The belief may not
be accurate, but it is a fact of life.
Serbia's sense of grievance dates back long before World War II,
to the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, at which invading Turks defeated an
army of Serbian nobles under King Lazar. In 1987, a Serb rally at the
Kosovo battle site was what propelled Milosevic to national preeminence.
If the battle of Kosovo established the Turks as one object of
deep Serbian suspicion, this century's two world wars confirmed
Germans and Croats as the others. The assassination by a Serb
nationalist of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sarajevo in
1914 was part of the Serb campaign to rout both the Ottoman and
the Austro-Hungarian empires from the Balkans. It triggered a war
in which, Serbs are now taught, half of all Serbian men perished. The
Serbs were seen in the West as plucky fighters for self-determination—
allies against Prussian militarism and Turkish Islam. The
Serbs, French, Americans and British were on the same side again in
World War II, in which the Germans, Italians and the Ustashe were
harassed by both Marshal Tito's Communist partisans and Chetniks,
a Serbian nationalist force.
Serbs say Tito—who was half-Croat, half-Slovene—made life
miserable for them. Tito had Serbs build up factories in Bosnia and
neglected Serbia itself. The fall of Communism left a great moral
void, and Serbs searched for someone to pay back for their fifty years
of alleged cultural humiliation and economic deprivation. Unlike
other Eastern Europeans, Yugoslavs couldn't blame the Soviets.
Instead, they focused on old national hatreds—only some of them
based on reality. — NY TMS. 3/29; NWS 4/19
The situation in the remnants of Yugoslavia, is a running sore, an
open wound in the body of Europe. It reflects the attitude of all
nations, cut adrift from the great powers which have dominated the
European theatre since the fall of the old Roman empire. And among
Rome's subject nationalities have been the Slavic people, of which
the Serbians form a branch. The Balkan region constitutes part of
one of the Ten Horn Nation remnants of Roman power.
They originated on the western shores of the Black Sea, from
whence they were driven westward by another Slavic people, the
Bulgars, to the mountainous area of the Balkans.
Serbia has been a trouble-maker in the Balkan region since the
time of Charlemagne's descendants in the Ninth Century. Her early
rulers have sought to oppress and overcome all other nations in
South-Eastern Europe. They have vacillated between adherence to
93Berean 211
Greek Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism as they have aspired for
power and domination. Their desire has been the overthrow of the
Eastern Roman empire, and to hold the title of Emperors of the
Romans.
Constant Serbian agitations against and subjugations to the
greater European powers have developed Serbia's present outlook
of vengeance against all who stand in their path. Now, after 100 years
of the dictates of larger European powers beginning with the Treaty
of Berlin in AD 1878, the Versailles Treaty in AD 1919, and the
Potsdam Treaty in AD 1945, they appear to have obtained liberation.
And they are exercising arrogantly their new-found independence, a
part of the Democratic Frog plague.
Pope John Paul recently visited Albania, and warned that nation
not to meddle with the Serbian situation. That land is 90% Muslim,
and 10% Roman Catholic. Their natural tendency would be to
support and perhaps receive fleeing Muslims from Bosnia and
Croatia. The Serbs are Greek Orthodox, and their alphabet is Greek
Cyrillic.
Serbia's present ethnic cleansing drive is dictated by their Ottoman
suppression at the Battle of Kosovo, AD 1389, mentioned
above. The hand of the Creator is evident in these terrible battles
against the Muslims of Bosnia and Croatia. The drying up of the
Turkish River Euphratean power falls into the 6th vial period. That
which has been in process for over 150 years is obviously not yet
completed. This prophecy of Rev. 16:12-16, is still operative in its
divine control, and will be until the return of Christ Jesus to direct
personally world events. Our eyes should watch closely upcoming
events in the Balkan region. — C.S.
THE sorrows and self-denials and the burdens of the present course of faith,
and obedience will all be made up to us a thousandfold in the words of
sympathetic welcome that wait the approved, ""Well done, good and faithful
servant, you had a hard struggle: a difficult fight: but you have got through
victoriously. You made the most of the very little that was in your power: enter
now into the great and high and pleasant ways of everlasting rest."—RR
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 216)
2) It is impossible to imagine a truly enlightened brother attending
an orthodox place of worship — especially at the hour when
bread is being elsewhere broken in remembrance of the Lord's
death.
3) World's Fair at Chicago: The idea of having a stand at the Fair
has been abandoned. It was thought, by confining our efforts
more to those who may be in attendance at the religious
212 93Berean
meetings here, more good would be done by getting the Truth
into the hands of those who may be disposed to give it some
consideration.
4) It is the duty of a father to bring up his children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, whatever obstacles may stand in the
way (Eph. 6:4). Thanksgiving at the meal table should not be a
prayer to be made thankful, but the utterance of direct thanks
for the bounties provided. Say, "Father, we thank Thee for these
things," etc., and not "Make us truly thankful for these things."
The latter form would imply that you are not thankful.
5) Errata —- These occasionally occur, but when they are selfevident,
it seems unnecessary to notice them.
(These exhortational thoughts are worthy of our consideration, for they
emphasize the importance of obedience to the Word of God. In ail our efforts
we must keep God's Word before us In every aspect of our lives. Understanding
and balance are vital to our salvation. Without it we will develop ideas that
are astray from His Word. Balance is one of the greatest blessings we can
possess.)
***
IN response to material received during the previous month up to publication
time, bro. Roberts mentioned a couple of interesting items and commented
on them —
The Ashcroft magazine Truth, for December, 1892, announcing
discontinuance for want of an adequate circulation. We cannot
pretend to regard this as a calamity, but we rejoice not — God
knows. Some features of the contents provoke animad-versions
which would be just: butwe forbear. The editor of the suspended
paper bids his readers farewell and vanishes.
(Bro. Ashcroft was, in earlier years, a strong supporter of the Christadelphian
and bro. Roberts. But he became more interested in going beyond the Truth
uncovered by bro. Thomas, and ultimately became an antagonist in the
inspiration division. He later drifted back Into the world, after starting his own
magazine. Bro. Roberts mentions this to make others aware of the demise of
the Truth Magazine and the fading from the scene of bro. Ashcroft.)
The Aberdeen Evening Gazette for May 9 th, with mark at a letter on
the inconsistency of some professors of the Truth in these
northern parts, who have been taking part in socialistic agitation
and are aspiring to Gentile honours. The writer of the letter may
be informed that those who are referred to are not in fellowship
with those who are represented by this magazine.
(Bro. Roberts1 remarks are directed toward those who, although knowing the
Truth, became involved with the world and its aspirations. Complete separation
is always required by the Creator of the earth.)
***
THE article taken from the writings of Dr. Thomas was entitled, "Coming
Ascension Of The Saints To Power." His opening remarks contain the basis
of his approach to this subject —
After resurrection is ascension, but not necessarily instantaneously
after. This is evident from the example given in the case
of the Lord Jesus. He first came out of the sepulchre; and then,
after a certain interval, "ascended to the Father," an ascent
93Berean 213
which is not to be confounded with his assumption from the
Mount of Olives 43 days after his crucifixion (John 20:17; Acts
1:11). He ascended to his Father before he was "taken up." The
ascent was a necessary preparation for the taking up of the
resurrected body; for a body such as he had, when he forbade
Mary to touch him, was unfit for translation through the higher
regions of our atmosphere and the airless ethereal beyond.
***
SIX more pages were again dedicated to the subject of, "The Day Of His
Coming." \n this section of the subject, bro. Roberts included these direct
thoughts on the return of Christ to the earth and its impact on the believer —
The Day of His Coming — In the presence of the Judge. Whence
this knowledge of all my former ways? How vividly there rises up
before me the history of my former life as if in the presence of
the Judge. I again lived the brief day of my probation life.
A day of revelation. A day when God shall judge the secrets of
men. The secrets of men, how numerous and how various.
Secrets of wicked thoughts. Secrets of alienation. Secrets of
wicked actions. Secrets of things professed but not possessed
alias hyprocrisy.
After His Coming — A morning without clouds. A hallowed
morning of tranquility and rest. A marriage feast. A feast of fat
things and precious fruits out of the garden of the Lord. The excellent
of all the earth is there. The King and his kings, the
nobles and princes of the Kingdom of God. Glory to God in the
highest — Amen.
***
BRO. Roberts again covered a variety of subjects in his "Answers to
Correspondents. — "You Hath He Quickened"; "Children of Israel in Egypt";
"Samson and the Slaying of the Philistines"; "Usury"; "The Name Christadelphlan";
"Drawing back into Perdition"; "The Significance of the Cross of
Christ"; "The Position of Those who Knowing Refuse to Submit to the Truth";
"Remarks of the Editor (on responsibility)".
***
IN reference to the "Jewish and Hoiy Land Affairs", the following extracted
news items were mentioned —
There has been another large expulsion of Jews from Odessa
(Russia) — all, namely, who were not born there and who have
migrated from other parts.
A newspaper published at Libau bewails the intention of the
government to expel two-thirds of the Jews engaged there in
commerce, during the present year.
Measures against the Jews are becoming very oppressive in Romania.
A Bill has been passed which excludes them from
hospitals in any capacity whatever.
There is a very severe outbreak against the Jews in Morocco.
(Hatred and distrust against the Jews was coming to the fore in many
countries in the Old World. It was a sign of the times, and a clear indication
to the Brotherhood that things were beginning to move In relation to the Jews
being gathered back to their homeland. The brethren and sisters were very
aware of the significant events transpiring all over the world in regards to the
214 93 Berean
Jews, and although sad, they were a source of encouragement to the brethren
and sisters as they were a sure sign that God's purpose was being fulfilled.)
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
A worthy young brother who emigrated eight years ago to
Australia, paid us a visit during the month: but unfortunately, his
adoption of the age crochet which has been stated out there (viz,
that no one can enter into Christ if they are less than 20 years old,
however intelligent and fervent in the faith they may be), was an
obstacle to the re-union and fellowship, which would have been
profitable.
The Town Hall Effort—There has been a marked improvement
in the attendances at all our meetings since the Town Hall effort;
and there is a manifest process of fruit ripening going on, both
without and within.
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"A Warning from Christ"
"Perplexities of Modern Religion"
"The Abrahamic Promises"
"The Time of the Dead, the Hope of the Living and the Terror
of the Unjust"
"That the Bible Teaches that in Death there is no Existence for
Man, Conscious or Unconscious"
"An Important Question: Is Orthodox Preaching the Preaching
of the Gospel which Christ and His Apostles Preached?"
"The Coming Revolution"
"The Part that the Angels Play in the Work of Redemption"
"Christ's Last Message to the Churches"
"Peter's Sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Shown to Disprove the
Teaching of the Modern Pulpit"
"In what Way did Christ Lay Down His Life for Us?"
"Two Aspects of Christ — the Lamb of God, and the Lion of the
Tribe of Judah"
Book Of Numbers }* £J^.(g:4) 34. Balaam's (22:25)
Answers 18 % ™n\\4A) 35. Sword (22:31)
1. Lcvitcs (1:51) 19 Earth (1421) 36- A l o n c
6 For they have
of saints and prophets, and thou
hast given them Wood to drink;
for they are worthy.
After warnings to the faithful given in Rev. 13:18, concerning
the Mark and Name of the Image of the Papal Beast, of its
insidious influence into the lives of all mankind, the Spirit
carries us forward to the time when the same system is to
receive God's vengeance. These were to descend upon Europe's
government, and that which for centuries the monarchs
and Papacy had classed as a condition of 'Order.' This
their desire was to be removed from them, and a condition of
anarchy descend upon their countries. The 'Frog' spirit of
'Democracy' has from AD 1790 to the present disturbed their
'waters.' And so it will remain until Christ and the Saints bring
93 Berean 241
the Divine and blessed 'Order,' which alone will usher in the
salvation to all mankind.
Turning to Rev. 16, we read, "theFirst Vial" was poured out
upon "theEarth", causing a grievous sore upon those who "had
the Mark of the Beast and who worshipped his Image". The Greek
original refers to a grievous and malignant ulcer on the
specific class upon whom it was to descend. Only in the first
case do we read that the "Angel Went Forth." Again, bro.
Thomas points out that the arena of this Vial was upon all
Europe, and that the first portion of the Vial's contents fell
upon France, the most violent of the Saint's persecutors. What
began in France in the Revolution and the overthrow of the
monarchy and priesthood was to be experienced as an infection
or ulcerated condition. This applies to all the Vials.
The infection spread quickly upon all Europe or the
"EARTH." With the emergence of Napoleon Bonaparte as the
Infection Carrier', classed as the 'Man of Destiny', the successive
Vials unitedly spread the disease. It spread as pervasively
as the 'Black Death' of the 14th Century. And it is still working
the will of the Creator as He leads the nations to their final and
dreadful drama, which will establish over all, the honor and
praise due to 'the God of Heaven alone.
(To be continued, God willing)
"RELIGIOUS MADNESS"
Things are good according to man which are bad according to Godsparing
Agag, to wit, by Saul; holding your tongue about religion in our
day, according to etiquette. There are many other examples.
We must have God's rule for the estimate of the "good works" of
which we are to be "zealous." When people are zealous, their hands
don't hang lazily and helplessly down. They are prompt, and active,
and earnest. And it is an earnestness about what the natural mind has
no affinity for—they are considered mad by merely natural men of
every kind and variety. Well, this is not nice, especially as there IS such
a thing as religious madness.
But are we going to be scared out of zeal for good works, just because
there IS such a thing as religious madness? No, No!
There also IS such a thing as that which is holy, and just, and good,
and true—and the truly enlightened mind will hold on to this with all
the heart and soul and strength, whatever odium it may bring.
Remember what Christ says: "What have they said about me?—'He
hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?' What have they called
me?—Beelzebub. If they so speak of me, what are you to expect?"
If we are going to be called mad (or "extremists"—ED.) because we
strive after holiness, let us count it an honor, as he said—"The disciple
is not above the Master, nor the servant above his Lord." —R.R.
242 93 Berean
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GET your mind off yourself: off your "troubles" and desires and
fears, and everything that everyone does or doesn't do to you or for
you. Get your mind on wholesome and constructive things. Be a plus
and not a minus. Get your mind on God, and eternity, and God's Word
and work, and the needs of others. Grow up. Think big. Learn the
joys of love and service. Don't wait to be asked: God HAS done so already.
There is no restriction: any number can play (but so few do!).
Be a part of Life: real living— and not of Death. "All things are
possible to him that believeth." —G. V.G.
93 Berean 243
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
RUSSIA: YELTSIN, FRESH FROM VICTORY, ATTACKED BY
POLITICAL ENEMIES
Recently, a solid majority of Russian voters have shown support
for Boris Yeltsin and his program of economic change. This comes
as a brusque rebuff by voters to the congress of People's Deputies, the
bulwark of his conservative opposition. The opposition moved
quickly to discredit the results of the referendum.
It was clear though that the referendum had failed to resolve
Russia's political wars, and instead only opened a new front.
Before any new elections are held, Mr. Yeltsin wants a new Russian
constitution, replacing the Soviet document that has been at the root
of the continuing political standoff. Mr. Yeltsin's advisers have made
public their latest draft, which calls for a presidential system and a
small two-chamber parliament to replace the unwieldy 1,066 member
Congress.
The Army will remain extremely wary of getting involved in the
political battle, say diplomats, and will also find it much harder to
intervene on the side of the congress of Mr. Rutskoi, a former Air
Force General, even if tempted. —NYT, 4 / 2 7
Although the voting results have provided a factor of confidence
to Yeltsin and his efforts, the vote has hardly Resolved any problems.
Demonstrations, among other things, indicate that the coming days
will not be easy for this head of state.
The nations are also certainly in a quandary trying to decide in
what basket to place their eggs: support this previously dangerous
communist empire with finances, or allow the internal forces of the
empire to decide their fate—as would be seen by the natural eye. Of
course, the eggs could be dumped into the wrong hands and be as
those of the serpent—to come back and bite the giver.
Russians are certainly presently focused on their own serious
problems and perhaps less on foreign affairs than ever. But if
physical, military pressure is put on Serbia by Western forces, it may
reveal Russia's real attitude rather quickly.
***
ENVIRONMENT: FORMER SOVIET UNION DUMPED
NUCLEAR WASTE
The dumping of highly radioactive wastes at sea has been banned
world-wide for more than three decades. The oceans, by global consensus,
were ruled off limits to mankind's most pernicious toxins.
Now, in a recent report, the Russian Federation has detailed how
the former Soviet Union repeatedly broke these rules and lied that
it never dumped any radioactive waste into the oceans. They, in fact,
dumped 1.5 million curies of radioactive wastes, including eighteen
244 93 Berean
nuclear reactors into the seas: an amount so vast that it is twice the
combined total of twelve other nuclear nations.
Sixteen of these power plants were cast into the shallow waters of
the Kara Sea, six of them heavy with radioactive fuel, turning the
Arctic site near major northern fisheries into the world's largest
known nuclear dump. — NYT 4/27
It would seem to be gross negligence, sloppy and irresponsible,
and undoubtedly is. However, the problem partly lies in no t knowing
what to do with nuclear waste. Nuclear power's long term energy life
still outmatches man's ability to effectively control and deal with it.
Radioactive sources, such as Cesium 137 and others can be "active"
for a hundred years or more. Therefore, the need is to prevent its
exposure to humans and animal life. But to dump it into the seas is
truly foolish. Monitoring capabilities would be inept or poor. And
leakage from waste containers would more likely be effected by salt
water and a host of other things, such as ship movement or ship
sinkage.
Thus, now it will require the combined assistance of all the other
nations to cope with the effect of such dumping upon aquatic life.
The list continues to grow to show the need for Divine intervention—
not only to stop the insanity, but to correct man's enormous mess.
***
AFRICA: A CONTINENTS SLOW SUICIDE
The recent U.S. intervention in Somalia is proof of the African
continent's extraordinary regression. Somalia, Liberia and Zaire are
at the forefront of a slide that started long ago. Behind them is a
group of some ten African countries threatening to plunge into
deepest chaos.
The world economic downturn and the end of East-West confrontation
have laid bare a thirty year old failure. Every day sees further
collapse of the mirage of development propped up by billions of
dollars of Western aid. As the struggle for independence from
colonial occupiers is not disputed, it is clear that African leadership
has acted irresponsibly.
The African continent is sliding back to a precolonial stage. The
few foreign firms still there operate increasingly like trading posts.
Increasingly more unreachable and isolated regions on the map are
shaken by revolts, famines and epidemics, and ignored by the rest of
the planet.
Today most sub-Saharan African countries are poorer than they
were when they achieved their independence. Between 1980 and
1989, sub-Saharan Africa's real gross domestic product per capita
contracted by an average of 1.2 percent, the worst economic performance
in the Third World.
93 Berean 245
Truly Africa has been made worse by African leaders themselves.
In many of its countries, those who took over after independence
were worse than the colonialists they replaced.
In the 1960's, Zaire (then known as the Congo) held rich
promise. Its mines contained much of the continent's copper and
cobalt. Its farms and plantations were fertile and productive. Today,
shops are closed and fields have eroded, primarily a result of the
greed of Zaire's leader Mobutu Sese Seko, who seized power in 1965.
Mobutu's personal fortune is estimated at several billion dollars,
while the country's debt is $10 billion.
This type of rule has betrayed Africa many times over. More than
150 leaders have come and gone, as the continent has been sucked
downward in a spiral of declining food production, civil war and
rampant corruption.
Kenya, with its capitalist economic practices and relatively efficient
infrastructure, was long regarded by western donors as a
success story amid Africa's economic rubble. But corruption among
top Kenyan government officials has become pervasive. When it
comes to corruption, Kenya is a contender for the head of the class.
In Sudan during the past ten years of civil war, more than 1.5
million people have been displaced, most fleeing atrocities committed
by all sides.
Thousands of men, women and children have been killed in raids
and massacres.
An ethnically based civil war has thrown the central African
nation of Rwanda into upheaval, its worst since independence from
Belgium thirty years ago.
The cost of the war has deeply depressed an already precarious
agricultural economy.
Whether in literacy rates, infant-mortality rates or economic
statistics, the grim truth is that in a modern political sense, African
culture is dysfunctional. — (The New Republic, Newsweek, The New
York Times, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Streetjournal, etc.
as reported in Reader's Digest May '93)
The African continent is the second largest landmass in the
world—next to Asia. It is connected to Asia at the Isthmus of Suez,
and almost connects the European continent at Gibraltar. It is the
only continent occupying part of all two hemispheres. It is three
times larger than the United States, which means it holds about onefifth
the earth's total land area. The Nile is the longest river in the
world. Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water lake in the
world. The population exceeds 600 million.
Africa's connection with the ancient habitable world is from its
northern and eastern areas: along the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt and
246 93 Berean
Ethiopia. Later, in the 16th and 17th centuries, European ships were
landing around its southern coasts establishing settlements. Outside
of these regions very little was known about its deep interior until the
latter half of the 19th century, when foreign explorers reached its
heartland. About the same time, European settlements were being
carved into organized colonies from Belgium, Germany, Great
Britain, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. At times, European control
and boundaries changed, but the continent remained under
colonial rule until about the mid-half of this century. South African
problems today actually derive from these colonial periods. The
settlement of the Dutch East India Company occurred at the Cape of
GoodHope,A.D. 1652, butwas later occupied by the British (1814).
Supreme white rule and Apartheid have been a source of turmoil
there for years now.
The glaring and overriding note about Africa is the fact of its
suspension in time. While most countries and nations have made
progress in modern development, the majority of this continent
remains affixed in a pre-l7th century living standard for its masses.
Certainly the African nation of Egypt had its notable glory in
history. Interestingly, it was the exclusive African country of which
both Abraham and Christ dwelt for a time.
The Egyptians were brilliant in both the maths and sciences. As a
result they were masters of architecture. The only surviving "wonder"
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World* are the Egyptian
pyramids. Of course, for centuries, Egypt was a formidable military
power as well.
In the natural flow of development, a country with such intellectual
advancement should have overshadowed the habitable world
for centuries longer than Egypt did. But it did not. This fact drives
home the outstanding fulfillment of the Divine judgment against it
to become a "base" nation. With the exception of a few modern
areas, Egypt remains about as grossly undeveloped as its other
African neighbors.
No prophecy appears to connect the African continent with the
judgment of Egypt. On the other hand, the Divine judgment against
Ham and his descendents (Genesis 9:25, 26), appear to have been
placed on Ham's seed without general exception. But the sentence
of "perpetual servitude" would not seem to define general decadence
as the state of Africa has been. They have not only suffered
through servitude, starvation, deprivation, but they have the business
and political corruptions of modern nations as well. They may
stand to gain most from the blessings in the Kingdom Age. —C.S.
* (Not all classical writers list the same seven.)
93 Berean 247
GOD is a Loving Father teaching us to walk. We are infants in His
hand. He does not condemn us for our constant stumblings, for the
weakness and unsteadiness of our legs, for our clumsiness and lack of
balance. He knows that all that is inevitably part of the learning process.
He does not demand instant perfection or ability or dexterity.
But He DOES demand desire, and effort, and perseverance, and dedication.
He DOES condemn us for failure to try, for wandering interest,
for indolent contentment to remain spoonfed, spiritual infants. He
does not condemn us for difficulties and setbacks in the process of
growing up to Him. But He does condemn us—and will ultimately REJECT
us—for not giving total effort and zeal. —G. V. G.
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 258)
of an argument on the premises admitted. There are elementary
facts in the case that do not require to be proved to those who
accepted the Truth.
The object was to show that these admitted facts involve the
responsibility of all who know the claims of God and refuse them.
Another time (perhaps next month), we may set forth the
"proof* in a more formal though briefer manner.
On the general subject of crochets, bro Roberts stated —
We choose to obey Paul's advice to "follow after righteousness,
faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure
heart." Earnest contention for the faith we do not avoid when it
is called for; but we have a horror of crotchety wrangles inspired
by human antipathies. It is a rough world outside and in. There
is no workable rule but to steer by the Morning Star as well as the
fogs allow. This is the policy of the Christadelphian, which commends
itself to many, but is pursued without reference to any.
We should be glad to please all, but we know it is impossible. We
have to be satisfied with pleasing those who are pleased with the
Truth in its original apostolic aims, and who are only waiting for
this evil world to end.
***
THE article taken from the writings of Dr. Thomas was entitled, "The Blessing
Of Moses Predictive of Israel's Deliverance in the Latter Day". His article is
based on the blessing of Israel by Moses before his death, as found in Deut.
33:28, 29. He says this blessing is —
Unquestionably, a prophecy of their happy condition in the
latter day, when dwelling in safety alone, and treading upon the
high places of the earth. The blessing upon Levi, Benjamin, and
Joseph is clearly indicative of this. Thus of Levi, he said: "Let thy
Thummim and thy Urim be with the Man thine Holy One whom
thou didst prove at Massah". This, in relation to Levi has never
been yet.
And of Benjamin he said, "The Beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in
safety by him." This is yet future; for, when the Beloved of the
Father dwelt in the canton of Benjamin, his habitation was
unsafe, and his life in danger every day.
248 93 Berean
And of Joseph he said, "The thousands of Ephraim, and the
thousands of Manasseh, shall push the peoples together to the
ends of the earth.n This yet remains to be fulfilled... Habakkuk
in the third chapter of his book, prays that Yahweh would "revive
his work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make
known, or manifest; and in wrath remember mercy." In response
to this, he is favoured with a vision, in describing which, he saith:
"Eloah (singular, notElohim) came from Teman, and the Holy
One from Mount Paran. Selah." The text should be rendered
thus: "Eloah shall come in from the South, and the Holy One
from Mount Paran, Selah." Eloah is the word used for the setter
up of the Kingdom in Daniel 2:44. It signifies the Adorable One,
or the Strong One. It is the Deity made flesh, and justified by
spirit, and equivalent to "the Holy One" — Messiah.
(Bro. Thomas goes on to show that it is to Sinai that Christ will come first and
Judge the household and manifest the mystical Son of Man, or Rainbowed
Angel.)
***
A few inserts of interest read as follows —
1) When love goes up to God and blessing comes down, an
electric circuit is established whose delight is ineffable. But we
shall not see it in its efficient form till the earth is filled with His
glory. Revolution and seas of blood before then.
2) Let your ambition be the ambition of doing duty. All other
ambitions will thrive on this root.
***
ELEVEN more pages were again dedicated to the subject of, "The Day Of His
Coming." \n this section of the subject, bro. Roberts considered the Russian
overthrow, the number of Jews in the land at the Gogian invasion and the
disappearance of Turkey —
The Russian Overthrow — "The overthrow of Gog," as our correspondent
remarks, "is the first intimation to the world that a new
power has appeared in the East"; yes, but it is not the first
operation of that power. The saints are with the Lord when the
overthrow takes place (Zech. 14:15), which shews he has appeared
some time before. How long before? The Lord's first
work after his arrival is to send for his people and all who stand
related to his judgment by the knowledge of his "words". This
involves the assembling of a vast multitude of "the living and the
dead" (then raised). After they are sent for, the judgment takes
place. After this comes the "Marriage of the Lamb" with those
who are "called and chosen and faithful"; and a gigantic honeymoon,
a season of great joy and communion on the part of a
multitude admitted for the first time to the felicity of immortal
life and open fellowship with God. We have no means of
knowing how long these sublime, dreadful and glorious operations
will take place.
The number of Jews in the land at the Gogian invasion — Our
correspondent presents the question — "Does the tenth mean
a tenth of the land, or a tenth of the Jews in the world?" There
93 Berean 249
need not be the least hesitancy in the answering of this question.
It is the tenth of the land and not a tenth of thejews that is meant
The disappearance of Turkey — It is far from certain that the
Turkish power must disappear before the work of Jewish resettlement
can really and effectually begin . . . It is a gradual
process that has brought Turkey down. A drying river is the
symbol exactly suiting the case. "The water thereof was dried up
that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." This
doubtless reads as if the water was wholly dried up before the
"way of the kings" was prepared; and this is doubtless a correct
view as applied to a completed preparation. But it does not
exclude the view which the actual fulfilment of the prophecy
shows to be right— namely, that the drying of the river and the
preparing of the way go on together towards the end of the
process. The preparation of the way begins before the drying is
complete.
***
Bro. Roberts again covered various subjects in his "Answers to Correspondents".
Some of the topics he considered were—"in Adam"; "As it was in the
Beginning"; "Imaginary Difficulties"; "Judas' End"; "Responsibility"; "All in
Christ Made Alive"; We quote a few interesting exhortational excerpts-
Cultivate the habit of thinking that the Kingdom is just a few
steps ahead of you. Human life is short with all of us. Either by
death or the Lord's coming, the Kingdom will burst upon us.
Fixing your eye upon it so, will make the journey to it easier.
On the subject of your letter, the sins forgiven us at baptism are
our own sins of which alone we are guilty and that the evil
springing from our connection with Adam will not be cured till
death is swallowed up in victory.
"Christadelphianism" does not consist of the persons who may at
one time accept its principles, and at another time seek to
corrupt them. It is the system of apostolic truth recovered from
the traditions of Christendom by the instrumentality of Dr.
Thomas, and embodied in all those who, having received it,
remain faithful to it, amid all the changes of human opinion and
whim.
Responsibilty — Mortal man cannot attain to eternal life without
adoption as a son of God in Christ; but he may be worthy of
condemnation by his own demerits without having become a
son of God.
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
The Sunday evening after lecture out-of-door meetings in the
Bull Ring have been recommenced. The wisdom of avoiding
debate after the meetings is recognized.
The Finger Post distributors held a mutual encouragement tea
meeting. Encouraging instances of the usefulness of the Finger
Posts were related.
I T5n Tuesday June 13th, a meeting of young men connected with
/ 250 93 Berean
the ecclesia was held to consider whether it is right and spiritually
expedient to take part in a regular weekly way in organized
cricket matches with alien clubs. The following was adopted —
'We acknowledge that it is incompatible with these principles
(God's) that we should engage in contests of athletic prowess
with men who are not the friends of God, but who are foolish
talkers, jesters, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures.'
***
WE note the following remarks of bro. Roberts in regard to his lecturing
appointments —
To Bristol, accompanied by sister Roberts. Meeting place (Odd-
Fellows Hall, Rupert St.) — Fairly suitable inside but situated in
aneighbourhoodwhere the noise of street traffic interfered with
the quietness desirable for spiritual exercise.
I spoke too long I fear. I occupied about an hour without being
aware of it. I think probably the effort to resist the distractions of
street noises incapacitated me for gauging the time.
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"The Abolition of War"
"The Revelation to John in Patmos"
"The Lion and the Lamb"
"The Effect that Christ's Presence will have Upon Mundane
Affairs"
'The Main Principles of Scripture Truth Examined to Manifest
how Greatly People are Mistaken Concerning Them"
"The Prince of the Kings of the Earth"
"The Serpent's Lie"
"Russia and the East"
"Christ's Last Message to the Churches—Lessons and Warnings
for the Religious Professors"
"Do this in Remembrance of Me — A Neglected Command —
the Significance of the Bread and Wine"
June Answers — "Found"
1. Help [Gen. 2:20] 18. Grace [Gen. 6:8]
2. Pay [Ex. 22:7] 19. Jawbone [Jdgs. 15:15] 35. Balances [Dan. 5:27]
3. Guile [Rev. 14:5] 20. Temple [Luke 2:46] 36. Seek [Isa. 55:6]
4. Rolled [Luke 24:2] 21. Fault [Mark 7:2] 37. Fashion [PhU. 2:8]
5. Leaves [Mark 11:13] 22. Dove [Gen. 8:9] 38. Lost [Luke 15:24]
6. Gathered [Num. 15:32] 23. Faith [Luke 7:9] 39. Praying [Dan. 6:11]
7. Messias [John 1:41] 24. None [Luke 13:6] 40. Eleven [Luke 24:33]
8. Cave [Josh. 1:41] 25. Sheep [Luke 15:6] 41. Wisdom [Job 28:12]
9. Perfect [Rev. 3:2] 26. Colt [Mark 11:4] 42. Gladness [Isa. 51:3]
10. Shinar [Gen. 11:2] 27. Pearl [Matt 13:46] 43. Woman [Ecc. 7:28]
11. Ten [Gen. 18:32] 28. Child [Matt 1:18] 44. Translated [Heb. 11:5]
12. Body [Luke 24:3] 29. Iniquity [Mai. 2:6] 45. Words [Jer. 15:16]
13. Benjamin's [Gen. 44:12] 30. Inscription [Acts 17:23] 46. Ransom (Job 33:24]
14. Egyptian [1 Sam. 30:11] 31. Aquila [Acts 18:2] 47. Children [2 Jn. 4]
15. Death [Luke 23:22] 32. Faithful [1 Cor. 4:2] 48. Levi [Ezra 8:15]
16. Skull [2 Kgs. 9:35] 33. Tarshish (Jonah 1:3] 49. Standing [Matt. 20:6]
17. Sleeping [Luke 22:45] 34. Naked [2 Cor. 5:3] 50. Loveth [S. of S. 3:4]
93 Berean 251
One Hundred Years A g o omstaddphian.jufy 1893
THERE was one item of great interest under the "/Votes" section of the
Magazine —
The non-citation of proof-passages in our remarks last month on
the position of those who knowingly refuse submission to God,
was due to the character of the remarks. They were in the nature
(Continued on page 248)
BIBLE PUZZLE—"Consider"
1. Consider the . .. how they grow
2. In the . . . days ye shall consider it
3. Neither consider the things of . . .
4. Consider the work o f . . .
5. Consider how. .. this man was
6. In the day of . . . consider
7. He t h a t . . . the heart considereth it
8. Consider the .. ., for they neither
9. Consider . .. what is before thee
10. Consider the . . . and high priest
11. They consider not that they do . . .
12. Ant, thou . . . , consider her ways
13. Consider how I love thy . . .
14. Consider what I . . .
15. Now consider this, ye that... God
16. Mark well her bulwarks, consider
her...
17. Consider my. .. which I suffer
1 8 . . . . O daughter, and consider
19. When I consider thy .. ., the work
20. Consider mine .. . and deliver me
21. Consider the . . . works of God
22. Consider of it, take .. ., and speak
23. Oh that they would consider their
...end
24.1 will consider thy . . .
25. Shalt also consider in thine . ..
26. Consider him that. . . such
contradiction
27. Came . . . to consider this matter
28. Not. .., my people doth not
consider
29. Considered a l l . . . that are done
30. Hast thou considered servant. ..
31. As I was considering; behold . ..
32. Considering thyself, lest thou also
be...
33. None considering t h a t . . . is taken
34. She considereth a . . . and buyeth
35. Considerth not that. .. shall come
36. Considering the end of their . ..
37. Blessed is he that considereth . ..
38. Considereth not the . . . in thine
own eye
39. Again, I considered a l l . . .
40. Consider the years of many . . .
41.0 Lord, consider my . . .
42. He considereth and .. . away from
his transgression
43. Righteous wisely considered . . . of
wicked
44. That which they had n o t . . . shall
they consider
45. Then I saw and considered i t . . .
46. Consider ye, and call for the .. .
47.1 will consider in m y . . . place
48. Consider that this . . . is thy people
49. Consider one . . . to provoke unto
love and good works
50. He considered not his own . . .
now dead
Adversity
Advice
Affliction
Another
Apostle
Beam
Body
Conversation
Diligently
Dwelling
Endured
Evil
Field
Forget
Generations
God
Great
Hearken
Heard
Heart
Heavens
He Goat
House
Job
Know
Latter
Latter
Lilies
Meditation
Mourning
Nation
Old
Oppressions
Palaces
Pondereth
Poor
Poverty
Precepts
Ravens
Righteous
Say
Sluggard
Tempted
Testimonies
Together
Travail
Trouble
Turneth
Well
Wondrous
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(U.S.)
252 93 Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 8, ISSUE 848 AUGUST, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: Whangarei 254
Fraternal Gathering: Canton 254
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 255
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
The Mystery Of The Gospel (cont'd) 258
LOVE AND DOCTRINE (bro. Roberts) 261
YAHWEH'S APPOINTED TIMES (bro. Growcott) 264
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN RELATION TO EUROPE (cont'd) 275
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
WORLD: The Failure Of Post-Cold-War Peace Efforts;
ARMAMENTS: Fingers On The Nuclear Trigger;
RUSSIA: The Threat Of Nationalism 282
July Answers: "Consider" 287
100 YEARS AGO:
To Be Continued Next Month, God Willing
Bible Puzzle: "Sake" 288
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
WHANGAREI, N.Z. - YMCA Hall, Rust Ave. — Memorial 10:30 am; Lecture
7 pm — bro. Ron Crocker, 14 Mains Ave., Whangarel, New Zealand.
LOVING Greetings to our brethren and sisters from the Whangarei
Ecclesia.
We pray all are as well as can be hoped for in this present passing
order of things, and that you continue to patiently wait for the
Master's return, who will bring true health and spirits to those who
endure unto the end.
Since our last ecclesial news, sis. Shirley Crocker spent four weeks
visiting family and brethren and sisters in Richard, April, 1992. The
visit was arranged to coincide with the birth of Amber, daughter of
bro. Sid and sis. Christine Jones.
Then in December, 1992, we were happy to welcome into our
midst bro. John and sis. Mary Phillips, who with Sunday School
scholar, Sarah Snyder, spent ten days with us. It was good to have the
company of others who "speak our language" — the things of the
Truth. Unfortunately sis. Mary slipped and broke her arm while on
an outing in the Bay of Islands, just north of Whangarei. However, sis.
Mary soon recovered her usual cheerful spirits and was able to enjoy
the rest of her visit. No doubt itwas a great adventure foryoung Sarah
to visit a small country like New Zealand so far away from her home.
Quite likely she has now been bitten by the "Travel Bug".
In February, 1993, we were also happy to welcome bro. Sid and Sis.
Christine Jones for a month's visit A few days after their arrival, bro.
Ted and sis. Marguerite Mingham arrived from Brisbane, and we
were able to enjoy their company for three weeks, during which time
they stayed with bro. Murdock and sis. Kath Griffin. We appreciated
hearing the word of exhortation from bre. John Phillips, Sid Jones
and Ted Mingham, also their additional comments at classes.
We were sorry to see them all depart on their journeys homeward
but we are mindful that all things are of a very temporary nature at
this present time of waiting for better things. We realize that our
brethren and sisters are needed in their own corner of the vineyard,
(Continued on page 287)
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lord Will)
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,16 — bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
"THEBEREANCHRISTADELPHIAN(ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
254 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas1 Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
(Having finished the service of spreading the message of the Gospel
in Virginia for 1854, bro. Thomas devoted the winter and spring of
1854/55 in preparation of material for the Herald. Certainly to
accomplish the labors of planting the seed as widely as he did,
required much personal preparation, diligence in research of world
events, and response to myriads of letters with necessary in-depth
replies.
In mid 1854, he had finished composition of the book Anatolia,
the forerunner of Exposition of Daniel. Early in August he had sent a
copy of this to Czar Nicholas of Russia, with a short note advising the
Emperor of Russia's destiny, and wished him success. But lest he be
misunderstood, the Doctor explained to his readers that the quicker
this happened the sooner Christ would be in the earth, awaiting the
dramatic moment to destroy Russia and her allies. He had taken the
first copies of Anatolia on his June 1854 trip to Kentucky, and had
sent photo-plates to England. Bro. Thomas republished this work
after his completion of Eureka, Volume 3.
He published a most interesting article entitled "Absolutism and
Democracy ", which he had written in 1852. This relates to the rise of
Democracy in Hungary, being fanned at that time to a flaming
condition by Louis Kossuth of whom he comments in Elpis Israel.
This was at a time in European politics when the Witnesses were
endeavoring to overthrow the ancient "Order" in the lands of the
Magyars.
In November, 1854, he published a long answer to Alexander
Campbell regarding the uMillemal Reign of Christ on the Earth." In
December, he responded to a question from Ontario, Canada (then
called Canada West), uWill Sacrifices be offered in the Age to Come?"His
very lucid and expository reply may have been the foundation of the
wonderful work performed by Bro. Sulley in his Temple Book, set
forth in the latter years of the 19th century.
During the winter season 1854/55, all Europe was in an uproar.
Russia had moved troops south of the Danube, the division between
its vast domain and the Ottoman Empire. Turkey had been experiencing
the ravaging effects of the Divine judgment of the "Drying
Up" process declared in Rev. 16, a necessary event for the appearance
of the Master. Bro. Thomas wrote extensively about these
campaigns in the Herald of die Kingdom, and thus envisioned the time
of the end being very near. Austria allied herself with Turkey, and appropriated
their territory in the Balkans, which were never returned
to the Ottoman. Belatedly, Britain and France advanced with their
93 Berean 255
navies and soldiers to the Crimea on the Black Sea, which embroiled
them against Russia. These articles of 1855 illustrate how active was
the Doctor's mind on European events. As we watch events in the
same lands in our expectancies of the Master's soon return, they
should cause us to look closely into the same prophetic scene now.
If they were vital to the Word and its fulfillment then, how much
more so as we live 140 years closer to the end. These vital prophecies
are revealed in his article "The War in the East." After bro. Thomas
had watched these events for another year, he wrote, "The humiliation
of Russia and the redemption of Turkey, cannot be effected
in the Crimea — The present stage of the war and its defeats
are necessary to the preadventual triumph of Russia." And so we
should esteem the outcome of all that is now transpiring on the
Continent.
In June, 1855, in response to an invitation, he begins his travels
for a new year. This time he revisits Kentucky, with the assurance that
if he would extend his labors there again, that his expenses would be
covered. In this way he was confident that when individuals really
desired Cod's Word to the point of providing the means he had a
duty to "answer the call to come over unto them" (Acts 16:9).
Bro. Thomas entrained at New York, travelling up the Hudson
River, and the Mohawk Valley toward Buffalo, and Dunkirk, on Lake
Erie. This became Amtrac. From there he travelled along the Lake to
Cleveland, Ohio, and thence southward across that State, to Columbus,
and Cincinnati, (where, in 1832, he was immersed by Mr. Walter
Scott, into the body known as "The Reformed Church" or the
"Disciples of Christ"). This body had been organized as one of the
Resurrected Witnessing groups by Alexander Campbell, about AD
1812. He was assisted in this endeavor by Mr. Walter Scott.
By 1855, their followers had been loosely identified by the
nickname "Campbellites," though objected to by its adherents. They
stated that they were only followers of Christ. Bro. Thomas' travels
took him next to Louisville, Kentucky, where he visited an old friend,
a student of the Herald of the Kingdom. From him Dr. Thomas became
aware of the activities of a Mr. Henderson in preaching extensively
the doctrines of the "Disciples." This led him to write fully about the
name " Campbell!te" and why such a name was really applicable to
them. The Disciples claimed to preach the Pentecostal doctrines of
the Apostles, but this as set out by Campbell. Thus by their actions
they followed Campbell and not the true Gospel.)
Visit to Kentucky
Early in June we boarded the New York and Erie train for
Dunkirk on a visit to Kentucky. In doing so, we did not run
without being sent, or rather, called. We had received an
invitation, that if we would "come over to Macedonia and help
256 93 Berean
them,* the means would be in readiness to indemnify us for
the time and travel expended in their behalf. Believing then,
that they were honorable men, and that none would tax
themselves for a service they did not really desire, we gathered
assuredly "that the Lord had called us to preach the glad
tidings to them;" and that there were some of his unmanifested
people, co-heirs with Christ of his Kingdom and glory, even in
Henderson, Kentucky. Therefore, leaving from Jersey City, we
went with a straight course to Dunkirk, and from thence to
Erie, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, to Louisville, Kentucky,
where we arrived in forty-six hours from our departure.
Here we presented ourselves before an old friend and supporter
of the Herald, though still a sojourner in one of the
Louisville encampments of the Campbellites. He received us
with much cordiality and hospitality, making us quite at home
at his table and hearth. This is a friend in whom we have much
interest; because, we believe he is honestly desirous of understanding
"the truth." He has been happily delivered from
Millerite influence; and will yet, we trust, be emancipated
from Campbellite also. He would not, indeed, admit that he
is a Campbellite; nor do we say that he is: only that while he is
found in that lodge he is very apt to pass for an "accepted
mason" of that ilk (To be continued, God willing)
DUTY NOT ALTERED BY DIFFICULTY
The duty of non-resistance is, doubtless, specially trying, especially
in some circumstances, such as where a man lives in a lawless district
BUT DUTY IS NOT ALTERED BY AN INCREASE IN THE DIFFICULTY
OF DOING IT. Either it is duty to be passive in cases of difficulty,
or it is not our duty to be passive in any case.
It is our duty in ALL CASES, or NONE, for the law of our probation,
contained in the New Testament, MAKES NO ALLOWANCE
FOR EXCEPTION.
God has not forsaken the earth, and will not suffer us to be tempted
beyond a certain point Our part is to OBEY HIM, regardless of consequences.
Abraham faltered not in the killing of his own son, which was
the greatest violence a parent could be called on to do to natural feeling.
If Abraham had sheltered himself behind the "impossibility" of the
thing, and excused himself on the ground that it was "contrary to
nature," and incompatible with God's Own principles of action—would
he have been accepted? BY NO MEANS!
And how can WE claim to be his children if we are not prepared to
act as he did? Jesus makes this the test. He said to the Pharisees, "If
ye were Abraham's children, YE WOULD DO THE WORKS OF YOUR
FATHER" (John 8:39).
Job was accepted, whose motto was: "Though He slay me, yet will
I trust Him!" This must be our motto in relation to His commandments.
— R.R.
93 Berean 257
Studies and Thoughts BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL (Continued)
THE GOSPEL invites men to enter into the Kingdom of
God. The way of entering is made exceedingly plain in the
Bible. There h now no hidden mystery concerning it as there
was before the sufferings of Christ were manifested. The
mystery of the Kingdom has been unlocked. The key of
knowledge has been given; but unfortunately it has been
stolen again by Peter's pretended successors; and, upon a
smaller scale, by every other ecclesiastic who would discourage
or throw hindrances in the way of a free, unbiassed, and
independent examination and avowal of Bible truth in their
churches; or, an unrestricted advocacy of it, though at variance
with the institutes of dogmatic theology, in all the pulpits
of the Jand.
The leaders of the people dare not permit such a course to
be pursued; for the Bible is hostile to their systems, and sets
forth things which, if believed, would empty their rostrums,
disperse their flocks, and close their doors; and elaborate
such a social revolution, that truth and righteousness would
triumph in the midst of the earth; and the people be enlightened
in the knowledge which comes from God.
Such a consummation, however, need never be hoped for,
so long as the instruction and government of the nations are
in the hands of the existing orders or rulers, lay and ecclesiastical;
for "like priests, like people", and vice versa; they
are corrupt and altogether gone out of the way; and, therefore,
are devoid of all power to resuscitate the things which
remain, and which are ready to vanish away.
***
BEFORE a man can enter into the Kingdom of God, he
must be unloosed from his sins in the present state; and liberated
hereafter from the prison-house where the dead lie
bound in chains of intense darkness. The unloosing from sins,
Jesus committed to Peter; but the enlargement from the
chamber of death he reserved to himself (Rev. 1:18; 20:1).
Knowledge is the key to remission or release from sins,
and to an entrance into the Kingdom of God. No one can
enter this Kingdom in bis sins, and destitute of a character
approved of God; and none could answer the question. "How
can a man obtain the remission of sins; and what kind of a
character would God henceforth account worthy?"—until
the apostle Peter revealed the secret, communicated to him
by the Spirit, on the day of Pentecost.
If the reader peruse the second chapter of the Acts, he will
there learn how Peter used one of the keys of the Kingdom
given to him by its King. On that occasion, I say, he used but
ONE of the keys. He revealed the mystery of the Gospel of
God's kingdom to Jews only.
258 93 Berean
They believed in the Kingdom, glory, and dominion,
promised to the Son of Man in Daniel and the prophets; they
were well aware that the Kingdom was to belong to their
nation; that the King was to be David's son, and to live for
ever; and that the righteous were to take the Kingdom with
him. These things were the substance of the national hope;
but they did not then know upon what conditions the obtaining
of them was predicated.
Hence, it was Peter's duty to instruct them. He first recalled
to their recollection certain notable things concerning
Jesus: (1) that the wonders he performed by the power of
God evidently showed that God approved him; (2) that they
had been guilty of his death in clamouring for his crucifixion,
but that all this was predetermined of God; (3) that
God had "loosed him from the pains of death" by raising him
from the dead.
He then proceeded to show by their prophets that the
things which had thus happened to Jesus were verifications
of certain predictions. He added the testimony of David, that
the Christ was to be—
"RAISED UP to sit upon David's throne."
—and consequently, must previously suffer death; and that
after he was resurrected, he was to ascend to the right hand
of God. He then concluded by saying—
"Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath
made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and King Anointed (Christos, Messiah)."
For the truth of this statement he appealed to what they
saw and heard; to the cloven tongues like fire sitting upon
their heads, the "sound of a rushing mighty wind," and the
many languages spoken by Galilean fishermen without previous
study.
The result of the Apostle's reasoning was their conviction
that Jesus was indeed the King of Israel, even the Shiloh
that had been promised them for so many ages. They acknowledged
him to be the—
"Son whose NAME should be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Mighty God, the Father of the Future Age (Avi Ad), the
Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).
This belief, however, also convinced them that, being this
great personage, they had committed an enormous crime;
and had "killed the Prince of Life." Their consciences smote
them; "they had denied the Holy and Just One, and desired
a murderer before him"; and had imprecated his blood upon
themselves and their posterity.
Of what use was their faith to them in this extremity?
They believed in the Kingdom, they believed in Jesus, they
were penetrated with remorse, but still they were conscious
only of guilt, and of judgment well deserved. It was yet a
hidden mystery to them what should be done for pardon of
this great transgression.
93 Berean 259
What was the "righteousness of God" which He required
of them? Should they go to the High Priest, and offer a
whole burnt offering, and confess their sin? This would have
been impracticable. Caiaphas would have offered sacrifice
for them upon the altar upon no such confession as this; for
in confessing themselves sinners for killing Jesus, they would
have charged the High Priest as a principal in the crime.
To what, or to whom, were they to look for a solution of
"the mystery"? Who could unlock it, and open to them the
door of liberty, and loose them from their sins?
Is not the reader prepared to answer, "The Holy Spirit
alone could reveal to them of righteousness, because Jesus
had gone to the Father"? (John 16:7-10).
This is true; and the time had arrived to do it. But how,
or through what channel, was the Spirit to do this? Was it
to be by words thundered from heaven; by a still, small voice
whispering in their ears; by a "feeling" that they were forgiven;
by words of inspiration spoken by the tongues of
angels; or by the mouth of man?
After what has been said, the reader will be prepared to
say, "The keys of knowledge, or the power to reveal the
secrets of the Kingdom of heaven, were committed to Peter;
therefore, the new doctrine concerning righteousness, or
justification to life, was to be revealed through him"
This is also true, but the "devout Jews" 'were ignorant of
this arrangement; therefore, instead of addressing Peter alone,
they inquired of all the apostles, saying, "Men and brethren,
what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
Mark, reader, though the question was put to all, only one
of them, and that one, Peter, replied to the inquiry. He was
the spokesman of the twelve, by whose mouth God had
chosen that Israel should hear the word of the Gospel, and
believe; or, as Paul writes—
"The Gospel of the circumcision was committed to Peter,
in whom God wrought effectually for the purpose" (Gal. 2:8).
The answer given by Peter announced for the first time,
what believers of the Gospel of the Kingdom and in the
things concerning Jesus, must do, in order to become jointheirs
with him of the promise made to the fathers. To these
devout Jews, who now believed what both the prophets and
apostles had spoken, who were now humbled in disposition
as little children, swift to hear, and anxious to do, whatever
the Spirit should dictate, the holder of the keys to unlock the
mystery of the Gospel said (Act 2:38)—
'REPENT and BE BAPTIZED every one of you IN THE
NAME of Jesus Christ FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS"
Such an annunciation as this had never been made before.
In this way "repentance and the remission of sins" were
"preached in the Name of Jesus" This is God's way of
righteousness, and there is no other way of salvation—
26Q 93 Berean
"For there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
God's salvation is placed in the Name of Jesus; and this
Name is accessible to mankind only upon the condition of
believing "the things concerning the Kingdom of God and
the Name of Jesus," and being baptized in his Name—"He
that BELIEVES THE GOSPEL and is baptized shall be saved"
is the unrevoked fiat of the Son of God (Mark 16:16).
The words of the Spirit by the mouth of Peter went home
to the hearts of these devout Jews—
"They that gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added to the congregation about
three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the
apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers."
These disciples were "a kind of first-fruits of God's
creatures begotten of His Own will by the Word of Truth"
(James 1:18), which "lives and abides for ever"
— Extracted from Berean, 1961
Love And Doctrine
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
2 JOHN — This epistle brings out a few things about
"love," which it is important to recognize. "Love" in the world
is one thing; "love" according to the ideal of the sects another;
and the "love" of apostolic discourse yet another. The two
former we may dismiss. The world's "love" is an ephemeral
affair, having its foundation in the instincts, dying with use
and age, and passing away in death. Orthodox "love" is a sickly
distortion, lacking the elements that give strength and comeliness
to the "love"of the Scriptures. It works spiritual mischief
now, and is destined hereafter to vanish like smoke. The "love"
of John's epistles has foundations, without which it cannot
exist. This partly comes out in the very first sentence of this
second epistle: "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom
I lave IN THE TRUTH."
Outside the truth, a brother's love is not operative. He
loves not the world, neither the things that are in the world,
remembering that "if any man love the world, the love oftheFather
is not in him" (1 Jn. 2:15). His friends are bounded by the
Truth, as regards both men and things. In Christ, he is a "new
creature" (2 Cor. 5:17). After the flesh he knows no man. The
friendship of the world is enmity with God (Jas. 4:4). Therefore
he cultivates no friendship with those who know not God,
and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ His love is
bounded by the Truth.
93 Berean 261
Does he therefore, shut up his bowels of compassion
against those who are without God? By no means. He recognizes
the obligation put upon him by the same law, to salute
not his brethren only, but to do good unto all men, as he has
opportunity, even to his enemies. But there is a difference
between doing good to unbelievers and cultivating friendship
with them; and the saint is careful to observe this difference,
lest he come under the rebuke that greeted the ears of
Jehoshaphat, on his return from friendly co-operation with
Ahab: "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the
Lord ? Therefore is wrath upon theefrom before the Lord " (2 Chron.
19:2). We can have our conversation towards the world in all
courtesy and benevolence, without going on to their ground,
and joining affinity in schemes of pleasure, profit or friendship.
The "love11 that belongs to the household of faith is "for the
truth's sake, that dwelleth in us, and shall be with us far ever. " This
is John's definition of its source and scope. Everyone that is
truly of the household, responds instinctively to it. To the
carnal mind it appears very "narrow," but this is an illusion of
ignorance. It is the true breadth, for it relates to that which
shall be for ever, while the world, which would have us
unequally yoked, passeth away. The Truth connects us with
"the shoreless ocean of eternity," while the friendship of the
world is confined to "a narrow neck of land" — the brief
existence of this animal probation.
The at present "narrow" operation of apostolic "love" is
also founded in wisdom; for unrestricted friendship with the
world is full of danger: it draws away from the fear of God, the
hope of the calling, and the holiness of the Master's house,
"whose house are we, if we holdfast the beginning of our confidence
steadfast unto the end." It is therefore a snare; pleasant and
advantageous meantime, but having the suction of the maelstrom
with it, drawing us to death; for when the Lord of Light
stands on earth, to set in order destiny, according to the
Father's purpose, the world will have, from his presence, "fled
away."
John rejoiced concerning those to whom he wrote that he
had found them "walking in the truth." Saints walk not otherwise.
Their actions, plans of life, friendships, aims, enterprises,
hopes — everything connected with them, in some way
262 93 Berean
or other comes from, originates in, and is conformed to the
truth. The truth is their inspiration — the controlling energy.
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature"—not that all answer
to this. There are professors who serve not the Lord Jesus, but
themselves; but such are abortions and bastards. None but
sons will be gathered in the day of the 144,000. They are few
now, as they have always been, and the world "knoweth" them
not in many senses; but they know what they are about.
They are not dreaming; they are not fanatics. They are the
children of wisdom; and wisdom is justified of them all,
though they may be hard to read sometimes. They understand
the world too well to be entrapped into its fellowship. They are
known of God, and will be publicly revealed in due time, in
glory, honour and immortality. Meanwhile they "walk in the
truth." On this ground they are to be met and understood. Approached
on any other ground, they will seem not what they
are. They are not to be comprehended "after the flesh."
"This is love," says John, "that we walk after his commandments.
" No man loves after the Spirit's fashion who disobeys.
Apostolic "love" is that state of enlightenment and appreciation
in relation to the things of God that impels a man to be
"a doer of the word." John gives this an application that was
special to his day; and yet is at all times appropriate wherever
the same need and the same danger manifest themselves.
"This is the commandment," he says, "that as ye have heard from the
beginning, ye should walk in it." We are wondering what he
means when presently the light dawns; "for many deceivers are
entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus is come in the flesh."
He means that they should hold fast to the doctrine of
Christ as originally delivered; because many were drawing the
disciples away therefrom. The obedience of this commandment
is the evidence of New Testament "love," and it is also
necessary for our acceptable standing before the presence of
the Lord's glory at his coming. This is John's view, as evident
from the words immediately following: "Look to yourselves, that
we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a
full reward." There would have been no need for these words
if the things that had been "wrought" were not imperilled by
the doctrine of the deceivers of which he is speaking.
(To be continued, God willing)
93Berean ^
Yahwehfs Appointed Times
BY BROTHER G. V. GROWCOTT
"In the last day, that Great Day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
COME UNTO ME, and drink" (John 7:27)
LEVITICUS 23: THE MOSAIC YEARLY CYCLE
This chapter speaks of the yearly feasts, or rather 'appointed
times' of the Mosaic Law. The Jewish months were
lunar. The years were solar, as ours. Each month started with
a new moon. The cycle of the moon is just a little over 29
1 /2 days, so the months alternated 29 and 30 days, with two 30-
day months coming together whenever the fraction over 29
1/2 accumulated to a day.
The year normally had 12 months or new moons, which is
354 or 355 days: 10 or 11 days short of the solar year, so an extra
month was added about every 3 years (actually 7 times in 19
years) to keep the year in harmony with the seasons.
At the present time, the month Abib or Nisan, scripturally
the 1st month, begins with the first new moon after the spring
equinox (the date that night and day are equal: Mar. 20 or 21).
This year (1978), Abib began with the new moon on Apr. 8.
If there is a new moon after the 12th month before the
spring equinox, then the 13th month is added to the year, so
that Abib, the first month of the next year, does not start
before the equinox.
By some method like this, the year was kept in balance with
the seasons in Bible times, but the exact method is not known.
By God's command at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 12:2)
the year was to begin with the month Abib — roughly corresponding
with April. So obviously it had been different before
that. Jews today begin the year with the 7th Biblical month: approximately
October. This custom goes far back into history,
and this was probably the beginning of the year before it was
changed to the Passover month. It may seem strange to us to
begin a year as winter is approaching, but for an agricultural
people in that area, it was very logical. It was another natural
dividing line — the autumn equinox, and it was the end and
beginning of the agricultural year. All harvests were completed
by September: plowing and planting for the coming
year began in October. In 1978, the modern Jewish New Year
began with the new moon on October 2.
264 93 Berean
The Mosaic memorial periods are all based upon the
number seven. Seven is completeness: not just completeness
as such, but completeness in God — completeness of holiness
and rest and absorption into God. Seven is the basic cycle:
eight is a new beginning. 'Scientists' have many theories to
explain the widespread use of the 7-day week, as it has no
relation to any astronomical phenomena, like the month and
year. The obvious and true explanation, of course, escapes
them.
The basic memorial day was the 7th — the Sabbath —
when God rested from His completed Creation work, and saw
that all was good. Consequently, we find this chapter begins (v.
3), with the Sabbath law: the primary 'holy convocation' —
that is 'sacred assembly': a gathering and uniting for holiness
and worship.
Beside the weekly Sabbath, there were 7 yearly 'holy
convocations' —
1. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Abib 15.
2. The last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Abib 21.
3. The one-day Feast of Weeks: Pentecost — 50 days after
the Passover.
4. The Feast of Trumpets: first day of the 7th month.
5. The Day of Atonement: tenth day of the 7th month.
6. The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles: 15th day of the
7th month.
7. The day afterthe end of the Feast of Tabernacles: the great
culminating day of the yearly cycle: 22nd of 7th month.
On none of these days could 'servile' work (relating to
daily occupations) be done. On one of them — the Day of
Atonement— as on the weekly Sabbath, no work of any kind
(even preparing meals) was permitted.
The yearly 'feasts' or 'appointed times' had several purposes,
all directed to Israel's spiritual well-being and fellowship
with God. These ordinances organized their lives into an
active and profitable pattern centered in and pointing ever
toward God. They gave Israel —
Religious and devotional activity: organized worship and
praise;
Repeated, regular remembrance of God's goodness and
deliverance;
Wholesome, God-centered pleasure and rest and change;
93 Berean 265
Instruction in divine things and human duties;
National unity and cohesiveness and purpose and
meaning;
Types and shadows of the Eternal Divine Purpose of
Redemption, and
Fellowship and communion and friendship with God in
holiness.
As mentioned, 7 was the basic pattern and theme —
The 7th-day Sabbath.
The 7th month the culmination and most sacred.
The 7th year a Sabbath for the land itself.
7x7 years to each Jubilee: a complete new beginning
again — all bondage ended; all debts cancelled; all heritages
restored.
2x7 days to the Passover, on Abib 14.
7x7 days to Pentecost
7 days each for the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and
Tabernacles, and —
7 yearly days of holy convocation.
***
V.2: 'the feasts (set times) of Yahweh.' There are 2 different
words used in this chapter for 'feast.' Neither means 'feast'
or has anything to do with eating. Where plural (as here), it is
mo'ad, meaning 'set time, appointed season,' and it is so
translated elsewhere (Gen. 1:14; 17:21; 18:14). It is applied to
the Day of Atonement, a day of mourning and fasting.
When 'feast' is singular (as v. 6), the original is chag,
literally, 'a pilgrimage to a sanctuary.' It occurs over 70 times
and, with rare exceptions, always applies to the three yearly occasions
Israel must assemble before the Lord: Passover, Pentecost,
and Feast of Tabernacles.
These three great pilgrimages or chagsvtere in the 1st, 3rd
and 7th months. All (except the Passover day itself, which
commemorated the Egyptian deliverance) were based on and
related to the agricultural year — the sowing and the harvest:
the seed dying and rising again to 100-fold fuller life. It was a
wholesome agricultural life, as in the Millennium.
This chapter does not go into the details of the sacrifices
offered on these occasions: that is all given in Num. 28 & 29.
There were three kinds of animal sacrifices, offered in this
order —
266 93 Berean
CLEANSING: Sin offerings: partaken of by priest,
Forgiveness, reconciliation.
DEDICATION: Whole burnt offerings: completely
consumed on the altar: total dedication to,
and absorption into, God. And —
FELLOWSHIP Peace offerings: partaken of by offerer
himself (as well as priest). Communion
and fellowship with God.
Besides these animal sacrifices, there were the —
Meal offerings: of cereal, though called 'Meat' inAV:
recognizing God's provision in all things, & sanctifying
all one's possessions to God's use, and —
Drink offerings: of wine: rejoicing and thanksgiving.
V. 4: begins to enumerate the yearly ordinances —
V. 5: the Passover, on Abib 14. This introduced, and ran
into —
vs. 6-8: The 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, Abib 15-21.
The 1st & last days were the first two of the seven 'holy
convocations' of the year when no work could be done. The
unleavened bread (from the Passover meal) was the feature
that bound the Passover to this Feast.
Vs. 9-14 describe the offering of the wave-sheaf of Firstfruits.
This was barley, for that was the grain that ripened first. The
grain-sowing began, as mentioned, in October, and the grain
harvest was from about mid-April to mid-June, beginning with
barley and ending with wheat.
This sheaf was just as it came from the field: the very first
springing of the new year's harvest. It was offered on the
second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread — the 16th of
Abib — the day following the holy convocation Sabbath of the
15th, which began the feast.
This Abib 16 was the day Christ rose: having died as the
Passover Lamb on the 14th, and having lain in the tomb and
rested on the sabbath of the 15th. In the crucifixion year, this
holy convocation sabbath was also the weekly Sabbath, as was
fitting for the type. Christ was thus the Passover Lamb that
died, and the Firstfruit Sheaf that sprang forth to new life two
days later — on the 3rd day.
The Passover-Unleavened Bread ordinance appears to
apply more particularly to Christ; as the Pentecost does to the
Firstfruit Redeemed of this age; and the great final Feast of
Tabernacles does to the harvest of the Millennium.
93 Berean 267
V.I4 instructs that none of the produce of the new year
could be partaken of until the Firstfruit Sheaf had been
offered to God. All waited upon that to open the way to the
partaking of God's blessing. We are reminded that the 7-
Sealed Scroll of the Eternal Divine Purpose could not be
unfolded for the ultimate blessing of mankind until the Slain
Lamb appeared who was worthy (Rev. 5:2-6). Paul, referring
to this way-opening and sanctifying Sheaf (Rom. 11:16), says
that if the Firstfruit be holy, then the 'whole lump' or body of
the harvest is holy and acceptable.
Vs. 15-22 give the ordinance of the Feast of Weeks (Ex.
34:22), or Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16), or Day of Firstfruits
(Num. 28:26): later called Pentecost because it was 50 days
from the Passover.
This was also a Firstfruits. As Christ is the Firstfruit of all to
God, so the Redeemed of the present age are the Firstfruits
unto him from mankind. The term is applied to both in the
NT, and this ordinance seems to specially apply to, and be
fulfilled in, the brethren of Christ.
Israel were (v. 15) to count 7 full weeks from the day they
offered the Firstfruit Sheaf, then (v. 16) the next day was this
Feast of Weeks. As in the crucifixion year, Abib 16 (the day
Christ rose and the Sheaf was offered) was a Sunday, or first
day of the week, so would this Pentecost day be, 50 days later:
anothernew beginning. On this day the Spirit was poured out
on the Apostles, and they went forth to call out the Firstfruits
unto God from all mankind.
On this day (v. 17) they were to offer txvo loaves which were
baked from the new wheat harvest (Ex. 34:22). We note here
2 things —
First, there were two loaves: Jew and Gentile: the two folds;
the two olive branches and two candlesticks: the two sideposts
of the Christ-Doorway, of which he is the crowning and connecting
lintel. And —
Second, they were leavened. Now the Law was very strict
about prohibiting leaven in anything to do with the sacrifices
(Lev. 2:11). Leaven is 'malice and wickedness' (1 Cor.5:8) —
sin — and it made any offering it was connected with an
abomination.
This ordinance, and one other place concerning the law
of the Peace offering (Lev. 7:13), are unique in requiring
268 93 Berean
leaven in the offerings to God. Clearly God is not condoning
or countenancing sin. That is ruled out by every reasonable
consideration, and the whole bulk of the word.
But this has some reference to sin; some cognizance of
imperfection. There is no man that sinneth not.' If perfect
sinlessness were required, none could be saved. These loaves
were (v. 17) 'out of your habitation': that is, the ordinary daily
bread, just as it was. Surely we have a merciful indication here
that-without for a moment belittling the seriousness of sin
and the necessity of its complete removal-God accepts us as
we are constituted in our present imperfect state and imperfect
service, IF — and only if—we are completely dedicated
(offered) to Him, and striving constantly to obey Him.
This Pentecost ordinance was the only occasion in the
yearly feasts where a Peace offering was required (v. 19). We
have just noted that apart from the Pentecost ordinance, the
ordinance of the Peace, or Fellowship-with-God, offering was
the only occasion in the Law where leaven was required, or
even permitted. Both come together here.
Pentecost was the 3rd of the 7 yearly days of holy convocation,
in which no servile work could be done (v. 21). All activity
must be for God.
V. 22 adds another feature without which the service and
worship of the day would have been a mockery: goodness to
others, provision for the needy, love of neighbor, service to
mankind. No man liveth to himself (Rom. 14:7). Professed
love of and service to God that does not inseparably involve
love of neighbor is sterile and dead. None can be saved who
does not give his life to the welfare of others.
Vs. 23-25 give the law of the Feast of Trumpets: 4th of the
7 days of holy convocation. Passover and Unleavened Bread
were in the first month; Pentecost in the third (three is resurrection).
In the Law, the pattern of cleansing was often 1-3-7
(Num. 19:12; 31:19). We are now beginning the 7th month,
and four of the seven holy convocation days occur in this one
month alone, including the most solemn one of all: the Day of
Atonement.
The year is coming to a climax. From Passover to Pentecost
was the range of the grain harvest: mid-April to mid-June.
There is nothing in the 4th, 5th and 6th months. But now we
come to late September and early October, when all harvests
— fruit, wine and oil — are in.
93 Berean 269
All months, and all feasts, were introduced by the blowing
of trumpets (Num. 10:10), but the 1st day of the 7th month
was the especialyearly occasion of trumpet-blowing. Trumpets
are proclamations, calls to attention, to assembly and to battle,
calls of warning, of instruction.
This 7th month trumpet announces the beginning of the
end. The 7th Trumpet of the Revelation speaks of the 'finishing
of the Mystery of God, as spoken by His servants the
prophets' (Rev. 10:7). Pre-eminently, the trumpet-voice is the
calling to the resurrection —
"The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised"
(1 Cor. 15:52).
There were special Temple sacrifices on this day (Num.
29:1-6), but it was not a national assembly to Jerusalem: rather
an alerting of the land to the beginning of the solemn,
climactic 7th month — and especially of the approach of the
great and dreadful Day of Atonement. Dreadful, that is, if approached
without the deepest reverence and solemnity and
humility. Atonement Day was 5th of the seven holy convocations.
Vs.26-32 give the instructions for that day-lOth of the 7th
month-when all normal activity was completely suspended
for 24 hours throughout the whole land, and every Israelite
must 'afflict his soul1 on pain of death (v. 29). Three times in
these verses is this affliction of the soul strictly commanded.
And 3 times they are charged to do absolutely no work.
What did this 'afflicting the soul1 consist of? Clearly it
involved external aspects, for whoever did not comply was to
be put to death (v. 29). It would certainly involve abstinence
from food, and from all fleshly pleasures and enjoyments.
This day became known as 'the Fast' (Acts 27:9). This was the
one great day of the year to bring sin to remembrance: for a
man to 'examine himself: to labor mightily for self-purification
and to seek the cleansing and mercy of God.
Fasting of itself was not specifically prescribed, nor would
it oj itself'have been acceptable (Isa. 58:5). In not prescribing
specific rituals of affliction, the attention would be directed to
the inner aspects — the realities: inward examination and repentance
and humility and rededication of the heart, soul,
strength and mind to God.
This was the day when even the normal priestly ministra-
270 93 Berean
tions at the Tabernacle stopped (Lev. 16:17), and the holy
precincts were silent and empty while the High Priest alone
went about his solemn, once-a-year task of making reconciliation
for the nation: entering-on this dread day only-the
inner sanctuary of the Most Holy, beyond the Veil, where the
glory of God rested between the Cherubim, above the golden
Ark.
This day of all days called for a humble and contrite spirit:
no levity, no lightness, no manifestation of rejoicing, no selfpleasing,
no going thoughtlessly about one's ordinary activities
and pleasures. The entire nation in affliction and mourning,
conscious of the great burden and disease of sin and
fleshliness and self-will —
"Whosoever shall not be afflicted shall be cut off from among
his people."
There is a historic counterpart to this great day. Indeed,
this would be the final national climax to which this day in type
pointed in all its ages of observance. Did Israel have any idea
of what the High Priest's ministrations on this memorable day
foreshadowed? —
"They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn . . a great mourning. . and the land shall
mourn, every family apart" (Zech. 12:10).
So this somber day was passed: 24 hours 'from even to
even' (v. 32).
But once every 50 years, as darkness fell and this day of
affliction and mourning ended, there was a striking and
unusual event, all the more striking by its contrast with the
hushed mourning of the day.
Suddenly, just as the day ended-beginning at Jerusalem
and picked up in ever-widening circles until the echoes rang
throughout the whole land — the joyful trumpets of the Jubilee
began to sound. The day of affliction and mourning was over,
and the day of freedom and release and a completely new
beginning had begun-another wonderful type.
The rest of the chapter (vs. 33-42) speaks of the Feast of
Tabernacles: the 7 days from the 15th to the 21st of the 7th
month.
Tabernacles should really be translated 'Booths,' for it is
an entirely different word from the Tabernacle' of God,
which is Mishkan or 'dwelling place.' The word here is succoth,
meaning 'hut or booth,' arough, simple, temporary shelter—
93 Berean 271
usually of tree branches, from a word meaning *to entwine.'
This Feast was primarily to remind them of the 40 years in
the wilderness (v. 43). It was thus a memorial of both the deliverancefrom
bondage, and the afflictions of the journey. It was
also called the Feast of Ingathering (Ex. 23:16), and as such it
was the joyful thanksgiving for the bounties and blessings of
God throughout the year. It was the great Rest, after all the
year's labors, when all the harvests were in.
The first day of this 7-day ordinance was the 6th holy convocation.
And this feast was the 3rd and last of those in which all
Israel must assemble at God's Tabernacle. They were there
required to build simple little booths (v. 40) of tree branches,
and live in them for the week of the feast: high and low, rich
and poor together (v. 42). In their harvest joy they were
reminded that saints have here no continuing city, and should
not set interest on present things. In the later corruptions of
the nation, the faithful Rechabites carried forward this
memorial in their lives, dwelling simply in temporary dwellings
(Jer. 35:7).
They were to take palm-branches, and willow-branches
(v. 40). Palms throughout Scripture represent joy and victory:
willows represent oppression and sorrow — illustrating both
aspects of the memorial. God's loving purpose with mankind
of redemption and glory manifests throughout these twin
aspects of joy through sorrow, peace through suffering, rest
through labor, and exaltation through humility: that no flesh
should glory.
As the Passover is Christ, and Pentecost is the Redeemed
from the present, so the Feast of Tabernacles is the great
millennial harvest of the earth. Each in its turn is a harvest: the
Firstfruit Sheaf, the Firstfruit Loaves, and the total Ingathering.
The sacrifices of this week (Num. 29) were much more
than at any other of the memorial periods: 70 bullocks, 14
rams, 98 lambs. But the bullocks (the principal
sacrifice) diminish day by day to a perfect unity and completeness
of 7 on the last day. Here, as bro. Roberts points out, is a
winding down of sacrifice; an approaching the end of the need
of sacrifice: an approaching the time when all shall have been
brought into perfect subjection to God, and God shall be all
in all.
272 93 Berean
This was the Feast of Ingathering. It was a thankful celebration
of God's blessing in the harvest, and all centered around
the harvest. But once in every 7 years there was no harvest to
celebrate. Once in 7 years they neither sowed nor reaped, and
what grew of itself was for the poor.
During the feast that year, the procedure was different. It
was the Sabbatical year. That year, the Law of Moses was to be
read and explained to the nation as it was assembled for this
week (Lev. 25:4).
The whole preceding year had been a year of rest from
daily labor. Ideally, it was a year of learning and meditation
and study of the Word. How fitting, then, at this final great
week-long assembly that year, the time should be given to
proclamation and discussion of the Law of God that makes
wise unto salvation!
Israel being what they were, it is to be doubted if this ideal
occupation of the sabbatical year ever materialized to any
appreciable degree or length of time, but how wonderful it
could have been! What wonderful opportunities they had!
What a wise and ideal set-up! But how few, in any generation
or dispensation, have had the wisdom to use their God-given
(and God-owned) leisure time profitably or scripturally! What
needless tragedy the judgment seat will reveal!
***
The yearly ordinances were now over: the 7 days in booths
ended. Only one last event remained — the final day of holy
convocation: the day following the Feast of Tabernacles: the
8th day of new beginning:
V.34: "The feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord."
V.36: "Seven days ye shall offer an offering ..On the EIGHTH
day shall be an holy convocation ...Itisa solemn
assembly . . ."
The original word here for 'assembly' is different It only
occurs a few times, usually applied to this particular day. Note
that the margin has 'day of restraint.' Rather it means 'day of
closing': a closing ceremony. It is atzereth, from atzar, 'to
close, to restrain, to shut up.'
This was the final day of the cycle: the day over and beyond
the 3 yearly feasts. They were no longer in the booths, representing
the wilderness journey. The sacrifices for the Feast of
Tabernacles had come to a climax with the gradual reduction
of the bullocks to 7.
93 Berean 273
In the symmetrical pattern of the 3 yearly feasts at the
national center of worship, this final great day balances out
the Passover day by which the pattern began-
First the one-day Passover, immediately followed 1 day
by the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. 7 days
The second, middle yearly assembly was just one
day — Pentecost, in the 3rd month. 1 day
The third yearly assembly was the 7-day Feast
of Tabernacles, 7 days
immediately followed by this special, separate 8th day. 1 day
In John 7 is a record of the last Feast of Tabernacles that
was kept before Moses' Law was nailed to the cross and for ever
done away. V. 37-
aIn the last day, the Great Day of the Feast, Jesus stood up
and cried, saying. If any man thirst, let him COME UNTO
ME and drink.
A call to leave the passing-away shadows, and come to the
great reality. We can picture what a commotion this would
cause.
This 'Great Day' was the culminating 8th day that closed
the Mosaic yearly cycle: the Atzereth, the 'closing ceremony.'
Little did Israel realize the significance of THAT Day. The
Mosaic cycle, after 1500 revolutions, had run its course for the
last time.
As the next cycle began, with the Passover of the next year,
the true Passover Lamb himself fulfilled in one-time reality the
age-old and oft-repeated shadowy type, and the shadows
forever vanished away.
The Jews carried on robot-like with the dead rituals for
another 37 years, until reality was forced upon them by the
terrible events of AD 70.
And there will truly be memorial Passover and memorial
Feast of Tabernacles in the Kingdom of God (Eze. 45:21-25),
but under the new Abrahamic covenant, not the old Mosaic—
"Not according to the covenant, saith the Lord, that I made
with their fathers when I brought them out of the land of
Egypt" (Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:8).
That New Eternal Covenant has been confirmed
by the blood of the true Passover Lamb.—
Berean, 1978
PRAY always. You can do this in all places, times and postures. Thus you
keep in touch with God who will hold you up. — R.R.
274 93 Berean
What To Watch For In Relation To Europe
A FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
(Continued)
The succession of Vials shows the Second poured out upon
"THE SEA ". This was effected as the might of the British Navy
was unleashed against France and the Napoleonic plan for
world power and expansion. Britain closed all the Seas against
commerce of any kind, as they strove to restrain the "Frog*
spirit. Thus we read, Rev. 16:3 —
"The second (angel) poured out his vial upon the sea; and it
became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in
the sea."
British prowess was acclaimed by the Battles of Abueker
Bay and Trafalgar. At the same time Napoleon carried the
ulcer toward the Alpine regions of Italy, and the Northern
provinces of "the Boot."
The Spirit continues, v. 4, "the third angel poured out his vial
upon the rivers and fountains of waters." This mountainous area
was the source of the water supply of the European Continent,
and comprised the watershed of all its nations. It was also the
region from which issued the main power of the Papacy, which
adulterated all peoples under its realm. The French armies
were everywhere successful in that area, against the combined
forces of Italy and Austria-Hungary; occupying and pillaging
as they went. With all the Monarchs related to the slain rulers
of France, these all united their efforts to suppress the 'Divine
Disease,1 but to no avail.
Napoleon then turned his forces northward to the seat of
government of the Holy Roman Empire. Its long authority of
1000 years from AD 800 was about to end. Thus we read, v. 8,
"The Fourth Angel poured out his vial upon TheSun', and power was
given him to scorch men with fire. "Austria-Hungary and Germany
and their provinces were all incorporated in this terrible
heating and burning.
From this scene the forces of France directed their vengeance
to the cradle of the Apostacy in Rome and Italy —
"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon THE SEAT OF
THE BEAST and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they
gnawed their tongues for pain."
The Pope was taken captive and removed to France, to
Fontainebleau near Paris, where he remained until AD 1814.
He returned to Rome with the fall of the power of Napoleon,
93 Berean 275
However under the reign of Bonaparte all the Papal perquisites
were removed, church property parcelled out to civil
control, and the Pope's temporal properties were annexed to
the French Empire. Napoleon removed the reigning monarchs
in the European countries which fell before his soldiers,
and placed his own relatives on their thrones. Spain, the Netherlands,
Germany, Poland, and Lithuania, all experienced
this demotion of their royalty.
The 'Malignant Ulcer' led by Napoleon was only restrained
by the combined forces of Britain and Prussia, led by Wellington
and Blucher, in the invasion of Paris, France, in April,
1814. Imprisonment on Elba in the Mediterranean curtailed
this 'Blazing Star' of Divine appointment to execute His purpose
against Catholic Europe. Escaping from imprisonment
11 months later, March, 1815, the 'little Corporal' shone
forth for 100 days in France and Europe as he extended his
'scorching power', only to be recaptured after the defeat of
French armies at Waterloo, June, 1815. By allied agreement
he was sent to permanent confinement in the South Atlantic
in the Island of St. Helena. It was there that his work was terminated,
and he died in AD 1821.
Thus the first Five Vials accomplished their work. However
they continue their sanguinary effects in stirring up the
nations to war. Attempts have been made by later monarchs
and powers to re-establish the 'Old Order' but without success.
One more attempt will be made, but prophecy clearly indicates
that the exercise of the hand of God, against a godless
Europe will terminate any such hopes. In Rev. 16:7, the righteous
praise God for what was done by these vials —
"Thou art righteous O Lord, which art, and wast, and shall be,
because thou hast judged thus."
This long and bloody history of the Middle Ages (the Dark
Ages), has been reviewed at length for the prime purpose of
impressing the roots of the European problem in our own
days. The Divine hand rests upon this land and will not be
removeduntil God pours out His final dreadjudgments. They
are even now gathering force for the last days, which are fast
approaching. Such a history without the Divine message
means nothing. It is only when it is put into focus with the
voices of the prophets of Israel, and God's own Son, that they
are of meaning to us.
276 93 Berean
A Farewell to Arms?
"THERE IS HO PEACE, SAITH THE LORD,
UHTO THE WICKED,/ ISAIAH 48:22
THE NATIONS, REPEATEDLY AT CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER,
AS FREQUENTLY PROMISE THAT THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD
SHALL FOREVER BE ABANDONED, BY INSCRIBING THEIR
SIGNATURES TO TREATIES, VHICH WILL TOMORROW BE SHATTERED.
BELOW IS A LONG LIST OF SHATTERED TREATIES RELATING TO
EUROPE.STARTING WITH 1689 AND 1791; FROM THENCE FORWARD
TO 1930, ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE FOR WARS.
THERE ARE 46 SUCH TREATIES LISTED. GOD'S WORD SHALL
STAND, AND HISTORY WILL PROVE IT UNCHANGEABLE.
treaties: Nerchinsk (1689), 390; Pillnitz Aigun (1858), 390; Vienna (1864), 220;
(1791), 63; Basle (i795)i 81 ;• Campo Gastein (1865), 221; Prague (1866), 222,
Formio (1797), 86; Luneville (1801), 96, 271; Frankfort (1871), 186, 225; San
104, 105; Amiens (1802), 99; Pressburg Stefano (1878), 418; Berlin (1878), 411,
' " * 104;. Tilsit (1807), 107, "o; 419-20, 432; Shimonoseki (1895), 402;
intra (1808), 112; Kalisch (1813), 114; Paris (1898), 313; London (1913), 428;
Fontainebleau (1814), 115; Ghent (1814), London (1015), 461; Brest-Litovsk (1918),
280; Paris (18x4), 121; Vienna (1815), 469; Neuifly (1919), 492; Rapallo (1919),
121; Aix-Ia-Chapelle (1818), 122; Trop- 5*6; Versailles (1919), 488; St. Germain
pau (1820), 122; Laibach (1821), 122; (1919), 491; Trianon (1919), 492; Sevres
Verona (1822), 122; Adrianople (1829), (1920), 493; Washington (1922), 511, 534;
412; London (1832), 412; Olmutz (1850), Lausanne (1923), 494; Geneva (1924),
216, 241; Paris (1856), 202, 415, 416; 510; Locarno (1925), 510; Paris (1927),
510; London (1930), 5".
After the fierceness and bitterness of each European
conflict the winners and losers have assembled to arbitrate the
conditions of peace. Treaties have been signed by ranking
officials, and promises solemnly sworn to, which have brought
sighs of relief to the populations. But 'peace' is not possible
for Europe, while the shadow of the Beast darkens their lands.
Forty-six such treaties, from 1689 to 1930, have proven futile
by succeeding events. God declared over 2700 years ago
through Isaiah —
"There is no peace unto the wicked99 (Isa. 48:22).
In 1795, Prussia concluded the Peace of Basle with France,
recognizing French conquests on the left bank of the Rhine
River. Since that time these two lands have fought over this
parcel of European soil. It is the original location of the
Franks, the Westphalian swamps, the Ruhr Valley, the roots of
the present French nation.
The long and bloody World Wars, I and II, stained this very
soil with the blood of thousands upon thousands of men and
women from around the world, most of them confident that
their efforts were blessed by God.
These are the descendants of the original settlers from the
tower of Babel, the sons of Gomer and of Magog. Recent
93 Berean 277
events indicate that the enmity continues in the hearts of the
present inhabitants. Peaceful overtures are in opposition to
the purpose of the Creator. Jehu said in response to king
Jehoram's question, "Is it peace Jehu V\ "What peace, so long as the
whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many"
(2Kgs. 9:22).
This is Europe's destiny. While the antitype ofjezebel (the
Papacy) adulterates the minds of Europe's millions there is no
peace possible on the Continent. The 'Great Whore' must be
removed forever from the face of the earth.
EUROPE 1992
QUO VA-DIS;
vMlllrt* NORTH SEA *
t Q Q A P EUROPE
WHERE A R I
NORTH (fflJK
ATtANTIC OCEAN ^ U l K YOU GOINGm.
IIIIIIII! luaBL .
THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITSI
For 47 years Europe has existed in fear and under the
sword either unsheathed or sheathed. The product of the last
great conflict there, was dread of Atomic warfare, either on a
limited or world-wide scale. Europe had been severed down
the middle with the 'Iron Curtain,' a condition which most of
the present generation have experienced from their infancy.
This seemed to be the 'status quo' which was to prevail until
the coming of the Master. Concepts as to the situation of latter
day events were coming to be framed around a rigid colossus
of the North and East. Russia was the fulcrum around which
all world strategies were designed. With breath-taking speed
all this has changed in two years. New faces, new theories, new
boundaries have been and are being seen almost monthly.
278 93 Berean
Cartographers cannot sketch the New Europe. The Sea and
Earth of Europe is in a state of flux.
Some students have theorized that Germany was to be the
Gog, King of the North. This was done during WWII. History
has proven this idea incorrect. Russia, though crippled at the
moment, will rise to her destiny before the end.
With the release of the Iron Fist of the Autocrat in Moscow,
Natipnalism has taken front seat in almost every European
country. The establishment of the Divine Word is once more
coming into vision, 'As the Iron (Roman elements of disintegrated
Europe) willnotmix (Chaldean: arab: commingle) with
clay,y (Dan. 2:43); yet statesmen constantly frame new proposals
to this end. Europeans are now asserting national independence.
Outlanders who have tended to coalesce with others
beyond their own boundaries, for employment and fraternization,
are now the unwanted intruders. Decades of closeness
mean nothing as neo-European philosophy takes over.
This is still the underlying 'Frog' (French) democratic Liberty
exercising itself as Rev. 16, requires. At the same time we find
a continuance of the 'Drying Up'of the Euphratean power of
Turkey, as the Muslim elements are hunted out of Serbia and
Germany, with other countries possibly becoming involved.
Bro. Thomas, writing of newspaper speculations and predictions
of future events, stated (Elpis Israel, p. 385), "As records
of facts, the journals are invaluable; but if a person permit his opinions
to be formed by the views presented in leading articles, and the letters
of 'our correspondents) he will be continually misled, and compelled
to eat his words for evermore. The Bible is the enlightener. If men would
not be carried about by every wind that blows, let them study this. It will
unfold to them the future, and make them wiser than the world. The
coming years will not be years of peace."
After speaking of the position of Russia, he stated, "The
Autocrat is to 'come against Turkey like a whirlwind, with chariots,
and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter into the
countries, and overflow and pass over, and many countries shall be
overthrown.9 This is the career marked out for him; which neither
France, nor England, not the world combined can obstruct or circumvent."
England's policy of fraternization with the 'European
Economy', a movement originally broached by Sir Winston
Churchill shortly after WW II, cannot endure. The prophe-
93 Berean 279
cies of the Word of God, over 2600 years ago have destined
that Britain is to be separate and distinct from the European
Ten Toed Nations before the manifestation of Christ and the
Saints to the world with Omnipotent power enforcing the
Divine fiat. Britain and her allies MUST BE IN A POSITION TO
DEFEND NATIONAL ISRAEL, UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF
PALESTINE, against these very Ten Toed Nations marshalled
under the banners of Russia, as the King of the North and as
Gog of the land of Magog. This is the revealed DRAMA of God's
foreknowledge. This agenda cannot be avoided. We therefore must
bring all our views of impending future events to this
UNCHANGEABLE STANCE.
Maastricht Treaty,
Evolution of a Community
Split Decision on Unity
1946 Winston Churchill recommends
creation of a 'United States of Europe
1951 France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands establish the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
1957 ECSC states sign the Treaty of Rome, creating
the European Community.
1963 French President Charles de Gaulle
vetoes British membership.
1968 EC becomes a custom union.
1972 Norwegians reject EC
membership in referendum.
1973 Britain, Ireland and
Denmark join.
1975 British voters endorse
membership in
referendum.
1979 European
Monetary
System
launched
1981 Greece
joins.
1986 Spain and
Portugal
join.
280
EC leaders meet in
Maastricht, Netherlands,
to sign treaty creating
a monetary and political
union.
Danish
voters reject
Maastricht
Trea
France to vote on
the Maastricht Treaty
Insh voters
revive pro-
European
forces by
ratifying Maastricht
93 Berean
Percentage of people
"very much'" in
of unification
Western Europe
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
favor
lOf
(1991)
26
22
24
32
47
44
43
26
23
54
42
United Kingdom 27
Europe had waited 26 years in
anticipation of the cementing of
inseparable bonds between the
countries embraced in the term
United States of Europe. The final
'crossing of the Ts and the dotting
of the Is', were effected at Maastricht
in the Netherlands, in 1991.
All was ready for the joint voices of
each participant to rise in the song
of 'international harmony.' Man
proposes, BUT God soon shows
how simply He is able to dispose.
"I am God, and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning"
"My counsel shall stand, and I will
do all my pleasure"
"I have spoken it, I will also bring
it to pass; I have purposed it, I will
also do it" (Isa. 46:9-11).
It remained for the year 1992 to illustrate that "Iron will not
mix with Miry Clay " (Dan. 2). The Creator stated this to the first
monarch of Babylon, 2600 years ago.(
One by one the nations of Europe
voted their minds about unity.
The people of Denmark rejected
Maastricht,June 2,1992, rather decisively.
On the 18th, Ireland (a financially
weak link, having the most to
gain) ratified the pact
France faced with these divided opinions, France one of
the prime forces desiring to see a united economy, France
wanting her prestige to rise before all her neighbors, voted on
Sept. 20th. France was hardly able to obtain a majority; 51%
registered their approval, 49% said WON.'
In a referendum of the common people, taken in 1991, to
determine their enthusiasm toward any United States of
Europe, it was revealed that the poorer people were much in
favor, while those more opulent citizens registered very luke-
DIVIDED,
THEY /
STAND '
warm response.
93 Berean 281
Even before Frenchmen expressed
themselves by ballot, all
Europe was on edge as to where
the 'Frogs' wouldjump. The law of
the Treaty of Maastricht stated that
if one participant rejected all or
any element outlined the pact would fail.' Thus the referendum
was either a big step toward unity, or able to plunge EC's
future into doubt. (To be continued, God willing)
GOD in mind at every moment: that is the ideal. Be satisfied with
nothing less. We shall forget, and wander, and fail a million times, but
we must keep on roughly and doggedly pulling our minds back, over
and over and over, until it becomes second nature. This is the only way
anything is learned, and this is the greatest of all learning: the only
TRUE learning at all. Accept nothing less of yourself, for nothing less
is acceptable. Eternity of joy with God is a mighty, glorious, incomprehensible
destiny. It is not for the half-hearted, the wavering, timid,
double-minded devotees of half-measures and divided interests. "Ye
cannot serve God and mammon . . . Choose ye this day whom ye will
serve!" The present life is the briefest of moments in the vast sweep of
endless time. Its only value and meaning is its once-for-all opportunity
of seizing the glories of eternity. Would you stop to play with baubles
on a rapidly-sinking ship? You have but the briefest of moments to decide,
the smallest of gifts to offer to God in thanksgiving for His goodness:
trade it all—gratefully and without hesitation or regret—for the infinite
wealth of eternity. —G.V.G.
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
WORLD: THE FAILURE OF POST-COLD-WAR PEACE EFFORTS
With the end of the cold war, hopes had begun to rise that
nations would turn their swordsmen into peacemakers or peacekeepers.
The United Nations will spend some $3.8 billion on peacekeeping
this year, nearly five times what it did in 1991. More than 60,000
troops are now deployed under UN auspices worldwide, and requests
are pending for an additional fourteen peacekeeping missions
in nations from Liberia to the Solomon Islands. In June, the
United States returned heavy firepower back to Somalia to crush
rising opposition to peacekeepers and announced it will dispatch
300 soldiers to Macedonia to deter the spread of war in the Balkans.
But despite good intentions and expanding commitments, efforts
to make and keep peace in the tangled post cold-war world are
failing. Bitter experience is revealing the United Nations, its members
and other groups still lack the commitment, the organization,
the training and the money to police today's ethnic feuds and civil
wars. "We have reached a critical juncture in the peacekeeping
282 93 Berean
system" (AUS ambassador to the UN). UN officials complain that
the entity lacks as an efficient and regularized peacekeeping operation.
One of the latest cycles of violence in Somalia was triggered
when twenty-three Pakistani peacekeepers were killed June 5 by
gunmen loyal to warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid. Some of the
Pakistanis were ambushed, while others were massacred when they
ran out of ammunition.
In Cambodia, the UN peacekeeping force numbers 21,000
troops. It has been in place for nearly two years with a bill tab of $2
billion. The objective is to promote democratic growth, but is in
danger of collapse.
In Bosnia, UN peacekeepers initially watched when Croatian
gunmen looted a Muslim aid convoy and killed several truck drivers.
When UN troops finally fired and killed two attackers, the Croats
angrily accused the peacekeepers of taking sides.
In Liberia, a peacekeeping force drawn from six African nations
has been sucked into combat in Liberia's civil war, but it still could
not prevent the massacre this month of more than 540 refugees,
most of them women and children.
In the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, the UN was forced to
withdraw fifty of its 236 guards because it could not afford to keep
them there.
Not only in Somalia, but also in northern Iraq and elsewhere,
outmanned and outgunned peacekeepers are counting on American
troops to ride to their rescue. "If the only way this works is that
the US comes in to do the hard work, then the US is buying into the
concept of being the policeman of the world," (a key US Pentagon
official).
The bottom line in the Balkan conflict is that some 15,000 UN
troops have been dispatched to keep a peace that does not exist, with
arms inadequate to the task and rules of engagement that prevent
them from trying to stop the bloodshed. — USN6/21
The belief that the fall of communist USSR improved the
world's posture toward war, peace and harmony was a mistake. As
communism has continued to fade into oblivion, more outbreaks of
confrontation have occurred. The picture now rests confirmed, that
communism, by its own aggression, was keeping a restriction on many
acts of aggression around the world
The above report only covers a few of the hotter spots causing
serious concern. It is now reported that there are in fact some 112
conflicts going on in the world today. It is not a peaceful world. With
this many confrontational areas in turmoil, history shows a largescale
war could easily be on the horizon. (See following article.)
93 Berean 283
ARMAMENTS: FINGERS ON THE NUCLEAR TRIGGER
Even though the cold war between the US and USSR superpowers
is over, the world has become a more, not less, dangerous place
to live, as far as nuclear holocaust goes.
More than twenty-five countries have or may be developing
weapons of mass destruction. More than two dozen of these countries
conduct research in chemical weapons or already stockpile
them. More than a dozen have ballistic missiles that could one day
loft nuclear warheads far beyond their borders.
Of growing concern is North Korea. The son of North Korea's
81 year old leader has taken over the reins there and appears
determined to build a secret arsenal of nuclear weapons. His government
had recently threatened to quit the 150-nation Treaty on the
Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons recently. They had ordered
all foreigners, except diplomats, to leave and barred international inspectors
from the country. But at the eleventh hour they suspended
their withdrawal from the pact, pulling Asia back from the start of a
nuclear arms race.
But North Korea has made it clear that they have not only
embarked on the road to the bomb, but according to many analysts,
it has actually arrived.
The other growing concern is Ukraine. Ukraine, along with the
former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Belarus, stumbled into
the nuclear club when the empire crumbled. Although all three have
promised to banish the weapons entirely, Ukraine has been wavering
on its commitment. A growing number of its leaders regard their
atomic arsenal as a bargaining chip to trade for Western aid and
security guarantees—and increasingly as a safeguard against possible
Russian aggression that they are loath to relinquish.
Once again, the post-cold war era is turning out to be more
complicated than anyone expected as the West searches for ways to
stop nuclear proliferation. There is no obvious answer, and the
Western indecision that has accompanied the rape of Bosnia does
not inspire confidence that the international community will come
up with a strong plan of action soon. The US is balancing competing
objectives that undercut its own commitment to nonproliferation—
the desire to improve relations with China or to secure Syria's
cooperation in the Mideast peace talks.
The USSRs nuclear arsenal still very much exists. It contains
some 27,000 nuclear warheads now under guard by various military
units. It is clear that the temptation is there and growing for the
warheads to be sold to desiring buyers.
In Desert Storm War, Western officials learned just how feasible
284 93 Berean
and possible the access to nuclear arms can be to such radical leaders
as Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who came very close to acquiring an
atomic arsenal.
The problem, though, extends beyond nuclear warfare, to
chemical and biological bombs and the means to deliver them to faroff
targets.
Compounding the concerns is the startling fact that proliferation
cannot really be stopped. If a country wants to develop these
weapons, it will find a way to do it. What has been the impact of
treaties? Treaties have banned chemical and biological weapons but
a least 18 countries stockpile either or both.
Countries that are currently known to be capable of delivering
nuclear weapons are: Britain, China, France, Russia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Israel and the US.
Countries that are currently known to be working on obtaining
nuclear weapons are: Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and
Syria. —USN6/21
If nothing else, it further verifies how modern, sophisticated
man can see so little of the future. They thoughtthat an end to the cold
war would bring a kinder and gentler world. Not so. Nor does a more
peaceful world seem possible. Officials admit this new post-cold-war
era is "more complicated than anyone expected."
Undoubtedly, Gorbachev knew of the potential nightmare that
could occur with the USSR nuclear arsenal: both with the tug-of-war
over these arms between the former USSR republics themselves,
and the likelihood of there being sold on the black market to anyone
who can afford them. The latter point is the real nightmare to an
already fearful world. Note those countries working on obtaining
nuclear weapons (above). All but one are Muslim or Middle East
associated.
Thus, it is not just a world in turmoil without a solution for
widespread peace, but it is a tumultuous time that finds countries
with fingers on the nuclear trigger, and with that count surely to grow.
***
RUSSIA: THE THREAT OF NATIONALISM
(An authority on Russia and fascism at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies in Washington has expressed the following
concerns):
Nationalists differ from patriots in a crucial way. A patriot loves
his country. But to a nationalist, hatred of an enemy real or perceived—
is more important than love of his own country.
One of the many Nationalist organizations that arose in Russia
at the turn of this century (was and) is called The Black Hundred.
They were a populist, demagogic movement that opposed revolu-
93 Berean 285
tionary forces and defended the czar and the Orthodox church—
sometimes violently. Black Hundred saw the enemies of Russia as
liberals, democrats, those who favored a constitution, Freemasons,
Jews and capitalists. The new Russian right has taken its inspiration
to a large extent from the Black Hundred and even has named some
of its periodicals after Black Hundred publications.
A nationalist backlash to recent events in Russia is natural and
inevitable. The collapse of the Soviet Union is without parallel.
Empires usually collapse in war or because they are overextended.
The Russian empire collapsed by itself. Russians suffered a terrible
trauma, losing half their country—in effect, 300 years of their
history. The loss of Ukraine is especially painful because Kiev is the
cradle of Russian culture.
Already nationalist ideology has driven the whole spectrum of
Russian politics to the right. There are presently dozens of disparate
extremist nationalist groups. But in a way the current situation
resembles Germany in 1920, where there was a great deal of resentment
on the extreme right, but only small organized groups—until
a single man appeared on the scene who pulled it all together.
If the economic situation continues to deteriorate, it will create
nostalgia for the "good old days. "If the democrats fail politically, and
if anti-Russianism grows outside Russia and creates a stream of
refugees, then support for the right could sharply increase.
Within the former KGB and, to a greater extent, in the Army, a
strong element sympathizes with the right and even the extreme
right. Support for nationalism is not strong among senior commanders,
who tend to be cautious, but once you get to the majors and
lieutenant colonels, it's a different ball game.
One of the nationalist's slogans is, "A common front against
America, from Dublin to Vladivostok. "They also say, uWe have a great
deal in common with the Germans. Don't take all this nonsense about the
democratization of Germany seriously. If the two of us get together, we'll rule
the world." Slogans of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism cannot
mobilize the masses. The truth is that America's pop culture pervades
Russia today, and it is difficult to generate violent hatred
against America among average Russians.
There is a feeling that the cold war is over and that now that
Yeltsin has won, the problems are solved. Actually, the situation has
become much more complicated. Nuclear bombs have not been
abolished. There could be civil wars, which would intensify nationalist
backlash. The danger now exists because of Russia's weakness,
not its strength. — (from the book, "Black Hundred")
This germinating s e ed could hardly look better and more fitting,
as far as what the brotherhood would desire to see. If this movement
286 93 Berean
and ideology continues to expand and gain influence, this picture
could easily complete the final scenario as expounded by Dr.
Thomas and the pioneers, as seen in the prophetic pages: It is the
growing story of a nationalist hard-right class. They are anti-West
(anti-Tarshish), anti-Jewish, they are militant; they have traditionally
defended the czar and the Orthodox church; they have a great deal
in common with the Germans. All they are needing is for someone
who will rise, and inspire and unite those masses. A latter-day Gog
would then be in position. — C. S.
N e w s (Continued from page 254)
and so we thank our Heavenly Father for these brief periods of
companionship together with those of like precious faith. May our
Heavenly Father guide and bless you all in the days ahead.
Please note our change of address, to take effect on Sept. 24th,
1993: Bro. and sis. Ron Crocker, 14A Mains Ave., Whangarei, New
Zealand.
For the Whangarei Ecclesia, — bro. Ron Crocker
July Answers — "Consider"
1. Lilies [Luke 12:27]
2. Latter |Jer. 30:24]
3. Old [Isa. 43:18]
4.God[Ecc. 7:13]
5. Great [Heb. 7:4]
6. Adversity [Ecc. 7:14]
7.Pondereth [Prov. 24:12]
8. Ravens [Luke 12:24]
9. Diligently [Prov. 23:1]
10.Apostle[Heb.3:l]
ll.Evil[Ecc. 5:1]
12. Sluggard [Prov. 6:6]
13. Precepts [Psa. 119:159]
14. Say [2 Tim. 2:7]
15. Forget [Psa. 50:22]
16. Palaces [Psa. 48:13]
17. Trouble [Psa. 9:13]
18. Hearken [Psa. 45:10]
19. Heavens [Psa. 45:10]
20. Affliction [Psa. 119:153]
21. Wondrous [Job 37:14]
22. Advice [Jdg. 19:30]
23. Latter [Deut. 8:5]
24. Testimonies [Psa. 119:153]
25. Heart [Deut. 8:5]
93 Berean
26. Endured [Heb. 12:3]
27. Together [Acts 15:6]
28. Know [Isa. 1:3]
29. Oppressions [Ecc. 4:1]
30.Job [Job 1:8]
31. He Goat [Dan. 8:5]
32. Tempted [Gal. 6:1]
33. Righteous [Isa. 57:1]
34. Field [Prov. 31:16]
35. Poverty [Prov. 28:22]
36. Conversation [Heb. 13:7
37. Poor [Psa. 41:1]
38. Beam [Matt. 7:3]
39. Travail [Ecc. 4:4]
40. Generations [Deut. 32:7]
41. Meditation [Psa. 5:1]
42.Turneth[Eze. 18:28]
43. House [Prov. 21:12]
44. Heard [Isa. 52:15]
45. Well [Prov. 24:32]
46. Mourning [Jer. 9:17]
47. Dwelling [Isa. 18:4]
48. Nation [Ex. 33:13]
49. Another [Heb. 10:24]
50. Body [Rom. 4:19]
287
One H u n d r e d Years A g o chnstadeiphian, August, 1893
(To Be Continued, Next Month, God Willing)
THE principal chamber in the human tabernacle is the brain. And often
it is the emptiest. Why ? Because the good man of the house has neglected the
storage. Nothing comes anywhere by accident. If you do notfurnishy our mind
it will not be furnished, and a man with an unfurnished mind is of a very poor
value indeed. — R.R.
BIBLE PUZZLE —"Sake"
1 . . . . said unto him, Envieth thou for
my sake?
2. One tribe for my servant. .. sake
3. Oh save me for t h y . . . sake
4. Was n o t . . . for his sake alone
5. He must. .. for my name's sake
6. Zion's sake I will not hold m y . . .
7. Persecuted f o r . . . . sake
8. The . .. sake, those days shall be
shortened
9. Believe me for the v e r y . . . sake
10. For which hope's sake, King. ..
11. A l l . . . are for your sakes
12 not for his sake that shewed it
13. This I do for the . . . sake
1 4 . . . . of all men for thy name's sake
15. Before . .. and kings for my sake
16. Put him in prison for. .. sake
17. Evil against you .. ., for my sake
18. Zion for your sake be . . . as Field
19. For thy mercy and for t h y . . . sake
20. Yet for your sake he became . ..
21. Endure all things for the . . . sake
22.Are beloved for the . . . sake
2 3 . . . . for your sake that I not there
24. He reproved . . . for their sake
25. Persecution ariseth for . .. sake
26. For . . . sake which dwelleth in us
27. For our sake, no . . . , this is written
28. Be . . . unto them for our sakes
29. I t . . . me much for your sakes
30. Went.. .with Moses for their sakes
31. Will spare all the.. . for their sakes
32. No . . . for conscience sake
33. We are fools f o r . . . sake
34. My sake this great tempest is...you
35. For thy sake I have borne . . .
36. For the . .. sake of mine own body
37. Jerusalem's sake which I have . . .
38. He . . . Abram well for her sake
39. Gently for my sake with young . . .
40. Kingdom for his people . . . sake
41. For t h y . . . sake, O Lord, pardon
42. And for their sakes, I . . . myself
43.1 have in a figure transferred to
myself and to . . . for your sakes
44. For my.. . sake has laboured
45. For their sake which . . . with him
46.1 will. .. devourer for your sake
47. For their sake .. . the covenant
48. For your sake I have sent to . . .
49. If ye suffer f o r . . . sake, Happy
5 0 . . . . house for Joseph's sake
Agrippa
Apollos
Babylon
Children's
Chosen
Christ's
David's
Doubt
Eat
Egyptian's
Elecfs
Elecfs
Entreated
Falsely
Father's
Favourable
Glad
Gospel's
Grieveth
Hated
Herodias*
111
Israel's
Kings
Man
Mercies'
Moses
Name's
Name's
Peace
Place
Plowed
Poor
Question
Rebuke
Remember
Reproach
Righteousness1
Righteousness1
Rulers
Sanctified
Sat
Suffer
Things
Truth's
Truth's
Upon
Word's
Works'
Written
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(Aust.)
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Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South Wales, U.K. £4-50 (U.K.)
Canadian subs to bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ontario,
Canada N5V 2X1 $8.50 (Can.)
USA subs to bro. Max McLaren, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas, USA 77012 $7.00
(U.S.)
288 93 Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 9, ISSUE 849 SEPTEMBER, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Onelda Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: London 290
Fraternal Gatherings: Canton 290
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 291
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
The Word Is The Sanctifier 294
LOVE AND DOCTRINE (cont'd) (bro. Roberts) 298
THE LIVING CREATURES AND THE BOW (bro. Growcott) ...300
AFTER THIS MANNER PRAY YE 309
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN RELATION TO EUROPE (cont'd) 310
THE TRUE CHRISTADELPHIAN ECCLESIA 314
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
VIOLENCE: The Spiraling Rate Of Teen Violence,
A New And Dangerous Breed/The Violence In
Our Heads 317
AUGUST Answers: "Sake" 323
100 YEARS AGO:
Notes; 'Hades — Where And What Is It?'; Meditations;
The Day Of His Coming; Answers To Correspondents;
Birmingham Miscellanies; Birmingham Ecclesia;
Different Bible Lectures 324
Bible Puzzle: That Day" 324
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
LONDON, Ont. — Berean Christadelphian Hall, 166 Central Ave. (1 block west
of Richmond) — S.S. & Eureka Class, 10 am; Memorial, 11 am; Lectures, 1st
and 3rd Sundays, 1 pm; Law off Moses Bible Class every other Wed., 7:30 pm;
Special Class, 4th Wed. — bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ontario,
Canada N5V 2X1; (519) 451-4063.
LOVING greetings to the Household of Faith.
Since our last ecclesial news, we have been continuing in the
service of the Lord through our weekly ministrations. During our
lectures directed toward the public, we have made the effort to
present the basic principles of die Truth. While there are few willing
to listen to the Word of God in this generation, yet we are to continue
our efforts in keeping the truth brightly shining throughout this evil
generation.
To help us toward this end and toward the Kingdom of God, we
have been blessed with visits from those of like precious faith. We
have had the company and fellowship of bro. and sis. Bob Philip, bro.
and sis. Edward Williams (Waterdown ecclesia); bro. and sis. Tim
Stinchcomb, bro. and sis. Fred Higham Sr. (Detroit ecclesia). During
these visits we were exhorted by brethren Edward Williams and
Bob Philip.
On June 19, we held our annual Sunday School outing at Springbank
Park. It was a day of enjoyment with association of both young
and old. We were accompanied on this occasion with visitors from
the Waterdown and Detroit ecclesias.
The Signs of the Times are in the forefront of our thoughts as we
see the events occurring around us. Each change is reflecting God's
purpose among the nations. When there is war, bloodshedding,
trouble, crime, etc., and even so-called peace agreements, they are
a clear indication that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. It must be the
position of all true brethren and sisters to watch these signs with the
view of being prepared for the coming of the Lord. We have to make
sure that nothing detracts us from this. Let us look up, for our redemption
draweth nigh!
With love to all the brethren and sisters throughout the Vineyard,
in the Hope of Israel, — bro. David Clubb
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lord Will)
CANTON, Ohio—Sat. & Sun., Oct. 9,10— bro. Don Miller, 6695 Carriage Lane,
North Canton, Ohio, U.S.A. 44721; phone (216) 494-7717; or bro. Beryl Snyder,
4095 Prosway S.W., Masslllon, Ohio, U.S.A. 44646; phone (216) 837-1956.
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
29Q 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas' Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
Members of "Reformation churches'9 do not generally like to
be styled "Campbellites;" being, as they contend, disciples of
Christ, and not of Elder Campbell. But then, Christian discipleship
is claimed by all the disciples of the Augustinian Monk
of Wittenberg, Elders Calvin, Knox, Arminius, and Wesley, as
well. aOh! but," say our Campbellite friends, at least some of
them not so thoroughly imbued with the spirit and dogmas of
Bethany as others, Ve know they are not the disciples of
Christ." How do you know it? "Because they do not believe and
obey the Pentecostian proclamation on record in Acts 2:38;
and because they receive the teaching of those divines instead
thereof/
If then, we rejoin, they be justly styled Lutherans, Calvinists,
Arminians, and Wesleyans, for this reason; for the same, do we
contend, are reformation church members entitled only to
the name of "Campbellites." These do no more believe and
obey the Pentecostian doctrine than they; and do as much
receive President Campbell's teaching as do "Sectarians" the
traditions of the founders of their sects.
(Having shown that they believed in "going to heaven at death" as set
forth in Campbell's thesis, thus inheriting his association, he now
shows in a similar fashion that they undermined the basic Gospel of
the Kingdom of God, thus denying that "Christ was raised from the
dead by God to sit on David's restored throne in Jerusalem." The
"Disciples" rejected the Old Testament as a Dead Letter. They still
do.
He extends further his reasoning to show that Baptists were
admitted without baptism for "the remission of sins," which Campbellites
stated was a fundamental issue. By their actions in this and other
items, Bro. Thomas reasons that he was not departing from the
custom of identifying any religious body by the name of its founder,
as Lutherans, etc. He assures his readers that he bore no personal
animosity toward any "Disciples," that it had grieved him to part
company with many of them, but was stating these direct charges
against a system which was not in harmony with the Bible.)
Peter, in accordance with the command of Jesus, taught
that God raised up Christ from the dead to sit on David's throne (Acts
2:30); and that men do not ascend to heaven at death (verse 34).
But President Campbell teaches point blank the reverse of
93Berean 291
this; and reformation-ecclesiastics approve his teachings: they
are therefore of necessity his disciples, and not Christ's. We
have said, they neither believe nor obey the Pentecostian
doctrine; this is evident from the fact that people cannot obey a
doctrine and reject it at one and the same time. This is an important
consideration.
"But,* they say, "we have been baptized for remission of
sins, as Peter commanded. * Perhaps; and only perhaps. Those
ye "receive into the kingdom," as ye express it, "by the right
hand of fellowship "from among the Baptists, were neither the
subjects of, nor believers in, baptism for remission of sins; so
that your declaration is only of partial application. But, even
this cannot be scripturally maintained. Some of you have been
immersed for remission of sins; but then, Peter did not
prescribe baptism for remission of sins "for the like o' you." Ye
reject his testimony. Ye say with Bethany, that God did not
resurrect his son Jesus to sit upon David's throne; and that
men do go to heaven as soon as they give up the ghost! Do ye
imagine, then, that on such a foundation as this, Peter would
have said to you "be baptized for remissions of sins?" Nay,
verily; ^repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus for remission of
sins, " are only for those who believe Peter's doctrine; not for those
who make it ineffectual by their traditions, whether they
emanate from Wittenberg, Geneva, Oxford, Bethany, or Rome.
Reformation-church members may not like to be styled
"Campbellites:" but then, they should remember, on the
other hand, that the real disciples of Christ; that is, those who
believe the glad tidings he was sent to preach, and which he
did preach before his crucifixion; which same glad tidings he
commanded his apostles to preach to Jews and Gentiles after
his resurrection, and which they began to preach on Pentecost
and fully accomplished to do before the destruction of the
temple; and who believe also, and have obeyed, "the Mystery of
the Gospel" preached for the first time on Pentecost, and very
briefly recorded in Acts 2 — they should remember, we say,
that these, the real disciples of Christ, will not endure without
protest, that the mere disciples of men, as they can be proved
to be, shall arrogate to themselves a name to which they are
not scripturally entitled. We therefore solemnly protest, that
according to the measure with which they mete to others,
reformation-church members are not the disciples of Christ;
but are as worthy to be styled "Campbellites,* as are the others
292 93Berean
they call "sectarians" to be designated by the names under
which they pass current.
Now, these "hard things" we say both earnestly and affectionately;
for we have friends in the Bethany Lodges among
the "master-masons" and their journeymen—preachers and
people—whom we desire to disenthral. We believe that we
cannot manifest our affection for them better than in endeavoring
to persuade them of what we are convinced is the exact
truth. Campbellism is one of "the abominations of the earth"
(Rev. 17:5), and we desire to see them delivered from it by the
truth. Whatever makes the word of God of none effect is an
abomination; yea, an abomination of desolation: and that
system of things patronized by the eminent Gentile of the
West, is gospel-nullifying, and therefore, God-dishonoring.
He may be pious and perhaps sincere; but that he is infidel of
"the truth," and his system utterly subversive of it, will admit of
no question with one who has the testimony of Jesus, and
keeps his word.
What a pity it is, that so many well-intentioned and honesthearted
people should be so spell-bound by such a crude and
shallow invention, while the word of God's Kingdom and glory
is nigh them, even "the word of faith," testified of the prophets,
taught by Jesus, and evangelized by the apostles, is being
urged upon them for their deliverance! When we were "a very
young man" and "a novice," as that celebrated ecclesiastic
used to style us twenty years ago, we were a zealous advocate of
Messrs. Scott and Campbell's traditions, then assuredly believing
they were "the truth;" but when we came to study Moses
and the Prophets in connexion with Jesus and the Apostles,
our eyes were opened, and we were turned from Bethanian
darkness to "the light of the glad tidings of the glory of Christ;"
and were then enabled to perceive the errors into which we
had been led.
The more we understand of the scriptures the stronger, if
possible, is our conviction of the unscriptural and antichristian
character of the system; so that it has become with us an
incontrovertible proposition, that in proportion to a professor's
ignorance of the scriptures is the firmness of his adhesion to
the tenets of Bethanian and all other forms of Sectarianism; so
that with such "ignorance is the mother of devotion"—a
proverb which expresses the experience of all who have
93Berean 293
judged the pietism of "Christendom" by the things noted in
the scriptures of truth.
But why, in giving an account of a visit to Kentucky, are we
found commenting upon Campbellism? Because, in the first
place, Kentucky is the nursery ground of the heresy; secondly,
because of our friend's entanglement in its toils; and thirdly,
because, when we arrived in Louisville, its dogmas were in full
preach by a Mr. Henderson, who had for several days been
indoctrinating the public mind therewith to no inconsiderable
extent. (To be continued, God -willing)
S t u d i e s a n d T h o u g h t s BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
THE WORD IS THE SANCTIFIER
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to the Lord God omnipotent:
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
betrothed hath made herself ready"—Rev. 19:7
BY BROTHER JOHN THOMAS
PAUL, writing to the disciples at Ephesus (5:25-32), shows the
object for which Christ loved the church even unto death; the relationship
which was subsequently established between them;and
the sacrifice which they ought cheerfully to make for him who
had loved them so devotedly. Christ's object in giving himself for
the church before it was formed, was that those who should afterwards
compose it—
"Might be sanctified and cleansed in the lauer of the water by the Word"
—that, at the resurrection—
". . he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.'*
Jesus said to his disciples—
"Ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you'* (Jn.l5:3).
This Word, which is defined to be 'the Law and the Testimony'
(Isa. 8:20), is the great instrument of holiness and purification. It
changes men's minds; loosens their attachment to earthly things;"
causes them to place their affection on things above; creates a new
and right spirit within them; diffuses the love of God abroad in their
hearts; separates them from sinners; leads them intoChrist; and develops
in their lives fruit characteristic of that repentance which
needs not to be repented of.
The Lord Jesus styles it, "the Word of the Kingdom"; and Peter,
"the incorruptible Seed"; and Paul, "the Word of the Truth
of the Gospel"; and John, "God's Seed"; and by James it is termed,
"the Word of Truth" with which the invariable and unvacillating
Father of Lights begets His children, that they should be "a
kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
It is by this Word that an individual is renewed or renovated,
294 93Bar*an
so as—in an intellectual and moral sense—to become a "new man,"
as appears from what the apostle says to the brethren at Colosse—
"Ye have put on the new man, which is renewed unto
knowledge after the image of Him that created him."
This renewing affects the spirit of the mind, which may be known
to be renovated by a man having turned from his natural subserviency
to "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride
of life" unto "righteousness and true holiness." When the mental
disposition, called "the heart," is renewed, it becomes a mirror, as
it were, in which one skilled in the Word of the Kingdom can discern
the spirit, or behold a reflection of the Divine Nature.
This image of God in a man's character can only be created by
the Word of the Truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom. A man may
be very "pious" according to the standard of piety set up and approved
by his fellow men; but if he be ignorant of the renewing
elements—if he neither know nor understand (and consequently
and necessarily be faithless) of the Law and Testimony of God—
"There is no Light in him" (Isa. 8:20).
He is "walking in a vain show"—
"In the vanity of his mind, having his understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that
is in him, because of the blindness of his heart" (Eph. 4:17-18).
The Law and the Testimony are styled by Peter—
"God's knowledge . . whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises, that BY THESE (that is, by the understanding
of these) ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 P. 1:2-4).
Now, the "Testimony of God" came by the Holy Spirit, by
which God testified in His prophets, and in the last days spoke
through His Son and the apostles. Hence the effects of the Word
believed are attributed to the Spirit. And because the Word sets
men to breathing in God's moral atmosphere, it is termed "spirit
and life" (Jn. 6:63). These remarks will explain the saying of the
apostle to Titus—
"According to His mercy God saved us through the laver of
regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit' (Titus 3:5)
This is parallel to the saying (Eph. 5:26)—
"Sanctified and cleansed in the laver of the water by the Word.*'
—for the reader must not suppose that any man, woman or child
who is ignorant of the Word can be regenerated, or "born again,"
by being plunged into a bath. The Holy Spirit does not renew the
heart of man as he renews the mortal body when through Jesus he
raises it from the dead. In this case, the power is purely physical.
But when the heart is the subject of renewal, it is by the knowledge
of the written testimony of God, or "the Word." Peter says,
speaking of the Gentile believers—
"God purified their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9)
And Paul prays (Eph. 3:17)-
"That Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith."
Now faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rm. 10:17). In
93 Berean 295
other words, it is the belief of God's testimony concerning things
to come which are not seen, and without which it is impossible to
please Him (Heb. 11:1-6). When a man is renewed bytheTruth,he
is renewed by the Spirit, and not before. There is no such thing in
the Scriptures as a renewed, ignorant man. Ignorance of the testimony
of God, and regeneration, are utterly incompatible. The
Truth is the purifier to those only who understand and obey it—
"Ye have purified your souls in obeying the Truth . .
being born again by the Word of God" (I Pt. 1:22-3).
—and there is no moral purity, or sanctification of spirit before
God, without it. It is only believers of the Truth, then, who can
be the subjects of a regeneration by being submerged "in the laver
of the water." When they come out of this, they have been—
"Washed, sanctified, and justified in the Name of
the Lord Jesus, by the Spirit of God" (ICor. 6:11).
The Truth to be believed is the Gospel of the Kingdom and Name
of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12). When this is understood and heartily
received, it produces a disposition of mind such as was in Abraham
and Jesus, and which is called "repentance." Believers so disposed
are the begotten of God, and have become as little children. They
believe the 'exceeding great and precious promises,' together with
the things testified concerning the sufferings and resurrection of
Jesus. He fell into a deep sleep; and while thus unconscious and
insensible, his side was opened by a spear, and forthwith rushed
blood and water (John 19:33-4). Being awakened out of his sleep,
he was built up a spiritual body, flesh and bones, and—by his ascension—
presented to the Father as the federal representative of
his church. This is the aggregate of those who, believing these
things, have been introduced into Christ through the laver of the
water, according to the saying of the Scriptures —
"Ye are ail the children of God in Christ Jesus through the Faith,
for as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ . .
"Ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and HEIRS according to the promise" (Gal. 3:26-9).
A community of such individuals as these constitutes the mystical
body of Christ. By faith, its elements are—
"Members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Eph. 5:30).
Hence they are "bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh"; and
therefore the beloved Eve of the last Adam, the Lord who is to
come from heaven and make her of the same holy spiritual nature
as his own. Thus the church is figuratively taken out of the side of
her Lord, for every member of it believes in the remission of sins
through his shed blood. And they all believe in the real resurrection
of his flesh and bones for their justification unto life by a
similar revival from the dead—
"Your bodies are the members [or flesh and bones] of Christ . .
and he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cr. 6:15-7)
1 aul says— «.j n a v e eSpOUSec| v o u io o n e husband, that I may
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cr. 11:2)
It will be perceived, then, that the church as defined is in the
296 93 Berean
present state the espoused of Christ, but not actually married. She
is in the formative state, being molded under the hand of God.
When she shall be completed, God will then present her to the
Man from heaven—
"Arrayed in fine linen, clean and white" (Rev. 19:7-8).
This is she of whom the psalmist sings (45:10-15)—
"Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear. Forget
also thine own people and thy father's house. So shall the King
greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him.
"The King's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought
gold. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework.
The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thec.
"With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter
into the King's palace. "
The presentation of Eve to the first Adam was the signal of rejoicing
to the Morning Stars (Job 38:7), and we perceive that the
manifestation of Messiah's Queen will be attended with thc"Alleluia"
of a great multitude, sounding like the roaring of many waters,
and the echoes of mighty thunderings, saying—
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to the Lord
God omnipotent: for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his betrothed hath made herself ready" (Rv. 19:7).
Such is the relationship and destiny of the true church, styled
by Paul, "the One Body." It is forming by the Word. Or, taking it
as formed in the apostolic age but not presented, the apprehension
of the apostle has been sadly realized. Says he (2 Cr. 11:3)—
"I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3).
The tempter has seduced the betrothed. The simplicity in Christ
is no longer characteristic of a community. It is corrupted on every
side, and the ruin of the transgression alone prevails. Nevertheless,
although there be no hope for the professing world, seeing it is too
"wise in its own conceit"; too self-satisfied with its supposed illumination;
glorifying itself, and saying (Rev. 3:17)—
"1 am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing"
—and knows not, and will not be persuaded, that it is—
". . wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
Seeing, I say, that this is the irremediable condition of the religious
public, yet there remains scope for the deliverance of those
who are disposed to obey God rather than men. If they would become
bone of Christ's bone, and flesh of his flesh, they must—
"Leave father and mother, and be joined unto the Wife."
They find themselves now, perhaps, members of denominations
as they happen to be led. These are their parentage according to
the fleshly mind. They must be forsaken, and men must become
"one flesh" and "one spirit" in the Lord, if they would inherit
the Kingdom of God. "This," says Paul (Eph. 5:32)-
". . is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
93 Berean _ Extracted from Benan, 1974
297
Love And Doctrine
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
(Continued)
He indicates, in strong language, the consequences to the
individual ensnared by the deceivers: "Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God." This may
seem a strange saying in view of the fact that the "deceivers"
referred to believed in one God, the Creator of heaven and
earth; and also in Christ, after their own fashion. But the
apparent strangeness disappears when we; look closely at the
matter John is writing about. To "have" God in the sense of
John's words, is to stand in His favour, both now and hereafter.
All things are in His goodness. As David says, "Thy goodness is
over all thy works": but the goodness of God in common
benefits that come upon all alike, is a different thing from that
personal "favour" which guides, attends, and prospers (even
if by chastisement), with a view to a perpetual sonship in the
spirit-nature.
The enjoyment of this favour is a thing of conditions. One
of those conditions is a recognition of the channel in which
He offers it. Out of Christ, sinners cannot come near. They
have the goodness of God as creatures, like the sparrows, not
one of which can fall to the earth without the Father's knowledge;
but they are not in the privilege of children. They have
not the Father's favour and purpose concerning the ages to
come. This is only to be enjoyed in Christ; but even here, it
must be the Christ of God's appointing. Any other than this is
presumption, and a mockery of His wisdom: and they who
teach otherwise than the truth concerning Christ, preach
another Christ, though it be intended to refer to the Christ of
Nazareth.
This is evident from the case of those to whom John is
referring. They believed that the person known as Jesus of
Nazareth was the Christ; but in their reasonings upon him,
they reasoned away the truth about him, and consequently
believed and preached another Jesus than the Son of the
Father. There were different sorts of the class, but all their
heresies had a common origin in an attempt to bring the
mystery of godliness within the rules of human reason, instead
of accepting the testimony with humble and childlike simplicity.
One set argued that such a character as Jesus was a moral
impossibility in flesh and blood, and that, therefore, his whole
298 93 Berean
life was a mere accommodation on the part of a spiritual being
to the senses of mortals. Another, believing him to be flesh
and blood, philosophized in a contrary direction, concluding
that as such, he must, from the nature of things, have been a
"mere man," and that the idea of his being God in fleshmanifestation,
was preposterous. The Papacy blended the two
and taught that though flesh, his flesh was not the corrupt and
mortal flesh of men, but a superior, clean, "immaculate11 sort.
In our own day, as recent painful experience has made us
aware, a class of believers are treading the same dangerous
ground, in teaching that the flesh of Jesus was destitute of that
which, in the flesh of his brethren, constitutes the cause or
source of mortality.
In relation to all of them, John's declaration reveals the
mind of the Spirit: "Whosoever transgresseth, andabidethnotinthe
doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of
Christ, he hath both theFatherand the Son. "The doctrine of Christ
is that he is God made and manifested in the mortal flesh of
Abraham's race for the deliverance thereof, on His own
principles, from "that having the power of death." Those who
hold fast to this have both the Father and the Son; for in Jesus
they have the Son, and the Father manifest in him.
As to those who "bring not this doctrine," John's commandment
is: "Receive him not into your house, neither bid him God
speed!" This command we can no more evade than any other
commandment delivered unto us. The obedience of it may
cost us something. It is crucifying to the flesh to refuse
friends—some of them excellent people as human nature
goes—who in one way or other have been seduced from their
allegiance to the doctrine of Christ; but there is no alternative.
Friends are but for a moment; the Truth is for ever; and if we
sacrifice our duty to the latter from regard to the former, the
latter will sacrifice us in the day of its glory, and hand us over
to the destiny of the flesh, which, as the grass, will pass away.
"He that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." This
applies to all without distinction, and erects a barrier to
fellowship with even some who hold the truth; for though they
may hold the doctrine of Christ themselves, yet, if they keep
up a "Godspeed" connection with those who do not by John's
rule they make themselves partakers with them, and, therefore,
cut themselves off from those who stand for the doctrine
of Christ.
93 Berean 299
The epistle, as a whole, is singularly applicable to the
situation in which we find ourselves this morning. We have
been obliged to stand aside for the doctrine of Christ from
some we love. The Epistle of John justifies us in our course,
both as regards those who have departed from the doctrine of
Christ, and those who, while holding on to it themselves, see
not their way to break connection with those who have
departed. It is a painful situation, but we must not falter, nor
need we fear or be discouraged. God is with us in the course
of obedience, and we shall see His blessing in the increase, in
our midst, of zeal and holiness, and love and preparedness for
the great day of the Lord, which is at hand. —Seasons of Comfort
The Living Creatures and the Bow
"The four Living Creatures rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is,
and is to come"— Revelation 4:8
EZEKIEL CHAPTER ONE
The two deepest and most beautiful symbols of the Scriptures
are the Cherubim and the Rainbow — God-Manifestation
and the Everlasting Covenant Both appear in the first
chapter of Ezekiel. The Rainbow occurs 3 times only in the
whole Bible: Genesis, here, and in Revelation. The Cherubim
are mentioned many times, from Genesis to Revelation, but
this first chapter of Ezekiel is by far the fullest and most
detailed reference.
We must have a clear picture of the eternal purpose of God
as revealed in the plain and literal portions of Scripture to
understand these symbols and to appreciate and enjoy their
deep beauties and lessons. Viewed in the light of the Yahweh-
Name and the Gospel of the Kingdom, these symbols fall
marvelously into place.
God-Manifestation — the Yahweh-Elohim Name — "He
who shall be Mighty Ones" — is the true and beautiful Bible
picture of which the Trinity is the confused and ugly counterpart
The Trinity is an attempt by Greek philosophers to
define the relationship of Christ to God. The Cherubim and
the Multitudinous Son of Man symbols are the BIBLE representation
of that relationship, and of the Eternal purpose of
God with mankind.
God's purpose is to manifest Himself through a multitude
of redeemed, perfected, immortalized and glorified men and
300 93Beroan
women whose Head is Christ, and this community is symbolized
by the Cherubim. Paul, writing to the Hebrews, calls this
community the "Cherubim of Glory* — the vehicle and medium
of the manifestation of God's glory, and the instrumentality
by which the earth will be filled with that glory.
The Cherubim are the ruling powers of the Age to Come:
the 4-square Camp of Spiritual Israel. Eze. 1, like Rev. 4,
portrays the Messiah of Israel in glory upon his throne,
surrounded by his saints, and all energized and made glorious
by the Spirit of God.
The opening visions of Ezekiel and Revelation are very
similar. Both Ezekiel and John were captives and exiles. In
both visions appear the throne, the One sitting on it, the
brightness, lightning, Rainbow, fire, lamps, crystal, voice, 4
living Creatures full of eyes: man, lion, ox and eagle, feet of
burnished brass. Both had wings (butjohn's, like Isaiah's, had
6: Ezekiel's had 4). Both prophet and apostle fell on their
faces, a symbol of death and resurrection.
Ezekiel's prophecy opens with "visions of God" (El). It
ends with the magnificent Millennial Temple of the Age to
Come, the center of world worship. Its closing verse names the
new world capital of Jerusalem, Yahweh-Shammah, "THE
LORD IS THERE."
Chapter 1 is clearly the beginning of Ezekiel's prophetic
ministry. He prophesied for 20 years, from the 5th to the 25th
of the captivity (chs. 1 & 4).
"Now it came to pass in the 30th year" (v. 1).
The 30th year of what? It would seem most probable that
it was the 30th year of his life. Christ and John began their
ministries at 30, and Ezekiel, the "Son of Man" of the Old
Testament, was typical of both. His last vision, that of the
Millennial Temple, would then be in his 50th year. This was
the period of priestly service, 30-50, and Ezekiel was of the
Priesthood. It would be very fitting, too, that he had the vision
of the new Millennial Temple at the end of his period of
Mosaic service.
Isa. 6 is similar. This depicts the beginning of Isaiah's
ministry. He sees the Seraphim, or 'Burning Ones,' (a variant
symbol of the Cherubim multitude), who sing 'Holy, Holy,
Holy,' as do the Cherubim or 4 Living Creatures in Rev. 4.
John applies this vision to Christ when he says (12:41) that
Isaiah — "Saw his glory, and spake of him."
93 Berean 301
"In the 5 th year ofkingjehoiachin's captivity" (v. 2).
This was, of course, the 5th year of Zedekiah's reign, the
year after Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon to build
houses, for the captivity would be long. Ezekiel prophesied at
a time when the Temple, the City, and the Nation were to be
destroyed. He was the one to make the announcement to the
wicked house of David-
"Remove the diadem, take off the crown: I will overturn it, and
it shall be no more, till he come whose right it is" (21:26-27).
Ezekiel prophesied in a time of trouble and captivity and
darkness and fear. God's Kingdom was being eclipsed and
scattered and possessed by the heathen. The long 2520 year
Gentile night of "7 times" was beginning.
But shining above and through all is the eternal reality —
the glorious, divine, eternal, unfailing purpose
"As surely as I live, all the earth SHALL be filled withMy glory!"
— and all who are stedfast and faithful in present, passing
adversity will share the glories of that endless day. The Cherubim
are the instruments and the result of filling the earth with
God's glory. All the divine purpose with man is compressed
into this chapter, but its principal aspect is the final phase —
the latter day — the establishment of the Kingdom —
"They turned not as they went: they went every one straight
forward,"
And finally, at the end of the chapter, they stood still, and
let down their wings and the glory of the Lord appears
encircled by the Covenant Rainbow, signifying that the storm
of conflict is over and, as Zechariah shows in a different symbol
of the same time —
"All the earth is quiet, and is at rest."
The Cherubim have a warlike aspect: they are a "host" or
an army. They manifest thunder and lightning. From them
the avenging angel gets coals to scatter on Jerusalem for its
destruction. In the Revelation they direct angelic judgments
on Babylon and the nations.
The Cherubim are the conflict between good and evil:
they are the victory and glorification of good. This is a
ceaseless, deadly conflict, from the Garden of Eden to the
Paradise of God, and in our every act, word and thought, we
are on one side or the other.
The world's man-oriented religions fail to realize that God
MUST be justified and vindicated, and evil MUST be pun-
302 93Berean
ished and destroyed, before good can be enthroned and the
nations blessed. Many prophets and apostles speak of the
coming of Christ and the setting up of the Kingdom as a time
of worldwide judgment and display of divine power and
wrath—
Psa. 46: "Behold what desolations He hath made in the earth!"
Psa. 149: "To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishment
on the people."
Isa. 26: "When thy judgments are in the earth, THEN will the
inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. *
Isa. 66: "By fire and sword will the Lord plead with all flesh:
and the slain of the Lord shall be many."
Jer. 25: "The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end
of the earth even unto the other."
Dan. 7: "The Beast was slain, and his body given to the
burning flame."
Dan. 12: "A time of trouble such as never was."
Hab. 3: "Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals:
He drove asunder the nations: He threshed the nations in
anger.n
Zech. 14: "/ will gather all nations against Jerusalem to
battle. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight."
2 Thess. 1: "The Lord shall be revealed from heaven, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on those that know not God."
Rev. 19: "In righteousness he doth make war, and smite the
nations: he treadeth the winepress of the wrath of God."
But the fiery, flashing, irresistible Cherubim symbol is not
just war and destruction. That is but a minor, necessary, preliminary
aspect of their glory. They are God manifest in the
flesh: God's eternal, joyful family.
The broad picture is clear and beautiful, though many
details are very difficult to fathom. This is as we would expect
and desire: the basis clear, but always more depths to plumb
and explore. The Cherubim represent the glorified saints,
doing Godfs will and worshipping Him. They are Yahweh
Elohim — God manifest in the flesh — partakers of the divine
nature.
How do we know they represent the redeemed? It is clear
in many ways: they are connected with man, their general
form is human, they share Christ's throne, they are holy, they
are glorious, they worship and serve God, God inhabits — or
dwells in — them, their faces connect them with the camp of
Israel, their principal characteristic is life, their voice is both
the voice of God and the voice of a multitude.
93Berean 303
But perhaps the clearest indication of their identity is
when they sing to Christ (Rev. 5:9) —
"Thou hast redeemed us out of every nation, and hast made us
kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth."
The Cherubim symbolize mankind in perfection: fullness
of life, holiness, glory, unity, worship, service, knowledge,
unchangeableness and power.
Whenever the Cherubim occur—usually in times of great
change and tribulation for the people of God — they are symbols
of hope and promise and future glory for faithful men.
They proclaim the Everlasting Covenant —
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall
be with them, and be their God.n
The Cherubim occur in the Garden of Eden, the Mosaic
Tabernacle, the Psalms, Solomon's Temple, Isaiah, Ezekiel's
visions and Temple, and in Revelation.
They always appear in the nearest relationship to God: in
the Garden of Eden, excluding natural man; in the Most Holy,
where men could not enter; in Isaiah and Ezekiel they execute
the judgments of God. God rides on them and dwells in them.
In Rev. 4, they are about the throne and also in the MIDST of
the throne.
Christ is the Mercy Seat: the solid gold cover-lid of the Ark
of the Covenant The Cherubim, standing upon the foundations
of the Mercy Seat, are solid gold also, and of one piece
with him.
They are IN the Most Holy; they have access thereto by
sacrifice and prayer and unity with Christ, and in their future
solid gold state they will be there with him forever.
uAnd this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man"
— of One Man, THE Man. This is the basic key to their
identity: they are the "Man of One"— the Multitudinous Man.
They are described in this their first mention by Ezekiel as
"LIVING Creatures. "Their fundamental characteristic is LIFE
(just as natural man's fundamental characteristic is death).
And life not just as passive existence, but intense, endless,
tireless activity and motion — never stopping, never resting.
To our weak, mortal constitutions, even contemplation of this
is tiring. This helps us to realize in a faint way the glories and
joys of immortality. We are so used to mortality that we tend
to project its frailties and limitations into the eternal future. In
304 93 Berean
Ezekiel's vision, the Cherubim are always in flashing, lightning-
like motion, and in the Revelation they — "Rest not day
and night"— from rejoicing and worshipping God.
***
The meaning of the word aCherubinT is uncertain. Several
meanings have been suggested. Actually in this chapter
they are not spoken of as Cherubim, but in ch. 10 he speaks of
them at length again, and says at the end of the chapter —
"This is the living Creature that I saw under the God of Israel
by the river of Chebar, and I knew that they were the Cherubim"
(v. 20).
The simplest and most fitting explanation of Cherubim
(singular, Cherub, with a hard 'ch' sound in the Hebrew)
seems to be from Che-rab, 'like the Head' (compare Mi-chael,
'Who like God.') Certainly the basic idea of the Cherubim
is likeness to the Head — no meaning could possibly be more
fitting or significant.
And Rab, 'Head,' means greatness, especially numerical
greatness. It is translated 'great' 128 times, 'many' 190 times,
'multitude' 7 times. They are a "great multitude that no man can
number."
This matter of likeness to the Head is indeed the very heart
of the Truth. The Redeemed who form the Glorious Cherubim
figure will be so constituted SOLELYon the basis of their
LIKENESS to God and to Christ Only such as have spent their
lifetime endeavoring to develop this likeness will form part of
the heavenly host. Those who have spent their energies on
other things will not be there.
The Ark and the Cherubim were the heart and center of
the whole Mosaic system. This was the only object in the Most
Holy Place, and God's glory as it dwelt in the midst of Israel was
manifested "between the Cherubim." The Mosaic Cherubim
were of "beaten gold." Gold is Faith, and beaten gold is tried,
proved, adversity-tested Faith. In Ex. 25:20 we are told —
"Their faces shall look one to another; toward the Mercy Seat
shall their faces be."
The Cherubim looked perpetually toward each other and
toward the Mercy Seat. They looked nowhere else: their
interest was nowhere else. Only such as do likewise will
become part of them. In like manner, Ezekiel's Cherubim
"turned not" (1:12) —
"They went every one straightforward: whither the Spirit was to
go, they went."
93 Berean 305
Natural Israel never saw the glorious golden Cherubim:
the veil was in the way — the "veil of the flesh." The priests who
served in the Holy Place continually looked on representations
of the Cherubim, for they were woven on the inner veil
and the 10 inner curtains.
The Mosaic Tabernacle represents the wilderness journey;
the Solomon Temple represents the Millennial state. So
we find the Cherubim more prominent and visible in Solomon's
Temple. Representations of them are there found in
the outward appointments of the Temple, so they can be seen
by all the worshippers and not just by the priest. The Cherubim
multitude will in that day have been manifested to the
world.
In addition to the 2 golden Cherubim on the Mercy Seat,
Solomon's Most Holy Place had 2 great Cherubim 15 to 20 feet
high, of olive wood covered with gold. These are the 2 glorified
Olive-trees, or "Sons of Oil"— the golden Spirit-Oil (Zech.
4:14). This makes 4 Cherubim in the Most Holy: the complete
Cherubim number.
Likewise the outer doors of the Temple are 4-fold: 2
double-doors, and on them Cherubim are represented. And
again we find them portrayed on the 10 lavers in the court.
The first item David prepared for the Temple was gold for
the covering of the 2 giant olive wood Cherubim, and in the
reference recording this (1 Chr. 28:18), the Cherubim are
called the "Chariot of the Cherubim" — so-called because
they are God's vehicle of war and majesty.
This connects them both with Zechariah's Chariots (6:1)
and Ezekiers 4-square wheeled representation. In Zech. 6,
horses and chariots go forth from between 2 mountains of
brass. They are called the "four spirits of the heavens" which
subdue and quiet the earth. These 4 Chariots are the "Cherubim
of glory" which constitute the "Chariot of Yahweh." Psa.
104:3 says —
"He maketh the Clouds His Chariot."
These are the Clouds of glory that accompany Christ:
another symbol of the Redeemed. This was the symbolic
Chariot of God-Manifestation that Elisha saw when Elijah was
taken up. Habakkuk speaks (3:8) of God's wrath poured out
on the sea— the great, churning, mire-and-dirt sea of nations
— by God's "Chariots of salvation." In Ex. 25:22, God says —
3^ 93 Berean
"There I mill meet with thee, and I will commune with theefrom
between the 2 Cherubim."
In 1 Sam. 4:4, God is spoken of as "dwelling between* the
Cherubim, or, more correctly and meaningfully, as "inhabiting*
the Cherubim. God "inhabits* the righteous. Jesus said of
his faithful and obedient friends (John 14:23) —
*Wi?(GodandJesus) will come unto him, and make our abode
with him."
Paul told the Ephesian brethren (2:22) —
uYe also are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit." "Ye pre the Temple of God "
— God's holy dwelling-place. The Cherubim were at the very
center of the tabernacle and Temple symbol: the dwelling and
manifestation of God's glory. The basic significance of "Tabernacle*
or "Temple* is the dwellingplace of God. The idea of
a place of mediation or reconciliation is a secondary meaning
— a means to an end. The end itself is DWELLING.
The Hebrew word for Tabernacle is Mishkan, meaning
'dwelling place, residence, abidingplace.' It is related, in
meaning, to 'Shekihan,' the 'indwelling' — the Hebrew name
for the glory of God that rested on the Cherubim.
The Hebrew word for Temple' has a similar meaning, but
goes further in the sense of size, spaciousness and splendor. It
is often translated 'palace' — the dwellingplace of a King.
Both the Tabernacle and the Temple are frequently spoken of
in Scripture as the "house of God, "using the general, basic word
for 'house.'
We are told the Edenic Cherubim were "placed* at the east
of the Garden. The word for "placed* is shakan, "caused to
dwell* (from the same root word as Mishkan and Shekinah).
The Edenic Cherubim represented a promise, not a punishment.
Cain said —
"Behold, thou hast driven me out this day... and from Thy face
shall I be hid."
The Edenic Cherubim were God's throne, presence,
meeting-place, place of sacrifice and mercy.
"And, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great
cloud."
Ezekielfs "vision of God* came from the north (v. 4), and
the first thing he sees is a whirlwind and a cloud. In ch. 38,
Ezekiel speaks of God as "coming like a cloud" to cover the land,
and Daniel speaks of the King of the North as "coming like a
whirlwind."
93 Berean 307
This is the dark and troublous background of the vision.
The cloud and whirlwind from the north were the judgments
of God embodied in the Northern invader both of that day
and of the latter-days, but they were judgments heralding and
leading up to a manifestation of deliverance and glory.
The Northern invader, for all his power and pride, is but
an incidental aspect of the glorious and unfailing divine
purpose of self-manifestation. The major, permanent aspect
is the coming of Christ in the glory of his Father, with his saints
and this we MUST see in every step of the development of
Russia's position and power.
Russia is nothing in the picture: a mere blind instrument;
a mere brief and passing phase. The more bitter and evil and
threatening Russia gets against Israel, the closer the end is.
It is out of this whirlwind of judgment that the glory of the
Cherubim, and the Everlasting Rainbow, and the Eternal
Throne, appear. And so it will be when the latter-day Assyrian
comes in fury against God's land.
And out of the cloud a — * .. fire infolding itself...n (v. 4)
— or revolving with flashing brilliance — "And out of the midst
thereof as the color of amber" (v. 4).
This is not amber as we know it: all authorities agree upon
that. What it is, is not positively known, but most agree that it
is electrum — a mixture of gold and silver, which was much
used and highly prized in ancienttimes, andwhich has greater
brilliance and beauty than either gold or silver alone. The
Hebrew word is *chashmal,mof which a Bible dictionary says—
"Supposed by Gesenius and most to be a brilliant amalgam of
gold and silver."
And International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says —
Thothmes HI is represented as standing in his chariot of
electrum/
This is very fitting. Gold and silver combined are more
glorious than either alone. A refined golden Faith, tried and
perfected in the fire, is very glorious. But it is not glorious
enough for salvation. It must be combined with silver, for
silver is Ransom and Redemption.
Silver is the original word wherever we read "money" in
the Old Testament Literally translated, therefore, we have —
"The trespass silver, the sin silver" (2 Kings 12:16).
"The redemption silver" (Num. 3:49).
"The atonement silver" (Ex. 30:16). (To be continued, God willing)
309 93 Berean
After This Manner Pray Ye
Paul, interceding on behalf of the PhiUppian ecclesia, prays —
for their fellowship in the Gospel;
that their love might abound more and more in knowledge and
all judgment;
that they might approve things that are excellent;
that they might be sincere and without offense till the day of
Christ;
and that they might be filled with the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
—Phil. 1:5-11.
Paul, interceding for the Ephesian ecclesia, prays—
that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him;
that the eyes of their understanding being enlightened;
they might know what was the hope of their calling, and what
the riches of the glory of the Deity's inheritance in the saints,
and what the exceeding greatness of His power to reward all
who believe;
that they might be strengthened -with might by His Spirit;
that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith;
that being rooted and grounded in Him, they might comprehend,
with all saints, the breadth, and length, and depth, and
height of the love of Christ;
that they might be filled with the fulness of God;
and that the Ephesians, on their part, should make common
supplication for Paul that utterance might be given to him
and that he might be enabled to open his mouth boldly to
make known the mystery of the Gospel.
—Eph. 1:17-10; 3:16-19; 6:18,19.
Paul, interceding for the ecclesia at Colosse, prays—
that they might be filled with a knowledge of God's will in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that they might walk worthy of the Lord;
that they might be fruitful in every good work;
that they might increase in the knowledge of God;
that they might be strengthened with all might unto-alhpatience
and long-suffering, and joyfulness;
and that the Colossians, on their part, should pray for Paul,
that a door of utterance might be opened to him to speak
forth the mystery of Christ. —Col. i:9-ii; 4:3.
Paul, interceding for the Thessalonian brethren, prays—
that the God of Peace might sanctify them wholly;
that their whole spirit, and soul, and body, might be preserved
blameless to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ;
that God would count them worthy of the calling;
that He would fulfil in them all the good pleasure of His goodness,
and the work of faith with power;
that the name of Jesus Christ might be glorified in them, and
they in him;
that he would comfort their hearts, and establish them in every
good word and work;
and that, on their part, the Thessalonians should pray for Paul
and his fellow-laborers that the word of the Lord might have
free course and be glorified, and that they might be delivered
from unreasonable and wicked men.
—1 Thess. 5:2,3; 2 Thess. 1:11.12; 2:17; 3:1,2.
93 Berean 309
Paul, to Timothy, exhorts—
that intercessory prayer and thanksgiving be made for all men,
for kings, and for all who are in authority that we may lead
quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty;
and he also prays himself for Timothy, that the Lord Jesus
Christ would be with his spirit, and that grace also might be
With them. —1 Tim. 2:1.2; 4:22.
Peter also prays—
that grace and peace might be multiplied to the brethren scattered
abroad;
and that God would perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle
them. 1 Pet. 1:2; 5:10.
Paul invoked grace and peace upon the Corinthians, and prayed—
that the God of love and peace might be with them;
and that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit might be with them all.
—2 Cor. 1:2; 13:11, 14.
Christ also prayed for his disciples, and taught them to intercede—
for the coming of the Kingdom and that the will of God might
be done on earth as it is in heaven;
for those who despitefully used them;
and that they might not enter into temptation.
—Matt. 6:10; 5:44; 24:40.
David also exhorts to—
pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and himself prays that Jehovah
would arise and judge the heathen;
that he would do good to Zion, and build the walls of Jerusalem;
that God's way might be known upon earth and His saving
health among all nations;
that the nations might be made to be glad and sing for joy, by
the establishment of His kingdom on earth;
that God would cause His face to shine upon Israel;
that all the people might praise Him;
that all the earth might be filled with His glory;
that Jehovah would arise into His rest with the Ark of His
strength;
that God's priests might be clothed with righteousness, and His
saints shout for joy;
that God would remember and revenge the desolations of
Jerusalem;
that He would hear the sighing of the prisoner and preserve the
people appointed to die. —Psa. 9:19; 51:18; 67:1-5; 132:8,9; 79; 122:6
— Extracted from Berean, 1954
What To Watch For In Relation To Europe
A FRATERNAL GATHERING ADDRESS
(Continued)
Since France's vote Europe has struggled as to how to
proceed. A few of the original proponents have doggedly
decided to forge ahead. But even these have revealed that
financially they are isolationists at heart. The rulers of the
Exchequer of Germany have defied the currencies of France,
Italy and Britain. Europe still tries to erect the Leg elements
of the Roman Empire on a divided foundation. Dan. 2:33 —
310 93 Berean
stands.
"THE KINGDOM SHALL
BE DIVIDED" DANIEL 2
NEBUCHADNEZZAR* Dft£AM»~a
—"HIS L.KOS Or IRON,
I'M FEET PfHT * WON *MKT Of CLAY."
I T>C FOURTH KINGDOM awuKSTMNO A S M O N :
"His legs of iron, his feet part of iron, and part of clay." Twenty-six
years of plastering these two elements together by Europe's
statesmen, and now they step back from unity. God's Word still
There 75 a necessity for
all these elements to be
joined in a fragile bond of
matrimony, before the
Divine purpose is brought
to the final drama of the
ages. Daniel's interpretation
to the Babylonian
monarch shows this brittle
commonwealth standing
erect, worshipped by the
world —
"This image's head of fine
gold, breast and arms of
silver, belly and thighs of
brass, legs of iron, feet of
iron and clay.
"It is commanded, O
people, that ye fall down
and worship the golden image"
(Dzn. 2-3).
"The Ten Horns are Ten
Kings, these have one mind
and shall give their power
and strength unto the
Beast" (Rev. 17:12-13).
Presently the
33 His legs of iron, his feet part
of iron and part of day.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which
smote the image upon his feet
that were of iron and day, and
brake them to pieces.
Moreover, we cannot exclude the possibility
that the Pandora's box of the past would be
opened. Even if a large free-trade zone
were retained, this would still spell the end
of efforts toward a common foreign and defense
policy and the beginning of a new era
of nationalism. Q
from the liberal weekly "Die Zeit" of Hamburg.
and particularly Europe is passing through a period of realignment,
as each nationality strives for its own individuality. This
actually sets out the conditions prevailing before the Russian
Revolution of 1917 and WWI. The system in Rome hadlost its
Temporal Power by the efforts of Garibaldi in AD 1868-70.
With this new situation, the Divine record introduces a new
Papal representation or symbol for consideration.
This is shown in Rev. 16:13,
where the Frog (French) influence
is operative toward the
gathering of all nations to the
Battle of God Almighty, at
Armageddon.
93Bman
"THEFALSEPROPHET." This marks a change in the characteristics
of the Papal system, from the time it had power to
use its Lion Mouth in persecution of the Saints and the
Witnesses. The Witnessing power having been resurrected by
the effects of the French Revolution, the same Earth class
under the Frog nation of Democracy, was enabled to exert its
influence to remove the temporal possessions of the Image of
the Beast. However, because this system continues its utterances
in blasphemy against God, it is descibed as 'a prophet/
And in harmony with the Lamb Horn identity of the Two
Horned Beast, so the term prophet is used to link the system
defined as 'Christian'. But as a prophet, it falls into the class
of all of Israel's deceitful prophets of old, and is designated as
"THE FALSE PROPHET "
This is the system
which has existed
from AD 1870
to the present. Its
first declaration was
the 'Bulla' which
enunciated the
'Infallibility of the
Popes.' Any proclamation
made from
the Papal throne
(Ex Cathedra) must be construed as 'INFALLIBLE.'
Thus the identity with the laws of the Medes and the
Persians, a law which changes not, hereby a link is established
with the Silver element of the Daniel Image, or the Persian
Bear Empire. This is the system which still operates in Europe,
and has a stranglehold over the hearts and minds of most of
its inhabitants. Truly the wrath of God is yet to be poured out
in fury upon that Continent.
All that happens in Europe and on the Continent is in
some way leading to that dread day when this power is finally
removed from the face of the earth —
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen—for her sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her
even as she rewarded the saints, double unto her double according
to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double —
so much torment and sorrow give her: Her plagues shall come in
one day, death and mourning, and famine: and she shall be
312 93Berean
utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord whojudgeth her"
(Rev. 18:2-8).
"A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast
it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that great city
Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at air
(v. 21).
All things on the European scene are now tending to bring
the fulfillment of this 2000 year old prophecy. The Mighty
Angel is a symbol of Christ and the True Saints, possessors of
Divine power to bring all things to their glorious sequel, the
establishment of God's Kingdom over all Europe and the
whole world. "Even so Come, Lord Jesus."
There is not much time left before that desired event.
Enough has been fulfilled to confirm without any doubt that
we are in TheLastDay,' The Latter Days, 'or The TimeoftheEnd.'
We do not need to witness every detail before the return of the
Master. Time is required for the Day ofjudgment (the Bema)
to transpire. How long this assize will take we know not. Bro.
Thomas did not offer any conclusions in this unrevealed
matter. This is for our faith and patience.
But when that day arrives, and the
summons goes forth, "theMaster is come
and calleth for thee," there is "time no
longer" for any to bring their lives into
harmony with the commandments of
the Almighty.This is certain, that day
has not yet arrived. "God is longsuffering,
and not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come."
Then suddenly the words of Rev. 22:11 become a reality —
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he which is filthy,
let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous
still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still"
May we each be found at that awesome day, among the
class who are righteous and holy, that we may be identified as,
"Blessed are they that DO his commandments, that we may have
right to the tree of life. "-EF.H.
IN private, watch your thoughts; in the family, watch your temper; in
company, watch your tongue.—RJl.
93 Berean 313
The True Christadelphian Ecclesia
The Christadelphian Ecclesia must have Love.
This is MY COMMANDMENT" (says Jesus) "that ye love
one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12; 13:34).
aWe know that we have passed from death into life—
because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death" (1 John 3:14-16).
"ABOVE ALL THINGS, have fervent love among yourselves,
for love shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).
"ABOVE ALL . . . put on love, the bond of PERFECTNESS."
"Let us not love in word, but in DEED and in truth"
It may be objected that we cannot force love; but it should
be remembered that love is a spiritual principle required by
the Law of Christ, and it should be our pleasure to obey that
Law. If we cannot do this we cannot please him.
***
The Christadelphian Ecclesia must have the Spirit of Christ
"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is NONE OF
HIS . . . as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are Sons
of God."
"Because ye are Sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His
Son into your hearts: IF ye are Sons, then are ye heirs of God!"
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness" (Gal. 5:22-23).
The Spirit of Christ is a gentle Spirit—
"When he was reviled he reviled not again, when he
suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to Him
that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23).
***
The Christadelphian Ecclesia must have a living Faith.
"Without Faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6).
The Faith that pleases God is a Faith that works—
"... works by Love" (Gal. 5:6)... "purifieth the heart" (Acts
15:9) . . . "overcometh the world" (1 John 5:4).
"Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).
***
Works of the Flesh not tolerated.
The Christadelphian Ecclesia, having CRUCIFIED the
flesh with its affections and lusts, does not tolerate the works
of the flesh as enumerated in Gal. 5:18-21, of which we
appropriately mention—
314 93 Berean
"Enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension"
(RV).
It will be observed that the apostle says with great emphasis
that —
They that do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom."
***
Fellowship in Christ
The Christadelphian Ecclesia knows that—
"If we SAY we have fellowship with Christ, and walk in
darkness, we LIE . . . IF we walk in the light, as he is in the
Light, we have fellowship with one another . .. and truly our
fellowship is with the Father and Son" (1 John 1).
She knows that righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness,
no concord of Christ and Belial, no communion
of light and darkness. She knows that she walks in the light
by keeping the commandments of Christ, who says—
"IF ye love me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS" (John
14:15).
"Ye are my friends, IF ye do whatsoever I command you"
"Why call ye me 'Lord, Lord/ and do not the things I say?"
Christ's brethren have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness. The tares and the wheat cannot grow
together in Christ. They can, and do, in the world.
***
"A Spiritual House."
The Ecclesia, having a LIVING Faith, is made up of—
" . . . Lively stones, built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ."
It is the—
"Temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in it, and if
any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy."
Christadelphians are—
"A people taken OUT of the Gentiles for the Name of the
Lord."
They are, therefore—
"A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,
apeculiar people—that they might SHOWFORTH the praises
of Him Who hath called them OUT OF darkness into His
marvelous light"
***
The Christadelphian Ecclesia is the Bride of Christ
— and knows that when her Bridegroom comes she must have
93 Berean 315
on the wedding garment, if she would be presented to him
as—
UA GLORIOUS Ecclesia, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing, but should be HOLY, and WITHOUT BLEMISH".
The "spots and wrinkles" CAN BE OBLITERATED by the
righteousness of Christ, who is always our Advocate with the
Father: provided—that we confess AND FORSAKE our sins,
and pray earnestly for mercy and forgiveness.
***
Her Work and Purity.
The Christadelphian Ecclesia is engaged in the work of
"making READY a People PREPARED for the Lord." And
having a glorious Hope—based on great and precious promises—
she will purify herself by—
" . . . PURGING OUT the old leaven of malice and
wickedness, keeping the Feast with unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth."
Her work is not a work of ignorance and indifference, which
says,
"Christ fellowshipped Judas..."
"Let the tares and the wheat grow together . . ."
"Everyone must give an account for himself. . ."
"I have nothing to do with what another says or does .. ."
"Let us have peace . . ."
"You must not judge . . . , e t c . . . ."
— and this (to be said by) the Ecclesia, or Body of Christ, the
"pillar and ground of the Truth," and the "Temple of God" in
which His Spirit Dwells!!
***
Her Warfare.
The Christadelphian Ecclesia knows she has a great conflict
with foes within and without—the world, the flesh, and
the devil—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the
pride of life.
And if she can be the victor in the warfare, through Christ
who strengthened her, she will receive an eternity of blessed
life for her reward. And this the gracious gift of God through
Christ
She knows the gate is strait and the way narrow that leads
to life, and though there be few who find it, she is not
discouraged. She strives to the end with an honest, sincere,
and pure motive. And what she lacks, through the weakness
of the flesh, her Redeemer—in whom she trusts—will supply
316 93 Berean
by his all-prevailing righteousness to her unspeakable joy and
everlasting blessedness. —Omstadeiphian, 1887
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
VIOLENCE: THE SPIRALING RATE OF TEEN VIOLENCE
The crime scenes are becoming numerous and common. Law
enforcement and public-health officials describe a virtual "epidemic"
of youth violence in the last five years, spreading from the
inner cities to the suburbs. "We're talking about younger and
younger kids committing more and more serious crimes. Violence is
becoming a way of life." Much of it, butby no means all, can be found
in poor neighborhoods, where a disproportionate number of victims
and victimizers live side by side. But what separates one group
from another is complex: being neglected or abused by parents; witnessing
violence at an early age on the street or in the house; living
in a culture that glamorizes youth violence in decades of movies, and
the continuing mystery of evil. To the list must be added the most
dangerous ingredient; the widespread availability of guns to kids. In
a recent Harvard School of Public Health survey released recently, 59
percent of children in the sixth through the twelfth grades said they
"could get a handgun if they wanted one." More than a third of the
students surveyed said they thought guns made it less likely that they
would live to "a ripe old age."
Violence is devastating this generation, as surely as polio cut
down young people forty years ago. United States Attorney General
Janet Reno says youth violence is "the greatest single crime problem
in America today." Between 1986 and 1991, the last year for which
statistics are available, the number of teenagers arrested for murder
around the country increased by an astounding 85 percent (Dept. of
Justice). In 1991, 10 year olds to 17 year olds accounted for 17
percent of all violent-crime arrests. Law enforcement officials believe
that figure is even higher now. Teenagers are not just the perpetrators;
they're also the victims. According to the FBI, more than 2,200
murder victims in 1991 were under 18—an average of more than six
young people killed every day. The Justice Department estimates
that each year, nearly a million young people between twelve and
nineteen are raped, robbed or assaulted, often by their peers. The
true number of teen violence is not really known, but probably
higher, as a certain amount of violence goes unmeasured.
The casual attitude toward violence is most acute in inner-city
neighborhoods, where many youngsters have grown up to the
sounds of sirens and gunshots in the night and the sight of bloodspattered
sidewalks in the morning. After so many years in a war
zone, trauma begins to seem normal.
93 Berean 317
Teen crime is notjust done by boys. On the streets of Los Angeles
and New York some girls carry small guns in their purses and razor
blades in their mouths, in case they need to protect themselves — or
to victimize someone ripe for the taking.
Unlike adult criminals, who usually act alone, violent teens
normally move in a pack. That's typical teen behavior: hanging
together. But these are well-equipped armies.
A NEW AND DANGEROUS BREED
Why are there more bad kids t And what is making the bad kids so bad ?
Some researchers believe it is part of a long developmental process
that begins in early childhood. Kids who grow up in families where
there is child abuse and maltreatment, spouse abuse and a history of
violent behavior soon learn to act out physically when they are
frustrated or upset. Poverty exacerbates the situation.
Problems in school also increase the likelihood that the youngster
will turn to violence. People who work with young criminals
report that many are barely literate. Learning disabilities are common
among teens in the probation system.
THE VIOLENCE IN OUR HEADS
Teenagers don't invent violence, they learn it. To a considerable
extent, they act out the attitudes and ethics of the adults closest to
them. Thus any study of the causes of teen crime might look first at
the violence grown-ups have been carrying in their heads. In the last
thirty years, Americans have developed a culture of violence surpassing in
its pervasiveness anything we experienced before. It shows up in our
speech, in our play, more than ever in the entertainments we fashion
and fancy and even in business style. "There's an extraordinary
degree of violence in the language, and it is the window to the actual
feelings of the culture." —NWS 8/2; Tm 8/2
Although the above coverage concentrates on the United States,
it is applicable, and probably existing, at least in every country where
the brotherhood is found. But fittingly, the US, more than likely
leads the world in the problem. Americans, like the ancient Greeks
at their apex, represents the flesh at its best and worst.
The teenagers of today are the responsible adult class of tomorrow.
The type and degree of philosophy, conscientiousness, and
respect of today's teens, are the blueprints of the next generation,
civilization and society that is just over the horizon. It is a sign of a
coming disaster.
It is true that many teenagers have goals of what most would
describe as "healthy and responsible standards — the kids growing
up next door." But it is well known that it takes a certain, dominant
percentage of any society to be able to maintain and control "civilized
standards." That "dominant" percentage seems to be quickly
318 93 Berean
falling. Ratio-wise, it takes a much smaller percentage to create
general chaos, than it does to maintain general "order."
If it is something new to modern research, it is nothing new to
Bible students that children, for the most part, are a product of their
environment: They will act out what they have been subjected to and
who they are mostly influenced by. They are influenced by who or
what they are around most. (There are exceptions.)
Thus, today's failing disaster of societies' teens is a primary
result of the decadence and degeneracy of their parents. Although it
does not stop there, the real problem certainly starts there. It is a sign
of significant deterioration of family life and other factors for at
least the past eighteen years.
Aspan of social deterioration is further proven by the other facts
of crime in western society. While children and teens account for an
alarming amount, adults — their parents—still account for the majority
of crime. While teens are following in the footsteps of their
mentors, new dark patterns are developing in adult violent crimes.
Where shootings used to be "behind closed doors," shootings are
now occurring openly in business offices, mass shootings in Post
Offices (a series); killings are now happening in courthouses; defendants
and plaintiffs are shot or killed in the courtrooms, during the
trials. Some judges are now carrying guns to court for protection.
And the latest crime trend is random-car-shooting, where people are
being murdered by passersby, for no apparent motives. To a degree,
some of the crimes appear to be an open deviance of society, and how
society has failed.
There are a growing number of analysts who believe that a major
reason for the social and moral deterioration of the youth is due to
TV. A non-Ghristadelphian writer states:
"Parents debated the value of violence in fairy tales until they
realized that a moral appeal is imbedded in the stories. Television
dramas built of violence often lack a moral component.
"If there was some obvious point, moral, or warning in the
present vehicle, there could be some justification for its use. I
wonder how the Truth ever survived, was spread, was communicated
before the 1950s, when the TV box was invented? The reason it is so
profitable, it pleases men and women not to think, not to use their
minds, but only thrill the flesh. The flesh is lazy, sluggard, indolent,
until it is crossed or angered, then it comes to life in the only manner
and expressions it has learnt, IN VIOLENCE.
"In most cases children just act out what they are taught by the
indifference of the parents, placing offspring in front of TV. The
child is not the problem, the parents have missed their opportunity
to teach their children aright"
93 Bertan 319
Continuing: "It's impossible to measure the effect of visual
violence that beams through a TV screen straight into the bosom of
the family day after day, night after night. Common sense suggests
that gratuitous violence dulls awareness, making everyone less sensitive
to the cruelty man can inflict on his fellow man. How much
worse for children, who forge their values, such as they are, and
imitate behavior according to what they see around them. Busy
parents are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of movies and
television shows vividly laced with brutality. They have a difficult
time keeping up with what their children watch and knowing enough
to separate the harmful from the wholesome, the savage from
serene, the aggressively malevolent from the redeeming."
"It's not simply violence; it's the idea of television opening doors
to worlds we do not want our children to know about just yet. It's
afternoon soap operas and talk shows, dealing with matters unmentionable
a generation ago; it's hundreds of blaring inducements each
day, beseeching our children to watch, to buy, to want. There is little
time to sit and think and reflect. And it's all presented so skillfully,
so attractively, that we as parents feel that we are incapable of
presenting our own sense of the world to our kids. Violence on
television? It's shorthand, I think for the violence that our whole
modern cultural apparatus does to our sense of ease."
Paul wrote in his final message, "This know also, that in the last
days perilous times shall come; men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, without natural affection —fierce, despisers of those that are
good, traitors, lovers of pleasures more than lovers ofGod"(2Tim. 3:1,3).
But it will not always be the same. God has decreed a day when
all this shall change, and men shall serve God in the beauty of
holiness, rather than live daily and hourly in unholiness. Children
shall be a praise and a delight to the mortal inhabitants of that order,
and an honor unto the One in Whom all live and move and have their
very being.
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 324)
subjects off Politics, Resurrectlonal Responsibility, and a reprinting off the
Hymn Book in Welsh —
1) No one, realizing what Christ meant when he said, "Ye are not
of the world even as I am not of the world," would find it
necessary to ask whether a brother can consistently accept—let
alone seek—a post among the "Principalities and Powers, "local
or otherwise, of the present age.
2) Hymn Book In Welsh: Bro. Phillips, of Pontypridd, announces
320 93Berean
the publication of a Christadelphian Hymn Book in the Welsh
language, with music in the tonic sol-fa notation.
3) Your construction of the remark is entirely correct— that it
had reference to the unscriptural contention of some, that men
are not responsible till after baptism. Men are offered the
forgiveness of their sins by the Gospel, which shows their sins are
held against them. This was the sole argument. It was never
intended to suggest that condemnation has not passed upon all
men through Adam, or that this could be annulled without
sacrifice.
(We notice that at this time bro. Roberts was already dealing with the subject
of who was responsible to the resurrection. Right from the start of the Issue
being discussed In the Brotherhood, he was very clear on the matter. He
taught that light or understanding of the Gospel brought about responsibility.
This was In opposition to the view that baptism brought responsibility.)
***
THE article taken from the writings of Dr. Thomas' for this month's issue of
the Christadelphian, was entitled, "Hades — Where And What Is It?" In his
remarks, bro. Thomas looked at the root meaning of the word "Hades". After
showing that It represented the grave, bro. Thomas stated —
Temporarily, victory is on the side of death and his companion
Hades; butwhen he and she have come to "the End", their power
and victory over the faithful will prove to have been without
permanent results. Then, "O death, where is thy sting? O Hades,
where thy victory?" Both abolished with the abolition of every
curse, for sin will be served no more on earth; and therefore,
"the wages of sin," which ais death," will no more be earned and
paid; so that Hades having no more victims for her devouring
maw, is herself destroyed — she dies for the want of sustenance.
***
Under the title of "Meditations" these exhortational points were brought out
by the writer —
1) Are you wishful to get all the good possible from the Bible? If
so, approach it in no careless or frivolous manner. Read it
seriously, reverently, yea, even tremblingly. It is the voice of
Almighty God speaking.
2) "Keep thy heart with all diligence" (Prov. 4:23). This is counsel
for the upright Why should they need it? Christ gives the
reply — "Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness."
3) Let us not lose sight of the reward. In the hope of the future
lies the power of faithfulness. Let us, therefore, still the troubles
of the present by considering the joys of the future.
(The basic purpose for the Christadelphian Magazine, under the editorship of
bro. Roberts, was two-fold: to present the Truth clearly and concisely, and to
exhort and encourage and direct the brethren and sisters of Christ unto
eternal salvation. All through these "Meditations," we can see the reason for
the comments. In each of these Items there Is food for thought that can help
us to attain to the Kingdom, If we arm obedient to our calling.)
93Berean 321
THERE was another eight pages dedicated to the subject matter that had been
before the Brotherhood for several months, on the subject of "The Day Of His
Coming." In this section there were several more letters printed from a
number of brethren as to the time periods of 1260,1290 and 1335.
***
Bro. Roberts again covered various subjects in his "Answers to Correspondents".
The subjects considered were: "The Gathering of the Saints"; "If a
Brother Sin — In Doctrine or Practice"; "The Brain and the Mind"; "Faith
Cures"; "Buying Swords and Perishing Therewith" and "The Responsibility
of the Disobedient".
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
On Monday, Aug. 8th (Bank Holiday) we had our usual tea
meeting. It was very largely attended, both by Birmingham and
brethren and sisters from various parts. After the opening
address, by bro. Roberts, on the subject of the evening ("Purging
out the old Leaven"), the matter was taken up and profitably
elaborated in various ways by brethren . . . in the order of their
names (drawn by ballot).
The children's midsummer treat took place on Tuesday, Aug.
9th, the day after the Bank Holiday. The children assembled in
the Temperance Hall at 9 o'clock in the morning, marched to
New Street Railway Station (to the number of about 250 with
friends included), entered a train in which carriages had been
reserved, and rode to Sutton Coldfield, about eight miles distance.
Here we got out, proceeded to the camping ground in the
park, viz., to a marquee pitched in the woods, near Holly Hurst
Cottage. Here there was a hymn sung, a brief address delivered,
and buns distributed.
Then the company dispersed, each their several ways, some to
saunter in the woods, some to read, some to boating, etc.
Coming together at dinner time, there was again another dispersal
for three hours. Final muster was at 4:15, where we marched
to the Railway Station, where we got into the train that conveyed
us to Birmingham in time for tea at 6 o'clock, followed by the distribution
of the prizes for marks made during the year. The
whole program was nicely over by 8:30. The day was superb, the
enjoyment full and thanksgiving abundant for God's unfailing
mercies.
***
The following interesting item was also mentioned in the news from the
Birmingham ecclesia —
During the delivery of the City Hall Lectures, a company of
theatricals were passing through Birmingham on their way to
keep an appointment at Cheltenham, and seeing the flaming
announcements on the wall, "Christ In The Earth Again," they
decided to attend the one due that night—the second lecture.
Three listened for a short time and then went out. The fourth
stayed, and was deeply impressed with what he heard. The
impression was so deep that he could not throw it off, and he
322 93 Berean
resolved to abandon the stage and to turn to some occupation
in harmony with the belief of the Gospel.
(Let us note that our position today, as it was in the past, is to keep the Truth
shining pure and bright in this evil generation, it must be a light to all those
who are searching for Truth. In each generation there will be those who will
be called to the light of the glorious Gospel message. Even In the most
unlikely scenario, the Gospel message will be heeded. Let us do our part in
speaking It to the lost)
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
The Covenant with David"
"The Time of the Dead"
The Faith Which was Once Delivered to the Saints: Where Shall
We Find it?"
"A Wonderful Land and a Wonderful People"
"The Solution to the Problems of the Age"
The Old Roman Empire as Revealed to Daniel"
Theology and the Devil"
The Iron and Clay Kingdoms"
"Russia: Prophetic Outline of Her Future"
The Binding of the Devil for a Thousand Years"
The Papacy: Its Uprise and Character According to the
Scriptures — Its Approaching Terrible Destruction"
"An Hour with the 23rd of Isaiah"
"Did Jesus the Christ Die as a Substitute for Men?"
The Doctrine of Going to Heaven, a Strong Delusion,
According to the Scriptures"
August Answers — "Sake"
26.Truth's [2 John 2] 1.Moses [Num. 11:29]
27. Doubt [ 1 Cor. 9:10] 2. David's [ 1 Kgs. 11:32]
28. Favourable [Jdg. 21:22] 3. Mercies' [Psa. 6:4]
29. Grieveth [Ruth 1:13] 4. Written [Rom. 4:23]
30. Ill [Psa. 106:32] 5. Suffer [Acts 9:16]
31.Place [Gen. 18:26] 6.Peace [Isa. 62:1]
32.Question [1 Cor. 10:25] 7.Righteousness1 [Matt 5:10]
33. Christ's [ 1 Cor. 4:10] 8. Elect's [Matt. 24:22]
34. Upon [Jonah 1:12] 9.Works' [Jn. 14:11]
35. Reproach [Psa. 69:7] lO.Agrippa [Acts 2:7]
36.Children's [Job 19:17] ll.Things [2 Cor. 4:15]
37. Chosen [1 Kgs. 11:32] 12. Eat [1 Cor. 10:28]
38. Entreated [Gen. 12:16] 13. Gospel's [1 Cor. 9:23]
39. Man [2 Sam. 18:5] 14. Hated [Luke 21:17]
4O.Israelfs [2 Sam. 5:12] 15.Rulers [Mark 13:9]
41. Name's [Psa. 25:11] 16.Herodias' [Mk. 6:17]
42. Sanctified [Jn. 17:19] 17. F a l s e l v [ M a t t 5 : 1 X]
43. Apollos [1 Cor. 4:6] 18. Plowed [Micah 3:12]
44.Name's [Rev. 2:3] 19.Truth's [Psa. 115:1]
45. Sat [Mark 6:26] 20. Poor [2 Cor. 8:9]
46. Rebuke [Mai. 3:11] 21. Elect's [2 Tim. 2:10]
47. Remember [Lev. 26:45] 22. Father's [Rom. 11:28]
48.Babylon [Isa. 43:14] 23.Glad [John 11:15]
49.Righteousness's [1 Pet. 3:14] 24.Kings [1 Chr. 16:21]
50. Egyptian's [Gen. 39:5] 25. Word's [Mk. 4:17]
93 Berean 323
Hundred A g O Christadeiphian, September, 1893
IN the "Notes" section of the Christadelphlan Magazine for September, in
answer to various items that arose, bro. Roberts made comments on the
(Continued on page 320)
BIBLE PUZZLE — "That Day"
1. Lord alone shall be . . . in that day
2. Alas! for that day is . . .
3. That day when I make up my. ..
4. That day there shall be root of...
5. Many.. . shall be joined to the
Lord in that day
6. Save them in that day as the . . . of
His people
7. That day will I make a . . .
8. That day will I make . . . a
burdensome stone
9. That day shall Branch of Lord be...
10. That day, saith Lord, I will.. .
every house
11. That day, I will seek to...all nations
that come against Jerusalem
12. That day there shall be a ...opened
13. That day a man shall cast his . . . to
moles and bats
14. That day living... shall go out
from Jerusalem
15. The Lord shall be . . . over all the
earth in that day
16. That day there shall be upon . . . of
the horses, holiness
17. That day there shall be no more
the . . . in the house
18. More . . . in that day for Sodom
19. That day the mountains shall drop
down new. ..
20. That day, I will cause the sun to go
down a t . . .
21.1 will drink no more of the . . . of
the vine until that day
22. That day will I raise up...of David
23. That day shall a man look to his...
24. That day shall there be a . . . out of
Egypt
25.... will say to me in that day
26.... shall give me at that day
27. That day shall not come, except
there come a . . . away
28. That day should . . . you as a thief
29. Name of City from that day shall
be the Lord is . . .
30. Find . . . of the Lord in that day
31. Said in that day,.. .this is our God
32. That day shall this song be sung in
the land of...
33. That day when Israel... safely
34. That day there shall be great...
35. That day I will... bow of Israel
36. That day shall ye say... the Lord
37. That day shall his strong cities be a
. . . bough
38. That day shall 5 cities of Egypt
speak the . . . of Canaan
39. That day Israel shall be the . . .
with Egypt
40. That day I will call my servant...
41. That day the Lord will. .. host of
high ones
42. That day great... shall be blown
43. Men of ..shall be cut off in that day
44 shall know Lord in that day
45. That day come upon you . . .
46. That day, he which shall be upon...
47. That day 8c that..knoweth no man
48. That day shall. .. prepare for
himself
Beautiful
Bells
Break
Canaanite
Covenant
Destroy
Dwelleth
Egyptians
Eliakim
Exalted
Falling
Flock
Forsaken
Fountain
Fruit
Great
Highway
Hour
Housetop
Idols
Jerusalem
Jesse
Jewels
Judah
Judge
King
Language
Lo
Maker
Many
Mercy
Nations
Noon
Overtake
Praise
Prince
Punish
Shaking
Smite
Tabernacle
There
Third
Tolerable
Trumpet
Unawares
War
Waters
Wine
$7.00 U.S. per year Printed in the USA
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$9.50(Aust.)
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Aberdare, M. Glam, CF44 6LN South Wales, U.K. £4-50 (U.K.)
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Canada N5V 2X1 $8.50 (Can.)
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(U.S.)
324 93 Berean
VOL. 81, NO. 1.0, ISSUE 850 OCTOBER, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
"They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
ECCLESIAL NEWS: Detroit 326
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 327
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
Subject To Vanity — In Hope 330
LIGHT AND DARKNESS (bro. Roberts) 332
THE LIVING CREATURES AND THE BOW (cont'd) (bro. Growcott) 338
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN RELATION TO RUSSIA 342
Poem: The Day Is Coming Fast 350
A Fire In My Bones 351
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
RUSSIA; EASTERN EUROPE: The Bosnian War —
A Lesson In Shame; BRITAIN: Its Future Position In
The Latter Days 352
September Answers: "That Day" 359
100TCARSAGO:
Notes; 'Woman, Married And Unmarried'; Thoughts
On Responsibility, Resurrection, Reconciliation;
The Day Of His Coming; Answers To Correspondents;
Editorial Comments; Birmingham Miscellanies;
Different Bible Lectures 360
Bible Puzzle: "Lord Jesus" 360
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring it. Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like it, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
Ecclesial News
DETROIT, Mich — Elpis Israel class 10 am; Memorial 11:30 am — bro. Fred
Higham, 20549 Palm Meadow Dr., Clinton Twp., Michigan, U.S.A. 48036;
phone (810) 468-8603.
GREETING to all the ecclesias in the glorious Hope of Salvation.
We have been encouraged by visits of brethren and sisters since
our last report From Houston, sis. Carolyn McLaren, and sis. Myrtle
Packer, and bro. and sis. Don Newcomer; from Lampasas, bro. and
sis Braden Edwards; from Canton, bro. and sis. Don Miller, and sis.
Joyce Edwards; from London, bro. and sis. David Clubb and bro.
Jason Clubb; bro. John Phillips from Newark; and bro. Jim Rankin
from Holladay. A number of these have joined with our ecdesia in
observance of the Memorial meetings. Bre. David Clubb, and Don
Miller exhorted us faithfully in the Lord's service.
Meanwhile, we have enjoyed visits and associations with brethren
and sisters in other ecclesias and the kindnesses extended to us upon
those occasions. At London, and Canton, we again attended the
Sunday School exercises and the Memorial assemblies. At the London
Northeastern Gathering we were strengthened by many brethren
and sisters from afar. Again being able to attend the Hye, Texas
Gathering, opportunity was provided for discussions upon the Word
of God, considering the message of hope and comfort provided by
daily scripture readings, comments upon the record of Genesis and
Matthew, and the Gospel in daily public lectures. At Hye we were
encouraged by many brethren and sisters, including bre. Ted and
Peter Mingham from Brisbane, Australia ecclesia, and the opportunities
of mutual discussions of those aspects of importance to our
eternal salvation. These assemblies were made possible by the mercies
of our Heavenly Father, and through the kindnesses of the local
Texas ecclesias.
More recently having attended the Canton ecclesia we associated
in their annual Sunday School Picnic in an adjacent open-air meeting.
This was similar to many out-door assemblies during the centuries
since the Apostolic Age; of the many or few meeting in observance
of God's redeeming love in Christ Jesus' life, death and
resurrection. Some such outdoor meetings were forced upon the
faithful due to persecution by their enemies.
Our circumstances were voluntary and very peaceful. Surrounded
by evidences of the Divine hand in many aspects of creation, while
the speakers' remarks directed our thoughts to the day of blessing
(Continued on page 356)
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
326 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas' Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
(This preaching of Campbellism by Mr. Henderson in Louisville had
been eminently successful from their position. Over one hundred
persons, practically unaware of the message of Scripture in any
degree, had been immersed. Bro. Thomas asks the question, "what
do these people know of the Covenants of Promise, of the Restoration
of the throne of David, or even of the Hope of Israel for which
the Apostle Paul was a prisoner in chains, of the Hope of the
Kingdom and Glory in association with God and Christ in a future
Kingdom on this earth?" Such a class submitting to a Campbellite
baptism is in no better position than that effected by infant immersion
or the sprinkling process.
The State of Kentucky had been the cradle of the "Disciple"
movement, and was widely accepted there. However the location of
Campbellite authority was Bethany, Perm., at that time. Thus bro.
Thomas' frequent remarks about the "Bethanian" teaching. Bro.
Thomas had extended this discussion because his friend in Louisville
was identified with the "Disciples," though no t a believer in their
tenets. He was in the position that the Doctor accepted during the
years in which he was searching for the foundation of the Word
between 1832 and 1847.
The friend had previously been identified with the "Millerites,"
a body believing in the Return of Christ to the Earth, who set dates
for this to happen, which had all frustrated by the passage of time.
This preaching was begun by William Miller, who had been visited by
bro. Thomas early after his separation from the "Disciples." Some
of Miller's followers had accepted the Truth, after hearing bro.
Thomas on his first trip to see them. Millerites were known as
"Adventist" (from the "Advent" or "appearing of Christ" in the
earth). Millerite organizations disappeared, but "Adventism" is
continued in such organizations as the "Advent Christians", and the
"Seventh Day Adventists.")
Over a hundred people, of infinitely small intelligence in
the scriptures (which is the ordinary condition of the public
mind), but, in the general, assenting to the opinion that Jesus
is the Son of God in some sense; and that he died for sin in
some sense; was buried, and rose again—opinions and facts
universally assented to by the Apostasy and traditionally delivered
to the unreasoning multitude by its conscience-keepers
— over a hundred of such people as these were persuaded by
Mr. Henderson's oratory to be immersed in water for the
remission of their sins!
93Berean 327
What do these people know of the "covenants of promise,"
the "commonwealth of Israel," the "promise made of God to
the fathers," the "hope of Israel," the "one hope of the calling
to God's kingdom and glory," &c, &c, as parts of the doctrine
of Christ—"the glad tidings of the kingdom of God?" They
constitute no part of Campbellism, nor of the three-fact
gospel of Christendom, which are the measure of their creed;
we may, therefore, truly answer, that they know nothing.
A man whose eyes were opened by the apostles was intelligent
in these matters; for they are elements of the "one faith"
which justifies. Destitute of this faith there is no remission of
sins in the name of Jesus; and where people are said to be
pardoned in baptism who have it not, there is "baptismal
regeneration," however strenuously it may be denied. The
thing is there, call it by what name you will. A person destitute
of the "one faith," said to be regenerated when born of water,
is baptismally regenerated, if regenerated at all—a regeneration
of as little account, as the popish, episcopal, and presbyterial,
regeneration of an eight-day infant, marked, dipped or
sprinkled, in fashion most approved.
(After a one day visit in Louisville, bro. Thomas travelled down the
Ohio River to Evansville, Indiana, and across to Henderson Kentucky,
a starting point of his activities in that State one year previously.
He was received by another friend associated with the "Disciples,"
of whom bro. Thomas stated "who feared God, and was not
afraid to hear with candor and search into the merits of the Word of
this salvation" (Acts 13:26; 10:2, 6).
Bro. Thomas soon began to proclaim the Truth in the country
side around Henderson, in such places as Barren, Pleasant Valley,
and Zion, where Campbellite assembly halls were located. During
the week days the attendance though small was encouraging; while
on Sundays the halls were filled to overflowing. This continued for
fifteen days, at which time he invited those to attend with him to
"where there was water suitable for immersion.'' His discourses
occupied about thirty hours of expounding the true Gospel message.
Many of his hearers responded in attendance at the prescribed place,
when six who had heard him asked for examination and baptism.
Bro. Thomas then used the occasion to impress the virtue of the
act of baptism, and makes the point of following the precise manner
outlined by the Apostles, which was clearly illustrated in the instance
of Philip and the Eunuch. Water became the medium of outward
action. The Doctor likened this action to baptismal water and eating
of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which were both natural
328 93Bm«n
products. "Eating of the Fruit" and "going into the water" were very
easy things to do. But there had to be "faith" in what was represented
to give efficacy to these actions.
In true baptism "The Faith" had to be related to what God has
said, rather than "faith" in what the serpent declared. If Adam and
Eve had believed God, they would have shunned the forbidden Tree
like the plague. Thus, "No Faith in God, brings Death. The converse
is, Believing God will assuredly bring life. "Ye are all the Sons of
God in Christ Jesus, through 'Faith.'" Thus "Faith, Baptism, Putting
On" is the requisite order and this only.)
Next day at noon, we departed for Henderson by a transient
steamer, and arrived at Evansville, Indiana, about five
o'clock on Friday morning. This is some twelve miles from
Henderson city, on the opposite side of the Ohio, and might
have been reached in an hour. But instead of that we were
detained at Evansville till four in the afternoon, taking in
tobacco and flour for New Orleans. About five o'clock we
arrived at Henderson, where we found a cordial welcome, and
hospitable entertainment, with a friend "who fears God," and,
though identified with the Bethanian encampment, is not
afraid to hear with candor, and to search into the merits of,
"the word of this salvation" through the establishment of the
Palestine Kingdom of Jehovah's Christ: Acts 13:26; 10:2, 6.
On the following Lord's day we commenced our addresses
to the people in the country parts. We spoke at the Barren,
Pleasant Valley, and Zion meeting houses; and at certain
private residences besides. The attendance on working days
was not multitudinous, still it was sufficiently large to be
encouraging; while on the Lord's days, the houses were filled
to excess. We continued our discourses fifteen days, occupying
altogether about thirty hours in speaking of "the things
concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ"
to people who had also heard us upon the same subjects
copiously a year before. (To be continued, God willing)
WE are obviously not a part of the Body of Christ if our life is not
devoted to the service and welfare of the Body of Christ. This is the
lesson of the scriptural type of the human body. Every true member of
the Body (natural and spiritual) has a use and a purpose. Our ability
and physical condition may at times make it quite small: but as long as
we have life and consciousness, we must give our most and our best in
loving service. This is the very essence of being allowed the infinite
privilege of being part of the Christ-Body. It is only for the devoted.
We are not part of the Body of Christ if our heart and mind and love
are not centered in the body. —O. V.G.
93BanMn 329
Studies and Thoughts
SUBJECT TO VANITY — IN HOPE
"The creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly,
but by reason of Him Who bath subjected the
same in hope"—Romans 8:20
By BROTHER JOHN THOMAS
THE LORD God, having arranged the foundation of the
world, in the sentences pronounced upon the transgressors;
and commenced the preparation of the Kingdom in the
stipulations of the New Law: decreed their expulsion from
the garden eastward in Eden.
As the Serpent had said, the man had become "as the
gods/' or Elohim, "to know good and evil," in consequence
of eating the forbidden fruit. He had known good only in
his novitiate; but, being lifted up with pride, he had fallen
into the condemnation of the devil (1 Tim. 3:6), and had
come to know also by experience both sorrow and pain.
This was a great calamity; but not so great as that a
greater might not befall him, even in Paradise. He had
eaten of one tree, and his presumption might cause him to
take and eat of the other. The consequences of this eating,
superadded to the first, would have rendered his situation
still more deplorable than it was.
He now knew evil, as the Elohim had done before him;
but there was hope of deliverance from it when he should
return to the dust whence he was taken; but if he should
eat of the Tree of the Lives, this hope would be cut off;
and he would live for ever the subject of weeping, sorrow,
and pain. The misery of being the subject of evil for ever is
forcibly expressed by Job. When reduced to the deepest distress,
he laments, saying—
"When I say, My bed shalil comfort me, my couch shall
ease my comjpltetint; then Thou scarest me with dreams,
and terrifiest me through visions: so that my soul chooseth
strangling, and death rather than my life. I loathe it;
I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are
vanity" (Jdb 7:13-16).
But, if Adam had eaten of the Tree of Life, when reduced
to such misery as this he would have sought death, but it
would have fled from him. He would have found no deliverance.
To prevent, then, the replenishment of the earth with
undying sinners, the Lord God said to Elohim—
"Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now lest he put forth his hand and
take also of the Tree of the Lives, and eat, and live for
ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was
taken. So He drove out the man."
This is a very remarkable passage of Scripture. It contains
much in a few words. The points which stand out, shining
330 93B«rean
like two stars, are the acknowledgement that man had become
as the gods by his offence; and, secondly, that he was
expelled from Paradise that he might not live for ever.
The finality of creation, providence, and redemption is,
man upon the earth, glorious, honorable, and immortal, in
a state of unmingled good. It was because God loved man,
and out of mercy to him, that He drove him out of the
garden. Had He been actuated by malignity Ja feeling, bythe-
bye, that has no place in the heart of God), He would
have left him free to involve himself in everlasting misery
by eating of the tree of lives. But He did not create the man
for such a destiny; nor did He subject his posterity to evil
by a stern necessity, that it might in any mode of existence
be consigned to interminable torment of mind, body, or both.
The creed that inculcates this is God-dishonoring, and
expresses the foolish thoughts of sinful flesh, unenlightened
by His Law and Testimony. It is the vaporing of the pagan
mind, adopted by the Apostasy, and transfused into the
symbols of its credulity. As it knows not how to display the
divine character in any other light than the propensities,
the faintly-illumined intellect, and the perverted sentiments
the flesh exhibit, it presents God to the sons of men as
more like the Saturn, or Moloch, of the heathens, who devoured
their own offspring, in shrieks and groans, than as
One Who so loves the world that he beseeches it to be reconciled
to Him (2 Cor. 5:19-20), and to accept, without money
or price, the exceeding great things He has in store.
Thus the "religious world" is ruled by terror. The little
faith it professes, works not by love (Gal. 5:6) to the purification
of its heart (Acts 15:9), but by the unceasing apprehension
of burning in molten lava through endless ages.
It works by "fear, which hath torment," and debases the
soul; so that were it not for its fears, it would be honest and
confess that it cared neither for God nor His religion. But—
"There is no fear in love; for perfect love oasteth out fear."
The world of professors, therefore, deceives itself in supposing
that it loves God.
"He that fearetih is not made perfect in love."
It loves Him not, for its conscience is defiled.
"Love is the fulfilling of the Law."
Was Adam afraid of God so long as he continued obedient?
As soon, however, as he sinned, fear seized upon him,
and he fled from the sound of His voice, and hid himself.
The righteous man's fear of God is the fear of offending
one he loves. God is terrible only to His enemies. His sons
and daughters confide in Him with the affection of children;
and He protects them with all the love and jealousy of His
holy and blessed Name.
Being ignorant of "the exceeding great and precious
93Berean 331
promises" relating to the Kingdom of God, the leaders of
the people know not in what other way to move them to
"get religion/' as their phrase is. Hence, they pretend to
preach "the terrors of the law." But "religion*' got by such
a process is worth nothing. Nay; I will retract this. It is
worth something. A religion of terror, so long as it is believed,
is useful as a system of ecclesiastical police; which,
associated with the civil and military forces, assists materially
in keeping the world in awe. Except for the fear of what may
be hereafter, professors would be as lawless as the antediluvian
giants; and thus, by the ecclesiastical antagonism of
society being destroyed, the earth would be filled with
violence as before the flood. (To be continued, God willing)
Light And Darkness
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
We much need this weekly reminder of Christ Increasing
experience will show every thoughtful mind the entire wisdom
of the appointment by which Christ has made it a matter
of duty to break bread each first day of the week in remembrance
of him. Without it, we should drift into forgetfulness
and death.
The appointment was founded upon a knowledge of what
man is and how he is affected by his surroundings. In this it
differs from human institutions. Human appointments are
liable to be founded on false theories, and, therefore, to work
mischief instead of benefit. It is a false theory that we have
"light within"; it is a false theory that we have intrinsic memory
of divine things; it is a false theory that knowledge once
introduced into the mind is a permanent fixture there; and
any line of action based upon these assumptions is certain to
lead away from the path of life. Most men are more or less
influenced by a false theory of this sort, and the effect is seen
in the neglect of Bible reading, the neglect of meetings, the
neglect of "the ordinances," as delivered by Paul at the command
of Christ; and the effect of this neglect is spiritual death.
The Bible representation of human nature is found experimentally
to be true—that man is dark left to his native
resources; that there is no good in him by nature; that light
comes from without; that there is no light but Christ; that this
light, by the Gospel, heard, understood, believed and obeyed,
shines into the inner man, and constitutes the recipients
children of light; yet that the reception of this light does not
332 93 Berean
save him unless it remains with him; that there is danger of its
not remaining; that man is weak; that he is liable to "let slip"
the "things which he has heard"; that he is in danger of being
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and departing
from the living God; drawing back into perdition, after having
run well for awhile. Nothing is more plainly revealed than that
it is he who endure th to the end that is to be saved; that it is they
who holdfast the beginning of their confidence and rejoicing
of the hope, steadfast unto the end, that are to be made
partakers of Christ; that the man not keeping in memory the
Gospel, not remaining grounded and settled, but being moved
away from the hope of the Gospel, will fail in entering into the
Kingdom of God.
These testimonies (for all these things are testified: Matt.
24:13; Heb. 3:6,14; 1 Cor. 15:2; Col. 1:23; Heb. 2:3; 3:13) point
to a danger to which it is very easy to become oblivious. The
human mind easily gives in to present facts, or rather, the
impression they make, and these impressions are generally in
the contrary direction to wisdom and well-being. Youth would
eat unwholesome things and walk in hurtful ways, because
they are pleasant for the time being, and do not, in their first
impressions, show him the mischief. Knowledge, parentally
enforced where there is wisdom, steps in and says, "Don't."
The child either has loving confidence in the restriction, and
submits willingly to the disagreeable denial, to find out afterwards
the sweetness of wisdom; or dislikes the "Don't," and
yields only to compulsion, but afterwards to discover the same
lesson.
Youth grown up, i.e., men and women, old and young,
shows the same tendency to be led by the appearance of
things, but lacks, in the absence of the Kingdom of God, the
guidance which is the privilege of some children. In most
things, they judge by proximate sensations, and consequently
go astray. It is pleasant to be free from restraint, and therefore,
they go, "every one to his own way," to find at last that the
pleasant ways of the natural man incline to darkness and
death.
It is irksome to watch daily at the gates of wisdom, waiting
at the posts of her door; therefore, wisdom is made to lie on
the library shelf, or under the table, or behind the door, or in
the yard outside — any where — to the convenience of the
man who prefers to find engagement in attending to the wants
93 Berean 333
and pleasures, business and concerns, of the present animal
existence; which, being interpreted, means that the Bible,
which is to us the voice of Eternal Wisdom, is by some attended
to in an only occasional and indifferent way, instead of being
read and studied daily; and this because other things are
sweeter to the taste or esteemed more important to be attended
to. The result is that a man, at last, when he has lost the
zest of human enjoyments — nay, when perhaps the possession
of them is gone for ever — finds himself barren of that
most precious of all treasures, to find which is to find life, the
favour of the Lord and riches for evermore; but to find which
requires, in the divine arrangements, that it be sought after
with all the industry and energy implied in the figure of
digging as for hid treasure.
It is pleasant to have the smile and countenance of neighbours;
it is pleasant to have plenty in hand; it is pleasant to have
the friendship and honour of the world; and, therefore, men
are liable to be insensibly governed by these things in the ordering
of their lives, and to yield but a cold response to the
demands of wisdom—demands which, in many cases, are
inconsistent with these pleasures, and mortifying to the natural
man in general. The result of listening to these seductions
will certainly be shame and death. This is revealed; and
though men in prosperity may disregard the still small voice
of wisdom, they will be compelled to listen at another time,
when their surroundings will be those of desolation and
consternation. Profane talkers speak of the Nemesis that follows
in the wake of human action. There is no Nemesis like the
Word of God, spoken now in quietness and love. It will yet
rend the foundation of wickedness with destructive earthquake.
It will subvert all the kingdoms of the world with a
violence before which fleets and armies will be as nothing, and
which will cause even the children of pride to lament with a
pitiful wail when they see their houses in ruins before the
hurricane of divine vengeance.
Not that which is pleasant to be done, but that which is wise
to be done, will be the motto of every true member of the
house of Christ. And that which is wise to be done is thatwhich
God has commanded; because obedience to His commandments
only, will bring honour and life at the last. And what He
has commanded is that which is written in the Scriptures of
truth. Our anxiety, therefore, is to know, and remember, and
334 93Berean
hold fast, and honour, and constantly meditate upon, and do
the things that are written therein. There is no other path of
wisdom but this. In any other way vanity is the vexatious
accompaniment, and death the end of the journey.
The world passeth away and the fashion thereof. This is a
fact which everyone will admit; but how many allow to the fact
its practical effect in their lives? Most men are under the power
of illusion contrary to their perceptions on this subject. They
know that human existence is a transient affair; they know that
Christ has already appeared in the earth, and laid the foundation
of the only concern of lasting consequence among men;
and that in the purpose of God, Christ will, in due course,
appear again and judge every man's work in the light of what
he has required of them by the hands of his apostles.
They know all this, and yet their feelings are contrary to
their knowledge. They feel as if human life were not transient,
but as if they had always been, and as if they would always exist.
They feel as if Christ were merely a matter of history and
dispute, and his future coming an ideal theme for poesy.
Consequently they are liable to be swayed by that which seems
the only reality: the maxims of men and the exigencies of the
present evil world. This is a dangerous spiritual glamour, to be
thrown off with the utmost determination. It is the power of
the devil upon us—not the mythical devil of orthodox phrase,
but the dangerous devil of actual experience, the devil that
lurks in every man's bosom — the devil of natural stupidity,
which is pouring endless lies into the ear — the devil of ignorance
and carnal affinity which binds in strong delusion the
masses of mankind, and who can only be kept at bay in the
children of light by unceasing vigilance in the warfare to
which they have been called.
What literally is the mode of warfare to be adopted in the
contest with this dangerous foe? Paul indicates it in saying to
the Ephesian elders, "I commend you to God, and to the word of his
grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance
among all them who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). Also Jesus, in his
prayer, "Sanctify them through thy truth11 (John 17:17).
What is the essence of the idea here but this, that the false
impression of the senses is to be combated by the implantation
of knowledge which is beyond the reach of the senses? Christ
is notwithin reach of the senses, because he is absentfrom the
earth. If we trusted to our senses, we should believe that he was
93Berean 335
nothing — past, present, or to come. Godfs communications
with Israel and His deeds on their behalf are beyond reach of
the senses, because we live not in the day of their occurrence,
but in the interregnum of the divine work on earth. If we
listened to our senses, we should never know that such
communications had occurred, and consequently should be
influenced by the supposition that there never had been and
never could be any work of God on the earth beyond what we
see in the natural ordinances of creation.
Our senses would tell us lies on these and many other particulars;
and thus our natural selves are to ourselves the devil,
whose impositions and temptations are to be continually
resisted by the weapon of knowledge provided in the word.
This applied to the mind creates, and constantly applied,
maintains, the right impression with regard to all these things;
and this right impression, sedulously cultivated and obeyed,
gives us the victory: for what is the victory that overcometh the
world? Even our faith (ljohn 5:4); and whatis faith? "Theconfidence
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb.
11:1). And how cometh this faith? "Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the ward of God" (Rom. 10:17); and the Word of God
was spoken by the Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20, 21).
Here is what you may call the philosophy of spiritual
strength. It is here where the vital importance of the Bible and
all the institutions connected with it is to be seen, and the
importance also of avoiding all things, however "lawful" in
themselves, which being calculated to foster the false impressions
of life, or to interfere with the nurture of the true, are
most inexpedient and dangerous.
Aman giving himself to the pursuit of a scientific hobby or
a political enterprise engaging the enthusiasm of ungodly
crowds, or to the cultivation of friendships on the basis of the
present evil world, burdens himself with heavyweights which
are almost certain to sink him into perdition in an elegant
style. One thing is needful; with others we can dispense. We
must have the knowledge of God in the power thereof sufficient
to transform the natural man into the likeness of the
divine moral image. We must be spiritually-minded, for any
other state means death. We must walk as friends of God; and
as such we cannot have friendship with the world, which is
revealed as His enemy, and friendship with whom He counts
enmity to Himself. We must be filled with wisdom — the
3311 93Berean
wisdom which is from above—the wisdom which comes from
and relates to God; for the absence of it ensures our repudiation
by Him in the day when He makes up His jewels. And to
secure this wisdom, we must apply ourselves continually to its
acquisition; for the acquisition thereof is difficult and a work
of time.
Like the precious things of Nature, God has made wisdom
a hidden thing, requiring search, and which the hand of the
diligent only at last obtains. There is, therefore, no time for
the occupations of folly. True saints recognize the necessity
for working out their own salvation. To them Peter's exhortation
is no meaningless one, that they be diligent to make their
calling and election sure. They recognize the immense dangers
to which they are exposed.They resist, as the most
diabolical of devilish delusions, either the theory of light
within, on the one hand, or the Calvinistic fatalistic no-will-ofyour-
own doctrine on the other—doctrines which both alike
seduce from the path of earnest heedfulness to the means of
our salvation, which God has provided for us in His Word.
And by constant meditation on all they see around them,
they aim to realize to themselves the evanescent character of
the present life, and so to be helped in the diligent pursuit of
that which is truly real and important. History and general
knowledge are here a help. They assist the understanding to
cope with and put to flight the delusion of the senses. They
enable us to see and to feel, in spite of the constant, importunate,
and plausible appeals of the natural man, alias the devil,
to the contrary, that our present existence is in itself no more
real than the vapour to which James compares it; and thus
numbering our days, we are taught to apply our hearts to
wisdom.
Looking back, we see busy generations struggling up lifefs
rugged hill, all with the same hopeful eagerness, all with the
same ardent anxieties, all with the same idea of the importance
of the affairs in hand; and as we see them gain the top
and descend the other side, we notice the same toning down,
the same disappointment, the same vanity and vexation of
spirit, and the same quiet grave at the bottom. As we contemplate
the scene, we say with Isaiah, "Surely the people is grass";
and with another prophet, "Lord, we are no better than our
fathers"; and with another, "Wherefore hast thou made all men in
vain? What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? Shall he
93Berean 337
deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?" (Psa. 89:47, 48); and
with afourth we pray, "Return, OLord, how long?... Make us glad
according to the days wherein thou has afflicted us, and the years
wherein we have seen evil Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and
thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God
be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea,
the work of our hands establish thou it."
We hear the answer as we read —
"Thy dead men shall live...awake and sing, ye that dwell in
dust" (Isa. 26:19).
"/ will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem
them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will
be thy destruction" (Hos. 13:14).
"0Jacob, I will restore health unto thee, and will heal thee of thy
wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an outcast,
saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after" (Jer. 30:17).
"In this mountain the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people
a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy
the face of the covering that is cast over all people, and the veil
that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in
victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces,
and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from all the earth;
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in
that day, Lo: this is our God; we have waited for Him and he
will save us...We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation " (Isa.
25:6-9).
"The tabernacle ofGod shall be with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain:for the former things
are passed away" (Rev. 21:3, 4). —Seasons of Comfort
The Living Creatures and the Bow
BY BROTHER Q. V. GROWCOTT
EZEKIEL CHAPTER ONE CONTINUED
Every male Israelite gave Moses a shekel of silver as a
ransom for his life, and this silver was made into the foundation
sockets of the Tabernacle. The brilliant electrum glory of
the Cherubim was a combination of Christ's atonement and
men's faith.
338 93Baraan
Why 4 Cherubim? It would seem primarily because the
Cherubim are a dwellingplace and a vehicle, both of which
typically have 4 sides. The plan of the Camp of Israel, God's
abiding place on earth, naturally formed a square; the Cherubim
are an encampment, an Israelitish encampment. Foursquare
is a feature of many aspects of both the Tabernacle and
Temple. 4 denotes universal dominion: the 4 winds, the 4
corners of the earth.
4-square is perfection and completion of the PLAN. The
Holy City goes a step farther: the length and the breadth AND
THE HEIGHT were equal — a perfect cube. This was the
shape of the Most Holy Place: perfection and completion of
BUILDING.
"As the appearance of the Bow that is in the Cloud in the day
of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."
"And their feet were straight feet" (v. 7).
"Straight" is "jasher.* This Hebrew word is never applied
to shape but always moral condition. It is almost always translated
"right" or "upright."
"Like a calf s foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished
brass."
Brass represents the flesh, and burnished (or refined)
brass is purified flesh. These calves' feet are hooves of judgment,
a symbol of the Jews, God's appointed weapon of war in
the last days (Mic. 4:13) —
"Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion: I will make thy hoofs brass,
and thou shalt beat in pieces many people."
Malachi uses the same symbol (4:2-3) and John's multitudinous
"Man of One" has burnished brass feet (Rev. 1:15).
"And they had the hands of a man under their wings" (v. 8).
Here is the human agency: man's place in the divine
purpose-the human hands UNDER the Spirit wings.
"Asfor the likeness oftheirfaces, they four had the face of a man,
of a lion, of an ox, and of an eagle" (v. 10).
These are the heads of the 4 divisions of animate creation:
man over all; lion, wild beasts; ox, domestic animals; eagle,
birds. These, too, were the 4 standards of Israel's camp. Israel
was God's son —
"Israel is My Son". .. "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
It seems strange that we are not told in Scripture that the
4 standards of Israel's camp were the same as the 4 faces of the
93B«rean 339
Cherubim. We have to glean this important link from Josephus
who is notoriously inaccurate and undependable. But
in this case it seems strongly confirmed in these ways —
1. It fits the picture exactly: just what we would have to
assume if not told.
2. The arrangement is identical, viewed looking north, as
Ezekiel was —
LION - Judah - right - East
MAN - Reuben - front - South
OX - Ephraim - left - West
EAGLE - Dan - back -North
3. Judah is elsewhere identified by the lion, and Ephraim
by the ox. These are the 2 principal tribes or encampments.
In this use of the Israelitish encampment as the natural
basis of the spiritual Cherubim symbol, we have emphasized
the Jewish foundation of the Way of Life —
"Salvation is of the Jews."
"Though I make a full end of all other nations, yet will I not
make a full end ofthee."
"Any nation that will not serve thee shall perish."
These 4 faces or aspects of the Cherubim symbol of God
Manifestation primarily refer to Christ — the phases of his
work and character —
MAN: He was THE MAN; the one and only true Man; the
"Man made strong"; the aMan of God's right hand." To him in
its fullness Paul (in Heb. 2), applies Psa. 8 —
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"
"Thou modest him to have dominion over the works of thine
hands."
LION: On the right side; majesty and dominion; the Lion
of the tribe of Judah; the side of honor.
OX: On the leftside; labor, service, sacrifice. The leftside
is rejection: as a servant and a sacrifice, Jesus was rejected (Isa.
53). But (Psa. 110), his people shall be willing in the day of his
power: the day of lion-majesty.
EAGLE: The back: not seen from the front; the last face,
contrasted with the first (man), as the lion on the right side is
contrasted with the ox on the left: first the natural, then the
spiritual. The eagle is the symbol of the endless youth and
strength and freedom of the Spirit-body —
"They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary."
"Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psa. 103:5).
340 93Berean
The eagle, too, is a symbol of God's Spirit-care for his
children —
"I bare you on eagles' xvings" (Ex. 19:4).
"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young. . .
so the LORD alone did lead him" (Deut. 32:11-12).
These 4 Cherubim faces, in the order that they appear in
Rev. 4:7, fit very beautifully into the pattern of the 4 gospels,
as emphasizing the respective phases of Christ's mission —
MATTHEW: The lion, the King of Israel, addressed to
Israel, tracing the line from Abraham and David.
MARK* The ox; the servant; the gospel of work and
activity, no genealogy.
LUKE: The man, tracing the line from Adam; addressed
to mankind.
JOHN: The eagle; the spiritual presentation, the spiritual
discourses; again, as fitting, no genealogy.
"And every one had four xvings" (v. 6).
We are told several things about their wings: Each had 4;
2 covered their bodies; 2 were spread upward and joined the
wings of other Cherubim; the noise of their wings was like the
noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, the noise
of a host; when they stood, they let down their wings.
Wings represent the spiritual aspect (as the eagle does),
and they symbolize 4 things; overshadowing, dominion, exaltation,
and swift, free movement.
OVERSHADOWING AND CARE —
"Under whose xvings thou art come to trust"
DOMINION — The word for Ving* is also translated
"uttermost part/ "end (of earth).* The Cherubim have 4
wings — universal dominion.
EXALTATION —
"They shall mount up with wings as eagles."
The Cherubim were joined together into one by the union
of their wings above them; that is, they were spiritually united,
and this was the basis of their unity.
Two wings covered their bodies, and 2 were spread abroad:
the necessary inner and outer aspects — inward covering,
spirituality, holiness, perfection; outward glory, overshadowing
and dominion.
"Whither the spirit was to go, they went" (v. 12).
They were wholly and exclusively the Spirit's instruments,
vehicles of divine power. They were in complete unity and
93 Berean 341
harmony with God. There was nothing about them contrary
to or disharmonious with God.
"They went every one straightforward: they turned not when
they went."
There was no deviation nor wavering. And they were irresistible:
they could not be stopped, diverted, or delayed.
"Their appearance was like burning coals of fire'9 (v. 13).
"Coals of fire" are to purge and cleanse and purify (Isa. 6:6-
7). Fire is judgment and destruction, but "coals of fire" carry
the idea of controlled, purposeful, constructive and ultimately
beneficial burning. "Coals of fire," as in the natural,
represent fire under control and put to a good use.
"And like the appearance of lamps" (v. 13).
These are the 7 Spirits of God, as we see in a parallel
passage (Rev. 4:5) —
"And there were 7 lamps of fire burning before the throne, which
are the 7 Spirits of God.n
While coals of fire indicate judgment, lamps indicate guidance
and illumination and instruction. These are the twin and
inseparable duties of the Living Creatures in the Age to Come:
they must discipline men and guide them in the Way of God.
"It went up and dawn among the Living Creatures."
We are immediately reminded of the angels of God going
up and down upon the Christ-ladder that Jacob saw (Gen.
28:12;Jn. 1:51). Here is communication between heaven and
earth, another aspect of the work of the Living Creatures. The
Cherubim are the Zadok priesthood, the communication and
mediation between God and man. The Spirit of God is in
constant living motion among and within them — continuous
direction and guidance and energizing. (To be continued, God willing)
What To Watch For In Relation To Russia
True students of the Bible long ago became aware that the
identity of those mentioned in Ezekiel's prophecy of Armageddon
in chapter 38:2, stated as: "... Gogofthe land of Magog,
the chief prince ofMeschech and Tubal", and Daniel's prophecy of
Daniel 11, verses 40 and on, concerning a latter day King of the
North, are the same power. That power is Russia.
This segment of the gathering will deal with Russia's
power, its past and current history, and what to expect of it as
the time of the end approaches.
342 93 Berean
What is currently transpiring in the former U.S.S.R. is the
most significant event in the history of the Russian territory in
over 75 years, since 1917, the eruption of the Bolshevik
Revolution. Then the empire changed its ruling platform,
and removed the long reign of the Romanov family. There are
three outstanding dates regarding Russia, the years: 1613,
1917, 1991.
1613 — The beginning of the 300 year reign of the Romanov
family;
1917 — The Bolshevik Revolution;
1991 — The disintegration of the Soviet Republic as a
Communist Union, where again, its polity is in an evolutionary
stage. We are witnesses (so to speak), of this latest event, while
some here may have been living at the Bolshevik date.
Our outline spans the ancient history of the Russian land
up to 1917.
After the flood, Noah's sons replenished the earth. The
predominate dominion of ancient Russia was inhabited by the
descendants of Japheth. But Hamites periodically traversed
the region; and the inhabitants of the north eastern portion
— that is, Mongolians possess darker skin, eyes and hair, so
that the historical domain of Russia has included those from
both Japheth and Ham.
There were two contrasting geographic aspects of the land
of the Russias which appear to have influenced the trend of its
historical development: the northern sector, and the southern
sector.
93 Berean
A primitive forest extending over the northern part of
Russia is similar to that described by Tacitus, the Roman
historian. Ancient settlers in this northern area did little cultivating,
and lived primarily on fish from the numerous rivers,
plus wild bee hives and fur-bearing animals in the forests.
The southern Russian landscape is quite different It is
called the steppe ("step"). This term describes the great southeastern
plains of Europe and Asia having few or no trees. It was
the historic seat of ancient nomad hordes. They lived on
horseback and in tents. They used mare's milk as their food
and thrived on the booty taken on regular incursions into the
northern sector.
Archaeological evidence indicates that various societies
existed in European (northern) Russia before there were
written records.
From at least 800 B.C. to 200 A.D., southern Russia was
dominated by the Scythians, nomadic mounted herdsmen,
that played a significant part in the history of Europe, and of
whom Dr. Thomas wrote in Elpis Israel Ancient maps, such as
those based on the writings of Herodotus, one of the most
ancient historians, place the predominate area of the Scythians
in the land of the Russias. But, we believe they had
migrated from Europe (Germanic area) to the Russias, and in
time and with growth, took the name "Scythian.n More distinctly,
they would be the Asiatic Scythians.
Discoveries show that after the Scythians, came the Sarmatians,
who ruled until the coming of the Goths, that Germanic
tribe which are symbolized in the first wind trumpet of Revelation
chapter 8:7. In the book of Revelation they were identified
as the first of a series of invaders and tormentors of the
apostate Roman world. But their trek in the land of the Russias
(Second Century A.D.) preceded their barbaric invasion
against the Roman Empire.
The Goths ruled until they were driven out by the Huns
about 370 A.D.
The Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths were subjugators of
a variety of people, including a people known as the Slavs.
Slavs
Slavs, as a distinct horde, were identified by the First Century
A.D. Their origin is obscure, but may have originated in
the area of east Poland. They had a consistent migratory expansion
for centuries to come.
344 93Berean
In the process of their movements and expansion, Slavs
experienced the periodic dominations of other peoples, such
as the Germanic Goths. During a certain period of history, so
many Slavs were captured by the Germans and sold to the
Romans that the word "Slav"became the origin of the Latin
(and our English) word "slave".
In maps depicting inhabitants of the Russian region after
Christ, the word "Slav"is one of the more prominent names
composing the region of our subject. This group is accurately
known as the East Slavs.
Slavs divided among themselves, going into three directions
and thus forming three main branches: There were the
East Slavs, found in European Russia, and roughly within a
large periphery of Moscow; the West Slavs, inhabiting Czechoslovakia
and Poland; and the South Slavs, or Balkan Slavs, in
the area of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, where their barbarism is
perhaps being manifested today.
It is noteworthy that in the mid 800s, Eastern Orthodox
Christianity began to grow in influence in Russia. This is the
same period in Europe, when the Holy Roman Empire began
its era, with co-ruling powers of Emperors and Popes.
When Vladimir, the grand prince of Kiev was converted to
Eastern Orthodoxy in 988, the success of this religion was
93 Berean 345
assured. And up to the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), this was
the major religion in the Russias. In today's new freedom,
after the fall of Communism, Eastern Orthodoxy is again
flourishing.
In the 13th Century A.D., Russia was invaded by Mongolian-
Turk warriors from the East. As a result, they became
subjects of the Mogul Empire of Genghis Khan. They were
called Tartars. Genghis Khan is one of the Tour Euphratean
angels" of Revelation 9:15. There also he is a tormentor of
Roman Apostacy. The Tartars controlled Russia for more
than 200 years. Native Russian princes, however, were allowed
to reign, if they rendered homage and paid tribute.
History states that at the initial invasion of the Turks, there
was organized a defense from the north to thwart this invasion.
The organized defenders were known as the "Russ."
BYZANT » N E
EMPIRE
Kievan Russia at its
height, 1054
93Ber*an
RUSSIA'S GROWTH, 1300-1598
Principality of Muscovy, 1300
(—| Grand Duchy of Muscovy, 1462
j — j Russian Expansion, 1462-1533,
mainly under Ivan III
Russian Expansion, 1533-1598,
maintv under Ivan IV
They were considered related to the Swedes, the Northmen
(i.e., north Europeans and possibly Scandinavians), and Angles.
The 'Angles' were the Germanic tribe from which England
derived her name. (The Angles invaded England in the Fifth
century, along with the Saxons and Jutes: hence Anglo-Saxons
from AngleLand—"Englaland"—then, "England.")
But what history shows as a defense made by the *Russ"in
the 13th Century is no proof of the origin of the term,
although perhaps it is the origin of it being spelled "RUSS."
Evidence shows that the base word goes back as far as the Sixth
Century B.C.; for the prophet Ezekiel names an entity called
83Bman 347
URUS, * UROS," or uROSHn as a future, infamous invader of
Israel.
During the period of the Tartars, Moscow had become the
capital of the principality of Muscovy. Muscovy is one of the
ancient "principalities" of the region. As Tatar (Tartar) power
declined, the princes of Muscovy became bolder in resisting
Tartar authority, and by 1380 Muscovy had begun a movement
toward liberation, although it would take 100 years to
complete.
***
We have heard of the names, 'Ivan the Great' and 'Ivan the
Terrible.' They were not only Russians, but they came upon
the scene just some 60 years after the Tartars, and are the next
historical mark in Russia's history. Ivan III would become
known as 'Ivan the Great' He ruled Muscovy from 1462 to
1505. He regained much territory in the West, and conquered
the surrounding rival Russian principalities of Novgorod and
Tser. In 1472, he married Sophia, the niece and heir of the last
Byzantine emperor, whose capital fell to the Ottoman Turks
in 1453. That even t and that year closes the Sixth Trumpet and
Second Woe of the Apocalypse (Rev. 9:15-21).
Because of the marriage, Ivan regarded himself as the
successor of the Byzantine emperors. In 1480, he challenged
Tartar forces, and they fled. That year marks the official end
of the Tartar rule in Russia.
As the self-proclaimed successor of the Byzantine emperors,
Ivan also proclaimed himself as the only representative of
the Orthodox Church in the world. As Constantinople —
labeled "the second Rome"—had been taken by the Turks in
1453, Ivan now identified (and fittingly so) the newly significant
importance to Moscow as "the Third Rome."
Ivan died in 1505 and was succeeded by his son Basil III,
who was succeeded by his son Ivan IV, who later became
known as 'Ivan the Terrible.' The throne had been given to
him at the age of three. At the age of 17, he was crowned Czar,
or Tsar—T.S.A.R.—from the Latin word 'Caesar.' Ivan the
Terrible was the first ruler to be given that title.
Ivan was obsessed with suspicion, and at times possibly
insanity. He ruled in terror, killing his oldest son in a rage, and
massacring thousands at one time for suspicion of a plot
against him.
343 93Berean
The 17th century brought a new Russian era. In 1613 a
national assembly, made up of representatives of some 50
cities, was formed to elect a new Czar. It chose Michael Romanov,
the son of a powerful boyar. Michael was the grand
nephew of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible.
Michael was succeeded by his son Alexis I in 1645. Alexis
had two wives and three sons (at least), one son by the name
of Peter. Peter ultimately became Czar. He was ruthless,
violent, savage and brutal, as described by historians. He
would become known as Teter the Great.' The reign of the
Romanov family continued.
Home of Romanov
Michael 1613-1645
Alexis 1643-1676
Fyodor III 1616-1682
Ivan V and Peter 1 1682-1689
Peter I (the Great)' 1689-1725
Catherine V 1723-17Z7
Peter II 1727-1730
Anna 1T3O-174O
Ivan VI 1740-1741
Elizabeth* 1741-1762
. Peter III 1762
Catherine II (the Great)" 1762-1796
P*ul 1796-1801
Alexander I* 18O1-182S
Nicholas V 1S25-1S55
) Alexander IT 1855-1881
Alexander III" 18S1-1894
Nicholas IT 1894-1917^^—
Peter became somewhat influenced by the countries of the
West, and subsequently ordered his people to adopt Western
dress and the men to shave their beards. He began to import
Western technology, to modernize the army and to build a
navy.
He was victorious over the Swedes and gained most of the
eastern Baltic, and as a result was titled "Emperor of All the
Russias." He was not so successful over the Ottoman Turks in
the SOUth. (To be continued, God willing)
93 Berean 349
The Day Is Coming Fast
Tor a day is coming fast,
Earth! thy mightest and thy last;
It shall come in strife and toil,
It shall come in blood and spoil;
It shall come in empires' groans,
Burning temples, trampled thrones;
Then ambition rue thy lust,"
In that day of ransomed just.
"Then shall come the judgment sign,
In the east the King shall shine;
Flashing from heaven's golden gate,
Thousands, thousands round his state.
Heaven shall open on our sight,
Earth be turned to living light;
Kingdoms of the ransomed just,"
Ruled by those who faithful trust.
"Then shall in the desert rise,
Fruits of more than Paradise;
Earth by saints' feet be trod,
One great garden of her God;
Till all dried her martyrs' tears,
Through a glorious thousand years;
Now in hope of Him we trust,"
Come the reign of Christ the just.
— Christadelphian, 1883
PRAY fervently for the blessing of being able to stand back and view
yourself objectively and dispassionately: to see all your uglinesses and
weaknesses, failures and limitations. They are you, and they call for
action, like typhoid fever would call for action. These are you now,
but they need not be you eternally: they DARE not be you permanently.
They must be faced and dealt with before it is too late. This is
our principal and over-riding responsibility and task in this life. It is a
full time, full effort task. The faculty of self-examination is a marvelous
gift of God—the key to life—but it is so tremendously unused and
unappreciated. Very few realize the urgency and magnitude of the task
of self-trans for motion. Most critical evaluation is directed outward to
others. How universal is the tendency to criticize others! How rare the
tendency to critically and consistently and EFFECTUALLY criticize
ourselves! What rationalizations! What lame and transparent excuses!
What unworthy self-justification! God give us self-discernment and selfhonesty!
—G.V.G.
35Q 93Berean
A Fire In My Bones
"For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and
spoil; because the Word of the Lord was made a reproach
unto me, and a derision, daily.
'Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor
speak any more in His Name.
"But His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire
shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing,
and I could not stay" (Jer. 20:8-9).
TO ALL who sought to preach and teach the Word of God,
there came times when the words of Jeremiah came home
with telling force. We, too, feel like quitting; feel that our
labors are in vain, when the world turns away from hearing
the Word of God, often with derision and contempt. Some'
times even the brethren do not seem to give heed to what
we have to say to the extent we feel our efforts deserve.
EVEN THE apostle Paul had -moments of weakness when
he felt that much of his labor was in vain, but he could not
hesitate or slacken his efforts, as he said:
"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
glory of, for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto
me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:16).
THE TEST of a faithful preacher of the Gospel comes
not when success appears to crown his every effort, but the
test of a true soldier of Christ is when apparent failure marks
all his efforts. It is then that it becomes clear whether the
Truth is "like a burning fire in his bones," or whether it is
half-hearted interest which can only be kept alive under
considerable encouragement; whether he feels that it is a
choice to work or desist, or whether he feels the "necessity"
of working all the harder.
A VALIANT soldier of Christ, will, as any other good
soldier, fight all the harder in defeat, and seek to train himself
so that he can perform his work better and with more
success. —O. B.
NEUTRALS
In this spiritual warfare, whose weapons are neither lead, nor steel,
but more effective than either for putting to flight the aliens, there are
neither truce, armistice, neutrality, nor peace.
He that is not with us is against us; and he that gathered not with us
scattereth abroad. I, for one, know no man in this warfare as a brother
and a friend who is NEUTRAL and NOT GATHERING.
A man who is neutral stands by with arms folded and sees the enemy
crushing me to death! He believes in the cause I am fighting for, but he
calmly views my destruction without any sign of help.
Is such a man my friend and brother? Is he not rather a sympathizer
with the enemy f If he helped me, we might prove too strong for the
foe; the enemy, knowing this, cannot look upon neutrals in any other
light than his friends. And this is just where Christ puts all neutrals in
the good fight of faith. — J. T.
93 Berean 351
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
Without apparent protest from the West, the Republic of Russia
is becoming increasingly confident and aggressive in asserting its
authority over the territory of the former Soviet Union.
President Boris Yeltsin and his alarmingly independent military
leaders are eager to resume Russia's role as the region's policeman.
Once more, in the classic words of diplomacy, Moscow has a
"sphere of influence" that had disappeared with the collapse of the
Soviet Union.
From some of Russia's neighbors, there are harsh and serious
words. The chairman of Ukraine's foreign affairs committee, sees
the return of "the imperial idea of Russia."
That idea has been part of the Russian mind for so long that it
will take generations to disappear. "Every action by the Russians is
aimed at the restoration of the empire."
Russian reinforcements were flown to the Tajik border with
Afghanistan recently and Russian guns bombarded nearby Afghan
villages, killing or wounding nearly 400. Although it is claimed to be
a defensive act, it is seen as an aggressive act.
Russian troops are patrolling the borders throughout Central
Asia, just as Soviet troops did before the collapse of the union. Most
of them are the same troops, but now they answer to Russia.
For Russia, the Baltic states are creating a different kind of
problem, because they have launched an international campaign for
the withdrawal of Russian troops left over from the Soviet occupation.
When the Republic of Estonia produced legislation which discriminated
against the sizable Russian speaking minorities in both
Estonia and Latvia, Russian President Boris Yeltsin threatened to
intervene in Estonia if the legislation was not changed. It was the
strongest language Yeltsin has used in the three years of his presidency.
What is alarming for Russia's neighbors is that there are about
25 million ethnic Russians in the other states of the former Soviet
Union, most of them left over from the Soviet "Russification"
program. Because of Russia's severe economic problems, they do not
want to encourage the Russians to return home. Thus, the need for
neighbors to treat them well.
The growing asser tiveness of Moscow follows a period of numbed
withdrawal after the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. The
humiliation of that collapse seemed at first to overwhelm Russia. The
effect was that Russian foreign policy appeared to be a meek acceptance
of whatever the West did, and their policy toward its former
352 93Berean
Soviet partners was strangely passive compared with Moscow's historic
role.
That passivity has evaporated gradually. Russian troops in republics
like Moldova intervened actively in local ethnic conflicts; and
their armies acted successfully as peacekeepers in the Georgian
district of South Ossetia. Concerns are increasing in the other
republics, as they see a growing trend of Yeltsin's Russian republic,*
both relative to the activity of Russian troops, and the overshadowing
interests of 25 million minority Russians, scattered about the former
Soviet Union.
Yeltsin is increasingly talking about the subject of the minority
Russians. Estonia sees alarming precedents for such talk. Concern
for the German minority was Adolf Hitler's excuse to invade the
Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) in 1938; concern for Italians was
Benito Mussolini's excuse for invading Abyssinia in 1935. "It has the
same repercussions and implications as always in history . . . "
— Toronto Globe, 7/22
Glimpses of this Russian behavior and attitude began showing
last year. It appears it is emerging into a growing characteristic which
would well fit the prophetic scheme. If an historical pattern is being
repeated, then the motive of the Republic of Russia—the heart and
core of the historical Russian Empire—is to become a sovereignty
over the area of the former Soviet Republics. This would encompass
more than the historical Russian Empire, and in effect re-infuse what
the USSR had been before the collapse of Communism. Such an
entity would be equally formidable and confident.
Outside of prophetic understanding, as the politicians and
statesmen view the matter, the dismembered Russian sphere still
remains an enigma. Their begging hands are still outstretched
seeking funds to build a democratic society, where no intelligent and
cohesive purpose and plan has been advanced. Each entity of the old
USSR will continue to strive for advantage. Of course, each will
jealously protect its own independence for as long as it can. Meanwhile,
the West, such as Britain and the USA (now strapped in economic
doldrums) keep promising financial and professional aid.
They are in a quandary as to what to do. Recent reports of visitors
from Russia, indicate that a condition of anarchy is already existing.
If so, then it is only temporary.
Bro. Thomas in Elpis Israel clearly illustrated that financial
support for under-dog nations is not necessary, when God is moving
to fulfill His purpose. Thus he wrote, "When God takes the work in
hand, the feeble become strong; the poor despise riches. His saints,
'of Media' did not regard silver, and as for gold they delighted not in
it. Politicians speculate as though money were omnipotent: 'Financial
reformers' predicted the inactivity of Russia and Austria (at the
93 Berean 353
time approaching the Crimean War) for want of funds* Where did
the barbarians procure funds to the overthrow of the western empire
in the 5th and 6th centuries?" (Elpis Israel, page 367).
How short-sighted in regard to history are the politicians of this
age. When God is ready for Russia to move, God will assist them, with
or without funds. How truly he observed, that the very lack of funds
can become the pressure from within which will force Russia to
move. They will become God's agents as did Media against Babylon
29500 years ago.
***
EASTERN EUROPE: THE BOSNIAN WAR—LESSON IN SHAME
As the tragedy in Bosnia continues, evidence of irresponsibility
and neglect is mounting against the more powerful and influential
Western countries who could have done something to stop the
carnage. The picture is now being viewed as "the West's most
disgraceful mistake since World War II."
The issue is not boundaries that will be drawn on maps. The
main question that will torment the West for years to come, is the
question of people, perhaps even the question of genocide. Serbian
President Milosevic's "final solution" is a wrenching dismemberment
of Bosnia conceded to him by an inept Western policy that will
involve the largest dislocation of Europeans since World War II. Two
million Serbs, Croats and Muslims are to be shoved around as the
multiethnic country is rearranged along ethnic lines. More than 1.5
million Bosnian Muslims are to be jammed into wretched "safe
areas" that will resemble, at best, the Gaza Strip or, at worst, the
Palestinia refugee camps of Lebanon. The Muslim enclaves drawn
on Milosevic's map will depend for survival on the power of the West
and the mercy of the Serbs and Croats—qualities in desperately short
supply. Analysts are fearful of further attempts to drive the Muslims
out by strangling their havens. "It would be another horrible chapter
of genocide; in some ways worse than what has already happened."
Bosnia has come to this sorry pass also because of "an absence of
European political courage." (former official of France) The West is
accused of having flaccid leadership and incompetent diplomacy.
In general "Bosnians are appalled at the weakness of the
democracies." — Time 8/2
The Bosnian, Serb, Muslim scene cycles between the battlefields
of old Yugoslavia, and the United Nations platform. Statesmen
debate in rhetoric this or that proposal, while the carnage and human
slaughter continues. Man is fighting against the Divinely prophecied
schedule, and fails to find the solution, because theirs is impossible
of attainment. Isaiah addressed this general point when he spoke of
354 93Berean
Egypt in the sense of the word. "Surely their princes are fools, the
counsel of the wise is become brutish; how say they, we are the sons
of the wise, the sons of the ancient? Where are the ancients? Let them
know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed. The princes are
deceived. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst
thereof." (19:11-14)
The Bosnians are appalled at the weakness of democracy. Truly,
example after example is evident that democracy is not the solution
for successful self-rule of mortal man. But in comparison to ironclad
communism, so prominent on the world scene for seven
decades, democracy is an attraction to the flesh.
***
BRITAIN: ITS FUTURE POSITION IN THE LATTER DAYS
Britain and other European Common Market nations have now
ratified the Maastricht Treaty of 1991. The reunification of Germany,
however, is having a decided dampening effect on the proposed
implementation of plans for monetary union and a common
purse economy. The worldwide recession limits the available funds
to assure that Germany is able to maintain its supremacy in finances
and to dominate other sharing partners. This superior position may
in the long run manifest itself, and more so than we saw one year ago,
in their interference in foreign money markets to the embarrassment
of France and Britain.
More difficult and embarrassing times may come to the British
people. But their prophetic participation in the latter days should be
seen as unshakable. Is Britain's economy in shambles? Yes, but so is
nearly every other western power, including the super-power US. Is
Britain's military might in a weaker state than what it was in the 19th
century? Relative to modern times, yes. But the British military
power is still far more potent than most countries in the world today.
Prophecy does not indicate that the latter-day Tarshish power must
be the most powerful, or (say) one of the most powerful at the time
of Armageddon. It does not have to be to fulfill its position at
Armageddon.
But who is to say now, what Britain's military might will be then?
Although it is not likely to quickly improve, it could. Bro. Thomas in
Elpis Israel wisely states, "Men should never prophesy of the future
from present appearances."
The question occasionally arises, at such current times as viewing
Britain's weaker moment, "Who will ask the question of Ezekiel
38:13, "Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy
company to take a prey •. •?* It is not a question of "either... or."
The prophet Ezekiel makes the matter clean It is a question asked by
a unified group as listed in the verse:
93Bman 355
"Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, wtft all the
young lions thereof, SHALL SAY UNTO THEE . . . "
The latter-day identities of these are known, and should be
included in the inquiry of the verse. Equally so, the latter-day
merchant of Tarshish — Britain itself — cannot be excluded. We
believe it is not only to be there, but to be there in prominence, as
expounded by the pioneers of the Truth. —E.F.H., CS.
"THE handiwork of God." We hear the expression often. It is a pat
phrase on the lips of those who have run off to the woods or to the
beach to spend God's time and money enjoying themselves in laziness.
We do not condemn the phrase as such. It is fine IF it is coupled with a
total life-dedication to the real, handy, WORK of God—the work right
to hand, day after day in His service: if it comes from a mind that gives
evidence that it has spent much profitable time with God and His work.
But, sadly, so often it is just a phrase, a form of words, a consciencesalver:
"Here I am, enjoying myself, doing nothing useful for others,
playing around, wasting my time, childishly engaged in meaninglessly
beating a stupid little ball into a foolish little hole—and, O yes, enjoying
the 'handiwork of God\ " -G. V.G.
NeWS (Continued from page 326)
typified in the Feast of Booths, giving this occasion the intended
force of the plan of God's redemption for all mankind.
We realize that sorrow is also mixed with joy while we continue
our mortal sojourn. Our bro. August Fabris lost his life-long companion
and wife, who, though not a believer, took care of his daily needs,
and watched over his health. Bro. August is now in his 94th year,
having been associated with our ecclesia since the mid 1940s.
Meanwhile we continue our studies of Dr. Thomas' exposition in
Elpis Israel, having progressed to his comments regarding the 7th
Trumpet, including the 7 Vials. This brings us to recent years of
man's sad but instructive history. Our interest becomes extremely
enlivened by the proximity of these prophecies to present day events.
Clearly they speak of the closeness of the Master's return, carrying
however serious warnings to all God's children. "Blessed is he that
watcheth and keepeth his garments."
With love in the bonds of the Hope of Israel; your brethren and
sisters of the Detroit ecclesia, — bro. Fred Higham
One Hundred Years AgO (Continued from page 3 60)
Coming as a pamphlet; also a pamphlet by Dr. Thomas on
"Heaven, Hell and Immortality."
2) W. C. — Will notice your queries presently, in "Answers to
Correspondents. "We only remark here that no one, in our judgment,
has learnt the way of godliness to any saving purpose who
can see 'no harm' in frequenting theatres, balls, and other
similar contrivances of the children of the flesh.
356 93Berean
3) No Christadelphian ever became a Mormon that we know of.
We have heard of Mormons becoming Christadelphians. At the
same time, you can base nothing on such a calculation. Human
nature in some states is capable of any vagary and any enormity.
Your rejoinders to the Mormon elder were scriptural as far as we
can make out
(These Items show us clearly what Is Involved In the warfare of the Truth.
There are many battles to be fought with the Spirit Word of Truth, and many
ways of presenting the Gospel message. Let us use all at our disposal to do
the work of God. Let us also remember to be faithful to our calling and to
remain separate from the world.)
***
BRO. Roberts published on the Inside back cover off the Magazine the
following Information on a new pamphlet —
WOMAN, MARRIED AND UNMARRIED
Her position as affected by the principles and obligations
of the Truth
By SISTER ROBERTS
The Wife of the Editor of the Christadelphian
Originally published in 1872 as a series of articles in
"The Christadelphian," under the title of
"CHAPTERS FOR THE DAUGHTERS OF SARAH"
(This booklet was latter reprinted under the title of "The Virtuous Woman". It
Is still in print and of great value to all readers In the Truth.)
***
THE article chosen from the writings off Dr. Thomas was, "The Sea In
Prophetic Figuration. "A few off his remarks on the subject are very fundamental
to the Truth —
In prophetic writing, "Sea* is representative of nations. It is thus
used in Eze. 26:3, where Yahweh Elohim, addressing Tyre, says,
"I am against thee, and will cause MANY NATIONS to come up
against thee, as the sea causeth his WAVES to come up." Here the
waves of the sea represent the military forces of the nations
marching against any enemy. Also injer. 25142, the forces of the
Medes and Persians which captured Babylonia are styled the sea;
as, "the sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the
multitude of the waves thereof: her cities are a desolation."
***
THERE Is an excellent article by bro. L B. Welch on the subject off, "Thoughts
On Responsibility, Resurrection, Reconciliation, etc" His opening remarks
are worth repeating —
The Scriptures teach clearly that knowledge of the will of God is
the basis of resurrectional responsibility.
Knowledge is thus the basis of resurrectional responsibilty in all
cases.
Knowledge of the Truth gives rise to three classes in relation to
resurrectional responsibilty. First, there is the class that attains
to an understanding of the Truth, but which, from whatever
cause, refuses baptismal obedience. Second, there is the class
that attains to the understanding of the truth, renders baptismal
obedience, but afterwards walks in disobedience of the commands
laid upon the household of Christ Third, there is the
class that attains to a knowledge of the Truth, renders baptismal
obedience, and ever afterwards continues in obedience to the
commands of Christ Peter illustrates these three classes, in the
matter of resurrectional responsibilty, when he says: "If the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear?" (1 Pet 4:18).
***
ONCE again there was a series of articles printed by bro. Roberts on the
subject of "The Day Of His Coming." Among the many ideas and thoughts
presented was this remark by one of the contributors —
There need be no anxiety as regards Russia getting into position
before the Advent by any means. She may begin her brilliant
exploits before Christ comes from Teman, and she may not; of
this, time will tell.
Almost the last words I had with Dr. Thomas before his death was
on this very important topic. I can distinctly remember these
words, thus: 'The first intimation the saints, good and bad, will
have will be on some quiet afternoon or evening, a rap at the
door, or a call at the gate, announcing two or more strangers
desiring an interview, which interview will result in calling us
away to the judgment seat of Christ.'
A type we have of this in the angels visiting Abraham and two of
them afterwards going to Sodom, these messengers saying to Lot
and his family, 'We cannot do anything till thou be come thither'
(Gen. 19:22).
***
in his "Answers to Correspondents", bro. Roberts covered numerous questions
and comments submitted to him. Among them were subjects of:
"Editorial Error"; "The So-Called Splits (In Christadelphianism)"; "Under
Twenty Years of Age (Baptism)"; "Resurrectional Responsibilty"; "Unholy
Personal Habits Incompatible with Saintship"; "Holiness Among the Brethren."
***
The Following comments were made by bro. Roberts in his "Editorial"
column —
At this period of the year, we arrange for the next volume (of
the Christodelphian). Those who mean to unite in its maintenance
and identify themselves with its work will recognize what it
is that their hand "findeth to do. "They will write and let us know
their intention, accompanying the intimation thereof with the
amount of the suscription price for twelve months, by means of
which we are enabled to keep in motion the various machineries,
literal and figurative, which turn out the Christadelphian
month by month for punctual publication on the last Thursday
of each month for the month following.
***
BIRMINGHAM MISCELLANIES —
Bro. Roberts' Lecturing Appointments for October : 1st, Lon-
353 93Berean
don; 8th, Bristol; 15th, Birmingham; 18th, Derby; 22nd, Birmingham;
25th, Derby; 29th, Nottingham.
Arrangements are in progress for special lectures in the Smethwick
Public Hall by bro. Roberts on December 5th and 6th.
(Pa5^Journeyings of the Editor: July 23rd, To Leamington; Aug.
13th, To Northampton; Aug. 27th, To Derby; Sept. 10th, At
Leeds.
(We mention these speaking appointments by bro. Roberts to show the
tremendous work load that he bore. In his life's work, we can see where his
heart and mind were, and that his greatest desire was to serve God faithfully.
He knew that the work had to be done, and that all must give for the sake of
the Truth. Bro. Roberts died at the age of 59, after giving his life completely
for the Truth. In the book, "My Days and My Ways", this comment was made
concerning him at the time of his death: '"If thou seekesta monument, look
around'. For he did much to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.")
***
DIFFERENT Bible Lectures (of 100 years ago) —
"The Troubled Sea of Nations"
"The Law of Our Nature, the Law of our Members, the Law of
Moses, the Law of the Spirit of Life"
"The True Story of a Runaway Slave, and Its Lessons"
"Does the Holy Spirit Bring About Conversion (in the Way
the Orthodox Contend?)"
"Bible Baptism and the Baptists; Is Salvation Essential to
Salvation?"
"The Lord's Day, not the Gentile Sabbath, but a Day still Future"
"Human Nature and the Divine Nature, and How the Former
May Attain unto the Latter"
"Names of Blasphemy"
"Delivered from the Power of Darkness"
"The Book of Revelation — Reasons Why it is Not Understood"
"life in the Kingdom of God"
"Are the Dead Still Living?"
"Christianity and Judaism"
"Jesus Christ as the Destroyer of the Devil"
Sept. Answers — "That day"
1. Exalted [Isa. 2:11]
2.Great[Jer.30:7]
3.Jewels [Mai. 3:17]
4.Jesse [Isa. 11:10]
5. Nations [Zech. 2:11]
6.Flock[Zech.9:16]
7. Covenant [Hos. 2:18]
8.Jerusalem [Zech. 12:3]
9. Beautiful [Isa. 4:2]
10. Smite [Zech. 12:4]
11. Destroy [Zech. 12:9]
12. Fountain [Zech. 13:1]
13. Idols [Isa. 2:20]
14. Waters [Zech. 14:8]
15. King [Zech. 14:9]
16. Bells [Zech. 14:20]
93 Berean
l7.Canaanite [Zech. 14:21]
18. Tolerable [Luke 10:12]
19. Wine [Joel 3:18]
20. Noon [Amos 8:9]
21. Fruit [Mk .14:25]
22. Tabernacle [Amos 9:11]
23. Maker [Isa. 17:7]
24. Highway [Isa. 19:23]
25. Many [Matt. 7:22]
26.Judge [2 Tim. 4:8]
27. Falling [2 Thess. 2:3]
28. Overtake [1 Thess. 5:4]
29. There [Eze. 48:35]
30. Mercy [2 Tim. 1:18]
31. Lo [Isa. 25:9]
32Judah [Isa. 26:1]
33. Dwelleth [Eze. 38:14]
34. Shaking [Eze. 48:19]
35. Break [Hos. 1:5]
36. Praise [Isa. 12:4]
37. Forsaken [Isa. 17:9]
38. Language [Isa. 19:18]
39. Third [Isa. 19:24]
40. Eliakim [Isa. 22:20]
41. Punish [Isa. 24:21]
42. Trumpet [Isa. 27:13]
43.War|Jer. 49:26]
44. Egyptians [Isa. 19:21]
45. Unawares [Lk. 21:34]
46. Housetop [Lk. 17:31]
47. Hour [Mk. 13:32]
48. Prince [Eze. 45:22]
359
One Hundred Years Ago
UNDER "Afofes"in this issue of the Christadelphian Magazine, we mention the
following interesting thoughts on various subjects —
1) Man Mortal is being reprinted. We have also some thoughts
of publishing the substance of the articles on the Day of His
(Continued on page 356)
BIBLE PUZZLE—"Lord Jesus"
1. There is one God and one . ..
2. He . . . his only begotten son
3.1 am come in my Father's . . .
4. God sent forth his son made o f . . .
5.1 must be about my Father's...
6. He hath .. . me to preach gospel
7 . . . ye hear is not mine, but Father's
8. Behold my.. . whom I have chosen
9. All that. .. him were astonished
10. Madest him a little .. . than angels
11. Express . . . of his person
1 2 . . . . him over works of thy hands
13. God was in Christ,... world
14. Given him .. .to execute judgment
15. Hath committed a l l . . . unto him
16.1 do nothing of . . .
17. My Father is . . . than I
18. All things are . . . unto me of my
Father
19. Make captain of their salvation
perfect through .. .
20.1 seek not mine own . ..
21. Head of Christ i s . . .
22. Jesus increased in . . .
23. Crying and tears unto Him that
was able to . . . him
24. Was . . . in that he feared
25. Son of man shall come in . . . of
his Father
26. He t h a t . . . his glory that sent him
27. Consider . .. and high priest
28. Him will I . . . before my Father
29. At right hand of God, who also
maketh. ..
30. Now to appear in. .. of God for us
31. By whom we have now received .. .
32.1 can of mine own self do . . .
33. Revelation of Jesus Christ which
God . . . unto him
34.1 am the . . . , the truth and the life
35. Hath in these last days . . . unto us
by His son
36. No man cometh unto Father but
by...
37. God also hath highly . . . him
38. God hath made Jesus both .. . and
Christ
39. He which . . . up Lord Jesus
40. Shall... up us also by Jesus
41. He shall... Jesus Christ
42. Given to Son to have . . . in himself
43. Will. .. world in righteousness
44. Hath . . . all things into his hand
45. Wonders & . . . which God did by
him
46. Sat down on . . . hand of Majesty
47. God exalted to be a . . . 8c Saviour
48.1 have .. . work which thou gavest
49. Of them which thou gavest me
have I l o s t . . .
50. We have a great.. . priest that is
passed into the heavens
Anointed
Apostle
Atonement
Authority
Business
Confess
Delivered
Exalted
Finished
Gave
Gave
Given
Glory
God
Greater
Heard
Heard
High
Image
Intercession
Judge
Judgment
Life
Lord
Lower
Me
Mediator
Myself
Name
None
Nothing
Presence
Prince
Raised
Raise
Reconciling
Right
Save
Seeketh
Send
Servant
Set
Signs
Spoken
Sufferings
Way
Will
Wisdom
Word
Woman
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360 93Berean
VOL 81, NO. 11, ISSUE 851 NOVEMBER, 1993
The Berean
Christadelphian
A monthly magazine devoted wholly to the exposition and defense
of the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, with the object of
helping to make ready a People prepared for the coming of the
Lord. Opposed to the unscriptural teaching of the papal and
protestant churches of the world.
Please send all Berean communications to:
Bro. David Clubb, 42 Oneida Rd., London, Ont. Canada N5V 2X1
'They received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many believed" -Acts 17:11
Fraternal Gatherings: Lampasas, Hye 362
DR. THOMAS' TRAVELS (cont'd) 363
STUDIES AND THOUGHTS (bro. Thomas)
Subject To Vanity — In Hope (cont'd) 366
THE MAN OF SORROWS (bro. Roberts) 369
THE LIVING CREATURES AND THE BOW (cont'd) (bro. Growcott) 376
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN RELATION TO RUSSIA (cont'd) 381
CURRENT EVENTS FULFILLING PROPHECY:
MIDDLE EAST: Historic Peace Breakthrough
Claimed By Israelis and PLO; Other World
Interest Spots 387
October Answers: 'Jesus" 395
100 YEARS AGO:
Notes; 'Divine Marriage'; 'Spiritual Dogs'; 'Speech Lawful
And Unlawful'; 'Before Her Shearers Dumb'; Meditations;
Answers To Correspondents; Birmingham Miscellanies;
Different Bible Lectures 396
Bible Puzzle: Tear" 396
We are anxious to send the Berean to any desiring It Do not hesitate to
request it. If you know of any who might like It, please send their names.
Anything herein may be used freely by any one in any way. No credit needed.
CHRIST IS COMING SOON AND WILL REIGN ON EARTH
"A FALSE BALANCE IS ABOMINATION TO THE LORD:
BUT A JUST WEIGHT IS HIS DELIGHT' (Proverbs 11:1).
A balance is a device for measuring and judging. It represents itself
as rigidly fair and unprejudiced. A false balance is deceit making a special
claim to be honest. Let us not, as we read the Proverbs, pass over
these various points as something that could never apply to us. Let us
not dismiss them with the thought that we would never dream of deceiving
or cheating. Let us go a little deeper. These Proverbs all represent
important principles of life. They define the difference between
the natural way and the divine way.
Deceit is ingrained in human nature; ingrained so deeply that many
aspects of it are not recognized as bad at all, but as commendable and
clever. Can we claim to always be strictly fair and just and straightforward,
never deviating a hairsbreadth from the truth, regardless of pressure,
danger or self-interest? Can we claim never to be influenced in
our conduct and decisions by any consideration other than the perfect
Law of God? If we cannot, then this Proverb is for us. As Christadelphians,
we make a unique claim to lofty principles. It is very easy to be
a false balance, parading itself as truth.
A false Balancer-any thing in any way off true center-ymything that
is not exactly as it represents itself to be—is an abomination to the
Lord. With God everything must be honest and pure to the core.
There is beauty and comfort in this thought. We may fail and twist and
stumble and hesitate, but "there is that changeth not." "With Him is
no variableness, neither shadow of turning'9 (James 1:17).
God is the one eternally-dependable and unchanging Reality. We
either build wholly and exclusively on this, or we build on the shifting
sands of the present world of false balances.
"But a just weight is His delight." It is interesting that the original
Hebrew for just weight, as we see from the margin, is "a perfect stone."
There is only one perfect stone. Isaiah says (28:16).
"Thus saith the Lord, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation . . .
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet,
and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies."
Here the principle is elaborated. Only perfect and pure Truth will stand
the test of eternity. All else must be swept away. "A false balance is
abomination to the Lord." To stoop to deception is to cheapen and degrade
ourselves, and to repudiate our holy calling as sons and daughters
of the majesty of God.
FRATERNAL GATHERINGS (If The Lard Will)
LAMPASAS, Texas — Sat. & Sun., June 11, 12 — bro. Ross Wolfe, 1802
Rumley Rd., Lam pas as, Texas, U.S.A. 76550; phone (512) 556-5249.
HYE, Texas — Sun., July 31 to Sun., Aug. 6 — bro. Jerry Connolly, 12609
Dessau Rd., A-144, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. 78754-1818; phone (512) 251-5101.
"THE BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN (ISSN 0199-1431) is published for
$7.00 U.S. per year by The Berean Christadelphian, 8008 Junius Street,
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 77012. Second class postage paid at Houston,
Texas, U.S.A. 77201. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
BEREAN CHRISTADELPHIAN, 8008 Junius Street, Houston, Texas,
U.S.A. 77012."
362 93 Berean
Dr. Thomas1 Travels
(Taken From Bro. Thomas' Periodical, Herald of the Kingdom)
(Continued)
Toward the end of the days we gave notice that we would be
at a certain place where there was water; and be ready to assist
any, who were heartily convinced of the glad tidings concerning
the Kingdom and glory the God of heaven was in the near
future about to "set up" in the land of Palestine; and were
disposed to accept the invitation sent to them in the word of
the salvation that had saluted their ears—in putting on Christ
in baptism; that, in being justified by faith in the obedience of
faith, they might become coheirs with him, and be glorified
together at his appearing.
Accordingly, a goodly number met us at the water, when six
presented themselves. We addressed the assembly on the
nature of the institution, the vitality of which resided in the
authority of the institutor, and in the right disposition and
faith of the subject of it. The water was introduced to afford
scope for action—as a thing to be used in the precise manner
appointed. The baptismal water and the fruit of the Tree of
Knowledge, both natural products, occupied the same relation
to the word and believer. The going into the one, and the
eating of the other, are both very simple actions, and very easy
to be performed.
If a man believe the Word of God, its teachings saith to him,
"Go into the water and wash away thy sins in the blood of the
Lamb;" but, if he believe not that word, he may go into the
water, but he cannot wash away his sins, not having the faith
necessary for cleansing. It is faith, or the absence of it, that
gives spiritual significance and effect to the going into and to
the eating of. It was want of faith in the Word of God that was
expressed in the eating. If Adam had believed what God had
said he would not have eaten of the tree; but he believed the
serpent rather, who spoke pleasingly to the flesh; and therefore
he ate, and died. Thus, we see the principle—No faith
and death, the intermediate link being disobedience; or, the not
doingwhat is commanded, which is equivalent to doing what is
not commanded.
The antithesis to these obvious things is faith and life, the
intermediate link being obedience. This appears from the
testimony of Paul, who said to the Galatians, "Ye are all the
sons of God in Christjesus through the faith: for as many as have
93 Berean 363
been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Such is the order,
faith, baptism, and putting on baptism is the middle term,
and enables the faith to uputon; "so that he who is invested with
the Christ garment, which covers a man from the crown of his
head to the soles of his feet, "is Christ's;" and being Christ's is
Abraham's seed, and an heir according to the promise of the
Kingdom made to Abraham, and to them that are his. The
realizing of this promise is life; for the kingdom is possessed
with life forever more.
(Thus decision between two diverse Gospels is required. One sets
forth a doctrine of kingdoms beyond the skies, the other the wisdom
of God in the Hope of a coming Kingdom on the earth, whose center
of government is Jerusalem in Palestine, under the King Jesus of
Nazareth, who is primarily King of the Jews. Part in this order is the
only eternal inheritance. The six who sought baptism at the Doctor's
hands, had thrown off the robe of Campbellism, or blindness caused
by its teachings.
They had accepted the Abrahamic Covenant and responded in
the Scriptural form. The former garment was all "tattered and torn."
"Nowthey put on fine linen, clean and white"and resolved to keep it
"unspotted and without wrinkle or any such thing." They had heard
the Word, had searched its meaning, and acted as did the Bereans in
Acts 17:11. With such a walk in the remaining days there will not be
a declaration from the ruler of the Wedding Feast, "Friend, how
earnest thou in hither, not having on a wedding garment?")
The going into and coming out of water is of no spiritual
efficacy at all, where the person dipped is ignorant of "things
concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus
Christ." The dipping of such an unenlightened individual is
not to him "the obedience of faith," or "obeying the truth."
Where there is ignorance of the truth, there faith is wanting;
in other words, no knowledge, no faith, and consequently, no
renewal of the inward man; for "we are renewed by knowledge;"
and consequently, also, no evangelical repentance. All
the six had been into the water before upon die three-fact
gospel principle of The Apostasy; which had been imposed
upon them by blind spiritual guides, as the two-principle
creed of Mohammedanism is upon untutored Turks. They
had been immersed into Baptistism and Campbellism, but
had since come to the understanding of "a more excellent
way."
Those Gentilisms had invited them to kingdoms in the
skies, or beyond them; while this announced to them God's
334 93Berean
purpose of setting up an administration of human affairs in
Palestine, under a king whom He had prepared, even under
Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews; and invited them to
become heirs of that kingdom, with all the glory, honor, riches
and dominion attached to it forever. These are two gospels, as
opposite to one another as the North and South poles. The
one invites them to fly beyond the stars at death; the other, to
wait till Jesus returns from heaven, and then with him to take
possession of the Holy Land, and with that as the seat of their
dominion, to rule all nations for a thousand years.
The sky-kingdom gospel taught them, that the belief of
three-facts and a dipping was all that was necessary to salvation
in the skies: not knowing any better they obeyed it, and held
on to it, until they found that there were no sky-kingdoms for
them; and that consequently, they had sown to the wind and
would reap the whirlwind if they did not repent.
They did repent. Their eyes had been opened to see that
Baptistism and Campbellism were darkness, and that the
gospel they teach is not the gospel Paul preached. The three
facts they firmly believe, having a much larger comprehension
of them than before. They see how Christ died for sins
according to the prophets, was buried and rose again according
to the same; and that Jesus was he—that in so dying and
rising again, he brought the Abrahamic Covenant into force,
dedicating and purging it with his own blood; that those who
had faith in such a covenant, understanding it, might receive
remission on becoming children of it. They see that Jesus not
only rose again for their individual justification, but also that
he might sit upon David's throne, and from thence rule the
world in righteousness.
The three facts, the doctrine of those facts, and the sonship
of Jesus, they believe with an intelligence sectarianism cannot
attain to; and besides these, they believe in that destiny which
God has set before them in the glad tidings of which Gentilism
hath no idea, however pious or saturated with water it may be.
What, then, was to be done? Could they not put a patch
upon their old Gentile garments with such neatness as to
make them pass at the wedding for a seamless Christ-garment?
It is true that when they were dipped they knew nothing about
athe kingdom of God "which they were commanded to useek first; "
but then they assented to the three facts of the "Apostles'
Creed": would it not do to read "the commission," He that
93Berean 365
believes the three facts and is immersed shall be saved? Or, if
we are not justified by the belief of three facts alone, would it
not do to mend the faith and the immersion by believing what
is necessary afterwards. Will not faith acquired recently vitalize
a former faith, and so infuse validity into an immersion
performed twenty years ago?
Such patch work as this they had no mind for; for they had
been renewed in the spirit of their minds. They determined to
divest themselves of their garments "all tattered and torn,"
and to have a new robe of afine linen, clean and white," and
henceforth to keep it unspotted, that when the Lord appears
they may be found in him "without spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing." Such a decision as this proved them to be of
Berean mind. (To be continued, God willing)
Studies and Thoughts BY BROTHER JOHNTHOMAS
SUBJECT TO VANITY — IN HOPE
Superstition is useful in maintaining order until the period
shall arrive to supersede it by "wisdom and knowledge,"
which will be the stability of the times pertaining to the
Kingdom of God (Isa. 33:6). But as a means of inheriting
this Kingdom, and of entitling men to the crown of righteousness,
a religion which works by terror is utterly worthless.
Remove the terror, and the religion's gone; except in
so far, indeed, as the possession of it is necessary to the
preservation of its "temporalities," "vested interests," and
worldly advantages.
But the "pure and undefiled religion" of God has no
present temporalities, or worldly interests. It has no telands,
tenements and hereditaments"; nor "states" "colleges? or
"sacred edifices" It is like the Son of God in the days of his
flesh; homeless, houseless, and poverty-stricken among the
sons of men.
It has great riches, and good things in store for the poor
in this world who are rich in faith (James 2:5), it promises
them the possession of the world (1 Cor. 3:22), with all the
honor and glory, and riches of it, with endless life for the
enjoyment of them; but it requires faith in God with filial
obedience to His law, in a time of tribulation (Acts 14:22;
2 Tim. 3:12) as the condition of the inheritance.
It is perfectly absurd to imagine that men who are revelling
in all the luxuries, conveniences, and comforts of life;
enjoying the honor, glory, and friendship of the world, as
do the ecclesiastics of antichristendom in their several ranks,
orders, and degrees—to suppose, I say, that such can inherit
36$ 93 Berean
the Kingdom of God with Jesus and that "cloud of witnesses,"
of whom Paul says "the world was not worthy,"
is preposterous.
If men would reign with Christ, they must believe his
doctrine, and suffer with him (2 Tim. 2:6), in enduring
persecution for the Word's sake (Mark 10:29-30). They must
separate themselves from "the churches/* both State and
Nonconformist, which have a name to live, but are dead
in trespasses and sins. The whole system is rotten; and awaits
only the manifestation of the Lord's presence to be abolished
with signal marks of his displeasure.
Therefore, let all honest men, lay and clerical, who shall
believe the Truth, come out from among them, and be
separate. Better stand alone for the Kingdom of God's sake,
than be numbered with the multitude in the day of Christ,
who will be denied permission to "eat of the tree of life
and live for ever."
When man was expelled from Paradise, the Lord God,
apprehending some new act of presumption, placed a guard
over the Tree of Lives. This tree, it will be remembered, was
planted in the midst of the garden. Now, when Adam was
driven out—
"The Lord placed' at the east of the garden of Eden,
Cherubim, and a flaming sword wihich tunned every way,
to keep the way of the Tree of Life."
This would seem to indicate that Adam was driven out
in an easterly direction; had he gone westward, the tree of
life would have been between him and the Cherubim; so
that it would still have appeared accessible, and have tempted
him to try to get at it; which would doubtless have been his
destruction.
The Cherubim and sword were to guard the Way of the
Tree, so that it could not be approached. If they were disposed
to make a circuit to avoid the Cherubim, the flaming
sword, or devouring flame, flashed on every side; "it turned
every way to keep it" from being invaded by presumption.
From this arrangement, they either saw the tree of life
no more; or, saw it only in the distance. The latter is the
more probable. The sight of it from time to time would
remind them of what they had lost; and, from what they
had learned of the effect producible upon the eater of its
fruit, it suggested the possibility of mortal man putting on
immortality. This was a thing to be desired. But they could
not get at the tree; how could they then attain it? There
were but two of them, and neither of them could answer
the question. There were no Scriptures testifying to them—
"This is the way, walk ye in it."
They were ignorant of "the way leading unto life"; and,
if they had not been "taught of God," they would have
remained ignorant of it for ever. The thinking of the flesh
93 Berean 367
could never have discovered it; for the obtaining of immortality
involved the belief and practice of things which
it was utterly impossible for the heart of man to conceive.
We have an illustration of this in the endeavor of the
heathen philosophers to solve the problem. Being ignorant of
God's knowledge they ran into the most absurd speculations.
They thought that immortality was a sort of ghost inside of
a man that went to the fields of Elysium when death dissolved
its union with the body. They regarded this innate
principle as a particle of the divine essence from which
proceeded all virtuous actions; while vice was the natural
result of the operation of the matter of the body, which
was essentially malignant. The apostle refers to this in part
when he says (Rom. 1:22)—
"Professing themselves' to be wise, they became fools."
Hence, he styles "the wisdom of the wise" "foolishness";
and, as the Corinthians had received the Gospel of the Kingdom,
which teaches a very different doctrine, he inquires—
"Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"
Has He not shown the absurdity of their speculations
about "souls," "immortality," and "the nature of the gods"?
They had no idea of immortality being conferred only
upon men who might be accounted worthy of a certain
kingdom. This was a doctrine which the flesh, with all its
thinking, and with all its logic, had no conception of. It
never thought of the Kingdom of God and the Name of a
particular personage, as the channel through which immortality
was to flow. It was lost in reveries about Elysium and
Tartarus; and the river Styx which flowed between them;
and about Charon and his ferry-boat; and ghosts; and threeheaded
Cerberus; and the snake-haired furies; and Pluto
"king of hell."
But of "glory, honor, incorruptibility, and life," an incorruptible
and undefiled inheritance, the recompense of
reward to the subjects of a righteousness by faith—of such a
"prize" as this, to be sought after by doing the will of God
they were as utterly ignorant as an unborn babe. Well might
the apostle say in the language of the prophet—
"Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither have
entered into the heart of men, the things which God hath
prepared for them that Jove Him. B«ut God hath revealed
them to us by His Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:9-16).
—that is, to those who received the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Immortality f then, and the way to it, are things about
which man must have remained for ever ignorant, so long
as their discovery depended upon the thinking of the flesh.
In other words, they are matters purely of divine testimony;
and as faith is the belief of testimony, men can have no
faith in them beyond what is stated in the written Word.
The carnal mind, by reflecting upon its own consciousness,
368 93 Berean
may be "of opinion" that what it terms "I myself" is immaterial
because it thinks, and "therefore immortal"; but
beyond that it can never go. Opinion implies doubt; for if a
matter be beyond doubt, it is no longer opinion, but faith or
knowledge.
Where, then, is the man, be he philosopher or theologist,
who can demonstrate the existence of an "immortal soul" in
the animal man, by a "thus it is written," or a "thus saith
the Lord"? A few phrases in Scripture may be twisted, and
tortured into an inference—which, however, becomes lighter
than vanity before the direct testimonies of the Word to the
Contrary. —Berean, 1954
The Man Of Sorrows
BY BROTHER ROBERT ROBERTS
The occasion of the origin of this institution (the breaking
of bread), is one of deep interest from many points of view.
That occasion was an observance required by the Law of
Moses, in celebration of Israel's deliverance from Egypt—the
feast of unleavened bread, otherwise called the feast of the
Passover, from the passover lamb slain in connection with it,
and a typical celebration of the greater deliverance to be
effected through Jesus, as the slain Lamb of the great scheme
of human redemption. As a Jew, "made of a woman, made under
the law" (Gal. 4:4) Jesus, who came not to destroy the law and
the prophets, but to fulfil, was forward in readiness to obey this
as all other of the Mosaic requirements.
But he had a special inclination to celebrate the Passover
on this occasion. His disciples having been given directions as
to the place where it was to be eaten, they went and made
ready; and in the evening, at the appointed hour they came
together. "With desire, "he said, "I hove desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer." The attempt to realize the origin of this
desire brings many interesting phases of Christ's character
under review. His susceptibility to sorrow is a prominent
feature. "My soul," he said, "is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death!"
Why was he labouring under this weight of sorrow? The
prospect he had before his mind, affords the answer. He was
about to be deserted by his friends, and delivered to the
heartless mob. He was about to be given up to the authority of
the law, like a common felon. He was about to be abandoned
to the ravening wolves who thirsted for his life; to be given over
to insult and violence at the hands of hypocrites, who had
93 Berean 369
been prophetically styled in the Psalms, "dogs and bulls of
Bashan "; and to be put to the most agonizing and ignominious
death which it was possible for man to suffer. A prospect like
this was enough to fill his soul with darkness.
Paganism has glorified the doctrine of indifference, and
the world accounts stoicism as heroic. But this no more
savours of true wisdom than the many other doctrines of the
ancient schools, which Paul has pronounced to be foolishness
with God. An exquisite nature like that of "the Holy One of God,"
which the sins and miseries of men alone weighed down with
sorrow and made acquainted with grief, was not likely to be
insensible to so great a woe as was about then to overwhelm
him. The desertion of friends, the withdrawal of the divine
presence and protection, the triumph of hypocrisy and barbarism
(though but for a moment), and the agonies of outraged
nature, were terrible to his soul just in proportion as the
reverse of all these conditions was his delight. He was not
insensible to the sorrows of our common nature.
"We have not an high priest that cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as
we are."
He groaned under the weight of his load. He sweat, as it
were, great drops of blood. He prayed earnestly that if it were
possible the cup might pass from him (Luke 22:44). He did
not refuse to drink it, if the plan of divine love required it. "The
cup which my Father hath given me to drink, shall I not drink it?" he
said (John 18:11): and in view of the suggestion, that the hour
might pass from him, he said, "For this cause came I unto this
hour" (John 12:27). It pleased the Lord to bruise him; to put
him to grief (Isa. 53:10), and grievous was the burden of his
sorrow which cast a mantle of gloom over the days of his flesh,
when with strong crying and tears he offered up prayers to
Him that was able to save, and was heard in that he feared
(Heb. 5:7).
We can understand why this sorrow should increase with
the approach of the bitter hour, and why he should look, with
some degree of consolation, to the unbosoming of his sorrow
which was to take place at the eating of the passover.
It was a sober meeting in that upper room, when all
outside was feasting and gladness. "Allye shall be offended because
of me this night," said he. The pain and perplexity of the
disciples, caused by this remark, can be imagined, especially
when he added: "Verily I say unto you, One of you shall betray me."
370 93 Berean
The simple loyalty of the disciples could but unite with Peter's
exclamation, "Though all men forsake thee, yet willnotL " Yet they
could not penetrate the portentous sayings of their Master,
whose wisdom they had learnt to have in awe, though his
teachings they did not at all times comprehend.
They sat still in the cloud, and waited while light began to
break. Having unburdened his own soul, Jesus proceeded to
pour the oil of consolation into their smarting wounds. "Let
not your hearts be troubled," he said —
uYe believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are
many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you."
Herein have we the connection between the cross and the
crown. The sorrow of the hour was but part of the work of
preparation for the Great House of the Father, whose presence
("the tabernacle of God with men") shall lead to a wiping
away of tears, and a blotting out of every curse and all death.
The first "going" of the Lord in the work of preparation was "to
prison and to death." This was the cup that could not pass. If
the Lord had not died, men would not have been saved, nor
mansions developed. Death had passed upon all through sin,
under the law which constituted death the wages of sin; and it
had pleased the Father to require this law to be fully upheld
as the basis of the scheme by which salvation had come by
Christ. Without the blood of a sinless representative, the
covenants of promise must remain a dead letter. Without the
slaying of the lamb, there could be no "passing over" by the
angel of death.
This mystery Jesus, after the unburdening of his sorrow,
proceeds to bring before his disciples in new symbols, in the
use of which he laid a new basis for the fellowship of his
friends, and established a new bond of connection between
himself as THE TRUTH, and all who should come unto God
by him.
"As they were eating (thepassaver), he took bread, and when he
had given thanks, he brake it and gave to his disciples, saying
Take this, and divide it among yourselves. This is my body
broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. 'And likewise the
cup, when he had given thanks, saying, This cup is the New
Testament in my blood, which is shed for you: drinkye all of it.y"
This brings Christ forward as the bread of life, in the
partaking of whom by the truth, we become constituents of
the ONE BODY. It places him in the position of the Head, the
93 Berean 371
First, the Alpha and Omega, of the salvation of God; and, in
this respect, the "Lord's Supper" is a continual protest against
the fancies of men by which they hope to save themselves
without Christ. It is also a continual profession of subjection
on the part of all true disciples, and a continual remembrance
of those things which are apt to pass out of mind.
The fealty of the one Body and the supremacy of the Lord,
as head and husband, root and vine, are the most glorious and
characteristic features of the system which centres in Christ.
This mutual relation is tempered by the highest love. The
Lord loves the ecdesia. Hence the latter sing: "Thou hast loved
us, and washed us from our sins in thine own blood." Also, Paul says
that men ought to love their wives ueven as the Lord the ecdesia."
This love is returned."All that love the Lord Jesus in
sincerity and in truth," is Paul's description of such as constitute
the ecclesia.Where this reciprocated love does not exist,
the relation to Christ is not by him recognized.
"Except a man love m e . . . he cannot be my disciple. "
Now, consider this feature, and you will find it has in it the
greatest glory conceivable to the human mind. We never see
a finer thing on earth than love. We do not see it often in its
perfect form, because the conditions necessary for its full play
are rarely met. There is plentiful and abundant scope for the
love that takes the form of benevolence: kindness to the
afflicted, attention to the humble and poorly-gifted, and
almsgiving to the poor. These are godly manifestations, and
satisfying to the doer; but the glowing attachment that is
gendered by the mutual exhibition of excellence — the
luxury of requited noble love — is a flower of heaven that
grows not by the way-side. It is to be met with in secret corners,
now and then blooming like the violet unseen, and coming
never to maturity then, unless the good seed of the kingdom
is the germ of the flower.
In the Captain of our Salvation the conditions of love exist
in their fulness. Presented to us as the object of supreme
attachment—attachment to whom is the indispensable condition
of discipleship—we have in him, as Paul expresses it, "all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). He is the
wisdom of God manifested in an individual of our race. He is
the "power of God," to whom is committed all power in heaven
and in earth. He is the goodness of God; "God was in Christ,
reconcilingtheworld unto himself1(2 Cor. 5:19). Wisdom, power,
372 93Berean
excellence, goodness, and authority combine to make him
altogether lovely, and this loveliness is made to shine with
greater power into our hearts by the fact that he died for and
gives life to us, but for which we should never have risen above
the level of the perishing races around.
We can love him without danger of recoil. No inferior
manifestation on his part will ever cool our ardour or tire our
preference. He is the focus of the covenanted goodness; the
head of the body; the centre of the circle, the nucleus of the
glorious family, the beginning of the new creation; the spirit
of the system; the life of the community. "As is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. "The body is of common nature
with the head. The younger members of the family bear
resemblance to the Elder Brother. The wisdom, nobility, and
love of the head radiate to the utmost member, and impart
beauty and health to the whole alike.
We may not see this illustrated at present. The one body,
of whom these things are affirmed, is only in process of development.
Its principal constituents are in the womb of the
night. The gates of Hades enclose the multitude of sleeping
saints. The few who are in the land of the living are set in
ungodly surroundings, and in association with many who have
the name but not the spirit of the calling. In the family as it
exists in the state of probation, there is much that is adventitious
and destined to be rejected. This is needful to the
effectual proving of the genuine.
The aspect of the family in the land of the living will
disappoint those who consider it in the light of its divine ideal.
They make a discouraging mistake who look to find the
heavenly excellences in every professed member of the bride.
Only a few will be saved. The divine ideal will not be realized till
all the children of God scattered abroad (living and dead) are
"gathered together in one" (John 11:52); and presented to Christ
by himself, a glorious ecdesia, without spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing (Eph. 5:27). Keeping the eye on this, faith can feed,
and purpose in Christ grow strong.We can see in the future a
whole family of glorious sons and daughters, among whom
will be no liars, cold hearts or fools—a community of righteous
men in perfect health, with boundless wealth, unwearying
faculty, overflowing love, and everlasting joy. Oh, the glory
of the divine purpose in Christ! It is the substance of the
shadowy visions which cross the dreams of poets and philoso
93Berean 373
phers; but a substance that can never be reached by them.
They are out of the channel of its development. In God only
can it be found. It cannot be reached outside of His way. His
way is in Christ, and the philosophers and poets reject Christ,
though in words they profess to admire him. The way of Christ
has been made known by his ambassadors, the apostles, and
the safety of perishing man lies only in hearing their word.
To see Christ unbosom his grief to his disciples, and
soothe the sorrow caused by his words, is to learn that if we
belong to the Christ community, we are not callous theorists
or unsanctified dealers in "doctrines'* that touch not our feelings
and move not our sentiments; but on the contrary, the
love of Christ constraineth us, "because we thus judge, that if one
died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they that
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died
for them, and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
This love is one of the fruits of the Spirit, which will only
grow in well-tended soil. The "good and honest heart" is the
good ground that will yield a harvest to this culture; but
without the culture, the harvest will not come. Natural goodness
and honesty of heart will not of themselves bring forth the
fruits of the Spirit, any more than rich garden ground will
grow roses and gooseberries without planting. Good ground
will grow nettles as easily as bad ground, and a little more
luxuriantly if it is turned to that use.
An excellent constitution of mind requires the Spirit-seed
before the Spirit-fruits can come. "The good seed is the word of the
kingdom"; the descending rain is to be found in the Spirit shed
upon us through the prophets and apostles, to the refreshment
of our dry and thirsty souls. From thence issues the water
of life, which the Spirit invites us to drink, that in the end we
may thirst no more. In plain speaking, the root of the matter
is to be found in the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. The despised Bible, which perverted people call a dead
letter, is this golden fountain. Daily companionship in diligent,
methodical and attentive reading and continual meditation
on its many and wonderful unfoldings, will gender and
nourish the fruits of the Spirit, and cause a gradual but certain
growing up into Christ our living head. It will bring about in
us a like-mindedness to him, renewing the spirit of our mind,
and strengthening the image of the new man, which has been
formed within us by the truth.
3 7 4 93 Berean
The study of particular subjects will not bring this result.
A man is likely to be a dry and sapless branch who feeds off one
extracted element of the vine-juice. The Kingdom alone without
the God of the Kingdom and the purpose of the Kingdom,
will generate spiritual idiocy. The Signs of the Times, without
the two great commandments on which hang all the law and
the prophets, will gender hardness of heart. The mortality of
human nature studied by itself will produce a monster; the
"state of the dead,* spiritual moles and bats; earth creatures,
who delight to burrow in the Must and ashes" of this state of
humiliation, insensible to the noble aspirations after the
higher ways, to which Christ is the door. God-manifestation by
itself will give us a scorching glare, that will parch the ground,
and spread desolation.
In the spiritual, as in the natural, we must have all the
elements of growth, in order to have a healthy life of the
creature, or healthy fructification of the soil. Let us have the
air, earth, and sky of God's entire word; the refreshing shower,
as well as the invigorating breeze; the moon that walks in her
brightness, as well as the glorious orb of day; the ploughing,
and harrowing, and planting, as well as watering and garnering;
the ramble on the mountain side, as well as the meditative
rest at home.
We must have all that goes to make up a healthy life. We
must have the glory of the promises, the beauty of holiness, the
sweetness of love, the tenderness of compassion, the brightness
of hope, the vigour of good sense, faith in the mysteries,
intelligence in the signs, taste for the first principles, skill in
strong meat. All these will combine to make a lovable, interesting,
and useful man in Christ Jesus; but this can only be
reached by continual presence in the word, a daily picking up
over the breadth of its richly-furnished fields, neglecting no
corners, giving no preference to any part, but honouring, and
studying, and treasuring all alike. Thus will the man of God be
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
The labour is not great, but continuous. It is like the small
economies which, steadily practised, lead to wealth; little by
little, till more is in your hands than you know. The result in
this case is beyond all price, and, therefore, worth all perseverance.
It is, indeed, the pearl of great price, which a wise man
will dispense with everything to obtain. It is the one thing
needful, which secured, will never be taken away. It leads to
93 Berean 375
the blessedness which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; nor
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive.
"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them
that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in
thee before the sons of men" (Psa. 31:19).
—Further Seasons of Comfort
The Living Creatures and the Bow
BY BROTHER G. V. GROWCOTT
EZEKIEL CHAPTER ONE CONTINUED
"The Living Creatures ran and returned as the appearance of
a flash of lightning" (\. 14).
Lightning is brilliance and power and rapidity of motion:
undeviating, irresistible. Lightning, the most stupendous and
awesome of all the manifestations of the powers of nature,
travels at the speed of light and electricity: 186,000 miles per
secon the maximum speed in the universe.
Electricity is the most elementary form of the manifestations
of the Spirit of God. All matter and all energy are forms
of electricity. This—in striking confirmation of the Scriptures
— is one of the most significant and stupendous facts that man
in his little scratchings of nature, has stumbled upon.
The atom bomb is the result of disturbing the electrical
composition of the basic elements. A simple handful of
common dust is in reality a vast storehouse of locked-in and
incalculable power. In light, and lightning, and electricity, we
are on the borders of the Spirit-world.
"Behold one wheel upon the earth by the Living Creatures."
In this context, what is the wheel symbol? — the "rolling,
whirling thing" — as the word means, aso great they were
dreadful" (v. 18)? This is perhaps the strangest and most
difficult part of the picture. The wheel, the circle, is a symbol
of perfection, endlessness, eternity, and it is also the CHARIOT
aspect — the "Chariot of the Cherubim" (1 Chr. 28:18),
God's chariot of royalty, God's chariot of war — that in which
and with which He crushes and threshes His enemies.
Dan. 7:9 records of the Ancient of Days (and here again we
are in the same time and same events as the Cherubim
portray) —
"His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning
fire."
A forward movement in the accomplishment of purpose:
especially judicial and administrative purpose. In the same
376 93 Berean
context in Daniel we have the thrones cast down and the 4
Beasts — the nations of the earth —judged.
There are 2 words in Hebrew for wheel: 'ophan,' meaning
'circle'; and 'galgal,' meaning 'roll.' (The word for 'roll of a
book' is from the same root as this latter). Both words are used
by Ezekiel for "wheel," and apparently interchangeably, though
there must be a significance in the difference of use. Both are
used in Eze. 10:13 —
"As for the wheels (ophan-circles), it was cried unto them in
my hearing, O wheel! (galgal — rather, Roll on!)."
Wheels indicate going forward, progression, unfolding,
movement, mobility. The laver of the Tabernacle was singular
and stationary; but the lavers of the Temple were 10-fold, and
had wheels. The former was for the cleansing of Israel alone,
the latter symbolized the going forth of the Gospel of purification
to all the world in the Age to Come.
To "bring the wheel over" someone is to crush and subdue
them, as the millennial promise in Prov. 20:26 —
"A wise hingscattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over
them."
This is the wheel of threshing, as in Isa. 28:27-28 (where
again we find both words for wheel used.)
But "wheel" in this vision symbolize much more than
rolling and motion. The Cherubim fly, the wheels are lifted up
with them, and they whirl even when the Cherubim are
standing still. The Spirit of life is in the wheels, and the wheels
are full of eyes.
There is something that adds great power and fittingness
to the wheel symbol of the spirit, that has only become known
in our own day. Man, in his little scratchings on the surface of
the limitless depths of the glories of creation, has discovered
that all creation is made up of wheels; that all the infinite
varieties of Creation — from the rose to the hippopotamus,
from the ant to the glorious sun — are simply varieties of the
arrangement of wheels within wheels: atoms, neutrons, protons,
electrons, etc. — an inconceivable variety of arrangement
of a few simple basic things.
And these in turn break down to one basic thing —
electricity. And the life and power of all these "wheels within
wheels" is the spirit of God. Each infinitesimal atom is a
tremendous concentration of pure divine power, so that a
handful of dust could easily send a rocket to the moon. Every
93Berean 377
atom is a miniature universe, whirling at astronomical speeds.
"The noise of their wings was like the noise of great waters, as
the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an
host" (v. 24).
The same symbol of the roar of mighty rushing waters as
the noise of an invincible host occurs throughout Rev., as in
19:6 —
"I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, as the voice
of many waters, as the voice of mighty thunderings."
"When they stood, they let down their wings" (v. 24).
Then, when the Cherubim have completed their work of
subduing the earth, and have let down their wings, vs. 25-28
give us the final vision of the chapter: the Voice, the Throne,
the Man, and finally, the Bow in the cloud.
The Rainbow is the Everlasting Covenant of God to man.
There are 2 essentials for a rainbow: water and the sun. Water
is life. The cycle of water is the cycle of life for the earth: drawn
up by the sun, formed into clouds, poured down on the earth
in rain, running into rivers, then down to the sea, and then up
again into the clouds to begin its joyful and beneficent cycle
over and over again.
Water—joyful, flowing, cascading, glistening, living water
— is the dominant aspect of Ezekiel's Millennial Temple.
Water is everywhere around. Water flows in abundant profusion
from its central and holiest point, the up-raised Altar on
the top of the mount. It cascades down the slopes and pours
forth out of every entrance. Without water, the beauty of the
Temple would be but the beauty of a tomb: bare dead stone,
and bare dead sand.
The Rainbow reveals the whole range of colors that make
up light. The Covenant Rainbow is spoken of as emerald
green in the Revelation (4:5). Green is the central color of the
natural rainbow. The word for "green" in Hebrew means
moist, fruitful, flourishing, LIFE.
With it, the whole Temple swarms with life and greenness.
The vast and beautiful masonry of the Temple structure is but
the underlying form and foundation of a great flourishing
canopy of lush and verdant flowering greenery that transforms
it into one huge and glorious arbor of most delightful
shade and atmosphere and perfume.
Here, indeed is the HOLY CITY— not a "city* as the horrible,
crime-laden, corruption-filled, rat-infested ant hills of
378 93 Berean
man's creation have given us a picture, but a true, beautiful
divine polity —
"The Wood of Life in the midst of the Paradise of the Deity."
The Rainbow manifests to us all colors. Color is prominent
in the symbols of Scripture; red, purple, blue, green, and the
yellow-gold of faith. Where does color come from? What is
color? Why do we see red, purple, green, etc.?
THE COLOR IS IN THE LIGHT. Light contains all color.
Objects of themselves have no color. They just have the
capacity to reflect color that shines upon them. In the dark
they are all the same. They are all NOTHING.
There is a great lesson here. In our natural darkness we are
all the same — all nothing. There is no royal purple, no
spiritual heavenly healing blue, no fruitful, verdant, living
green, no yellow-gold of faith. In any active, meaningful
accountable sense, there is even no red of sin for —
"Where there is no law, there is no transgression."
"The times of this ignorance God winked at."
"Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beasts
that perish."
There is just the solid black darkness of death. Black is the
absence of all color, as white is all colors combined. Let us
always remember that —
THE COLOR IS IN THE LIGHT.
We must come to the light to be anything. We must keep
the light shining on us to continue to be anything. As soon as
we step, even for a moment, out of the light into the darkness,
we immediately become nothing again. We have nothing in
ourselves, no matter how long we have been in the Truth. Cut
off from the Vine, we are useless and dead.
"God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at alL "
—John declares (1 Jn. 1:5). All is of God. The light of God for
us is manifested through the Sun. The sun represents Christ
— the aSun of Righteousness" — "God with us."
In the Rainbow the glory of the light of God is manifested
in a multitude. The Rainbow is the Covenant, the symbol of
the Eternal Purpose. In it we see revealed all the colors that
together make up the Divine Light for man.
How does the Rainbow separate the light and manifest the
different features of the Divine Plan? The rainbow is the Sun's
light reflected from multitudes of tiny drops of water in the air.
These drops are a very fitting symbol of the Redeemed. They
93 Berean 379
are from the great ocean of nations — the "waters of the Great
Sea.w But they have been called out, separated, drawn up into
the heavenlies by the mighty attracting power of the sun. In
this process they have been purified.
We hear much today about polluted waters. Man has
suddenly been jolted by discovering that in the stupidity of his
cleverness he is destroying the earth and himself. Even under
the curse that man brought upon himself by disobedience,
God has given man a beautiful earth, a beautiful habitation,
and has in infinite wisdom and love established thereon a
beautiful, balanced self-purifying natural cycle of life. But
man in his godless ignorance and greed and violence is rapidly
destroying all the beauty and balance, and bringing death and
desolation to whatever he touches.
But these tiny drops of water have been purified from all
this as they have been drawn up by the power of the sun.
As they are being drawn up, they are invisible to the world.
But suddenly, at the proper time, they will be manifested in
clouds which will cover the earth, streaming down in floods
and torrents: God's long pent-up wrath and judgments against
the universal wickedness of man. Then the sky clears, the Sun
is revealed, the Rainbow appears, and the glory of God is
manifested to the world in all the marvelous details of the
Divine plan for mankind.
Each of these drawn-up drops of water is a sphere — a
circle or wheel in 3 dimensions. The different colors are the
different wave lengths of which light is composed. Each
separate color is reflected in the raindrop at a slightly different
angle — so each ray of white light is thus spread out in all
its range of colors, and the glorious beauty of the rainbow
appears.
To us, a Rainbow is an arc. How can an arc, a part of a
circle, represent the fullness and completeness and endlessness
of the Divine Glory? Here, by deeper examination, we
find a beautiful hidden fitness. If we ascend high enough, we
discover that the Rainbow is a complete and perfect circle. It
is only the earth and our low viewpoint that obscures this fact
from us. The higher we ascend, the more of the circle we see.
Viewed from a mountain top under the right circumstances,
the whole circle of the Rainbow would be revealed.
The lesson for us is that we must constantly be ascending the
380 93Berean
mountain of the Lord, never satisfied with the present limits
of our understanding or our spiritual accomplishments.
"As the appearance of the Bow that is in the Cloud in the day
of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the
LORD."
"And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of
one that spake" (v. 28).
This is the culmination of the vision of the manifestation
of Yahweh — Christ and the Saints ruling a peaceful and purified
earth. The Cherubim of Glory have let down their wings.
Their work of destroying the wicked and subduing the earth
is ended —
"The Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and
from His power."
"And no man was able to enter into the Temple, till the seven
plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" (Rev. 15:8).
But now the plagues are over, and all the smoke of
judgment and destruction has cleared away. The horsemen
among the myrtle trees have accomplished their work, and —
"All the earth sitteth still, and is at rest" (Zech. 1:11).
This final verse of Eze. 1 is the glory of God now revealed
in full and unrestrained effulgence. The Tabernacle of God is
with men, and God is all in all —
"As the appearance of the Bow that is in the Cloud in the day
of rain. " — Benan, 1971
What To Watch For In Relation To Russia
(Continued)
After Peter's death, a forty year period of disruption ensued.
And then the crown was given to his daughter Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was succeeded by her nephew, also named Peter
(Peter III), who, in 1762, was overthrown and murdered in a
palace revolution led by his wife, Catherine, a German princess
(1729-1796, Catherine II). She became known as Catherine
the Great' She proposed sweeping reforms, which were
stopped by a peasant uprising. Then a further interruption
came with the French Revolution.
Catherine died in 1796, and was succeeded by her son
Paul, who was succeeded by a son, Alexander.
In 1805, Alexander joined in a coalition with Great Britain
and Austria against France, then ruled by Napoleon.
But by 1812, Russia and France were again at war. Napo-
93 Berean 381
leon invaded Russia and captured Moscow but had to make a
disastrous winter retreat. Russia took a leading role in the
campaign that ended in the capture of Paris and the overthrow
of Napoleon. Russia then became a major power in
Europe.
Czar Nicholas I succeeded Alexander to the throne. Nicholas
became known as "the policeman of Europe" because of
his zeal in putting down liberal movements both in Russia and
in other countries. It was during the reign of this Czar that bro.
Dr. Thomas began his search of the Scriptures for the Truth.
Eurosiatic Russia: 1856-1905
.AUSTRIA/HUNGARY
MEDfTER. HA W£A W
Nicholas turned his attention toward the weakening Ottoman
Empire, the drying up of the Apocalyptic Euphrates
River of Revelation 16. Nicholas hoped to win control of
Constantinople and the Dardanelles so that Russian access to
the high seas and also domination of the Black Sea could be
assured. It was clearly a picture of an aggressive King of the
North wishing to push toward the south, and the very move
that we look for today.
Understanding Russia's intent, other European powers
would not permit Russia to strengthen herself at the expense
of Turkey. One crisis followed another until the outbreak of
the Crimean War (1853-1856), in which Great Britain, France
382 93 Berean
and Sardinia (the nucleus of modern Italy) joined Turkey.
Russia suffered a serious defeat.
Nicholas was succeeded by his son Alexander II (1855). It
was during his reign that Russia sold Alaska to the United
States. Alexander II was assassinated and his son Alexander HI
became the new Czar. During this reign there was an expansion
in industry and much railroad building. A shaky but
progressive expansion continued to develop the Russian lands.
Nicholas II succeeded his father Alexander III. Nicholas
continued the repressive and autocratic rule of his father.
Persecution of the Jews also continued. But this Czar was weakwilled
and was said to have been dominated by his wife
Alexandra.
With more industrialization, factory workers increased.
But working conditions were poor and there were frequent
strikes. Revolutionary activity revived again in the late 1890s.
A new radical group appeared called Marxists. They sought
for a revolution of the working class. One group of Marxists
consisted of those called Bolsheviks (which means the "majority")
. They were led by one V. I. Lenin.
In 1905, a revolution erupted and was violently put down.
Eight years later (1914), World War I began due partly to
Russia's support of Serbia against Austria-Hungary.
Bolshevik Revolution (1917) to Present
Following World War I, Russia's internal problems continued.
In early 1917, strikes, riots and mutinies broke out in
many places. Czar Nicholas was forced to abdicate.
By November, the Bolshevik Revolution had begun. In the
next year a Communist constitution was adopted and terror
was used to crush all opposition. The government took over
factories, farms and other means of production and the
suppression of religion began.
Also, to further insure Communist stability, the Romanov
family, that is, Nicholas II, his wife and five children and a few
others, were murdered in July of 1918. That event ended the
300 year reign of the Romanov family in the land of the
Russias.
Incidentally, this year (1992), there has been an increase
in news and publicity about this last Romanov family. Some of
this is due to recent data discovered about their deaths.
But there is a hint that there may be more to this attention
than a drive to confirm history. It appears that there may still
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be a national guilt that such a barbaric act was allowed to
happen to Russia's historic royalty. Statements are now being
heard that there may be a desire for the return of nobility. A
new renaissance.
To quote one Russian historian (Radzinsky), aThere is a
nostalgia for the monarchy." It is being said that, aNow that
Communism is in its grave, Nicholas is the specter haunting
Russia."
***
Russian Communism
The history of Communist Russia is well documented. We
are all somewhat familiar with this segment of Russian history.
Joseph Stalin took over after Lenin. He, too, was a brutal
leader who ordered many expulsions and executions within
the Communists hierarchy and military itself. By 1940, at least
ten million people were in slave labor camps within the Soviet
Union. Many roads and industries were built by the labors of
these prisoners.
At the beginning of World War II, the Russians were in a
pact with Nazi Germany. That ended when Hitler invaded the
Soviet Union. As the war ended, the Soviets saw more opportunity
for expansion. (They had suffered enormous destruction
during the war). Of course, Germany was split up into
West and East — East being Communist occupied; and, as
Eastern European countries became liberated from the Nazis,
the Soviets set up Communist regimes, one after the other.
These Eastern European countries became satellites of the
U.S.S.R.
Subsequently Soviet military power seemed to be overwhelming,
and became viewed by the Western Democracies as
a threat. The Cold War was now in progress, and the Iron
Curtain became a fact of life for some fifty years.
But there was one problem. Despite the fact that the Soviet
military was indeed an overwhelming world military power,
and they had the capability to destroy the world seven times
over; the Communist structure of Russia could not sustain its
people in every needed facet of life, beginning with food—an
essential ingredient to even fight war.
For five decades Communist Soviet Russia provided the
world with a nearly unprecedented display of military might;
while the country, internally, was failing at resolving major
problems.
Food lines were a way of life. Appliances in windows of
384 93Berean
Russian stores often had knobs stolen because they would not
stay on purchased products. Shoes would not last through the
first winter because of poor quality. Roads were so few or of
such poor quality that goods and crops could not be brought
to market. The list would go on and on.
The Soviet Communist polity actually possessed everything
— including initiative, creativity, will, and personal conviction.
Drastic changes actually began in 1985 as Gorbachev instituted
new domestic policies of 'Glasnost' (an openness to
discuss the problems); Terestroika' (restructuring)—an attempt
to eliminate ineptitude and corruption within the bureaucracy.
The move was all toward Democratization.
In 1991, the Republics began separating, claiming independence.
The Berlin Wall came down. In effect, Democracy
was tossed into the air for any and everyone to grab. The Soviet
Republics and East Bloc countries have been doing just that.
'Glasnost* not only brought open discussion, but also the
expression of old, historic hatreds and grievances, as well as
ethnic contrasts.
Russia's Final Position And Polity Approaching Armageddon
What is the current Russian restructuring doing in relation
to latter day prophecy? And what should we expect Russia to
be doing as Armageddon approaches? This certainly stimulates
our greatest interest. Generally, we can be assured that
these recent enormous changes are bringing the picture
closer to the prophetic end. But specifically and exactly how
the details work out, we cannot guarantee.
In retrospect, what we are currently seeing with these
changes is a more favorable picture of the final development,
than that portrayed during the days of ironclad Communism.
However, what the Brotherhood saw for some seventy
years, during the Communistic period, was not awkward for
an appropriate Russian polity at the end. Much of that period
and development fit squarely toward the desirable picture. If
a power struggle ensues again and Communism is restored,
we should not be too surprised. The probability of such happening
at this time seems dim.
No prophecy requires the land of the Russias to be under
the rule of Communism at Armageddon. Bro. Dr. Thomas did
not see Communism as an important key. Nor do we believe
93Berean 385
bro. Roberts or any of the pioneers of the 19th century did,
and the Scriptures have not changed.
The reason the Russian picture is more positive and
exciting and favorable now is because we not only needed to
see a daring and powerful Russian military (which has existed
for some time), but other components of the final picture
needed to be there also.
One, for example, is Ezekiel 38:2, which states, ". . . Son of
man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog. . / A s the land
of Magog is the area of Germany (and perhaps Hungary), the
ruler of Russia will also be sovereign over the historical
German territory.
The Soviet Communist era after World War II (Stalin,
Krushchev, Brezhnev, etc.), was a serious Cold War period
(cold war — a time of adversity and enmity without gunfire).
Armed NATO soldiers, that is, the Western powers in Europe
and especially in West Germany, faced off with Warsaw Pact
soldiers for decades. In this stalemate, Germany proper could
have only been possessed by the Soviet Union through a
victorious European war, that is, it could not have, until now.
Gog's ascendancy over Germany may still come by force, but
it will now be much less likely to involve NATO powers, whose
days as a strong military presence in Europe seem numbered.
Germany is becoming more outspoken and independent by
the month, and its appreciation of a NATO presence is
growing less and less. The new atmosphere of Democracy
opens other paths and possibilities for Ezekiel 38:2 to be
accomplished; that is, for a Russian Prince, or Czar, or Emperor,
or Autocrat to also overshadow the German arena.
Secondly, (also before Armageddon), Russia's prominence
or domination over, not only Germany, but also over the tentoe
aspect of Europe will need to take place, including an
influential relationship with France (see Elpis Israel, p. 327).
The greater feasibility of European indoctrination, paralization
and possession is as great, if not greater through the froglike
spirit of Democracy then with Communism.
Thirdly, the latter-day development of the Two-Horned
Beast of Revelation 13 must not be ignored. This will require
some degree of a co-rulership by a Pope and Emperor — or a
Pope and Czar as ruler over Magog. We should perhaps say—
working conjointly, and actively positioned, at the time of Armageddon;
similar to the period of the Holy Roman Empire.
386 93Berean
DRAGON - CONSTANTINOPLE:
BEAST-"-EARTH - VIENNA
CHARLEMAGNE'S EMPIRE -AACHAN
IMAGE**-* BEAST "666'- ROME
STATES «» CHURCHAgain,
there is a much greater probability of this happening
more quickly now—with Russia's new openness, and new
liberation of religious freedom, than before. Not that Russia
must be a token of a religious country, but their new attitude
of re-accepting the idea of religion as a power and exploitation
source now seem more reasonable. (To be continued, God willing)
Current Events Fulfilling Prophecy
MIDDLE EAST: HISTORIC PEACE BREAKTHROUGH
CLAIMED BY ISRAELIS AND PLO
A quarter of a century after the victory in the 1967 war, the current
leaders of Israel may be making unprecedented agreements with the
PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) to establish peace in the
Middle East
Behind this great diplomatic breakthrough lies the simple truth
that for the nation of Israel to free itself from the political and moral
burdens of occupation, they have thrown a lifeline to PLO leaders it
had vowed never to recognize. A significant percentage of the
country is clearly tiring of the watchtowers and garrisons. Israeli
society, having become anxious for a normal existence, appears to be
putting aside its aversion to the PLO.
Current Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has referred to a
"stirring for peace" in the "entire Arab arena." But what has helped
to induce this new peace effort is the fact that the political culture
93 Berean 387