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PREFACE

co be to God that His grace has preserved us,
“kept us from falling,’ through another year—that

so many of us are still of one heart and of one mind

LZ aN.
ESS

in respect to His Word, and its service!

“Prove me’now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to contain it.”’ Malachi 3:10.

Considering the helpful and inspiring messages presented by
the dear Pilgrim Brethren at the CONVENTION and ANNUAL
ELECTION of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT
SOCIETY, assembled at Pittsburgh, January 2-5, 1919, we have
been moved to publish this Verbatim Report. We wish to thank

the brethren for their assistance in this connection.

In sending out this SOUVENIR CONVENTION RE-
PORT, we do so with the prayer that the Lord’s People will re-
ceive as great spiritual benefit from its perusal as we have in its

preparation.

Yours in the Master’s Service,

GEO. A. GLENDON, Jr.,
1265 Broadway (Suite 611),
New York City, N. Y.

|
|

INTRODUCTION

“Thou crownest the year with thy goodness.” Psa. 65:11

HE opening of a most significant New Year found several hundred
friends assembled at the Bethel Chapel in Pittsburgh, Wednesday
eg night, January lst, reviewing in testimony the leadings of Divine

eS : lees Providence during the past year. The joy and rejoicing in the

Lord knew no bounds. Many of the friends found it a special
occasion to make plenty of good resolves, respecting what we shall be willing to
be, to do, to suffer, in fellowship with’our Lord.

The keynote of the meeting was based upon the Prayer Meeting text: “Be
thou strong and very courageous.’ (Josh. 1:7.) One brother testified that he was
glad that he could stand up for Jesus and hold high the banner of Truth. Others
testified that they, as followers of the Lord, stood firmly for the truth: not fear-
ing what man might do unto them, but trusted in the Lord, and in the power of
His might, with the promise that by so doing, they will be with Him in Glory.

Another brother voiced the sentiments of all in the following words: “How
appropriate is this keynote in connection with our Text for the year: ‘No weapon
that 1s formed against thee shall prosper.” (Isa. 54:17.) I am perfectly willing
to give and sacrifice everything to gain this assurance. The only injury these
weapons can do is to the old creature, which we have already consecrated to
death. Therefore, God uses the ‘wrath of man to praise Him,’—by turning what
seems to harm us into everlasting joy and blessing.”

At the conclusion of the service, Brother Wise requested all to join in silent
prayer asking the Lord to direct their every word, thought and action during
the succeeding four days, to the end that “the Love of God might rule in every
heart”: that all things be avoided which would aid the enemy.

It was good to be there! And as we wended our way to our respective rooms
we were confident that the opening of the Convention on the morrow would
manifest more of the spirit of the Psalmist’s words:

“Behold, how good, and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity.”

WATCH TOWER OFFICE

“THE OLD QUAKER SHOP” SOLDIERS’ MEMORIAL HALL
other Russell’s First Haberdashery Store

ANNUAL CONVENTION AND ELECTION

W. T. B. & T. SOCIETY
PITTSBURGH, PENN., JANUARY 2-5, 1919

HENLEY PARK, Pittsburgh’s $50,000,-
000 Beauty Center, proved to be an
ideal place for a convention of the
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
during the period of its Annual Elec-
tion—the first Saturday in the new
year. The location wasa delightful one.

Memorial Hall, dedicated to the
memory of the heroes of another
cause, was appropriately the meeting

place of the soldiers of the “Cross of Christ” who, too,
must die to win.

On the morning of January 2d the Convention opened
according to program, and from that time to the last
reluctant farewells at the close of the Convention, Sunday
evening, January 5th, with a Love Feast, we who were
present considered this Convention the most beneficial
ever held. Approximately one thousand attended. Brother
C. A. Wise served as chairman throughout the entire
session.

Brother E. G. Walters, of Tamaqua, Pa., was the
musical director. All mingled in “song of unspeakable
sweetness to the praise of God.’ The inspiration derived
from the music and words contained in “Hymns of Dawn”
caused us to sympathize with our beloved Brother J. F.
Rutherford :

“Often I long to hear some of our hymns!
Then I contemplate the music of the Heavenly .
courts, and long for that, and am thrilled with
the prospect. that in the chorus will be the
beautiful, wonderful, angelic hosts, the innu-
merable company of honored servants before
the throne, the Bride in all her glory and beau-
ty and the majestic Bridegroom, all mingling
their perfect voices in music and song of un-
speakable sweetness to the praise of God. And
Jehovah Himself will for joy sing over all.
(Zeph. 3:17.) ‘The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty; He will rest in His love,
He will joy over thee with singing. How
glorious to be there, and there I want to be,
and want you to be. Let nothing be done that
will lessen our prospect. Let brotherly love
abound and be faithful unto death.”

After experiencing bitter trials during the year past,
our appetites were whetted to partake of the spiritual food
so bountifully provided for this occasion, to increase our
hopes, even as the Lord promised that He would “prepare
a table in the midst of our enemies” that we might be
able to bear present experiences.

Probably never before in the Christian era have such
earnest and fervent prayers been offered as. those on behalf
of the Convention, and our BRETHREN who are now
serving God while in prison: “Filling .up that which. is
behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake,
which is the Church.” (Col. 1:24.) With eagerness

S

everyone looked forward to the events that would tran-

THE KEYNOTE

It was clearly manifest that the sentiment throughout
all sessions centered around the yearly text: “No weapon
that is formed against thee shall prosper.’ (Isa..54:17.)
One brother said: “Since it is impossible that they can
do anything against the truth, it is likewise impossibic
for anything to hurt that oue who is under the shadow
of the Almighty. ‘Nothing shall by any means hurt you,’
the New Creature, for ‘your life is hid with Christ in
God’.”

The keynote of the Convention was in main along
advanced lines, encouraging all to abound in the hope of
bringing the Elijah and Elisha types (also that of Jezebel)
to a complete fulfillment, even as Brother Herr suggested
that

Whereas,

Enemies have striven to injure (and suc-
ceeded in a measure to suppress),

a And Satan all his arts employ;

Nevertheless,

God has turned what seemed to harm us
Into Everlasting Joy!

And before the Convention came to a climax we lost
sight of all opposition, calling to mind the Scripture, “If
God be for us, who can be against us?” We determined
to heed the admonition of the Apostle Paul to cling to
the old ship Zion, and to partake heartily of the good
nourishing food that our Master is providing through the
same channel used during the Harvest—the Watch Tower

Bible & Tract Society—in order that we may be able to

spire there, that the will of the Lord might be known. ©

Their prayers were answered, even as our President and
Brother J. F. Rutherford expressed the desire “that the
spirit of Christ fill the heart of every attendant, drawing
all of you closer together. Let every one have in mind
that we are in the final conflict of Revelation 17 :14—
‘These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King
of kings.’ It is the finale of the conflict between the
Serpent and the Seed of Promise. Let all read KING-
DOM NEWS No. 8:NOW. We must overcome or be
overcome—there is no middle ground. Concerning you
and all, my sentiments are expressed in I. Cor. 1:10.
‘Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that. ye all speak the same thing, and that
there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind, and in the same judg-
ment’.” ;

)

go forth and labor while we have the opportunity by
giving the final witness for the truth. We realized more
than ever before there is much work to be done, and we
were determined that no matter how. stormy and trouble-
some the condition of the times may be, we would not
fear, but stand by the old Ship of Zion until the very last.

INTERESTING NOTES

In accordance with an invitation extended by the Bible
House family, several hundred friends made a_ special
visit to the Watch Tower office at Allegheny—directiy
across the Alleghany River from Pittsburgh. We were
entertained and granted the privilege of fellowship in the
large parlor, tastily arranged with furniture and mementoes
of Brother Russell’s study at the Bethel Home.

Upon inquiry we were directed over. to Brother Russell’s
first haberdashery store, “The Old. Quaker Shop,” diag-
onally across the street from the Watch Tower office.

It was here that Charles Taze Russell, at the age of
eleven, formed a business partnership with his father,
himself writing the articles of agreement under which they
transacted business. Here it was that at the age of twelve
years, Charles’ father found him one time at 2 A. M.
poring over a concordance, unconscious of the lapse of
time. :

Within a few doors-of this place, we were directed to
a dusty, dingy hall where our dear Brother Russell first
“stumbled upon Adventism.” Quoting his own words, he
says: “Seemingly: by accident, one evening I dropped into

‘a dusty, dingy hall in Allegheny, Pa., where I had heard

that religious services were held, to see if the handful who
met there had anything more sensible to offer than thei
creeds of the great churches. There, for the first time, I:
heard something of the views of Second Adventism, by
Jonas Wendell, long since deceased. Thus I confess in-
debtedness to Adventists as well as to other Bible students..
Though his Scriptural exposition was not entirely clear
and though it was very far from what we now rejoice in,.
it was sufficient, under. God, to re-establish my wavering
faith in the Divine.inspiration of the Bible, and to show
that the records of the Apostles and the Prophets are
indissolubly linked.”

piensa rr

WATCH TOWER BIBLE
& TRACT SOCIETY

I. Bo S. Ap. CONVENTION 7

AT THE GRAVE

On Monday, a party of about 150 was conducted by
Brother Bohnet to the grave of Brother Russell. Upon
a hillside, sloping towards,the south, we joined hands
around the grave and sang: |

“Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love ;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

“Our glorious hope revives
Our courage every day,

While each with expectation strives
To run the Heavenly way.”

One last lingering look upon the scene recalled the
peaceful manner of our Pastor’s “passing beyond the vail.”
Brother Rutherford’s words came to mind: “I am glad
this prison experience was reserved for us, rather than
for our dear Brother Russell.”

We visited the marble works and there watched the
workmen slowly but surely chisel out the monument to
be erected as a memorial to the Society. .

The Watch Tower Society burial lots in Rosemont
United Cemeteries, five miles due north of Pittsburgh City,
contain ample grave space for all the members of the
Bethel family, and the Pilgrims and their wives—in all
more than 275 adult graves. In the exact center of the
Bethel lot will be erected diagonally the Pyramid Shape
Monument as designed by Brother Bohnet, and accepted
by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an
enduring monument on the Society’s burial space. The
size of this structure is nine feet across the base, and its
apex stone is exactly seven feet above the ground surface
level. It rests upon a concrete foundation five feet deep
and heavily reinforced with barbed wire, the work of
Brother Bohnet, who would not entrust this important
task to anyone else, so we are assured the job was well
done. The brother gave a full description of the securing
of the rock material (after fruitless attempts extending
over a period of about five years) at the time he piloted
the conventionists to the cemetery and urged us to help
ourselves to souvenir chips in the shop of the granite
worker near by.

These monster blocks of pink (Brother Russell’s favor-
ite tint) granite were brought all the way from Granite
Mountain Quarries, near Marble Falls City in Texas, upon
a special flat car, and are said to be about 95 per cent
flint rock.

Each slope of the pyramid will face one of the large
lots and on each of these slopes is cut in four-inch
embossment a Teacher’s Bible, on the pages of which will
appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial
space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name,
like that of Brother Russell, will be at the top of opposite
Bible pages. A Bible space being set apart for the Pilgrims
—all in one lot of forty-eight grave space, so all their names
will appear on the same Bible.

Above the Bibles are spaces for inscriptions in_ full,
W. T. B. & T. S., I. B.S. A, “Dead with Christ,” “Risen
with Christ,” etc. And above these the Cross and Crown
and Wreath, and the whole capped with the apex stone,
highly polished—its shape of course being pyramidal.

Within the structure, incased in a block of granite,
will be a sealed metal box in which is a complete set of
Karatol Scripture Studies, the. Memorial Tower, and one
of every tract, photographs of Pastor Russell, a copy of
the Society’s charter, and many other things to interest
the people who at some future date may open the pyramid
and find them.

Brother Wm. B. Hurst, of Pittsburgh, who was assist-
ant superintendent of the United Cemeteries under Brother
Bohnet’s general charge, will have the care of Brother Rus-
sel’s grave in the pilgrimage absence of Brother Bohnet.
It is expected the monument will be in place before the
next Decoration Day. Any truth people desiring a chip of
the stone may send postage enough to carry a piece about
the size of an egg, with enough additional to pay the
Society for the trouble of having it wrapped for the mail.
Best for class members to order collectively.

“Long, long be my heart -
With such memories filled,

Like the vase in which roses
Have once been distilled.

“You may break, you may shatter
The vase if you will,

But the scent of the roses
Will cling to it still.”

11:00 A. M., Brother A. M. Graham

Thursday, January 2, 1919, Fellowship Day.
Subject, “OUR FELLOWSHIP”

In thinking about this matter of Fellowship, we may

think of it from a variety of standpoints. Looking
back over the past, we notice how God’s people have had
fellowship. .

Away back in the very beginning Abel had fellowship
with God because he was in harmony with God’s arrange-
ment. He was all alone in this fellowship because there
was no one else who could share it with him. Still later
on, Noah had fellowship with God because he was in
harmony with the Divine arrangement. He had, however,
some associates with him who could share the fellowship—
his sons and their wives, also his own wife. Thus he
had fellowship not only with God; his family shared this
fellowship with him.

And that is the standpoint we propose to take this
morning. We jump way down from Noah’s day to our
own day—1919—and seek to know and understand what
God is now doing; come into harmony with it, and thus
have fellowship with one another and with God.

_We notice that previous to 1874 we had some fellow-
ship with God and with one another. Some of us had
some fellowship while in Babylon perhaps; we had fellow-
ship with one another and with the Lord to the extent

Ou program announces that this is “Fellowship Day.”

that we were in harmony with the Lord’s arrangement
as we understood it. In 1874, however, there came a
change in the Lord’s arrangements, and from that time
forward we, who have learned of these changed arrange-
ments, have been having fellowship in a broader and
fuller and more complete sense than formerly because we
understand the Divine arrangement better, and have come
into harmony with it.

We notice, too, some little distinctions in respect to
this fellowship which we have had since 1874. When
we first came to know about this “present fellowship”
we have had with the Father, and with one another, we
were talking chiefly about the Plan of the Ages, about
the three worlds and their subdivisions, and about what
God was purposing to do in these ages and their sub-
divisions. Later on we studied Tabernacle Shadows, then
Chronology, and the Great Pyramid received our careful
attention. Yet more recently it was the wonderful events
relating to the end of Gentile power in 1914, In all this
we observe a progressive fellowship; we had fellowship
together in all these things.

Since October, 1914, we have been watching the trend
of events in the world with increasing interest, and we
have been having fellowship along other lines. We do

8 Z.

not study so much about the three ages and their sub-
divisions now as formerly, but we are thinking, talking
and having fellowship respecting other things: the fall
of Babylon, and the establishment of the Kingdom of
God, and the climax of cosmic forces taking place in our
own day. We have had sweet fellowship in respect to all
these matters. We could not have had that kind of fel-
lowship away back in 1874, even as Abel could not have
had fellowship with Noah because he knew nothing of
the events of Noah’s day, the flood, etc. So, then, we
see we can have a fellowship now respecting present
events, we could not have had in 1874, or even ten or
fifteen years ago—no, not even five years ago. But we
can and do have it now.

We have fellowship together at the present time because
we are in harmony with the Divine arrangement as it
is fulfilling now right before us at the present moment.
We need not think so much about what has taken place
in the past. That is past. We do not forget the past,
or set it aside; what we learned then is still with us in
our hearts and minds—part of our life. We must, how-
ever, live in the present and act in the present. Therefore,
the present has much more of interest for us than that
which is past, no matter how important and interesting.

Our Lord was born two thousand years ago. We just
celebrated the birth of our Lord about a week ago, and
have begun a new year—A. D. 1919. There probably
never was a New Year in all the history of the human
family so remarkable in every respect as this one we are
passing into. In fact, there has never been a New Year
in thé history of the human family so wonderful. Pos-
sibly there may be more wonderful New Year Days in
the future, but there certainly has never been such a one as
this in all the past.

What a remarkable condition of things there is in the
world at the present time. For four years the nations of
earth have been fighting the most remarkable war that
ever was waged on this planet. And now we have PEACE.
I don’t know whether we are living in that day when the
Scripture is being fulfilled that says: “They will say,
‘Peace, Peace,’ and there will be no peace.” That day,
when they will say: “Peace, and sudden destruction shall
come upon them.” These Scriptures must certainly have
a fulfillment and it does not quite seem that they have
yet been fulfilled. Doubtless they are being fulfilled.

Truly there is “no Peace.” No matter where you look,
there is unrest. Not a nation on earth feels sure and
safe, each distrusts the others. Along social and financial
lines: also everywhere there is a feeling of unrest—a lack
of peace. You remember that little message the angels
brought: “Peace on earth, good will towards men.” Look-
ing over this Gospel Age, it is a remarkable fact that it
has been the most bloody period of all human history.
There have been more wars fought in this Gospel Age
than m any other; notwithstanding that it is called the
Christian era and presumably dominated by what is
termed the Christian Church. Truly did our Master say
of it: “There shall be wars and rumors of wars.”

Look for instance at western Europe. It is simply one
vast, great graveyard, where the dead from countless
battlefields have been buried. There is scarcely a town
or hamlet that is worth mentioning on the map of western
Europe where there has not been at some time or other
a great battle fought and thousands of lives lost. Most
of these battles, not all, but many of them, have been
fought to establish in the earth some ecclesiastical system
or other.
Age, and it is undoubtedly the most remarkable of all
ages; but it has not been a period of peace. “Peace on
earth’ has not yet come to poor mankind. We are still
looking in the future for the time of Jesus’ reign, when
He will rule in peace—The Prince of Peace.

_Now, the Scriptures tell us all about these wonderful
things transpiring in our day. They clearly point out
what is taking place at the present moment, and those of
God’s people who understand and are in full harmony
with God’s arrangement are permitted to know and under-
stand what these remarkable Scriptures mean, and how
to apply them. We may not apply them absolutely cor-
rectly. We may, perhaps, in some details fail to get just

Yet we call it the Christian era, the Christian —

Be Sy Be CONLEN TION

exactly the thought, but in their general outline I am sure
we can come very close to a proper, a correct interpre-
tation of prophetic Scripture fulfilling in this our day.

We have had now for four years a great war in
progress. It stopped a little while ago. In November
the war came to an end. Now then, the question is: What
now is going on? What is God doing now? To my
mind, dear friends, there is a little picture given to us in
the Word of the Lord that illustrates very clearly what God
has to do with present events. You are all familiar with
it. It has been talked of and explained many, many times,
but you know every time we look at a beautiful work of
art, the more beauty we can see in it. The oftener we
view a beautiful picture the more beauty we discover in
it. I am referring now to the image of Daniel. (Dan.
2:31.) The oftener we look at that image the more
remarkable it becomes. It was a GREAT IMAGE that
reached up unto Heaven. This great image, whose bright-
ness was excellent, and the form thereof terrible, repre-
sented four great Universal Empires. Its head was of
gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass,
legs of iron, the feet part iron and part of clay. This
great image, therefore, pictured the political history of
the human family from Daniel’s day down to the present
time.

Daniel is the most remarkable of all the prophets in
many respects. He scanned the history of the human race
from his own day down to our day—touching the salient
points, but dwelling specially on the events at the close
of the Gospel Age. Is it strange then that our great
adversary, the devil, should be very desirous indeed of
lessening the influence of that prophecy? Is it any wonder
that he has done all he could do to cast discredit on that
particular prophet? And so we find it. They have done
everything they could to weaken the force of the prophecy
of Daniel.

Nevertheless, Daniel’s prophecy still stands there. The
prophet tells us what these things mean. The head of gold
represented Babylon, the breast and arms of silver rep-
resented Medo-Persia, the belly and thighs represented
Grecia, whereas the legs of iron represented Rome, and the
feet and toes Rome divided into the nations of Europe.
The smearing with clay represented the mixture of the
ecclesiastical systems with the nations of earth during
the past ten centuries. Everybody knows that these four
world dominions have come into being, and GONE. No
man can say that this testimony of the Prophet Daniel
is not true. Babylon has come and gone. Medo-Persia
has come and gone. Greece has come and gone. Rome
has come and Rome has gonc, too. These are the facts
of history that no man can gain-say.

The next thing that the prophet records is that a stone
was “cut out of mountain without hands.” This stone,
we understand, is the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ, the
stone Kingdom, for which you and I and all Christian
people were taught to pray: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy
will be done on earth even as it is done in Heaven.” Now
notice, the prophet said the “stone smote the image on
its feet, etc.’ (Verse 34.) Looking from the type down
to the anti-type, I think we will pretty generally agree
that that stone has been smiting that image for the last
four years on its feet, viz., the Roman Empire, divided
into small kingdoms.

Now then, we will notice some other things about that
Image. We notice that it had two legs and stood on two
feet. Well, you remember that Rome originally was a
united empire, and continued for a few hundred years
as a united empire, but finally was split up and divided
into two empires, known in history as the Western Empire
and Eastern Empire. About the same time the political
division took place there was also a religious division.
The Roman Catholic Church was also divided into two
parts—an Eastern Church and a Western Church: the
Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
The Eastern Church had its headquarters originally at
Constantinople, afterwards when the Turks got posses-
sion of that city and drove the Christians out, the seat of
power was finally transferred to Moscow in Russia and
became associated with the Russian people; so that the
largest number of adherents of the Greek Catholic Church

io Be Se As CONVENTION 9

is found amongst the Russian people, and it is frequently
called the Russian Church. Now then, this Eastern
Empire, together with the Greek or Eastern Church, rep-
resents one of the legs of Daniel’s image.

The Roman Catholic Church has always been associated
with the kings of Western Europe and together with them

constitutes the Western Empire—the other leg of Daniel’s |

image. Now then, would it not be a reasonable deduction
that if one or the other of these legs would fall, or be
broken, the image necessarily must fall? That would be
a reasonable deduction surely.

You just think a moment or two; what do we see
before our eyes? Not very long ago—a little over a year
ago—Russia fell. There is no RUSSIA. Russia has
absolutely gone to pieces. When Russia fell the Russian
or Greek Church fell with her. There is now no Russian
Church.

Constantinople, too, has fallen. The Turks who have
held it for six hundred years have lost it. It is now in
the possession of the Allies, but it is a bone of contention
with them, They don’t know what to do with it. Greece
says she wants it. “It ought to belong to us,” they say,
because two-thirds of the people living there speak the
Greek language. But the allied nations are not disposed
to give it to them. It is best, they think, to have it con-
trolled by all the nations. It is very clear, then, that the
Eastern Empire, both in its political and its religious aspect,
has fallen. This means that one leg of Daniel’s image
has been “broken to pieces,” as the prophet terms it, and
the image itself has fallen to the ground.

What, we ask, is the next thing in order?
true that one leg of that image has been broken and the
image has fallen, what would be the next thing to tran-
spire? The next thing would be the breaking in pieces
of the image itself. We will keep in mind that the one
foot of the image rests at Rome, and the other foot at
Constantinople. When one leg is broken the image neces-
sarily falls. The next thing that we will notice in respect
to this record, is this: Daniel says, “Thou sawest that a
stone was cut out without hands which smote the image
on the feet, which were of iron and clay, and break them
in pieces. Then was the iron, the brass, the silver, and
gold broken in pieces together. (Chapter 2:35.) You see,
the next thing after the image had fallen was to BREAK
IT TO PIECES.

Is anything taking place at the present time that looks
as though this is having a fulfillment? We answer, “Yes,
assuredly.” Russia, for example, has been broken into
five or six smaller states, and the division still goes on!
Nobody knows just how many pieces there are yet to be.
Russia in 1914 was one vast, great, united empire. Today
it is divided into many “pieces.” We do not know exactly
what is taking place in Russia, or indeed in any part of
Europe. We may not be too sure, but it looks as though
there were two great giants in this country. Two great
newspaper syndicates striving for mastery. One probably
headed by J. P. Morgan, and the other headed by William
Randolph Hearst; and they are fighting one another, and
between the two we don’t get the exact truth. But we
do know enough to see that Russia has gone to pieces,
divided into a number of small states—“broken to pieces.”

Now then, take another instance: Austria also a little
while ago was a united empire. It was called a_ dual
monarchy, Austria and Hungary, but it was united. Lloyd
George called it the “Ramshackle Empire,” but neverthe-
less it was united, and a master mind—Emperor Franz
Joseph—held it together for a long time. But Austria,
too, has fallen. It has been divided into at least five
pieces—five small states. She, too, has been “broken to
pieces.”

Furthermore, if we are to believe what we hear in the
newspapers we may understand that Germany at the
present time is divided into at least two parts, and we
do not know how many more. Germany is comprised
of about twenty-five states, some smaller and some larger.
We do not know how many “pieces” she will yet be
oe into; how many small states will be made out
of her.

Now, we step over into another realm. Here is the
great British Empire—a great and mighty empire. I want

If it is -

to tell you, I hope this isn’t an unusual thing to say, but
I think that of all the great empires that have sprung
up on the face of the earth, the British Empire is the
most remarkable. This little “Island Empire” has domi-
nated the earth for four hundred years and still hopes
to dominate it. Notice that this great and mighty empire
is comprised of many parts, all over the world—India,
Australia, Canada, and South Africa. And these parts
are held together with cords or ties so slight that it will
require very little to break them. She feels that she must,
therefore, have a mighty navy with which to hold these
far off parts in line. If she should fail in any way to
have a mighty navy, she could not hold these far distant
empires. It is not going to take very much to separate
and divide, “break in pieces,” the mighty British Empire.

That is what was next in order; breaking the image
in pieces. How long is it going to be before Canada
will want “self-determination’? And how long is it
going to be before Australia will want self-determination ;
and before India, too, will want it. And who are we, this
GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE, WHO SHALL SAY
THEY SHALL NOT HAVE IT. A hundred and forty
years ago we concluded to have “self-determination,” and
we threw off the British yoke. We kicked our old King
George III, that “stuffy old drone from the German hive,”
Dr. Holmes called him. If the people of India, Australia,
and Canada want self-determination, shall they not have
it? How easy it will be then to sever the ties that binds
the mighty British Empire together.

We have, therefore, in the breaking of Daniel’s image
a picture of what is taking place today. These great,
mighty empires are being “broken to pieces.” That is the
prophet’s declaration. Our president, Woodrow Wilson,
also agrees that this must be so. He says, “All these
people shall have the PRIVILEGE OF DETERMINING
FOR THEMSELVES WHAT THEIR GOVERNMENT
SHALL BE AND SHALL DO.” And that is what 1s
breaking these kingdoms to pieces, preparatory to their
being ground to powder and “become like chaff,” and
blown hither and thither and no more place to be found
for kings, emperors, popes, etc., crowned or uncrowned
powers.

I think we can all agree that there are some powers
that are very potent and influential that have never been
crowned. We have them in our own land—very many of
them! We have railroad kings, or used to have. We
have telephone kings, and telegraph kings, and coal kings,
steel kings, and wheat kings, and all kinds of industrial
kings that never have been crowned, but they need to be
“sround to powder,” i. e. stripped of their power like
all the others. Thus we are having fellowship with one
another as we observe the fulfilling of the Divine prophecy
at the present. time.

I would like to call your attention to another little
picture in this same connection, of a similar character. |

This picture is found in the book of Kings. Now, in
speaking about this matter I don’t wish you to understand
that I have found the solution of this thing, and that it
is just so and no other way. I am suggesting something
merely to stir up your thoughts. That is all, nothing
more. It is good to have as many minds probing into
these things as possible. That is what has marked our
Age, the people are thinking. Before 1799 nobody thought,
scarcely. There was no thinking done except by a very
few—the learned. The farmer went to work at sunrise,
and came back at sunset, and scratched the mud off his
shoes before he went into the mud floor of his cabin, and
that was all he thought he had to do, and he seemed to
be contented and happy. If he did start to thinking about
his hard lot it wasn’t very long before some gentleman
who buttoned his coat way up to the collar and tied his
collar at the back, and to him said, “Don’t you feel bad
about this matter at all. You, of course, are having your
hard time now; but you just be patient, when you die you
will get your reward in Heaven. That rich man, your
master, who owns the farm, is having his good time ncw,
but when he dies he will have his hard time. He will get
it then.” And that thought contented them.

Now, since they have begun to think, they say: Away
with this good time that you are talking about after I

10 “E,

die. I want the good time now, and will have it. I will
use a slang word they are saying now, “You can’t bam-
boozle us any more.” So then, since 1799 there have been
a thousand minds thinking upon every thing that you can
possibly bring to your mind. That is why so many won-
co remarkable things are taking place in the world
today.

So, in respect to the Bible pictures, the more people
who consider them the more we will get out of them.
However, we do not want to be foolish and unwise about
the matter. We do not want to do as some brethren do.
There are some brethren who think they see a vision and
they want to write a book or a tract about it. The
chances are, dear friends, they did not see a vision at all.
All they saw was a ghost, a phamtom merely. If you do
see something, and if you think it is worthy of being put
in writing, write it out, use the very best English you
have, and the best information obtainable, and when you
have written it out send it down to the “Editorial Com-
mittee” that the Lord God in His arrangement provided for
the spreading of present truth and if they think it is
worth printing you will thus have the privilege of serving
the Truth. But don’t take the matter into your own hands.

Now then, this other matter is the story of King Jehu,
found in II Kings, chapters 9 and 10, remarkable work
you remember, and only one, so far as we have any knowl-
edge. He destroyed the family of Ahab, Jezebel, Ahab’s
wife, and their seventy sons. Every male that belonged
to the family of Ahab was absolutely destroyed. And
when he had accomplished that we hear nothing more
about Jehu. My memory is that the record says, “And
Jehu reigned twenty-eight years, and all the deeds: which
he did are they not recorded in the chronicles of the kings.”
And that is the end of the matter. .

Now, we will point out some things that make the
story of Jehu important. He certainly did a great work.
Anybody who would destroy the wicked Jezebel would
indeed be great. Jehu was anointed by one of the “sons
of the prophets” (ch. 9:1-7) to be king of Israel. You
know at that time Israel was divided into two parts—
Judah and Israel. Now then, these two divisions repre-
sent the two divisions. of Christendom—Judahism as a
whole represents Christendom. The northern portion—
Israel, the ten tribes, the larger portion—represents the
Catholic division of Christendom, in both its parts—both
the Greek Church and Roman Church. There are very
little differences in these two Churches after all. One
permits their priesthood to marry and the other forbids
them, and a few little things like that. They originally
were one and so they come in with that class and that
division.

The other division—Judah, the two tribes—represents
the Protestant side of Christendom. We will try to keep
that in mind. Jehu was anointed king of Israel and he
was told that his duty was to destroy Jezebel and the
family of Ahab. (Ch. 9, v. 7.) Now then, looking from the
type to the antitype, we know that Jezebel represents
the Roman Catholic system; the Roman hierarchy. Not the
Roman Catholic people, but the great system itself. We
make that distinction. You remember that when the
United States went into this war our President said, ““We
are not fighting the German people, we are fighting
German autocracy.” We make the same distinction be-
tween the Papal system and the people controlled by it.

Jezebel had a husband—Ahab. He represents the “Holy
Roman Empire.” And perhaps we might stop here to
notice something about that great “Holy Roman Empire.”
You know the pagan Roman Empire was very powerful
in the days of Christ and the early Church. It was not
the “Hoty Roman Empire,” however. The Holy Roman
Empire came into being later_ on during the reign of
Ver aaa or Charles the Great, about the year 800

The circumstances which brought this Holy Roman
Empire into being were something like this. This great
emperor went to Rome to visit the pope, and while there
and while he engaged in his religious devotion upon his
knees in one of the churches at Rome, it is said that the
pope came up behind him and placed a crown upon his
head, and when he looked in surprise that such should

B. S. A. CONVENTION

be done. the pope assured him that it was the will of
Heaven that he should wear this crown and assist the
Church in all her undertakings. This began the Holy
Roman Empire. For a thousand years from 800 A. D.
to 1800 A. D. that empire existed in Europe. It was called
the Holy Roman Empire because united to the Roman
Church. When Charlemagne died his empire was divided
into three parts, but the portion comprising the western
part of present Germany and the northern portion of
present Austria continued to be recognized as the Holy
Roman Empire.

At this point, in the year 800, or thereabouts, the anti-
typical Jezebel, the Papal Church, was married to the
antitypical Ahab, the Holy Roman Empire. Here the
union of Church and State began. There had been a
courtship, too. They had been courting for a few hundred
years, from about the year 350 A. D. They were very
timid at first, but became bolder, and in 800 A. D. they
were married; Church and State were united. There Ahab
and Jezebel in antitype were married.

They did not live very happily together. You know
that is frequently the case in married life. Married people
live sometimes a whole lifetime and never spend a single
day peaceably. They usually quarrel about who will be
“boss.” Now that is just the kind of marriage this was.
From the very beginning of the union of Church and
State there was a constant contest between these two
mighty powers. The Papal Church (Jezebel in the type)
and the Empires of Europe (Ahab in the type) as to
which was supreme—Church or State. This contest con-

_tinued during the entire period, from Charlemagne to

Napoleon (800 A. D. to 1800 A. D.), who ended it by
bringing the Holy Roman Empire to an end.

As the giving of the Golden Crown to Charlemagne
represented the marriage of_Jezebel and Ahab, so the
ending of the Holy Roman Empire represents the death
of Ahab.

This occurred in 1806. At that time Austria and
Russia entered in a “coalition” to destroy Napoleon.
Learning of this fact, Napoleon executed one of his rapid
marches, and before the Russian army could unite with
that of the Emperor he crossed the Alps and dealt the
Austrian power a deadly blow in two great battles. The
last one, Austerlitz, said to be one of the fifteen decisive
battles of the world, ended forever the power of the
Emperor and at the treaty signed later the Holy Roman
Empire was dissolved and _came_to an end, It does not
now exist. There is no Holy Roman Empire. Thus in
antitype Ahab died and Jezebel became a widow.

Since that time, 1806, Papacy has been a widow, viz.,
separated from the civil power. She shortly denies this
however, and says: “I am no widow, I sit a queen, and
shall see no sorrow.” (Isa. 47:7-11; Rev. 18 :7.)

After Ahab’s death, two of his sons reigned over
Israel (Ahaziah and Joram, who were living when Jehu
was anointed). As Ahab typed the Holy Roman Empire.
so we believe the reigns of those two sons of Ahab typed
two nations in Europe who supported and aided to some
extent the Papacy since 1806. Ahaziah, who reigned first,
typed Italy, who lent some slight assistance until 1870,
When Victor Emmanuel deprived the Church of the “Papal
States,” a gift of Charlemagne in 800 A. D. Since that
time they have been bitter enemies. Then in 1870 Italy
died as a supporter of the Church. Joram, the second
son, we believe typed Austria, the only State that since
1870 could and did give assistance to Papacy. Germany
and England were Protestant; Russia, Greek Catholic ;
France and Italy estranged from the Church; leaving
Austria, a strong Catholic country, the only nation in
Europe who could help her.

It might be remarked here that while a woman’s hus-
band lives she receives from him many favors; but when
her husband dies she receives but little, and that frequently
grudgingly given, from her sons. So since 1806 Papacy
has had but few favors from the civil powers.

Keeping these matters in mind we return to Jehu, who
was hastening up to Jezreel, the summer capital, where
Jezebel, King Joram and King Ahaziah (King of Judah)
from Jerusalem were residing. Joram was there, being
healed of wounds received in a battle with the Syrians.

i “Bo.So A. CONV EN TION 11

Ahaziah from Jerusalem, King of Judah, had assisted
Joram in this battle and returned with him to Jezreel.
Ahaziah was Jezebel’s son-in-law. You see, therefore,
these three were bound by common ties and illustrates
the very close relations between Papacy, Austria, and
Germany.

As Jehu drew near to the city, he was observed by
the watchmen from the citadel, who promptly notified
King Joram of the approach of a troop. The King sent
out a mounted messenger to ascertain who this might be.
He was not permitted to return, however, and a second
mounted messenger was dispatched. He, too, did not
return. This alarmed Joram, who then inquired of the
watchmen if they could tell who this was who was ap-
proaching and would have the temerity to treat the King’s
messengers in this manner. The watchmen promptly re-
plied, “It looks like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi,
for he driveth furiously.” ,

This information aroused Joram to quick action. Jehu
was his generalissimo, head of his army, and had been
left at Ramoth-Gilead to watch the border lest the Syrians
returned. It. was treason, disobedience of orders, for him
to be here in Jezreel—or, mayhap there was trouble at
Ramoth-Gilead and Jehu had come to report. They would
go out and see.

Joram ordered the chariots and the two kings, Joram
and Ahaziah, rode out and met Jehu. “Is it peace, Jehu?”
Has the war broken out again?. “Is it well?” Is every-
thing all right on the border? Jehu answered promptly,
“What peace so long as the whoredoms of your mother
Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many?” (Ch. 9, v. 22.)

Thoroughly alarmed the King shouted to Ahaziah, “It
is treachery. Flee, O Ahaziah!” They fled, but Jehu drew
a bow “with his full strength,” which struck Joram “be-
tween the arms” and came out at the heart and he sunk
down and died—he died instantly. (Ch. 9, v. 24.) They
then chased Ahaziah and mortally wounded him at “Gur,
which is by Ibleam, and he died at Megiddo.” (Ch. 9, v.
27.) He did not die instantly as did Joram, but lingered
for some time; dying at Megiddo.

We observed that Joram typed Austria. His death,
therefore, would mean the end of the Austrian Empire
in October last. This was brought about by the with-
drawal from the war of Bulgaria and Turkey, which broke
the long strained relations between Austria and Hungary,
the two “arms” or powers that constituted that empire.
Austria there died. There is now no Austria and never
will be again. She died instantly.

Similarly the wounding and death of Ahaziah, King
of Judah, represents the fall of Germany. She has been
“chased up” from the Marne River to the Rhine, until
November 11, 1918, when she received her mortal wound.
She is not yet dead, but the death throes can distinctly be
seen, the death struggles have already begun in the unrest—
Socialistic, Bolshevistic, etc.

It might be well to remember that Joram reigned over

Israel, typing the Catholic portion of Christendom, so
Austria was connected with that portion. Ahaziah reigned
over Judah, typing the Protestant portion of Christendom,
so Germany is joined to Protestantism.
_ Having dispatched the two kings, Jehu resumed his
journey towards Jezreel, where Jezebel, well aware no
doubt of what had taken place—the death of Joram and
Ahaziah—awaited him. She could not flee, but what would
she do? How could she expect to stand before this
mighty warrior before whom two kings fell?

Notwithstanding the fact that she was full of “witch-
crafts,” as Jehu had said, she was a very resourceful old
lady; very cunning and deceitful and withal a famous
beauty in her day. She would charm Jehu, she promptly
decided. Let him see how charming, lovely and really
desirable she was and perhaps he would not kill her. She
was concerned only in saving her life. It was her only
chance and she determined to attempt it. She went up
into her chamber, where she “tied” her hair most bewitch-
ingly and painted her face and arrayed herself in her
queenly attire, and sat in the window posing herself and
anxiously hoping that a smile and a glance or two of her
ba would charm Jehu and he would spare her life at
east.

Jehu rolled into the courtyard, heading his troop of
chariots and horsemen. Spying Jezebel, the object of his
search, then in the upper window, and scorning all her
attempts to charm him, drove right up to the window. She
smiled down upon him. He shouted, “Who is on my
side? Who?” (Ch. 9, v. 82.) Some eunuchs looked out
the chamber and quickly observing Jehu and his warriors
there, concluded it was their safest plan to side with Jehu,
and deserted their old mistress. “Throw her down,” com-
manded Jehu, and they instantly threw the frightened and
struggling Queen Jezebel out the window. She fell with a
thud and her blood spattered upon the wall and the horses.
Thus perished that wicked Jezebel, the first person in
history who persecuted anyone for religious belief.

Looking now from type to antitype, what may we find
in this picture? We remind you that Jezebel types Papacy.
The fact that she was posing in that upper chamber would
indicate that the Papacy has for some time past been
striving to exhibit all her charms, her beauty. She loves
all, hates none, she never persecuted. That is a myth of
a darker day merely. She is the champion of liberty and
freedom, also. The pope can cure all earth’s woes. If he
were only permitted to sit at the peace table he could
authoritatively settle all national differences, etc. The only
one in the world who has the authority to speak the very
power given him by God.

The fact that it was an upper chamber would imply
that she is lifted up and from a superior position looks
down on all others. So Papacy is now “exalted to Heaven”
in a place of power as high as she ever will be—has, indeed,
reached her highest elevation and doubtless thinks she is
on the crest of the wave, and on the morn of a glorious
victory for the Church.

And those two or three eunuchs (Matt. 19:12), who
are they? We answer: Rome’s celibate priesthood, for-
bidden to marry; many of whom will, when the hour of
her doom arrives, through fear or because they realize the
impossibility of longer perpetuating this anchient camou-
flage, will assist in “throwing her down,” destroy her,
hoping to set up a new and better “Jezebel” more in
harmony with the spirit of modern ideals.

The splashing of the blood on the walls and the horses
show that by her death the civil power (walls) that pro-
tected her and the doctrine (horses) of Divine right of
kings, popes, which made it possible to rule the world,
will be polluted and become repugnant to the people, the
soldiers, etc.

Jehu ordered her to be buried. “She is a king’s
daughter.” (Ch. 9, v. 35.) But when the undertakers
sought her out all that could be found of her body was
the hands, feet and skull. The dogs had torn the flesh
from her bones, leaving only the skeleton. This shows
that when the antitypical Jehu is through with Papacy
there will be only the memory of her doings (hands), the
crooked walk during the 1000 years of her triumph, and
(her feet) the plots, plans, etc., “witchcrafts” Jehu termed
them, (the skull) once guarded so successfully but now
made known “from the housetops.” The dogs doubtless
refer to the I. W. W., Bolsheviki, radical Socialists, etc.,
etc.

We now recall to mind Jehu’s reply to Joram. (Ch. 9,
v. 22.) “What peace when the whoredoms of your mother,
Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many?” We suggest
that this may refer to Papacy’s vacillating course, especially
during the present war. First siding with Germany, then
straddling the fence; was sometimes on one side, some-
times on the other, but always leaning German-ward, until
it became evident Germany would be defeated, and then
she has strenuously striven to show she was neutral. “It
is monstrous to say that the pope has ever been anything
but neutral,” Catholic papers have said, both in the United
States and Great Britain. This is the whoredoms.

The witchcrafts refer to the cunning craft by which
she has aided and abetted the Kaiser while claiming
neutrality, etc. Evidences of this are by no means wanting.

Jehu may type socialized Great Britain and United
States, the two great democracies of earth, or socialized
Italy, that is, after those nations come to be controlled by
these radical elements.

In the foregoing we have been noticing what is taking

12 i

place among the nations (Daniel’s Image), and the destruc-
tion of Papal power at the hands of the antitypical Jehu.
Now, it might be asked where do the saints of God—
Elijah or Elisha—fit in these wonderful pictures? We
answer: Jeremiah seems to typify the experiences of the
true Church in these last days, even as Ezekiel. These two
prophecies seem to be two pictures of the same events
taking place at the close of the Gospel Age. Ezekiel
pictures the doom of the false Church, Babylon, ecclesi-
asticism. While Jeremiah pictures the experiences of the
true Church while Babylon is falling.

Refering briefly to Jeremiah’s experiences we note that
after writing a book (ch. 36, v. 2) he was cast into prison
at the behest of the princes of the realm and the military
authorities. (Ch. 38, v. 6.) While there in prison the
Ethiopian eunuch with the jaw-breaking name, Ebed-
melech, on his tour of inspection at the prison found
Jeremiah, not in a cell, but in an unused reservoir full
of mire and sunk up to his arm pits, and there likely to
die. Ebed-melech reported the matter to the king. The
king, not wishing Jeremiah to perish, ordered his release.
(Ch. 38, v. 10.) Evidently Jeremiah was put into the pit of
mire without the king’s knowledge, supposing he was to be
merely restrained of his liberties, but not destroyed. This

B. S. A. CONVENTION

is implied in the reply of Ebed-melech. “It is an evil
(wrong, contrary to orders) thing they have done to
Jeremiah.” (Ch. 38, v. 9.) ;

This pit of mire very well illustrates the mud slinging
tactics of our enemies who have sought to destroy our
work and influence (kill us antitypically) by making us
appear disreputable, unpatriotic, pro-German, etc. We are
just now emerging from this condition, still somewhat
mussed up in the public estimation, but freed from any
present danger of being destroyed, no longer “likely to
die.”

Jeremiah remained “in the court of the prison” (ch.
87 :21 and 39:14) until the city fell. This seems to imply
that the antitypical Jeremiah, while being released from
prison awaiting a re-trial, will continue under bonds until
the city (Babylon) falls and possibly a re-trial will be
avoided, postponed, because to re-try this case now that
war restraints are removed, would lay bare all Jezebel’s
(Papacy’s) witchcrafts; how and why she was able to
hinder these men from having their constitutional rights
denied them. This she will not permit. Thus they may
go beyond the vail into the Heavenly Kingdom while still
“in the court of the prison” with the stigma of arrest and
incarceration still resting upon them.

“WHY STAND WE HERE IDLE?”

Why stand we idle? Has the ringing Word,
“The Kingdom is at hand,” now lost its worth?
The hearts of eager audiences stirred 7
At welcome tidings of the Kingdom’s birth

But for a little time.

O’er all the earth

Think you, so soon, the listening peoples heard ?

Or have we lost our zeal? In times of old

“Thy Word,” the Prophet said, “was in my heart
Like to a burning flame I could not hold

Till the glad Word flew speeding like a dart.

Shall it be said it had no power to start
Consumiing zeal in our hearts blunt and cold?

Great men of God have labored for His cause,

Have suffered, and have died, and known no fear,
So that the knowledge of His holy laws

Should be proclaimed. Today stands very near

A prison “sepulchre” which, “garnished” here
With honeyed words, yet no like witness draws!

What shall we answer to these righteous men
When we account for silent week on week?
What shall we answer to the Master when
He comes His faithful servants again to seek,
And finds the Word He gave to us to SPEAK
Lay buried in a napkin until then?

—NMary Barber.

7; B.S. Ae GCONVENTION 13

3:30 P. M.—Discourse by Brother W. J. Thorne

Subject:

of the Apostle John, I John 1:3. And there he

says: “That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us,
and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ.”

This world’s fellowship, dear friends, may be con-
sidered in the light of partnership. I believe the Greek
gives that thought, and therefore we could read it like
this, “for we have partnership with the Father and with
His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

The thought seems to be that during the last six
thousand years there has been extensive business on the
earth. The name of that firm is “Satan and Sons.” And
I am sure you will all agree, dear friends, that they have
been doing a flourishing business. They have been sub-
stituting the counterfeit for the real thing. They have
watched very carefully the workings out of God’s plan
and especially along the lines of God’s dealings with the
Church. But it seems that now, especially since 1874, that
Satan begins to realize, as well as those with him, that
there is a new firm coming into existence, and the name
of this firm is to be “Jehovah and Son.” And they are
going to deal with the things that are true, and are going
to establish the world on a firm basis. There is a great
deal of opposition between these two firms, and evidences
are that odds are very greatly against the old firm, and
the new firm will become established in business and will
never go out of business. The other, however, will have
to go completely out of business. We are very glad to
see and to know that this is true. .Jehovah tells us that
at that time “Righteousness will encircle the whole earth,”
and the “judgments of the Lord will be abroad throughout
the whole earth, and the people will learn righteousness.”

Now, dear friends, in a partnership such as suggested
in the Bible, we can see how necessary it is that those
who are taken into this business with Jehovah and with
His dear Son must meet certain requirements. One of
the requirements will be loyalty to the firm, and to its
interests. And if there is any quality that is appreciated
by men of the world, it is the quality of loyalty; and we
believe Jehovah and His beloved Son also appreciate
loyalty.. That is what God is looking for in those who
are endeavoring, or striving to be members in that won-
derful firm which is going to do business on the earth
for a thousand years.

“Obedience” then, in the Bible, is made a very important
matter. Indeed the Bible even indicates that in God’s
estimation it is more important than “sacrifice.” You
know sometimes we are apt to go to an extreme in thinking
that God is looking for sacrifice. That is true, dear
friends, but the Lord also tells us that “obedience is
better than sacrifice.” And we have no more faithful
example or pattern than our Lord Jesus Himself; and you
remember the Apostle, speaking of Jesus, uses these words:
“That though He were a son, yet learned he obedience
by the things which He suffered.” Isn’t that a wonderful
statement? Does that statement suggest that at any time
in our Lord Jesus’ experience—either in His prehuman
existence or earthly existence—He was disobedient? No!
But it does suggest the thought that when Jesus was in
His pre-existent state with the Father, it was easy to be
obedient. because the conditions were perfectly satisfactory.
But the thought of the Apostle here seems to be that it
would be harder to be obedient in the earthly experience
when every condition of life was against our Lord: even
His dear Apostles could not understand Him.

We find also that on one occasion the Lord even
tested their loyalty and obedience by saying something
very strange to them. He began to talk to them on one
occasion about eating “His flesh” and “drinking His
blood,” and He said to them “except ye eat My flesh and
drink My blood, ye have no life in you.” We are told

' N YE direct your attention, dear friends, to the words

“BELLOWSHIP AND LOYALTY”

that “many of the disciples no longer walked with Jesus.”
The thought seemed to be in their minds: “We have
heard enough! We propose to go no further with you.”
We think that it affected their materialistic minds, believing
Jesus was teaching them something born of a cannibalism.
“Eat His blood, and eat the flesh? That is enough, we
don’t want to hear any more.” So many ceased to “walk
with Him.” But the “Apostles turned not back.” And
Jesus turned to them and said: “Do ye also turn away?”
They said, “To whom shall we go, Master? Thou hast
the words of Eternal Life.” And although they didn’t
understand any more than the others what His words
signified, they stayed by the Lord, and after Pentecost,
when the Spirit came to them and illuminated their minds
and gave the significance to the Lord’s words, they said
they were glad to stay with the Master. They were
rewarded. And so the Holy Spirit came upon them, and
it says they caught the true meaning. And except we
appropriate the merit of the sacrifice we have no life, nor
will anyone have any life.

But what a wonderful truth that was! Jesus then was
obedient under the adverse conditions, and He learned
‘obedience by the things which He suffered.” He was
always loyal to the Heavenly Father, even unto death—
even the death of the cross. “Wherefore, God hath highly
exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every
name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow
of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth, and that every tongue confess the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 2:9, 10.)

Dear friends, we will have to learn that same lesson.
Every one of Christ’s followers and disciples must learn
the lesson of implicit obedience to God’s will. And when
God asks for the human will to be obedient to His laws,
He is not asking any more of us than He would require
of Himself. What a wonderful God we have! And then
you remember, too, that Jesus in the eleventh chapter of
Matthew, verses twenty-eight and nine, gives us a very
wonderful lesson when He says: “Learn of me,” for I
am proud and haughty? No! It doesn’t say anything like
that. He says: “Learn of Me for I am meek and lowly
of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Are you ever troubled with pride, dear friends? Per-
haps nearly every one of us are troubled with this quality.
Perhaps there may be one or two who are not, but I
would like to get acquainted with you and find out what
you look like. I am ashamed to tell you that I have a
good bit of it sometimes. Brother Russell told us at
one time that whenever you find that your backbone is
straightened out, and you are walking up and down the
streets thinking you own the place, then place yourself
in a corner and give yourself a guood talking to. Did you
ever talk to yourself? Try that!

I talk to myself a good many times just as a father
would talk to his boy: “Look here, young man, I want
to have a talk with you. What are you getting proud
about? Are you getting to the point that you are so
important in God’s plan that He can’t get along without
you? Don’t you make any mistake about that. The Lord
will carry out His plans just as well without you, and
really better, perhaps. You are really in His way, but He
just permits you to have these privileges, not that it helps
Him out, but it gives you an opportunity to show your
love and zeal.”

How many. mistakes we make! Most everything we
do has to be done over again. When I reason with myself
like that I have two verses in Isaiah 40:15, 17. You will
find them reading something like this: (The Lord tells
us how He regards the nations) “Behold, the nations are
as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small
dust of the balance: behold, He-taketh up the isles as. a
very little thing. All nations before Him are as nothing;
and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity.”

14 I. B. S. A. CONVENTION

I thought I could describe “nothing,” but if I attempt
to describe something “less than nothing” that would be
pretty hard. And so I say to myself: “Young man, if the
Lord looks at the nations that way, and regards them as
small dust, etc., then what are you? You must be a speck
of dust.” And I say, “You little speck of dust, don’t
forget that.” When I get out of that corner, I feel pretty
small. Let us remember that! (Laughter.)

Someone says, “Now, Brother, of course those words
apply to Jesus when He was on earth. They were so
appropriate to Him, because He was not exalted at that
time, but do you suppose that it is just true of Him today—
‘meek and lowly of heart’?” The Apostle answers the
question in these words: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8.) He is just as meek
today. Jesus in His glorified state would not think of
having His will done in anything. It is not the will of
Jesus which is done in Heaven. It is the will of the
Heavenly Father.

What did Jesus say? Did He say: “Learn of Me for
I try to please all with whom I come in contact”? Oh, no!
Jesus could not please even His disciples. And you know
that at one time I made a great mistake along that line. I
used to try to please the brethren, but I got in bad, and
I tried to please the sisters, too, and I got in bad. And
I found out, after careful consideration, that the Lord
Himself could not please all the Bible Students. I said
to myself, “If the Lord cannot please them, I don’t see
how I can.” And did Jesus say: “I do always those things
pleasing to the disciples’? Oh, no! Jesus did not make
any mistake about that. He did some things very dis-
pleasing to them. On one occasion, when He was going
up to Jerusalem, He talked about the things He was going
to suffer, and one of the disciples said: “Lord, be it far
from Thee.” What did Jesus say to this man? Did He
say, “I will be very frank with you, you are certainly very
wise. I will follow your directions, thank you”? Oh, no!
He gave him a very sharp reproof, and said, “Get thee
behind me, Adversary.” He did not say “satan.” That
is a bad translation. And do you kriow, dear friends, that
if our Lord had followed St. Peter’s advice, it would have
led Him into the Second Death? I think that if some of
the advice which is often given by the Bible Students was
always followed, would frequently lead to the same place.
And therefore, when the friends come to me for advice
I give them as little as I can. I say, “Well, you will have
to think that matter over for yourself; you will have to
come to your own decision.” The time has come when
you and I cannot go to the brethren any longer and say,
“Brother, what would you do?” Because after they have
told you what they would do, you find out that you will
have to do just the way you think best after very careful
consideration. The time has come for faith to be exer-
cised. If you go to a brother or sister all the time and
follow the advice of each one you are going to be in bad
most of the time. More than that, if you followed Brother
Smith’s advice all the time you would be following
Brother Smith instead of the Lord, and you would not
be developing the character pleasing to the Lord. You
would be another Brother Smith THAT IS WHAT
YOU WOULD BE.

The Lord wants you to be yourself. He does not want
you to be any different from what you are, so far as
your individuality is concerned. He wants a variety. He
does not want everyone to be the same. By way of
illustration: Supposing the Pilgrim brethren were all alike,
the friends would get so tired, they would say, “They are
all alike; they have the same mannerisms, the same phrase-
ology, etc.” But is it not nicer, dear friends, when the
Pilgrim brethren are all so different? One has one way
of presenting the matter, another has still another way,
and thus the variety is so pleasing; and that, too, is
pleasing to the Father. God wants you to be yourself;
not Brother Smith, or Sister Jones,—but YOURSELF.
Keep your own individuality.

Now to show how difficult it is to please the Bible
Students, we note the Lord is not trying to do so. You
remember the case of 1914: We, as the Lord’s people,

were expecting the Church to be glorified and the Gentile

Times to close. The latter was fulfilled, for in 1914 the

Gentile Times did close; but the Church did not pass
beyond the vail as expected. Then we also expected that
there would be a great deal of persecution on account of
the Truth, but that did not occur. And some became dis-
appointed, and when 1918 came, and the very things we
were looking for did come to pass, those same Bible
Students became disappointed because they did come to
pass. Therefore, I have learned this lesson. Try to please
the Lord just as Jesus did, and then we will have no
trouble to please those Bible Students in harmony with
the Lord. I can’t even please myself. Sometimes I am
so disgusted with the things I do; I don’t feel able to
please myself. I think we all feel that way. The great
lesson is, as the Bible says, “God resisteth the proud.”
“They are an abomination unto the Lord.” (Jas. 4:6;
prot 16:5.) And so we want to be very wise along these
ines.

Speaking of the matter of loyalty, our Lord Jesus
followed the course outlined for Him. He pursued that
course to the very end! He followed the Father’s will,
and came out all right. So the Lord has given to you
and to me a certain course, and if we follow that we are
going to come out all right. We are going to notice, dear
friends, that dear Brother Russell, under the Lord’s guid-
ance and providence, was permitted to organize the Watch
Tower Bible & Tract Society. This organization has been
in existence for over forty years and has accomplished
the work up to the present time. We do not think or
share the opinions with some that the Society is going to
be smashed to pieces. We believe there are indications
that the Society is going to continue its work throughout
the Millennial Age, and we think there are some Scriptural
proofs which will be found in the thirty-eighth and forty-
second chapters of Jeremiah. And if you will just study
those chapters you will find that the word “Mizpah” occurs
there. And it means “WATCH TOWER.” It goes on
to say, “And they came to Mizpah.” If we read the
Scriptures aright, we believe there is yet a tremendous
work to do for the Church this side the vail. But I think
the Lord will not trust us with the great work yet, because
if the Truth were to become popular and the millions of
people (of the Great Company class) would say, “We
find that you have the Truth now, and the clergy is
wrong.” If this were to happen, I think Bible Students
would get proud about it. “We are the only people who
are right after all.” I suppose not one of us could be
touched with a fifty foot pole, if that were to happen
now. So the Lord is permitting all these humiliating
experiences to remove from our hearts all pride. There
is a lot of it in us yet. It is going on.

Dear friends, the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
is going to be the means or channel the Lord will probably
use during the Millennial Age. I think it is good enough
for us to work on, and if Pastor Russell founded the
work under its auspices, I think we can do the same.

You remember the Lord permitted us to undergo a
tremendous trial to test our loyalty... When Brother Russell
was alive he was so strong that we would naturally lean
upon him. And all with him were pretty strong char-
acters. You would rub up against one another, and say
sometimes, “It does hurt, doesn’t it?’ But the Lord
permits these things just to see if we are patient. And
the thought seems to be in our hearts, as we express it
sometimes, “While Pastor Russell was alive everything
went along all right.” And everything did go along all
right, for he was a very able man and a righteous man,
indeed. As we come to understand the Scriptures, dear
friends, we are beginning to recognize this fact.

And lo, and behold, about October 31, 1916, the great
newspapers of the world announced the fact that Pastor
Russell had died. Pastor Russell gone? What will it
mean? It will mean that the work will not progress.
The Watch Tower will no longer be as it has been in
the past. “What shall we do?” We-did get disheartened,
more or less. Well now, dear friends, have you missed
a copy of the Watch Tower yet? No! It is just the
same. And then the work continued, too, and there were
some wonderful things done after our dear pastor left
us. God raised up those noble brethren who came along
to conduct the Society’s affairs. Once more we felt en-

i, Be Sh Ae CONVEN LION 15

couraged, and said, “We are all right.” But the Lord
permitted something to come to us again, and these dear
brethren have been taken away, and in more or less dis-
may, the cry went up, “Now what is going to happen?
What are we going to do?” Dear friends, the work went
on. The Watch Tower publications continued and you
have not missed a number yet. Are they not even getting
better all the time? Yes, indeed! And we wondered what
the lesson was! I believe, dear friends, if I can read the
lesson aright, it is this: that God wants to teach us that
this great work which the Society is doing is not man’s
work at all. It is not Pastor Russell’s work. It is the
work of the Lord: and the Lord could use anyone whom
He is pleased to raise up.

There is an invisible presence. It is CHRIST. And
He has been appointed by Jehovah as the Head over all
the Church, which is His body, and the Lord would have
us remember this more and more, that He is at the helm
directing the affairs of the Society. When our dear
brethren were taken away, they went in such a hurry that
those who were left in charge said, “It is difficult to
bring the ends together.” They said to themselves that
they were “greenhorns.” We marvel at the Lord’s won-
derful providences and arrangements. We are learning
the lesson that the PILOT is our Lord, and the good old
Ship Zion is not going to be wrecked on the rocks: but
rather, that with its pilot on board, it will be brought to its
“desired haven.” So it is all a test of our faith.

For my part I have been connected with the Society
and its great work for about thirty years and I have not
gotten tired yet. And when dear Pastor Russell was alive, I
endeavored under the Lord’s blessing to be just as obedi-
ent to the arrangement as I possibly could for I recognized
the Lord was back of it all. And then when Brother
Russell passed away and the other brethren came in, then
I said I am going to be just as obedient and loyal
to the Society as when Pastor Russell was here, because
that would be showing loyalty to the Lord and the friends.
Then when they were taken away, I said: “I am going
to show the same spirit to the other brethren who are
put in there, and give them no trouble, or as little trouble
as possible. I am going to fall in line with their arrange-
ments and work with the Society, because it is still the
Lord’s arrangement.” Therefore, I have received a bless-
ing. Likewise, if you have done the same thing, you have
received blessings. ;

Now we find that after a while some dear brethren
were not pleased with what was going on, so they formed
a new society. We are not going to condemn them. This
is a free country and there is plenty of room for them,
and for all. God forbid that we condemn. They have
that privilege if they want to do so, but I for one would
not have dared to do anything like that. It is a very
daring thing to do. For we know of incidents where men
were not pleased with God’s arrangements. You remember
that it was so with Korah, Dathan and Abiram and his
company. “They gathered themselves together against
Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take
too much upon you.” And so they rebelled. You know
what became of them. You notice how these dear brethren
formed this new society and issued a new paper which
is very much like the Watch Tower, very deceptive
indeed. There is very good reading in it too, but the
front of it is not the Watch Tower. It has a very pretty
front. It represents a man blowing his horn; and there
are several spirits around that also are blowing their horns.
It is very suggestive! But if you look at the Watch
Tower, you will find there that beautiful illustration of
the INVISIBLE PRESENCE. And it tells us plainly
it is the Lord behind it all. I could not think of a better
design than that which we have on the front page of the
Watch Tower.

Dear friends, the Lord is looking for loyalty. Are we
going to be loyal to Him? As our Morning Resolve sug-
gests, “I will neither murmur nor complain at what the
Lord’s providence may permit, because faith can firmly
trust Him come what may.” If we remember that
Morning Resolve daily, dear friends, I am sure we will
get a great blessing out of it.

In Zech. 13:7 we read, “Awake, Oh sword, against
My shepherd and against the war, sayeth the Lord of hosts,
smite the shepherd and I will turn My hand upon the
little ones.’ Who are the Lord’s humble followers?
Those who do not think themselves great in their minds,
but who like Jesus are learning more and more to be meek
and lowly of heart. Has the Lord turned His hand upon -
His little ones? Dear friends, during the last year I
suppose there never has been in all the history of the
Society so many conventions; nor have the Lord’s dear
saints been so refreshed before the year 1918,—in spite
of the trials and tribulations.

All these persecutions are for what purpose? To
make you and I take deeper root so that we may become
grounded in the Truth; so that we will get to the point
where the Apostle intimates we should: “Be ye steadfast
in the Lord, immovable, abounding always.” Dear friends,
all these things, if rightly experienced, are designed by
the Lord for our highest good,—for the establishment in
character, and God is going to make us partners to the
fullest extent. God wants those who will stick. He wants
those to be loyal: and not be moved. The Apostle warns
us in I Cor. 14:20, and also gives us some very good
advice. I am going to read it from the Weymouth trans-
lation. “Brethren, do not prove yourselves to be children
in your minds.” What does that mean? The Lord
reminds us that for forty years He has been dealing with
us as people, and the Lord would seem to speak to us
like this: “My dear people, don’t be children any longer,
but more matured. Don’t be moved about with what one
brother suggests to your mind. Come to the point where
you may be matured men. Do not prove yourselves to
be children in your minds.” “As regards evil, indeed, be
utter babes, but as regards your minds, prove yourselves
to be men of ripe years.” “In understanding be men,”’—
as the other versions render it. The Lord would have
us go over His leadings and providences in the past; and
learn to think for ourselves, learn to be men, and under-
stand things. Then, dear friends, if we think for ourselves
and go to the Lord prayerfully and commit our ways
unto Him, He says He will direct our path and then we
won't be shifted about from pillar to post. We will think
for ourselves.

We want to notice, too, that today Satan, realizing
that the Lord’s dear people have a better understanding
of God’s plan than they ever had, is trying to work upon
the emotions of the dear friends; and if they are guided
by their feelings on any matter, he will work upon their
passions; and then judgment will go, and justice also.
We cannot afford to do this. Do you remember anybody
who went by their feelings and got left? You will find
that in the Bible. When Isaac went to bless one of his
sons, he was guided by feelings to such an extent that
he didn’t seem to regard the Lord’s dealings. Feeling
favoritism toward his elder son, he was going to grant
the blessing handed down from Abraham. He told Esau to
go and prepare him some venison. And in the meantime
Jacob and his mother got their heads together and it was
suggested that Jacob knew something that would get him
the blessing. And so, you remember how Jacob was
brought into Isaac’s presence by Rebecca. She had been
careful beforehand to take the skin of the goat and put
it around Jacob’s neck and around his hands, and then
when he came his father said: “Are you Esau?” He says,
“Yes.” “It is the voice of Jacob, but the hands of Esau.”
So he went by feelings and got left. (Laughter.)

You see, it is a very easy thing to go by feeling. The
religion of Christ is not the religion of feeling. God
would have us to use our heads, and common sense. As
the Bible tells us in Isaiah 1:18: “Come let us reason
together.” What does that mean? Some call it gray
matter. Others call it brains. The Lord wants us to use
our brains. “Be no longer children, but be men.”

Now then, dear friends, if we are not very careful,
we will go by our feelings, and the next thing, we will
be trying to steady the ark. Some of the brethren feel
that way about the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
Like the literal ark, when they were taking it to its
destination it so happened that it tipped a bit as they were
transferring it over the road. There was one instance

16 I. B. S. A. CONVENTION

when it seemed as though it would fall. Someone said,
“T will go and steady it.” He did and we know what
happened. He was struck dead. If you and I interfere
with God’s matters to steady the arrangements unduly,
we are going to suffer: perhaps it will be an eternal loss.

We want to remember the lesson that God impressed
upon Moses’ mind when he came to the burning bush.
Brother Russell suggests the first thing that Jehovah had
to do with the man of whom the Bible tells us was the
meekest man of all the earth. Jehovah had to remind
Moses of the necessity of humility by telling him to take
off his shoes: “Take off thy shoes from off thy feet, for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Dear
friends, that is the lesson for you. We are standing on
holy ground, and it is well for us to remember that. In
the Watch Tower of recent date we notice the “burning
bush” is used to represent God’s people im their present
earthly experiences. The bush was not consumed: and
the fire would represent the great tribulations, and great
trials through which the Church is passing today. And
still it isn’t consumed. Why? Because “God is in the
midst of her.” And so the more we realize that, dear
friends, the better will it be for us, indeed. Do you not
think so? I certainly do.

As we study the matter further we will get some more
help. You remember in Matt. 24-12 we read these words:
(I will read from Weymouth) “Many false prophets will
rise up and lead multitudes astray (as the Apostle says,
“men from amongst yourselves”), because of the preva-
lent disregard of God’s law, the love of the great majority
will grow cold; but those who stand firm to the end shall
be saved.” In other words, the Lord suggests that there
will come a spirit of lawlessness amongst God’s people—
that some af the dear brethren would manifest the spirit
of anarchy. Isn’t that a sullen test?—That God’s people
could manifest the spirit of anarchy? And any brother
or sister who fails to recognize the headship of Christ,
and who does not hold to the head, has the spirit of
lawlessness; and such individuals, the Bible informs us,
will never be on the Divine plane with the dear Redeemer.
It is absolutely necessary that we all act in harmony and
thus recognize the prayer of our dear Redeemer: “I pray
that they all may be one in us.” (St. John 17:21.) Where
does the Lord manifest His headship? At headquarters.
And you remember when the Seventh Volume was banned,
we were all perplexed what to do; but the Society said
“Stop! We see that this is the voice of the Lord, and
find that it is very wise.” So we believe the Lord is still
leading the Society and directing in all His affairs, and
we may trust Him implicitly.

Next, we will notice Psalms 89:5-9. There the Lord

teaches us the great lesson of reverence. “And
the Heavens shall praise Thy wonders, Lord: Thy
faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For

who in the Heaven can be compared unto Jehovah, who
among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the

Lord.” You know, dear friends, when I read anything
like this it makes me tremble. I tremble at God’s Word.
And do you not? Yes! “God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of His saints.” (Psa. 89:7.) It is a very
solemoi hour. You and I are making headway, and later
on the world is going to look into your history, and
going to find out everything you do. You are making
and determining your own destiny. Think before you act
to do a thing. Oh, we cannot be too careful. We ought
to tremble indeed at God’s words, “for who in the Heavens
can compare Jehovah.” “God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of His people.” If there were more of
this there would not be so much electioneering going on.
Some of the dear saints are afraid. They haven’t learned
the lesson yet. I am afraid I haven’t learned it as 1
ought. I am trying to have the reverence for God more
deeply implanted in my heart. This is my earnest prayer
for you and myself.

I think, dear friends, that one of the things that will
help us more than anything else will be to see to it
daily that our wills are completely dead. How important
it is! How easy it is after we have once made a con-
secration to the Lord and submitted our wills, to take
up the will of another. Don’t you notice that is illus-
trated in the pyramid? It suggests the individual passes
under the granite leaf in order to get into the ante-room
and into the King’s Chamber. The granite leaf looks
as though it were going to fall right down. And our
dear Pastor suggests that even after we have done that,
there may be a time when you and I will take up the
will of somebody else. Perhaps we will be following
Brother Smith, or some Pilgrim Brother instead of
following the Lord. Oh, how careful we should be.

And then, as Joshua said in his closing days: “Choose
ye this day whom ye will serve,—but as for me and my
house we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15.) So let
us suggest, dear friends, that we renew our consecration
to the Lord daily. I so often say this. Perhaps some
of the friends think I have got it on the brain. But I
see the necessity of the daily renewal of consecration.
T have it on the brain, indeed.

Jesus followed the Father’s leadings. No matter where
the Father led he followed. He said, “I delight to do
Thy will, O My God. Yea, Thy law is within My
heart.” How sweet. No wonder the Father loved Him,
and honored Him so greatly. And if you and I will
so do the same thing, do you know, dear friends, the
Lord will honor us, too?

Won't it be wonderful when the guardian angel intro-
duces us to the Master, and to the Holy angels? Oh,
that will be a wonderful thing!

May the Lord help us all to be faithful and earnest and
loyal to the Lord that we will not turn to the right or to
the left, but go straight ahead as did Jesus; and then we
will be saved, if we endure to the end. May the Lord bless
these suggestions to our hearts.

Brother O. Magnuson
THURSDAY, Fellowship Day, Jan. 2d, 7.30 P. M.

Subject: “GOD’S PRECIOUS JEWELS”

AM very pleased indeed to see so many happy faces

here this evening. It gives evidence that you are

having fellowship, and that fellowship is sweet, because
you are of one mind: For how can two walk together
unless they agree, and the better they agree the better or
sweeter the fellowship. We wish to direct your attention
tonight to God’s “PRECIOUS JEWELS”—their Crystalli-
zation and God’s plan, outlined in the wonderful feature of
His purposes therein displayed. You remember John the
Revelator was privileged to have a vision of the entire
Gospel and Millennial Ages—the shifting scenes of Church
and State; and then he pictured at the conclusion of this
age that wonderful Heavenly City, that New Jerusalem,

which is so perfect in all its workings—just like a Royal
Bride ready to be presented before the altar. And we
know nothing could be missing at such an event as that.
So, as John on the Isle of Patmos was privileged to see
in vision these things on the Lord’s Day, the John Class,
living at the time of our Lord’s Second Presence, would
be privileged to understand the meaning of what John saw
then. He tells us what he saw back there, and if you and
I belong to the John Class we will have the sweet privilege
of understanding the things therein written.

The first thing the Lord did was to invite St. John to
come up on a high mountain, alone with the Lord, and
to view matters from God’s standpoint. If you and I were

Ll. DBD. do. A.

privileged to be on a high mountain, how would earthly
things appear to us? Would they be very great and en-
ticing? Not at all! The higher we would climb on the
mountain the smaller the things beneath would appear.
Rivers would appear just like little ripples, and trees like
patches of green; men and women would look like toys.
Well, if you and J have taken that high and elevated
standpoint, the earthly things will be just as little in our
estimation as things would appear to those high up on the
mountain top. But if the earthly things seem enticing
and have a great deal of influence over us (looks large
and great), we are not very high up the mountain. We
are pretty close to the base because they look so big and
so real. But to the extent, then, that we are living in the
spirit and have the mind of the Lord, the earthly things
will appear like soap bubbles—like toys—which amount to
nothing. “For the things seen” the Apostle says, “are
temporal”’—they are transitory, they pass away—but the
unseen things (by the literal eye) are the real things
because they are eternal in duration. He pictures
this great Bride class under the symbol of a city sur-
rounded by a wall having twelve foundations. “And the
foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with
all manner of precious stones.” The way and order in
which they are mentioned illustrates to our mind their
importance from God’s standpoint.

There are two standpoints, and unless we get the proper
focus on these things we are apt to miss the lesson. For
instance, when the Tabernacle was erected they started
with the Most Holy first. They covered the Ark within
and without with gold, and put it in; then the Vail; the
Table of Shew Bread; the Candlestick; the Incense Altar
and the Vail again. Then they reared up the Court; placed
next the Altar, then the Laver; and last, the Gate. So
God started from within, working out. We start from
without, working in. Now we wish to view this from
God’s standpoint!

We read that

the first stone in
this wonderful
foundation was
eee JASPER. Why so?

_— What is the first

—— and most impor-

eae ——~ tant thing for us
to know? It is

— —— about God. Con-
~~ sequently the

“™~ ~~ Revelator in the
Sos 4th chapter of
va OO Revelations pic-
TI \ tures Jehovah
pope SX

God and likens

Him unto a jas-
per stone. “And He that sat (upon the throne) was to look
upon like a jasper stone,” and the light of that wonderful
Being was like the light of a jasper stone most precious.
Then Jehovah God is the most important Being in the uni-
verse. “God first!’ That is what we have learned! That is
the foundation of everything; because if we would omit
God from the plan there would not be anything to it. So
God is “first,” and He is like unto a jasper stone. Not that
Jehovah God literally looks like a jasper stone, but there is
something about that stone that reminds the John Class of
God. Now let us see to what extent that is true. We have
been told that the jasper stone crystallizes if properly cut to
a shape of a pyramid—as if one is standing on top of the
other--base to base. It is a green tinted diamond—the
hardest substance known. It has eight sides, but four are
visible at all times: no matter how you turn that stone you
can see four sides. But whiever one of these sides appears
the largest depends upon how you hold the stone. It says,
this looks like Jehovah to the John Class in that this stone
had its own base. And it suggests to our minds that Jeho-
vah is self-sustaining. He does not depend upon any one for
His existence. He is the Great “I Am” !—Furthermore it is
a green-tinted diamond—the hardest substance known—His
life is what? Inherent life! The highest kind of everlast-
ing life known, which we term immortality “green”—ever-
lasting life! Jehovah God has four attributes prominently

2

CUNVENIE

U IN

brought to our attention in His Word: Justice, Wisdom,
Love and Power. And one of these attributes when it takes
the lead seems greater and Jarger; whereas the other three
are merely ini unison,—backing the other up, as it were.
Let us see: For instance, when God condemned Adam to
death the prominent side of God which was brought to our
view was justice. Justice condemned man to death; but did
love oppose? No! Did wisdom or power oppose? No!
They were in unison. However, justice took the leading
part. The others were passive.

You turn the stone again and you see God from another
standpoint of His attributes: What do we find? His love
is more extensive than his justice, for He brings to our
attention that “He so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son.” Do we find justice in that attribute of
love? Yes! Power? Yes! Wisdom? Yes! But love seemed
the greatest at that time, and the other three seemed to be
passive,—not doing anything. We realize what a wonderful
love that was;—the unspeakable gift! Now then, God did
not spare His only begotten Son, but gave Him freely for
us all; and therefore love was very prominent at that time
—the most prominent of all. His love was just as great as
His justice. Love triumphed over justice! It found out
how God could maintain His just decree and at the same
time do something for His creatures.

We turn the stone again and have another side just as
great: Here we have power brought to our attention. And
sure enough, friends, we realize and appreciate that won-
derful power when God took that glorious Being, the
Logos, and transferred Him from the spiritual plane to
the human plane, and then allowed Him to grow up to
manhood, consecrate Himself: and then transferred Him
from the human plane to the Divine plane and never lose
His identity. That took a wonderful power. But then He
tells us He will remember all the human race who have
died from Adam down to the present time, every one of
these, except the wilfully wicked, He will reproduce:
some on the spiritual plane, some on the Divine plane and
some on the perfect human plane. He will resuscitate
them all and never make a mistake. Isn’t that wonderful?
In that act of His power then, do we see justice, love and
wisdom? Indeed we do! But not until the end of the
millennial age, when God has been made known to His
creatures, will His wisdom shine forth. And at what time
from Creation will that be? That will be on the eighth day.
Oh, yes! that stone did have EIGHT SIDES! Therefore
on the eighth day Jehovah will have displayed all His lov-
ing attributes to His creatures, and all will know Him as
He really should be known.

As that stone had twenty-four sietes. Setevsectind
perfectly—so therefore, God is pleased to make Himself
known to His creatures through twenty-four prophets and
their particular utterances. And as these angles intersect
perfectly, likewise these twenty-four prophecies are in
perfect harmony. That is a description of Jehovah God,—
that Great “I Am!’ No wonder then, that that should be
the foundation of that wonderful wall of the new Jerusa-
lem. “Jehovah First!”

Naturally we would
expect that the next
stone should bring to
our attention the next
thing in order. And so
it does! After we
learned about Jehovah
God, we say where does
that great Being live?
Where is His abode?
So then the next stone
brings that thought to
our attention. The sec-
ond foundation stone
was a sapphire. It is
blue sptinkled with
gold dust, and crys-
You look at that stone and
It invites com-
parison to the heavens. And sure enough, you remember
“God brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now to-

tallizes on twelve sides.
see that it is blue, sprinkled with gold:

18 I.

ward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number
them: and He said unto him, so shall thy seed be.” Let
us see if the Bible speaks of this. In Exo. 24:10 we read:
“And they saw the God of Israel; and the place under His
feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it
were the body of heaven in clearness.” There he brings to
our attention that fact! And in Ezek. 10:1 we read: “Then,
I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the
head of the cherubim there appeared over them as it were
a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a
throne.” Also in Ezek. 1:26, we read:
firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a
throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon
the likeness of the throne was the likeness of the appear-
ance of a man above upon it.” :

These Scriptures are ample proof to us that as this
stone was second in order in this great and wonderful
wall of Jerusalem, it brings to our attention Jehovah’s
abode. His throne is ruling over His creatures, and these
stars represent what? The heavenly beings. And twelve
sides: Oh yes, the multiple of twelve is the Little Flock.
Yes, it is just composed of a multiple of twelve heavenly
beings. Is God faithful to that class? “God is faithful!”
Not that He was, or will be faithful, but it is always in the
present tense. Has He been faithful to you and me? Oh yes!
we can, like Joshua, look back and say, “Not one of all
.God’s promises have failed.” And now remember that this
class, the -little flock, is represented as having the same
characteristics as that stone. So that the same faithfulness
that Jehovah has towards all His heavenly beings will like-
wise be manifested to all others. You remember Abraham’s
seed was to be all those who will eventually receive life
on any plane. So then, “twelve” represents also the earthly
seed, the twelve tribes of Israel. In Psalm 47:9, we read:
“The nobles of the people are gathered together, to be with
the people of the God of Abraham. (Leeser’s translation.)
Then we all are accounted as children of Abraham. It
means what? Faithfulness. Isn’t that a characteristic that
He wants you and me to develop? Oh yes. If you are ever
to be in that class, that is one of the things we must de-
velop more and more—full of faith: be willing to trust
Him where we cannot trace Him. To know God’s will!
What does that mean? If I want to find God’s will, friends,
I can never find that out as long as my will is running
strong, because then if I want something myself, I never
can find out God’s will. I will have to be passive first and
then watch the Lord’s leading, and by so doing, I will find
out the Lord’s will.: But if I am determined to have a
thing myself, all I am looking for then is to have the Lord
put His O. K. on my will, and then say, “Lord, that is your
will,” and you know we are so apt to do that. Let us re-
member the Lord is guiding His people today just as surely
as He has done in the past. Just look for the Lord’s prov-
idential leadings, and we don’t need to be concerned or
worried about God’s purposes and plans: not for one
minute. We can fully trust in the Divine providences in all
our affairs.

If we have learned
about that — (God’s
glorious throne ruling
over all), the next
thought will be God’s
kingdom. Oh, if that
same kind of rule will
be manifest on earth
(because we learned
about His wonderful
home) we would like
to have him dwell
here. Why then all this
exertion? Why, away
back there He told us
about the time when all

the families of the earth would be blessed by the means of
that wonderful kingdom, and His disciples were taught to
pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it
is done in heaven.” And do you know that is just exactly
what the next stone brings to our attention? Chalcedony!
It also crystallizes very peculiarly. It is green in color and

“And above the .

_ sides.

Bevss as CONTENT LON

it has twelve, as well as twenty-four sides, and each side
has five angles—twelve, twenty-four, five—blending in
color. You see we are getting our graduation lessons now.
We should get away from our A, B, C’s. We have learned
from God’s glorious plan that it is going to be a kingdom
composed of two phases. Two kinds of seed—one like unto
the stars, and the other like unto the sands of the seashore.
(Twelve here and twelve there.) And then what kind of
a kingdom is it going to be? Why the color is green. What
does that stand for? Everlasting life. It is going to be an
everlasting kingdom. How? Well, there were four uni-
versal empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome,
and the next will be the fifth empire. Sure enough it has
five angles. So as you look at it from each phase, it was five
in number. And it was green! And it had twelve and
twenty-four sides. So in that way He is silently telling His
children—the John Class—there is going to be a two-phased
kingdom working in perfect unison. It is going to be
established under the whole heavens for the purpose of
blessing all the families of the earth. And it is not going
to pass away like the former ones, but is going to be an
everlasting kingdom, and it is going to continue, for the
race is going to be brought to perfection, and Jehovah, and
His representatives—the Christ—will have full charge of
the heavenly phase of the kingdom, and full charge of the
earthly phase of the kingdom, for the purpose of extending
blessings to all. And this is to last in duration—everlasting.
Never again will it be necessary to review the past and
present scenes of earth. So we are glad to know of that
wonderful kingdom.

Next in order will be what? Well now, how is this
class going to get their development. Who are they?
Where do they come from? Oh, the stones tell us God’s
eternal purpose. He purposed to have what? A reigning
and ruling class for the purpose of bringing to perfection
out of this condition of affairs the whole human family.
And He calls our attention to the class of people from
which He is going to call them and the steps they must take
in order to gain that position. And then, when they get
there what are they going to do? Well, the next stone is
an emerald. You re-
member in the fourth
chapter of Revelations
Jehovah is spoken of as
being encircled by a
rainbow round about
the throne, in sight like
unto an emerald. And
the general color was
green. If you and I
were up in an airplane
when a rainbow was
visible, we would find a
perfect circle. And you
know that a rainbow
was a= guarantee to
Noah and his family
that another flood
would never appear.
God’s covenant to them
by means of the bow
was a guarantee of the
God covenanted what? To have

blessings to follow.
a seed, so perfect that He will be able to accomplish

all that He covenanted to do. As that rainbow had
seven colors, and in general color was green, what
does that mean? Well now, here it was an emblem of
peace. What kind of peace does God have? Why He had
no beginning, and no end, consequently His peace had no
beginning and no end. It was a perfect peace, and ever-

lasting in duration. Now that is what is going to be brought

about. The nations today are looking for peace, but we are
very much afraid they will have a good many pieces be-
fore peace will come. (Laughter.) When God’s Kingdom
comes, it will be an everlasting, perfect peaee for all His
creatures.

Now this class is going to be tried in every way. You
look at that stone and you will find it crystallizes on six
It was six-sided. You lay the stone down (long

I. B. S. A. CONVENTION : 19

ways): what do you find? Four lines. Set those lines like
the chart, and they line up perfectly: Mankind is standing
on the plane of condemnation. The first step is justifica-
tion by faith. The second step is vitalized consecration—
or spirit begetting. The third step is spirit birth. The
fourth step is glorification. Sure enough, there is going to
be four steps through which this class is to pass.

As this stone has six sides, it brings to our attention
that this class has come from an imperfect race—six—the
number six standing for imperfection—incompleteness. And
by means of four steps (divinely arranged), they will be
able to reach the top of the ladder—‘“glory, honor and im-
mortality.”

You turn the stone up and down: What do you find?
Three sections! The chart brings to our attention three
worlds: “The world that was. The present evil world. And
the world to come,’ In the “world to come” this class,
having reached that glorious condition—chosen from that
imperfect race, will be able to extend blessings to all the
families of the earth, because they are taking the same
viewpoint as God. They have the same kind of peace that
the Heavenly Father has: To the extent that you and I
can fully and truly believe God and enter into his promises,
to that extent will we have perfect peace: for he says, “I
will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusteth in thee.” (Isa. 26:3.) So then to the
extent of our trust, to that same extent will be our peace.
When we have lost our peace you see we have been looking
at something else—haven’t we? Yes! He says: “I will
keep him in perfect peace because he trusteth in
thee.’ Therefore, if we are not kept in perfect peace it is
because our minds have been elsewhere. We have been
disturbed about something else. You should not look at
the elements as St. Peter did, because that is the time
when we begin to sink. We look at the present difficulties
in the world, and the Church, etc., and say: “What does
this mean?” Satan says: “You see that great big cloud
over there! That is coming for you!” Yes, but it is going
to break blessings over your head. That is ‘the way it is if
we just trust God.

Now this stone was inclined to cling tenaciously to the
dross while under the cutting process. It would, therefore,
require a great deal of heating in order to remove that
dross; which shows that if we tenaciously hold on to
these earthly natures and desires it may spoil us as stones
in that wall, and we will have to take a lesser place or go
with a greater company. So then, He brings to our atten-
tion the class He is choosing and the steps that must be
taken to obtain the prize.

In the next stone He brings something else to our at-
tention: The fifth stone was a sardonyx. This illustrates
the cardinal virtues necessary in order to ‘be able to be
fitted for that place in the Kingdom. The ancients claim
that the true sardonyx stone was straight, with a black
base, a white centre, and a red surface. Black represents

what? Humility! Do you think we need that? Well, if we’

do not have humility as the very foundation of our car-
dinal virtues we will become topheavy and lose out. Humil-
ity is the essential principle, and Brother Russell has called
our attention to this: That it is more necessary than “abil-
ity.” It matters not how well we are able to express God’s
purposes and plans, if we have not the proper kind of hu-

mility it is going to take us somewhere before God gets,

through with us. But humility must have another virtue,
and that is purity. Why? (Chastity!) They must all be
virgins at heart. And not only that, He brings the red to
our attention, which represents sacrifice ! Martyred: willing
to spend and be spent in God’s service. Those are the three
cardinal virtues. And this sardonyx stone was used for
signets and cameos. Oh yes, inscriptions were made on this
stone and various images were engraved upon it. What
would this suggest? The character development of this
class! The Lord is working on that class whom He is in-
viting to a high station and if we have these three virtues
thoroughly in heart and mind He will be able to carve the
inscription—His own—and the image of our Lord. So
then, it is not only putting it into the heart, but cutting it
right i in. It ‘is not as if you would write something ona
"stone which might, be easily rubbed off. No, it is cut in!

It will stay! So we have the image of our Lord and our
Heavenly Father cut into our very actions, so that we
might say, like David: ‘“My heart is fixed.” Is our heart
fixed—determined, that “come what may,” we will be loyal
to the Lord? Whatever cutting there is to be done, it is
going to bring out the image of our Lord: so “we are be-
holding as it were in a glass the image of the Lord,” we
are changed from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the
Lord.”

After this class has reached its perfection of character
what are they going to do when they get up there? Well,
we used to think we were going to sit on a cloud and play
a harp throughout all eternity. We wondered sometimes
how monotonous that would be. But we thought of others
that would share the same thing, and concluded we could
stand it if they could, and it would be all right. But the
next stone shows what they are there for. And it says,
the sixth stone is a sardius. That was the ancient precious
stone—the stone upon which they did all their engraving.
It looks like raw flesh! And Jehovah is likened unto the
sardius stone. Why? He has the human family here to whom
He made promises too. They were smitten in Adam, and
nearly’ everything which originally existed was wiped out.
Now, He says, there is going to be a day when that class is
going to have that image put in their heart, and written in
their very being. The class who have gone through the very
same experiences would be the most suitable ones to assist
the human family in restoring that image back again. So,
then, He is not going to forget His earthly creatures. No
indeed! He says, “Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her
womb? Yes, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”
He will never forget those lost in Adam but redeemed by
Christ. He is going to show in that WORLD’S BIRTH-
DAY how the original image will be put back into their
hearts and make the very character that Adam had before
the fall. That will keep us busy, won’t it? Yes! Let us be
faithful. This is what John saw!

The seventh stone would also bring to our attention the
next thing in order. After we have learned about Jehovah’s
wonderful character and His universe: His kingdom; the
development and call of this class; and their character de-
velopment, and the human race perfected what would we
next see? We would see God’s wonderful wisdom therein
displayed. How? Sure enough the chrysolyte stone (the
seventh in order) which was a golden stone, tinted with
green, and very transparent. We read in James 3:17, “But
the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and-good fruits,
without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” And you re-
member in Ezek. 1:16, it reads: “The appearance of the
wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl.”
However, this should read: “the chrysolyte,’ because the
description of that stone answers perfectly, and “they four
had one likeness and their appearance and their work were
as it were a wheel within a wheel.” In other words, God’s
wisdom is displayed in that wonderful plan: Age lapping
over age—perfectly showing His wonderful wisdom: “that
known unto God are all His works, from the foundation of
the world.” So that is the golden stone, showing God’s mar-
velous wisdom displayed in His wonderful character which
He has shown forth,

After we see these wonderful things, He goes over the
ground more thoroughly as to how the world of mankind
will reach human perfection! And by what means? Or,
what is going to be used?

The eighth stone was a beryl. That is a wonderful stone
too: It is also of a bluish green color. It has sixty-six sides
—two ends and six larger sizes around the stone—on each
end there are four diamond points: four on this end and
four on the other end, and alternating throughout the stone.
Five diamond points on one side, next eight, and next five,
and’ next eight, etc—going around that stone. That illus-
trates what? God’s Word. For what does the Revelator
say? “In that day the books are going to be opened.” To
whom? The world of mankind. They are going to be on
trial for life! Not the kind of a book you and J were form-
erly told would be opened to the world, i. e., when the
Church is glorified they are going to heaven for a thousand
years and are going to open the books to see whether they

20 | ie

were kept straight, and while the world is in that chaotic
condition, and Satan strolling around (not a living thing on
the earth for a thousand years), at the end of that time they
will have finished look-
ing over the books and
of course they will put
their O. K. upon them
and call forth billions
and tell them that God
kept His books straight
and “you must go back
to where you came
from.” That was man’s
theory. Nay, it was a
theory of a woman and
not of a man. But that
is not the kind of a
book that is to be
opened. It is God’s
books that will be
opened. All of them
in fact! Yes, sixty-six
books of the Bible!
And when those books
are opened to the world
of mankind, what will
they learn? They will find it has two Testaments: the Old
and the New. You will find God’s four attributes mentioned
in the Old Testament and the same in the New Testament.
So, therefore, each end had four diamond points: It illus-
- trates that God’s attributes will be displayed to mankind
through the Old and New Testament. And as we study
along, what do we find? There were six thousand years of
man’s suffering, and during this time God, in His Word, has
promised a Kingdom. Fine! And by means of that King-
dom the whole race of mankind is going to be made per-
fect. When? In the eighth day. For in the type you remem-
ber they were circumcised on the eighth day—representing
the circumcision of the heart—perfection. So by means of
the Kingdom the human family will reach perfection in the
eighth thousand year day, and God’s attributes will be dis-
played to them. They will understand! Yes, indeed! And
they will discover that just like the color of the stone,
which was blue and green, representing faithfulness—from
first to last: and also everlasting perfection—brought about
because of that: not that the Bible will be the entire source
of information, but it will verify the history of the six
thousand years. For instance, it says: “Moreover the
light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the
light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven
days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breech of His
people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” What does
He mean by that? At that time the Old Testament Scrip-
tures will be just as plain to mankind as the plain state-
ments of the Gospel. “And the Gospel light,” will be just
like “seven suns”—perfect life. Why? Because of the light
of the seven days—seven thousand years. And if they
question anything, they have the living actors here and can
find out just exactly what these things mean. Therefore,
they will not need to read and ponder about Enoch. Some
one says: “Enoch, I want to know where you have been!
I don’t believe that statement in that book.” And Enoch
will be right on the scene, and will ‘say, “I can tell you
where I have been.” Which would they rather do, read
the record about him or have a talk with him? Well, I
would rather have a talk with him. Furthermore, “how
about Noah and the ark? We have been reading about
that,” but when they have a talk with Noah it will be made
perfectly plain, won’t it? Yes! Also about Jonah and the
whale. Some one will say, “I don’t believe that, Jonah!
Tell us about that: Did you swallow the whale, or did the
whale swallow you?” So it will be opened up so perfectly!
Why? Because there are the living actors corroborating
the Scriptures. How many infidels will there be then?
None! How many higher critics? None! They will be
lower critics then. But in studying God’s Word, what will
they find? They will discover that there is a solution. And
in this they will discover also God’s benevolence to His
creatures.

The next and ninth stone—a topaz—was also green. It

Bo oS. A, GON EN TION

had twenty-six sides: Well now, the two phases of the
kingdom and the whole earth will be perfected under the
figure of twelve—heavenly, and twelve earthly: But here
we have twenty-six? Yes, but there is going to be a class
that has been running for the high calling who will lose
out in the second death. And you will also find a class
among the human race who will go into everlasting death—
destruction—for in the sixty-sixth chapter of Isaiah and
twenty-fourth verse, we read: “And they shall go forth,
and look upon the carcasses of the men that have trans-

-gressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither

shall their fire be quenched: and they shall be an abhorring
unto all flesh.” They will recognize the justice in God’s
plan, and also God’s benevolence even towards these: Yes!
So the plan will reveal to them that there will be some that
will be lost.

And after we see that, next in order, would come the
tenth stone, the chrysoprasus. What does that illustrate?
Constant, cheerful endurance. That stone is yellow and
green, and it has a cloudy effect. It is very hard and in-
frequently cloudy, due to microscopic cavities. What
does that mean? The stone is hard and is capable of en-
during hardness. It will show God’s cheerful endurance.
He never lost His temper once. That will reveal God to
them as they never have had God revealed to them be-
fore. They will see in it all God’s long suffering—His
endurance—and also that class will have that same char-
acteristic. When the clouds of trouble come, it will only
ae them more firm, more determined to do the Lord’s
will.

So, then, dear friends, it isn’t the trials that you and I
have, but it is the way we meet our trials, that will deter-
mine where we are going to be. For the same trial that will
make one fit for the kingdom, will make another one sub-
ject to the second death. Would you say the trial did it?
Not at all! It is the way they met the trials. They both
grow: That is true! And one grows sweet and the other
sour. They both grow you see. Due to what? One class,
in every experience in life is endeavoring to learn the les-
son in the trial, and the other class is looking for somebody
for which to shift the blame. And the one who looks for
the lesson, the trials become stepping stones all the way
along: but the one who looks for some one to shift the
blame upon, the trials become stumbling stones all the way
along. That is just exactly what Adam did. You remem-
ber God said: “Adam, why did you take of the forbidden
fruit?” Adam said: “I am sorry but the woman you gave
me asked me to do so. You know I got along very nicely,
and by the way she is a gift from you—consequently it is
really your fault.” So you see he shifted the blame on his
wife and God. God turned to Eve and said, “Why did you
do that? I told you to be a help-mate to Adam.” Did
she say, “I am sorry”? No! She said, “The serpent be-
guiled me.” But the serpent could not speak for himself,
and had to take all the blame. It takes more courage to
say, “that was my fault” than it would to give a wonder-
ful discourse. Why? Because of self! So in these trials
they will either fit us for the Kingdom or make us un-
suitable for the Kingdom—either one or the other. You

-cannot blame the trial on your wife neither can she blame

the husband. You cannot blame anybody but yourself.

We don’t want to do like the little school boy. The
teacher found that some of the scholars were inattentive
to their lessons. Therefore, she thought, “Now, I will see
if I cannot in some way direct them.” And so she said,
“Now children,-if you find anybody looking off the book,
I will be very pleased indeed if you will tell me about that
boy or girl.” And so there was a little fellow who said to
himself: “I don’t like Johnny Smith very well; if I see him
look off his book I will tell the teacher.” And sure enough,
John Smith looked off his book, and the little fellow
marched up to the teacher and said: “Teacher, Johnny
Smith looked off his book!” The teacher replied: “Indeed!
And were your eyes on your book when you saw him?”
So they all had a laugh on him, and he haunched his head
and marched back to his desk, disappointed. So then when
we are attending to somebody else’s affairs remember we
are neglecting our own every time. And I tell you, friends,
the more we learn to attend to our own affairs, the better

de. De ae te GON MEN CLOW. ve

for all concerned. Tell your troubles to Headquarters. You
can put all the complaints you want there, and tell the
good things to the friends. That is a good rule by which
to follow. You will never have any trouble then, and no
misunderstanding will occur if you do that.

So then in all these various experiences this class is
doing what? Enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus
Christ.

The next and eleventh stone is the
jacinth: That is a wonderful stone:
It crystallizes in many wonderful
ways. The stone itself is colorless,
but the blue is distributed in patches.
And it looks like—you might say—
something round-pointed at each end.
It is a six-sided pyramid. So there is
a pyramid at each end. It has insets
just like the shape of the stone. That
stone has been called “unchangeable-
ness.” Why? Well, let us see: After
the world has learned about God’s
wonderful character, and all His
creatures have been brought to per-
fection, they are to have what? They
are going to have a grand review of
the plan: All heaven and earth—all
His creatures are going to be brought
together in one. There will then be
a great rehearsal. A first drama: and
you will expect to find something
like that in that stone. And that is
just what we find. If you lay the
stone down this way (long ways) it
arches from point to point, it has a pyramid at each end.
We thus learn what? In God’s great purpose from the
time of Adam’s creation to the end of the millennial age,
you will find the drama of earth. You will find a
pyramid in one end at that time—the man Adam. And you
will find another one at the other end—the Man Christ
Jesus. As Adam brought imperfection—sin, six-sided
through his disobedience—Christ Jesus, by means of His
loyalty blotted this imperfection out of existence. And you
will find the three worlds pictured there: three insets and
three harbors. You turn the stone up this way (long ways)
you will have the same four steps to glory as you found in
the other stone.

And these patches of blue in the stone, when properly
cut, give color to the whole stone. So likewise, in prop-
erly interpreting the ages and purposes of God, it brings
harmony out of all these wonderful things which seem to
indicate, for the time being, that God was changeable Him-
. self. However, God is unchangeable if we properly inter-
pret the matter. It brings out God’s glorious plan from start
to finish, and you see then what a wonderful Being our
God is.

Well, now we have the grand review—remembering this
is just the way St. John sees it. This is what the John
class see. You say: “Well, where did you get it from?
Did you get it up here (pointing to his head)?” Not a bit
of it. The Lord had a servant here, who was faithful in
giving out the proper allowance of food at the right time.
Therefore, the twelfth stone was the amethyst. It was
just like the jasper stone, having a base to base: but it was
three-sided, instead of four-sided. It is called a royal stone.

There is a_ legend
about the amethyst, that
if any one drank wine
from an amethyst cup
they would not become
intoxicated. Wedonot
know if that is true, but
we do know this: that
this cup which that
servant poured — six
volumes of Scripture
Studies—did not make

us drunk, did it? You can drink all you like from
that cup, and I tell you it kept us sober all right. It
is a royal stone. It is, in color, violet bordering on pur-

ple; composed of a strong blue and a deep red: So then
it is that royal color—loyalty to the ransom. Oh yes, we .
used to think we were only hobbyists on the ransom, but
that is our main doctrine, and like a scarlet thread, it runs
through all the doctrines: Loyalty to Christ and the
heavenly Father, and one another, and loyalty to God’s
purposes and plans, and to His children and all.

Now note: Who was it that showed the John class these
things? Rev. 21:9: “And there came unto me one of the
seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven
last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will
shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Then He showed
him a beautiful woman? Ohno! He showed him that new
Jerusalem. Which volume was it? It was one of those
seven. It was the seventh volume which was used to ex-
plain that city to you and me, the details of which we now
have the privilege of understanding. Don’t you see that it
was that stone—the summary of all contained in those
volumes put together, which is the cup? Yes!

We want to talk to you about the pearl. It is a devel-
oped stone. The pearl is unlike all other jewels. But this
pearl was developed.‘ Now, we see the reason why the
little flock in a particular sense is likened unto the jewels:
In Matt. 13:45, 46: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened
unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he
had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he
had, and bought it.” We all recognize who that was! Our
Lord Jesus came down here on earth and sold all He had
to purchase the pearl—the pearl being the Church. Yes,
that is the most precious of all. Now you know the heav-
enly beings are like these precious stones, for even Lucifer
in his perfection is said to be a precious stone of “thin
covering.”

What about the pearl? Are they made that way? No,
they are developed. How? In the oyster shell, by means
of a foreign substance coming into that shell the oyster
is throwing one coat or layer over this foreign substance:
Thus layer after layer is put on, and it is so thin that it
cannot be discovered by the naked eye, and these layers
with thousands of angles; and with all the colors of the
rainbow. As a result of the oyster putting on layer after
layer, the pearl is developed, until it is just simply reflecting
all the rays of the sun, the rainbow’ and the light. As the
rays of light surround it, it transmits a marvelous beauty.

You see the picture: If we think we are somebody, just
remember we are likened in this picture to an oyster, and
it has about as little brain as anything alive. But this
foreign substance that comes into contact with the oyster
is what? The new creature—the new mind. It is not
something of the old mind at all. It is the new mind, and
what are we to do with this new mind? Develop it. How?
“Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and
there a little.” (Isa. 28:13.) And just put one layer on
after another: What for? That we might get the knowl-
edge, and thus have wisdom. And since the Lord has fur-
nished us with the knowledge and we are feasting upon
God’s wonderful promises and it develops in us rightly we
will receive of that pearl-like quality. Do we see then the
reason why the great company class could not be likened
to pearls? They fail to apply what the Lord has provided
in the way of food. They are not putting over the layers,
but are allowing something else to take their attention and
thus do not become pearls.

Now then the gates of that wonderful wall of the city
you remember was just pearls. We see then why the little
flock is likened unto pearls, and likened unto gates. And
the great company shall enter through the gates. They will
not become gates. Why? Because they will not become
pearls. Therefore, if you and I hope to be of that pearl
class, you see what we need to do. We must make use of
all the good things the Lord has provided in His Word for
that class; and if we do so, friends, we will develop that
pearl-like quality. If we do not, and eat only of the leaner
foods we will be lean in character. Therefore, may the
Lord bless us with a greater determination that we will
have all those qualities here pictured as being in that wall
in that new Jerusalem class, and thus hear, eventually, the
“Well done.” Amen!

22 i, Bi, S.

Friday, 2:30 P. M.,
Subject:

E are very glad to be with you, dear brethren. We

bring to you the greetings of the friends of many

places on the way. They wanted to be with you.
They all pray that this convention may be a_ success.
And we believe it is. In harmony with our subject we
call your attention to Psalm 133: “Behold how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went
down to the skirts of his garment. As the dew of Hermon,
and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of
Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing—even
life for evermore.”

In the midst of this great commotion, tribulation, dis-
tress, revolution, war, unrest, indeed it is the hardest
proposition to “dwell together in unity.” However, it is
possible if we have the power. What power? “Not by
might, nor by (human) power, but by My spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts.” (Zech. 3:4.) It is by the power of the
Holy Spirit that we can dwell in unity; and those who
remain faithful to the end, keeping the Christian unity,
are more than conquerors. They will shine most brilliantly
in the Kingdom.

The Lord has a wonderful place for those who will
remain faithful to the end and become the last members
of the body of Christ. Our Lord Jesus said, “He that
reapeth, receiveth wages.” (John 4:36.)

Now, dear friends, that we have gone so far in this
narrow way, shall we stop, or go ahead? I say, by God’s
grace we will go ahead. “We are not of them who draw
back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving
of the soul.” (Heb. 10:39.) That is what we expect of
each one this afternoon. We expect that every consecrated
child of God will strive to make his calling and election
sure, and attain that wonderful Kingdom which the Lord
promised only to the overcomers.

Oh, what a “high calling’ we have. How high?
“Higher than the heavens.” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard; neither have entered in the heart of man the things
which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (Isa.
64:4; I Cor. 2, 9.)

Do you think for a moment that we will draw back?
No, we will not. However, as today is a day of “exami-
nation,” we want to examine ourselves to see if we have
in our hearts the spirit of Christian unity or not.

You know people at large are governed by sentiment.
The world is guided by leaders, by influences. Therefore,
today they are for, and tomorrow they are against certain
propositions. You know how it was a little while ago;
when you talked about “peace” they put you in jail. Now,
when you talk about war, they will put you in jail. What
is the matter? You know why! Why? Because they
are governed by sentiment,—“wishy-washy,” that is all.
But to us, there is one God; one Christ; one baptism;
one principle. War or no war, it doesn’t make a bit of
difference. You cannot change a man who is governed
by principle.

Now there are principles that underlie “Christian
Unity.” If we learn these principles, we will remain
faithful to the end. If not, we might just as well get
out. Therefore, the Lord is proving you, proving me,
to see if we are governed by certain principles of the
doctrines of Christ. What do we learn about the prin-
ciples of Christ? Oh, dear friends, we learn certain laws;
certain regulations that will govern our conduct, and our
thoughts, and our actions. If we do not learn these prin-
ciples well, and put them into operation, we will never
get there at all. If we are not united here, we will never
be united there. There is a separation or division of mind.
It implies, therefore, dear friends, that one party is wrong,
somewhere.

Let us realize the importance of “Christian Unity.”
Let the dear friends sacrifice everything which is not a
principle: Your opinions, your likes and dislikes, your
sentiment, your reputation, your pocketbook.

A. CONVENTION

Discourse by Brother T. Toujian
“CHRISTIAN UNITY”

You know that is a hard proposition for some. I was
in Texas, meeting with a congregation (20 strong. I. B.
S. A. members), and they hired a place, and only had to
pay $8.00 per month. And yet they were two months
behind the rent. I told them, “You will never be in the
Kingdom.” (Laughter.) I said, “If you haven’t any of
the spirit of sacrifice, 4s much as a common ordinary
church member, you better quit.” For pity’s sake, a
church of twenty members must support a reverend gen-
tleman; and besides that, send eggs and milk, and I don’t
know what else. But, dear friends, when we come to the
Lord and make a full consecration of ourselves, we say,
“All for Jesus! All for Jesus, but not a cent to Him.
I won’t give my money.” I am not taking any collections
this afternoon. So don’t worry about that. (Laughter.)
But I tell you, dear friends, when the Holy Spirit gets
into our heads and hearts, it goes into the pocketbook as
well, and I would be ashamed to go to a congregation
where they can’t pay their rent for a meeting place. I
think they will learn their lesson later.

But, my friends, here is the thought: When we give
our hearts to God, we give all. That includes everything.
I am sorry many of us are governed by this idea that the
“money that I have is mine! My wife is mine, and my
children are mine.” They are not! Don’t you remember
the text yesterday morning? “Ye are bought with a price:
therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God’s.” You are purchased! If this body
belongs to somebody else, then that which belongs to this
body belongs to somebody else, too. It includes your
pocketbook and everything else. Let us live the true
Christlike life. Give all to the Father, realizing whatever
we have, we are simply stewards over God’s goods. That
is all: we are His by creation. We are His by justifi-
cation. We are His by consecration. We are His in every
way. Our bodies are His, and also as New Creatures,
we are the sons of God. We have nothing to our name:
all belongs to Him.

The Psalmist evidently here in this Psalm painted a
wonderful picture of the unity of Christians—the unity
of the Gospel Age. You know the very word “David,”
means Beloved. And Jesus received that name at His con-
secration. The Lord says, “This is My only begotten Son
in whom I am well pleased.” “My beloved Son,” or “My
David.” Jesus received the name David. Therefore,
David was a type of the Christ—the head; and the Church
which is His body; and as we well know today, David is a
man of war; so the Church Militant is a man of war. And
in these days they do lots of fighting, and they put them in
jail because they fight too much. You cannot call them
pacifists, but they fight this man here—the old man. They
fight the world, the flesh and the devil. It is a fight, friends,
in which no common, ordinary man, or general on earth
can participate. It is impossible that any human being on
earth can fight the good “fight of faith,” except one who
has the power of the Holy Spirit in his heart.

Therefore, David says, “How good, and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” How sweet!
You know that for yourself. If there is no inharmony,
oh, how sweet it is. We want to come to the meeting,
and after the meeting is over we go home, about twelve
o’clock midnight, and after we go home we think about
the brethren you know. “How good and how sweet it is.”
Isn’t it remarkable. You have had the experience, and have
it yet.

“How good and how sweet it is for the dear brethren
to dwell together in unity.” How good! Dear friends,
the illustration is a grand one. “It is like a precious oint-
ment.” What is the precious ointment that was poured
on Aaron at the time of consecration? It was poured
upon the head and came to the neck, then to the shoulders,
then to the body, and then to the feet; and the whole oil
went to the feet. No wonder the feet class are “oily.”
There is plenty of it. No wonder that we have so much
of it. I tell you we need it too, so that we will not scratch

I. B. S. A. CONVENTION | 23

one another. We need to be lubricated. well to keep the
spirit of unity. And we will need a lot of oil before we
get through. You take a piece of machinery and run it
without oil, and it will have a “hot box.”

And so, my friends, if we don’t have plenty of oil, we
will have a “hot box,’ too. It will show tomorrow how
much oil we have in our oil boxes. Are we of the class
who receives very much oil in our vessels? Or are we
of the foolish virgin class? It is one, or the other. May
the Lord help us show the spirit of Christ, and show really
and truly that we are of the class spoken of here! “How
good, and how pleasant it is for the (dear) brethren to
dwell together in unity.”

Now, friends, we see Aaron there, and when the oil was
poured upon his head, it lubricated all his body for it
went way down his garment. There he stood, as the
Advocate of the Jewish people. There he realized he had
a very important mission to make good the broken cove-
nant. As he stood there he was lifted in the spirit, and
he said “what a grand, and glorious office I have that I
am a High Priest over the people of God,” and when
Aaron on the Atonement Day, came and made “at-one-
ment” between God and man, he said: “Oh, God, how
thankful I am for this office! What a high calling this
is!” (This is only typical you know.) It was indeed a
“high calling.’ He was called of God.
“No man can take this honor unto himself, except he that
is called of God.” (Heb. 5:4.) And he was called of
God. And it was a remarkable call at that. Not only
that, Aaron’s sons received the same anointing that he
received. They did not receive an individual anointing.
No, even as we did not receive an individual anointing.
We received the anointing which is in Christ Jesus. We
are anointed as we become part of Him. Therefore, his
sons received the same unction from the Holy One; and
consequently they were glad. Oh, they were happy that
they were also under-priests. And again, dear friends,
the perfume of the oil was so soothing to smell the
fragrance. Oh, how sweet! “How good it is!”

Now, dear friends, in this picture this is a type of what?
“Christian Unity.” The oil anti-typical was poured on our
Lord Jesus at Jordan. There He received the whole, great
amount of oil, without measure, because He had a very
large vessel. He had a perfect vessel. He could have
plenty of it. Then, dear friends, for three years and a
half the oil came down and ran below the head. Then,
after His ascension on high, the oil dropped upon the neck.
The apostles received the holy anointing oil, and then it
came to the shoulders. Now, if there was no neck, there
would be no oil there, and so, dear friends, the apostles
were the connecting link between the head and the body.
‘They had twelve places if you please in the body,—as
if they were immersed into the neck of the Christ, from
which they received the anointing. Therefore, we can
understand the thought of the Apostle Paul. “Fill up
that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh
(not for the head’s sake but) for His body’s sake, which
is the Church.” (Col. 1:24.) And the oil ran down all
during the ages and saturated the body. Suppose a person
became a rib member, the oil went right over it. But if
it were not there, the oil could not go over it. If we
have not the spirit of Christ, we are “none of His,” and
if you are not in the body, the oil will not go over you.

Then later on, when due time came (since 1878) the Lord —

began to deal with what is called in the Bible the “feet
members’—the last members. We have come to the ex-
treme time of the feet members. In fact the heel members,
if you please. Now, dear friends, as long as we, as mem-
bers of Christ, remain in this great body we will receive
the holy anointing oil. We will have the spirit of unity.
Or, reversing it, if we have the spirit of Christian unity
we are members in His body now, prospectively; and,
thank God, bye and bye we will have a glorious body
which the Lord promised to the faithful.

It is a remarkable thought, dear friends, that our dear
Heavenly Father does place each one in the body as it
“pleaseth Him.” You remember that it was the dear
mother of John and James who came to our Lord and
requested that her two sons (nice looking and certainly
noble boys) might have a prominent place in the kingdom,

St. Paul says, .

one on the right side and the other on the left side, and
Jesus asked the question: “Are ye able to drink of the
cup that I shall drink of?” Oh, yes, “we are able.” So
they knew what He meant. “But so far as placing you in
the body is concerned that is not My prerogative, but
Jehovah God Himself is the one who does the placing.
But if you, eat of My body (in mind) and masticate it
well,—digest it well, you will be perfectly contented with
your place in the body of Christ.’ What a glorious thing
it is that the Lord has passed thousands and millions of
people, and has given to you and to me the privilege of
becoming members in the body of Christ.

If we come to the Lord in prayer and supplication,
asking Him that He may guide and direct us, that implies
that He will hear our prayers. If we pray, the Lord will
guide us in the important work we are about ready to
enter into. After you go to Him in prayer, and then use
your common sense (if we have any, and I think we have
some), we can leave the thing in the Lord’s hands and
say, “Amen.” .

There is one lesson I learned during 1915: it took me
fourteen years to learn it—some of us have thick brains.
I was with a large congregation in the West, and a ques-
tion of great importance came up, which resulted in a
great amount of trouble. I was on the minority side.
Sometimes they call it the “G’" side, because that means
the Seventh Book. I was on the minority side and we felt
we must do our duty, and tell the friends that if they
took a certain course it would be detrimental to the
interests of the congregation. We put the matter just as
strong as we knew how. Later, however, the matter went
the other way. It was a hard test, because it meant a
great amount of suffering. However, I made up my mind
once and for all that I would abide by the decision, and
if the congregation made a mistake they have to suffer,
and not J, because I told them not to do that. By the
way, since then I found I was wrong. But I kept my
mouth shut. Some brother said, “Well, how do you stand?
Have you changed your mind?” I said, “No, I believe I am
right, but I am keeping my mouth shut. I am in harmony
with you to the extent that I close my eyes. I will act
as though everything is fine. Brethren, God bless you—
we will unitedly co-operate.’ And as the result, we are
before you here this afternoon trying to talk. The Lord
gave us the privilege and blessed us abundantly, because
we were governed by a wonderful principle. But if I
would raise trouble after the decision, I would be in the
depths of outer darkness. I was not governed by senti-
ment. No, by God’s grace, I was governed by principle.

In many congregations, I find they eat the food, but
they cannot talk until after the matter is decided. Then
the steam goes out. And the first thing you know there
is confusion. Well, what is the matter? Let the steam
out. Punch the steam out before it is decided. Go ahead and
put it as strong as you can—then keep your mouth shut.
That is the way I will do. It might come out in harmony
with my views, or it might not. As a brother said, “Why,
there is a man who had ears that long (three inches), but
he had sense. He was riding on a creature with ears only
about one foot long. And the time came that the Lord
used the one that went on four legs. The Lord asked:
Why do you whip him so hard? What is the matter,
don’t you see the angel before him?” I tell you, my
friends, the Lord can use anyone. If the Lord’s people
tell us that they want it this way, and I say I want my
way, too,—who is boss? The Lord’s people.

I find, too, many kinds of people. In one congregation
three brethren couldn’t agree with the Seventh Book. I
said, “What is the matter with you?” Well, we had a
question meeting, and it lasted for about three hours.
And we talked pro and con, and then these brethren began
to talk about different things, and I caught on to where
the trouble was. I made a suggestion, something to the
effect that those elders in the Church were “not supposed
to be bosses”; they must not rule the congregation, for
they were servants. They said, “St. Paul states, ‘Let those
who rule get the greater proportion of honor.’ “Oh,”
I said, “I see the point now. You want a double portion
of the honor before you work like him, then get the
proportion.” How is that? Oh, he worked himself to

24 ds

death. Here, brother, you ought to do just as Pastor
Russell did (you elected him as elder or pastor). When
he wrote a letter to you brethren, this is what I think
he usually wrote, “If you don’t like it, put it in the waste
basket.” He did not say, “Here, you have got to do so
and so.” Oh, no! I tell you, dear friends, many people
have the wrong idea of what it means to rule the Church.

If there are several hobbyists (you know some people
have hobbies: Some look at the stars, and are always
talking about the Great Company. One place I visited
they didn’t talk of anything else for six months but
“Great Company”) I would suggest, friends, why can’t
you do this way: “The Sixth Volume says if a brother
has a hobby, let him let out the steam for half an hour
and let him talk all he wants to. Then say to the class:
‘Do you want this horrible stuff any more? Those in favor
of it kindly manifest same by a right hand vote’.” These
things are stopped like that [snapping thumb], but the
trouble is this, we don’t read or study the truth. We
talk about the thrice double sword, and the point (you have
heard that: “Thrice double’—three times two makes what?
Six), but most of the friends don’t know anything about it.
They try to get the “point” without having the stock.
You can’t do that. If a brother has a knowledge of that
Sixth Book—the encyclopedia of the New Creation, he
can cut out the hobbyist. You can fix everything so nicely
and beautifully. Why, friends, the study of these things
will cause you to increase and abound in grace and love
and knowledge.

In connection with this thought we would like to
emphasize one point, i. e., this matter of ruling. I find
that there is danger for us to go into the nominal condi-
tion. You know what that is. It means just camouflage—
something that isn’t there. Now the tendency for us is
to slack our energy and say, easy now: “I believe in the
ransom, I am saved.” However, the apostle said, “I
brow-beat my body. I keep my body under.” We must
strive, and try hard to do this every day. We should
improve or develop. Which way? Every way, not only
the Christian way, but even in our appearance, in our
expressions. Improvement must be the watchword of the
Christian in every respect. You must not pass one thing
without examining yourself to see if you are in the faith;
to see if you are making progress. “Be ye clean that bear
the vessels of the Lord.” (Isa. 52:11.) We must do that
in order to get into the kingdom.

I find that some of the friends have the idea that we
Pilgrims are just about two and one-half feet higher than
others. Some of the friends are inclined to look at it
like we did before our eyes were opened. (They are
opened now for good.) We used to say, “Who is that

coming?” The answer was, “Reverend Smith.” “Oh,
Reverend Smith? He is of the Divine or Apostolic ordin-
ation.” I don’t mean to say our Pilgrim brethren are

doing that now. I have seen them in the past write their
name “So-and-So, Pilgrim,’ in the manna. Oh, isn’t it
nice! But why should we put it that way? After you
write your name, nothing more is essential. What is the
difference between a Pilgrim and a Brother? No differ-
ence, except that the Pilgrim has to work harder than the
other brethren. They have to preach five hours. One
time I preached for five hours. I don’t know whether I
reported it to the Watch Tower; for I was afraid. There
was a reverend gentleman at the meeting and I talked for
a long time and after we finished what we had to say, the
gentleman went home—fifteen minutes after twelve, mid-
night. That is the difference. Sometimes the Pilgrims
preach eight hours a day; sometimes six. Anyway, that
is the difference. Like St. Paul, they must be overworked.
The Brother who is not a Pilgrim carries a lighter satchel,
while the Pilgrim carries a very heavy one. The thought
we have in our minds is for us not to make that great
difference, or contrast. When a Pilgrim talks to you, don’t
think they are entirely the words of the Lord. Of course,
they are supposed to tell the plan, but if they say some-
thing different from what you have read before, take that
and put soap on it and weigh it until that soap soaks in.
We should honor and respect it, but at the same time.
let us not make such a vast contrast. Clergy! Laity !
“One is your master, even Christ, and all ye are

B. S. A. CONVENTION

,

brethren.” Our dear Pastor surely manifested that spirit.

Let us take the Scriptures and see the importance of
Christian unity. We turn to John 17:21 to 23. Jesus
said in that wonderful prayer, “I pray not for these alone
(which refers to the twelve apostles), but for them also
which shall believe on me.” Jesus prayed, dear friends,
for the friends meeting here today. Why did He pray?
He is emphasizing one point especially: “1 pray for them.” °
Why? “That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art
in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us,
that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.”

Do we have a clear understanding of the height of
Christian unity? What is Christian unity? Jesus says
it is the unity which exists between Jesus and God. Do
you think that Jesus ever uttered a cross word to the
Father? Can you imagine that Jehovah God scolded Him
because He did something wrong? The unity is so won-
derful that we, with our finite minds, cannot comprehend
such infinite unity. In other words, if we want to keep
the spirit of unity, we cannot utter one cross word. Well,
we say, we have done this in the past. Yes, and we are
sorry we did. But, dear friends, we can have the spirit
of unity if we so wish. You might say “we are imperfect.”
Even St. Paul says, “Jesus was tested in all points like as
we are, yet He was without sin.” We are sinners. Well,
shall we lower the standard? No! It is not our business
to do anything with the standard. God sets the standard.
You just do the trying. Don’t lower anything. You can’t
do it if you try. If you try to lower it you will be lowered
yourself, and you will be out of the race.

Let us keep the height of Christian unity, which implies
that unity existing between the Father and Son,—that we
may be in mind, in thought, in purpose, and even as far
as possible, in doctrine and also in relation to each other,
that our unity may be like unto God and Christ.

Then what? “That the world may know’—Do you
want to show the world who you are? The sons of God!
Our Lord Jesus is emphasizing this thought. We should
demonstrate that unity to the people of the world of man-
kind, “that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.”
Therefore, if we have Christian unity and because of our
faithfulness to Him, the Lord in the age to come, will
bring millions of people into the truth. In other words,
our actions, our words, and conduct, our spirit of Christian
unity will bring millions into the truth. It is remarkable
when we think about that! Let them “see your good
works” so that they might glorify God. When? In the
“Day of His Visitation’—when He visits the earth and
makes His footstool glorious.

“And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given
them, that they may be one, as we are one.” Again He is
emphasizing the point. What is the glory given us? Well,
primarily speaking, it is the “Glorious Hope”; also the
begetting or the anointing. That is primary, but bye and
bye it will be the wonderful privilege of sharing with
Him in the Kingdom. “And the glory which Thou gavest
Me, I have given them.” What “glory” did He have? It
was the opening of His vision, the “heavens were opened
unto Him.” He saw the antitypical things. “I have given
it to them,” He says. “I have given them the under-
standing of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and those
Seven Books, Also, the Temple of God, and I don’t know
what all.” There is just ove purpose, and what is that?
“That they may be one.”

If we don’t have the unity, it means we don’t have the
truth. Is that possible? That is what the Lord says: “I
have given My glory to them, that they may be one.” How
remarkable! “I in them, and Thou in Me.” Indeed, it
is remarkable that our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus
is in us, “That they may be made perfect in one.” Dear
friends, we cannot be in the kingdom if we are not one
here. If we are two here, we will be two somewhere else.
If one here, we will be one there.

You remember, dear friends, what we learned about
the construction of the great pyramid, that every course
of that wonderful structure was placed and fitted together
before it was laid upon the next layer, or the next course.
Therefore, all the congregations in different places are
certain layers in that wonderful structure of Jove—“living
stones.” They must now be chiseled and fitted. This

D.- By Se, Ae CON VENTION 25

must be done here, because they will never take a hammer
and fit you in the kingdom. ‘here must be “no noise of
a hammer” in the kingdom. “Silence” prevails in the
kingdom.

“T pray that they may be perfect in one, that the world
may know that Thou hast sent Me, and love them as
Thou hast loved Me.” That is one of the most precious
Scriptures in the Bible. “That the Heavenly Father loved
the Church, as He loved Christ Jesus.” Christian unity is
one of the remarkable evidences that the Father loved
the Church as well as He loved His only begotten Son.

We have several Scriptures in this connection. Phil.
2:15: “If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ,
if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit,
if any bowels and mercies. Fulfill ye my joy, that ye may
be like minded.” St. Paul is telling the Church, “If you
love me, and want me to joy forever more: fulfill ye my
joy’; fill it full, overflowingly; that ye be like minded!
Well, Paul, what can we do to have the spirit of unity ?
He tells us, dear friends, “let nothing be done through
strife or vainglory.” “As the body is one and hath many
members—” It makes no difference, for “the body is one.”
When you look at a person, you don’t think of him as
many members; you say he is “Mr. Jones.” That is all.
So “also is Christ’—One! Let “nothing be done through
strife or vainglory.” No partisan spirit should be al-
lowed in the Church. You remember St. Paul said, “It
is a spirit of the Adversary to say ‘I am of Apollos’, etc.”
Some say, “I am a Baptist,” or “I am a Methodist.”
Sectarianism implies the spirit of division,—carnal-mind-
edness. I don’t care whether it is inside or outside. Then
he goes on to imply: “Don’t be called Russellite.” What
is the difference between a Lutheran and a Russellite? We
belong to Christ and God. We love our dear Pastor more
than any saints now living, but, my friends, we don’t want
to take the name of any human being. I will never do it.
I am a Bible Student. I am not a teacher! Not a
prophet, but a Bible Student,—studying always until I
graduate and receive my diploma. And in the Kingdom
He will say, “Go ahead and teach.” Then I will be a
Bible teacher—bye and bye. You can’t graduate from the

Bible school until you are dead. A wonderful graduation,
isn’t it? (Laughter.)

“But in lowliness of mind.” Not through strife or
vainglory. What is vainglory? It is that glory that
you intercept or stop before it goes to God. That is a
plain way of putting it, isn’t it? In other words, public
speakers are in the greatest danger of losing their reward
because they are in the lime-light, and they shine. You
know when the trouble comes up it is the big man who
goes out. It is the little man who stays in. So we appeal
to you—especially to the public speakers—that by God’s
grace, when you serve the truth—before you serve and after
you serve—tell the Lord, “Now, Lord, you get all the
glory and I get nothing but the peace of heart.” Thank
God for that, because bye and bye He will give us cash.
We want to work on credit; but it is cash on credit. We
have so much faith in the Lord and His power, that when
trouble comes we thank God for it. When we are alive,
we say “all things work together’ for good,” and when
we are dead, we can say the same thing. Surely, dear
friends, it is a grand compensation for what little we do.
Therefore, let us have the spirit of Christ, as He said,
“T take no glory from any one.” “Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory, but (in humility) in lowli-
ness of mind, let each esteem the other better than
himself.”

“Took not every man to his own things, but every
man also on the things of others.” Look to the interest
of the brethren; try to serve the brethren. Don’t look
to your own personal interests. “Let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of
God, did not meditate a usurpation.” He left the Heavenly
glory, and became a man (a perfect man, holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners), and then He was put
to death—even the ignominious death of the cross.
“Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, and given Him
a name above every name.”

My dear friends, let us follow m our dear Master’s
footsteps; let us keep the spirit of Unity, as He so prayed
for us, and surely when we finish our course in sacrificial
death, by God’s grace, we will have that wonderful place
in the Kingdom.

Discourse by Pilgrim Brother M. L. Herr
Friday Afternoon, Jan. 3, 1919
Subject: “UNDER HIS WINGS”

E will take for our

W text the well-known

words of Psalms 91:
4: “He shall cover thee
with His feathers, and un-
der His wings shalt thou
trust. His truth shall be thy
shield and buckler.” Not
only do we recognize the
beauty of this picture but
_ we perceive that the Lord
has given us in this text
something specially needed
for the present time. The
Lord always provides for
our needs as He promised,
“My God shall supply all
your need, according to His
riches in glory by Christ
Jesus,” Phil. 4:19. We believe that there is in this verse
and in other Scriptures, which we shall examine together,
a present moment message.

_ Both beautiful and tender feelings are awakened by the
picture of the bird-mother and her little ones. When she
covers them with her feathers she takes them very close to
her heart just as the Lord at the present time is taking His
faithful children very near to His heart, into His very

close confidence. In Rev. 12:14 the two wings of a great
eagle are mentioned as provided for the Church during
her wilderness experience and the Scriptures tell us that
it represents the Old and the New Testaments provided by
the Lord for her during the period represented by Elijah’s
three and a half years in the wilderness. See G comment
also on Rev. 2:20. In G comment on Ezek. 1:11 we are
told that the two wings with which the living ones cov-
ered their bodies represent the Word of God, one function
of which is to cover and protect.

What thoughts of warmth and comfort are suggested
by the word “cover” so expressively symbolized by a bird’s
two wings. The wee birdies under the mother’s two wings
are shielded from danger and from cold. The more we
observe how our loving Creator has employed this pro-
tecting, covering principle the more we appreciate this
element of His character. The roots of tender herbage are
covered in winter with a coverlet of snow. Every organ of
our bodies is protected by a covering encasement. The
beings higher than angels are commissioned to act as pro-
tectors for other beings of a lower order as we read Ezek.
28:14, “Thou art the annointed cherub that covereth.”
As we examine the Scripture testimony we will not
fail to see how like the little ones close to the mother’s
heart are God’s little ones whom He covers with His
feathers.

In this 91st Psalm how expressively the Lord pictures
the present hour. A time when we need refuge from a

26 I.

storm. A time when there would be danger from snares
set by the fowler. A time of attack when poisoned arrows
even bitter words would endanger our spiritual safety.
Even in ancient time they knew how to spread contagious
diseases by infected arrows. How effective is our Father’s
Word as a shield against the poison of fear and doubt.
“His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” If once the
poison of fear gains entrance disease is introduced that
becomes contagious. How important that we provide our-
selves with the antiseptic protection of the truth.

The bird-mother gives a signal of danger to her brood
and that is her method of protecting them. What a sensible
method it is for she merely calls, “cluck, cluck, cluck,”’ and
they know that means come to the safe-place under my
wings, and without asking for. other information they obey
the signal and are safe and warm where no harm can come
to them. This is the picture the Lord uses to tell us how we
should do. When the Lord calls us to the wings of His
Word we find safety and protection. How differently some
of the Lord’s people think that we should do. These seem
to think that safety comes from filling the mind with pic-
tures of dangers. Have we not heard some brother say
when convention is closing: “Now, friends, we have had a
glorious time, but as soon as we get home trials, hard
trials will begin,” and the way the brother says it makes
you feel as if you were being given a cold shower-bath. I
don’t believe that is pictured here. We do not have a pic-
ture of the bird-mother telling her chicks: “See what terri-
ble claws the hawk has. If the hawk ever gets hold of you
he will crush you frightfully. Look at his sharp hooked
beak. Think of how you would feel to have him tear you
to small pieces with his sharp beak.” That is one way of
causing the little birds to flee to the shelter of her wings
but with their poor little hearts throbbing with terror. In
their agitation they cannot so well enjoy her cover as by
the way nature provides for them. How much better the
simple danger-signal “cluck, cluck, cluck.” Come to safety.
No terror, no alarm. That is the Lord’s way and the other
way is not of the Lord.

How slow have some of the Lord’s people been to dis-
card some kind of lingering fear. Before the truth came
the bugaboo was that awful, terrible PLACE. I remember
how grandmother used to hide behind the door and making
a rapping noise would groan in a deep voice: “I am the
BAD MAN. When boys are bad I get them. There is a
bad boy I am going to get soon.” What a terror it was,
just to think of it. We got away from that bugaboo when
the truth came. But we didn’t get away from every buga-
boo. There were a lot of truth-people who put the same
hell-fire fear into the things they would tell about 1914 and
the awful things that would happen in 1914. O what horrors
hung around those awful figures “1914.” Time has dis-
illusioned us and we discover that our fears were in our
disordered imagination and while some still attach a certain
horror to terrible experiences that they imagine in connec-
tion with “The Image of the Beast” we are coming to the
conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with
this whole system of fear-thought and we conclude that it
is no more wholesome to entertain than to frighten children
with “the goblins’ll ketch you if you don’t watch out.”

Let us ask ourselves: is the Lord holding before our
minds these terrible pictures of awful things? St. Paul
says: “That I might finish my course with joy!” Paul was
en route for Jerusalem and they cried, “Paul, don’t go down
to Jerusalem. You will havea lot of trouble, Paul, don’t go.”
He said: “I am willing to meet any trouble the Lord may
permit to come. I wish to do the Lord’s will. I am willing
to die when that is the Lord’s will. I expect to finish my
course with joy.” That is the thought we are to have con-
cerning the future. The joy set before us.

I think of a story that illustrates how we have been
feeling. You will not mistake the nationality of this gentle-
man. He valued his property very highly. In the middle of
the night he found a burglar in his apartments. Before he
could protect himself a revolver was thrust into his face.
The burglar said: “You had better give me that silverware
and be quick about it or you will die by a bullet.” Our
friend replied: “ Mine friendt, I would far rather die py
a bullet ridt avay qvwick, than to vaid und die py inches

Be Se As CONV EN LION

vatching you take avay my solid silvervare.” O yes, some
of us have been dying by inches imagining terrible things
we are yet to go through. When 1914 did not end the
Church’s course on earth we said: ‘We had the date wrong.
It is 1918.” That is the date. And so in the spring of 1918 the
Church must go beyond the vail. A certain Roman Cath-
olic Secret Order will see to it that we go. We pictured
ourselves in line before a firing-squad and shot at sunrise.
Now wasn’t it a terrible thing for the Lord’s people them-
selves to plan worse things for us than our enemies could
think of ? I believe it is time for us to conclude that we will
let the adversary make his own program ‘and we will
offer him no suggestions. We will earnestly consult the
program the Lord has made for us knowing that the adver-
sary has had to make a new program over and over again.
The reason for this is found in our text: “He shall cover
thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou
trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

Probably the very greatest bugaboo held before the
minds of the Lord’s people in recent time is the fear of
papacy. History records the fact that the Heavenly Father
permitted this wicked religious system to accomplish
against some of the Lord’s holiest children painful and
prolonged persecution. Her spirit remaining unchanged
it is but reasonable that were she permitted the power she
would again delight in the suffering of His saints. What
a covering against our logical fear is the positive assurance
of His Word.

When Satan heard the Divine pronouncement, “The
seed of the woman shall bruise thy head, thou shalt bruise
His heel,” Gen. 3:15, Satan was filled with a paroxysm of
fear. He knew it was a serious thing to him to have his
head bruised. In his wickedness he seems to have greatly
exaggerated the part relating to the Christ. “Thou shalt
bruise His heel.” He has sought to innoculate the Lord’s
people with the same fear that terrifies himself, leading
some to anticipate things that will never occur according
to the Lord’ program. This picture of bruising the heel
has been made to mean a lot of terrible things the Lord
never intended that it should be made to picture. The
heel is not a vital part of the body and it would seem more
reasonable to take from this picture the thought that the
worst injury Satan could inflict upon the Christ—the seed
of the woman—would result in no serious injury. It is
Satan who will suffer serious injury. “He shall bruise thy
head.”

Stop and think who is interested in having the Lord’s
people fear, the Lord or Satan? When we put it that way
we have no trouble to easily decide. It is Satan. Let us
then put fear aside. I believe the time has come that we
should see from the Word of God what the Scriptures so
clearly and plainly point out that this false religious system
is soon to perish from the earth in order that the remain-
ing features of the Harvest work might be accomplished.
Notice how forcefully Daniel pictures it: “And I looked
until the Beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given
to the burning flame.” Dan. 7:11. I wonder if we can get
that divinely provided picture into its proper place. I
believe the Lord expects us to do so.

There-are many things which we expected to occur that
have never come to pass. No power on earth can cause the
Church to go beyond the vail before she has finished the
work the Lord has given the Church to do. Why do we
conclude that the Church must die by violence? Couldn’t
we get into the Kingdom were we to die by influenza? We
do not have to wait for this wicked religious system to give
us our passports into the Kingdom. We have been making
a lot of needless inferences. We are learning to more fully
trust the Word of the Lord. (AuprtenceE—“Good.’) ;

There are certain Scriptures brought to our attention
by The Watch Tower of August 1, 1918, relating to the
service of the Church toward the great company and other
believers as pictured in Joseph and his brethren. Which
clearly show that the Christ still in the flesh has an im-
portant service still future. Joseph was king, but a peculiar
kind of king. He told his brethren to tell his father about
his great glory in Egypt. The Christ is to be glorified while
yet this side of the vail. The glory will be like the glory of
Joseph. The glory of providing food in a time of famine,

I. B. S. A. CONVENTION 27

for his brethren who except for his provision would perish.

I wish everybody had a Bible with them this afternoon.
As I wish some readings I have asked a brother to read
from the comments of the Bible and another to read cer-
tain Scriptures that I shall cite. We will notice how posi-
tively the Scriptures indicate the complete downfall of our
great enemy, Babylon. We will go back in the Bible history
to the time when in Old Testament pictures she was repre-
sented by Jezebel. Our dear Brother Graham gave us
some suggestions as to the present-hour fulfillment of these
types. Ahab was the King of Israel and Jezebel, his wife,
daughter of a heathen king introduced Baal-worship
amongst the Lord’s people. Elijah was the prophet of the
Lord. Elijah told Ahab that there would be no rain for
three and one-half years. During this time of famine the
Lord provided for Elijah. “And the Word of the Lord
came unto him saying, get thee hence and turn thee east-
ward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook
and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. . ;
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morn-
ing and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of
the brook.” 1 Kings 17 :2-6.

(Reading of Bible Comments by Brother Hazlett) :

1 Kings 16:29, And Ahab. Type of the Roman Empire.
B256.

. 1 Kings 16:31, His wife Jezebel. Type of the Apostate
Church of Rome. B256.

1 Kings 17:1, And Elijah. Type of the true Church in
the flesh. B256.

1 Kings 17:16, Bread and flesh. Typifying the Lord’s
care of the true Church during the time she was hiding
from Papacy. Z98-191. The.ravens probably took these from
the bazaars of Jerusalem or Jericho.

1 Kings 17:17, No rain in the land. Typifying the lack
of truth, the living water, during 1260 years (3% times) of
papal persecution. B256.

Here we have the Lord’s care over his people manifest
both in Elijah the type and in the true Church in the flesh
in the antitype.

1 Kings 18:41, Abundance of rain. Typifying the mil-
lions of Bibles published and issued shortly after the end
of the papal power in 1799. B256.

1 Kings 19:1, And Ahab. Type of the Roman Empire.
B256.

1 Kings 19:1, Told Jezebel. Type of the Apostate
Church of Rome and of the so-called Protestant sects im-
bued with her false spirit since the year 1799. B256.

We notice that after 1799 Jezebel pictures more than
the Apostate Church of Rome and includes in the type the
entire system of Babylon, including Protestantism, so-
called. We all remember what happened to Jezebel or if
we do not we will know by the time we are through with
this discourse. I will ask Brother Payne to read 1 Kings
19:1-8, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done
and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the
sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah: So let
the gods do to me and more also if I make not thy life as
the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And
when he saw that he arose and went for his life and came
to Beersheba.”

After 1799 the truth went forth with power. Bibles by
millions were scattered everywhere. Previous to this time
the great Reformation movement occurred which seems to
have been forshadowed by Elijah’s experience with the
prophets of Baal. Through Ahab all the prophets of Baal
were assembled at Mt. Carmel. Elijah and the Baal
prophets each provided a sacrifice of a bullock. The test
was to prove who was the true God, for no fire was to be
put under the sacrifice and the god answering by fire
would be recognized as the true God. All day long the Baal
prophets besought their god to vindicate himself and to
answer by fire, but no fire came. Provokingly Elijah derided
them. Having become hoarse with their loud crying it was
no little aggravation to be told: “Cry a little louder, Baal
may be sleeping or possibly he may be on a journey.”
Elijah had a deep trench dug around his altar. He had
twelve barrels of water poured over the sacrifice and the
wood, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the

burnt sacrifice and the wood, and the stones, and the dust,
and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said,
the Lord He is the God; the Lord He is the God.” And
Elijah said unto them. Take the prophets of Baal; let not
one of them escape. And they took them. And Elisha
brought them down to the brook Kishon and slew them
there. 1 Kings 18:38-40.

Comment on 1 Kings 18:40:

1 Kings 18:40: “And slew them there. Representing the
punishments visited upon the Papacy at the end of the
ines and one-half symbolic times.” (1260 literal years.)

Beersheba, to which Elijah fled from Jezebel, is the
southern extremity of the land of Israel as Dan is the
northern extremity, hence the expression “from Dan to
Beersheba.” But Elijah seeking more complete isolation
went a day’s journey into the wilderness. “And as he lay
and slept under a juniper tree behold an angel touched
him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and
behold there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of
water at his head. . And he arose and did eat and
drink and went in the strength of that meat forty days and
ioe nights unto Horeb the Mount of God.” 1 Kings

We have learned who was the angel of the Laodicean
period of the Church. We also know something of the
ready-to-eat food which that angel showed the Church.
I have no difficulty in identifying the forty day period as
in antitype being the period 1878 to 1918—the period of the
Harvest. I also believe that I would receive a uniform reply
were I to ask who was represented in the angel who showed
Elijah the cake all nicely baked ready to eat. (AUDIENCE,
enthusiastically: “Pastor RUSSELL.”) Yes, he was the
messenger (angel) who provided the cake or truth in the
strength of which the Elijah journeyed from 1878 to 1918.
And 1918 found us in the very condition which Mt. Horeb
pictured.

Comment Reading:

1 Kings 19:8. Unto Horeb. Mt. Sinai, type of the King-
dom of God. Z04-232.

Elijah went from Beersheba to Mt Sinai (the place
where Moses’ face was transformed and shone radiantly).
Elijah high up on the mountain was very lonely. Did we
not have a sense of isolation spring and summer of 1918?
“And he came thither unto a cave and lodged there; and,
behold the Word of the Lord came to him and he said
unto him What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I
have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the
children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown
down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take
it away. And he said, Go forth and stand upon the Mount
before the Lord. And behold the Lord passed by and a
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in
pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in
the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord
was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still
small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he
wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in
the entering in of the cave. And behold, there came a voice
unto him, and said, WHAT DOEST THOU HERE,
ELIJAH?”

We cannot fail to note that under the peculiar circum-
stances surrounding Elijah he could hardly be expected to
obtain a correct view of matters until informed by the
Lord. We can easily trace a correspondence between our
experience, 1918, and the experiences df Elijah. Like Elijah
we were expecting to die and like Elijah we saw little to
live for since to every appearance our work in the flesh
was done. But today the Lord asks us the same question,
“What are you able to do in the place you now find your-
self?” Elijah could well have said that in this place of
isolation there was nothing one could do. But the Lord
was leading Elijah to discover that there were still im-
portant matters that only the Church in the flesh could do.
Let us bring before our mind Elijah’s surroundings when
he stood in the entering in to the cave. Nothing but dark-

28 Es

ness around him and damp cold rocky sides of the cave.
Snails, lizards and bats the only living things in sight. I
believe we can appreciate Elijah’s surroundings as we re-
call how we felt in summer, 1918. We felt very much like
Elijah and our surroundings seemed very hard and cold
and we felt very much shut in with our liberties of public
utterance greatly restrained.

Did you ever see a wind so powerful that broke into
pieces the rocks of the mountains? Then Elijah saw some-
thing that you and I never saw. For this is what Elijah
saw when he was in that isolate place on the mountain.
Once when standing on a high mountain, Mount Tom in
Massachusetts, observing the mighty rocks that project
from the sides of that mountain, I tried to picture a wind
powerful enough to break these rocks into pieces. I could
not imagine so strong a wind and you could not imagine
it either. But Elijah saw a wind rend the mountains and
break the rocks into pieces. Our Brother Graham told us
that the mountains represented the strong autocratic em-
pires of Europe. That the wind represented the war 1914-
1918 and that the separation of the rent empires into
smaller republics was the fulfilment of this prophetic pic-
ture. Now let us see what we have learned from our Bible
comments: Elijah represents (AUDIENCE “The Church in
the flesh) ; Mountains represent (AUDIENCE “Kingdoms’’) ;
Wind represents (AUDIENCE “War’’).

So the prophetic picture represents the Church in the
flesh witness a division of some of the autocratic empires
of Europe into smaller government with a popular form
of government. Did we see this in 1918? “Why, yes,” you
say, “we witnessed this very thing.” Now what does the
earthquake represent? (AUDIENCE “Revolution”). That is
just what Elijah saw, “And after the wind an earthquake.”
“Earth” in Scripture language represents society and
earthquake represents great social changes. The Elijah class
are witness to this also. But we are witness to even more
than this. A measure of anarchy has already appeared but
evidently not the prophetic period of anarchy. In 1898 our
pastor gave us the wonderful exposition of this Scripture
given in the preface of Studies 7.

Twice the Lord asks of Elijah, “What doest thou here,
Elijah?” We stop to think what are we now doing. Some
one says: “We are studying; but there is nothing to do.”
Elijah could have said the same thing, “Lord, I am doing
nothing.” But Elijah in his loneliness gave expression to
that which was directly on his mind, “And J alone am left.”
But the Lord more correctly informed Elijah. “I have left
me 7000 in Israel who have not bowed the knee unto Baal.”
1 Kings 19:18.

Comment:

1 King 19:18, 7000 in Israel. Representing thousands in
the nominal systems today who are not in sympathy with
the errors there taught but are merely confused and
blinded.

1 Kings 19:9, What doest thou. The Lord’s people are
not to be idle. Z98-207.

1 Kings 19:9, here. The Lord’s people are not to stay in
a place where they cannot do anything. Z98-207.

Do you think we are going to stay in a place of isola-
tion forever? Some one says: “Our work is over and
there is nothing more for us to do.” Yes, brother, the
work we once did is over, but let us not hastily conclude
that the Lord has nothing more that we are to do. How
about those thousands in Babylon who have not bowed the
knee to Baal? Do we notice what the Lord said to Elijah.
“And the Lord sai@ unto Elijah, GO.” Has the Lord not
given us this Scripture to indicate His commission to the
Church in the flesh? When Elijah learned that the Lord
had something for him to do it did not take Elijah long to
GO from his isolation. Three things were given Elijah to
do: “And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way
to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest,
anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of
Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and
Elisha the son of Shaphot of Abelmehota shalt thou anoint
to be prophet in thy room.” 1 Kings 19:15, 16,

Let us now note what Pastor Russell says about the
work of Elijah. We quote from Vol. 2, pages 251-253:

“And thus John the Baptist and his disciples engaged in

B. S. A. CONVENTION

the same work with and under him, in attempting to con-
vert Israel and to prepare them to receive Messiah, repre-
sented the real Elijah (the true Christian Church), whose
work has been to attempt the conversion of the world be-
fore the coming of Messiah to the world, the spiritual
Lord of glory and King of kings. John the Immerser, in
the spirit and power of Elijah, failed to reform Israel, and,
as a consequence (Matt. 27:12) Israel rejected Jesus in the
flesh and brought upon themselves a great ‘day of ven-
geance’ trouble and wrath. (Luke 21:22.) So likewise,
only on the larger scale, the real and greater Elijah has
failed to convert and prepare the world to receive the King
of Glory, and now consequently, the great day of wrath
must come upon the world, to melt and mellow and humble
and prepare all to cry out from the heart, Hosannah!
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Jehovah.
John, at the first advent was really a finishing out of the
type begun in the person and work of Elijah.”

Both the John and the Elijah work was a work for the
people. It ended with John’s beheading. It did not con-
tinue after the beheading of John the Baptist. A careful
reading of the foregoing quotation will leave no question
as to the meaning of the picture of the beheading of John
the Baptist. John’s work was a public service to the entire
nation. It completely ended with his beheading. It never
was resumed by his literal body reanimated and acting as
a headless body; on the contrary (Matt. 14:12) “and his
disciples came and took up the body and buried it.” John’s
work like the publicity work of the Christ in the flesh of
which his public service was a type closed with three dis-
tinctly marked episodes: (1) Its gradual decrease. (2)
John’s imprisonment. (3) John’s beheading on the king’s
birthday. It is not difficult to mark three corresponding
episodes in the close of the publicity work of the Church
in the flesh—the Elijah: (1) A gradual decrease in pub-
lic activity. (2) Great restraint in liberty to proclaim pub-
licly. (3) Absolute ceasing of the public message after
July 1, 1918. It took both the John type and the Elijah type
to picture the Church’s experience Spring of 1918.

A feature of the experience that does not appear in the
John picture is shown when Elijah is carried aloft by a
cyclone. We all know that a cyclone struck us in 1918, For
a time we imagined it would be the end of our stay on
earth. Our supposition was that this was the only possible
interpretation of the whirlwind that took Elijah to Heaven.
When we received August 1 Watch Tower and we saw the
Church as the Joseph class, food-provider for the Great
Company and for the other believers, we perceived the
sense in which Joseph was to be king, Jehovah’s representa-
tive in matters spiritual. King over the food provisions and
their dispenser to the family. We saw that the faithful
witness for the truth accomplished by the Church in the
flesh (Elijah) when we declared that great judgments from
the Lord were about to come upon Christendom would
indeed be generally recognized after those judgments had
actually been visited upon Babylon. We also saw that the
persecution heaped upon the Elijah (John the Baptist),
especially upon the executive head of this class, would in
time react to the esteem and recognition of these as true
servants of the Lord. Even though these are not all ac-
complished facts as yet before it has actually been accom-
plished the Christ in the flesh “See” Elijah aloft. With
this the Elijah picture ends and “Elisha saw him no more.”
Elisha in this thought does not picture a different class but
a different office (service) for the Christ in the flesh after
the Elijah work is done.

A short time since J saw a picture of Irvin Gillette in
an Edison Phonograph record catalogue. I recognized it
as the same face marked Henry Burr in the Columbia
catalogue. He is the gentleman who sang the angelophone
hymns. I noticed that the Gillette records were secular
while the Burr records were sacred music. “I observe,”
I said, “he is the same soloist acting in different service,
just like Elijah when declaring the judgments upon Baby-
lon and Elisha when giving food to Benjamin and the rest
of Joseph’s brethren. Both services done by the Christ in
the flesh.” We shared in the Elijah work when we assisted
in the publicity service Spring of 1918 and we are hoping to
have a share in the Elisha work of making the poisoned

beuB. S&S. As, CONVENTION Zo)

springs pure. 2 Kings 2:19-22. It will probably take twice
as much of the Master’s spirit to do the Elisha work as it
took to do the Elijah work. This is made evident by the
fact that some counted worthy to do the Elijah work seem
to have since lost much of the spirit of the truth and are
not today walking in the light.

We observe (2 Kings 9:1) that Elisha does what the
Lord commanded Elijah to do. This is not difficult to un-
derstand when we take the position that both type the
Christ in the flesh. So the command of the Lord given
when still the Elijah work was being done is carried into
execution. After that work was completed and during the
period that the work pictured by Elisha was due to be done.
Elisha anoints Jehu and dashing, impetuous Captain Jehu
becomes fiery fearless King Jehu who was informed at the
time that he was anointed that he was commissioned of
the Lord to avenge the blood of God’s servants who suf-
fered at the hand of Jezebel. He was also told that the
whole house of Ahab must perish. Joram son of Ahab and
ieee is the reigning king of Israel whom Jehu is to dis-
place.

Page 393, Vol. 7, we read, “The Hebrews were divided
into ten tribes (Israel) thoroughly infected by pagan be-
liefs and (Judah) holding more closely to Jehovah. In
antitype when both Israel and Judah are mentioned and
the prophecy is intended for an anti-typical fulfilment
Israel signifies the papacy and Judah signifies established
Protestantism.” This furnishes us with a key to the cor-
rect anti-typical significance of the two kings of 2 Kings
9 :21-29. Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah,
who in a war-alliance came out to attack Jehu. We have
no difficulty to discover in the autocratic governments of
Europe, two nations both successors to the old Roman
Empire who were in a war-alliance; one supporting Cath-
olicism and the other supporting Protestatism. Austria
corresponds to Israel and Germany to Judah. Nor is it
difficult in the least to trace in the experiences of Austria
that which corresponds in a remarkable degree to the ex-
periences of Joram king of Israel.

“And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he
said: ‘Is it peace, Jehu?’ and he answered, ‘What peace so
long as the whoredoms of thy mother, Jezebel, and her
witchcrafts are so many?’ And Joram turned his hands
and fled and said to Ahaziah, ‘There is treachery, O Aha-
ziah” And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and
smote Joram between his arms and the arrow went out at
his heart and he sank down in his chariot.” 2 Kings 9 :22-
24, Who could fail to see in the complete collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire a remarkable correspondence to
this record? Nor is the record less remarkable when ap-
plied to Germany. “And when Ahaziah, the King of Judah,
saw this he fled by the way of the garden house and Jehu
followed after him and said: ‘Smite him also in the
chariot” And he did so at the going up to Sur which is by
Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.” It is quite
within probability that wounded Germany will come to a
complete end in Armageddon.

When Jezebel learned that her son Joram was killed
and his ally Ahaziah she well knew she had good reason to
fear Jehu.

Painting her face and tiring her hair was an expedient
as was also her act of looking out of a window. We could
not possibly think of a window without taking into account
the wall in which the window is placed. Jezebel has sought
to make for herself a conspicuous niche in the wall of war
defenses in non-autocratic governments. Wall signifies
governmental defense. See comment on Jer. 51:44.
It could not be the wall of Germany or Austria for the
walls of these autocratic governments have fallen as Jer.
51:44 predicted they would fall. It must therefore be in
non-autocratic war-defenses that Jezebel has sought to
show her painted face and her queenly head-display. But
can autocratic Babylon be really at heart interested in the
support of democratic principles? This attempt to deceive
is represented in her painted face and it requires a lot of
paint to make the old lady even appear to be beautiful. She
is not beautiful. Those who see her before she is painted
know she is not beautiful. Those who assist her put on the
paint and see the ludicrous make-up know what a wicked

deception it is and in their hearts cannot but loathe her.

The eunuchs represent those who assisted her fix her
hair and put on her paint. They could not have esteem for
her for no one who knew the utter wickedness and cor-
rupt selfishness they must see at close range, could other
than thoroughly despise so corrupt a system. So when Jehu
called from below “Who is on my side, who?” they looked
out to to him so as to say: “We know what she really is,
command us.” So he commanded, “Throw her down!” And
they threw her down as though they were glad for the op-

' portunity, having doubtless suffered from her tyranny.

“And when he was come in he did eat and drink, and
said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for
she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her: but
they found no more of her than the skull and the feet, and
the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again and
told him. And he said, This is the Word of the Lord which
he spake by his servant Elijah, the Tishbite, saying, In the
portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. And
the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel. So that they shall not say,
This is Jezebel.” Kings 9 :34-87. 1 Kings 21:23 records this.
prophecy that Jehu now recognizes as not only uttered by
Elijah but now actually fulfilled to the letter. When the
anti-typical Jezebel is thrown down and eaten up by the
radical elements thousands beside the anti-type of Jehu
will recognize that the Bible students long since foresaw and
foretold from Scripture prophecy that while the wall (civil
authority) is intact Babylon will fall not at the hands of
the radical elements, only too glad to eat her up after she
has fallen, but at the hand of her own caretakers, repre-
sented by the eunuchs. It is interesting to note how this
picture harmonizes with the picture given. Rev. 16:19, “And
great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give
unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His
wrath.” Notice also that this was necessary before the
great hail of U21. Hitherto Babylon has prevented the
putting forth of the “hail.” Rev. 17:12-16 tells how a
short “hour” of reigning with the beast will be too intimate
an acquaintance with the corrupt system to endure, “these
shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked,
and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” Rev. 18:21
tells how the common people at first believed her claim to
be a friend of popular interests so they lift her to heights
of popular esteem. They too discover her real self-inter-
ested corrupt character and from the heights of popular
favor to which they have lifted her they hurl her to de-
struction. “Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon
be THROWN DOWN, and shall be found no more at all.”

We must not overlook the completeness of Jehu’s work
nor how thoroughly he accomplished all assigned him by
the Lord when through the Lord’s commission he was
given office for this designed purpose. Chap. 10 tells how
justly he dealt with the house of Ahab, offering to Joram’s
successor opportunity for defense. There were seventy
prospective kings—Ahab’s sons. The persons who had these
princes in charge well knew that they could not maintain
a defense. “Two kings stood not before you.” Autocracy
must utterly perish. The entire seventy princes were be-
headed and the house of Ahab, all that remained to repre-
sent the old Roman Empire, was destroyed. Autocracy
ceased all claims to power on the earth. Who can fail to
see earth’s new king preparing for the establishment of
principles of righteousness?

Comment:

2 Kings 10:18, Baal, or Bel. Type of the God of Baby-
lon the Pope. D40

See also comment Jer. 51:44.

Jehu directs his efforts against Baal worship by assum-
ing great respect for Baal. He assembles all the prophets
of Baal but specifies that they see that there be none of the
prophets of the Lord amongst them. All the Baal prophets
were present. He stationed his eighty captains outside as-
suring them that if one escaped his life would go for the
one that he let escape. He issued orders, “Slay every
prophet of Baal” and every prophet of Baal was slain.
Bring forth the images of Baal and destroy them, and the
images were destroyed. Dishonor the house of Baal, and

30 ak

they defiled the house of Baal.: So the worship of Baal
ceased from the people of the Lord.

The Word of God is amazingly specific in its utter-
ances concerning Babylon. Not only in the prophecy of
Isaiah but in the minor prophets, as in Jonah, the Lord in-
structs concerning Babylon. In Nineveh and in the with-
holding of judgment after repentance we have pictured
what would have been the. experience had Babylon repented.
Matt. 12:41. But Babylon did not repent as did Nineveh.
Now nothing can prevent the coming of Divine judgment
upon her. Isa, 26:20-21 informs us: “Come, my people,
enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about
thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast. For behold the Lord cometh out
of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for
their iniquity, the earth also shall disclose her blood and
shall no more cover her slain.” It is only great Babylon
though that in the Scripture has such an enormity of iniquity
that Jehovah has such an account against her. “In her was
found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that
were slain on the earth.” Rev. 18:24. This is the blood that
she shall disclose when judgments come upon her. “Re-
ward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her
double according to her works. In the cup which she hath
filled fill to her double.” Rev. 18:6.

B. S. A. CONVENTION

The preaching of Jesus immediately following the be-
heading of John the Baptist seems to parallel the experi-
ence of the Church in the period corresponding. “And the
apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus and told
him all things both what they had done and what they had
taught. And he said unto them come ye yourselves apart
into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many
coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to
eat.” Mark 6:30, 31. How wonderfully is here pictured our
experiences when engaged in our active publicity work,
“No leisure so much as to eat.” Now in the desert place
apart we have time to eat the rich spiritual food the Lord
is providing and by this we are being prepared for the
future service. An unnumbered host hungry to be fed
came to Jesus and the disciples in this desert place. The
supply on hand was amplified and 5000 men beside women
and children were fed. The Great Company and many be-
side are to be fed with the food the Christ in the flesh have
in supply. What glorious work this side of the vail awaits
the Christ when hindering Babylon is no longer in the
way to hinder. How comforting to every true child of the
Lord to realize “He shall cover thee with His feathers and
under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy
shield and buckler. (Applause. )

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL ELECTION

OF THE

WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY
January 4, 1919

N accordance with the CHARTER of the W. T. B.
| & T. Society, the shareholders and proxy-holders as-

sembled Saturday morning, January 4, 1919, and

awaited the call to order. Ushers were stationed at
each aisle to permit only those who had their voting shares
with them to enter the first floor of the auditorium; several
hundred others were directed to the balcony. The chair-
man, Brother C. A. Anderson, of Baltimore, Md., called
the meeting to order at 11 a. m.

(NOTE: SPECIAL ATTENTION IS CALLED TO
THE FACT THAT SPACE WILL NOT PERMIT US
TO REPORT THE ENTIRE ACCOUNT. ONLY THE
ESSENTIAL AND CONCLUSIVE DETAILS ARE
HEREIN REFERRED TO. IN MANY CASES WE
CANNOT EVEN PRESENT THE WHOLE REMARKS
OF THE SPEAKERS AS GIVEN.)

We report the chairman’s opening remarks as follows:
We want to say we are very glad indeed to meet you
all. . . . It is quite a privilege, I assure you, and I am
sure we have all met together with one heart and mind in
respect to the Lord’s Word, and His Truth, and Service.
I trust that we are all rejoicing in the great privilege
which He has granted you and I in having a part in this
work, I am sure we are all seeking the Lord’s guidance
and direction; and to this end we want to open our services
by standing and offering a silent prayer—each one seeking
to know our Heavenly Father’s will. Let us remember: all
who are His, and especially let us remember the dear ones
who were with us this time last year, but who are now
in bonds of afflictions—suffering for righteousness’ sake.

I am sure we will all agree that the condition which
confronts us at the present time is one that has never
existed before in the history of the Society. I am sure
that you have all been thinking the matter over carefully
and prayerfully in your minds, as to what would be best
for the Society, and also for those who represent the
Society in connection with this election and this meeting.

You are aware that we sent you a letter four or five
weeks ago, and probably know that it was thought best
not to call an election. A little later on we received from
the Watch Tower notice that there would be an election:
and you also received your proxies. JI am sure that it

caused you to think. Your board did not know just how
to act, or what would be best. When the time came to
consider an election the Society thought it advisable to
call a meeting of the Pilgrims—in order to know their
sentiment. It developed that they were in favor of having
an election. Very shortly after that (when I got back to
Baltimore) Brother Work ’phoned me, stating that he had
had an interview with the attorneys; that it was their
opinion that it would work probably to some disadvantage
towards getting the brethren, out. This is the reason why
that letter was sent out by Brother Sexton. He was sent
to Brooklyn to consult with the attorneys and also with
some of the rest of the friends there, and that letter you
received was the result of this trip.

The following week we went to Pittsburgh and held a
board meeting, and it was agreed upon that we should
not have an election. Brother Sexton was sent South the
following week. When he came back he had received
information that he thought it was wise and best and the
only ordinary course for us to have an election. After
viewing the matter from all angles, we concluded it was
best to have an election. You are here, therefore, to
hold an election.

Now it has caused a division in your board, and a
division among, I presume, many of you—as to whether
it would be best to hold an election or to postpone it.
It is for this reason that we have invited our attorneys
here that they may give. you the legal status of the affairs.
I am sure we all want to do the Lord’s will in the matter.
Let us look to Him and ask for His guidance.

We will now have the treasurer’s report.

It was then moved, seconded and unanimously carried
that this report, as read, be accepted.

Before the election of officers, the Society took action
on some changes in the by-laws, as offered by a committee,
the chairman of which was Brother E. H. Thompson, of
Washington, D. C.

Brother Hudgings: Chairman and dear friends, I
would like to make a motion in view of the peculiar situa-
tion which now exists, and our hope that our present
officers who are now in bonds may be returned to us very
shortly.

Tx Bo S? A. CONVENTION 31

Brother Thompson: I ask for the motion to be read,

Brother Hudgings: I will read the motion. “In view
of the fact that our president and secretary-treasurer—
both members of our Board of Directors, are now being
held in the federal prison at Atlanta, and that their appeal
is now pending; and we believe them to be innocent; and
that they will be vindicated and returned to us within a
few weeks or months, and that an election of other officers
and directors at this time—under these peculiar circum-
stances—might and would undoubtedly be misconstrued by
the Government as a repudiation of these brethren, and
might therefore prove to be detrimental to their case.
I therefore MOVE that we take a recess of the annual
meeting, so far as an election of officers is concerned,
for a period of six months, or until the first Saturday in
July, in the interest of these brethren and in the interests
of the Society as a whole.”

(Motion seconded and the question submitted. )

Brother Hudgings: In explanation of this motion I
wish to say I am sure we are all cognizant of the very
peculiar situation that confronts us at this time in connec-
tion with our dear brethren who are now in bonds for
Christ’s sake. It seems to me that there are a great many
questions entering into the deliberation of this day that
would make it practically necessary that an adjournment
of this meeting be taken.

I might mention a few things that I have in mind:
I believe that the majority who are present here, either
personally or by proxy, agree that there is undoubtedly a
great work for this Society to do within possibly the next
few months. Perhaps the greatest work that this Society
has ever undertaken will be undertaken within a short
time. We have seen the harvest work progressing for
forty years, but now we expect to witness a great awaken-
ing on the part of the foolish virgin class, and perhaps
millions will soon come to a recognition of the truth
through the instrumentality of those who are now ac-
quainted with the great Divine Plan. It stands to reason
that in such a work of this kind and character, we would
be expected by the Lord to act very cautiously in respect
to the selection of our officers to direct that work. It
also stands to reason that we would need to put forth
the best man for the place that the Church could pos-
sibly produce. We would need brethren of courage—men
who art fearless; men who would not take a compromis-
ing stand. And it is my belief, dear friends, that it is
the sentiment of this assembly, and the friends throughout
the whole United States, and the length and breadth of the
world that the one and only person that is best qualified
to direct such a stupendous work is our dear president,
now in bonds for Christ’s sake. (Applause.)

The question before us, therefore, at this time is: Shall
we, the shareholders, here assembled in person, and by
proxy, seek to jeopardize the best interests of this work
by rushing forward and hastily installing into office a set
of new officers, admittedly weak in comparison to those
‘selected here last year, in the very face of the appeal of
the case of our brethren, which we have every confidence
will restore them to us, completely vindicated in the eyes
. of the Government, and in the eyes of the world? Or
shall we make the mistake of closing our eyes to the true
situation simply because of some smaller and minor de-
tails of the work which some may suppose might be better
taken care of by a full set of officers than by the present
arrangement? We thereby would, perhaps, make the grave
mistake of jeopardizing the best interests of the Society
as a whole, which mistake we would recognize when these
dear brethren walk out from behind their prison bars;
and which we trust they will do, within a comparatively
short time (applause)—but then it would be too late.

I have a communication in my pocket which I trust
to be privileged to read at the close of this discussion,
which is the expression of our dear president respecting
the situation that now confronts us. I was privileged to
visit him in the Atlanta prison a few days ago, and in
the presence of a guard the liberty was given him to dic-
tate a rather lengthy interview touching upon the points
that are so perplexing to you and to me—to all of us at
this time. But before reading that expression from our
president himself, I think it will be well for us all to

take into consideration the facts and circumstances in
which we would be placed, and would be obliged to con-
front, if we should take the action today of electing a
full set of new officers and directors of this Society in
the absence of those who are now suffering behind prison
walls for you and me.

I say for you and me because of the fact that it was our

‘action here one year ago that resulted in the imprisonment

of Brother Rutherford, Brother Van Amburgh and the
other members of our Board of Directors.. They have
been imprisoned, not for anything they did personally and
on their own initiative, but they have been imprisoned
because they faithfully carried out the policy that you and
I advocated when we placed them in office. They have
been imprisoned, dear friends, because they fulfilled, con-
scientiously and properly, the duties that you and I as
members of the Society laid upon them! If they had been
imprisoned for something they individually did apart from
their work as our officers, the situation would have been
entirely different. But not so! You and I to this extent
are responsible for their imprisonment; and they are at
this moment in the Atlanta prison as your representatives
and mine. (Applause.)

It might have been argued on the part of the Govern-
ment that since the activities of the Society were con-
sidered to be improper during the period of the war, every
member who participated in that activity should be indicted
and called into court, and convicted and put into prison
for that activity. But the Government did not do that.
They merely selected SEVEN or EIGHT representatives
of you and me, and we cannot get away from the fact
that the Society’s interests are vitally linked with the case
of these brethren, our officers and directors, down there
in Atlanta at this time; and the condemnation of these
men was a condemnation of the whole Society. The in-
terests of the Society therefore stand vitally linked with
their interests in this connection.

It seems to me that from a business standpoint alone—
leaving sentiment out of the matter altogether—it is your
duty and mine to uphold and retain the situation, exactly
as it existed at the time of the indictment of these officers.
Furthermore, when we look forward to the work that we
expect the Society to accomplish in the near future, from
the business standpoint I believe it would be the greatest
mistake that we as a Society could possibly make to drop
these brethren and install a new set of officers—especially
when we believe their vindication is near through their
appeal which is pending.

You and I, perhaps, would not mean such action as a
repudiation of them. We do not have the thought that
we want to repudiate our brethren, who are suffering for
us. Of course not! But we must look at the matter from
the standpoint of how the Government will view it. It
is a reasonable assumption that in tomorrow morning’s
press the newspapers will carry a dispatch of the delibera-
tions and action taken by this Society today. We might
pass a resolution, of course, commending these brethren;
but they won’t print the resolution. What they would
print would be our action in connection with the elec-
tion; and so surely as we proceed and elect new officers
of this Society, when we are all cognizant of the fact that
the appeal may be argued in the Circuit Court within
the next thirty days, they would say that the Russellite
organization, at their annual meeting yesterday in the
city of Pittsburgh, dropped the officers indicted and found
guilty by the Eastern District Court of New York, and
by this action they indicated that they believed those men
guilty. Or they will say by this action we have shown
that we had no confidence that the men would be vin-
dicated in the Court of Appeals. Either one would work
a detriment, and it would undoubtedly have a great in-
fluence on the minds of the judges of the Appellate Court,
if the matter was thus stated in no uncertain terms by
the counsel for the Government.

Of course the Lord is managing his affairs. The Lord
is able to raise up men to direct His work. No one
disputes that! The Lord has all power to perform
miracles. But we do not believe that is the way He usually
works. We know that it is not. We therefore are called
upon, in view of the fact that we have a great work ahead

32 l.

of us, to use the best judgment we have, dear brethren;
and so long as we recognize that our brethren in bonds
are specially qualified for the work, and that their present
experiences are further training them for that work, we
have a responsibility before the Lord. We should not
make the mistake of putting into office those admittedly
weak in comparison to them, when we believe they will
soon be returned to us.

I have thus far specially dwelt upon the subject from
the standpoint of the business interests of the Society and
our responsibility in connection with the case ot our
brethren—leaving out the question of sentiment. But I
do not know why sentiment should not also enter into
the problem. Suppose it was Brother Russell who was
in prison at this time instead of Brother Rutherford! Do
you suppose we would meet here today, if the conditions
were exactly the same, and take hasty action, electing new
officers—especially when we believed that Brother Russell
would be returned to us from prison within a short time?
And let me tell you, dear friends, if Brother Russell had
remained alive with us in the flesh down to the year 1918,
he would undoubtedly be behind prison bars at this moment
with our dear Brother Rutherford. We would not make
this mistake if Brother Russell was in prison, however.
Well, you say, “Brother Russell was the Seventh Messenger
of the Church!” That is true. But since our dear Brother
Russell has passed beyond the vail, we have had many evi-
dences, have we not, that Brother Rutherford is the next
best qualified to carry on the work! I do not believe there
is a dissenting voice.

The whole question is whether we shall do a little
sacrificing now, for a short period of time, and incur the
small petty annoyances in connection with the work under
present conditions; or shall we, because of a few minor
questions that enter into the affairs of the Society which
might make it somewhat advantageous to have a full set
of officers and directors, rush ahead and elect weaker
officers in their place? It seems to me that the latter
would be a great mistake. The other course open to us
is the one that we as a Society should take, i. e., adjourn
this meeting now unless we intend to re-elect our im-
prisoned brethren.

THE JEREMIAH PICTURE

There is just one more point that I would like to
mention, and that is the situation as it seems to be out-
lined by the Lord in the 36th chapter of Jeremiah. We
believe that the Lord has there made a very wonderful
picture of the activities of the Lord’s people down here
in this end of the age. In this chapter we see the activities
of the Society pictured, in connection with the Seventh
Volume—even to the removal of the three or four leaves
of the book which we were required to do last spring—
ene) months after the book made its advent into the
world.

Then, in the 387th chapter, Jeremiah was accused of
“falling away to the Chaldeans,’ which, of course, he
denied. Then he was specifically charged with weakening
the morale of the men of war, and on that point he was
apprehended and placed into the dungeon. The account
goes on to say, that after a while he was brought out
of the dungeon for an interview with the king (the last
king of Israel), and the result was, of course, that the king
did not follow his advice and his kingdom was taken away.

The point is that Jeremiah was given liberty at the
hand of the Chaldeans and was given the privilege of
choosing to remain in the land or go elsewhere. We be-
lieve that this also is a part of the picture, and it is a
picture that the Lord has drawn.

Jeremiah, we believe, is a picture of the Lord’s people
at this time. The Society, of which you and I are mem-
bers, stands in relation to the whole body, at this time,
as its head, so to speak. The head of this Society is in
the dungeon—in exact accordance with this picture of
Jeremiah 36:37, 38.

The remainder of the picture will be carried out, I
firmly believe that we will see that as the head of the
Jeremiah class (the Society—represented in its president)
is now in the dungeon, even so, he will be called forth
from the dungeon, and will appear before kings, and we

Bs Se os “CONV BY TIOW

will find in connection therewith that there will go forth
the greatest work the Church has ever done, and ever
will do, on this side of the vail. So surely as the head
of the Jeremiah class went into the dungeon, so surely he
will come out of the dungeon; and he will appear before
kings, just exactly as it is shown in other parts of Scrip-
tures, in Revelation 17, and Psalms 149—showing a great
work (not yet fully accomplished, but will yet be ac-
complished) —‘“the binding of their kings with chains and
their nobles with fetters of iron.”

Our dear Brother Russell always expected that there
would be a great work to be accomplished in the flesh,
and that the truth friends would come into great promi-
nence. I believe that will be accomplished. And I, for
one, believe that the Lord has permitted the imprison-
ment of our brethren for a special purpose in connection
with future witnessing to the world. I want to tell you
something: If we proceed with the election today, and
it is construed in the press reports as a repudiation of
these brethren (as it undoubtedly will be), we are going
to jeopardize, in the very beginning, one of the most im-
portant features of the work just before us. Some of
you perhaps know that the Society is arranging for some
great activity—publicity—in connection with the case, that
we may let the world know why these men are in prison,
and why they have been denied bail! While they have
been kept in prison, the worst seditionists in the country
have been given bail. When the facts are all published
they will come to recognize that there has been a hand
behind the scenes, and that hand is Papacy—the great
ecclesiastical system, which is headed by Papacy—and it
is that system which has been so immensely pleased
over the imprisonment of our brethren. It is that system,
I verily believe, that has been largely responsible for their
having been denied bail pending their appeal. Those facts
shall be made known in the Lord’s providence. (Applause.)

That will mean that an agitation will be started respect-
ing this matter. People will begin to talk about it just
as they were talking all over this country about another
case of considerable importance a few weeks ago, i. e., the
case of Tom Mooney in California. Now we have no
particular interest in that case, but the point is you can’t
mention Tom Mooney’s name on the streets today but
everybody knows who he is; yet he was not known a
short time ago. The time is coming—and we believe it is
not many months off—perhaps not many weeks, until you
will not be able to mention the name of J. F. Rutherford
and the other convicted leaders of the I. B. S. A. without
nearly everybody knowing who you are talking about.
They will know why those men are in prison and un-
justly held, and that they have been even denied the right
to bail! (Applause.)

It is the thought to have various brethren who are
specially qualified for such a work to interview the editors
of the newspapers throughout the country respecting this
matter. Now then, if we take action today and elect new
officers, and the press reports go out through the country
tomorrow that “the Russellite organization elected new
officers yesterday, even in the face of the appeal of the
case of their leaders, thereby repudiating them, showing
that they had no confidence that the appeal would result
in their vindication; showing that they did not believe
in the activities of those men and were not willing to
back them up in their activities which got them into
trouble,” then how do you suppose the editors of this
country will answer these brethren when they go to them
and ask for publicity in this case? They will answer,
“Why, we had a dispatch from the Associated Press on
January dth, saying that the action taken by their own
organization down there in Pittsburgh on the 4th of
January, 1919, dropped them from the Society, even though
their appeal was pending, and was to be argued within
thirty days! How is it that you come and ask me to give
publicity and aid in connection with this case when their
own organization would not lift their finger to aid them?”

Now, dear brethren, one more point: We have heard
brethren here and there say many times, “Oh, I would
do anything for those brethren in bonds. I would gladly
go down there and exchange places with them!” (Amen!)
But the brethren have not asked us to do that. They

i B. So as CONVENTION 33

have not asked any of us to exchange places with them,
even for one day! But they do ask that, on advice of
counsel, the election here today be postponed for a limited
period, so that nothing may be done by the Society to
unfavorably affect the appeal.

Now, since we know that it is legal to do so, and can
undoubtedly see that it will be advisable from numerous
standpoints to do so, and when we know that the brethren
themselves have requested and advised it, as the proper
course, if we then deliberately shut our eyes to the situa-
tion and go ahead and elect new officers, I for one would
not want anyone who so votes to say in my presence, “I
would do anything for those brethren in bonds. I would
go down and exchange places with them if I could,” if you
would not even raise your hand to yield to their simplest
request, backed up by sound reason, shown to have a very
vital effect upon their case and upon the future activities
of the Society.

Someone may say: “Well, of course we know that
Brother Rutherford is the best qualified to be the head
of the Society, and we would therefore assume that who-
ever is elected (if we do carry out the election today)
would be glad to yield to Brother Rutherford when he
comes out of prison; that he would be glad to resign.”
But his resignation would not install Brother Rutherford
back into office. It would take an action of the share-
holders to do that. We would need to call another meet-
ing if anything like that was attempted. Why not set the
date of that meeting at this time. Postpone it for a while
and follow the advice of this morning’s Manna text, if
you please, and “Wait upon the Lord.” (Applause.)

Why not, dear friends, take these matters into con-
sideration and not make the mistake that some of us are
inclined to make, because we feel we are at present
jeopardized a little in respect to some routine work of
the Society. Let us wait upon the Lord, and He will direct
our paths. Let us not tie our hands today for the work
that we expect to do tomorrow. Let us co-operate in
this matter, and we will see the Lord’s purpose ripening
into fruition in a few months. We will then be glad that
we did “Wait upon the Lord” this time. As we see the
grand work accomplished in the hands of those whom the
Lord undoubtedly would be best pleased to use—the head
of the Jeremiah class, who is shortly to come out of the
dungeon for the very purpose of directing that great work.

af a We will all be glad to hear Brother Ruther-
ford’s voice from the prison walls, after a silence of six
months: (Applause.)

“To the Dear Friends:—Since the opportunity is
kindly afforded me to dictate to a stenographer for

a few moments, I am pleased to take this occasion

to send a message to the friends. I send love and

greetings to one and all. Except for the fact that I

am unlawfully held in bonds, I would be with you
in person at this time, but let us consider the bondage
of myself and brethren one of the things which the
Lord permits the enemy to do, and which He will
overrule for good, and to His glory. When I say
unlawfully in prison I speak advisedly. Never before
have men been imprisoned in America for preaching
the truth, and then denied bail while their case is
pending an appeal. Concerning the legality of this,
I quote from a decision of the United States Supreme
Court, which says: ‘THE STATUTES OF THE
UNITED STATES HAVE BEEN FRAMED UPON
THE THEORY THAT A PERSON ACCUSED OF
CRIME SHALL NOT, UNTIL HE HAS BEEN
FINALLY ADJUDGED GUILTY IN THE COURT,
BE ABSOLUTELY COMPELLED TO UNDERGO
IMPRISONMENT OR PUNISHMENT, BUT MAY
BE ADMITTED TO BAIL, NOT ONLY AFTER
ARREST AND BEFORE TRIAL, BUT AFTER
CONVICTION AND PENDING A WRIT OF
ERROR.’ IN ADDITION TO DENYING US OUR

LIBERTY, WE have been deprived of the opportunity

of counsel with our lawyers as the Constitution guar-

antees. :

“Brothers Van Amburgh, Fisher, Robinson and my-
self are still the editors of the Watch Tower, having
never resigned, and yet we are precluded from com-

municating with the Church through this channel.
Even in the times of the religious persecution in
the dark days of England the conditions were better.
John Bunyan, although a prisoner for twelve years,
was granted the privilege of communicating freely
with the members of his Church on religious matters,
which he did regularly. I mention this to again re-
mind you, my dear brethren, of the perilous times in
which we are living, and the adversaries that are ar-
rayed against us. We are not warring merely against
flesh, but with spiritual enemies arrayed against the
Church in the final conflict which has begun. REVE-
LATION 17:14—‘The beast shall make war with the
lamb.’ There is no warfare amongst the members
of the body of Christ, as indeed there cannot be; but
the adversary is on the alert to try to cause strife in
the ranks of his enemies. Let everyone look well to
himself to see that the adversary does not succeed as
to any of us. Remember, above all things, ‘THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND,’ THE
LAMB WILL SHORTLY PREVAIL IN THIS
CONFLICT, and only the called, chosen and faith-
ful will be with Him in glory. This is the crucial
hour for those who are now in the race course.
Satan’s chief weapons are PRIDE, AMBITION and
FEAR. If we find either of these in us and at work,
we may know that the enemy is advancing upon us.
If we see the enemy working in a brother, for his
sake and the sake of the body, we should discourage
and not render aid to his development. The ques-
tion is not who shall fill the official positions, but
what is for the best interests of the body. Pride,
ambition and fear, necessarily in a combat, lead to
a compromise with the enemy and any kind of com-
promise leads to disaster in the ranks. Remember
that since Jesus came forth from the wilderness,
Satan and his emissaries have warred against the
Christ, and that now, and to the end, the conflict will
be more subtle and desperate than ever before. Be
assured then that whatever the beast says or intimates
that we should do, that is the very thing that we
should not do. Let our watchword always be, “WHAT
WOULD OUR LORD HAVE US TO DO? AND
ASCERTAINING THE MIND OF THE LORD,
DO IT,” and He will take care of the result because
this is the fight of Revelation 17:14, between the lamb
and the beast, and it is no individual fight.

“Oh, my brethren, how I long to be with you and
speak with you face to face. For six months to this
day I have not been permitted to speak. How thank-
ful I am that our Lord has permitted me to send this
message to you now. MHaving a desire to be with
you, that we might be of mutual help to each other
in the narrow way, and believing the Lord would be
pleased to help us to make effort to that end, we
have urged counsel to do all that could be legitimately
done for our needs. We knew the adversary would
put it into the minds of our enemies to keep us from
being with you at this time. He has succeeded. We
knew this upon general knowledge of his methods,
and we had also the following direct and significant
information, to-wit:

“About the time of the arrest of my fellow prisoners
and myself, one who represented himself as an official
of the department of our vicious prosecutors said
in substance to Brother , of Harrisburg, Pa.,
as follows: ‘We are going to put those leaders of
your sect behind the bars and keep them there. Then
if your Society wants to redeem itself it must elect
men to fill its offices that will conduct the Society along
more conservative lines than did Rutherford.’ They
succeeded in rushing us behind the bars, and prevented
bail in order to keep us here. Now will they be able
to put the Society into hands that will work to their
pleasure, or will they be able to use today’s action of
the Society to their disadvantage? Let there be no
compromise, dear brethren, between the seed of the
Serpent and the Lord of Glory—between the Beast
and the Lamb.

“Having on two separate occasions been elected as

34

_ disturbing anyone;

i. B.S: As CONVENTION

president, which office I still hold, I feel at liberty
to write you frankly. Individuals in this conflict
do not count, because all are one in Christ Jesus,
therefore we need not hesitate to mention one in-
dividual and without reflection upon others. For a
number of years the brother I am about to mention
worked under Brother Russell’s personal supervision
as a Pilgrim, and also later as having charge ex-
clusively of the work in the West Indies and countries
of South America. He is calm, sober in mind, dis-
creet and fears only God. He possesses executive
ability, and that I know. He is able to present the
truth, and is consecrated to the Lord and the promul-
gation of His message, and would not compromise for
a single instant, I am persuaded. I humbly suggest,
therefore, as the most available man for president of
our Society in the event election is held, the name of
our dear Brother E. J. Coward, and for vice-president,
Brother C. H. Anderson, or Brother C. A. Wise, and
for secretary treasurer I would suggest Brother Hugo
H. Reimer.

“Some time ago, however, counsel advised that
because of the importance of our case that the annual
election should be deferred for a time until they
could have had the case heard in the Appellate Court;
and that an election of officers now would seem to
indicate that the Society was not in harmony with
the position which we took as officers and directors;
and that they would be confronted in court by counsel
for prosecution with the assertion that the Society
is not morally supporting us because we are wrong.
They reason and claim such as sound reasoning that
the brethren at the office could continue the manage-
ment for a few months longer as at present without
and that our case would then
appear to a better advantage, from every standpoint.
The Society as an entity would have absolutely noth-
ing to lose by such a course; hence it was not thought
unwise to ask that a recess of the annual meeting
be taken for a time. Hence some of the friends on
advice of counsel asked that such recess be taken.

“Now we learn that some have considered this as
wire pulling and electioneering. We are exceedingly
sorry that anyone should have such a thought. Not
one of us now behind the bars is asking for office, or
seeking for office. No one has asked on our personal
behalf, so far as we know, but some have asked that
the enemy be not deliberately handed a club with which
to mangle us further. We, brethren, while deprived
of our liberty illegally gained, personally desire only
the Lord’s will to be done—I have every confidence

that it will be done, but I feel I would be derelict’

of my duty to you, my brethren, if I failed to give
warning and give you this message at this time.
Let it be clearly understood that we (as a follower
of the Lamb) stand firmly for the truth as the Lord
wrote it by the prophet against Satan’s empire and
as He caused it to be interpreted in the Seventh
Volume as well as in the preceding six, and for
which testimony we are now in bonds. Let us not
fear, but trust Him and doing so we will be with
Him in glory shortly. It seems too bad to me that
so much ado has been made about this election. Yet
let us not say too bad, but smilingly say, the Lord will
overrule it for good if we keep our hearts right.
We all know it is the province of the vice-president in
this instance to publish the notice of the election, and
his duty in that connection, of course, ends there. The
voters determine all else. Members of the Board of
Directors, as such, have absolutely nothing to do with
the selection of their successors or the election itself.
The discussion pro and con, therefore, dear brethren,
I think has been out of place, but let us not say any-
thing harshly about each other. If a brother over-
steps the bounds of ethics, let it be considered an
error of judgment and not of heart. ‘Let brotherly
love continue.’

“Much may depend upon what is done on January
4th. When we come to render an account to the
Lord may no one have occasion to regret what he

has said or done here. Therefore let each one before
speaking or acting solemnly ask the Lord to help him
in every word and act. Let the love of God rule in
every heart, and whatever you may decide to do, dear
brethren, know this, that I love each and every one of
you very dearly. My great desire for you and for
myself and my associates is that we may soon be
ushered into the glories of the Lord. Anything that
would hinder the consummation of such a hope should
be strenuously avoided. The kingdom and its bless-
ing is the only thing. worth while. The approval of
men is a snare. The approval of the Lord is to be
desired above all else. To have His approval now may
cost us much pain and suffering, but soon such will
be ended forever. ‘By love serve one another.’

“Let each esteem the other better than himself,’
and count it a privilege to make a sacrifice for the
other. Let us avoid all things that would aid our great
enemy—Satan—or tend towards division, or jeopardize
us in our future work. Unfeigned love will bind to-
gether the hearts of His people. I will be with you
in spirit and will remember you especially during your
deliberations on the 4th of January.

“MANY OF OUR YOUNG BRETHREN ARE
IN PRISON AS WE ARE, BECAUSE THEY DE-
CLINED MILITARY SERVICE. I WOULD
THEREFORE SUGGEST THAT SOMEONE
SHOULD SEE TO IT THAT THIS MATTER IS
BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF CON-
GRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE, BY MOTION
OR OTHERWISE, THAT THEY MAY BE RE-
LEASED.

“Very lovingly your brother and servant in bonds
for Christ’s sake,

“J. F. RutHERForRD.”
(Applause. )

After Brother Plaenker offered a few comments,
Brother A. Wise presented a motion (which was
carried) that a recess be taken for one hour. Upon being
reconvened it was moved and seconded and unanimously
carried that the remarks of all the speakers be limited
to five minutes. Brother C. E. Stewart, of St. Paul, Minn.,
said in part: “. With respect to the remarks of our
Brother Hudgings (not being acquainted with him per-
sonally, but speaking from the standpoint of principle)
three times our dear brother referred to those who carried
the responsibility for the past three or four months as.
weaklings. I desire to tay, on behalf of myself and
Brother Spill (as his associate in years past), I know that
he has borne responsibility. . . . Did it require cour-
age of Brother Rutherford? Did it require courage of
Brother Spill to step in at a time he did? Yes! Brother
Rutherford was fearless! Indeed! Can we not equally
say of the one who has taken the responsibility falling
from Brother Rutherford’s shoulders that he was also
fearless? He has exhibited before all the world, and
the friends of spirit of fearlessness, both to know and to
do the will of the Lord.”

The election at this time is the step immediately before
us, and we can cover the point of repudiation by such
means as this: To elect seven directors—two of whom
would be Brothers Rutherford and Van Amburgh (which
I understand is entirely legal). By doing this, brethren,
we would not be repudiating before the world these dear
brethren; but I rather think we would stand for them.
We would place in the hands of six brethren the work
of the present time, so that the Lord’s work shall go for-
ward. It seems to me that it is the Society’s work that
we want to take care of at this time. (Applause.)

Brother Geo. S. Kendall, Washington, Pa.: I voice
very strongly the sentiments of our dear Brother Stewart.

Brother Wise: I move that we proceed to cast our
vote on the motion. (Re-postponement.)

Brother Work: I second the motion.

Brother Miller: I move that we have counsel with our
attorneys at this time.

Brother Thompson: Are the counsel members of the
Society? Have the lawyers any voice on the floor at this
particular meeting? If they have, we would, of course,
like to hear from them. If not—interrupted by

Lei B. Os Ay CONVENTION 35

Brother Miller: That is what they were invited here
for.

Brother’ Thompson: No one has authority to invite
them except the Society.

‘Chairman: It is our impression they were invited here
for the purpose of hearing from them, therefore I think
we ought to hear from our attorneys before we proceed
with Brother Wise’s motion.

Brother Thompson: I will have to ask the chair to
put the matter to a vote of the shareholders of the
Society—whether or not they shall hear from the lawyers.
I move that the shareholders decide whether the lawyers
shall be heard from in answer to any question put forth.

Brother Page: I move we substitute that with “Meet-
ing, as assembled, request the attorneys to give us their
judgment on this matter.”

Brother Thompson: .The motion cannot be substituted
without the withdrawal of the first motion just made and
’ seconded. As a matter of principle, I would say the
lawyers have no right to speak. I would think that what-
ever they have to say should be said through our chairman.
The chairman is the speaker of the house. The chairman
is the one who can tell us what the lawyers tells him.
What they have already told us can be summed up in a
few words. I could say it in about ten words; and this
would likewise be true of the chairman. Therefore, I
ask that the chair state whatever the lawyers have told
me; that ought to be sufficient for us all. (Applause.)

Chairman: The chair cannot present the matter before
you as the attorneys can. We have no one else to do it
like they can.

Brother Thompson: . . I am raising a point of
principle. They have no right to speak on the floor, and
unless the gathering defeats my motion they can’t speak
on the floor. That is settled by the motion. We can very
readily ask the chair a certain question, and the chair
could answer it “yes” or “no,” because the lawyers told
us very plainly last night (the meeting assembled at Bethel
office, at which the Pilgrims, etc., were present). ao se

Chairman: We have been instructed by the lawyers
that we will have to vote on the substitutionary motion
which is before the house. As I stated in the beginning,
I have had no experience in conducting such a large meet-
ing, and therefore in order to carry it on orderly we have
Mr. Sparks and Mr. Fuller—our attorneys—to advise me
in the matter. (Applause.) Now the substitutionary mo-
tion is in order.

Brother Page: I make that a form of an amendment,

therefore this will avoid objection.

Brother Thompson: I take exception.

Chairman: (After consultation with lawyers.) A sub-
stitutionary motion as an amendment is proper. Now the
motion is—interrupted by

Brother Thompson: The motion, Brother Anderson,
need not be put. My motion is really on a point
of order (which action is right at any time). If the chair
wants to put it to the friends, he may. It is simply this:
I move that no one shall speak on the floor of this meet-
ing, except he be one of the voters or proxy holders of
the Society. .

Chairman: That motion has been amended.

Brother Thompson: I wish to submit that no amend-
ment that completely nullifies another motion is in order.

Chairman: In this case you are wrong.

ae Chairman: Our attorneys say they will not
address the audience until they are requested to do so by
the audience. Now Brother Page’s motion is in order.

Brother Page: My motion was as a substitute that
the shareholders and proxy holders invite the attorneys
to give us the information that we may ask.

(THE VOTE SHOWED that 112 were against 60.)

ise Brother Thompson: The motion that is. still
before the house is that we postpone the election six
months. I have now received word about this matter of
having the lawyers speak. There are no motions
entertainable now until we take Brother Hudging’s mo-
tion and table it or act upon it. Anyone can speak who
is a shareholder. In addition to that the audience here
have requested certain information from the lawyers.
Nothing else is pertinent now.

Brother Hudgings: I move that we take a recess of
about twenty minutes in order to give the tellers time to
arrange for the counting of the proxies, etc.

(The vote indicated that the majority opposed the
motion.) :

(The meeting was then thrown open for ‘the privilege
of asking questions of the attorneys.)

Brother Page: Iam led to understand that we are not
in a position at present to legally transact the financial
necessity of the business; that there is no one legally
qualified in power to carry on the financial end of this
work. Am 1 right in this understanding?

Attorney Sparks: Brother Page, the Society is operat-
ing with a Board of Directors, having full power to act
for the Society in every legal way.

Brother Thompson: I respectfully submit that the law-
yers are wrong. Nobody now is legally authorized to sign
a check. They are liable to go to the penitentiary.

ah ox Audience: Certain communications have gone
forth, over the signature of “Sparks and Fuller and
Stricker,” indicating that certain things were admissible
in connection with the election, etc. The question is: Do
you therein express your best judgment in connection
therewith? The letters read as follows:

“Dr. L. C. Worx, 143 Montague St. Brooklyn,

N. Y.—Dear Sir: We beg to advise that if it appear

to the members of the W. T. B. & T. Society, assembled

at the annual meeting at Pittsburgh on the first Satur-
day of January, 1919, that it is inadvisable at that time
to elect officers for the year, it will be within the law-
ful rights and powers of such meeting to declare a
recess, until such time as such meeting deems wise,
for the completion of the work of such meeting and
the election of officers; and that a resolution to this
effect will be a valid execution of the powers of said
meeting, to determine when and how the election of
officers should proceed. We are of the opinion that
an adjournment without election of officers will be
quite legal and proper. We would advise, however,
the taking of a recess so that the annual meeting shall
remain unadjourned until reconvened at the time ap-
pointed, will be a more satisfactory way of deferring
action upon the matter of electing officers—Very truly

yours, (signed) Sparks, Futter & Stricker. Per
Jesse Fuller, Jr. Dated Dec. 7, 1918.”
“Dr. L. C. Worx, 143 Montague St., Brooklyn,

N. Y.—Dear Sir: We write in reply to your inquiry
as to whether or not the conviction last June in the
Federal Court under the espionage act of Messrs. J.
F. Rutherford, W. E. Van Amburgh, R. J. Martin,
F, H. Robinson, G. H. Fisher, C. J. Woodworth, A H.
MacMillan, G. De Cecca, affects the legal right of the
members of the W. T. B. & T. Society to re-elect any
of these gentlemen to the position of officer or direc-
tor of the Society, now held by some of them—or
their legal right to continue to hold such positions.
Having examined into the question, we beg to advise
that we are of the opinion that the members of the
W. T. B. & T. Society have an unquestionable legal
right to re-elect any of these gentlemen to the posi-
tions which they now hold at the annual meeting
which we understand is to be held in January; and
that upon election they can hold such positions wholly
free from any disqualifications in law by reason of
the judgment of conviction. Yours very truly (signed)
PF. H. Sparks, Jesse Futter, Jr—Dec. 6, 1918.”
Attorney Sparks: That expresses our opinion.
Brother Page: Would it not vindicate our brethren
in bonds if they were re-elected as members of the board
fully as much as to pass them over without an election?
Attorney Sparks: Only having been invited to answer
legal questions, my answer cannot be given to that as a
legal answer, since it is not a legal question (Applause.)
Brother Thompson: May J ask whether an election,
if held today, of the directors and officers, would have
any legal effect upon the appeal now pending?
Attorney Sparks: No, I do not believe a strict matter
of law would be effected by any action that this assembly
takes today; either to recess or to elect officers or direc-
tors. This from this standpoint would not effect the ap-

36 de

peal which is now pending—as a legal proposition. (Ap-

plause.)

, Brother Planker: If Brothers Rutherford and
Van Amburgh were elected today as officers of the Asso-
ciation, could they, during the term of their imprison-
ment, discharge the duties of that office?

Attorney Sparks: If they are legally elected they can
legally discharge the duties of office. I suppose you refer
to whether they can have physical ability to sign certain
documents. That is purely a matter of a prison regula-
tion, I am not familiar with the prison regulations at
Atlanta. But from a legal standpoint, the legally elected
officers of your Society can legally do anything that the
law provides, providing the legal authorities at the prison
will let them do so.

Audience: Would the election of our Brothers J. F.
Rutherford and W. E. Van Amburgh make it possible
for the officers of the Society, as representing the Society,
to be held as joint conspirators, continuing a conspiracy,
this making them liable for prosecution as joint con-
spirators?

Attorney Fuller: Not unless the courts were to hold
that the W. T. B. & T. Society is a conspiracy. (Laughter.)

; Brother Nelson: What attitude would the Gov-
ernment take on having an election at the present time
(leaving out the friends at Atlanta) ?

Attorney Sparks: 1 you mean the effect the election
would have upon the Government in_ releasing them, I
would say that in the first place the Government has no
right to release them. They are under the sentence of
Court. The Government has no right, except through
pardoning them, and only by release of judgment of the
higher court.

Brother Planker: 1 would like to ask whether the
present Board of Directors has any legal authority to
appoint representatives to act for them during the com-
ing year, unless they are re-elected today?

Attorney Sparks: So long as the present Board of
Directors hold over (if this assembly should decide to
adjourn the election) the directors will have the same
right to appoint acting representatives as they did last
year.

Brother Thompson: Brother Anderson, will you please
ask Mr. Sparks under what authority of the by-laws of
the Society can any officer or director of the Society
delegate his authority to another?

Attorney Sparks: Ihave not said that any director has
the right to delegate his authority to another—as a di-
rector. He has no right to step down and say I appoint
and order so and so in my place; but the Board of
Directors—or a majority—have the right to delegate cer-
tain officials to incidental powers for the carrying out of
the work of the Society.

Audience: Would it be correct, proper or legal for
this convention here assembled to appoint proxies to act
for the present board—those who may be restrained of
their liberty—until such recess comes to a conclusion?

Attorney Sparks: No, it would not.

Audience: 1 would like to ask if those who have been
acting as officers were appointed by the majority of the
board? If so, could they legally act?

Attorney Sparks: Certainly. The vice-president, Mr.
Anderson, has been acting according to the by-laws.

Chairman: Those who were appointed to take the
place of those who resigned were elected by the majority
of the board. In fact, it was unanimous.

Audience: I may be wrong in my understanding of
the statement made from the floor that there exists no
one at the present time as an officer of the Society who
is qualified to sign a check. I would like to ask our at-
torneys if this is correct.

Attorney Sparks: 1 can’t answer that question directly.
But presupposing the fact that the treasurer of the Society,
who was elected at the last meeting, is one of your mem-
bers now in the South, under such circumstances and
for practical purposes the Board of Directors would have
a right to appoint a person and designate him as they
see fit to sign checks for the Society. You could not
deprive a corporation or an association of its power to
act and live by incarcerating four officers of the company

B. S. A. CONVENTION

in jail, That is an apparent and reasonable proposition
that no one could dissent from.

Attorney Fuller: I would like to say in further answer
to the question that the amendment of the by-laws you
adopted today introduces the assistant treasurer, who is
directly empowered by the by-laws to perform action with
the consent of the Board of Directors of the Society,
so that the question could not possibly arise under the
by-laws as amended and accepted today.

Chairman: That was done at a full meeting of the
Board of Directors. Brother Stevenson was elected assis-
tant secretary with all the powers that the secretary and
treasurer had.

Brother Graham: Is it the legal opinion of our attor-
neys that the best interests of the dear brethren confined
at Atlanta would be served by a postponement or recess
taken at this time?

Mr. Sparks: That is not a legal question and will
only be answered in view of the wording of the resolu-
tion which was passed, and under which I am speaking
to you upon request of the entire board. (Applause.)

‘Audience: We want that question answered. We want
to vote that the lawyers answer Brother Graham’s ques-
tion.

Brother Graham: I move that our attorneys be given
the privilege of expressing their legal opinion.

Brother Thompson: We have already decided upon
that matter.

Chairman: Don’t get us mixed up.

Brother Thompson: The motion that we all decided
on was that we would permit the lawyers to answer ques-
tions bearing on the legal phase of the situation from our
dear friends the attorneys. This is not a legal question.

Mr. Sparks: There can be no other motion come be-
fore the chair until other motions already made are
acted upon.

Audience: I am wondering whether such technical

points of order and legal rules is the Lord’s will. It
seems to me that anything which may be put in our pos-
session to help us decide the Lord’s will is proper before
the convention, and that is the vital question to the con-
ventioners. I would like to have the questions answered.

Attorney Sparks: It has to be done by amendment to
the motion under which we are speaking.

Brother Graham: I make an amendment to Brother
Page’s motion that the attorneys be permitted to answer
that question.

Brother Thompson: How can that be put?

Chairman: I don’t know. (Laughter.)

Brother Page: We have never gone through these
meetings before with such quibbles about that which is
“parliamentary” and what is not. We never have had it
at any other election. Now if the friends want to know
an answer, let them have it. (Applause.)

(Upon vote the motion was carried unanimously.)

Chairman: We will have Mr. Sparks or Mr.
Fuller answer the question.

Attorney Fuller: Yes, it will unquestionably be for
their best interests; and we will invite any cross-examina-
tion or question that anyone desires to put to us as to
why we entertain that opinion.

Brother Hudgings: I would like to know why the ad-
journment of this election would be of benefit to the
brethren in bonds?

Attorney Fuller: It will first of all dishearten the men
to know that the Society has declined to change its rela-
tion to the eight men while they were in prison. It will
show the people of the United States that the Society
has said that if these men are guilty the Society is guilty.
The reason for the incarceration of these eight men was
summarized by the Court, and it is a condemnation of
the religious doctrines of the Society as much as it is a
condemnation of the men who officially represented the
Society:

“THE COURT: In the opinion of the Court, the
religious propaganda which these defendants vigor-
ously advocated and spread throughout the nation, as
well as among our lives, is a greater danger than a
division of the German army. If they had taken guns
and swords and joined together the Germany army,

I. B. S. A. CONVENTION 37

the harm they could have done would have been in-
significant compared with the results of their prop-
aganda.

These men received a twenty year sentence and they
were stamped as dangerous to this country. That is either
true or false. If it is false they will be released. If it
is true it is a condemnation of the religious doctrines of
your Society. If you do not change the leaders of your
Society while in jail under an unjust condemnation, you
are identifying yourselves with them, and the public—the
people of the United States—will so construe your action.
It would be an expression of confidence in the propriety
and truthfulness of your beliefs not at this time to force
these men from their relation to your Society. When the
judgment is reversed and they come back and if
you believe they were false exponents of your doctrine,
it is your duty to express that belief. It is the belief of
your counsel that your action upon this question will be
the determining factor with the sentiment of this country
in their conclusion as to whether truly or falsely ex-
presses the doctrines of the Bible students, for which they
have been convicted, and it is to this extent that public
sentiment supports the proposition that it was an outrage,
to the extent that sentiment of the country supports the
conviction that that action of yours—inducing that senti-

ment—will favor the welfare of the defendants. (Ap-
plause.)
Audience: Suppose that this assembly today elects

Brother Rutherford and Brother Van Amburgh, would
that not overcome the objection?

Attorney Fuller: If the only question that you are
considering was the welfare of the eight men, I should say
yes. But you also have to consider the welfare of your
Society. You must contemplate the possibility of this re-
markable judgment in this trial, and contemplate the pos-
sibility that it might not be reversed and the possibility
that these men might serve twenty years in jail. If they
did serve twenty years in jail, or even one full year, the
exigencies which confront your Society would demand that
you deal with the validity of the judgment of conviction.
At the present it expresses the legal view of but one man
in the hundred million citizens—Judge Harland B. Howe.
When it comes to the Appellate Court and affirmed there,
and perhaps affirmed in the United States Supreme Court
(which is a possibility you must conceive) it might be
absolutely essential that you elect officials to that extent.
: . So that pending the appeal if the Society did
not act but left itself present to act after the appeal, this
would leave the situation in a condition whereby you
were demonstrating your continued loyalty and expressing
your view that they were sound exponents of your reli-
gious doctrines and those doctrines were proper. And
at the same time you would be preserving freedom which
might, during the coming year, have to be exercised for
the benefit of the Society.

Brother Sexton: I just arrived. My train was forty-
eight hours late, having been snowbound. I have some-
thing to say and for my own comfort I better say it now.
My dear brethren, I have come here, as the balance of
you have, with certain ideas in mind—pro and con. We
might say, with all due respect to our legal friends, that
we have been talking to some other lawyers. I find they
are very much like doctors. They disagree sometimes.
But I presume what I say will be in perfect agreement
with what they have said. There is no legal obstacle in
the way. If we desire to re-elect our brethren in the
South to any office they can hold, I cannot see, or find
from any advice I have received, how this will, in any
shape or form, interfere with the aspect of their case
before the Federal Court or before the public.

I believe that the greatest compliment we can pay to
our dear brother Rutherford would be to re-elect him as
president of the W. T. B. & T. Society. I do not think
there is any question in the mind of the public as to
where we stand on the proposition. If our brethren in any
way technically violated a law they did not understand,
we know their motives are good. And before Almighty
they have neither violated any law of God or of man.
We could manifest the greatest confidence if we re-elected
Brother Rutherford as president of the Association.

I am not a lawyer, but when it comes to the legality of
the situation I know something about the law of the loyal.
Loyalty is what God demands. I cannot imagine any
greater confidence we could manifest than to have an
election AND RE-ELECT BROTHER RUTHERFORD
AS PRESIDENT.

After recess Brother W. F. Hudgings withdrew his
motion for a six months’ recess, in that it was clear that
a vast majority favored an election and that there was
not the SLIGHTEST DOUBT AS TO THE RE-ELEC-
TION OF OUR DEAR BROTHER AND PRESIDENT,
J. F. RUTHERFORD, in the minds of the shareholders.

The shareholders then proceeded with the nominations
for directors.

Brother Sexton: It gives me great pleasure in pre-
senting to your attention as nominees for the officers:

Brother J. F. Rutherford. Brother W. F. Hudgings.
Brother Van Amburgh. Brother E. J. Coward.
Brother C. H. Anderson. Brother R. H. Barber.
Brother Bohnet: I want to suggest to the dear friends
that I looked over the suggested list and heartily endorse
the same. I would esteem it a pleasure and gratification
on my part that if there were any votes intended for me
I would be very glad if they were thrown over to Brother
Rutherford instead of my place.
Other nominations:
Brother Spill. Brother G. S. Kendall.
Brother Thompson. Brother H. Reimer.
Brother Stevenson. Brother Crist.

Nominations closed by unanimous vote.

AFTER RECESS
Brother Thompson then presented report of tellers:
The seven highest were as follows:

J. F. Rutherford................0.. 0000: 112,000
Cov Ae WisQicrk aA ced Caer eae Slated ads 111,712
Ri Ae (Barbers cess seoscs tasked secteeneaneceseee and 97,828
W.E. VanAmburgh................0 0000. 88,307
WY se OD tiene chp bond a Wee ter gain dy acct 84,148
W. F. Hudgings.............. 200 cece eee 75,942
C. H. Anderson..............cc cece eeee 70,113

Brother Sexton: I was appointed as chairman of the
nominating committee, and as such I wish to hand in, or
put in, the following names for officers of our Society,
naturally believing in my heart that the best interests of
the Society would be preserved by the selection:

President—Brother J. F. Rutherford.
Vice-president—Brother C. A. Wise.
Secretary-Treasurer—Brother W. E. Van Amburgh.

Brother Page: I don’t know that it is necessary, but
I had the pleasure last year of nominating Brother Ruther-
ford as president. It gives me great pleasure to second
this nomination—as well as the others.

Unanimously voted that the nomination be closed.

The ballot was then cast by Brother Thompson.

Brother Anderson: I am certainly delighted! And
I am sure you are, too! We believe it to. be fully the
Lord’s will! Brother Russell, you remember, always said,
in taking the vote—and after the majority had decided
upon which way the matter should run—that we always
make it unanimous. Let us take a rising vote, making
the present elected ones—as officers—a unanimous one.
(Unanimous. )

Vice-president, Bro. C. A. Wise: Beloved, I appreciate
the privilege and honor placed upon me. I assure you
that anything that I might say would be expressed in
a manner that would fall far short of what I desire to
express. And for anyone to enter upon the duties that
evolve upon the vice-president, under this particular
time, it would, it seems to me, be the height of folly.
We could only enter upon these duties on the assurance
that everyone here will agree each day to remember us
all at the Throne of Heavenly Grace. How many agree to
that? (Unanimous.)

So we promise, by the assisting grace of our Heavenly
Father, and our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and
your prayers in co-operation, that we shall endeavor to
carry out the wishes of our dear pastor so far as it lies
without our power. (Applause.)

38 I.

B. S. A. CONVENTION

8 P. M. Sunday—Discourse by Bro. C. A. Wise
Subject: “THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION”

chapter of Luke as a basis for a few remarks.

“And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption
draweth nigh.”

Throughout the whole Gospel Age the Church of
Christ has been walking in the Valley of Humiliation.
The Church of Christ has been debased. It has not been
exalted. She has been going down in the Narrow Way
that leads to death and has not lifted up her head and
rejoiced, because each member of the Body of Christ has
made a Covenant with the Lord by sacrifice, and it has
been sacrificing from the beginning to the end, and our
text brings out the thought of the “deliverance” and
exaltation of the Church. ‘'

We believe that no thought that has come to the minds
of any of the Church is fraught with such great joy and
great anxiety as the completion and deliverance of the
Church of Jesus Christ, because this is our hope, our aim,
our ambition, and our great desire. We are anxious that
the last or finishing touches of the character shall all be
made. We are anxious that our great Master Workman
might look into the character and see all the dross con-
sumed and the gold refined. We are anxious to hear the
“Well done, enter into the joys of thy Lord.” We are
anxious to have all the aches and pains; all the discour-
agements, and all of those things laid aside. We are
waiting, yea, we are longing for the change of mind and
longing for the new bodies, free from pain, free from
all the present environment. We are longing for the time
to come when we can behold the King in all His beauty
and glory and grandeur.

But before those things can be realized the completion
of the offering, which all the members of the Body of
Christ have laid upon the altar of sacrifice, must be
finished. The last vestige of the offering must be con-
sumed. And beloved, I understand that you and I can
increase the flames, thus consuming the offering; or
decreasing the flames, lengthen out the period of the time
for the consummation of the offering. My understanding
is that the offering will be consumed. If we fully appre-
ciate our privilege in sacrificing it means to us the great
Rest of mind we enjoy in the edifying and building up
of the various members of the body of Christ with Psalms
and hymns and spiritual Psalms. And so this picture
shows that the event in which our text takes place will
take place down at this great Rest day, and you know
we have entered that great Rest day. By faith, beloved,
through our consecration to our Heavenly Father, we have
entered the great Rest that remains for God’s people, and
if you and I are not resting, then we are not appreciating
our privilege, or our consecration. Surely we did not
make a full consecration of ourselves if we are not fully
resting in Christ Jesus.

Present Status All Important

I like to bring these things down to our present expe-
rience. The Lord is not dealing with us like He did
twenty years ago. Do not boast of the fact that we made
a consecration thirty years ago, but what is our spiritual
state tonight? It is true, we have now the spirit whose
effervescence helps us to stand on the mountain top, dear
friends, but each of us will soon be going to our several
homes and avocations, and we will have to come down
to the natural experiences, and so we have verily fortified
ourselves by the indwelling of the spirit and love of the
Father,—putting on, as it were, the whole armor of God,
and buckling on every feature of that armor, in order
that we may firmly go forth and thus hold high the banner
of King Emmanuel. We trust that all the experiences
of the past four days have led to that exuberance of mind.
And thus we find, according to God’s great plan, that in
the Kingdom the great Christ of God shall reign, and He
has arranged that as soon as the Christ of God is all

Ws: thought we would use the 28th verse of the 2lIst

complete there will be no failure there. It is true Moses
failed as a mediator because he was an imperfect mediator,
and all under him were likewise imperfect, and thus not
one of the nation of Israel, except our dear Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, could meet the requirements of the
Jewish Law. But not so with the great Prophet, Priest .
and King, the great Mediator, for He will be perfect.
You and I are privileged to be in the School of Christ
for the very purpose of learning the lessons that shall
enable us to be “able minister of the New (Law) Cove-
nant,” because God has so designed that there is to be no
failures among that Christ company, and so our training
will be accomplished by some of the experiences, trials
and sorrows, and also by some of those depressing expe-
riences which come to us as we walk in the “valley of
the shadow of death.” All through the church’s experi-
ences the condition of sadness and humiliation has pre-
vailed. On the other hand, however, there has been
sweet peace and joy in the innermost hearts and lives of
all those, satisfying to hearts and souls, beloved, amid
all the experiences which come to us. What lies before,
no one knows but the Lord. He who has led thus far
will lead us on. Victory is ours, beloved, if we hold fast
our “faith.” He that endureth unto the end is the one
to be saved, and he who has full assurance of faith that
takes hold of the promises of God and lives a whole-
hearted life, is the one who wears the victorious crown,
and the one who will come off more than conqueror
through Him that loveth us and bought us with His
own precious blood.

We Know Deliverance Is Nigh

We have come to the time of action and recognize the
“feet” members and know it is the time for you and me
to look up and lift up our heads and rejoice. Why?
All the evidences the Lord has given of the presence
of our Lord Jesus and the near approach of His Kingdom
manifests to us now that we ought to lift up our heads
and rejoice in as much as we know our redemption
draweth nigh.

While the great Church of Christ is composed of many.
members, it is but one body, and the Apostle says, “as the
body is one, and hath many members and all the members
of that one body being many are one body, so also is the
Christ.” Jesus the head and we all the various members
of the body of Christ! And “God has set the members
in the body as it hath pleased Him.” And how glad we
are! Aren’t you?

He doesn’t need you and me. But you and I need
him. Now we ought to render heartfelt devotion to our
Heavenly Father that He has opened the eyes of our
understanding, and now we believe we comprehend some-
thing of the lengths and breadths and heights and depths
of God’s great character and realize that He, our Heavenly
Father, is indeed a God of Love.

We are developing the same kind of character. We
are all in the great rumbling blocks of the world and
polishing and shaping goes on of these blocks and will
go on until the character is complete in all its beauty,
glory and grandeur. And so our text reads, “When ye
see these things begin to come to pass’—Who is He
talking to? I understand He is talking to the last members
of the Body of Christ, because we have reached a period
of time when all the events as recorded in the 24th
Chapter of Matthew, which is positive evidence of the
Second Coming of our dear Lord, have all been fulfilled,
but one—and that is the Great Time of Trouble, and we
know we are experiencing it, but not reached all the furies
yet.

The Heart Sealing Necessary

So we find that God intends that His Church, during
this great time of trouble shall be protected. Some are
being taken home to glory, and others by being so fortified

Po Be Ss Ae SONY EN TTON | 39

through the Word of God are protected. “He that dwelleth
in the secret place of the Most High shall abide (or lodge)
under the shadow of the Almighty.”

The Scriptures show us that before the close of the
Age in all its fulness the Second sealing, referred to in
Revelation, must be complete through the Sounding of the
Seventh Trumpet and the mystery of God, the plan made
known to the last members and thus sealed in their fore-
heads with the full conception of God’s great plan, and
then the second sealing upon the heart. We have reason
to believe that this has almost, if not already, been accom-
plished. Beloved, have you that full assurance of faith,
that you have been sealed by the second ‘sealing? Can
we assure ourselves that the sealing has reached its com-
pleteness? We trust everyone is able to say that it is.

Rev. 7:4 tells us the number of those sealed: “And
I heard the number of them that were sealed and there
were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the Children of
Israel.” As the Revelator shows us at that time the
sealing will be completed and deliverance of the Church
at hand. “And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood upon Mount
Zion and with Him 144,000 having the Father’s name
written in their foreheads.” These were the only ones
that were able to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
But I can hear someone say, Well can’t all Christians sing
the song of Moses and the Lamb? Oh, no! That is why
we have seen such great discord throughout the Age.
Only the true consecrated child of the Lord, those who
have made a covenant of sacrifice, and whose consecrations
have been accepted by the Lord, are the only ones who
are able to sing the great song of Moses and the Lamb.
We trust that we are able to sing that song. “And they
sang as it were before the four beasts and elders, and no
man could learn that song but the 144,000, which were
redeemed from the earth.”

All Fulfilled Save One

Now, beloved, the accounts of Luke 21 and Matthew
24, which bring out such a great collection of the facts
or events that are transpiring in the second presence of
our Lord, have practically all been fulfilled. The Lord
said: “This generation shall not pass away until all these
things have been fulfilled.” Only Bible Students can give
a reasonable solution of that text. It must be the gener-
ation living at the present time when these events are
taking place. So in our lifetime we have seen these great
marvelous events taking place and now having been ful-
filled, but one.

You recall as the Lord spoke of these great events:
two days before His crucifixion, as he sat upon the hill
that overlooked the city of Jerusalem, he said, “O Jeru-
salem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Verily
I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till
ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of
the Lord.”

It was immediately after that that the Disciples came
to Him asking for the sign of His Second Coming, and
then the Lord goes on raking the hypocrisies of the
Scribes and the Pharisees, and tells His disciples that the
temple will be thrown down. So history reveals that every
stone of those marvelous buildings was thrown over; even
the foundation stone was upturned, thus fulfilling the
statement of our Lord and Saviour; and then He goes on
to speak about wars and rumors of wars; famine and
pestilences, and all those things you and I have seen;
which all the world has seen: This was to be the evidence
of something still greater—“a Time of Trouble, such as
never was since there was a Nation.” And then, our text
says, that we should, having seen the “distress of nations,”
look up and “lift up our heads and rejoice.”

The Glory of Resurrection

Beloved, are we rejoicing in the Prospect of the near
approach of the establishment of the Kingdom of our
dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Ah, yes, because

one by one the dear members of the Body of Christ are
passing beyond the vail. The number beyond is large in
proportion to those this side the vail, and soon, we believe,
the last one will pass beyond. Oh, the scene that will
take place in the Heavenly glory, when the last member
of the Body of Christ passes beyond! We sometimes let
our minds run out, and yet we know that the wildest
imaginations of our minds sinks way beneath the reality
of that grand spectacle which Heaven will witness by and
by—and we trust—in the very near future. Someone has
said they thought they would like to be the last member
of the Body of Christ. But later on they said, “Oh, what
a privilege and an honor it will be to think that in the
Spiritual realm there will be 143,999 redeemed souls waiting
for the last one.” Oh, friends, what a scene that will be!
It seems to me the guardian angels, our dear Lord, and
all the hosts of Heaven will throw protection around the
last one in order that the offering may be consumed, and
as they watch the fire consuming the offering gladness
will fill them, and so when they see the last vestige of
the last member of the Body of Christ being fully con-
sumed, it seems to me that wafted upon the wings of love,
accompanied by the guardian angel, the 143,999 redeemed
souls will lift the one up;—up—and up they will go;—not
up where they have been. No, oh no! For I understand
that since the first resurrection began to take place our
Lord has held the members of the Body of Christ some-
where in the Heavenly condition. I know not where. It
matters not, but we know they are some place in the
condition of Heavenly glory, waiting until the last member
of the Body of Christ is prepared.

Then this class, complete in all its beauty and glory,
the Lord will take on up, dear friends, into the very Court
of Glory and there in Heaven, in all beauty and glory and
grandeur we will meet our Heavenly Father upon His
great Throne, and I can see our dear Lord ascending
there—He presents this great Church,—the Body of Christ
in a wave-offering as it were,—the first-fruits of the field.
Beloved, we trust soon you and I may bring our wave-
offering as it were—the first-fruits of the field—and add
to that collection. Then the dear Lord and all with Him
shall be exultant with joy as He presents them before
the Throne without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
Then, beloved, the grandest event in all the Universe will
have taken place.

The Earthly Resurrection Grand

The Prophet Job tells us that when God laid the
foundation of the earth the sons of God shouted for joy.
Oh, dear friends, I understand there are to be two other
shouts: One will be when Christ presents the Bride before
the Throne and when the Bride and Bridegroom are made
one. All Heaven will rejoice then, and shout for joy.
I think this third shout will be when “He whose right it
is” to reign, returns and establishes His great Kingdom
on earth and begins to unlock the prison house of death
and when the dead come forth and find they have not been
down in eternal torment, suffering agony, but will be back
on earth hearing the grand song of the Redeeming Love,
the grand tidings of great joy, etc. I believe there will
be a shout of victory,—a shout of triumph, and I think
it will cover the whole world. The Prophet says that in
that grand day “no one shall say, ‘know thou the Lord,’
for all shall know Him from the least unto the greatest.”
Then “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
the glory of God, the Father.”

But, beloved, return to the Heavenly scenes. We say,
Heaven is bedecked with grand, glorious scenes—sublime
beyond mortal conception. The climax of the waiting
period of over 1900 years is come. We see our dear Lord
present His Bride before our Heavenly Father, and then
before the Throne will be that great innumerable company
and who will say with one grand anthem, “Let us be glad
and rejoice and give honor to Him, for the Marriage of
the Lamb is come, (the day has finally arrived) and His
wife has made herself ready.” Think ye not, beloved,
there will be joy in Heaven? Oh, yes, because it shows
us that then the great attributes of our Heavenly Father—
Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power—will say, “Holy, Holy,
Lord God Almighty,” and then John says, “I heard the

40 f.

four and twenty elders singing Hallelujah, Amen.” Why?
The culmination of all the scenes, the completeness of the
four attributes of our Heavenly Father has been mani-
fested in the marriage of the Lamb. Think ye not that
Heaven rejoices? Oh, yes!

Desirability of Unshakable Faith

We say the Selection and Election of the Church of
Christ has been such a precious work that God could not
trust this in your hand or my hand. “Ye have not chosen
me,” the Lord says, “but I have chosen you.” Qh, yes.
“I have ordained you that ye should go and bring forth
fruit abundantly and that your fruit shall remain.” Oh,
beloved, are we among the chosen ones? Do you know
you have been chosen of the Lord? Have you that positive
evidence now? God is dealing with us as New Creatures
now. Have we that full assurance of faith? Do you
know that God accepts your sacrifice now? Make it real,
beloved, because that is one of the grand things about
the truth—its simplicity. Something you can see! Some-
thing you can feel and there must be the transformation,
the washing, the cleansing, the purification, and ultimately
the Lord will say to you and me, “now ye are clean
through the Word which I have spoken unto you.”

In my own Christian experience (I have told this story
before, but I want to tell it again!) I was honestly
seeking for “holiness” and seeking for that great blessing
which I understood someone else had. I have always been
very peculiar about that. Even during the years which it
has been my privilege to know the grand message of
Redeeming Love, if there is any special blessing going
around I have always wanted it. I am selfish along that
line. If I find someone else has some spiritual blessings
I have not received, I will seek for them until I obtain
them,—if it is at all the Lord’s will.

The Hocus-Pocus of “Holiness”

And so someone moved in our section of the city—
Rev. Smith, who was affiliated with the church I was
connected with, and he soon began a series of Holiness
meetings. I was honestly seeking for holiness, and became
intensely interested in the services, seeking for the “Second
Blessing.” The dear brother knew my desire and so on
one occasion when we were having a snowstorm, and as
Brother Barton would say, everything “warmed up,” Rev.
Smith thought it was about time I should get the “Second
Blessing.” So he tried to help me: He said, “Brother
Wise, come through, come through.” But I couldn’t
“come through.” There was no place to come to. And
so that failed. So I tried other times. He told me to
say, “IT got it, I got it.’ But I couldn’t say it, because
I didn’t have it.

The Truth That Sanctifies

So, beloved, whatever amount of sanctification or holi-
ness that you and I possess, it is not because we are a
goody goody sort of a person. N 0, it is because we have
brought ourselves into conformity with the Truth. The
Truth has come into our minds,—into our hearts,—the
cleansing, purification, and washing is taking place; and
so this experience will continue to go on, if we stay by
the Truth until eventually the dear Lord will say, now
“Ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken
unto you.”

So this sanctifying influence of God’s Truth has been
applied because of the Prayer of our dear Lord, as
recorded in the 17th chapter of John, where He prayed,
“Sanctify them through Thy Truth, Thy Word is Truth.”
This is the sanctifying influence. We find during these
strenuous experiences (particularly during the past year),
and during which period, it seems a thousand have been
falling on our side, and ten thousand at our right hand,—
we find the two great texts which are so frequently quoted
by our dear Pastor have come to my mind: “Let him
that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.’ And
the other one is: “Everything that my Father hath not
planted shall be rooted up.” If we have not got the
Lord’s planting, there will come into our lives sometime
experiences that will pluck us out of the Camp of the
Lord. But if we are the Lord’s planting—if we really

B. S. A. CONVENTION

have been planted by the Lord—if our feet are upon the
solid rock—Christ Jesus—if we are building upon this
foundation stone, using the gold, silver and precious stones
(material of the Word of God), there is no influence in
all the Universe that will pluck us out of the hand of
God. Why? We have been planted by the Lord, and the
Lord intends that none of His seed that He plants which
bears fruit shall be plucked up, but He will nurture and
water it and it will grow up to maturity.

Melchizedek Priest, the Blesser

So I trust that day by day in all our experiences, which
come to us, that we all are growing up in Christ and by
and by we shall all become, as it were, full grown men
in Christ Jesus. But you and I are still wearing the
sacrificial robes, the High Priest has not raised his hands
for the world’s blessing. Has the High Priest come forth
with garments of beauty and grandeur? Oh, no, not yet.
Sacrificing is going on in connection with the last “feet”
members of the Body of Christ. In the case of Solomon’s
Temple, the glory of the Lord was revealed, and the High
Priest came forth and raised his hand and blessing went
to the people, and so in the great anti-typical temple which
our Heavenly Father is now building and in which you
and I, we trust, are to be living stones,—when that temple
is complete in all its beauty and glory and grandeur, then,
we will have a King and a Priest after the order of
Melchizedek, and He comes forth and raises his hands
and the blessing follows.

But there must needs be, beloved, a little more of the
polishing, a little more pruning, a little more taking off
of this and of that. We must drop everything that is
contrary to God’s Will. And then, do all those things
pleasing in His sight and by this means,—using all the
agencies at our command,—by feeding upon the Word of
God,—we shall grow up into Christ and we trust the time
is not far distant when each of us will become a full-
grown man in Christ Jesus.

Oh, beloved, the “stones” all through the last forty
years have been placed in the various parts of this great
Building, and I understand the experiences that we are
having today, just prepares us for a character that will
fit us just exactly in a place the Lord designs for us.
No stone too long! No stone too short! As all the
material was in Solomon’s Temple, and this grand building
was constructed without even the sound of a hammer,
so no polishing will be done over there. All the work
must be done this side the vail, and so we say there will
be no disappointments there. You will feel perfectly at
home there. Because you are developing a character for
a particular place there and that accounts for the peculiar
trials that come to you—to all of us—in this evil day.

Faith Demonstrated by Works

Every man’s work shall be made manifest. Your faith
and my faith; your work and my work is being made
manifest. The fire of this present time is trying every
man’s work of what sort it is. Your faith has been
attacked, and mine has been. There has crept into our
hearts possibly a shadow of doubt because of the insinu-
ations of the Adversary during the last six months. Lo,
as we enter upon the blessings and privileges and sacri-
fices and labors for the New Year, beloved, let us determine
by God’s grace that we shall put on the whole armor and
keep on the whole armor of God, and then go forth as
valiant soldiers of the Cross of Christ, witnessing for
Him, laying down our lives, if necessary, sacrificing, in
order that the work which the Lord has left for the feet or
last members of the Body of Christ, shall be accomplished.

Mention has been made in this Convention of the
possibility of the great work that lies before us. Beloved,
that being true, let us unite in prayer and prepare our
hearts and minds and bodies that we may go forth. I
was glad to have gone through the various parts of the
South, meeting so many of the dear Colporteur friends,
who have been in the work previous to this, who are
preparing themselves for further activities subsequent to
the signing of peace that they may the more fully enter
into the work.

I. B. S. A. CONVENTION Al

Colporteurs Returning to Work

I am inclined to think that in about one week after
peace has been signed, we will find about six or seven
hundred on the Colporteur list, devoting their time to the
work. God is so pleased to permit us to have a part.
Let us lay all cares aside. What for? For the privilege
of having a part in this great work which our Heavenly
Father has entrusted to us. In the trying experiences
that come to us, He will help us to appreciate that the
Eternal God is our Salvation and underneath is the ever-
lasting arms, and so He who has led us thus far will
never forsake us. God doesn’t need you and me to carry
on His work. This work will go on regardless of whether
we appreciate the work or not; regardless of whether we
have any part in it whatever. God intends the witnessing
to go on and God will raise up messengers—those who
appreciate the privileges and who will sacrifice; and thus
the grand and glorious work shall be completed to its
fulness. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in time of trouble. Therefore shall we not fear.”
Fear not, beloved, because he who fears will falter. Let
us determine by God’s Grace, to uphold each other, daily,
hourly—as far as possible, come to the Throne of Heavenly
Grace, and then shoulder to shoulder face the battle, and
finally come off victors.

Personal Opinions Laid Aside

_It is a difficult time now that all these little differences
arise.
very few instances where principle is at stake—only a little
difference of opinion. It is time we laid aside all these
things because you agreed to sacrifice and so did I. And
we who presented ourselves to Him are dead. “Ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Now,
beloved, having laid that offering upon the altar of Con-
secration, shall we draw back, and take the offering off,
when certain little things arise in life which do not please
us?

It is true none of us realize the full depths of conse-
cration. Oh, no! But the Lord said, “As thy days so
shall thy strength be.” “I will never leave thee, nor for-
sake thee”; and so we can say the Heavenly Father’s grace
has been sufficient for us for every time of need. Trust
in Him, beloved. ’Mid all the trying scenes, lay hold upon
the Word of God. Have that full assurance of faith that
takes hold of the promises of God and applies them to our
hearts and lives, and thus get the necessary strength and
sustenance. “God is in the midst of her” (ye daughters
of Zion). “God is in the midst of her. She (Zion) shall
not be moved.” Why? “God shall help her—(and that
right now)—early in the morning”; and that is why the
Lord said, “Look up, lift up your heads and rejoice, for
your Redemption draweth nigh,” and so we praise and
magnify our Heavenly Father for the grand privileges of
service, and for these grand and glorious things, and He
tells us that having finished the work which He has given
us to do,—having done all, to “stand.”

Oh, beloved, we have not reached the “standing” posi-

These are only matters of opinion, because we find.

tion yet. We thought so for a while back, but we were
mistaken. We have not reached that condition yet. There
may come a time in our life when all opportunity of
service may be denied, but not now. He has been just
giving you and me a quiet season for the purpose of
preparation: He expects you and me so thoroughly
examined, and fortified by the Word of God that we will
be qualified for the work he has given us to do in the near
future. WE ARE DETERMINED BY GOD’S GRACE
AND ASSISTANCE THAT WHATEVER HE MAY
HAVE FOR US WE WILL DO WITH OUR MIGHT,—
and do everything in fact with our might “what our hands
find to do.”

The closing days, we believe, of John the Baptist and
Elijah, were typical of the closing days of the last or feet
members of the Body of Christ. The beheading of the
one and the whirlwind experiences and fiery chariot expe-
riences of the other, would indicate, we believe, the last
experiences of the Church of Christ. Beloved, as “the
Disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above
his Lord” (but Zion need not fear, for God is in the midst
of her), so we find Matt. 25:10 shows us the change will
come when, as soon as the last member of the Christ is
passed over and the door is closed. We must all be
changed, for the Apostle says, “For this corruption must
put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immor-
tality,” and so be changed in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, from earthly conditions to Heavenly conditions,
from _weakness to power. Then also the Prophet shows
us, “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the voice
together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when
the Lord returns to Zion.” (Isa. 52:8.) As our Lord was
despised, and rejected, and convicted of men, so all the
experiences of the Church have been. As the finger of
scorn and ignominy and shame was pointed at Him, so the
finger of scorn, and ignominy is pointed at us. And so,
as one suffered, all suffer uith Him. As one member is
honored so all rejoice. There has been an opportunity for
suffering, friends. When our dear leaders were cast into
prison there was suffering throughout the lengths and
breadths of the land, and when the prison doors are opened
there will be rejoicing throughout the lengths and breadths
of the land. So we say, if one suffers we all suffer with
him. If one member is honored, we are all honored.

Now, beloved, let us see that this sacrifice (which we
placed on the altar at consecration) is bound with cords
to the horns of the altar, and then, dear friends, having
placed the offering upon the altar, let us see that the offer-
ing may soon be consumed. Then, we understand, that
when the dross has been consumed, and the gold refined,
the dear Heavenly Father can look into our hearts and
see the reflection of His own image, then He will say, “It
is enough, come up higher.” Beloved, let me say in con-
clusion, When ye see all these things, which the Lord
mentions, begin to come to pass, then look up, beloved, and
lift up your head, and rejoice, inasmuch as your redemp-
tion “draweth nigh.”

Note :—See last page for news regarding our brethren.

SUPPLEMENT

3:00 P. M., Discourse by Brother Wm. F. Hudgings

Subj ect:

UR lesson this afternoon will be based upon the

é 17 to 21, in part. We read, “And the seventh angel
poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne,
saying, It is done . And great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of
the wine of the fierceness of His wrath And there
fell upon men a great hail out of Heaven, every stone
about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God
because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof
was exceeding great.”

Now we are going to talk this afternoon about those
verses; our topic will be “WHY I ACCEPT THE
SEVENTH VOLUME.” It would be very difficult for
me, dear friends, to stand here and enumerate all of the
reasons that come to my mind ‘for accepting this book
as not only the seventh of the series of Scripture Studies,
but as the particular message which the Lord had. designed
to be poured out for the Church and othess at this
particular juncture in the earth’s history. However, a
few weeks ago when I had more time upon my hands than
anything else (laughter), I enjoyed, more than at any
other time in my Christian experience, a careful study
of the Lord’s plans and purposes and particularly a study
of Volume Seven. I made a list of a few of the more
prominent reasons that came to my mind which were
absolutely convincing to me that this book was from the
Lord; and I will endeavor to give you the benefit of them
at this time.

Of course these facts naturally classify themselves
under two heads, viz, EXTERNAL and INTERNAL
reasons. By external reasons we mean those reasons
which have nothing to do with the contents of the book
itself ; but rather those things which relate to its compil-
ation, publication, etc. The internal reasons would of
course confine themselves to the contents of the book—
the things that are therein taught; the explanations of
Scriptures which prove themselves correct, and thereby
indicate that the book is filled, from beginning to end, with
“meat in due season for the Household of Faith.’ We
will be brief in respect to the external reasons, because
we desire to devote most of our time to the consideration
of the teachings of the book. But, briefly speaking,’ we
will enumerate seven external reasons that would be the
first perhaps to come to the minds of any of the Lord’s
people in their acceptance of the book.

The first external reason would be the fact that the
Lord’s people have been led to believe from the depth of
their hearts, that the Church would receive a seventh vol-
ume in the series of Scripture Studies, which book would
explain Revelation and Ezekiel. We all know that it
was our dear Brother Russell’s thought from the very
Beginning of his work that the Church would receive
a seventh volume, and in the early editions of the first
volume of Scripture Studies, “The Divine Plan of the
Ages,” he set forth the fact, more than thirty years ago,
that there would be seven volumes in the series. It
was not merely a thought that he once had, and later
discarded, but it was the thought that he carried with him
throughout the forty years of his ministry. On every
possible occasion he encouraged the Church to believe
there would be a Seventh Volume which would explain
Ezekiel and Revelation; and when we come down to the
very last day of his human existence, standing there upon
the very threshold of the Kingdom, and in the jaws of

words of the Revelator in the 16th chapter, verses

42

Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 3, 1919, Academy Hall, New York City
“WHY I ACCEPT THE SEVENTH VOLUME”

death, this saint of God, this wise and faithful servant,
to whom the Lord had committed all His store of harvest
truths, passed from this life into the life beyond with the
thought in his mind and the words upon his lips, that the
Church should expect and would receive the Seventh
Volume!

The second external reason as to why I believe the
book authentic is that it does treat those very portions of
the Bible which our dear Pastor said that it would treat,
viz., Ezekiel and Revelation; and it explains them thor-
oughly, not omitting a single verse, and explains them in
harmony with all the other features of God’s great plan.

The third external reason relates to the title of the
book itself. I recall when Brother Woodworth and myself
journeyed to Hammond, Ind., in June, 1917, to read the
proof, then in the printers’ hands, that the title of the
book had not been finally decided upon. There had been
many titles suggested, but I recall the very last words
of our dear Brother Rutherford as I left his study on
that day were these, “Tell Brother Woodworth that of
all the titles which have been suggested, I have concluded
that the most suitable one is “The Fall of Babylon’.” I
arrived in Scranton and gave Brother Woodworth the
message, and he responded: “Well, I have been praying
over the matter and thinking very seriously and have con-
sidered every title that I have heard suggested, and the
most appropriate one to my mind is ‘The Winepress of
God’s Wrath’.”

We started to Hammond! Nobody knew what the
book would ultimately be called! We arrived there and
through a very peculiar circumstance, respecting which
we will not go into details, they finally decided on a third
title which neither of the brethren who had direct charge
of the naming of the book favored. Thus they finally
decided, by compromise, upon this other title, suggested
by the words of our text, which say “the seventh angel
poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying,
‘It is FINISHED’.” So they agreed, at the last moment,
to call it “The Finished Mystery,” and furthermore, as
a compromise they concluded to use the two other titles
suggested as subtitles; and you will see on the title page
of the book in large type: “THE FINISHED MYSTERY,”
and down underneath it says in smaller type “The Fall
of Babylon,” or the “Winepress of God’s Wrath.’ So,
you see, we finally got them all in there. (Laughter.)

But here is the point I am making: the “Finished
Mystery” is not the title they specially preferred; they
had not intended to use that as the title; and yet, the
Lord seemed to force the issue and they had to call it
that! Now a little later it was learned that Brother
Russell, many years ago, in talking with one of the friends,
disclosed the fact that he had in mind that when the
seventh volume would be published its title would be “The
Finished Mystery.” I take that, dear friends, as a strong
external reason why this book is the book the Lord in-
tended to give to the Church.

The fourth external reason is that it is published by the
same auspices under which the preceding six volumes of
the series were published; and that to you and me con-
stitutes a very excellent reason, does it not? We all
know how the Lord has used the Watch Tower Bible &
Tract Society, and is still using that Society for the
dispensing of His meat in due season—and no other.

The fifth external reason why I accept the Seventh
Volume is this: That in the Lord’s providence, the. circu-

SUPPLEMENT 43

lation of this book—up to the time that it was banned—
had attained the same water-mark as the preceding volumes
of the series. Volume Four came out over fifteen years
ago. A few years after that Volume Five was published ;
and sometime after that, Volume Six. They were not
published in the same year, but at vastly different times,
and with the colporteurs working with those books from
the time of their publication we would naturally expect
Volume Four would have a greater circulation than any
other. Volumes Five, Six and Seven would therefore be
the least. But when we got down to the end of the
Harvest, in the final tabulation of the output of these
books we found to our astonishment that the circulation
of Volume Four, Volume Five and Volume Six stood
almost exactly at the same water-mark, i. e., 500,000 copies
each. They all had the same output, with the exception
of just a few thousand copies, although they were pub-
lished years apart. Now Volume Seven was published
m July, 1917, and within the eight or nine months which
it was circulated, to our amazement we find that under
the Lord’s providence it attained exactly the same circu-
lation’ as the preceding books of the series, viz., 500,000
copies. There were 850,000 copies of it ordered altogether,
but the last edition was not completed, and there were also
many copies held in storage, not going into circulation.
But I am talking about the actual number of books out
in circulation, and it is exactly the same as the preceding
volumes of the series. They all came, under the Lord’s
providence, to exactly the same water-mark, and I ask
you, “How, except under the Lord’s special providence,
was it possible for Volume Seven to attain a circulation
in eight months equal to Volumes Four, Five and Six,
which took them over fifteen years to attain? I consider
this a very good external reason why the book has had

the blessing of the Lord, and that it is the seventh in the

series of Scripture Studies, as the Lord intended.

The sixth external reason is that it has caused such
a furor in Christendom—exactly what the Scriptures
pointed out it would cause. That, we will deal with in
more detail a little later’ on.

The seventh external reason is best of all, viz., the book
has brought such a blessing to the hearts of the Lord’s
people! Speaking personally, dear friends, I remember
that when I began to read that book in the summer of
1917, I received the same joy that I had experienced when
I began to read the Divine Plan of the Ages—eleven years
ago. The same joy and gratitude filled my heart as I
experienced when I was just coming into the truth. It
was the same feeling. There was no mistake about that,
dear friends, I know that this has also been true with
thousands and thousands of the Lord’s people throughout
the earth. I assume that the vast majority of you here
this afternoon know exactly what I am talking about,
for your experience has been similar. The fact that the
Lord’s people showed such zeal and earnestness, and mani-
fested it in the most practical way possible, during the
latter part of 1917 and the early part of 1918, indicates
that the book was a blessing to them, just as the Lord
has. eee pouring out upon us throughout the Harvest
period.

Now we come to the seven internal reasons as to “why
I accept the Seventh Volume.” It is hard to confine our-
selves to seven of these internal reasons, for if I gave you
all the reasons that came to mind, I would have to stand
here and read to you the whole book; and that of course
is quite too great a task for one hour’s performance. We
will therefore mention seven of the most prominent reasons
which come to our minds, based upon the contents and
teachings of the book, that lead us to conclude that it is
truly the Seventh Volume of Scripture Studies which the
Lord intended that His people should receive in the end
of this age.

The first internal reason is this: That the message
which the book contains is the same message which the
Lord in His Word declared He would send at this time.
It is the message proclaimed in the words of our text,
when it says: “The seventh angel would pour out his vial,
and great Babylon would come into remembrance before
God, to give unto her the fierceness of His wrath.” Did
it do that? I think it did very thoroughly. And then it

says, “there fell upon men a great hail”—hard, cutting,
distressing truths. And that has been a fact!

I also refer you to the words of the Psalmist in the
Second Psalm (1-4), a message peculiarly applicable to
this time, especially since the end of the Gentile Times
in the autumn of 1914. It says, “the nations rage, and the
people imagine vain schemes.” We have seen the raging
for the past four years; and then it says that “the kings
of the earth set themselves, and the rulers”—the great
ones of earth, and the great ones of ecclesiasticism—would
“take counsel together against the Lord, and against His
anointed.” We know what that refers to: taking counsel
together against the Lord’s people who are yet on this side
of the vail—the anointed of the Lord, the anointed body
of Christ, the feet members in particular. And since the
end of the Gentile Times, after the beginning of the raging
of the nations, which commenced in 1914, we see this ful-
filled—the “taking of counsel together by the rulerships
of earth and the rulerships of ecclesiasticism, against the
Lord and against His anointed”; and then the Lord says
that He would do something. What is it He was going to
do? He says: “I shall hold them in derision.” How could
He do that? We know of no way in which He could hold
them in derision unless it be through the proclamation of
a message that would be filled with “derision” against those
who had “taken counsel together against the Lord and
against His anointed.” This Scripture conclusively shows
that _in the end of the age—since the autumn of 1914—
the Lord would cause to be sent out into the earth, a mes-
sage which would be filled with “derision” against the
ecclesiastical system, and it shows here that the message
would necessarily be written in the very style in which
Volume Seven is written. Have you heard any of the
friends say that it has been a trial to them to accept the
Seventh Volume because it contains such irony and sar-
castic phrases, that if it was written like Volume One they
would like it? I have heard statements like that. N ow,
I ask you, dear friends, why should we thus complain
against the doings of God? Such persons are not com-
plaining against the brethren who compiled it. They are
not complaining against the Society. They are actually
complaining against God every time they make a statement
of that kind, because the Lord has said that that is the
message he would send forth since the autumn of 1914,
when the nations would begin to rage. He has done that,
and I for one believe that He is going to continue it before
long. We have made only one squeeze of the winepress
as yet. The Lord, we believe, intends after this season
of rest to let the winepress give another squeeze, and an-
other, until all the juice in that great vine of the earth
has been squeezed out. He is not through yet. (Applause. )

The second internal reason why I accept Volume Seven
as from the Lord is that it does explain the Scriptures
which we did not previously understand, and it explains
them in a way we can prove they are correct. Take for
instance the identification of the Seven Messengers to
the Church. I ask you, how many in this audience knew
who the Seven Messengers were prior to the publication
of the Seventh Volume? Now I am going to show you
that Volume Seven has identified every one of those Seven
Messengers, and identified them correctly. Take, for
instance, the First Messenger, the messenger to the Church
of Ephesus, which is said to be St. Paul. How do we
know that St. Paul was the messenger to the Church of
Ephesus? You turn to the second chapter of Revelation
and you read the message there which would be given
“by the messenger to the Church of Ephesus.” You turn
then to your concordance and you see where in the Bible
you can locate such a message as is there described. You
will find in every instance, that the message that is there
described is found in the Epistles of St. Paul. He is the
one that gave, through his fourteen epistles to the Church,
the very message, almost word for word, which the
Revelator there said would be given “by the Angel of the
Church of Ephesus.” Here is positive evidence that St.
Paul was the messenger to the Church of Ephesus.

The Second Messenger is said to be St. John. How
do we know? Some say, “Why should we not think he
was the First Messenger, since he was an apostle several
years before Paul was made an apostle? Why not reverse

44 SUPPLEMENT

it and say St. Paul was the Second Messenger to the
Church?” I will tell you the reason. If you will turn to
the 19th verse of the Ist Chapter of Revelation, you will
there find where St. John received his commission to
write to the Church, and it there shows in no unmistakable
terms that he was the messenger to write during the second
epoch, and not the first epoch. Here is the language:
“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things
which are, and the things which shall be.’ What does it
mean? It means: “John, you are now receiving your
commission to write to the Church, and your commission
pertains to the second epoch. Write of the things which
you have seen (which are past). And then write of the
things which now are. You are living in the second epoch
of the Church, and therefore write of these things. Then,
also write of the things which shall be in the succeeding
epochs—the things which shall be hereafter.” John was
giving a history of the Church in Revelation; and this
text shows his particular message pertains to the things
that then were: not the things that had been because that
epoch was passed. He wrote, therefore, in the second
epoch of the Church.

Volume Seven says Arius was the Third Messenger.
How do we know? If you will turn to Rev. 2:14, you
will read the message given by the Third Messenger, and
there in that message is the first rebuke to Christendom
for the formation of creeds. You will find there in the
comments in Volume Seven that the message that would
be given by this Third Angel to the Church was a message
of “rebuke” because they had started to form creeds, and
it was the first rebuke that had been administered. The
two preceding messengers had said nothing about creed
idols, but the Third Messenger specially rebuked them
because of their creed idols. Now we know when the
creed idols began. We know when the first one was
formed—in the year 325 A. D., at the Council of Nicea.
Turn to history, and you will find who it was that the
Lord first used to rebuke Christendom because of the
formation of that first creed, and you will find that it is
none other than faithful Arius who stood forth in the
Nicene Council and rebuked the 383 bishops assembled at
the direction of Constantine. He rebuked them in plain
terms because of their formation of that Trinitarian Creed
which was not according to the Bible, and the result was
that he was cast out, and had to flee to the Balkan
Mountains,—where he died. But Arianism continued to
spread throughout the earth, and became the very back-
bone of the Reformation which followed several centuries
later. Here is the identification of the Third Messenger,
because he was the first one who rebuked the formation
of creeds, and the Revelator says that the Third Angel to
the Church would be the first one to administer just such
a rebuke.

The Fourth Messenger of the Church is said to be
Waldo. How do we know? You will find him identified
in the 21st verse of the 2nd Chapter of Revelation. There
the Scriptures say that this Fourth Angel to the Church
would tell Christendom—Papacy—“I will give you a space
to repent.” And Volume Seven explains that that word
“space” is translated from the Greek word “Chronos,”
which means ONE YEAR. And Bible Students know,
according to symbolic reckoning, that it means 360 years.
Therefore, according to this statement, the Fourth Mes-
senger to the Church would say “I will give you 360 years
to repent. If you do not reform within that time, I will
send the reformation movement in full force.” The Lord
performed that very thing, and we know when he fulfilled
that statement. The great Reformation began in the year
1521 when Martin Luther was excommunicated by the
pope on the 25th day of June; and 360 years before, that
brings us to 1160. It was in the year 1160 that Peter
Waldo began the Waldensian movement, and he pro-
claimed the truth then due. That was the first or early
reformation, and it began exactly 360 years before Martin
Luther’s time. Here is positive identification of Peter
Waldo as the Fourth Messenger of the Church. Further-
more, the same text that identifies Peter Waldo would
identify Martin Luther, because they were exactly 360
years apart. Peter Waldo stood forth at the beginning
of the “space” of repentance, while Martin Luther began

his work at the end of the “space” of repentance; and
both were in fulfillment of Rev. 2:21. Between these two
there was to be another messenger.

The Fifth Messenger was the angel of the Church of
“Sardis.” Sardis means “that which remains.’ In other
words, when the Messenger of the Church of Sardis would
begin his work there would still be some time “which
remains” of this 860 years of repentance. We look at
history to find out who was prominent in Reformation
work during that time, and find that it was John Wycliff,
because it was he who came upon the scene in 1378—
exactly 218 years after the beginning of this “space” of
repentance. There was still 142 years running before the
“space” of repentance would expire. And Sardis means
“that which remains”’—locating that epoch of the Church
in between Waldo and Luther, during the “space of re-
pentance,”’ and before it has expired. This is John
Wycliff, for the reason that he was the only one during
that period prominent in the dissemination of the truth
then due, and it is to him that the Lord gave the privilege
of translating the Bible into the English language.

Martin Luther was the Sixth Messenger who stood
forth at the end of “the space of repentance,” as we have
already seen.

Pastor Russell was the Seventh Messenger. I am sure
that this feature does not require discussion in an audience
of this kind. We all know so many evidences indicating
that our dear Brother Russell was the Seventh Messenger,
that there could be absolutely no doubt in our minds in
accepting that statement in the Seventh Volume as correct.
I also say there is just as much reason for accepting the
other six messengers as there is to accept the seventh.

Now the fact that the Seventh Volume is the first and
only work ever published that identifies all seven messen-
gers, and identifies them in such a reasonable way that
we can prove the interpretation is correct, that in itself is
positive proof that Volume Seven contains meat in due
season for the household of faith, and is the message
which the Lord wanted you and me to receive at this
time.

The third internal reason why I accept the Seventh
Volume as authentic and from the Lord, is its interpre-
tation of the Seven Seals, which can also be proven as
absolutely correct. We used to read, dear friends, about
the “First seal, and the white horse”; the “second seal
and the red horse”; the “third seal and the black horse” ;
the “fourth seal and the pale horse,” etc. But what did
we know about them? We didn’t know anything about
them. But now how plain! And all the time we knew,
or should have known, from the writings of Brother Russell
that a “horse” in prophecy is a symbol of doctrine. But
we did not think of applying it. However, Volume Seven
applied it, and applied it properly, so that we can see it.

Now, if a horse refers to a doctrine, then a white
horse would refer to a pure doctrine. How did the Church
begin? It began with the “Faith that was once delivered
unto the saints’—the pure doctrines from the Lord and
the Apostles. Thus the Revelator, picturing in symbol
the history of the Church, shows the first period of the
Church was likened to a white horse—possessed of true
and pure doctrines. But later the Church began to corrupt
the doctrines by the formation of creeds, and therefore
when we get down to the opening of the Second Seal it
says that the rider had transferred his seat from the
white horse and was now riding a red horse, which would
mean impure doctrines. They had begun to corrupt those
originally pure doctrines. Thus they went on for a time,
and the Third Seal was opened, and there that rider had
now again transferred his seat—this time from the red
horse unto a coal black horse. Now if a white horse
represents true doctrines, then a black horse would rep-
resent doctrines that were absolutely devoid of truth.
This Third seal pictures the history of Papacy during
those dark ages when they were forming creeds. They
did not have one vestige of truth and I ask you when
you go home, if you will look in Volume Seven and read
over one of those creeds therein printed, you will find
absolutely no truth,—none whatever. Not one sentence
from beginning to end in those creeds contains any truth.

SUP? LEMENT

There we have the picture of Papacy riding upon the
back of a black horse.

And then the Fourth Seal was opened, and it said there
went forth a ghastly pale horse and the rider thereon was
“death. And death and hell followed him.” What does
it mean? It means that after the formation of creeds that
was pictured by the black ,horse, there would go forth
that ghastly death-dealing doctrine from the Catholic
Church which was this, i. e., during the period of the
Crusades the doctrine would be that no one who rebelled
against the teachings of the Papal Church should live.
“By this sign, conquer” was their battle cry in those
terrible days of persecution. How better could the Revela-
tor have pictured the teachings of that particular period of
the Crusades than by Papacy riding upon a ghastly,
deathly pale horse?

Now that brings us down to the Reformation period
just following the Crusades, and it says that then the
Fifth Seal was opened, “And I saw underneath the altar
the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony
of Jesus, and they said ‘how long, Oh Lord, holy and
true, wilt Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth?’” And then it says in the 6th
chapter of Revelation, and the 11th verse: “And white
robes were given unto every one of them,” and “it was
said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little
season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren,
that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
What does that mean? Let us see how accurately the
Seventh Volume has not only explained these seals, but
shown us conclusively the time in which each one of them
was opened.

Volume Seven says that the Fifth Seal followed the
Crusades, and that it applied to the Reformation period,
beginning with Martin Luther’s message in the year 1518.
How do we know? The Revelator says those there in
that period who were beheaded for the testimony of
Jesus—those faithful ones who had sacrificed themselves
that they might attain the Kingdom—it was promised that
they should wear white robes, but that they must “rest for
a little season.” How long? That word season is trans-
lated from the same Greek word “Chronos,” which means

“a year,” or, as Bible Students know, it refers to a period —

of 360 literal years. It means this: “You have been faith-
ful, and therefore you shall wear white robes, but before
you wear your white robes you must rest for 360 years.”
Rest where? Rest in death, 360 years, and then you shall
wear white robes. Martin Luther began his work in the
year 1518 A. D. Now then, 360 years from that very date
brings us to the spring of 1878, which, Volume Two says
was the date of the beginning of the “resurrection of the
sleeping saints.”

Could anything be clearer than that? Do you accept
that message as from the Lord? Did you know it before
Volume Seven was published? Or did you only come
to understand it since? Then does Volume Seven contain
““meat in due season for the household of faith’? It
certainly does.

The next, or Sixth Seal, was opened and it says there
was a “great earthquake.” That refers to revolution,
and that would identify it with the time of the great
earthquake between Martin Luther’s day and the procla-
mation of present truth—which was the Seventh Seal.
Thus, the Sixth Seal comes in between Martin Luther and
Pastor Russell. And there would be an earthquake
between that time says the Revelator, showing that it
would refer to that period of general enlightenment about
the time of the great American Revolution, 1776, or the
great French. Revolution which followed a few years
later. But of course the French Revolution really had
i beginning with the American Revolution—as cause and
effect.

Then the Seventh Seal opened, and Brother Russell
shows that refers to the proclamation of “Present Truth.”
We need not go into detail on that. But can we not see,
dear friends, that if Volume Seven thus properly inter-
prets these Seven Seals, then it is from the Lord—“meat
in due season” to His household.

The fourth internal reason why I accept Volume Seven
is that it accurately interprets the Seven Trumpets. What

45

did we know about these before Volume Seven came out?
Nothing! Now we can understand them, and see that
the interpretations given here are correct. They can be
proven. Brother Russell says that the Lord, when He
would descend from Heaven with a shout and with the
Trump of God in His hand (referring to the seventh
trump), that it alludes to the proclamation of the Truth
Message in the Harvest of this Age. That being true,
according to the same logic, the preceding six trumpets
would also refer to proclamations of truth, or efforts
toward perpetuative truths in the Church. These trumpets
would not fit with those creeds of the Dark Ages because
they were devoid of truth. But they do fit exactly with
the proclamation of truth by the mouth of the various
reformers. Therefore, Volume Seven says the First
Trumpet refers to the proclamation of Truth by Martin
Luther when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the church
door at Wittenberg and we can see that is reasonable.
Martin Luther did proclaim Truth. He didn’t have as
much as we have today, but he had a little, and he pro-
claimed “meat in due season.” He gave the message then
due, and it was a truthful message. There we have the
First Reformation Trump.

The Anglican movement in England was the Second
Reformation Trumpet, even as the Third Trumpet refers
to the Calvinistic movement in France. You will notice
how these are identified in the Scriptures we read that
the First was sounded and a third part of the earth was
burned up; the Second was sounded and another third
part was consumed; then the Third Trumpet was sounded
and the other third part was burned up. Now we merely
have to refer to history and we will find that back in
those days the three dominating nations of the earth. The
whole earth was practically dominated by these three
potential powers. Therefore, when these three Reforma-
tion movements started in those three countries, and when
the first one was sounded all of Germany was turned
from Papist to Protestant, and therefore as Papists they
ceased to be. The third of the earth was consumed so
far as being papal was concerned. A few years later the
Anglican movement started and Britain was converted
from Papacy to Protestantism, and there another third
part was consumed. Then, down in France two or three
years later, John Calvin started the next movement. There
the Third Trumpet sounded, and that last third part of
-the earth was consumed. Thus those three are identified.

Then the next reformation message went forth in the
hands of the Baptists, about the year 1532, by Mennon,
and the Mennonites and other “ites” have sprung from that
movement, but essentially the Baptist movement which
began about the year 1532 constituted the Fourth Trumpet

of Truth in the hands of that reformer.

And then by that time the reformation movement had
practically died. The whole spirit of the Reformation
was dead. And they began to affiliate with the various
powers just as Papacy had been doing before. And it
was two centuries before we see any other particular effort
put forth along the line of the Reformation. But in the
seventeen hundreds we find that the Methodist movement
began, and it became a very great movement; but it was
peculiar from others in this respect, that Methodism did
not bring forward any new truth. It merely took the
truths taught by the previous reformers and mixed them
up so that it confused the minds of the Lord’s people
searching for the truth, rather than clarifying matters.
Methodism said: “Why yes, Free Grace is taught in the
Bible, and of course there are certain texts there that
seem to set forth the idea of John Calvin along the line
of election, but we won’t pay much attention to them.”
Thus they smeared it over with confusion. And _ then
what about baptism? “Yes, that is taught in the Scrip-
tures, but it doesn’t make very much difference how you
perform the ceremony. You may use your own judgment.
Sprinkle, Pour, Dip,—anything!” So they smeared over
the truth on that also, and Methodism did not bring forth
one iota of truth on anything. This is accurately described
in the 9th chapter of Revelation. It says the Fifth
Trumpet would be sounded and there would arise a blind-
ing haze, a smoke as the smoke of a great furnace: that
it would confuse the minds of the Lord’s people, and

46 SUPPLEMENT

instead of advancing the truths of the Reformation move-
ment, it would rather retard them. And, therefore, it is
described as the first woe.

Things went on, although the spirit of the Reforma-.

tion had died down, and it was impossible to resurrect
it, until in the year 1846 there was one more effort made
to keep the Reformation alive. The preachers said: “We
will get together and form a union or trust. We will
call it the Evangelical Alliance” and try to bolster up
this losing cause of the Reformation, and keep other sects
from splitting off, and not let anybody teach or preach
the truth unless they have an ordination card, and come
into harmony with us; if we will combine we will keep
the Reformation going.” And this was the Sixth Trump
of the Reformation, but it was also a woe, because of
the fact that it did more harm than good to the Refor-
mation movement. Then, in the year 1874, the Lord sent
the third and last woe, which was effective, which sealed
the doom of Protestanism and Papacy by proclaiming the
true message of the Lord and rebuking the ecclesiastical
systems for their unfaithfulness. I say, therefore, dear
friends, that the fact that these Seven Trumpets are
accurately explained in Volume Seven, and no place else,
this is conclusive evidence that Volume Seven contains
meat in due season for the household of faith, and is
from the Lord.

The fifth internal reason why I accept the Volume as
authentic is that it properly explains the Seven Plagues.
We have overran our alloted time already and we will
not have time to explain them in detail; but we will
briefly say that if anyone will read the explanation of
these Seven Plagues in Volume Seven and cannot see
that they are properly explained, even as the Seals and
the Trumpets, I cannot understand the reasoning of their
minds. You take for instance the reference in the 14th
chapter of Revelation, verses 6 and 7. That chapter
relates to the Harvest periods. No one can doubt that,
if they will read the chapter over. It says the Lord will
come with a sharp sickle in His hand and do the Harvest
work, as the Chief Reaper. We know that that chapter
relates to the Harvest which is the end of the age. Then
it tells of the message that would be proclaimed during
the Harvest, and there describes it in the 16th chapter,
in different language, as Seven Plagues upon Ecclesiasti-
cism; and here we see that the Volumes of Scripture
Studies are accurately described. You take, for instance,
the one that refers to Volume One. It says that during
this Harvest period, “I saw an angel fly through the midst
of Heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to
every nation and kindred and people of earth, and saying
the hour of his judgment has come!” I ask you, dear
friends, where have we seen during the entire Harvest
period anything that would fulfill that picture, except
the publication and dissemination of the “Divine Plan of
the Ages,” which has carried that very gospel there men-
tioned—“the everlasting gospel,” the true explanation of
God’s plan—to every nation and kindred and peoples,
translated in twenty-two languages and circulated to an
extent even surpassing the circulation of any book known,
except the Bible itself? It also carried the message, “The
Hour of His judgment is come,’ in the next to the last
chapter, entitled “The Day of Jehovah,” and showing that
we have come down to the Millennial Dawn—which the
book itself was called. I do not know how anyone could
doubt that that verse relates to the publication of Volume
One when we see that the whole chapter refers to the
Harvest work; and isn’t it reasonable that the Lord would
describe the instruments He would in accomplishing that
a It seems to me the most reasonable thing imagin-
able.

The next messenger was to proclaim “Babylon is
fallen!” And would show the time for Babylon to fall.
The book is called “The Time is at Hand,” and the last
chapter describes the “Man of Sin”—Papacy, also called
by the Revelator “the great harlot,” and the Protestant
Churches as her daughters. Volume Two shows chrono-
logically that the time has come for Babylon to fall.

The Third Volume was to proclaim a message which
is indeed first given in Volume Three, namely, that the
time is come for the resurrection of the sleeping saints

in 1878, and that “Blessed are they that die in the Lord
from henceforth.” That is the message that the third
messenger carried, and that is given in Volume Three of
Scripture Studies. Then in both chapters 14 and 16, when
it gets to that Third Plague it says there would be a
“messenger come out from the altar and say, Even so!”
We turn to the Third Volume, and over to the chapter
which deals with that “Altar” of the Lord in the midst
of the land of Egypt, it says “corroborative testimony.”
In other words this treatise on this altar of the Lord in
the midst of the land of Egypt is not designed to teach
any new truth, but merely to say “Even so!” to corroborate
what you have already learned, and both chapters in
Revelation, when dealing with the Third Plague or mes-
senger, identifies it positively by that statement that
Volume Three would carry a corroborative message, say-
ing, “Even so!”

So it is in respect to all the others, until we get down
to the seventh, and as we read in the words of our text,
“The seventh angel” would bring great Babylon into
remembrance before God, and upon the men, the clergy-
men of Babylon, “a great hail”—hard, distressing truths
would fall. Volume Seven has done that. If we have
any doubt about it, suppose we ask some of the clergy-
men! (Laughter.)

We will hardly have time to refer to the last two
external reasons as to why I accept Volume Seven, but
they allude to the book of Ezekiel—the sixth reason
referring particularly to that wonderful explanation of
the symbols in the first chapter of Ezekiel, which none
of the Lord’s people, to my knowledge, had any compre-
hension of until Volume Seven was published; and now
it is all cleared up and we can see it is in harmony with
all the symbols of the Bible.

My seventh reason relates to the Temple of Ezekiel,
and it seems to me, dear friends, that if there was nothing
else in Volume Seven that we could accept that when we
get to that Temple of Ezekiel chapter we would go on
our knees and say, “This is from the Lord” (audience—
“Amen”), because it sets forth the plan in all of its clear-
ness, and all of its details are in exact accordance with
the teachings of the Tabernacle Shadows, and shows a
great deal more light from the Scriptures than Tabernacle
Shadows could show. Not one of us, I dare say, had any
comprehension of the teachings of the last nine chapters
of Ezekiel until Volume Seven was published. I am
amazed when I read that chapter now to think how it
was possible for the brother who compiled the book to
come to a clear comprehension of those deep statements
of the last chapters of Ezekiel—and yet he has cleared
the whole matter up. How could he have done it except
through the blessing of the Lord?

We will close with one thought. We desire to answer
briefly a criticism that is more commonly brought against
the Seventh Volume than any other which I have heard,
and that is, “Why call it the posthumous work of Pastor
Russell?” I have heard some of the friends say, “I get
a gréat blessing out of the book, but still I can’t understand
why they use that term, because it seems to be used wrong-
fully.” I answer, “No, dear friends, it is used properly.”
And it is according to the literary usage; and yet we have
a deeper meaning, which we will endeavor to explain.
Some have said, “Well, the mere fact that there is so
much in the book which is not written by Brother Russell
would militate against using the term “posthumous.” We
answer, “No.” When we recognize the fact that the book
was designed by our dear Pastor, that he really began to
write or publish Volume Seven of the series, and when he
said the seventh book would explain Revelation, and ex-
plain Ezekiel, and when he said the Seventh Volume,
which he already announced would be published by the
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society; and the book was
merely completed after his death according to the same
lines which he designed, and it was published properly
as his work. I will give you a precedent. You take the
last book of fiction of Charles Dickens. There is a great
deal in the book which Charles Dickens never wrote, and
probably things he never thought of, because he died
before he finished the work. The work was finished by a
friend of Dickens and was published after Charles Dickens’

SULP LEM ENS 47

death. The story was completed by this other man, and
published as the posthumous work of Charles Dickens,
and I never have heard any criticism on that point by any
one. It is generally accepted as the posthumous work of
Charles Dickens.
cism about using the same term in connection with Volume
Seven. Some say, “Well, that may be true, but the matter
from Brother Russell’s pen had been published prior to
his death in The Watch Tower, etc., and this would mili-
tate against the usage of the term “posthumous.” We
answer, “No.” Take for instance the posthumous work
of Martin Luther. The things he said and did were col-
lected by his friends and published subsequent to his
death. Practically every one of them appeared in maga-
zines before his death. The matter was compiled and
brought together in book form which had never been done
prior to his death, and it was properly published as his
“posthumous work”; and not only the publishers call it
“posthumous,” but also literary men like Thomas Carlyle
in his own writings have referred to the book as Martin
Luther’s “posthumous work,” showing that it is a correct
usage of the term in the literary world,—and yet we will
find plenty to criticize Volume Seven on that very score.

But there is a deeper reason to our minds why Volume
Seven should be considered as the posthumous work of
Brother Russell. The very opening chapter and verse of
Revelation says “that these things were shown unto John
by His angel,’—by the Lord’s angel. Brother Russell in
commenting upon this matter says that John is a picture
of the Church in the Harvest period, and the things which
John there saw—literally, in vision—the John class down
here would be made to understand in all their reality. In
other words, the symbols would be explained to the John
class; and when John said these things were shown unto
him by the Lord’s angel, he was speaking for you and
me—the John class. By the angel of the Lord, to the
John stage of the Church, these things would be made
clear. In the 19th and 22nd chapters you will find John
speaking of these things again. And he says, “And when
I saw, and understood, then I fell before the feet of Him
that had shown these things to me, and He said, see that
thou do it not, for I am thy fellowservant—of thy breth-
ren, one of the prophets worshipped God.” Has it been
true, dear friends? You and I of the John class, when
we have come to understand the great beauties of the
Lord’s plan, haven’t we almost felt like worshipping
Brother Russell; but has it not been always his spirit to
point us to the Lord: “See thou do it not.” Don’t worship
Brother Russell: worship God. I am merely thy fellow-
servant, one of the prophets of the Lord.” Prophet means
one who proclaims the truth. And that is what he was,
and he was an honored prophet of the Lord, an honored
servant—a fellow-servant indeed—of which you and I are
scarcely worthy. Now it says that these things would
be shown unto John, and the John class would see these
things and understand them. There is the key to the
whole situation. John saw them back there, but literally
he did not understand them. But to you and me these
things became meat in due season. Now we have come
to understand the things which John literally saw back
there in vision. They were shown to John by the angel,
and they would be shown by the Lord’s angel to the John
class. There is no question that Pastor Russell was the

But you can hear a great deal of criti-

angel to the John epoch of the Church—to the last mem-
bers of the body of Christ, the Laodicean Church. Now
if these things were to be shown to the John class by the
angel, and the John class would feel almost like wor-
shipping the Lord’s servant for having fed them thus
with the meat in due season, can we not see the picture
complete? And when did this angel to the Laodicean
period show these things to us? Before he died? Some
of the things, yes. But we did not come to an under-
standing of all the symbols of Revelation from first to
last until after his death; and how? Through the medium
of the Seventh Volume of Scripture Studies. I say, there-
fore, that not only from the literary usage of the term,
but according to the Book of Revelation, the Lord’s people
are justified in considering it as the posthumous work of
Brother Russell,—the servant to whom the Lord had com-
mitted all His store of present truth. (Rev. 1:1; 19:10.)

He rested from his labors on the 31st day of October,
1916, but “his works did follow on,” and he himself in
commenting upon that text says that the words indicate
that since 1878 those who would die would merely rest
from the laborious features of the Harvest work, but the
work which they were doing on this side the vail they
would continue to do on the other side. On the strength
of this text he said repeatedly in THE WATCH TOWER,
and elsewhere, that the saints on the other side of the vail
are “co-operating with us on this side.’ Do you think
that has been true? If that is true with the saints from
1878 down to the present, it is surely true with the greatest
servant of the Lord in this Harvest time, our dear Pastor.
I say, “He rested from the laborious feature, but con-
tinued the Harvest work right on, and continued to co-
operate with the Harvest workers from the other side,
and I believe in some way the Lord has honored him to
bring to your attention and mine an explanation of those
symbols which John literally saw in vision. Therefore,
the words of the Revelator, as explained by our dear
Pastor, have come true; they have been fulfilled.

In conclusion, dear friends, when you hear anyone
speaking of Volume Seven, I hope you will encourage
them to realize that it is just as much a message from
the Lord as are the preceding six volumes. Personally,
I do not like to hear any of the truth friends, when they
are addressed about the Seventh Volume, say, “Oh yes,
I accept it. It is a good book, but of course there are
lots of mistakes in it.” I don’t like to hear that. I would
just as soon hear such a remark made when we would
ask a brother in the truth, “What do you think of
Volume One?” Now suppose he would answer you, “Oh,
it is a good book. I accept it, but of course there are
lots of mistakes in it.” You would say that brother is
not very clear in the truth. I would say the same thing
if he made such a remark about Volume Seven. When
we hear anyone begin to set forth the mistakes in any
of the books and overlook the good things there, they are
discounting the messages the Lord has given them at this
time; and I say such an individual does not have a proper
appreciation of what the Lord has given him. There is
no more reason why we should reject the Seventh Volume
because of some statements there about the ending of the
war in October, 1917, which did not come true, than there
is that we should throw Volume Two away because we
weren't all glorified in October, 1914.

February 2, 1919, 8 P. M., Discourse by Bro. Wm. F. Hudgings

Academy Hall, New York City

Subject: “PRISON

the 1st Chapter of Philippians, verses 27, 28 and 29,

in part: “Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind,
striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in
nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an
evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and
that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of
Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for
His sake.”

Ok text for this evening, dear friends, is found in

EXPERIENCES”

I believe I voice the sentiment of all when I say that
this text has been one of the most comforting to the
Church as a whole that we have had before our minds
during the past year. We have all been called upon to
suffer much. Perhaps we may have some further privi-
leges along that line. But it isn’t the suffering, is it,
dear friends, that specially concerns us when we realize
the great favor that has been bestowed upon us to be
ambassadors for the great Kingdom, which is now being

48 SUPPLEMENT

established upon the ruins of the old order; when we
realize that the Lord has permitted us to have an inside
understanding of His great plans and purposes in advance
of the world? Can we not appreciate it as a privilege
indeed, to suffer a little in connection with the dissemj-
nation of that message? I believe that is the spirit of
the Lord’s people generally. That was the spirit of the
Apostle; and when he penned these words he was under-
going crucial trials and tests, when he was in prison and
was called upon to suffer considerably because of the fact
that he was faithfully upholding the banner of truth amidst
that crooked and perverse generation. It is even so today !
And in our text he calls attention to the fact that the
truth is not imparted to you and to me for the purpose
merely of our own benefit—our own enjoyment. He
indicates that the Lord is not now disseminating His
message simply that you and I might fold our hands and
say, “Isn’t this wonderful!” And then put forth no effort
in carrying on the blessings to others. He indicates that
unto us it is given not only to believe (enjoy) the truth,
but also to suffer for His sake. “Hereunto were ye called ;”
and we shall be partakers of the Divine nature; we shall
share with the Lord as joint heirs with Him in the King-
dom, “if so be that we suffer with Him that we may be
glorified together.” That is the spirit of the Apostle, as
shown through all his writings. That is the true spirit
of discipleship! And I believe we will find that spirit
still prevailing amongst the members of the Church.

The Lord’s people, during the past six months, have
been called upon to undergo some very peculiar trials
and tests. We have had trials from the very beginning
of our consecration, to be sure; but not in such a public
way have we been held up to scorn and ridicule as has
been true during the past few months. But even this is
a blessing! And when we come to view it in that light,
dear friends, we can realize that we have the blessing of
the Lord and that we are following the Apostle—even as
he followed Christ, and so he asked us to do!

Now in the opening clause of this text which we have
read there is a suggestion that seems to me peculiarly
applicable to this time, and one which we should follow
very literally, just as it reads: “Stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the
gospel. How complete and succinct are the Apostle’s
words in this connection! He leaves nothing out. We
find a few today who are advocating very zealously the
first two words of this text. They say that we must
“stand fast.” But they utterly ignore the balance of the
Apostle’s advice. He didn’t say merely to “stand fast,”
and then close the admonition; but he emphasizes three
times in this one sentence the importance of the Lord’s
people pulling together,—standing together, while they
“stand fast.” “Stand fast in one mind; striving together
for the faith of the Gospel.” That is the argument of
the Apostle in this connection; and some are preaching
and advocating that the friends should “stand fast,” but
instead of “striving together” in one spirit, in one mind,
they are pulling apart and separating themselves from
others and starting various sects and schisms in the body,
just exactly contrary to the Apostle’s advice. Let us,
dear friends, follow the admonition of the Apostle.
“Stand fast in one spirit—with one mind; striving to-
gether” to carry forward the message that the Lord has
given to you and me, as ambassadors of His Kingdom,
to proclaim.

Well, you say, “That may cost us something!” Yes, it
will cost us something. It has cost us something in the
past, and will cost us something in the future, and if
we think we can stand as ambassadors of this great King-
dom which is to supplant the present earthly order with-
out opposition we are figuring wrong. The Scriptures
clearly indicate that everyone who seeks to hold forth
this message of truth amidst this crooked and perverse
generation will meet with opposition. It is going to mean
suffering and trials and tests, just as we have seen in
the past, and will probably see in the future.

I have heard some of the friends make statements
respecting our dear brethren who are now suffering in
bonds for Christ’s sake, and some have even gone so
far as to say the brethren “are suffering because of

indiscretion; that if they had been careful they could have
avoided their experience.” And I agree. We all agree
that they could have avoided it. So could Jesus. So
could the Apostle Paul, and the other faithful martyrs

‘of the past. They all could have avoided their experiences

of suffering in connection with disseminating the truth
message. But why are we talking about avoiding these
experiences, when the Lord’s Word clearly indicates that
“hereunto were ye called,” and that we “shall be joint
heirs with the Lord, if so be that we suffer with Him.”
And why did He suffer? Because of holding forth the
message of truth; because He pointed the finger of deri-
sion at the Pharisees—the clergy of that time; because
He went into the Temple and drove out the money
changers; because He went against the common thought
of the day. That is the reason He suffered. “If so be
that you suffer with Him, you shall be glorified together”
with Him.

Some say, “Well, we should proclaim the truth, but
why stir up strife? Why not merely preach the ‘Divine
Plan of the Ages,’ and leave out this other feature about
‘The Day of God’s Wrath,’ and ‘The Day of His Venge-
ance upon Ecclesiasticism’? Why say anything about that?
Why feature that part of the message?” JI will tell you
why: Because the Lord has commissioned us to do s0.

Do you recall that on one Sabbath morning the Lord
stood in the synagogue of His home city—Nazareth—
and read a prophecy from the 61st of Isaiah, and He said,
“These words are fulfilled in your hearing.” What were
the words? He said, “I am anointed to preach the glad
tidings unto the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, etc.,
etc.” And He closed the book, and sat down. When
we read those words today we are naturally interested
in the statement of the Prophet Isaiah which thus applied
to the Lord, and thereby applies to every member of His
anointed body. Now when we open the book of Isaiah
and we read the original prophecy which the Lord quoted,
we find He only quoted it in part. He must have had
some reason for so doing. We find the balance of the
prophecy which He did not quote says this: “And to
proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.” Why did
the Lord not quote that part of the statement of Isaiah
when He read it in His home synagogue at Nazareth?
The answer must be this: that part of the prophecy did
not relate to the Lord at the time that He read this in
the synagogue on that Sabbath morning, but that the
whole prophecy applies to’ the anointed body of Christ,
of which Jesus is the Head. He, therefore, quoted the
part that applied to Him personally; the message that
was due at that time. But the message of proclaiming
“the vengeance of our God” was not then due; the “Day
of Vengeance” was then eighteen centuries off. But now,
how is it? We are standing right at that very time! If
that prophecy of Isaiah is true, it must apply to you and
to me, now; and that is the reason we understand the
Lord did not quote it then,—because He left it for you
and me to fulfill. He knew that the feet members of the
body would courageously go forward and they would
proclaim the message which the Prophet Isaiah foretold
they should. Therefore, the peculiar message of today is
the message that the Lord has here put into your mouth and
mine—to proclaim the “Day of the Vengeance of our God.”
Vengeance upon whom? Upon the nation? Yes, but how
and why? We investigate the Scriptures and see the
reason for it. Principally, it is because of the unfaithful-
hess of the clergy class: and hence especially upon them
God’s vengeance ‘is now directed.

Therefore, dear friends, if I understand anything about
this prophecy of Isaiah, if I understand anything about
the Scriptures applicable to the feet members of the body
of Christ now living on the earth, it is this: That the
Lord expects us to carry forward the message that is
peculiarly applicable at this time, and to tell the people
that Babylon is going to fall; that it is already tottering.
It has not yet finally gone down to destruction, but it
will go shortly. There are no doubt thousands upon
thousands of the foolish virgin class that are still in
darkness in those systems and they must come to know
the truth.

Now, dear friends, it seems to me that those of us

SUP PL AM ENOL 49

who have folded our hands and said, “Well now, there
is hardly anything else to do on this side the vail, except
the development of character—no opportunity to proclaim
the message,’—I think they are making the mistake of
their lives! J believe the Lord is going to show to every
one ot us before long that instead of there being nothing
to do, the very greatest work that we have ever been
called upon to perform is just before us! Whereas,
during the forty years harvest period we have had the
privilege of bringing one another to the knowledge of
the truth; and there are about fifty or seventy-five thou-
sand rejoicing in the truth—and many of these conse-
crated to the Lord. Nevertheless, I believe that we are
going to see, within the immediate future, such a privi-
lege extended to the Lord’s people as never before, i. e.,
the bringing of the Message of Truth to the thousands
upon thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, of
the Foolish Virgin Class who are still slumbering and
sleeping and who do not know of the Divine Plan. You
and I have already been made acquainted with the mes-
sage. We are standing upon the very threshold of the
Kingdom. These people are still in darkness!

‘Lhe Lord intends to wind up earth’s affairs, glorify
the Church, bring the Great Company to a knowledge of
the Truth, and then install these as servants of the Bride
on the other side of the vail—and this is all to take place
within a comparatively short time. If that be true, dear
friends, who will the Lord use to bring the Message of
Truth to those Foolish Virgins? Do-you think He will
use someone who does not know the Divine Plan? He
wouldn’t use anyone to teach the plan unless they under-
stood the plan themselves. Who in all the earth is
equipped to carry forward this message to these brethren
in darkness unless it be the remaining members of the
Church on this side the vail? Some of us have been
disappointed because we have not been glorified sooner.
I believe, dear friends, that we will come to realize that
the Lord knew exactly what He was doing and kept us
here for a purpose, and now He is going to extend a
great privilege to those who are desirous of having a
share in His service; and I think that time is nearing.

Thinking of how the Lord may bring about conditions
by which we will see thousands upon thousands coming
to a knowledge of the truth and coming with a desire
to know the Divine Plan, J have come to the conclusion,
as no doubt you have, that the Lord will undoubtedly
use some one, spectacular thing to rouse the attention of
these who are now slumbering and sleeping and who do
not realize the presence of the Lord and the nearness of
His Kingdom. I believe as surely as I know IJ am standing
here tonight that the suffering experiences that the Church
has passed through during the past six months may be
the pivot on which public sentiment will turn; that the
facts we make known respecting the imprisonment of
our brethren who at this moment are suffering in prison
bonds without being admitted to bail will prove of such
interest that we will find multitudes of people desiring
to know all about the case. I should not be surprised
that we will come to realize before long, dear friends,
that the Lord’s hand has been in this whole experience—
not merely for the good of the Church in the way of
character development; not merely for the good of the
brethren themselves in bonds; but for the good of His
cause in connection with the carrying forward of the
Kingdom Message to those now slumbering in darkness.
I scarcely need to refer to the facts in connection with
the brethren’s experience in order for you to appreciate
the Lord’s providence in it all. But we will mention a
few things which were discussed by us during that blessed
week in Raymond Street jail before they were taken away
from me to Atlanta.

As you know, it was my privilege to precede them in,
bonds about ten days. On the 21st of June they were
brought into that place where I was being held, and
during the daily recreation periods (three times a day,
of about an hour each) we had the privilege of fellow-
shipping and discussing some very interesting things in
connection with their experience. I tell you, dear friends,
it lifted the burden, and we could hardly see anything
but joy in connection with the whole experience, and

could realize vividly the words of the Apostle that we
should rejoice in tribulation. And we were able to do it!

Doubtless many of these facts have already come to
your attention, but they were so interesting to us that
we have feasted upon them ever since. First of all, we
might mention how the Lord has set this experience of
the brethren before the Church as a most representative
one and has pointed an index finger to it so that you
and 1 can realize vividly that the Lord has a grand pur-
pose in connection with the whole affair. For instance,
the prominence of the figure seven in connection with the
whole trial has so protruded itself upon our attention that
we cannot mistake that it is more than merely a set of
coincidences. For instance, the trial itself covered exactly
fourteen court days—seven of those days were devoted
to the preliminaries and the prosecution, whereas seven
days were devoted to the defense. At the conclusion of
that period the brethren were sentenced and convicted—
eight of them—and then in the most remarkable way the
eighth was separated from the others and the sentence
came upon only seven, on the 2ist day of June. The
eighth was sentenced exactly twenty-one days later—three
times seven.

Then they were taken down to Raymond Street jail.
None of us knew how long they would be there. They
kept them there exactly seven days, and while there, the
othcers of the Society and both compilers of the Seventh
Volume were placed on a tier of cells known as Number
Seven on the North side.

At the end of the seven days they were removed to
Queen’s County jail.

Nobody knew how long they would be kept there.
They were kept there exactly seven days.

And on the seventh day they were removed from there
and taken to Atlanta on the 4th day of July (the seventh
month), which day was being celebrated by exactly seven
nations for the first time in history.

These things are more than coincidences, and serve
as sO many index fingers pointing to the importance of
the circumstances, and saying in no uncertain manner,
to you and to me: This is one of the most remarkable
occurrences in the history of the Church, and these brethren
are representatives of the Church in suffering; and that
instead of the Lord permitting us all to go to jail He
has taken seven representatives there and their sentence.
(resting upon them) rest also upon you and upon me
because of the fact that the court in pronouncing the
sentence said:

“In the opinion of the Court, the religious propaganda
which these defendants vigorously advocated and spread
throughout the nation, as well as among our allies, is a
greater danger than a division of the German army. If
they had taken guns and swords and joined together the
German army, the harm they could have done would have
been insignificant compared with the results of their
propaganda. A person preaching religion usually has
some influence, and if he is sincere he is all the more
effective. This aggravates, rather than mitigates the
wrong they have done, etc.” Indicating in clear cut terms
that it was because of the doctrines that they were being
sent to prison.

Now, dear friends, where does your responsibility and
mine come in? Are we standing by those doctrines? If
we are, then we are involved in that sentence, are we not?
Jf we are not, dear friends, I think we are missing some-
thing. I like to think of the brethren as not only them-
selves suffering for Christ’s sake, but you and I are
companions with them in tribulation, and the sentence
that rested upon them rests upon you and me; and IJ am
glad to assume a share in the responsibility.

Let me tell you, dear friends, just something in this
connection. J happened to know that at least one of
those dear brethren could have avoided his sentence by
just remaining silent. One of those brethren who is now
in prison at Atlanta was going to have the case dismissed
against him because of insufficient evidence. I will tell
you his name: It was Brother MacMillan. At the end
of the government’s case, the Court indicated he would
probably dismiss Brother MacMillan from the indictment
because of insufficient evidence offered. That night

30 SUPPLEMENT

Brother MacMillan went to the attorney’s office and said,
“I want you to withdraw your motion for the dismissal
of my share in this indictment; if Brother Rutherford
and Brother Van Amburgh and these other brethren are
going to prison because of Volume Seven I want to go,
too,” and he sat down and wrote out a statement taking
his share of the responsibility, signed his name to it, and
nanded it to the attorneys, and the case went on; and he,
as a voluntary sufferer, is there now in Atlanta peniten-
tiary, and I think that the Lord loves him for it. And
see love him for it, for we like to see such a spirit as
that.

Now, dear friends, are we not ashamed? Some are
trying to side-step the responsibility that is resting upon
us, and say, “It is not because of the doctrines these
brethren disseminated, but because of their own indiscre-
tion.” Oh, dear friends, let us ask the Lord to forgive
us if we have ever had such a thought in our minds!

Now, dear friends, the words of the Apostle here come
very close to our minds: “Unto you is given not only to
believe the truth, but also to suffer for its sake”’ Are
we willing to do the latter? We are willing to do the
former! We are willing to believe the truth! We are
glad to believe the truth! But are we willing to take
the rest of the statement? We are, dear friends, are we
not? Qh, I hate the spirit of fear that is sometimes
shown by a few. We are glad that it is a few.

I remember the case of one brother who was arrested
.and put into a filthy prison and the time came for his
trial, and he said to his attorney, “It will not be neces-
sary for you to subpoena any of the witnesses in my case.
I am a Bible Student, and I will find plenty witnesses

in the class who will be just anxious and glad to testify

on my behalf, you won’t need to subpoena any of
them.” But that brother was disappointed: he found at
least two or three in that class—consecrated and promi-
nent in the class, too—who hesitated or refused to appear
as witnesses because they were afraid they might get into
trouble themselves. They would not volunteer their serv-
ice to sit upon the witness stand for a half hour, and
answer truthfully questions which might be asked them
by an attorney, because they feared they might be put
in prison for contempt of court, or something like that.
Oh, dear friends, isn’t it enough to make us ashamed?

I recall Brother Rutherford speaking one day, just
before the distribution of the Fall of Babylon tracts. Even
then there were some who were afraid! There was one
brother who wrote in and said, “I want you to send me
a copy of the paper, and I will look it over, and tell you
whether I will be willing to co-operate with the Society
in distributing them.” And that brother was supposed to
be in heart harmony with the Truth. Brother Rutherford
wrote back and said: “I do not believe the Society would
want you to co-operate in the distribution of any of its
literature, if you want to first examine and look it over
and then decide. I do not believe that shows a very
appreciative spirit of the agency the Lord has been pleased
to use for more than forty years.” I believe he answered
the brother properly. :

I think that the ones who are going to follow the
admonition of the Apostle—not only to “stand fast in
the faith,’—but to strive together in one spirit and in one
mind; co-operating for the advancement of the faith of
the gospel; and we know, dear friends, that the great work
eee before us is one which the Lord has clearly out-
ined, ;

The Fall of Babylon is near, and there is undoubtedly
a great message that is yet to go forth in connection with
its accomplishment. The Lord is able to bring about the
conditions, and He will bring about the conditions so that
His work will be effective. I believe that He is doing it
now, and that we will see before long that instead of our
having to hammer and drive to get anybody to listen to
the truth, we will find a great many hungry hearts yearn-
ing for it. And as we intimated a while ago, it may be
the publishing of the facts in connection with the case of

our brethren that may be the entering wedge. But that
we will wait and see. :
In addition to the prominence of the figg seven in

connection with their case, I wish to also mtion some

parallelisms suggested. during the blessed week we were
in Raymond Street jail together. First one brother would
suggest something and then another, and by the end of
the week we had some very interesting data compiled
that 1 think has gladdened the hearts of the friends who
have heard it. The Lord, in a most remarkable way, has
shown a direct relationship between the experience of
the feet members of the body and the experience which
came upon the Head of the body nineteen centuries ago.

We know that the moon was pictorial of the Jewish
dispensation, which came to a close in the days of our
Lord. Even as the sun is a picture of the Gospel dispen-
sation. There were great privileges that had been extended
to the nominal Jewish house that passed away because
they did not appreciate the Lord from Heaven, who had
come. Even now we see that the Lord has cast aside
the great nominal spiritual Israel because of the fact that
they have not appreciated the Lord’s Second Presence
and co-operated in the carrying forward of the message
now due. Rather, they have fought against it; even as
they fought against our Lord and persecuted Him to His
death. Now let us note some parallels.

Once a year the sun reaches its zenith in the heavens.
Brother Russell suggests that the waning of the moon at
the time of our Lord’s crucifixion was suggestive of the
passing away of the privileges that had been extended to
that nominal Jewish house back there. Our Lord was
crucified when the moon was at its genith in the heaven.
He was crucified on the 15th of Nisan at high noon,
according to Matthew’s account. “There was darkness
over the earth from the sixth hour.” That would be
noon, because the Jews reckoned daylight from about
6 A. M. It was apparently at high noon, therefore, that
our Lord’s activities on earth were cut short, on the 15th
of Nisan when the moon was at its monthly zenith in
the heavens.

These seven representatives of the Lord’s people, and
you and J, and all of us as feet members, had our
activities in connection with the harvest cut short on the
2Ist day of June, 1918, the longest day of the year, when
the sun was at its zenith in the heavens. It was at that
hour that the sentence was pronounced upon our seven
representatives.

This matter is further emphasized when we look into
the details of the circumstances as they occurred. Our
brethren were convicted the day previous (June 20th), and
the Court had announced that at noon on the following
day he would pronounce sentence. About 11 A. M. the
officers came to Raymond Street jail and took our breth-
ren to the courthouse. Everything was arranged just
before 12 o’clock for the judge to make his appearance
in the court room and pronounce the sentence according to
schedule. But 12 o’clock came, then 12:10, 12:30, 12:45, and
the judge had not yet put in his appearance. He did not
arrive and impose sentence until 1 P. M.

“Oh,” you say, “I am sorry he spoiled the picture.
Why couldn’t he have gotten there on time?” I do not
know why. He did not explain, but merely apologized
for having been delayed an hour; and then he pronounced
the sentence at 1 P. M. instead of 12 o’clock,—as an-
nounced. But, isn’t it a fact, that all the clocks were
running one hour fast all last summer? (Laughter.)
And if he had pronounced that sentence at 12, it would
have been one hour before the sun reached its genith in
the heavens, on this longest day in the year. The Lord
permitted him to be one hour late in order that the sen-
tence might come upon the seven representatives of the
feet members of the body at exactly high noon, when the
sun was at its very highest point in the heavens.

And then the sun began to wane, even as the moon
waned back there at the crucifixion of our Lord, and
showed the passing away of the privileges upon the nomi-
nal Jewish house. Just so, this pictures the passing away
of the privileges of nominal Christendom down here. The
picture is complete.

Let us see further: the 15th of Nisan back there when
the Lord was crucified occurred on Friday. You look at
the calendar and you will find the 21st day of June in the
year 1918 came upon a Friday. ;

Furthermore, the Lord was found guilty the night

SUPPLEMENT 51

previous,—Thursday, at a late hour. Our brethren, the
seven representatives of the Feet Members of Christ, were
found guilty the night previous, at a late hour.

T tell you we cannot say that these are merely coinci-
dences and that the hand of God has not been in the
whole circumstances; we cannot shut our eyes and say
this is merely an incident in which seven or eight men
were involved. It is something in which you and J and
everyone as members of the feet of Christ are involved.

Now, dear friends, in view of the fact that the Lord
has thus so. peculiarly and particularly set forth this
circumstance before our minds leads me to the conclusion
that He is not through with the circumstances; that He
intends to use the case of our brethren for bringing the
truth to the attention of the world, and especially the
Foolish Virgin Class, with such telling force that it will
arouse them from their slumbers. Many will say, “Why
did these seven Christians have to go to prison on a
twenty-year sentence, and why were they denied bail
pending the appeal of their case, when real out-and-out
seditionists the country over were freely admitted to
bail?” We are not finding fault. We are merely stating
the facts as they exist. But the Lord in His own due
time will make manifest the answer to these questions.
The people will want to know the answer, they will
demand the answer, I believe! Then they will say: “What
were these men teaching? What was that book?” And
the Lord in His providence may give us the privilege of
answering their further questions.

I had a talk with an editor in St. Louis the other day.
I merely alluded to the book, I was talking about the case
in general, and I was struck with the interest that was
aroused in his mind—not merely the fact of those men
being in bonds—but his interest was in what they were
teaching that sent them to jail. I was telling him about

the case, and he would bring me back to the point. “But—
what is that book they were publishing?’ And_after
awhile he said: “Say, can you send me a copy?” I said,

“No, I cannot, the book is under the ban.” After a while
he mentioned the book again, and just as I was leaving,
as he shook my hand, he said, “Say, young man, will you
promise me one thing? Will you promise to mail me a
copy of that book the very day that the ban is lifted?”
(Laughter.) And so I promised! and I am going to keep
my promise. (Applause.)

I think, dear friends, that sentiment is rapidly chang-
ing, and I believe that it will not be very long before the
people will be hungering for the truth. It seems that
every picture in the Scriptures relating to these things
sets forth that very fact. You recall that beautiful and
wonderful article in the Watch Tower about “Joseph and
His Brethren”? Our dear Pastor has written upon the
subject at various times, treating Joseph and Benjamin as
typical characters, and Benjamin as a type of the Great
Company class. If that picture means anything, it un-
doubtedly shows that there is a great work to take place
soon; that there will be all of this Benjamin class hun-
gering for the truth before long, and you and I apparently
are the only ones in the world who can give it to them.
Of course, the Lord could give the blessing of truth by
the angels of Heaven if He wanted to, but He has kept
you and me on this side of the vail—For what reason?
I think we will see the reason before long. We know that
our dear Pastor always expected a literal fulfillment of
the 149th Psalm on a scale that we have thus far never
witnessed. “Let the saints be joyful in glory, and sing
aloud upon their beds.” “Sing aloud—’ Do you get
that? “Sing aloud on their beds with the two-edged
sword in their hands,” and he says that that refers to
this side the vail. You remember that article in the Watch
Tower from our dear Pastor regarding that applying to
this side the vail; that the saints would have a glorious
privilege of wielding that two-edged sword on this side
the vail, “crying aloud upon their beds, and binding the
kings with chains, and the nobles (of Babylon) with
fetters of iron”? This honor hath all the saints.

We have had some privileges along that line already.
But I believe the greater part of those privileges are in
the future. No doubt we will soon see the message of
truth brought to the attention of kings, and rulers and

great ones of earth; even as Revelation 10:11 shows. I
think that we will find that the Lord has not put these
statements in the Scriptures as mere idle words, but that
He intends that before the Church on this side the vail
have accomplished their mission they will have so success-
fully and thoroughly spread the truth from one end of
the earth to the other that it will not be true, as it is
today, that you can go right out in this city and find
people who have never heard of Brother Russell or Brother
Rutherford. I dare say that already more people have
become acquainted with the I. B. S. A. through last year’s
experiences than through any other one thing that has
ever occurred in the history of the Church. If this be
true even now, what will it be when the Lord’s time
comes for us to send forth the message and tell these
facts before all the world? With sentiment rapidly
changing we will probably enjoy before long the greatest
privileges that you and I have ever had,—and perhaps
have ever dreamed of.

Probably most everyone here has had some privilege
along the line of bringing somebody into the truth. If
so, you know the joy it brought to your heart as you
went to your neighbor, day by day, evening after evening,
and brought them to the class meetings and to Sunday
lectures. You gave them tracts, and you gave them books,
and you nourished them along and, oh, the joy that filled
your heart when you realized the fruits of your labors!
How will you feel, dear friends, if the Lord gives you
the privilege before long of not only bringing one indi-
vidual to a knowledge of the truth, but probably letting
you bring into the truth tens or hundreds of those who are
yet in darkness—real Virgins, even though foolish? Oh,
the joy that will come to your heart if the Lord gives you
that privilege! It will be a glorious privilege indeed, and we
can see we would be “joyful in glory, singing aloud upon
our beds,” wielding this two-edged sword of truth, binding
the kings (of ecclesiasticism, as well as otherwise) with
chains, and the nobles with fetters of iron—the strong
words of the gospel. Let us hold ourselves in readiness
and if the Lord extends any privileges like that to us
before long, let us take hold of them and leave the results
to the Lord, realizing that “hereunto we have been called.”
It is not for us merely to believe the truth, but also to
suffer for its sake.

We will now devote five or ten minutes to the discus-
sion of our recent prison experiences, inasmuch as several
of you have requested that I do so tonight. I do not
consider these as matters of so much importance. In fact,
there is not very much to tell, so far as my own experiences
are concerned; but I believe if all the interesting facts
in connection with the case of the other brethren were
made known, you would appreciate that a great deal.

I was in prison for six months to a day. I was three
months in Raymond Street jail, Brooklyn, and then was
transferred to the Nassau County jail at Mineola, N. Y.
I found conditions there very different from what they
were here in the Brooklyn jail. They always searched
the prisoners at Raymond Street jail every time they
came back from court, and even literature, books, papers,
etc., are taken away from them. When I entered I had
a copy of the Bible, a copy of the Seventh Volume and
a Watch Tower. They took the Watch Tower away from
me, but let me have the Seventh Volume and the Bible.
I think they thought both of them were Bibles. (Laughter.)
And isn’t it a fact? Volume Seven is merely part of the
Bible. It is two books of the Bible with a few notes and
comments upon those books. I asked the guard why he
took the Watch Tower away from me. I explained that

‘it was a religious magazine, and presumed he would be

glad to have the prisoners surrounded with all the religious
reading possible. He said, “Yes, but not that kind.”
(Laughter.) He muttered something as he threw it over
into the waste basket, and I kindly asked him what it
was he said. He responded, “I said, if it wasn’t for that
stuff you wouldn’t have been here.” (Laughter.) I guess
he was right.

At the Raymond Street jail, the conditions are very
different from what they are at Mineola. At the former
place the prisoners are locked up twenty-four hours a
day, with the exception of three recreation periods of one

52 SOPPLEAMENT

hour each, with only one recreation period on Sundays
and holidays. But I had much opportunity for study, and
I appreciated that very much, indeed.

Finally I was transferred to Mineolaa—much to my
relief. It seems that all the officials at the Raymond
Street jail are Catholic—from the warden down—and I
was surprised to find out that at Mineola everything is
Protestant—from sheriff down. And I had the privilege
of relating to the Mineola keepers some of my experiences.
They extended a very sympathetic ear and I was privileged
to talk with the prisoners there, too. Some of them showed
some interest in the truth. One or two read the First
Volume almost through while I was there. One of them
had almost finished Volume Two at the time I left. After
I had been there about three days, they ceased locking
me up. I was placed among the “trusties.”

On Thanksgiving Day (indicative of the kindness of
the officials there) the sheriff and the warden and keepers,
at their own expense, gave a turkey dinner to every pris-
oner in both the male and female part of the institution.
Learning that I was a minister, as they called me, they
asked me if I would offer thanks at the Thanksgiving
meal. This I did! Then the sheriff asked me to go into
the female prison and speak a few words to the women.
It was my privilege to give a short discourse to the female
prisoners abottt the Kingdom; which seemed to be very
much appreciated by the unfortunates.

It was wonderful how the Lord seemed to prepare
circumstances for me so I could do a great deal of studying
there at Mineola. But I regretted very much there was
no light in my cell. It was always very dark during the
evenings. There was only a faint glimmer that entered
the cells from the outside of the tier. But one night
when I came down to my cell one of the prisoners fol-
lowed me in and said, “Why don’t you turn on your
light?” I said, “I wish I had one,” and he immediately
reached up and turned on a light. The prisoners there
had gone to the trouble of procuring a cord which gave
them light, and ran it into my cell that I might have a

light. And they had done it entirely unknown to me, and
with the consent and approval of the keepers! From that
time on I had the privilege of studying as long as I
wanted to each evening. I tried to use this added blessing
to the glory of the Lord as much as possible, because I
considered that as another direct evidence of the Lord’s
favor upon one of His children.

The time came for me to leave. It was through habeas
corpus proceedings in the Supreme Court that I was re-
leased. When the petition for the writ was granted, Chief
Justice White of the U. S. Supreme Court at Washington
said he considered my’ imprisonment one of the greatest
outrages upon justice which had come before the court,
and for this reason the petition was granted in a most
unusual manner. It was granted by a means which never
occurred before in the history of the Supreme Court.

The proceedure first of all is this: You file a copy
of the testimony and a preliminary brief, and if the
Supreme Court sees any merit in the case they will then
notify your attorney to file an application for the writ,
which will be considered. But that does not mean the
writ will be granted. But in this case, they didn’t even
wait for the attorneys to file an application. As soon as
we filed the preliminary brief and they read over the
testimony and found I had been held for contempt of
court for six months for such truthful testimony as there
given, they went right ahead and granted the writ before
formal application was even made.

The result was that I was out on bail within about two
weeks from the beginning of the proceedings, whereas
ordinarily it might have taken four or five months. I
am very thankful to the Lord for that! But I am specially
thankful from this standpoint: that if Chief Justice White
would characterize my imprisonment (which was merely
an incident in the case of the other brethren) as one of
the “greatest outrages on justice his mind could conceive
of,” what do you suppose the Supreme Court may say
when they find that 125 other errors occur in the record
of our brethren’s case?

BRO. CLAYTON WOODWORTH

Delivered Several Days Before Trial, Brooklyn Tabernacle

you once more I think you probably have been ex-

pecting to hear something in connection with the

Book of Revelation. The whole of God’s Word is
equally precious to me; but you know I have given special
study to one particular book in the last year and a half.
Therefore, I thought we would have a little Revelation.
Some of you know what I am going to talk about tonight.
I thought if you were going to have a lesson in revelation
we better have just as hard a one as we knew how; the
harder the better, and so the text which I picked out is
what is admitted to be one of the most difficult passages
in the book: (Chapter 14.)

I will read from the 15th verse on: “And another
angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to
him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap:
for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of
the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his
sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And an-
other angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he
also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out
from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with
a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust
in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of
the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel
thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of
the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without
the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even
unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and
six hundred furlongs.”

I am sure we will all agree that our Heavenly Father
must have had some definite reason for putting this in His
Word. No one can accuse us of having it put in ourselves.
It has been there about two thousand years. If anybody

Ghee: the opportunity has been afforded me to address

had any very clear idea as to what this was intended to
teach, it has not been disclosed only up until recently. The
various commentators are all at sea as to what the pas-
sage might mean, and if I can judge from all the infor-
mation that came into my possession, the dear truth friends
themselves don’t seem to be in any very different frame
of mind.

Before the Seventh Volume of Scripture Studies was
published, I had heard two explanations of the measure-
ment. One was many times referred to by Brother Russell
in his discourse on the “Battle of Armaggedon.” He
said in that discourse, you remember, that “worldly editors
have called attention to the fact that the battle line in
Europe was approximately 1600 miles long.” It was no-
ticed that the Greek word here rendered “furlongs” refers
to a Greek unit of measure. And so these editors have
suggested that perhaps these 1600 units of measurement
represent 1600 miles of the great battle front in Europe
and Asia. That was the view that I had accepted tenta-
tively as being the correct explanation because Brother
Russell had referred to it. He did not indorse it! but he
merely said, “Worldly editors have referred to this.” After
working upon the manuscript of this book, a very intelligent
brother who had made a careful study of the book for
many years, suggested that this was 1600 minutes of
longitude between the East and West, within which limits
the great conflict is raging.” .

Subsequently after the book was published there came
a number of suggestions from brothers and sisters who
would have been glad to find a better explanation than we
offered. I gave close attention to every suggestion which
came to me. One was that if 1600 furlongs were thrown
into a square—40 furlongs each way—we might see that
it referred to the harvest. Another brother suggested that
1600 had been thrown into a square; and made a city in

SUPPLEMENT 53

area about the size of ancient Nineveh, and that was, in
some respects a type of mystic Babylon; thus we might
see a reference to the overthrow of Babylon. Another
brother suggested that the units of measure would be
1600 years from the council of Arles, which met August
Ist, in the year 3014, therefore 1600 years would bring us
down to August 1, 1914; which statement was, that this
council at Arles was the first council to suggest or bring
into effect a union of Church and State; that there the
horse bridles were put on, so to speak. There were some
good thoughts connected with this brother’s interpretation,
and he labored earnestly to get me to accept it. I am going
to refer to this several times later.

Another brother suggested that 1600 units of measure
was merely intended as a symbolical number of 400; which
is, in some respects a very significant number of “wisdom,
justice, love and power”; the “four beasts,” many times
referred to in the Book of Revelation—4U0 times a hun-
dred. And then a sister noted that the Siniatic manuscript
does not speak of this as 1600 units of measure, but 1200
units, this sister has received a good deal of respect for
her knowledge of the Bible as written before, and not
during the Dark Ages. So they suggested that we stand
by the Siniatic Manuscript which is the most valuable
we have. Brother Russell used it as an authority: it is
the oldest and most reliable and complete copy of the New
Testament that we have. The sister suggested that this
1200 units of measure be translated in Sabbath day jour-
neys. Now then eight goes into 1200 150 times. That
would be 150 units of measure. She said this was a pos-
sible reference to five months: November and December
of 1917, and January, February and March of 1918; it was
within each of these months that the Lord’s Church was
privileged to engage in the last feature of the harvest
work,

I gave a good deal of attention to all the suggestions,
as I was bound to do, and as you would wish me, or any-
body, to do who is trying to deal with the Lord’s Word,
because we all want the Truth, if we make a mistake in
anything we want to find where it is, and rectify it, if we
have not made any mistakes then we want to know that.
So the object of this address is try to show, if I can, from
the Scriptures that there haven’t been any mistakes made in
the treatment of this matter in the Seventh Volume: That
it could not possibly refer to anything else, but a book.
In order to study this passage properly let us consider the
Mth chapter:

“And I looked and lo a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion,
and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having
His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” You have
no difficulty to understand who is the Lamb! That is our
Lord Jesus Christ: our Passover Lamb. That is the Lamb
without spot or blemish: slain from the foundation of the
world on our behalf. Oh, how beautifully the Apostle
speaks of him as “the Power of the Flock.” It also speaks
about the sheep: those who are not powers: merely “little
sheep” who are with Him. We are glad to be counted in
with the Lord as little sheep. Glad that the Lord recognizes
us at all! I can never forget the lesson Brother Barton
presented at the Toronto Convention: You want to realize
just how important your sacrifice is in the sight of God;
compared with one complete and perfect bullock in the
complete picture. So there are 144,000 sheep; and our
Lord is the central figure of the picture. This evidently
was fulfilled in the Lord’s plan: about April 1, 1878. At
that time there were evidently enough in the anti-chamber
to have made up the entire Church of Christ: but the
Lord knew that many of them would not prove faithful,
and so he allowed the general call to continue for three and
one-half years longer, and it lasted (as we know) until
October 1, 1881. Since that time it has not been proper
for us to say to anybody: “If you make your consecration
to the Lord, and carry out your consecration faithfully
you shall be privileged to sit down with Christ on the
Throne.” No, we can merely say “that is our hope; that
is our expectation.” On this basis we have made our
consecration, and it is on that basis that we still continue
to serve the Lord as we have opportunity. Most of us have
come into the truth since 1881.

I might mention an authority for this statement that

the whole 144,000 were standing on Mount Zion in the
spring of 1878. Brother Russell, in his comments in
Kevelation 6, referred to this in an article in the Watch
Tower on the Parable of the Wedding Feast. “The king
came in to see the guests,”—implying that the full number
was there. Since that time the Lord and His little com-
pany have been standing upon Mount Zion in the spirit of
their minds—whether on that side of the vail, or on this
side. And in the spirit of our minds we see the Lord as
an all-powerful king working out His good will and
pleasure ; and in the spirit of our minds, we are associated
with Him although still on this side the vail.

Now, those who are associated with the Lord on Mount
Zion, have in their hands “harps.” “Have you heard the
new song; the song which the saints now may sing? How
the old harp of Moses, and the sweet flute of John, with
harmonious melody ring? It will float o’er the world in
rapturous strain of glory and peace and good will.” A
song is something harmonious and pleasing to the ear. The
Gospel is referred to as a song, for David says, “Thou
hast put a new song into my mouth, even the loving kind-
ness of our God.” We continually sing this song. We could
not sing it when we were in Babylon. We could not har-
monize the law with the Gospel. They would have been
glad to have had us bring forth the pleasing things out
of God’s word, if we just kept still. We could have stayed
in the Churches if we were only willing to refrain from
telling all the plan. There have been some who have tried
that, but I don’t think the Lord is pleased with that kind
of a character.

“And they sang a new song.” When I heard Brother
Sampson the first time, I said, “I never heard anything
like that before in my life.” And the more I have heard
of it since, the better it sounds. Another thing about it
too: The more you tell and sing about that song, the
better it sounds to yourself. The truth is something that
we keep by giving tt away, and the more we give away,
the more precious it is to us.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is
come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Ch. 14:6, 7.) The
word “angel” is a broad word: In the Greek it means a
messenger. God may use any kind of a messenger in
presenting the Everlasting Gospel to every nation and
kindred and tongue and people. Who? Or what is that
angel? Volume I of Scripture Studies. Just think it over!
It does contain the “Everlasting Gospel.” That is the
one that God is going to preach by and by to every land,
kindred and tongue and people.

Was it circulated through the heavens? “He saw an
angel flying through the midst of Heaven.” Powers:
Spiritual control: Did this message go into the Baptist
heaven? Or the Lutheran heaven? It did! It went back
and forth through the ecclesiastical firmament and accom-
plished a purpose in “saying with a loud voice”’:—Did it
have a low voice? No! There were over a million copies
published and circulated in something like twenty-two lan-
guages. Some of the literature is in thirty-four languages.
That is a “loud voice”! It says: “Fear God, and give
glory to him.” Is there anything in Volume I that makes
you feel like referencing God? After you were fed on the
creeds that were manufactured during the Dark Ages, and
then suddenly God held this volume before your eyes, did
it not make you have a different idea of God?

“Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of his
Judgment is come.” Is there anything in Volume I about
Judgment? Yes! The title of the book originally was
Millennial Dawn—the dawn of the millennium; and the
dawn of the thousand year judgment day of Christ is at
hand,

I consider, therefore, that is a well proven point! AND
AS FAST AS WE PROVE A POINT JUST TAKE A
TACK AND DRIVE IT IN. You know how it is to
stretch a carpet: You pull up a little piece, and try to
tack it down. Of course you usually have to repeat it
because the first time it gets twisted.

54

And it says the SECOND angel followed the first one,
and its message was “Babylon is fallen.” You remember
the dispensations contained in the second volume! And
you know how significantly they point to the date 1878;
and how that chronologically Babylon was due to begin
to fall April Ist of that year (1878); and she has been
falling ever since. She is in a pretty bad condition now.
And as proof that Babylon the great is in a fallen condi-
tion there is an interesting chapter in the end of the book.
The last chapter is devoted to “The Man of Sin.” It shows
there how the “Man of Sin” is Papacy—the Anti-Christ:
That Papal System is Babylon the Great.

Concerning the THIRD angel there are a number of
statements made: The third angel speaks of the harvest.
The third volume of Scripture Studies speaks of the har-
vest. It shows that during the harvest time the kind of
work the Lord would have us do was the harvest work.
There is also the statement, “Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord from now, and henceforth. They rest from
their labors, but their works do follow them.” That ap-
pears for the first time in Volume III. Now I suggest
something that will show you whether a person is dead
or not. If a person is really dead, you can step on his
toes and he won’t say a thing; you can walk all over them,
they won’t object. You can scold at them, and they will not
scold back. You can flatter them, but it is like water rolling
off a duck’s back. You can think these things over and you
will be able to decide whether you belong to the dead
class or not. (Laughter.)

“And another angel came out of the temple, saying to
him that sat upon the clouds, thrust in thy sickle and reap
the vine of the earth (harvest), and the angel thrust in
his sickle on the earth.” This refers to the reaping of
the wheat from the tares; gathering the wheat in to the

Lord’s garner. How could this angel be that came out of-

this peculiar temple (as though it was a temple different
from any other)? It seems to me that plainly refers to the
Great Pyramid of Egypt, which is a peculiar temple of its
own; and there is something which came out of that tem-
ple that has taught God’s people a great many lessons.
All the lessons taught by this Temple are in harmony with
the other lessons. And the third volume of Scripture
Studies, in which this appears as the last chapter, sets this
off as though it were a separate book. It has a little pref-
ace, and a title page, and some introductory remarks; but
it is bound in the third volume. And still it comes out of a
special place! It comes out of the “temple.” You remem-
ber that message which came to us in book form regard-
ing God’s Pyramid in the Land of Egypt—the great “altar”!

“And he cried like a lion” (Isa. 21)—which looks like
the devil—the clergy, I am pretty sure. “My Lord I stand
upon the Watch Tower and behold here cometh a chariot
of men Come, Babylon is fallen, and the great
image is broken on the ground.” This picture here is
illustrating to my mind the way the seven volumes of
Scripture Studies appears to the clergy. They appeared as
plagues to them: “And I saw these seven angels come
forth, clothed in white linen, and having their breasts
girded with golden girdles.” In preparing the manuscript
for the large portion of the seventh volume I noticed that
the word here rendered linen is a different word than any
other rendered in the Bible; and I merely noted that it was
not the kind of linen from which the robe of the Bride of
Christ is woven. I wonder how many of you remember
seeing that? (Three hands indicated they saw it.) Well, it
is there just the same! Here is a peculiar word, and I
thought God must have had some special reason for so
stating this matter; and I did not know what it was then,
but I do now. It has reference to the fact that these
messengers who came forth are printed upon white paper—
white linen: clean and white. Linen is one of the finest
kinds of paper known. “And girded with gold.” How
much value would a book be to you if it consisted of 600
pages but not pasted together. Where could I read page
475? You would be continually fussing about for the
thing. This should be bound to be of any use to you. You
have to “gird” them together. You ask: What about the
golden girdle? You will see the golden girdles: Seven
books would be printed on white paper; well bound and
stamped in gold.

SUPPLEMENT

Then it says: “They came forth out of the Tabernacle.”
You have all studied Tabernacle Shadows. (Laughter.)
The entire seven volumes of Scripture Studies came forth
from Tabernacle Shadows. Here it was that Brother Rus-
sell saw clearly the philosophy of God’s plan.

After introducing the third plague it says: “And I
heard the Altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty.” This
“altar” is the altar to the Lord in the midst of the land
of Egypt.

Concerning the FOURTH angel: “He poured out his
vial upon the sun.” The fourth volume was sent to the
clergy. Brother Russell sent this volume to all the clergy
whose addresses could be procured. And it says: “The
men cursed God” because of these things. It was about
that! time that they began to accuse Brother Russell as
being untruthful and evil; and so they continued down to
the time of his death. -

In connection with the FIFTH angel it says, “He
poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast.” (Siniatic
MMS.) The beast is papacy; and the seat of the beast
is the place where it rests; presumably the doctrines. And
the fundamental doctrines of papacy are the Trinity; the
immortality of man; and the doctrine of eternal torment.
Those questions are thoroughly discussed in the fifth
volume of Scripture Studies.

And after introducing the sixth volume it also intro-
duces a verse or two that would be just as well for me
if it had not been in the Bible. It says: “I saw three un-
clean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the
mouth of the false prophet which go forth unto
the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” I
am not going to explain that now—for reasons that I
expect to explain it to a selected audience later in the
week. (This matter was thoroughly commented on at the
trial of our brethren—as drawn out through cross-exam-
ination of Brother Woodworth.)

However, all this is aside from the point which I want
to bring out, i. e., the meaning of the last four verses
of the 14th chapter. You see, dear friends, that through-
out these chapters it has been discussing books—the har-
vest. literature. What would be the most reasonable thing
to find after noting that all the rest of the chapters were
talking about books? I think you would say with me that
the mostereasonable thing to anticipate would be that it
refers to a book.

“And another angel came out of heaven, he also having
a sharp sickle.” Who is that “other angel”? I know of
one who has great power on the other side of the vail.
That is Brother Russell! “Blessed is that servant whom
you find so doing. Verily I say he will make him ruler
over all the truth.” I don’t find any place where the Lord
limited that to Brother Russell’s period on this side the
vail; and we note that it says in this very same chapter
that rest in their labors, but their works follow after them.
Brother Russell has more power there than he had on this
side. What do you think about that?

“And another angel came out of the temple; he had a
sharp sickle; and another came out of the altar, which
had power over fire.” Who is this angel? This angel is
mentioned four times in the Book of Revelation. It is
mentioned in the seventh chapter (8rd to the 5th verses) ;
and there it seems to me very clearly refers to the Watch
Tower Bible & Tract Society. You have the explanation
in the seventh volume. The angel had power over the
fire and gathered these coals of fire and scattered them
through the earth literally. After the seventh volume of
Scripture Studies was issued it was suddenly sent out, or
hurled deliberately broadcast amongst the readers of the
Tower. And it is referred to again in the 18th chapter
as an “angel standing in the sun.” In the second verse it
speaks about one mighty voice saying, “mighty Babylon is
fallen and has become the habitation of demons, and un-
clean and hateful birds. And another voice said ‘come out
of her, my people.’” Now the truth people have backed up
the message by distributing the literature which is to
invite the people to come out. That is another voice which
is here referred to: Here, I was prepared to see that the
other angel which came out of the altar was the society—

SUPPLEMENT | 55

after Brother Russell’s death. Then we get the thought too
that this other angel, coming out of the altar, represents
the fact that the society is supported by the sacrifices of
the Lord’s little ones. It is kept up by contributions
from you, and you, and you. Here a little; and there a
little. ;

Did the truth friends fulfill the latter part of this verse?
“Another angel came out of the altar which had power
over the fire!” “And they cried with a loud voice: thrust
in a sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of
the earth!” Was there anything like that happened? I will
ask you a question. When you heard Brother Russell was
dead (after you thought of your own personal loss) did
you not think of what an unspeakable loss it was to the
church; just at this time when the world was passing
through new, strange and terrible experiences? Did it not
seem to be a great pity that he was taken away without
furnishing the seventh volume? Did you not feel dis-
appointed? I did! I thought: “Oh, dear Brother Russell,
why did you go away without doing what you expected
you would do throughout the entire harvest time! We
looked to you! You promised! And we understood your
intention! Why did you go away?” That is the way I
felt! There you see was that cry. Don’t you see? It was
not an outward cry. It was an inward cry. They cried
with a loud cry to him saying, “thrust in thy sharp sickle
and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth.” The
statement is that the “angel thrust in his sickle and
gathered the vine of the earth. It into the great wine-
press of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden
without the city, and blood came out of the winepress
EVEN UNTO THE HORSE BRIDLES, BY THE
SPACE OF A THOUSAND and SIX HUNDRED
FURLONGS.”

That means the book was prepared outside of head-
quarters—in Scranton, at a certain distance from Bethel,
and the Lord had his own reasons to thus have it pre-
pared outside Bethel. And Babylon began to fall.

You know what happened on the 16th of March! If you
don’t I do! (Laughter.) I believe the book has accom-
plished God’s purpose; and if it has then surely we are
glad.

This brings us down to the last clause: And it says: “At
a distance 1600 furlongs.” It is “1200 furlongs” in the
Siniatic Manuscript. You know what the seventh volume
has to say about that. Perhaps you would like to know
how that came to be there. In the first place it was because
I could not think of anything else. Had I been able to
think of another explanation I would have put it there.
And I did not think of that one directly. Here is the
way I came to think of it. I was specially interested in
the explanation Brother Russell referred to. But I did
not know how to identify it with the great European war,
for I noticed the European battle line was 2100 miles long
instead of 1600. That was my first disappointment. Then
when I found out the measurement had shrunken to 1200
I could not see how any one could conscientiously stretch
it. The truth friends are pretty sharp you know! One hun-
dred forty-seven miles was the distance from the city.
What city? It could hardly mean Babylon, because that is
down through the middle of Europe. That don’t mean
Rome. I could not think of anything that was 147 miles
away from Rome. This is what went through my mind: The
word city means Ecclesiastical Government. I thought of

Bethel. Here is the Lord’s Truth Movement. I wondered if
that could be the city. I went out through New England on
a tour—having a map in mind—I thought that would land
somewhere around Hartford. Then I came down the coast
and figured that would fall a little bit short of Baltimore or
Lancaster. I could not try going down that way. I started
north; and then west. I could not see how Albany would
come in, in that it was about 150 miles away from the
city. Then I came to Scranton. But this was a weary
thought. I thought that to be absurd for I knew the
time table did not indicate this distance. I was about to
lay the matter aside, and go to the Lord. I did not know
what to do. But I happened to think about the great cut-
off by the Lackawanna R. R. where they run right through
the mountains; and there you go along about twelve or
fifteen miles on the most wonderful road bed in the world.
Sometimes you find yourself as high as twenty-four feet
in the air; down below you see the farms, etc. I called
up the railroad office to find out about the distance. They
said it was 111 miles. I then made a mental deduction. I
wrote down here to someone you know very well (a good
faithful brother, who is an old farmer and accustomed
to passing upon land) and requesting him to carefully
measure the distance between Bethel and Hoboken. He
measured it twice and the measurements were put in the
original manuscript exactly as given. It came out within
one-tenth of a mile. A few days later, I told Brother
Fisher. He was surprised. On the first of April Brother
Fisher moved, and in the stress of moving forgot all
about the distance matter and thought of nothing but
tacking down carpets, etc. He moved a number of blocks
further away from the railway station. I went down and
asked him, “Why did you move?” He said, “Because I

- found rents were cheaper.” I asked him, “Do you think

that was the reason you moved? You are getting four
blocks farther away from the Lackawanna. There is one-
fourth of the book that is yet to be written and that makes
the difference of one-tenth of a mile.” Thus it came out ac-
cording to God’s Word.

_ The Lord put that in the book. First, to make the
book appear foolish in the eyes of those that do not believe
as we believe. The Lord is carrying us in the palm of His
hand. We are His people. God wished us to know that
He would select His own tools to do the work. The Lord
purposed to show the Church that the book would be
written in such a place and in such a way, that none of the
truth friends need to stumble. Those who have since gone
out from us and made all these statements about the
seventh volume never tell you about the fact that the book
was written before they started this. The manuscript, so
far as I was concerned, was all finished and in the book
before I heard of even a suspicion, or difficulty of any
kind. We were too busy to know what was going on. We
were working for our worldly employers during the day.
And we were working earnestly on the book early in the
morning, and late at night.

You can evidently see that passage could not refer to
anything else but this book. And the Lord wanted us to
know that he is managing this whole affair; and we are
right in His hand. We don’t care what happens. We be-
long to the Lord, and if He is through with us—alright,
if not, we are ready. If He wants to put us in cold
storage and save us for something He has yet to do, then
let us be willing!

“THE EZEKIEL TEMPLE”
By Bro. Geo. H. Fisher
At Brooklyn Tabernacle, Oct. 14, 1917, 3:00 P. M.
PART I

‘after the Master has knocked at the heart of each of
His followers, that a multitude, many thousands, yet

a little number comparatively, the remainder of the 144,000,
are yet to enter the gate of Heaven, and it seems that
the door of Heaven opens a little wider and the Lord gives
us a little better glimpse of things beyond the vail and
things beyond the trouble than we have ever had before.

I: seems as though now at the close of the Age, long

This is just what we might expect of one so loving and
kind as our Master. We love Him, but our love for Him
is not to be compared with His love for us. And so,
as we stand upon the threshold of this door (the Temple
door), he has opened it perhaps a little wider to let the
crowd in that is coming and as we stand before the
portals prepared to go in the Master opens the door a
little more and gives us this wonderful picture, which is

56 SUPPLEMENT

perhaps a plainer vision of some things that lie beyond
than we have ever had before.

One of the dear friends was up there at Scranton,—
Sister Siebert. Somehow or other, because I had been over
Ezekiel it got around that I knew something about Ezekiel,
but I didn’t. Brother Woodworth knew a great deal about
Revelation. Sister Siebert said to me, “Sit down and
explain Ezekiel to me.” If she had asked me to do any
other impossible thing I could not have started with any
greater misgivings. J opened the back of the Bible and
there something Brother Russell said opened up that first
chapter and it was that comment which said the great
cloud enfolding itself was the time of trouble. As often
as I had looked it over IJ had never noticed that. At any
rate, it was a suggestion and enough. I sat down and
explained the chapter then as it appears in the book.
Before that I had never understood it. Nothing super-
natural about that. Something Brother Russell had
written was enough to throw light on the whole chapter.
This is the way it was all through the book.

At every point where difficulties seemed insurmountable
something Brother Russell had written threw enough light
on that section to make it understandable. Jf Brother
Russell had written less than he did I notice Brother
Fisher could not have understood it. So we attribute the
work to Brother Russell, and I think we do so justly,
because the Lord illuminated the points through Brother
Russell’s writings, which perhaps no other man could have
explained, which threw light on the whole thing.

The way it was started was like this. Sister Siebert
came to Brooklyn and told the Executive Committee that
two brethren knew something about Revelation and
Ezekiel and the Executive Committee requested Brother
Woodworth and Brother Fisher to present such matter
as they might feel able, that it might be considered with
other matter. That was the commission.

Now, this chart represents the finished work of God.
It also represents the steps toward that finished work.

In Ephesians 1:8-11 the Apostle speaks about “God
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
having made known unto us the secret of His will (this
is what we see before us), that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times He might gather together in one (under
one) all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven and
on earth, even in Him.” He speaks of the same thing in
Col. 1:19, “For it pleased the Father that in Him should
all fulness dwell. And having made peace through the
blood of His cross (by Christ) reconciling all things to
Himself, whether they be in Heaven or on earth.”

This is what is pictured in Ezekiel 40:14, and our
attitude of mind toward this wonderful temple is expressed
by the Prophet, who was a type of our beloved Pastor
Russell. “And the man said unto me.” You know in
prophecy in the case of the man in linen and the six others
which Ezekiel saw, the man represented Pastor Russell.
We know that Brother Russell saw that man was himself.
“The man said unto me, Son of Man, behold with thine eyes
and hear with thine ears (Spiritual ears unstopped. Don’t
treat it lightly, don’t pass it over), set thine heart upon all
that I shall show you.” Why are we brought this far
along the Narrow Way? Why do we see the gates of
Heaven throwing such a light upon our way? “It is to
the intent that I might show them unto thee that thou
art brought hither,” thus far along the way, that they
might be shown unto us, that they might be opened unto
us, the vision seen of men of old time, which holy men
of God desired to look into and had not been able. And
as we see it, what are we to do? Shut it up in dark
closets.- It might get us into trouble! “Declare all that
thou seest to the house of Israel (Christendom).” Every-
one must have a chance to see it.

Ezek. 43:10. “Thou son of man show the great
sanctuary (the plan) unto the house of Israel (tell about
the great plan of God), that they may be ashamed of
their iniquities.” And surely there is a showdown now
of Christendom’s iniquities. Who ever dreamed that that
book contains the denunciations it does of the house of
Israel. “That they may be ashamed of their iniquities.”
I should think they would be ashamed, wouldn’t you?
Any Christian man that realizes that he has been a partner

in these practices should be ashamed, and all men having
the Holy Spirit will be ashamed. “That they may be
ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the
pattern.” Let them take the word of God and take their
measure.

Ezek. 43:11. “If they are ashamed of all that they have
done, then show them the form of the house.” Tell
them all they will hear. “Show them the form of the
house and the fashion thereof, and all the ordinances
thereof and all the laws thereof and write it down in
their sight.” They will read that Seventh Volume. “Write
it in their sight that they may keep the form and all the
ordinances thereof and do them.”

You see this man Ezekiel going into the temple. It
shows him at the East Gate. We first see the Temple
as though it was like a dream, and there is a lack of
connectedness in it. It looks as though it was on the top of
a mountain and on the slopes of the mountain was the
frame of a city below. The city would refer to the civil
government of the Age and the Temple the religious
organization.

There stood the man with the measure. “Behold there
was the man’—Pastor Russell—“whose appearance was
like the appearance of brass,” or copper, a priest justified
by faith in the merit of Christ imputed to him, “with a
line of flax in his hand.” Flax is linen. In his power
was linen to measure with, “and a reed to measure with.”

In Rev, 14:1 it says, “There was given me a reed like
a rod, and the angel stood saying, Rise and measure the
Temple of God.” This measurement of a reed six cubits
long applied to any object means the full measure of the
Word of God relating to that object. So we would under-
stand. With the reed he measured the Temple, Sanctuary,
and the whole building, with the flax he measured only
one thing. That measurement was that of the life-giving
stream that flowed out from the Temple, past the altar,
through the East Gate and thence through successive
depths of one thousand to four thousand cubits respect-
ively, thence to the Dead Sea. The world lies in the
valley and shadow of death. The water of life flowed
into the Dead Sea for its cleansing and revivifying.

Pastor Russell said something about four, viz., the
four quarters of the race course. That was it, wasn’t it?
The waters gave life. “He that loveth is begotten of
God.” So with life, there is no life without love. Where
love comes in there is life. So it was plain that the first
thousand cubits meant measuring up to the extreme com-
pleteness of obedience to the Lord in duty love. The
second thousand cubits meant measuring to the fulness
of the Divine standard with reference to love for God’s
glorious character. The third thousand cubits meant meas-
uring up to the standard of love for the brethren. The
fourth thousand, measuring up to the full standard of
Divine love in loving our enemies.

You will notice that anyone in that stream who
possessed duty love only was paddling around in the
water up to his ankles. No man has fully gotten into the
stream of Divine Love until he attains the Fourth Degree.

We will first compare the Temple with the Tabernacle.
The Temple is simply the Tabernacle with additions. It
is the Tabernacle over again. Instead of having a wall
around the Tabernacle, it had a curtain, and a curtain is
not made up of one, ‘but many members, many fibres,
many strings put together. When you think of it, the
curtain around the Tabernacle represented Christ, Christ’s
righteousness, and those to whom it was imputed. Here
in the Temple we find a wall around the court. It is
built of stones. These walls around the Courts and
around the Temple are built of large stones.

Some are going to be stones in the Temple. That is
where you want to be. You all want to be stones in the
Temple. You have no invitation to be a part of the Inner
Court wall or of the Outer Court wall. Why try to
qualify for the Great Company wall when you might as
well be in the Temple? Why be living stones not cut
specifically to pattern?

here is a measurement for the outer wall. It was
one reed thick. That is one of the first things measured.
It is called a building. “The building was six cubits high
and six cubits thick.” That wasn’t a very large building.

SUPPLEMENT 57

What kind of a building was it? A building is a structure,
anything built. This structure here, this wall here, that
which was built here, this building was six by six cubits.

Now remember the reed was six cubits long. The
reed is the full measure of the Word of God. It rep-
resents that this class represented in this wall measured
up to the full measure of the Word of God relating to
it, and stands as a wall in advance of whatever is indi-
cated by this Outer Court plane here.

This Outer Court plane represents human perfection.
It represents tentative justification for those who had not
received the Holy Spirit. Those who did receive the Holy
Spirit receive actual justification, i. e., the priests and
the Great Company. So this Outer Court wall represents
tentative justification during the millennium, during the
thousand years when the hosts of ;mankind are struggling
to rise up the seven steps to the Outer Court plane.

One class will already have qualified for it. That class
is spoken of in Heb. 11, which endured incredible suf-
ferings and trials that they might have a better resur-
rection, Elijah, Elisha, David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
the other Ancient Worthies, who were living stones cut
out and laid away, waiting to be built into this Outer
Court wall. In the future we hope to be the ones who
will be patterns to the great hordes of twenty billions of
people now in the grave.

The Temple wall is also six cubits thick. The Temple
has double walls, the inner is six cubits thick. What does
it mean? It means it is to be made up of living stones,
each one of which has measured to the full measure of
the Word of God for that plane indicated by its location,
i. e., the Divine nature. One hundred and forty-four
thousand stones in that wall. One reed thick, six cubits
thick, they will have measured up fully to every require-
one of the Word of God before they pass beyond the
vail.

How thick is the Great Company wall? Turn to Ezek.
40 to 48th chapters and find it if you:can. It isn’t there.
It just says it is a wall. Does it say it is six cubits thick?
It isn’t six cubits thick. Those who go into that wall are
stones cut all manner of shapes and sizes. This is the
class which is spoken of in 1 Cor. 3:10-15, in which the
Apostle Paul speaks of himself as the master builder,
laying the foundation. Paul lays the foundation, which is
Christ® and everyone who has the Holy Spirit is on that
foundation. Does the Great Company measure to the full
stature of Christ, or the full requirements of the Word
of God? They measure all the way from (as Job says it)
“setting through by the skin of their teeth,” to just coming
a shaving short of the six cubits of the full measure of
the Word of God. So there is no measure spoken of for
the Inner Court wall.

This Inner Court types those in the Tabernacle Court
after the Church has passed beyond the vail. You know
what class will be living there when those tentatively
justified who have fled from the Court through persecu-
tions coming upon the world, and all Christian people, in
the near future. In the French Revolution if any man
happened to call himself a Christian, you know what hap-
pened to him. I don’t need to tell the dreadful story.
When persecutions get severe, every man will say, “This
is too warm for me, I am no Christian.” Those who are
tentatively justified and not on this strong foundation
will be swept by the fire of that day and leave in there
the Great Company only. They are the only ones left
there after the Church is gone and they are the class that
steps, as it were, from this life to the next to be on the
Inner Court plane.

And so this inner place, the Most Holy, is called the
Word of God, called under another word which means
the same thing,—the oracle. That word has two meanings.
In ancient superstitions, when Alexander was starting on
his world-wide conquest he went to the Oracle of Delphi
and there received the oracle of the gods. The oracle
means the place, and also the message from the place. The
Logos also means the word that proceeds from Him or
in Him.

Our place is in the Temple. We can’t stop in the Outer
Court. You can stop in the Inner Court here if you
want to. You would have breathing space, you think.

You would be a servant! That is where you are called to,
the Temple itself. “Few there be that find it.” You are
not going to stop on these steps of the gate to the Inner
Court, but you are going to stop in the “oracle” of God,
the great Word of God, a member of it.

The different gates have different meanings, different
usages in the Temple. The East Gate is colored red, the
same as the altar. Ezek. 43, “Afterward he brought me
to the gate, even that gate that looks toward the east.”
Behold, he saw something there. Turn back to Ezekiel,
first chapter, and see that wonderful vision. When first
beginning to understand that we didn’t see as clearly as
now what that glory was. We first thought it was God
Himself. No, it was not. Brother Russell threw light
on that too. He made all things plain. There isn’t a
thing that he didn’t make plain if we make a little careful
application of what he said. This is the place where
Pastor Russell makes this plain. Ezek. 43:1-4, “Afterward
he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh
toward the east, and behold the glory of the God of
Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was
like a noise of many waters and the earth shined with
His glory. And it was according to the appearance of the
vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw
when I came to destroy the city, and the visions were like
the vision that I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell upon
my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house
by the way of the east.”

Here is where Pastor Russell told us what it was.
Ezek. 44:1, 2, “Then he brought me back the way of the
gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the
east, and it was shut. Then saith the Lord unto me, This
gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, because the
Lord God of Israel hath entered in by it, therefore it
shall be shut.” And Pastor Russell said the door would
be shut. Isn’t it plain? What it meant is that the glory
of God that went in was the church, the little flock of
144,000. Small in number but great in glory. When you
read the vision read this into it. Where you see the great
four living attributes, Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power,
each combining the others, and see the great wheels, the
great plan, whirling wheels it calls them in the Hebrew,
in constant operation, and see the firmament above, the
golden globe, reaching up to the throne, it represents the
Christ, head and body, and so when the glory of God went
in at the east gate the Christ went in; and when they
have gone in, according to another picture, when the
virgins have gone in the door is to be shut. So when the
glory of God went through the door was shut_and the
Great Company could not come in that way. The only
ones that can come in that way are those coming in by the
blood, those that suffer with Him.

The wonderful glory of God is the Church. How
harmonize it, because it doesn’t say the church entered in,
but that Jehovah entered in? How about the Church?
You know that little Tabernacle, the small room is called
the Most Holy. It is made of gold. Gold types the Divine
nature. What metal is the Holy made of? Gold, too.
Have you got the Divine nature? What is Divine about
us? Christ had the mind of God and we have the mind
of Christ. You have the mind of God. There are some
things you can’t understand this side the vail. It seems
that God in a certain sense identifies Himself with His
own word. I say His word, for anyone’s mind is made
up of a collection of ideas and thoughts. And so here,
you speak of the mind of God and you speak of the Word
of God. How beautiful it is to see clearly how those
things all mean the Word of God. So when the mind of
God is in us it is the same mind of God that was in the
Apostles and the Lord Jesus. When God, the mind of
God, in His humble children, beginning with the Lord
Jesus, down to the lowest child, when the mind of God
goes in—in the Church, God goes in because God identifies
Himself with the Church. Christ said, “If my words abide
in you, I and My Father abide in you.”

This East Gate is the same color as the altar. The
gate is peculiarly made. In our land when going into a
house, there is usually a simple door or gateway. In
Oriental countries it was (and still is, I believe) a custom
on account of the enemies and robbers, to make the door

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58

in the form of a corridor with dark chambers on either
side and no man could pass that gate without satisfying
the guards that he would fulfill the conditions necessary
to pass. And so these gates represent Christ, the outer
one Christ in the flesh, the one on the Inner Court, Christ
as a New Creature.

There are seven chambers, and seven steps to pass,
the full measure of the Word of God to be met, seven
chambers to go by. A place typifies a condition. The full
measure of the Word of God has to be met by those
passing through this gate and this is the gate of justifi-
cation by faith, being justified by the blood of Christ.

Now notice this Inner Court gate here represents the
same thing on the spirit plane. Instead of seven, steps
there are eight steps. Seven is easy to understand. Seven
is a-symbol of completeness. There is nothing symbolical
about eight until you think that eight is made up of one
plus seven. The first step is the change from human to
spiritual, of the mind, the heart,-the will. You can call
that, if you so desire, the resurrection. It is called a
resurrection, because we are now spoken of as being raised
to sit with Christ in heavenly places. That has happened.
That is step number one.

You and I are going up those steps now. This puts
you on the foundation of being in Christ, anointed, having
the Holy Spirit. Paul says something about that founda-
tion. He speaks about the only foundation which is laid,
which is Christ, and then you are building something on
it. If you are building with wood, hay and stubble you
are stopping on this Inner Court plane.

here won’t be much breathing space there because of
the great multitude of people on it. All who haven’t
measured to the full measure of the Word of God after
begetting are on the Inner Court plane. Here in the
Temple is where the breathing space is, and here only,
because there are so few in there. Like the big jobs, the
fellow at the top, earning $50,000 doesn’t need to worry
aaa as the man down the ladder earning two dollars
a day.

Paul says this, “At the last day the fire shall try every
man’s work of what sort it is.” (I Cor. 3:1.)' The fire
shall try your work and mine and before we get through
everything that can be destfoyed will be wiped off. :

The 144,000 and one will have bpilt with gold, silver
and precious stones. Perhaps you are building with gold,
silver and precious stones, then you are going up those
golden steps of the Temple. How much higher? This
Outer Court gate has seven steps, the inner eight. How
much higher is the Temple. You will find it stated in

SUPPLEMENT

chapters 40 to 48. You will find nothing stated about
how many steps there are from the Inner Court plane to
the Temple plane. Why not? Who can measure the
difference between the finite and the infinite, the dif-
ference between the glory of the Great Company and the
Little Flock, being of like substance with the Father. It
can’t be expressed in number of steps, so the number is
not given. But those who progress up those steps there,
many of you are doing it, are on those steps, and will be
raised to the plane of the Temple.

Its height was six cubits above the Inner Court plane.
That familiar old measurement, which means the full
measure of the Word of God. Those on the Temple plane
have measured up to the full measure of the Word of
God. Can you measure perfect love? It is immeasurable.

Here is a love that is like light. Some have dark hair
and some white hair. The light shines on both black and
white. The Divine love from the Temple, that wonderful
love light shines upon all. He gives His gospel of love
to all. The love light of that Gospel shines on the just
and the unjust. No difference. The 144,000 love that way.
Are you one of them? That is the standard.

What steps are you on? Those steps lead to glory,
honor and immortality. All who remain on those Inner
Court steps get the place of servants. Do you want to be
a servant when you could be a king?

“And they shall not come near unto me to do the office
of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy
things in the most holy place, but they shall bear their
shame and their abominations which they have committed.”
(Ezek. 44:18.) If you are going to be of the Great
Company give up all idea of direct service to God, and
be prepared to take a lower place.

Do you want to be ashamed to look the Lord in the
face? They shall bear their shame and be on the Inner
Court plane where they might have been in the Temple.
“And they shall bear their shame and the abominations
which they have committed.”

God is good. I cannot exhort anybody too much.
There is one place to which we are called. We are called
to go through the gate of Justification, and up the steps
of spirit begetting, and through our course of preparation,
just for one purpose, that we might participate in the
blood. This is all done in order that we might have some-
thing to offer. Now aren’t we going to offer that which
is given us to offer? It is all given to us that we might
build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, gold, silver, and
precious stones, that when the fire comes, and the fire is
burning now, our building might not be swept away.

“THE EZEKIEL TEMPLE”
By Bro. Geo. H. Fisher
At Brooklyn Tabernacle, Oct. 14, 1917, 8:00 P. M.
PART II

HE Apostle Paul tells us in Eph. 2 :18-22, “Through

Him we both (Jews and Gentiles) have access by

one spirit unto the Father.” Think of it! Access
to the Father! “Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers
and foreigners.” Which we were—strangers. “But. fel-
low citizens with the saints and of the household of God.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner
stone, in whom all the building (the Sanctuary, the
Temple) fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple
in the Lord. In whom we are also builded together for
an habitation of God through the Spirit.” So, friends,
we will look at this great Temple tonight, which represents
the habitation of God through the Spirit.

‘Our Saviour told us this, speaking in dark language,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up
again.” They knew not that He spoke of the temple of
His body. We are all familiar with the idea of the
temple of His body being destroyed and raised up in three
thousand year days. We have seen in addition to this
body of Christ a company who are not entirely faithful,

other members of His body, in a larger sense. And so in
this sanctuary of God, this great sanctuary to be the
dwelling place of God through the spirit, we have the
ingathering of the whole family of God, all the wandering,
sinful children .of Adam, all gathered into this Outer
Court, which represents restitution for the whole race of
mankind. On a higher plane the Inner Court, tinted in
blue, represents the elevation of some of the children of
Adam, who leave their father’s house to be on the angelic
plane, and a few of them on this Temple foundation,
which builded better than the others, who build not of
wood, hay and stubble, but of gold, silver and precious
stones, and they are represented by the Temple, tinted in

. gold. They are raised to the nature of God Himself.

These receive the exceeding great and precious promises
whereby they are made of the nature of Jehovah, with
like substance of God and of Jesus Christ. So this great
Temple which Ezekiel saw in vision represents the in-
gathering of the whole family of God.

Up at the top here is.a little building called the western
building, west of the Temple. In looking up the various

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pictures of Temple built by Solomon, Zerubbabel, and
Herod, we could find only one sketch showing a building
like this and we couldn’t find out the use of it. Here is
a building not in line with the ransom. They do not come
by the blood. It answers in some respects to the position
of the angels. You know the Bible says the Church shall
judge and rule the angels. We might expect to find some-
where represented the angelic hosts, those faithful and
those not faithful, and thus it seems as though this western
building, as it is called, may be considered as picturing the
position of the angels, subject to the Temple, but not
connected with the ransom.

There is a difference between the inner and outer gates.

The peculiarity is that the construction is reversed. The
Porch of the Outer Court is passed last on getting into the
Court, and for the Inner Court it is passed first. You
come by all the requirements first and the Porch last on
getting into the Outer Court, and for the Inner Court
you come by the Porch first and all the requirements last.
The difference is the difference between being resurrected
on the human, or the spirit plane, saying nothing of the
Divine plane. On the human plane a human being has to
make all the conditions of the Word of God before he is
resurrected. That is true, isn’t it? So the Porch repre-
sents resurrection. Conditions all met, first progress made,
and resurrection finally attained. Now on the spirit plane
God reverses things.
_ As one brother put it, “God reverses the process on
the natural and spiritual planes. A child has no mind
when it is born. Its mind comes by use of the five senses
and by storing nerve centers of the brain. So in the
natural world or natural birth, body comes first and mind
second. In the spiritual birth, mind comes first and body
afterward.”

That is a wise provision. Consider something like this.
There are going to be 144,000 fortunate happy beings raised
to the Divine, immortal plane. One hundred and forty-four
thousand and one. Suppose God gave them the immortal
nature first, then developed mind in them. They might
go wrong. So God reverses the process on the spirit
plane, He gives them mind first, that is called spirit
begetting, and body afterward—spirit birth.

There is no candlestick, or no table of shewbread in
the Temple. Instead of the golden Altar for sacrifice,
there is a wooden table. “This is the table before Jehovah.”
(Ezek. 41:22.) It is one of the privileges of the priests
that they should be at God’s table. It is something like
what the Lord said, “Ye cannot eat at the table of the
Lord and the tables of devils.” It means the condition
in which you eat of spiritual food. It is possible that
this is the table around which the marriage feast will
gather.

At any rate it looks as though those in that chamber
were members of the body of the Christ, from whom will
flow the word, as though this whole Temple represents
them in the glorified condition, represents their minds, as
it were the new mind enclosed in the Divine body. This
will be the memorial of the sacrifices gone through, rep-
resented in the table, those sacrifices and that period of
enlightenment at the golden candlestick and the feeding
on the Word of God and offering of their best heart
endeavors on the golden Altar. Everyone will remember
all those things.

We might mention some things about these gates. Red
represents, in a general way, the ransom, not entirely so,
because the Ancient Worthies are pictured as coming from
the East Gate. While not partaking of the sufferings of
Christ, they had sufferings like them. Moses preferred
the reproach of Christ to the treasures of Egypt. Now
first you come right in to the altar. The altar is the
mathematical center of the Temple. If you take the plan
of the division of the land among the tribes, and the holy
offering of the tribes, the altar is the center. This place
is so near to the Great Pyramid that it could be called
the earth’s geographical center. The Ancient Worthies
are partners in the sufferings of Christ. They come in
at the East Gate. Others receiving the application of the
ransom are pictured by the pink color. Wherever you see
the pink color on this chart it represents the application
of the ransom. The color we took for restitution is green.

It is a good color for a chart. The Outer Court could
be colored a green tint, representing the enjoyments of
restitution.

As we come into the Inner Court we see two little
chambers called the singers’ chambers. They are intended
not to show Divine nature, but that the priests, those of
the Divine nature, function or do something here, as they
do in the Temple and chambers. What do they do here?
The ones who attain the Divine nature will be fond of
singing. We learn about a song in Rev. 14:3. “And I
heard as it were a new song, and no man could sing that
song but the 144,000.” We believe that the two chambers
represent the royal priesthood singing the song of Moses
and the Lamb throughout eternity, the eternal song of
the priests, singing the blessings of restitution for the
people. Here they are near the Inner Court, their singing
can be heard by all the people gathered in the Outer Court.
This is represented by the chamber at the North Gate with
its aspect toward the South. Then there will be a chamber
alongside the East Gate with its aspect toward the North,
which represents the priests singing the song of the Lamb
that came from Heaven, singing the praises of that Lamb
and the praises of the Heavenly Kingdom, because the
Lamb of God is spoken of as supreme in the Kingdom.
(Ezek. 40 :44.)

We find that the Levites had land given them. On
the chart in the Seventh Volume, you will find a square
piece of land with the upper portion for the priests, the
middle for the Levites, and the lower for the secular, or
civil government, the city. The land for the priests types
the condition of the Little Flock, types the same thing as
the Temple plane. The land for the Levites types the
Court, and the land for the city types the Outer Court.
It is said that the Levites would have land for thirty
chambers. Nor star differeth from star in glory. Among
those raised to this plane of being we expect there will
be thirty grades of glory and honor, because a place types
a condition, and those chambers or villages, or places, we
might expect to symbolize the thirty conditions or degrees
of honor among the Great Company, because the Great
Company will consist of people on the spirit plane who
have been faithful all the way from just a little bit, just
enough faithfulness not to be called unfaithful, up to those
that just miss going up the steps of the Temple and
attaining the perfection of the Divine life.

How about the priests? We find that the land given
to them types the condition of the nature of God. We are
told “star differeth from star in glory, so also is the resur-
rection of the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:41, 42.) That resurrec-
tion is so great that the Apostle calls it “the Resurrection
of the Dead.” We think the priests’ dwelling places type
glory and honor among them. One brother might have
made a greater exertion than another. All on the Divine
plane will be equal as respects the attainment of Divine

‘love, but there will be differences in other respects. I

wouldn’t say it would be in the use of our talents. We
find that the reward is one reward for all,—‘“enter into
the joy of the Lord.” There are going to be differences.
One brother could attain Divine love and another might
have more Divine love than he. It might be that. It might
be that is the explanation. It is the best I could offer.
It is something that can only be seen darkly now.

There is an interesting class here, the Princes. They
represent the Ancient Worthies. They were allowed to
operate in the Outer Court. The East Door was closed
because the glory of God had gone through it, yet that
Gate the Princes could use. During the period when the
great Kingdom of God is being established, the Princes
shall sit in the East Gate and eat their food. The food
the Princes will eat of, might be considered as using the
Word of God relating to the blood of Christ, to be applied
for the world.

Brother Russell has indicated at different times, rather
obscurely, that people in this life, who lived up to their
consciences fairly well, even if they did not get the Holy
Spirit, would be benefitted by it in the resurrection. You
know he has made such statements and teachings.

We will take for example a Roman Catholic that lived
a thousand years ago. All the teachings he received were
teachings, nothing about which were spiritual. He couldn’t

60 SUPPEE MEN LT

have a Bible, for a Bible cost a fortune. This brother,
a member of the household of faith, believing that that
which was taught him was the truth, did his level best
to live up to it, would have an advantage in the resurrec-
tion. Should he have an advantage? 1 believe he should.
Here we have it in Ezek. 46:16, referring to the land that
belonged to the Princes, the Ancient Worthies, it says, “If
_ the prince give a gift unto his-sons, the inheritance thereof

shall be his sons’, it shall be their possession by inheri-
tance.” A place types a condition. The land typifies the
better resurrection of the Ancient Worthies. I cannot see
but that it means that it will be one of the joys and pleas-
ures of the Ancient Worthies to take those who by God’s
grace lived good, conscientious lives, not knowing spiritual
things, and elevating them to the condition of human
perfection earlier than the close of the millennium. If they
have a loyal spirit and love the Ancient Worthies they will
be called sons.

Ezek. 46:17. “If he (the Prince) give a gift of his
inheritance to one of his servants (raised to the better
resurrection) then it shall be the servant’s to the year of
liberty (that year when Christ shall deliver the Millennial
Kingdom over to God by giving it to the children of
Adam) after it shall return to the prince.” If anyone has
a mental attitude of a servant, to do things simply because
it pays to serve, or something like that, although he may
get a reward he will lose it at the’ end of the millennium,
because there will be somebody around to see that the
people are separated from everything they can be sepa-
rated from. Satan will be loosed to see if some cannot be
deceived. Possibly means some will have a servile attitude,
not that of a son. They will lose their inheritance, they
will pass into the Second Death possibly.

Our Lord in speaking of a good deed done by some
Jew, said, “Thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection
of the just.” He will be benefitted by his good deeds. I
believe a heathen man who has tried as Paul says to do
by nature the things contained in the law, if he try by
strong effort and a resolute good will to live a good life,
his conscience excusing him continually, should be bene-
fitted in the resurrection of the dead. I believe he might
be one of those, who, when he comes to a knowledge of
the Son of God and the Kingdom in operation, the Ancient
Worthies will be glad to honor with the same condition as
themselves.

Here is the Temple, “Ye grow into an Holy Temple of
the Lord.” It has a double wall with a space between.
The space between these double walls is not a characteristic
of the Ezekiel Temple alone. If you read over carefully
the description of the Temples erected by Zerubbabel and
Solomon you will find it speaks in similar language that
those temples have double walls. It seems as though the
platform represents the plane of being, the nature, and the
building represents the new mind in that nature. You
know all there is that is made of us now that is being
fashioned now after the fashion of Christ, is the mind.
We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. We
think the Temple represents the mind of the New Creature
on the Divine plane. That is how we can say that the
Holy would typify the memorial of the things of our pro-
bationary or tentative spirit born condition in this life.

What use was made of these little chambers here? We
read that between the inner and the outer walls of the
Temple were little chambers or rooms. What does it
mean? A place typifies a condition. Those rooms typify
a condition. Those rooms were in three stories. Accord-
ing to the plan given us, the bottom story was four cubits,
or six feet wide.

As the wall went up to the second story they made the
wall thinner. It went to the third story and got still
thinner, and the third was bigger than the first. The
language is hard to read, but that is what it means. These
side chambers were in three stories. What does that
mean? A place typifies a condition. As these stories were
one higher than the other, and as you know a place typifies
a condition, the differences of height typifies differences
of planes of being or condition. As this Court is higher
than the outside ground, and the Inner Court higher than
the Outer Court, and the Pavement or Platform of the

Temple higher than the Inner Court, so in these chambers -

It is more glorious to be
They

we have three stories or levels.
in the Great Company than in the restitution class.
will see God, but not serve Him.

We read of the Levites that the people were told to
love them. So, friends, if any of us happen to fall into
the condition of the Great Company, while we may have
a certain memory of shame to bear, yet we will have the
heartfelt love of the whole world of mankind. That
makes us feel better. God is good, no matter where we are.

These three chambers represent memories of the Christ,
head and body, memories of the things done on the three
planes of being, memories of things done on the plane of
justification, on the spirit begotten plane, and on the
highest, the Divine plane.

Our Lord tells that there is something better than a
bank account, something better than all the money in the
National Bank of New York. If we had the money in
the Bank of New York we could move mountains. There
is something better than treasure. The Lord says we are
to lay up treasures in Heaven. I think this heathen man
whom we spoke of, or the Jew of whom the Lord said
“Thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the
just,” have laid up treasure in the mind of the Lord,
treasures on the human plane. The Lord will not forget
it. So we read that if anyone does a good deed to a
prophet he will receive the reward of a prophet. The
heathen man when his conscience excuses him, is laying
up treasure in the lower chamber.

Some won't reach the highest nature, yet have striven,
they have just come short of perfect love. They have
laid up treasure in Heaven on the second story. I know
there are thousands of good men have laid a good deal of
treasure in the first story and many have laid up treasure
in the second story, but the greatest treasure is in the top
story, treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones of
character development, of true treasure in our minds and
hearts, treasures of love, Divine love, represented by the
gold, which typifies the love part of the Word of God.
“He that loveth is begotten of God and is in the light.”

The light is the Word of God, and the Word of God
is represented by the gold. So, friends, when somebody
does you a bad turn in or out of the Truth, and you love
them, you are like the electric light, your love is shining
upon all. If, no matter what a person does to or says
about you, you love them just the same, you have laid up
treasures of gold. In laying up treasures like that you
are developing a character jewel, maybe a diamond. It
may be that God deposits a diamond and gold for you.
When you learn more and more about the Truth and your
mind becomes more and more filled with the transforming
influence of the Word of God, the Lord lays up treasures
of silver for you. Treasures of gold, silver, and precious
stones. How big is your pile up there? Have you any kind
of a pile up there?

Each of these stories had thirty chambers. There is
that thirty again. We will know what thirty means as
a symbol when we get beyond the vail. If this chart
were drawn to represent those little chambers we would
have little cross lines indicating thirty conditions, and
little staircases leading to each floor. If you are living
in a house, which rooms would you like the best, front
or back? Here are the front rooms, and here are the
back rooms, way back here to the West. A place typifies
a condition. Thirty rooms, thirty conditions, thirty planes
of glory.

Why, these little chambers in the front of this great
house are to be packed full of treasure, while the back
ones will have just enough to let the occupant through
on the Divine plane, each star differing from star in glory.
Has your chamber a fulness of treasure, or is it empty?
Are you going to be a front room or a back room over-
comer? How are you overcoming? Are you piling the back
room with a little treasure once in a while? Our Saviour
will say, “Put down on the credit side one jewel for John
Smith.” Or are you piling them in so fast that they can
hardly be counted? I want my treasure on the top floor,
front. Where do you want yours? It is the same on each
story, rooms on each floor.

There is a beautiful picture in Ezek. 41:16-18 of the
purpose of the great sanctuary. It is the interior decora-

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tive scheme. Perhaps some of the friends have been
interior decorators, so they will want to know something
about the interior decorative scheme. The decorations
were on each one of the gates and the posts. ‘hey were
decorated with palm trees. You wouldn’t call that very
beautiful. Palm trees are good enough for God. “The
righteous is as the palm tree.” If a man have the benefits
of the ransom applied to him, the picture of perfect
humanity will be held before him continually. The picture
is impressed upon him that the purpose of this sanctuary
is for the development and preservation of perfect human-
ity, and so these palm trees occur so often, that wherever
a man turns he will see palm trees and the lesson is that
of perfect humanity. The great sanctuary is for the pur-
pose of blessing all the families and kindreds of earth with
the blessings of perfect humanity, and as they come in
here inside the porch they will see the palm tree deco-
rations. There will be palm trees at the gates; and cheru-
bim and palm tree decorations in the Temple.

Those cherubim in Ezekiel typify qualities of God
embodied in the Church, in you and in all of us, all the
faithful 144,000, whether they be Methodists, Catholics, or
Baptists, whatever name they were called in past ages.
Some overcome without. shaking off the shackles of Baby-
lon. No doubt about that. Of course, everybody now has
the chance to get out of Babylon, and it would be difficult
to overcome in Babylon now.

Twenty billions, when reanimated and when con-
secrating themselves here to God, do not consecrate direct
to God, but to the one to whom they belong. They con-
secrate themselves to Christ, Head and Body, and the
priests receive the consecrations in the side chambers
here. The Little Flock, the Christ Head and Body, receiv-
ing the consecrations of the people is pictured by the
priest receiving the flesh of these sacrifices.

Now the priest wouldn’t eat them raw. These buildings
were called side chambers. Before the priest would eat
the offering, something would be done. These corner
chambers are called boiling places where the flesh was
boiled. When a man offered an animal, it was taken by
the priests to these boiling places. There were chimneys
in them. I know this, that when Ezekiel comes back he
will know how to build the Sanctuary if it is ever to be
built. I think he will laugh at our plan, but it was the
best we could do.

Here is a man coming from the dead. We will select
some man whose name we know. We will say he has
been reanimated and consecrates himself. We will say
it is a man who never claimed to be a Christian, a man
who could hardly have lived a better life in many respects,
and wasn’t an angel either. Abraham Lincoln never pro-
fessed Christianity. We will treat of him as one case.
Here is the Little Flock, represented in the side chambers
here. The word comes up that Lincoln is back and has
consecrated himself. Won’t they feel good when Abraham
Lincoln comes back? That noble man, one of the noblest
men that ever walked the soil of America! Or we have
word that Edison is back from the dead. How useful
he may be, how useful he is now. They take him and
bring him in here.

Abraham Lincoln told stories that the ladies couldn’t
be around when he told them. Abraham Lincoln starts
to tell a story. He is told, “Abraham, those stories don’t
go now.” He starts another again, for nothing ever hap-
pened before from telling stories. Instead of being laughed
at they take him up here and boil him a little bit, for the
meat must be boiled before it can be eaten and assimilated.
Boiling is the application of heat tempered with water.
It means the application of stripes tempered with Divine
love, the water of the Word of God. Each man like him
coming up, not knowing the Master’s will, will be boiled
a little. He will have to 1ndergo a few stripes, a little
boiling.

Then out here somebody else comes up. Say it is,
well, perhaps some of your neighbors that wasn’t quite
what he ought to have been. We all know people that

Some men steal and some cheat,
women gossip and things like that. This man comes up
from the dead and starts to steal. Well, you must not
steal. He gets boiled a little. The Levites boil him a
little this time. He is the Judas kind. The characteristic
of Judas was that he took money and kept on taking
what was in the bag. He was a willful thief. This man
says, “I don’t care if I did get hurt a little.” “He that
knoweth the Master’s will and doeth it not shall be beaten
with many stripes.’ The word tells that these corner
places are boiling and baking places. They will bake
him. He will get some pretty sharp and severe trials,
many stripes—baked.

You and I have experiences like that. We _ suffer
things, we have been boiled and roasted some times. We
get into hot water when we get boiled. We do something
we know we should not have done, then we are baked.
We have fiery trials as a correction to teach us not to
do that again. We are baked too.

As Abraham Lincoln makes progress and Edison comes
up and turns from making plowshares into swords, to
turning battleships into mowing machines, how they will
rejoice at the progress of these great men. If there is
joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, think of
the joy when twenty-two billions repent. Do you want
to be there to enjoy these feasts, to enjoy forever that
great love feast? To all eternity there will be stories,
they will talk over the glorious stories of consecration,
not only for the thousand years, but year by year. As
Brother John Edgar said, “Day by day renew your con-
secration, and daily seek to carry it out.” Day by day
people of the world will consecrate at this Temple and
the priests forever will feast with joy and gladness over
the billions that have repented and are making progress
on this earth.

We see Heavenly things plainer now. Do you want
to be up there or down here? Is there any comparison?
Do you want to be there standing before God with the
privileges of the whole sanctuary area? You can go any-
where if you are up there. The priests went anywhere.
They can mingle with the people invisibly, as Christ did
with the Apostles after His resurrection. By God’s grace
let us renew our consecration, and let us daily seek to
carry it out and let our consecration be to the very best
things. If the wealthiest man on earth offered you or
sent you an invitation and you looked him up in Brad-
street’s or Dun’s and find out that his offer is bona fide,
he invites you to live with him and he will treat you like
a son, give you money, and you can live on Fifth Avenue,
and you can have a country home, and fifty automobiles,
would you tell him, “Mr. Jones, I think you have a beau-
tiful house. I like the looks of your automobiles and I
know that the invitation is bona fide, but I like Child’s
restaurants. Child’s is good enough. They make such
good pies’? Why not live with the millionaire? Are
your ambitions cheap or great? Will you be content, do
you want to bear shame and disgrace, and at the same
time be loved and blessed of the people, or do you want
to have the love of the people without shame and disgrace
of having everybody know just how you failed, and it
wasn’t necessary, because you attempted to defend human
rights? Brother Russell said of himself, “I have no
human rights that anybody has to respect.” Are we any
greater than this great teacher? Have we got to fight
for rights when Pastor Russell set this example?

Let us so participate in the blood that when we pass
through here we will not be putting our treasures in the
second story or third story rear, but in the top story front.
Let us be one of that company through whom Christ will
bring back from the dead all the billions of mankind. If
you want to bless your sons, your father, your mother,
your brothers, your sisters, and want to be in a position
to pour blessings on them all, then by God’s grace renew
your consecration tonight right here now, that you may
lay up treasure in Heaven, that you might be in that
eternal love feast of the priests! Amen!

are not real good.

62 SUPPLEMENT

SEVEN BRETHREN IMPRISONED

In a testimony of Sister MacMillan, the following ex-
one were read from a letter received from Brother Mac-
illan :

“Dec. 28, 1918. My Dear Mollie:—I am writing to
you at Pittsburgh this week, as you will no doubt be
there at the convention in a few days. Well, Christmas
has come and is gone. We have a real good time.
Friends from all over the country sent us good things
to eat, or cards. It was a real Christmas. Brother
Woodworth would get as much excitement and joy out
of each package as a 10-year-old boy; and I enjoyed
seeing him.

“I will not attempt to answer all the kind remem-
brances nor burden you to do so, however, you will no
doubt see many at Pittsburgh. Tell them all that the
gifts and cards made us glad and that we were able
(through the kindness of the officials) to share our
good things with others, so instead of reaching eight,
they reached over 150, I am enclosing a few letters
from friends, but cannot send you all of them.

I hope you will have a good time at the convention.
Please tell everyone that I am well and as happy as a
man or New Creature can be in jail, and that I am
looking forward to the happy day when we all will
not only be free from prison, but also free from the
old fallen bodies and forever united with the Lord
and all His faithful. Had a splendid time in Sunday
School today. We have united our class with the Jews,
and I spoke today, while Brother Rutherford spoke to
the Christian Scientists. “So on we go, no knowing,”
etc.
“With heaps of love to you and all, as ever,

“A, H. MACMILLAN.”

In a testimony, Sister VanAmburgh said, “Brother
VanAmburgh wanted to write a letter but was not per-
mitted to do so, but desired that his testimony be given.”
- She said, “Our brethren were quite well, rejoicing in all
their experiences, knowing divine providence is over all.
Shut up in their little 5x9 rooms for fourteen hours a day,
they think of the ‘Lord’s goodness, the love of the friends,
their desire to serve them, and how much they will enjoy
their freedom when in the Lord’s due time, He says, ‘It is
enough, Come, I have other service now for you to per-
form.’ Bro. VanAmburgh said:

““‘Assure the dear friends of our great love and fer-
vent prayers that the Lord will continue to bless them
richly with grace for every time of need. No doubt
the new year has as many surprises and blessings as
the past one, so we need to search our hearts carefully
lest any root of bitterness start and we stumble. WE
WANT THAT CROWN. Assure them of my deep
love for all. Ask them to please sing Hymn 328 as
part of my testimony,’ ”

She said further: “It would make you glad, indeed, to.

know how their hearts were warmed, cheered and touched
by the shower of Christmas remembrances from the dear
friends. They would like to thank all.”

BROTHER RUTHERFORD

“I am now rejoicing in the sufferings on your account,
and I am filling up the remainder of the afflictions of the
Anointed One, in my flesh, on behalf of his body, which is
the congregation.” Col. 1:24, Diaglott.

What could bring greater joy to the Christian here on
earth than to have the Lord’s favor clearly made manifest
to him? The Apostle Paul, who had such experience, wrote:
“It is given unto you as a privilege, not only to believe on
the Lord Jesus, but also to suffer on his account.” (Phil.
1:29.) There are probably no men on earth today who are
more highly favored and who are happier than the brethren
now in prison. They are conscious of their entire inno-
cence of intentional wrong-doing, and rejoice to be suf-
fering with Christ for loyally serving Him.

On the 6th day of May an indictment was returned by

the Federal Grand Jury for the Eastern District of New
York at Brooklyn against the following: J. F. Rutherford,
W. E. VanAmburgh, A. H. MacMillan, F. H. Robison, C. J.
Woodworth, Geo. H. Fisher, R. J. Martin, G. De Cecca and
R. H. Hirsh, charging them with conspiracy to obstruct the
United States in the prosecution of the war. (Jer. 38:4.)
The indictment was in four counts, each charging a sepa-
rate and distinct offense under different parts of the
statute. This statute, known as the Espionage Law, was
enacted June 15, 1917, and is strictly a war measure. It
would be impossible to violate it when the country is at
peace.
The indictment as originally returned charged that the
conspiracy was entered into some time between April 6,
1917 (the date when the United States declared war). and
May 6, 1918. Upon motion, the Government specified the
date of the alleged offense as between June 15, 1917, and
May 6, 1918. The case was called for trial on June 3, and
the Government dismissed as to R. H. Hirsh.

The jury that was to try the case was impaneled June
4, and the taking of testimony began June 5. The trial
progressed until June 21, when sentence was pronounced.
Throughout the entire time the defendants were calm and
serenely happy, conscious that the Lord was with them and
that he was permitting the experiences for his own wise
purpose. One spectator referred to them as “dignified, pale-
faced Russellites.” Another said: “Those fellows always
have a smile. They will be smiling when they get behind
the bars, and when they go to the gallows.” Little does the
world realize why the Christian smiles.

A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more per-
sons to commit an unlawful act. At the trial the Govern-
ment contended that “The Fnished Mystery” was written
and published designedly to hinder the United States in
raising an army and prosecuting the war, and that the
defendants had written to members of the International
Bible Students Association within draft age letters that
interfered with the raising of an army. “The Finished
Mystery” was offered in evidence by the Government, and
portions of it read, particularly the preface, pages 247-252,
406, 407 and 469. The Government’s counsel contended that
these pages were designedly hidden in different parts of
the book for the purpose of first getting a person interested
in some other part of the book and then he would be in-
fluenced by the statements concerning war; that the pub-
lishing of the book, The Bible Students’ Monthly and The
Watch Tower, and the writing of letters to conscientious
objectors were overt acts in carrying out the conspiracy.
Defendants denied all such, and proved clearly and sub-
stantially the following facts:

Synopsis of Argument

That the International Bible Students Association is
wholly a religious organization; that the members accept
as their principles of belief the Holy Bible, as expounded
by Pastor Russell; that Pastor Russell in his lifetime
wrote and published six volumes of Studies in the Scrip-
tures, and as early as 1896 promised the Seventh Volume,
and that it would treat the prophecies of Ezekiel and
Revelation; that on his deathbed he stated some one else
would write the Seventh Volume; that shortly after his
death the Executive Committee of the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society authorized Brothers Clayton J. Wood-
worth and George H. Fisher to write and submit manu-
script for consideration, without any promise being made
concerning publication; that all the manuscript on Revela-
tion, except the extract from an article by the Rev. John
Haynes Holmes, was completed before the United States
got into the war, and that all the manuscript of the entire
book, except the “Temple” chapter in Ezekiel, was in the
hands of the printer before the enactment of the Espionage
Law, hence the impossibility of any such conspiracy as
charged having been entered into with intentions to violate
that law. Not one of the defendants saw or even knew of
the existence of the Espionage Law until March, 1918;

SUPPLLMAN LE 63

but the Court held this fact to be immaterial and ruled it
out, even on the question of intent.

, The evidence further showed that the letters written by
the defendants were replies to inquiries made by brethren
of the International Bible Students Association, for advice
under the law governing the selective draft.

Brother De Cecca did not take the witness stand. Each
of the other seven testified that they never at any time had
combined, agreed or conspired to do anything whatsoever
to affect the draft or to interfere with the Government in
the prosecution of the war, nor did they have any thought
of so doing; that they never had any intention of interfer-
ing in any manner with the war; that their work was
wholly religious and not at all political; that they did not
solicit members, and never advised or encouraged any one
to resist the draft; that the letters written were sent to
those whom they knew to be consecrated Christians who,
under the law, were entitled to advice; and that they were
not opposed to the Nation’s going to war, but that as con-
secrated Christians they themselves could not engage in
mortal combat.

The law requires that before one can be convicted the
proof must show that he wilfully committed the act with
the intent to interfere with or obstruct the Government in
its prosecution of the war. The defendants testified that
they never at any time entertained such an intent and had
no desire whatsoever to impede the Government in any
manner. They further testified that their lives for years
past had been devoted exclusively to religious work—
telling the divine plan for the blessing of mankind; that the
Lord had foretold the war, and that for them to be against
the war would mean to be against that which the Lord has
permitted; hence all their efforts were confined exclusively
to religious work. ;

Christians Always Misunderstood

Verily the unconsecrated cannot understand the conse-
crated Christian. It was so with the Master; and it is
equally so with his followers. As an example, the Gov-
ernment put in evidence a letter written by a brother to
some brethren in camp, saying: “We rejoice with you,
dear brethren, that you are having opportunities of study
and fellowship together. Be of good courage and hold fast;
a little while and the fight will be over, and then you will
be glad that you have stood for the Lord and righteous-
ness.” This the prosecution construed as an overt act to
resist the draft and encourage insubordination, whereas
all Christian brethren understand the words to apply en-
tirely to the Christian warfare and as having no applica-
tion to worldly matters. To be misunderstood is a part of
the sufferings for Christ’s sake. Some day all will be made
clear. What a happy day that will be!

The summing up by counsel occupied the greater part
of two days. Counsel for the defense, Mr. Sparks and Mr.
Fuller, made splendid addresses, which were both eloquent
and forceful, and which brought forth many expressions
of commendation from their auditors. These are both
noble men, and God will reward them in His due time.

Sentence Imposed

The case went to the jury about 5 P. M. on June 20, and
at 10:20 the same night a verdict of “Guilty” on all four
counts was returned against all the defendants. They
were sent away to jail at midnight and returned into court
for sentence the day following, when seven of them were
sentenced to twenty years imprisonment at Atlanta, Ga., on

-in sweet fellowship together.

each count, the sentence to commence and run concur-
rently on each of the four counts. The brethren were not
at all disturbed, knowing themselves to be in the Lord’s
hands. Their serene calmness was astounding to the large
crowd gathered in the court room, and officers were heard
to say: “We never before saw men like those.”

Our brethren were then taken to a private room, where
their wives and other friends were kindly permitted to
serve a bountiful luncheon; and several hours were spent
The bystanders looked on
with amazement at the happy faces of all these Christian
brethren. Again the testimony was given that these have
walked with Jesus and learned of Him.

It was exactly high noon (sun time) Friday, June 21,
when the Judge pronounced sentence against the seven
brethren, Brother De Cecca’s sentence being deferred for
further investigation. This was the longest day of the
year, and just at noon the sun reached its zenith.

When called upon by the Court to state whether they
had anything to say why sentence should not be passed
upon them, the defendants remained silent. The Judge said
in part: “During the trial counsel for the defense at-
tempted to impeach the law officers of the Government,
the Army Intelligence Bureau, and all the ministers
throughout the land. The religious propaganda which
these defendants have vigorously advocated and spread
throughout the nation as well as among our allies is a
greater danger than a division of the German army, and a
person preaching religion usually has much influence and
if he is sincere he is all the more effective. This aggra-
vates rather than mitigates the wrong they have done.
Therefore, as the only prudent thing to do with such per-
sons, the Court has concluded that the punishment should
be severe.”

The ecclesiastics stirred up the people against Stephen
because “they were not able to resist the wisdom and the
spirit by which he spake.” They charged that “this man
ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy
place (church system) and the law.” (Acts 6:9-15.) A
number of clergymen were in the court room when the
sentence was imposed. Some of them had attended
throughout the entire trial.

Some Comparisons

Just a moment before the Judge pronounced sentence
Brother Woodworth leaned over and whispered in Brother
Rutherford’s ear the following:

“Imagine yourself in the place of the dear Redeemer,
or of one of the martyrs of truth whose blood stains
the pages of history. See yourself in the midst of
your enemies—persecuted, hated, reviled—conscious of
your innocence, of the singleness of your purpose and
the righteousness of your cause. See yourself with
hands tied, your accusers clamoring for your life, your
judge unable to stem the tide of human ignorance and
passion. Realize that though they may take your life,
they can not injure the new creature, nor force you to
renounce your faith, nor be unfaithful to yourself or
to your cause.”

“*A better day is coming, a morning promised long,
When truth and right with holy might

Shall overthrow the wrong;
When Christ the Lord shall listen to every plaintive

sigh,
And stretch his hand o’er sea and land
With justice, by and bye.’”

The following comparisons will be of interest to many:

1. Jesus, the perfect one Head of the church, was without
fault and was wrongfully accused. F

2. Jesus offended the clergy; and they stirred up the people
against Him. He was brought before the civil powers
and charged with sedition as an enemy of Rome.

1. Seven brethren were sentenced. The number symbolizes
perfection, hence represents all of the New Creation on
earth, wrongfully accused.

2. His brethren offended the clergy, who stirred up the peo-
ple against them, sending petitions to the officers of the
law and causing the brethren to be arrested, charged
with sedition and hindering the Government in the war.

64 SUPPLEMENT

8. The moon symbolizes the law dispensation.

4, Once each month the moon is full, or at its zenith, and
immediately begins to wane. . :

5. Jesus was tried and condemned on Thursday night.

6. Jesus was dying on the cross at high noon, Friday, at
full moon.—Matt. 27 :45.

7. The moon immediately began to wane after the cruci-
fixion of our Lord Jesus, thus signifying the fall of
Judaism. : :

Immediately following the sentence, counsel appealed
the case and asked the Court to admit the defendants to
bail pending the presentation of their case to the Appellate
Court. In support of the application, counsel stated in sub-
stance: “These men immediately stopped the publication of
‘The Finished Mystery’ when they learned of the Govern-
ment’s objection to it, and before the finding of the indict-
ment. This seems to be the best evidence of good citizen-
ship and that they are law-abiding; and they should be ad-
mitted to reasonable bail. They are engaged in a great and
good religious work, and it is of the greatest importance to
others that they be permitted to return to that work.” The
Judge replied: “If they are out of their activities the
Court should see that they stay out of them, and do not
return to them for some months. They are worse than
traitors. No greater harm could be done than to admit
them to bail.” Thus were the names of the Lord’s children
cast out as evil. Truly, all of our brethren present became
a gazing stock to others. Heb. 10:38.

Among the things Jesus said to his disciples were the
sweet words: “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How con-
soling it is to know that he marks out our experiences for
us that we may be overcomers! Shortly after the arrest
two of the defendants were walking together, and one of
them remarked to his brother in bonds: “Brother, I would
not want to go right from enthusiasm of a big public
-mecting to the kingdom when I remember the difficult ex-
periences through which our Master passed.” How truly

oo

. The sun symbolizes the Gospel dispensation.

4. Once each year (June 21) the sun reaches its zenith, and
immediately begins to wane.

5. The brethren were tried and condemned at 10:20
Thursday night.

6. Seven of His brethren were sentenced exactly at high
noon (sun time) on the longest day of the year (June
21), when the sun was at its zenith.

7. The sun immediately began. to wane at the hour the

seven were sentenced, signifying the fall of Ecclesias-

ticism.

that statement expresses the sentiments of a consecrated
heart! “It is enough for the servant that he be as his
Lord.” It is a blessed privilege to be companions in suf-
fering with. the Master, St. Stephen and St. Paul, all of
whom were charged with sedition. Jesus trod the wine-
press alone. How sweet to let seven brethren have the
companionship of each other in the trying ordeal!

Long have we expected severe trials to be upon the
¢hurch, and now they have come. The nails pierced the
hands and feet of Jesus. The hands very fitly represent the
apostles and early martyrs. The “feet members” are the
last members of the body of Christ on earth, and these may
expect similar treatment. Let not one of the dear friends
be discouraged by reason of the imprisonment. of our
seven brethren. They are in the Lord’s hands; and proba-
bly the Lord will see to it that their imprisonment will
speak more eloquently than their voices to the public. Let
us all rejoice and be glad of the increased evidences that
the kingdom draweth nigh.

(Since the writing of the above article Brother De
Cecca has been sentenced by the Judge to ten years in the
Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta.) THE WATCH TOWER
will continue as long as the Lord permits. The editorial
committee will remain the: same, each having a proxy to

act for him at the office. Considerable manuscript is on

hand and ready for publication. The vice president- and
board of directors are managing the work at Pittsburgh.
BRO. J, F. RUTHERFORD.

The Following Letter Was Forwarded to Messrs. Sparks, Fuller & Striker
(Counsel for the Society), by Hon. Judge Harland B. Howe

THE HONORABLE ATTORNEY GENERAL, WASHINGTON, D. C.
SIR:—Answering your telegram of the 1st inst., I wired you last evening as

follows:

“Recommend immediate commutation for Joseph Rutherford, N. Fisher, Clay-
ton J. Woodworth, Giovanni Dececca, A. Hugh MacMillan. They are all defendants

in same case in Eastern District of New York.

My position ts to be generous now

that the war is over. They did much damage by preaching and publishing their re-
ligious doctrines.

“The severe sentence of twenty years was imposed upon each of the defendants
My principal purpose was to make an example,

except Dececca. His was ten years.

as a warning to others, and I believed that the President would relieve them after .
the war was over. As I said in my telegram, they did much damage and it may well
be claimed that they ought not to be set at liberty so soon, but as they cannot do
any more here now, I am in favor of being as lenient as I was severe in imposing

sentence.

I believe most of them were sincere, if not all, and I am not tn favor of

keeping such persons.in confinement after their opportunity for making trouble ts

past.

Their case has not yet been heard in the Cirenit Court of Appeals.”

Respectfully,
(Signed) HARLAND B. HOWE,
United States District Judge.

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