SEMI-MONTHLY.
VOL. XXIII.
JANUARY 1, 1902.
No. 1.
Views from the Watch Tower
The Twentieth Century Church..................
3
The Early Church..................................
4
Such As I Have, Give I Unto You...................
8
Questions of General Interest..................... 10
Abraham's Wife—His Niece?.................... 10
Palestine as a Refuge......................... 10
Conventions are "Holy
Convocations"............................... 11
The Father Draws Now,
The Son Then................................ 11
Drinking at the Brook............................. 12
THIS journal is set for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated,—Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to—"Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God"—"which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed."—Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken;—according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
TO US THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY TEACH
That the Church is "the Temple of the Living God"—peculiarly "His workmanship;" that its construction has been in progress throughout the Gospel age—ever since Christ became the world's Redeemer and the chief corner stone of this Temple, through which, when finished, God's blessings shall come "to all people," and they find access to him.—I Cor. 3:16,17; Eph. 2:20-22; Gen. 28:14; Gal. 3:29.
That meantime the chiseling, shaping and polishing, of consecrated believers in Christ's atonement for sin, progresses; and when the last of these "living stones," "elect and precious," shall have been made ready, the great Master Workman will bring all together in the First Resurrection; and the Temple shall be filled with his glory, and be the meeting place between God and men throughout the Millennium.—Rev. 15:5-8.
That the Basis of Hope, for the Church and the World, lies in the fact that "Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man," "a ransom for all," and will be "the true light which lighteth every man thatcometh into the world," "in due time."—Heb. 2:9; John 1:9; I Tim. 2:5,6.
That the Hope of the Church is that she may be like her Lord, "see him as he is," be "partaker of the divine nature," and share his glory as his joint-heir.—I John 3:2; John 17:24; Rom. 8:17; 2 Pet. 1:4.
That the present mission of the Church is the perfecting of the saints for the future work of service; to develop in herself every grace; to be God's witness to the world; and to prepare to be the kings and priests of the next age.—Eph. 4:12; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:6; 20:6.
That the hope for the World lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by Christ's Millennial Kingdom—the restitution of all that was lost in Adam, to all the willing and obedient, at the hands of their Redeemer and his glorified Church—when all the wilfully wicked will be destroyed.—Acts 3:19-23; Isa. 35.
LETTERS FOR THE EDITOR SHOULD BE SENT TO ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.
SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
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WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY,
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MONEY MAY BE SENT BY EXPRESS, BANK DRAFT, POSTAL ORDER, OR REGISTERED.
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SPECIAL
TERMS TO THE LORD'S POOR, AS FOLLOWS:—
Those of the interested who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for the TOWER, will be supplied FREE, if they send a Postal Card each December, stating their case and requesting the paper. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually.
ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER AT ALLEGHENY, PA., POST OFFICE.
WATCH TOWER BINDERS, POST-PAID 40 CTS.
These hold two years' issues, keep them clean, orderly and ready for reference. This is wholesale-cost price; for your benefit.
We have these in good supply now; and the last lot is larger in size and of heavier paper than previous lots. Prices 25c per 100, $2 per 1,000, post or express, prepaid.
The announcement of Motto Cards, etc., in our Dec'r 1st issue opposite page 377 still holds good: A $2 lot for $1 plus 16c postage. We still have a good supply, and they are surely both beautiful and cheap and desirable. But we have in mind some of our readers who may not be able to invest even this modest sum in home-embellishments. What can we do for these?
We can and will put up for these dear friends a cheaper packet, which will serve them well, and help to brighten their homes and to remind them also of the precious promises of our Father's Word.
These will be 50 cents per packet, including postage.
We will put up also a 25c post-paid packet—for those who cannot invest more.
r2929 ====================r2929 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER.
r2930 THE EARLY CHURCH.
r2933 SUCH AS I HAVE, GIVE I UNTO YOU.
r2934 QUESTIONS OF GENERAL INTEREST.
r2935 DRINKING AT THE BROOK
r2936 INTERESTING LETTERS FROM FRIENDS.
SEMI-MONTHLY.
VOL. XXIII.
JANUARY 15, 1902.
No. 2.
Views from the Watch Tower........................ 19
Anti-Semitic Move Renewed
in Russia................................... 19
The Zionist Congress.......................... 20
The Decay of Belief............................... 20
Some Suggested Remedies....................... 20
A Pastor's Testimony.......................... 21
The First Persecution............................. 21
The Great Jehovah's Plan.......................... 23
"With Him—Called and Chosen
and Faithful"............................... 24
Attempting to Deceive God......................... 28
May We Defend Earthly Interests?.................. 29
LETTERS FOR THE EDITOR SHOULD BE SENT TO ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.
SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
—ADDRESS TO—
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY,
"BIBLE HOUSE," 610, 612, 614 ARCH ST., ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.
—OR TO—
BRITISH BRANCH, 131 GIPSY LANE, FOREST GATE, LONDON E. ENGLAND.
PRICE, $1.00 (4S.) A YEAR IN ADVANCE, 5c (2-1/2d.) A COPY.
MONEY MAY BE SENT BY EXPRESS, BANK DRAFT, POSTAL ORDER, OR REGISTERED.
FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES BY FOREIGN MONEY ORDERS, ONLY.
SPECIAL
TERMS TO THE LORD'S POOR, AS FOLLOWS:—
Those of the interested who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for the TOWER, will be supplied FREE, if they send a Postal Card each December, stating their case and requesting the paper. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually.
ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER AT ALLEGHENY, PA., POST OFFICE.
We welcome the lists of new subscribers now coming in, and greatly appreciate the zeal of the friends, manifested thus. We offer no "Premiums," preferring to have only such help as is tendered to the Lord by grateful hearts. They shall receive their reward in another form,—from the Master.
But, however glad we are to get new names on our lists, we are still more pleased to have old ones continue there. It will be with pain that we will now, shortly, cut off our list the names of several hundred whose subscriptions expired a year ago, and who have neglected to send money for renewal, or request to have the journal continue on credit, or on the free list,—as the "Lord's Poor."
We give all such this final notice; and explain that unless you state the matter explicitly, no record is made in our subscription books; and thus our list-clerk assumes that you have not been heard from and are either dead or no longer interested; and the name is dropped.
If you sent us money and we received it, you get a mail acknowledgment of it. If any mistake appears drop us a card at once, explaining. If your paper ceases to come to you, write at once; we will be glad to reenter your name; but it would save both you and us trouble if you would express your intentions promptly when your subscription (whether cash, credit or free) expires. We desire that all the deeply interested shall have the journal so long as they live and it is published. We have no desire to force or intrude it upon any one.
If you subscribe for a friend on account of Good Hopes or sending the money, please notify him to expect the journal, otherwise he may be less interested in examining it.
r2938 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER.r2938 THE DECAY OF BELIEF
r2939 THE FIRST PERSECUTION.
r2940 "WITH HIM—CALLED AND CHOSEN AND FAITHFUL."
r2943 ATTEMPTING TO DECEIVE GOD.
r2944 MAY WE DEFEND OUR EARTHLY INTERESTS?
KIND WORDS FROM THE INTERESTED.
I did not know there were such publications as Millennial Dawn and Zion's Watch Tower until this year. And how forcibly they have brought the message to me, "Go work in his vineyard!" for indeed the harvesters are few. I feel that I could sacrifice all for the Master. But oh, I feel my insufficiency when I ask myself what can I do? I have an ardent desire and longing to work for the Master in an acceptable way, and ask the Father many times with streaming eyes to open the eyes of my understanding and let me know the truth of his divine plan. We have been so blinded by error and misconception of the Truth. I have been a member of the "Church of Christ" since early girlhood, but I am sorry to say that until the last five or six years I belonged to that large body who call themselves Christians and do not know God. Since that time I have been earnestly seeking for more light and it seems that your glorious works have been an answer to that prayer. I accidently (?) ran across three numbers of Zion's Watch Tower and the first three volumes of the Dawn. They have thrown a wonderful light on passages in the divine Word which were either neglected, or dark to me before.
Oh, Brother Russell, the wealth of earth could not buy from me the knowledge I now possess of the Father's glorious plan! With a grateful and earnest heart I thank God for the store house of knowledge you have opened to my understanding. It seems that you have given me the key. May many other souls awake and be brought to the knowledge of the glorious coming kingdom and realize what it is to suffer with Christ if we would reign with him! I am eager and anxious to work for the Master, but how, in the way to do the most good? The Church would be glad to have me work, at fairs, suppers and entertainments, but I cannot do that and call it for the Master. What are the qualifications necessary for the colporteur work? I think possibly I might work there. Explain this matter to me fully, for I am anxious to help with this grand work. Remember me in my weakness at the throne of grace. I am sincerely your sister,
[Colporteur work explained by letter. Ed.]
I think I have a somewhat peculiar request to make of you. I know how busy you are, but your past kindness makes me bold to come to you. As the Dawns have been published we have received and read them greedily,—often reading them in whole or in part several times: and we have most surely appreciated them. Our hearts have been filled with love and praise to our Father for permitting us to see the glories of his plan, the mysteries of his blessed Word. We have loaned and given away books, tracts and Towers more than we could possibly tell, hoping that some hungry soul might find a feast. We tried to be zealous and faithful, but realize that we have made more failures than anything else. The Father has been so good to us. We were permitted to attend the St. Louis Convention and that was the beginning of better days to us.
I am now about half way through a re-reading of Vol. III. Dawn. I did not realize that I was neglecting the Dawns, but I now know that I was. I have had such a feast, I cannot express it. I can only praise our Lord for stirring me up to the re-reading.
You see that all these years I have been reading the Towers and the Bible and now as I re-read the Dawns I understand them so much better. Besides, at first I was not capable of grasping so much, all at once. If I knew the right words to say that would cause all Watch Tower readers to re-read their Dawns, I would write a letter for publication in the Tower and I would plead with them as they value the truth and their "high calling" not to neglect this privilege. I would not call it a duty, for it is above a duty, it is a privilege. So now, Brother Russell, that is what I want you to do, for you will know the right things to say. May the Lord give you the things he sees you need to make you perfect in his sight. We thank you for all your kindness to us.
I have read the three volumes of Millennial Dawn with much interest, pleasure, and profit, and am therefore anxious to know if any more volumes have been published since Vol. III., as intimated in its pages.
[Five volumes are now out, and two more are purposed. Ed.]
I should very much like to express to the author, the great spiritual blessing I have received from a study of these three books, fully believing that God has put them into my hands. I had been looking for light on these things for some time, and before hearing of these volumes I had already made some of their opinions my own. Hoping that God's blessing may still rest on your labours, believe me, Yours gratefully,
I received a copy of "Tabernacle Shadows" enclosed with a parcel of tracts. I am not able to express how much it was appreciated by me, and what a help it was to a fuller understanding of God's Word. Some parts I wept over, in particular, the verses "My Sacrifice," and about the scapegoat. I felt, indeed, the scapegoat more nearly represented me, but I am very desirous to be of "the Lord's goat,' and to be an "overcomer" by his grace. Sometimes I have a strong hope that I may be "accounted worthy," which gives me such joy that I can then triumph over every adverse circumstance, but sometimes I am discouraged by the difficulties of the way. But I thank the Lord for his loving favor in allowing me to know these things, and trusting in his merit, "I press toward the mark."
The Watch Towers are my greatest help. I find them more so as time goes on, and the way seems more narrow. I have received several helpful messages enclosed with tracts from the London Branch, which are much enjoyed. I am still distributing tracts on Sunday afternoons when able, but cannot say much about results. I must leave them with the Lord. Several Christian people have appreciated them and wanted more, but many have been distributed at a distance, so that I do not see the people for a long while. But I feel that it is for my good not to see great results. His word will not return void but will accomplish that for which it is sent, so I can leave it with him. With love in the Lord to all at Bible House, with much gratitude I remain, yours in our Lord Jesus,