The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

time will be cut off in the second death; but all who are obedient will get the first dominion restored to them;and then there will be no more death, no more sorrow or crying, for all the former things will have passed away,and the great jubilee of jubilees, the great times of rejoicing, will never cease, but will extend throughout alleternity.Some may inquire why, if this is God's rest - day, did He work on this day. Did not God raise our Lord JesusChrist from the grave, as the beginning of the New Creation, and set him at His own right hand? Was not thatwork? Yes, dear friends, it was work after a measure, but God's law did not prevent that kind of work. Why?Because as our Lord shows, if a sheep or an ox were to fall in the pit oil the Sabbath, God's law would notprevent one from pulling it out, but rather encourages, it. This was an act of mercy. Love dictated it. God's lawcould not prevent it. Now, if an ox falling into the pit could be raised on the Sabbath day, and God's law not bebroken, how much more could our Heavenly Father raise His well beloved son out of the pit, the death state, onthis great Sabbath day!If this be the Sabbath day, then, as we say, it is divided into an evening and a morning - the evening and themorning of the seventh day. You will notice on the chart how these two parts come in here just in the middle,between two rest years, namely, this one, 626 13. C., the last typical jubilee, and the previous year, the year 627B. C., the 49th year of that series of Sabbath years, - two rest years. And just as we carry the cycle 2500 yearsfrom the end of that year 626 and come to October, 1875, overlapping here a year, so to get the symmetry wewould do the same backwards: we would begin at the beginning of this year 627 and go back 2500 years,overlapping here a year, and there we have the first Adam's day, a thousand years, the 2500 overlapping a year;then two rest years in the middle, then again 2500; then the last Adam's day, again overlapping a year. So herewe have two rest years exactly in the center of this whole period of 7,000 years, and again we have two restyears at the beginning before the fall, and again we have two rest years on an anti-typical scale at the end,Now, we will study these rest years and Fee how they apply. First of all, in regard to these two rest years: Adamwas created in the first of these years. What did Adam require to do then? He required to learn to use hisfaculties. Could he not just use his faculties at once? No, dear friends, the time that you learned to use yourfaculties was when you were little children, and you do not remember about that now. But I can give you a casein point: In Glasgow, Scotland, last year a man was blind from his birth had his sight restored to him; he hadcataracts in both eyes which were removed. He was between 20 and 30 years of age. When that mail had hissight restored he could at first see light and darkness; he could see objects, but could not determine the shapenor the size, nor the distance. He had already educated his touch, so that lie could begin to educate his eyesnow. When he saw all object he had to take it and feel it in order to determine its size and shape. And that is theway he educated his eyes. When he was walking across the room and saw all object in front of him he could nottell its distance away from him, and would stop, thinking it was near him; so he had to put out his hands then gocautiously up to the object until he touched it. He had to learn how to use his eyes. So it must have been withAdam at the first; but being a. perfect man, of course he very soon was able to do that. He had to learn the useof his eyes and ears, and all his other senses; he had to learn also his environment; lie had to learn about theanimals. and the plants, and all the other things around, and he had to take possession of all these things. Andthen he found out something; he found out his need for a companion; he found out he required some one whocould enter with him into his schemes, some one with whom he. could share his blessings and joys, And so Godgave him Eve. God sent him into a deep sleep, and after a short time of trouble Eve was presented to him. So,while we understand the first year was a time of rejoicing, nevertheless we should understand that the secondyear, after Eve was presented to him, must have been a time of great rejoicing. We cannot conceive the degreeof rejoicing that the perfect. man and perfect 'woman had in their companionship with each other. And thencame the fall, when all was lost only to be restored seven thousand years afterwards.In the middle our picture shows two rest years; the first of these years was a Sabbath year; a time, therefore, ofrest, and pleasure; but the second year, being a jubilee, was a time of much more rejoicing. As we have already