1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus in the flesh,so this greater Elijah, the Church in the flesh, is theForerunner of the great Messiah on the spirit plane. Wemust suffer with Him if we would share in His resurrectionand share in His glory. This was the lesson ofthe transfiguration vision.The disciples wondered and queried, saying, "Why dothe Pharisees and Scribes tell us," according to the Scriptures,"that Elijah must first come." Jesus answeredthat, in a sense, to those who could receive it, John theBaptist had thus come, and had introduced Jesus as theMessiah, and that John the Baptist had in a sense fulfilledthis prophecy when He introduced the Redeemer-King.St. Peter's words, already referred to, fully satisfy usthat the transfiguration scene was a vision of the comingglory of Christ--"We were eye-witnesses of His Majesty,that the promised Kingdom will eventually come.The vision on the mount confirms this to us. However,the prophecies of old, which foretold Messiah'scoming and reign, are still more authentic, "more sure,"they cannot fail; the Kingdom merely awaits the sufferingsof those who will be the members of the Body ofChrist. Then, at the Second Coming of Jesus, these willbe blessed and glorified, and the class represented byMoses will also be blessed and used as instruments of theKingdom. Thus in the vision the entire Kingdom was represented:first of all, by Jesus Himself, second by Elijah,who represented the Church class, and third by Moses,who represented the faithful on the earthly plane, throughwhom the Heavenly blessings will pour out uponhumanity.page 330O, Master, it is good to beEntranced, enrapt, alone with Thee,Till we, too, changed from grace to grace,Gaze on Thine own transfigured face.====================R5122 : page 330INTERESTING LETTERSQUESTIONS RESPECTING CLASS DISCIPLINEDEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:--Some of us desire your further advice on two points:(1) What attitude should we take toward brethren whohold little meetings not authorized or appointed by theClass with which they are connected?(2) We note your recommendation concerning testimonymeetings and their helpfulness in character-development.What should we do in a case where Elders oppose suchmeetings, but where the Class desire to have them?