1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

We care not Lord for earthly fame,Its honors, or its pride,But let us bear Thy sacred name,And own us as Thy bride.Thy name above all others grand,Which Thy waiting bride shall own;When Thou shalt call her to thy sideAnd share with her Thy throne;Through realms of fadeless glory,Shall all its power confess;And every tongue on earth shall praise,"The Lord our righteousness."Mrs. A. Agens, N.J.====================R288 : page 3"AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT."For the sake of the many new readers of the WATCH TOWER,it may not be amiss to give a general review of the steps of faithby which the Lord has been leading us as a people, during thelast seven years, and in a general sense during the precedingthirty-five years.The parable of "The Ten Virgins" (Matt. 25) seems to have beengiven as a pen picture of some of the important events connectedwith the close of the Gospel Age. The introduction of theparable shows this, for after recounting to the disciples (Matt.24) some of the signs of the ending of the Gospel Age and the --parousia--presence of the Son of Man, which verse 37 assuresthem will be a presence which the world cannot recognize, thenfollows the parable, connected with the preceding statements bythe word then. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven (church) belikened unto ten virgins which took their lamps (Bibles) andwent forth to meet the Bridegroom" (i.e.,) they went forth orseparated themselves because of their belief that theBridegroom, Jesus, was about to come.While we are neither "Millerites" nor "Adventists," yet webelieve that this much of this parable met its fulfillment in 1843and 1844, when William Miller and others, Bible in hand,walked out by faith on its statements, expecting Jesus at thattime. They were composed like all other earthly companies oftwo or more classes; one class had the Spirit in their hearts aswell as its light in the Word (oil in their vessels and in theirlamps) others had only the light of the Word (oil in the lamp).The disappointment of that company of Christians (which wascomposed of many of the best Christians from alldenominations) all are well aware of, but it was foretold in the