1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
cunningly devised fables, but walking in the light and werejoiced.Coming to the spring of 1878, the time parallel to the giving upof the Jewish church and ending of the Gospel church by theSpirit, we naturally and not unreasonably expected some changeof our condition, and all were more or less disappointed whennothing supernatural occurred. But our disappointment wasbrief, for we noticed that the Jewish church (and not the Gospelchurch) was the pattern of ours, and therefore we should notexpect parallels to Pentecost or to anything which happened inthe beginning of this church.We looked again at the Jewish church as the pattern and sawthat though Jesus gave them up as a fleshly house at the close ofhis three and a half years ministry, yet he continued specialfavor to them afterward saying to the disciples after resurrection,"that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in hisname among all nations,...beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke24:47.) Acts 10:15-34 and 45, showed that the gospel was notpreached to any gentile for some time after Pentecost, Corneliusbeing the first convert. Why was this favor shown to the Jewsafter the Gospel Age began, we inquired. We found the answerwhen we referred to the prophecy of Daniel, (9:24,) viz: Thatseventy weeks of time (seven years to each week) was set apartby God as time during which his special favor would beextended to fleshly Israel as a people, during which, at the endof sixty-nine weeks, (7 & 62, Vs. 25) Messiah should come.(Fulfilled when Jesus was baptised in Jordan, and received theanointing of the Spirit which constituted him "the Lord'sanointed,"--"The Christ.")Then the seventieth week of the covenant still remained--sevenyears of God's favor, during which God said he would make anend of sins, anoint the most holy, etc., (Vs. 24). And during theseventieth week "Messiah shall be cut off (die) but not forhimself," thus causing all typical "sacrifices and oblations tocease in the midst of the seventieth week." We saw clearly,therefore, that the gospel was preached among them as a people,as a part of the favor of those seventy weeks of years, and wetherefore believe that Cornelius was converted three and a halfyears after the cross, and that while Jesus left them desolate as anation and declared that "the kingdom was taken from them, yetthe people of that Jewish church were shown favor individually,by having the invitation to the gospel, spiritual kingdom offeredto them."We then looked for the parallel to this in the Gospel Age andfound that the nominal Gospel church, the parallel of the Jewishchurch, was "cast off" or "left desolate," "spewed out" at theparallel point of time, 1878, but was due to have favor asindividuals for three and a half years, or until the autumn of1881, during which they were to separate themselves from the
"Babylon" church. As Peter called those out of the given-upJewish church, "saying save yourselves from this perversegeneration," (Acts 2:40,) so, now the wheat of the gospel churchis addressed by the Spirit-- "Come out of her, my people, that yebe not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues"--(theseven last,) Rev. 18.Just at this time we met with a sad and very severe trial: Abrother of influence and ability among us, departed from thevery foundation of all faith, claiming that he did not need anyone to pay the penalty for his sins, as he and all others did thatfor themselves when they died--in a word, that the act of dyingwas the payment of sin, and that having died they all forthwithhad a right to life, and in consequence of that right all would beresurrected. [The argument was specious and led astray manywho had not recognized that the race was deprived of lifebecause all were sinners, and that all must continue dead foreverunless a ransom for sin had been given, and thatR190 : page 4"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures," and thathis right to restore to life by a resurrection was by virtue ofhaving paid the price-- or penalty "in his own body on the tree,"when as Daniel had said "in the midst of the week" he made anend of sin"--"made reconciliation for iniquity."]But this was only the beginning of our trials from this source:Having denied that the Lord bought them-- (2 Peter 2:1,)--hespeedily went into further error, denying one after another of theabove mentioned points of evidence, until finally he has deniedthat Christ is present and seems to have gone completely out ofthe light which we as a people hold. This we say was a severeand unlooked for trial and troubled us much, until we noticedthat it was the exact fulfillment of one of our Lord's parables,where he tells how, when the King came in just prior to themarriage, he found among those who were expecting to beunited to him "a man not having on a wedding garment," aperson trusting in his own righteousness, believing that he didnot need to have his sins forgiven, that he could die for himselfand pay for his own sins. In the parable this one was "cast intoouter darkness"-- the condition of ignorance in which the wholeworld is, concerning "The day of the Lord" and the fact whichwe see, so clearly, that we are now "In the days of the Son ofMan." With this parable fulfilled in harmony with all the othersand with our position in general, while bitterly lamenting ourbrother's course, we were strengthened by the harmony of thetruth.The result to our little company was a sifting and shaking whichshowed us another scripture. Paul had said to us "take unto youthe whole
- Page 5 and 6: our Leader, saw the "crown of life,
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- Page 9 and 10: Gospel house go into captivity to "
- Page 11 and 12: general the opportunity of running
- Page 13 and 14: that in some passages, the term hol
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- Page 17 and 18: were dissolved we have a (singular
- Page 19 and 20: other Scripture. We have been held
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- Page 23 and 24: een looked forward to by many as a
- Page 25 and 26: nominal church before commencement
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- Page 29 and 30: privilege to be. As God's children,
- Page 31 and 32: necessary to the Christian's growth
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- Page 35 and 36: and shows the modesty of the "twig.
- Page 37 and 38: A GOOD man incarnates goodness. The
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- Page 41 and 42: Do I hear you say that the prize fo
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- Page 47 and 48: harmony with the commands of the Lo
- Page 49 and 50: Isa. 1:4. Let His hands now make th
- Page 51 and 52: Therefore, in mentioning grounds of
- Page 53 and 54: would be the close of the Gospel ag
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- Page 59 and 60: laid down as a ransom, so the two g
- Page 61 and 62: shall be also in the likeness of Hi
- Page 63 and 64: (38). "But my just one by faith sha
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- Page 67 and 68: We have seen some stumble at sight
- Page 69 and 70: us." He does not know us after the
- Page 71 and 72: promise of the spiritual nature, an
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- Page 81 and 82: 3:2) or they can and have appeared
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- Page 87 and 88: The pestilence walking about,When d
- Page 89 and 90: R196 : page 3GOD'S LOVE TO ME.I lov
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"Babylon" church. As Peter called those out of the given-upJewish church, "saying save yourselves from this perversegeneration," (Acts 2:40,) so, now the wheat of the gospel churchis addressed by the Spirit-- "Come out of her, my people, that yebe not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues"--(theseven last,) Rev. 18.Just at this time we met with a sad and very severe trial: Abrother of influence and ability among us, departed from thevery foundation of all faith, claiming that he did not need anyone to pay the penalty for his sins, as he and all others did thatfor themselves when they died--in a word, that the act of dyingwas the payment of sin, and that having died they all forthwithhad a right to life, and in consequence of that right all would beresurrected. [The argument was specious and led astray manywho had not recognized that the race was deprived of lifebecause all were sinners, and that all must continue dead foreverunless a ransom for sin had been given, and thatR190 : page 4"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures," and thathis right to restore to life by a resurrection was by virtue ofhaving paid the price-- or penalty "in his own body on the tree,"when as Daniel had said "in the midst of the week" he made anend of sin"--"made reconciliation for iniquity."]But this was only the beginning of our trials from this source:Having denied that the Lord bought them-- (2 Peter 2:1,)--hespeedily went into further error, denying one after another of theabove mentioned points of evidence, until finally he has deniedthat Christ is present and seems to have gone completely out ofthe light which we as a people hold. This we say was a severeand unlooked for trial and troubled us much, until we noticedthat it was the exact fulfillment of one of our Lord's parables,where he tells how, when the King came in just prior to themarriage, he found among those who were expecting to beunited to him "a man not having on a wedding garment," aperson trusting in his own righteousness, believing that he didnot need to have his sins f<strong>org</strong>iven, that he could die for himselfand pay for his own sins. In the parable this one was "cast intoouter darkness"-- the condition of ignorance in which the wholeworld is, concerning "The day of the Lord" and the fact whichwe see, so clearly, that we are now "In the days of the Son ofMan." With this parable fulfilled in harmony with all the othersand with our position in general, while bitterly lamenting ourbrother's course, we were strengthened by the harmony of thetruth.The result to our little company was a sifting and shaking whichshowed us another scripture. Paul had said to us "take unto youthe whole
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