Souvenir Notes — Bible Students Convention, Manchester (1906)
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Of the
Manchester
Convention.
1906-1907.
Souvenir Report
Of the
Manchester
Convention.
1906-1907.
Creation of ADAM 4128 b.c.
Flood dried up 2472 b.c.
Abrahamic Covenant 2045 b.c.
Giving of the Law enthroned of Cyrus 1615 b.c. 1119 b.c. 536 b.c.
Division of land 1569 b.c.
Zedekiah dethroned 606 b.c.
B.C.1 | 1A.D.
End of 6000 years from FALL 1874 a.d.
1656 427 430.46.450 513 70 536 1874 1000
PRESENT EVIL WORLD
DISPENSATIONS
AND AGES
1ST
WORLD THAT WAS
2 Pet. 3:6
2ND
PATRIARCHAL
AGE
JEWISH AGE
GOSPEL AGE
3RD
WORLD TO COME
2 Pet. 3:13
HARVEST
Jn. 4:35-38
HARVEST
Matt. 13:36-40
MILLENNIAL
AGE
DISPENSATIONS
AND AGES
SEVEN "TIMES"
Zedekiah
dethroned
606 b.c.
"TIMES OF THE GENTILES"
SEVEN "TIMES"
Lev. 26:18
Christendom
dethroned
1914 ad.
DOMINION
PARALLELS
ABRAHAMIC
COVENANT
Gen. 1:26
LOST BY
FIRST ADAM
1981 b.c.
Isaac and Rebecca unite—type
of Jesus united with true Church
731 b.c.
Hezekiah
999 b.c.
Israel divides
Luke 21:24
539 a.d.
Antitypical Counterfeit of Isaac
and Rebecca, i.e. Pope and
Apostate Church unite
1789 a.d.
French
Revolution
1521 a.d.
Christendom divides
Covenant
with Abraham
Gen. 12:1-7
2045 b.c.
Special favour to one
people only—to Abraham and
his natural seed. Amos 3:2
See Deuteronomy 7:6
454 b.c.
Edict of
Justinian
539 a.d.
Return of
our LORD
1874 a.d.
Sentence
on Serpent
Gen. 3:15
4/126 b.c.
Man left to himself is
unable to provide the Ransom
Psa 49:7. No attempt made by
God to select the Seed of the
woman who would bruise the
Serpent's head. Rom. 1:28 Acts 14:16
DOMINION
PARALLELS
IV
ABRAHAMIC
COVENANT
TRUE AND
COUNTERFEIT
DAYS OF DANIEL
V
TRUE AND
COUNTERFEIT
DAYS OF DANIEL
PAPAL
MILLENNIUM
TRUE
MILLENNIUM
536 b.c.
Edict of
Cyrus
799 a.d.
Charlemagne
1799 a.d.
beginning of
“Time of the end”
536 b.c.
Edict of
Cyrus
799 a.d.
Charlemagne
1799 a.d.
beginning of
“Time of the end”
Crucifixion
Apl. 33 a.d.
Baptism
Oct. 29 a.d.
Birth
Oct. 2 b.c.
Zech. 9:9,12
Favour ends
Oct. 36 a.d.
Overthrow
Oct. 69
Berlin Congress
Isa. 40:2 margin
1878 a.d.
Return
Oct. 1874
Miller
Cast off
Oct. 1881 a.d.
Overthrow
Oct. 1914 a.d.
“DOUBLE”
Jer. 16:18
Printing
JEWISH DOUBLE PARALLELS
FOUR EMPIRES
EX.12:40,41, R.V.
Levi
Jochebed
Moses
Kohath
Amram
Gen.46:8-11. Ex.6:16-20. Num.26:59
Gen.41:46-54. Gen.45:6-9
Acts 7:20-30. Ex.7:7
Deut.34:7
Temple built
521-17
7ws. 69Ws
536 454
70th Week
Edict of Cyrus Nehemiah
Ezra
33a.d.
"TIMES OF THE GENTILES"
FLESHLY "HOUSE"
Marsiglio
1324-8
7ws. 69Ws
1309 1391
Avignon Huss
Wyclif
1878a.d.
JEWISH DOUBLE
PARALLELS
VII
FOUR EMPIRES
PARALLEL
REST AND
RESTITUTION
606 336-24
Babylon Greece
536 197b.c.
Medo-Persia Rome
70a.d.
1509-21
Luther
1309 1648
Avignon Westphalia
SIXTH
"DAY"
GOD'S REST
SEVENTH "DAY"
Gen.2:2.Heb.4:9-11
"EVENING"
"MORNING"
ENTITYPICAL CYCLE 50x50
30th Nov.1906. THE DIVINE PLAN OF THE AGES
Souvenir Report of the Manchester Convention.
December 30th and 31st, 1906, January 1st and 2nd, 1907.
This report of the Convention of Believers in the Ransom for all, held at Manchester, England, is published at the request of many of the Brethren who were present and expressed themselves as desirous of possessing a permanent souvenir of the Convention, partly for themselves, partly for lending or giving to their friends.
If the readers gain as much pleasure and spiritual profit from their study of this report as I have, I shall feel amply rewarded for my labour of love.
It will be noticed that the dominant note of all the discourses is the honour and praise of our Lord Jesus to the glory of God the Father.
One of Brother HEMERY'S addresses has been unavoidably omitted, as no report of it was made.
A Chart of the Time-prophecies * has been included in the report for the better understanding of Brother EDGAR'S discourse on "Rest and Restitution."
It will be noticed that an address delivered by Brother BARTON at the Glasgow Convention (September, 1906) has been included, also a reply to an "Anglo-Israelite," which may be of interest.
Special thanks are due to the Sister who so kindly reported the lectures in shorthand and later transcribed them, and to the various speakers for kindly correcting the reports of their own discourses.
May the Lord bless this effort to show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light!
Yours in the service of the Truth,
Morton Edgar,
June, 1907.
224, West Regent Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
The Subjects of the Addresses are :
"Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand?" By Brother B. H. Barton (Pilgrim) Philadelphia, Pa. U.S.A.
"Our Confidence." By Brother Fred. Guard, London.
"Crossing Jordan; Passing of the Priests." By Brother J. J. Bilsbrough, Warrington.
"The Preciousness of Christ." By Brother Wm. W. Johnston, Glasgow.
"Our Present Resurrection in Christ." By Brother J. Hemery (Representative of "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society") , London.
"Socialism and the Bible." By Brother John Edgar, Glasgow.
"There is Another King." By Brother James Hay, Liverpool.
"Rest and Restitution." By Brother John Edgar, Glasgow.
"A Reply to an Anglo-Israelite."
PYRAMID BOOKLET. SECOND EDITION.
Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand?
By Brother B. H. Barton.
HE text on which we will base at least a portion of our remarks to-night, is found in Isaiah LV, 8-11. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my han your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Many are the questions which have been aroused by religious thought, and numerous are the answers, speculative, scientific and philosophical which have been given to those questions, and yet we realize that the only authoritative answer to any religious question is that from the inspired Word of God, even though the philosophical or the scientific reply may confirm what the Bible states. But we have before us a question which finds no speculative answer, a question that neither philosophy nor science has ever yet answered. If it is to have an answer at all, we must get that answer from God's Holy Word.
Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand? Why did he not make it plainer and simpler? When we read a newspaper article or any of the books in general circulation, one of us does not get one idea from it, and another another but we all obtain the same thought from it, and yet a man was the author. Dear friends, if men can write books and edit newspapers so clearly and so simply that everybody can understand them, how much more could God have done so! He could have given us a Bible that would have been so clear that there could not have been two opinions based upon it. Why He has not done this, is a question that everyone of us must have thought something about. It might seem to you that it is a very bold thing that I should stand up here and endeavour to answer that question, but, my dear friends, I want you to understand that I believe this question can be answered not because I and others in this day are wiser or better than other men, and not because we have some new revelation, but because we have some new truth from the old revelation.
When some hundred years ago the Lord used Martin Luther in such a noble way, it was not because there had not been so grand a Christian as Martin Luther before. It was not because he was more pious than other men, nor because he had given more study to God's Word than others had, but it was because the time had come for certain truths to be made plain, and Martin Luther in God's sight was a fitting instrument for that work.
Luther did not add anything to the Bible, but he was permitted to throw wondrous light upon certain statements in it that had always been there. You recall our Saviour's reply nineteen hundred years ago to the Pharisees when they asked him why he would not forbid the people crying out "Hosanna to the son of David!" He said: "If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke XIX, 40). Why was that? Because the time had come when the prophetic statement relative to that cry (Zechariah IX, 9) was due to be fulfilled, and if there had been no man or child to fulfil it, God could have seen to it that its fulfilment would have been accomplished in some way. We see the same thing with regards to Luther's day.
The time had come for certain truths to be revealed from among the rubbish of the theological errors of the dark ages. Had some man not declared them, God could have arranged that the very stones would have spoken and declared the message.
And so, dear friends, we believe that in God's providence the day has arrived when certain truths, long hidden in God's Word, are to be perceived by a certain class; and we believe that our Heavenly Father has not chosen us because there are no better Christians than we in the world, nor because we are wiser
or more worthy, but because he evidently saw that some of us would be suitable instruments, prompt to receive these things that are found in the Old Word. We do not suppose that our Saviour chose those fishermen for his disciples because there were no better or wiser people than they in the world, but because in his wisdom he saw they would be the best fitted for his purpose.
There is yet another point, dear friends, before we proceed with our subject. Your faith in God's Word is on trial. We are inclined sometimes to think hastily that almost everybody has faith in God's Word. If we use the word faith in the sense in which it is used in the Scriptures, there is far less faith in God's Word than the majority believe or than we could wish. Our talk will enable you to gauge to some extent the measure and the strength and the intensity of your faith.
Suppose I should bring to your attention some truth, some statement of Scripture that you had failed to appreciate heretofore, and suppose that that statement of Scripture presents an idea contrary to what you have previously believed, suppose it is different from what your friends and relatives believe, suppose furthermore it is different from what your denomination supports, and is thoroughly contradictory to many of the views which the minister you have so long honoured has presented to you, what will you do, dear friends? Will you say:—"My strength is in God's Word and I am going to hold to that truth, though I have to resign some long cherished thoughts, some of the thoughts that have been held by my parents and forefathers, some ideas that have long been considered the settled ideas and fundamental principles of orthodoxy." Or would you rather say:— "Well it does seem as if that statement were Scriptural, but if I should accept that, it would inevitably separate me, in a religious sense at least, from many of those that have been near and dear to me, and it would cause me to reject the views that my forefathers and my minister have treasured. I cannot accept it."
We all realize that high in the heavens there is a God of glory, a God who is the fountain of all that is good and the source of every blessing present and future, and we equally realize that upon this earth there is a race of beings that are just as inglorious as He is glorious, who experience more or less of sorrow and affliction, trials and perplexities. Possibly if we lived a life here that was free from pain and difficulties, free from everything that would make life unpleasant, we might give very little thought to the future. But we are compelled to look forward and wonder—"If there is so much of sorrow and trouble in this life, is it possible that there can be more in the life to come, or is it possible there may not be any life to come at all?"
No man can give an answer to these questions. God alone can tell us whether or not there is a life beyond. Not only so, but if that life is one of joy or one of sorrow, if it is a life on a higher plane or merely a continuation on the plane upon which we have lived and had our experiences here, God alone can reveal these things to us.
It would seem that since our Heavenly Father has endowed us with reason, he would grant us a revelation which would satisfy that reason. That is exactly what God has done in his WORD.
But if no revelation had come from God and if we were given to understand that a day was coming when he could grant such a revelation, it is very likely that we might speculate as to what kind of a book God would give us. We should probably think that since men have written such wonderful books, God's book would be more wonderful still, and that he would employ
angels from heaven to write this wonderful book that would commit to us this wonderful revelation.
We could also imagine that possibly it would be so written that every man could read it in his own language, and that everything would be so simple and clear, that though there might be a little doubt about the meaning of what a man would write, there would be no doubt about the meaning of what God would write.
We might be inclined even to think that God would have a halo round it so that men would immediately say:—"Oh that is one of God's books for no man could put a halo round a book." It might be that in this book there would be miraculous properties so that if a sick person were to touch it, the sickness would leave him. There might even be in each book a miraculous pocket so that if a man felt impelled to go somewhere and preach the Gospel, he would not require first to go round and take up a collection to defray expenses, but if it were the Lord's will, he would always find in the pocket the money to pay the fare. We might well imagine also that if a man should say a word against that book, he would drop dead on the instant. What a wonderful book we should be inclined to imagine God's revelation would be; and yet after we had got through with speculation we would say to ourselves on further study:—"No, no, that is the kind of book we would have anticipated this revelation to be, but God's ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts, and very likely if God should give us a revelation it would be an entirely different kind of book from that." And this, dear friends, is exactly what we do find.
Instead of finding the Bible written by pure and holy angels we find it was very weak and imperfect men God used in its writing. Not only so, but instead of finding that when a man speaks against this Word he drops dead, men have received immense sums for lecturing on the lines of infidelity. Instead of a halo over the book, we go to many homes and the only halo we find is a dusty one. Instead of finding that everyone in all the earth has got a Bible, we find that there are nearly seven hundred million people that do not know that such a book exists, and of these millions that do know only a small proportion of them have copies, and of those that have copies only another small proportion are deeply interested in what it contains, while among those who are deeply interested and do frequently come to God's Word, what confusion exists! One says it teaches this thing, another says it teaches that thing, and a third says it teaches something entirely different. Consequently we realize that there is not a book in the world written by men, that has such confusion connected with its interpretation as is found to-day among Christian people generally, with respect to God's Word. Surely it is an entirely different kind of book from what we would imagine God would give to his creatures, and yet it must have been that this was the best way. As our text says:—"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, &c."
And yet someone might enquire—"I do not see how that could be the best kind of a revelation. How much easier it would have been, how much more effective, if all these mysterious, dark and confusing passages had been eliminated, and in their place clear plain passages had been inserted. How much better it would have been, how much more readily the world might have been converted."
It must be that there has been some great mistake. It is evidently a fact that something has been misunderstood. What can it be? Is it possible that our Heavenly Father is not interested in the conversion of the world? Is it possible that he does not care whether many or few are converted? We reply on the contrary, our Heavenly Father has vastly more interest in the conversion of the world than you or I. Remember how he said that he is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter III, 9). Recall his statement:—"I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked" (Ezekiel XXXIII, 11). Recall our Saviour's words along that same line informing us that not even a sparrow falls without our Father's notice, and then how he added:—"Are ye not of more value than many sparrows?" It does seem confusing however. Here we have statements in God's Word that he is desirous that sinners should be converted. Nevertheless, we see to-day men doing so much for the conversion of the world, sacrificing time and earthly interest to do all they can towards its conversion, labouring to find missionaries to send into the foreign field, labouring to raise the sums of money necessary to support these missionaries,—yet think of what the Father says,—that all the gold and silver is his and the cattle upon a thousand hills. God could have raised the money necessary for the sending out of these missionaries. He could have raised up a sufficiency of missionaries to accomplish this work. What is the meaning of it all? It is not because God has not more interest in the conversion of the heathen than you or I, but obviously because men have misunderstood the Heavenly Father's purpose.
It must have seemed very hard to those Pharisees nineteen hundred years ago when Jesus came and informed them, that their ideas had been all wrong when they had been thinking to obtain life through the keeping of the Law, that their efforts had been in vain so far as salvation was concerned, and that it would be necessary for them to give up their old beliefs, and recognise their fallen and sinful condition, and accept him as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. While we regret that they had not the courage to take a bolder and nobler stand for what was truth, we cannot help but realize to some extent what that must have been to them. The same thing was true in the days of Martin Luther. It must have been indeed a trying thing, especially for those Catholic priests and theologians, to have a man like Luther stand up and declare that they had misunderstood the testimony of God's Word, that whereas they claimed it was their system, it was in reality the blood of Jesus Christ, that made the salvation of all men possible. We can realize that it required a large measure of courage and humility to make a bold stand for the truth,
And so, dear friends, we shall not be at all surprised (we shall indeed, feel sympathy with them) if there be any who do not like the idea of having misunderstood God's plans and purposes, and refuse to believe his Word. It is natural to desire that all we have understood in the past might be confirmed, rather than accept God's truth if this mean the sweeping away of all we previously believed. But the fact remains that we have misunderstood the plans and purposes of God. It must be so or else there is no answer to this question "Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand."
The special misunderstanding of God's Word is the idea that has been so long held and taught, that the purpose of the last nineteen hundred years has been the conversion of the world of mankind. This may astound some of you. Some of you will say:—"Why! if the past nineteen hundred years have not been for the purpose of converting the world, what have they been for?" Dear friends, when we get through to-night we trust that you will see that the conversion of the world which God intends to bring about, is far more glorious than has ever entered into the minds of those who have contemplated the world's conversion in this Age.
(1) In the first place, we do not believe the Lord has been trying to convert the world for the past nineteen hundred years BECAUSE THE WORLD IS NOT CONVERTED. We read:—"My word shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah LV, 11). The fact that God's Word has not converted the world is an evidence that God has not sent it yet to convert the world. Indeed, God never tries to do a thing, but he does it.
Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand?
As we look around us and see how far from being converted the world is to-day, we would have to exclaim:—"If our Heavenly Father's purpose in the Gospel Age has been the conversion of the world, surely he is not the all-powerful Being that revelation and reason declare him to be."
(2) Another reason why we understand the work of the past nineteen hundred years has not been the conversion of the world, is that the Lord's Word tells us so, very plainly. See Acts XXVIII, 25-27—" . . . Well spake the Holy Spirit . . . unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: &c." Our Saviour referred to this same quotation from Isaiah in two different places,—John XII, 36-44—"While ye have light, believe in the light, &c." Matthew XIII, 13-17. In the previous portion of this chapter in Matthew's Gospel some of the disciples are reported to have asked Jesus why he spake in parables. His answer is given in verse 13: "Therefore spake I to them in parables: because they seeing see not: and hearing they hear not, &c." He did not want them to understand. Had he spoken plainly, everyone would have understood. Our Saviour did not say that all those who did not see these wonderful things were wicked. He reminded his disciples that righteous men and prophets had desired to see these things, but the Heavenly Father had kept them hidden till four thousand years had passed, and now Jesus was come to bring some of these things to light, but not in such a way that all could understand them. Only a few simple fishermen grasped the significance of what he said (Matthew XIII, 16, 17; I Corinthians I, 26-29).
(3) A third reason why we believe that God has not been attempting the conversion of the world during this Gospel Age is that, THE BIBLE POINTS TO AN AGE STILL FUTURE FOR THIS PURPOSE (see Diagram No. II in Chart). In Isaiah VI, 9-11 we find this prophecy to which our Lord and his disciples referred—"Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not, &c." I want you to notice the context. In verse 11 is Isaiah's question:—"How long will this be so?" and the Lord's answer:—"Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate." In other words, dear friends, we understand that this Age is to be brought to a close by a great time of trouble and distress, and until then there would be many who would hear and see these things without being able to grasp their significance. The Age for earth's conversion is coming, but it has not come yet. Again, you remember in Zephaniah III, 8, 9 the Lord says—"For my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." This great time of trouble is everywhere put as one of the things that is to precede the great time of blessing and world-wide conversion.
(4) There is a fourth reason. We understand this age is not for the conversion of the world because of many of the statements that were made by our Lord Jesus and his inspired apostles. On one occasion as recorded in Matthew XI, 25—"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." What was the method that God took for hiding these things? Was it by arranging that each of his faithful followers should have a Bible and no one else would be able to see it? No, he allows us to show it to whomsoever we will, but the way in which he hides it is by using in it such obscure language that only a certain class are able to appreciate these things. Jesus, instead of sorrowing because of this and saying:—"Oh! dear Father, I wish you had made your
revelation plainer and clearer. If you had only told them I was coming as the Messiah, and made it so simple and clear that no one would have made a mistake; but instead, you have put one statement of my coming here, another there, and another somewhere else, and people do not believe when I tell them about these things. Why did you not put all so clearly that they could not doubt? Why did you not make a connected chapter or book of my life here?"—But no, instead of Jesus being rebellious, he rather said—"I thank thee that thou hast hid these things &c." That looked as though Jesus had the same thought and spirit in this matter as the Heavenly Father had, and was glad the Bible was not so plain as many would like to have it. Again, you remember how our Saviour, when he sent out his disciples, said:—"Go not into the way of the Gentiles, &c." (Matthew X, 5). This seems as though our Saviour was not specially mindful just then whether the good news reached the Gentiles or not. Why was this? Evidently the time had not come for the conversion of the world. We know it is true that in the days following our Saviour's resurrection he said to his disciples—"Go ye therefore and teach all nations" (Matthew XXVIII, 19). That this did not mean that the preaching of the Gospel was for the conversion of every individual, is evident, for when the Apostle Paul was minded to go into Asia, the Spirit forbade him (Acts XVI, 6-10). Some would say—"Does not the Scripture say that this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all nations, then shall the end come?" Yes, but there is another portion of this text which the majority generally omit. This is the phrase—"for a witness" (Matthew XXIV, 14). And we realize that if the Gospel of the Kingdom has not converted the world during the past 1900 years, it has done its witnessing.
If the work of this Age is not for the conversion of the world what is its object? Now we come to the point, and you will be able to realize how thoroughly God's Word has accomplished the purpose whereto he sent it, and the fact that it has been given in such an obscure form is one of the things that has enabled the Lord to accomplish the purpose he had in mind.
Many when they have heard that this was the Word of God, have thought very little further about the matter. Others have said— "If this is God's Word, I want to know something about what is in it. If the things that men write are so valuable, how much more is that which God can tell me" and he goes to the Bible and is surprised to find it such a strange book. He reads about all kinds of strange things—about wheels within wheels, about wonderful creatures with four faces, one like an eagle, another like a lion (Ezekiel X, 9-14), and he says—"Well I cannot think what they can mean." Possibly he turns to another portion and reads there about the little particulars to which the Israelites had to attend, as they travelled through the wilderness, and he says—"Is not that strange and peculiar? Why has God put such things into the Bible?" Many say there is no use trying to find anything out of that book; and though they might still consider it the Word of God they pay but little attention to it. Another class think—"This is God's Word, and he has put those things in there for a purpose. When the due time comes, if God sees I need the light from those passages, he will see that I get it. I know that if I purchase a gold mine, I would not expect to find all the gold lying upon the surface ready to pick up. I would expect to dig for it. This is God's gold mine, and I am going to dig as the Master advocated, dig as for hidden treasure" (Matthew XIII, 44). He begins to dig and soon finds that men have held false ideas about God's Word, and he finds some of the nuggets brought from this mine bring him a measure of unpopularity. Some are afraid and prefer to believe the things that are popular about the Word of God. They say—"If the rulers say this I will believe it" (John VII, 48; XII, 42, 43). Others would say—"No, no, if I get from this gold mine that God has given me, a nugget of truth, I am Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand?
going to stand up for and proclaim that truth even though it brings unpopularity.
And so we find, then, the very fact that the truth has to be dug for, is one of the things that separates between those who are merely superficially loyal to the Lord, and those who are heartily loyal to him.
We realise that to-day, if the Word of God was free from mysteries and obscure statements, there would be no cause for any of us to stand up for it. There would be no unpopular truths. All Christian people would be teaching the same things, and it would be utterly impossible ever to prove our loyalty to the Lord, for where would be the opportunity to demonstrate it, or suffer anything for the cross of Christ? If the Word of God had been simple, how much persecution would Jesus have received? The Scripture says—"If they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Corinthians II, 8). The Apostle Peter remarked too—"I wot that through ignorance ye did it" (Acts III, 17, 18; Luke XXIII, 34); and is it not true that the Master himself looked down upon his murderers and said—"Father forgive them; for they know not what they do"? The very fact that the testimony concerning Jesus was given in such an obscure form, made the testing of his loyalty to the Heavenly Father possible, and made his sufferings possible.
It was the same with his disciples. If the Pharisees had understood the Word of God, do you think they would have persecuted those disciples? It was the very obscurity of the truth as it began to be brought to light that tested the zeal and faithfulness of the followers of the Master all down the Age. We see that God's Word is the thing that has enabled us to show how much we love him, how ready we are to sacrifice in the interest of what is revealed. But we see another class too who go to God's Word and find a measure of light there, and who have the courage to stand up for it even though it brings them reproach and persecution, but who begin to realize that there is a measure of honour to be obtained from the proclaiming of the truth of God's Word. Though it is unpopular, still it is pleasing to be engaged to some extent in such service. Even if the world do not honour them, still there is a little handful of the followers of the Master who will honour them. And so they serve the Lord not because of their love for him, but because of the individual honour they may get out of it. The very fact that the Word is so obscure enables them to be tested.
We see, then, that there are several things necessary for the proper understanding of God's Word. It is not only necessary that we dig as for hidden treasure, study with a will, but our heart must be in the right attitude. Unless it is, no matter how much we study the Word, we cannot get at the truth. We find, then, that it is this obscure form in which the Bible has been given, that has helped to develop the faithful ones of the past 1900 years. If the Bible had been simple, clear and plain from the beginning, we never would have had a Martin Luther or any of those noble heroes in the Reformation movement, and we rejoice that the obscurity of the Word of God has made possible the development of characters like those. While the truths that they proclaimed from the Bible were unpopular to the nominal Christian at that time, there are new truths being brought to light to-day which are just as unpopular to the nominal Christian of this time. The question is, whether we are going to stand on the side of the popular error, or on the side of the unpopular truth.
Some might be inclined to say—"Do you mean that the Lord does not care anything about the conversion of the world so long as he can develop this class of faithful Christians?" No, the Lord is interested in the conversion of the world; and the selection of this class of faithful Christians and their testing, is not that the rest of the world may be lost but rather that they may be saved. We have already referred to an
Age during which there will be a wonderful world-wide conversion. Everybody who studies the Word can see many prophecies of that glad time.
That the conversion of the world was not to be during this Age is very clearly manifested from such statements as these—II Timothy III, 1—“in the last days perilous times shall come, &c.” That does not look as if the world would be converted when the end of the Age arrives. Along the same line we hear the Apostle Peter say:—“There shall come in the last days scoffers, &c.” (II Peter III, 3). That does not sound very much like the conversion of the world. We hear our Master say—“As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” (Luke XVII, 26). That does not sound like the conversion of the world either.
The Bible teaches that the world-wide conversion will be after not before the Lord's second coming. Isaiah XXIX, 11-15—“The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned saying, Read this I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned saying, Read this I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, . . . for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us? or who knoweth us?” How truly this describes the position of God's Word to-day. We take some of these dark mysterious passages to a man who is learned and he says—“I cannot tell.” Then we take it to one who is not learned and say—“what do you think of this passage?” He replies—“I do not understand it, I am not learned.” But now the prophet has some further thoughts for us. The 16th verse—“Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?” Is it possible that men have been unwittingly turning things upside down? There are many important things of which this is true. Men have been giving us to understand that the world would be converted and then Christ would come. On the contrary, we have seen clearly that the world has not to be converted before Christ comes, but in the last days there shall be perilous times; men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (II Timothy III, 4). That is one truth that has been turned upside down. When that time arrives notice what will take place. In the 18th verse (Isaiah XXIX) we learn that when that Age has arrived, when our Lord's Kingdom will be established in glory, it will no longer be true that men shall hear and not understand, see and not perceive, but both in the natural and in the figurative sense “In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. Verses 19 to 24:—The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, . . . for the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, . . . that make a man an offender for a word, . . . and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.” Someone might say—“I do not grasp that thought clearly. You say that after the Lord's coming he is going to bring to light the hidden things of his Word. But how will he do it. Will he give them a new Bible?” No, it will be by opening and unsealing the truths of the old Bible. How clear and plain are the prophecies regarding our Lord's first advent and its work! How has the Lord made them so clear to us? Is it by scoring Why did God give us a Bible so difficult to understand?
them out and making a new book, and putting the prophecies in their proper order? No, they still come in the same order. It is by enabling us to see the significance of those passages. They are no longer dark and mysterious even though they are scattered as much as ever. So, after our Lord's second coming, he Is going to show men the connection between all those mysterious things now in his Word, and the mysterious character of those things will be removed, and no longer will God's Word be a book difficult to understand, but that will be the time when the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord shall cover the whole earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk II, 14), and all shall know Him from the least unto the greatest (Jeremiah XXXI, 34). What a conversion that will need!
Then again we want you to notice that the real object of the development and selection of those whom the Scripture terms collectively—the Church of Christ, those who are willing to sacrifice and be faithful under the test of the unpopular truths of this Age as they are brought to light, is that they are going to be the MISSIONARIES that will do the converting of the world in the Age which will follow this. Many are inclined to say that it seems to be useless that the Lord should thus develop and test and select a little class of people during this past Age, and yet allow so large a number to go into the grave without a knowledge of the only name given under heaven or among men whereby we must be saved (Acts IV, 12).
But let us see the connection between the Church of this Age and the world that is to see the light in the following Age:—Our Saviour everywhere has made out the Christian way to be very narrow. You remember how he said:“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew VII, 14). One of the things which make it a narrow way is the obscurity of the Word of God. Another is the unpopularity of the truth as it becomes due. He that would follow the will of the Lord must not walk according to the course of this world (Ephesians II, 2). You remember, our Saviour on one occasion, speaking of the narrowness of the way, said—“It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God,”—when his disciples asked: “Who then can be saved?” On still another occasion they said—“Lord, are there few that be saved?” (Luke XIII, 23). If the way is so narrow as that, there will not be very many saved. But the Master replied:“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke XVIII, 24-27). God in his wisdom has arranged in some way, that instead of few being saved, many shall be saved (I Timothy II, 3, 4). But we find around us to-day, men and women realizing that if others are to be saved, it requires someone to carry the Gospel to them. How shall they believe without a preacher? (Romans X, 13, 14). They must have missionaries sent to them. Can men do much in that direction? Many missionaries have been sent and there still remain hundreds of millions who have not heard the first word about the Lord Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation. Furthermore, to all the host who have gone into the grave no missionaries have been sent. There is not a Church in Christendom prepared to gather money to send missionaries to all those who have died in heathen ignorance. We shall show you that God has decided upon a wonderful missionary movement, and that this missionary movement is not going to carry the Gospel to the living only, but also to those who have died without a knowledge of salvation.
You will remember it is mentioned in John I, 9—Jesus Christ "was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." We realize that it is only a few of all the millions who have come into the world that have yet been enlightened by the only "light," and if all are to be enlightened, it includes the
host that have passed away as well as the living and those yet to be born.
Man's idea has been that he is to choose the missionaries, and build universities and seminaries to prepare those missionaries, and after they have had their instruction to send them forth to China and Africa to convert the host of heathen there. Dear friends, that is a mistake.
We find that in God's purpose he has decided to have some wonderful missionaries; but instead of allowing men to choose them he had been choosing them himself; instead of these missionaries being instructed in earthly schools and colleges the Lord has been instructing them (John VI, 44, 45); instead of only a year or two, an entirely consecrated lifetime is required for their instruction. This is part of the object of the present life in the case of every Christian man or Christian woman, to develop him and fit him to be with Jesus a member of that great missionary association that is going to accomplish earth's conversion in the Age to follow this.
You remember that on one occasion when the Apostle John had got well on in years and his work was nearly over, and after he had written messages to various churches, the Lord spoke a word of encouragement to him, saying:John, "Thou must prophesy again (as though in a higher and greater sense) before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings" (Revelations X, II). Many think that possibly the only reference here, would be to the circulation of the book of Revelation, that it is only in that sense that John has been testifying to many nations. But we find now, that there is a higher sense in which John and all the faithful followers of the Master shall testify to the world.
When that wonderful Age comes, darkness will be scattered by the rays of the sun. You remember how, in Scripture, the past 6000-year period of sorrow and doubt, suffering and ignorance is often compared to a night, and this glorious time that is coming when God's Word shall no longer be a difficult Word, a misunderstood Word, is spoken of by contrast as a morning. Psalms XXX, 5—"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." If there is going to be a morning there will have to be a sun as it were to bring the light. And we would ask what is going to constitute the great sun that shall arise at that time? The sun of which we read in Malachi IV, 2—"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." We would realize that Jesus is evidently the Sun of righteousness in the primary sense, but our Saviour speaking to his followers on one occasion says:—"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father" (Matthew XIII, 43). We would understand by this that that great time of light is to be ushered in by the rays of the sun of righteousness, and that the Sun of righteousness means not only Jesus but the faithful followers of Jesus as well. You remember the statement of Scripture in Colossians III, 4—"When Christ shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory," and in II Timothy, II, 12—"If we suffer (with him), we shall also reign with him." And again in Isaiah XL, 10—"Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him."—the statement is made concerning the Lord's coming. Two things are mentioned here, the reward and the work. For whom is his reward? His faithful followers are to be rewarded with a place by his own side. Now notice, it does not say:—"His reward is with him and then his work will all be accomplished by the rewarding of his church," but "His reward is with him and his work before him." What is the work that will be before him when his saints are rewarded by a place at his own right hand? It is the conversion of the world. Jude says (verse 14)—"Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly, &c."
He comes not to be hard on the world, not to be unkind to them, but—to convince them. What is the first thing necessary for conversion? Conviction. The man that is not convicted of his sin cannot be truly converted; but one that is convicted of his sin is well on his way to conversion. You remember how it is to be with those men that crucified our Saviour, because they did not know him, did not realize that he was the Messiah. The prophet referring to these men says: "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zechariah XII, 10). They will be among those that will be convinced of the fact that they crucified the Messiah whom they failed to recognise, and sorrow will fill their hearts because of what they did. They shall mourn for him just like a father mourning for his child who has died.
Dear friends, we realize that the conversion of the world is going to mean far more than the great majority have ever imagined. There are no missionaries converting the lions, but these missionaries are going to convert them, and they will also convert the Sahara desert so that "the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" (Isaiah XI, 6-9; XXXV, 1). We want to show you that this conversion will be a more farreaching world-wide conversion than man has ever thought. Truly as God says—"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah LV, 9).
We find that to allow the Word to remain in its present obscure misunderstood condition would not facilitate the conversion of the world. If the world is to be converted, then indeed the best thing would be to make God's Word as plain as it could possibly be made. But if during this Gospel Age the world is not to be converted, if the work is the selection and development and testing of the missionaries, we see it is the best thing for their development and testing to allow it to remain obscure during the term they are being selected. We find that this has been the case. God's Word has remained obscure, misunderstood, and it has been difficult of interpretation. Many ideas and various meanings have been attached to its statements, and it has continued so down to the present time. In Revelation XX, 12, after declaring that the Church would rise and reign with Christ the 1000 years, the statement is made that "The books were opened." The books have not yet been open except to the few who are willing to submit themselves to the Lord's will. So far as the majority of the race is concerned God's Word is far from being open. But then it will no longer be so. The books will be opened, and that will be the time when the way shall be made so plain that "The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (Isaiah XXXV, 8). We have heard this Scripture referred to the present time. But surely that is not the case. Surely the way is not so clear and plain as that. Rather it is a very obscure way at present, and wise men have often erred during this time, let alone fools. That passage does not refer to this Age but to the coming wonderful Age of world-wide conversion. Isaiah XXXV, 1—"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." I am sure none of us can claim that that is true to-day. The world still has its deserts. That conversion has not yet taken place evidently. When the earth's dominion shall be wrested from the wicked one who has controlled it in the past, and given over to Christ and those missionaries who will be raised to a glorious state with him, then the time will come for the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose until at last the whole earth shall bloom and blossom like the garden of the Lord, and God will make the "place of his feet" glorious
(Isaiah LX, 13; LXVI, 1). That will be conversion. When that takes place, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isaiah XXXV, 5, 6). We are sure that that part of the conversion has not taken place either. There is no part of this earth where we find blind men receiving sight, deaf men receiving hearing and the lame man being enabled to leap; but the time will come when the sick will be converted to health, weak men into strong men, and "the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water" (verse 7). That is part of the work to be accomplished in the Age to follow this. "A highway shall be there" in that time (verse 8). It is not true to-day. The Christian way to-day is not a highway. A highway, especially in those countries, was easily seen. It was a way thrown up on high so that a man travelling did not have to wade through the marshes and swamps that are to be found there, nor had he the difficulties that a man would have who travelled across uneven country. It is not true to-day. Instead of a highway being cast up free from difficulties, the Christian way is a narrow way (Matthew VI, 14). "No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, . . . but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (verses 9, 10). That evidently is not fulfilled yet, for there are still lions. Satan is still going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter V, 8). Sorrow and sighing also have not yet fled away. We find sorrow wherever we look. Men are still sighing. Even God's people to-day are sighing for the better time, which, in God's providence, his Word has taught them to hope for in the future (Romans VIII, 22, 23).
How will all this work be accomplished? Through the wonderful healing power of Christ and his bride who will be exercising dominion. The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings. The desert shall be healed and the inhabitants shall be healed. Even those who have passed away in death shall be awakened and brought forth to share in that glorious time. "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth" (John V, 28, 29). Did not Christ die for all? Does not the Word say over and over again that "He (Jesus) should taste death for every man" (Hebrews II, 9). "For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive" (I Corinthians XV, 22). For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, . . . For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved" (John III 16, 17). (Acts XXIV, 14, 15). Now we can see how in our Father's providence this wonderful Age of conversion is to bring to the knowledge of those who died without knowing Christ, and to bring to the knowledge of everyone in all parts of the world, the glorious opportunity for salvation which our Saviour's sacrifice accomplished for all.
We see that to-day there are various obstacles in the way of the world's conversion. In the first place, probably the greatest obstacle to the world's conversion is the liberty of Satan. Truly he goes about like a roaring lion. Do not God's people find themselves harassed and their efforts limited, through the power of the wicked one to the extent that God permits? We are told that after the Church is glorified Satan will be bound, imprisoned, that he should deceive the nations no more (Revelation XX, 1-3). That will be one obstacle to the conversion of the world removed.
In the second place, ignorance shall be removed. We read in the Scripture that "They shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah XXXI, 34).
There will then be no difference of opinion as to the testimony of God's Word. All will understand God's plan alike.
The third obstacle to the conversion of the world is the weakness of men's minds. We find so many minds in such a state that it does not matter how clearly the truth is presented to them, they could not grasp it. Some are insane. If these people are ever to be converted, it will have to be through the removal of their insanity. Others have inherited weaknesses from their parents. Sometimes people have prejudices and various methods of false reasoning. It does not matter what may be said or may not be said, nothing would completely off-set the false reasoning these minds follow. But we realize that when the time comes when the Scripture is fulfilled which says—"In these days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Jeremiah XXXI, 29), men will be delivered from their hereditary weaknesses. We understand that when the object for which God's Word has been obscure has been accomplished, the Lord will then remove the obscurity that has surrounded his Word. Isaiah says (XXV, 7-9)—"And he (God) will destroy in this mountain (kingdom) the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail (of ignorance) that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory: and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, THIS IS OUR GOD: we have waited for him, and HE will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." The dead will be awakened that they may hear the Gospel. It was promised they should hear in order that they as well as others might participate in the benefits which the blood of Christ has assured for all (Luke II, 10). Then these wonderful missionaries will do the glorious work of converting earth's inhabitants and earth's conditions, converting the earth from its present imperfect condition into a paradise, so that God will once more look down and pronounce it "very good." Acts III, 20, 21—"And he (God) shall send Jesus Christ, . . . whom the heavens must receive (retain) until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." That will indeed be a time of restitution, a time in which, under the power of Christ and his Church, the conditions upon this earth and amongst the members of the human race on this earth will be restored, restituted, to just what they were before the Fall. Why! if such conditions were brought about, if Christ and the Church would take control of the earth, and Satan was bound, if this earth had all its sorrows removed with Satan no longer to deceive and tempt man, if obedience meant blessing and favour, then nobody would want to sin, everybody would want to obey the Lord and do his will. Here are a few scriptures along that line—Psalm CX, 3—"Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." When that time comes and Christ and his Church take control of earth, the people will be willing then. Because of the imperfect conditions that exist on the earth they are not willing to-day to submit themselves to him, but in the day of his power they will be willing. Psalm XVIII, 44—"As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The strangers shall submit themselves unto me." The thought seems to be that when that time comes, and all the world hears that Christ has taken earth's dominion, they will submit themselves unto him. Again, in that same line, Psalm LXVI, 3, 4—"Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee."
Having called your attention to these passages, I want you to
notice a peculiarity about the last two. In the margin, each of them has—“shall yield feigned obedience.” “Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies yield feigned obedience.” That is, when that time comes the conditions will be just the reverse of what they are to-day. The conditions, just like everything else, have to be converted. We understand that at that time the man who does wrong will be quickly punished, and the man who does right will be swiftly rewarded. As it is, to-day the man that does right is likely to suffer, and the man that does wrong is likely to prosper. It will be the reverse then. “The way of the wicked he turneth upside down” (Psalm CXLVI, 9). It will no longer be a fact that wickedness will prosper. Then, righteousness will prosper and wickedness will be followed by the punishment it merits. We expect that everybody will try to submit themselves to the Lord and do what he wants them to do. If they serve God, it will be better for their health, their position in life, and their interests in every direction. That will be the time when not only spiritual prosperity but also natural prosperity will result from right-doing. The Psalmist says that, as soon as that time comes round, many even of the Lord’s enemies will submit, but in their case it will not be heart obedience but feigned obedience, not because they really love him, but because the new conditions will be introduced in which it will pay to do right. As a consequence, as time goes on, some of these will probably come to love that condition, though at first they just submitted themselves because it paid to do so. The feigned obedience will gradually be converted into a heart obedience. They will by-and-bye have learned to so love the conditions of that time that they would be faithful even at the cost of suffering. On the other hand, there will be some who will continue to yield feigned obedience. They will never come into heart harmony with the Lord, they will never reach the point where that obedience to him will be from their love of righteousness. The Scriptures show us that Satan is to be loosed for a little season at the end. What will this be for? It will be in order to manifest those who have yielded only feigned obedience (Revelation XX, 1-3, 7, 8). Such will be likely to see some way that they think they will gain more by submitting to Satan's suggestion than by a loyalty to the Lord. They will manifest themselves and demonstrate the fact that they have never come into heart harmony but only feigned submission to the Master. We understand that such will be cut off as unworthy of a place in the Lord's glorious Kingdom (Acts III, 23).
Some might be inclined to say—"If this is the way the conversion is to take place, it will only require a week or two for the conversion of everybody, and some who will be unfaithful to the Lord will be cut off, and in a year or two that work will all be ended and the conversion of the world will be accomplished." We say—Oh no, dear friends, Conversion would be accomplished in a very short time if it meant only the giving up of bad habits, the resigning of tendencies in the direction of real wicked things. In that sense it will be a quick work and require only a short time. But this conversion that the Lord has in mind is such a wonderful thing that it is going to require a whole thousand years for its accomplishment. In Revelation XX, 4, we read—"they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," and it will not be until the end of that thousand years that the remainder of the dead will be living in the perfect sense. Not until that time will they be converted to righteousness, not merely to what man calls righteousness to-day, but to such a height of righteousness as could be esteemed and accounted righteousness in the sight of the Lord and the holy angels. Not until that time will they be converted from sickness to perfect health, not what men would consider health to-day, but absolutely perfect health. By that time the present unfavourable conditions will give place to that condition where sorrow and sighing shall flee away. We understand that the Lord in his goodness has arranged to be good even to those who will refuse to come into harmony with him.
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