Souvenir Notes — Bible Students Convention, Cincinnati (1908)

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Souvenir Notes

of

Watch Tower

Convention

at

Cincinnati, O.

February 23—March 1

1908 Souvenir

(Notes from)

Watch Tower

Bible and Tract Society's Convention

To the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

IN THE INTEREST OF HIS CONSECRATED SAINTS,

WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION.

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED

"To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." "Wherein He hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times He might gather together in one all things, under Christ."

Eph. 3:4, 5, 9; 1:8-10.

Special Notices

For some special notices see close of the Report DEAR FRIENDS :

It gives us much pleasure to be able to send out another "SOUVENIR" REPORT.

We trust those who were not privileged to be present in person will in a measure be compensated by the reading of these notes. It was surely a "REJOICING" convention, and the marked contrast between truth and error, as there demonstrated, caused our hearts to overflow in gratitude to the dear heavenly Father, that we have been "called out of darkness into His marvelous light," permitted to see the glorious features of His wonderful Plan of the Ages for the blessing of all the families of the earth, and that we, if we make our calling and election sure, may have part in this work of blessing.

While it is necessary to have someone's name attached to this report, for the purpose of attending to the business details connected with it, we wish to impress upon the minds of all that much credit is due to a number of brothers and sisters, who have assisted in various ways, and made it possible to issue the report.

We shall be glad if the Lord uses this "Souvenir" in any way to assist some of the friends in making their calling and election sure, and it is with that desire in mind that we send it out.

Yours in fellowship and service,

DR. L. W. JONES,

2024 Washington Blvd. Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.

Convention of Believers in the Atonement Sacrifice of Christ "A Ransom for All." Cincinnati, Ohio, February 23--March 1, 1908.

As soon as it was learned that there was to be a Convention in connection with the debates at Cincinnati, arrangements were made by the Chicago friends, with the Monon and C. H. & D. R. R. for special cars and every effort possible was put forth to encourage as many as possible to attend the Convention and Debates, not only for the benefit they would personally get from so doing, but to assist by their presence at least to hold up the hands of our beloved Pastor, as he endeavored to present our heavenly Father's loving plan for the recovery of man from sin and its effects.

Accordingly, advertising matter was sent throughout the middle west, and as Chicago is a central point, many friends joined us for the trip; they came from Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

After a parlor meeting, where there were about eighty present, and at which our dear brother George Draper gave an address, we went to the depot and about sixty of the friends started for the Convention.

The Monon and C. H. & D. R. R. provided us with two splendid sleeping cars and one large coach and all were made comfortable. This road runs four fast trains each day between Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, and also makes special connections for tourists going to Florida and other points in the South, and they will be pleased to supply free full particulars upon application at their city ticket office, 182 S. Clark St., Chicago. Their trains make such good time and their facilities are such that the government has selected this road to carry the United States mail. They pulled us into Cincinnati on time, in fact we made the trip in nearly four hours less time than did some of the friends who went on other roads. We used the same road for our return trip. Many of the friends left Cincinnati the night before we did, but we left Cincinnati with forty-four of "like precious faith" in one large, handsome car, and the entire day was spent in fellowship and the singing of hymns.

Upon our arrival at Cincinnati, we were met at the station by our dear Brother Banks, who directed us to the hall where we left our baggage, and then proceeded to get some breakfast, returning to the hall for the opening session of the Convention.

The hall in which all the sessions of the Convention and also the six debates were held is known as "Music Hall," a splendid auditorium with a seating capacity of 3,600. However, there probably were not many over 2,000 present at any one session.

The Convention opened with about 300 of the friends present, but others kept coming during the week, so that in all there were nearly 600 present; they came from all parts of the United States and from Canada.

HOW THE DEBATES WERE REPORTED TO THE NEWSPAPER. "In the time of the end, knowledge shall be greatly increased."

It will doubtless be of interest to the friends in general to know how it was possible to get the debates reported and in the hands of the printers each night, and in time for the morning issue of the paper. We will therefore briefly state how it was done, which of itself is another sign of the times in which we are living.

We will first state that, after considerable negotiating on part of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the Cincinnati Enquirer, one of the largest and most widely known papers in the United States, consented to publish the debates, provided copy was furnished them.

The Lord works in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, and when He wants someone to do a certain work, He can find that person or whoever He needs. Brother A.E.Williamson, of the Bible House, had charge of the work, and it was suggested that possibly Brother Geo.M.Huntsinger, of Independence Kansas, would be able to assist, as he is recognized as one of the best court reporters in the country. So upon corresponding with Brother Huntsinger on the

week of the convention. Brother Huntsinger was only too glad to assist in the work, and therefore he and Brother Williamson reported the debates verbatim. They two, by the way, were the only stenographers present who were able to report the speakers; other reporters were present and attempted to do so, but the speakers were too rapid for them.

The great light of knowledge that has been shed abroad on everything, including the modern inventions,

subject, it was found that fifteen heavy damage suits that were to be tried in February in the court in which he is reporter, were settled outside court, thus cutting short the February term of court one week, just the

we believe to be for the express benefit of the harvest work, although other people are allowed to use them, nevertheless they belong to us, "All things are yours," but of course we pay the other people some tips (so to

speak) for making them and taking care of them for us.

Among other inventions of the present time is the wonderful graphophone, an instrument which records all sounds, including the human voice, and which can be reproduced at will and as many times as desired.

One of the best machines of this kind is that made by the Columbia Phonograph Co., and their representative at Cincinnati, O., Mr. S. II. Nichols, kindly furnished two recording and two reproducing or transcribing machines and installed them in some rooms near the speakers.

A wax cylinder is put in a machine, the cylinder is then caused to revolve by means of an electric motor, and while revolving the matter to be dictated is spoken into the machine through a speaking-tube. At the end of the speaking-tube and in contact with the wax cylinder is a special little instrument which the sound of the voice causes to make a mark on the wax cylinder. This cylinder can then be put in another machine on which is another little instrument, which, as the cylinder revolves, passes over the little marks on the cylinder made by the recording instrument, and

was and would dictate into the machine, from his short-hand notes, the portion of the debate he had taken down, as per the accompanying cut, above.

As soon as the cylinder was full, it was taken to another room where the reproducing or transcribing machines were. In this room were two young ladies with typewriters, who would listen through rubber tubes to what the machines had to say, and then write out the matter on their typewriters, as per accompanying cut, below.

The other stenographer, in the meantime, was taking down in short-hand more of the debates. Thus by the time the debates were over for the evening, part was already written out, ready for the printers.

To expedite matters, the Enquirer had a man at the hall ready to receive the copy as soon as the young ladies wrote it off; he would take a few pages, jump into a cab and rush off to the newspaper office, and by the time he returned a few more pages would be ready. Thus the debaters, stenographers, dictators, transcribers and newspaper people were at times all working at the same time.

Over at the Enquirer's plant they have one of the finest equipments in the world for printing a large newspaper; machines for making one type, or a whole line of type or a whole page of type in a few seconds, and also great printing presses which print the newspapers from huge rolls of paper and which print, paste, fold, cut and count hundreds of newspapers of large size every minute. It would take a large booklet to explain in detail this wonderful plant.

thus reproduces the sounds that were previously made. The first machine is called a "recording" machine while the second is called a "reproducing" machine.

Now as to reporting the debates: As soon as one of the stenographers took a portion of the debate, he would retire to the room where the recording machine

We mention these facts and details in order that the friends might appreciate more fully, if possible, the great contrast in the methods the Lord uses today with the modern inventions, compared with the slow methods of spreading the Gospel in the days of our Lord and the Apostle Paul.

A program of the entire convention follows, and a report of each session is given in its proper order. Lack of space prevents a report of the Praise and Testimony meetings, of which there were four, and all of them very much enjoyed.

PROGRAMME.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23

11:00 A. M.—Discourse by Brother C. T. Russell. Topic, "Man's Plans versus God's Plans."

2:30 P. M.—Discourse by Brother J. F. Rutherford.

9:30 A. M.-Praise Service and address of welcome by Brother H. K. Blinn, the representative of the local Church, introducing Brother A. II. MacMillan, Chairman.

2:30 P. M.—Discourse by Brother J. F. Rutherford. 7:30 P.M.-Debate between Elder L. S. White and Pastor C. T. Russell. Proposition 1. The Scriptures clearly teach that all hope of salvation, today, is dependent upon accepting the Gospel of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, and that such acceptance is confined to this present life. L. S. White affirms. C. T. Russell denies.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24

10:30 A. M.—Praise and Testimony Meeting.

2:30 P. M.—Discourse by Brother Paul S. L. Johnson.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25

7:30 P. M.-Debate. Proposition 2. The Scriptures clearly teach that the dead are unconscious between death and the resurrection-at the second coming of Christ. C. T. Russell affirms. J. S. White denies.

10:30 A. M.-Address to Colporteurs.

2:30 P. M.-Discourse by Brother Geo. Draper.

7:30 P. M.-Debate. Proposition 3. The Scriptures clearly teach that the punishment of the (finally incorrigible) wicked will consist of conscious, painful suffering, eternal in duration. L. S. White affirms. C. T. Russell denies.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27

10:30 A. M.-Praise and Testimony Meeting.

2:00 P.M.-Discourse by Brother S.J. Arnold.

3:30 P.M.-Discourse by Brother H.C.Rockwell.

7:30 P.M.-Debate. Proposition 5. The Scriptures clearly teach that immersion in water "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," of a believing penitent is for, in order to, the remission of sins. L.S. White affirms. C.T.Russell denies.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29

10:30 A. M.—Praise and Testimony Meeting. 3:00 P.M.-Discourse by Brother J.D.Wright.

SUNDAY, MARCH 1

REPORT OF WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY'S CONVENTION AT CINCINNATI, OHIO FEBRUARY 23--MARCH 1, 1908

Under Auspices of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Allegheny, Pa.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23

9:30 A. M.—Convention opened by the singing of Hymn No.1, "All Hail The Power of Jesus Name." Address of Welcome, by Bro. H. K. Blinn, of the Cincinnati Ecclesia.

EAR Friends: Good Morning! Now I want to try to tell you how we welcome you here in Cincinnati. It seems to me as though God has just taken the cornucopia of love and blessings and turned it upside down upon Cincinnati. We have for years been longing and praying for two things in Cincinnati. There are not many of us here—there are not many of us any where, you know. We have been praying for Colporteurs to come here. I think the Lord was trying our patience in that respect, and this year they came down upon us like an avalanche. We have been having fifteen or sixteen of them here disseminating the truth in this great city. We have been longing and praying for a general convention. It has seemed to us four or five times in recent years, when our dear brothers have been here holding one day conventions, and we have seen the possibilities of the crowds that would come, that certainly we have been in a position to receive one of the great conventions of the Truth people. But we had almost despaired. However, the Lord works order out of chaos, and without any arrangement of our own, and in fact without any suggestion of our own (I am almost ashamed to say it) we received the announcement that one of the most wonderful conventions of any sort whatever, political, social, economical, or religious, was not only to be here in Cincinnati, but was almost upon us.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

I think possibly each one of us has found the time in our lives when we tried to talk and could not do it—times of joy and gladness—times of sorrow, also although our sorrow is comparatively joy, because we sorrow not as those who have no hope. Some of our dear friends since our convention at Niagara Falls have had reason to experience sorrow, yet I am sure it is that sorrow that I have just mentioned, for our hope is so grand and so transporting.

In thinking over this gathering today, it seems to impress me as something on the order of a home gathering to our Father's House. Of course we do not see our Father here in person, neither do we see our elder Brother, but we are all brethren, and we see one another. Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in this holiest of bonds! Truly indeed did our Master say that the Truth would separate us from father and mother, and from husband, and from wife even, and from those who are most dear to us; but, like Job of old, haven't we received a hundred-fold—yea a thousand-fold—more than what we lost? And as the thought came to me of our coming together in a home gathering, it seemed very true to me that we are near the close of our course, for it will only be a few years, if what we believe is true, when it will be with us as it is with the earthly family coming together at Thanksgiving time to the great feast. And I said to myself, how are we coming? How are we robed? How are we decked? Not in the filthy robes of our own righteousness, but, thank God, we are covered by the righteousness of our dear Redeemer and Lord imputed to us, and blessed is that man who has that righteousness imputed to him.

We are coming here to feast. That means we have something to eat. What is our table? The Scriptures speak of two tables; I do not need to mention the other table, or what is on it, but our table is filled full of something; we all know about that. It is covered, too, with the linen table cloth, and we are going to partake of the most delicious viands at this time from God's Word; we are going to have truth spread before us of all kinds. All the members of the family are not of the same age; we have babes, little folks, young people, and we have the people of middle age, and we have the uncles and aunts, as it were—although we are all brethren; so we have food for all ages in this great brotherhood. For those who are just entering into this truth, the light of God's truth which is shining into our hearts, who have not yet entered into the condition where they will be able to partake of the

stronger meat, there will be plenty of milk served.

And we will also have the solid food for those who are able to masticate and digest it, and it will build us up and make us stronger; and we will have plenty of the true bread which comes down from above.

A good many people, in eating their meat, like olive oil—the oil of peace, the oil of gladness, to help masticate and digest their food properly. I know it will be spread on the table today.

Although we are not intemperate, we will have wine on our table; we will have the strong doctrine which those who are able to give a reason for the hope which they have in their hearts will be able to partake of and make them still stronger.

When I was a boy, one of the earliest ideas that impressed itself on my mind was one that my grandfather had given to me,—let your conversation be pleasant at the table; it helps to masticate the food, and helps to digest it. We want to masticate the truths that are going to be handed out by those whom the Lord has chosen at this time to disseminate the truths for the household of faith in this due season. So with this joyful conversation, and partaking of the oil of gladness, we know that the feast will be a most beneficial one, building us up in the most holy faith.

Then we are going to have desert; we are going to have fruit—and what will it be dear friends? I trust it will be the fruit of the Spirit—Love. I know that will be present. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, because ye have that great and most important thing in the world—Love.

Joy. Yes, we shall have joy.

Peace. We will have peace—the peace of God which passeth all understanding. Peace which the world cannot give to us, and, thank God, cannot take away.

Forbearance. Yes we must have forbearance. There may be occasion during this great convention, especially in view of the peculiar circumstances which bring us together at this time, for us to exercise that spirit of forbearance. Let us speak the truth in meekness and in fear. Remember that injunction, dear brethren.

Goodness. Certainly, we hope to develop that in our hearts.

Kindness. O yes, we will have kindness.

Meekness. Yes, has not the Lord blessed us with this wonderful knowledge? Has He not given us wisdom? It is not the wisdom of this world, but the wisdom from above that is first pure, then peaceable, then gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Self-control. O how the flesh does lust against the spirit! Dear brethren, I am sure we are all going to be on our guard to exercise the spirit of self-control. Let us not forget for one moment the peculiar and important circumstances that bring us together at this time, and remember that we should speak the truth in love, and meekness, and in fear.

When we were boys and girls we went to tables spread full of good things, and we just ate all we could, and we saw some more things left on the table, and what did we do? We just stuck some of the things in our pocket to eat after awhile. As we go away from this convention, I believe we are going to put a good deal of this fruit in our pockets—going to take away some of the delicious fruits that are spread on the table, and which we trust we are developing in our lives—the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Let us do that, dear brethren.

I wish I could tell you in better words how we of the Cincinnati Ecclesia welcome you to our city and to our hearts, how we have prayed for each one of you coming to this convention, and how we are praying for you today; and we believe each one of you has been praying for us and for our dear brother who has helped us in this race for the mark of the prize of high calling. And again I say welcome, welcome!

I take great pleasure in introducing a brother who is known to probably all of us—our dear brother A. H. MacMillan, who is to be the chairman of the convention.

Address of Welcome on behalf of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, by Bro. A. H. MacMillan, Chairman of the Convention.

EAR Brother Blinn, and Friends of the Convention: I cannot find words to express the emotions of my heart as I stand before you this morning to welcome you on behalf of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. I know all of your hearts are overflowing with gratitude to the Lord

that we are privileged to come to this great convention, and that you are all expecting great things during this week at Cincinnati.

As Brother Blinn suggested, this will be one of our most wonderful conventions; it will have one feature differentiating it from any other convention we have ever had, and that special feature will be the debates we will have in this hall each evening of this week until Friday. This will be a new experience for many of us, and during the week we will be thrown together with many people who do not understand the glorious Plan of Salvation, as we do; and as Brother Blinn suggested, and I would like to add another suggestion along the same line: we should be very careful in our intercourse with them that we heed the Apostle's admonition when he tells us to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks us a reason for the hope that is within us, with meekness and fear—reverence. Some of us are apt in our zeal for the truth and for the Lord to use the sword a little bit too harshly; we may forget ourselves for a moment, and the flesh get the upper-hand of us, and we would like to show them how much we know about the plan; we want to silence them immediately. That won't do for us, dear friends. We

all know that we are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ, so let us try to have that thought before our minds during this coming week as we have intercourse with the various ones that come here. Let us seek in meekness and reverence to tell them of the glorious hope that we have within us, and as the Apostle Paul admonished Timothy in the 2nd Epistle, 2nd chapter. "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes, and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil" Now that is a good admonition for all of us during this week, that we may in meekness and reverence instruct those that oppose themselves.

The newspapers of Cincinnati, when commenting on the debates on one occasion said that these Bible debates were gotten up with a view of entrapping Mr. Russell and exposing his views to the public. I thought, my, that is just what we have been trying to do for the last thirty years—trying to get these views before the public. We are glad to have the newspapers assist us in that matter for we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation unto all those who believe it.

Now while we are feasting together on the good things Brother Blinn has been speaking about, let us not forget the dear friends who are at home. I learned a good lesson last summer along that line. I did not have the privilege of attending any of the general con-

ventions, so I learned how to sympathize with those who have to remain at home, and how eager we were to see the first ones who returned, to find out all about the little details of the convention, and hear about all that was going on; and how our hearts did burn within us as they told us of the good things.

As Brother Blinn told us, while we are rejoicing together, our dear Redeemer is here with us; although not seen, nevertheless. He is here, and this feast we are going to enjoy during this whole week is one of the strongest evidences that our Redeemer is here. The time has come for his parousia, and, thank God, we are among the class who are able to discern that, and to realize the blessedness which the Prophet spoke about, "O the blessedness of him that waiteth and cometh to the 1,335 days." Thank God, the 1,335 days have come, and we are all rejoicing in the glorious things that are provided for us. As the Master said to the disciples as He was going away, I am going to leave you; you will be sorrowful for a time, and the world will rejoice, but I will come again—and what will happen then? Why, your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Our Lord said on another occasion that when He would come the second time He would gather us together in heavenly places, making us to sit down to meat, and He would come forth and serve us. Have we been served? Yes, indeed, everyone of us. We realize that He is here, and we are in the heavenly place. Now, mark you, we are to sit down together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Which of the heavenly places are we in? You would all answer the Holy Place. That is the place where the candlestick showed forth its light. There is where the shew-bread was for the priests to partake of. Through consecration we have entered the Holy Place, the dear Redeemer is present and serving us with the light, and serving us with the shew-bread, the food. Our Lord tells us in the 23rd Psalm, Thou preparedest me a table in the presence of mine enemies. That seems to be especially true at this present time. The table is spread for us as Brother Blinn suggested; it will be spread throughout this week, and O, what bounties that table will contain! Every well regulated banquet has certain courses to be served. How many courses is this banquet going to have? I know what you are thinking about. How many courses has the Lord's table? Seven courses. How many of them have we partaken of so far? We have had six of the courses, and the meal will soon be over. By and by we will have the seventh, the last. The feast will then have been ended, and then what are we going to do? The Master said, "In my Father's house are many mansions." Are you going to get one of those mansions? No, there are none good enough for you. Our Master said, In my Father's house are already many mansions, but I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go away to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you that where I am there ye may be also. So, dear friends, after the banquet is over, after all the feasting has ended, we are going to the mansion especially prepared for us. Praise the Lord! What a glorious gathering that will be.

Now we might notice a few things Brother Blinn suggested concerning the table. When we sat down to the table the Master spread, we did not begin with the desert. Some people, you know, begin at the book of Revelation and take that first; then they get a little of the first course and mix it in, and you can imagine if you took your preserves and pie and put salt and pepper and some ketchup on them, they would taste badly. Now, salt and pepper are all right in their places, but they do not work very well in preserves, or on the pie. So, it has been for the last two thousand

years; the Lord's people have been around the table and they have gotten things all mixed up,—got the pepper where it did not belong, and the ketchup where it did not belong, and as a result their stomachs have suffered; and as Brother Blinn suggested, we do not need to tell you anything about that table; the Prophet Isaiah describes it in the 28th chapter, the 8th verse: but our table is prepared for us in the midst of our enemies, covered with all the bounties of the Word of God. The dear Redeemer who put it away in this precious storehouse is now present to give it to us; He knows when and how to give it to us; and as a result we are enjoying it, and we are feasting upon it; and may the Lord's blessing be with us all during this week as we feast upon the precious things which the Lord during the various sessions brings to us.

Now for a key-note for our convention. I have been thinking of a text for several days, and the more I think of it, the more I am impressed with it. It is the 4th verse of the 4th chapter of Phillipians "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." And as Brother Blinn also suggested that we call this the rejoicing convention, I will suggest that to you as the keynote of our convention—THE REJOICING CONVENTION.

Now, what have we to rejoice about? Do you know of anything that we should rejoice about? Indeed there are many things; we could not begin to enumerate them. We are rejoicing that we are in Present Truth. We are rejoicing in the privileges we enjoy as members of the Body of Christ; the privilege of laying down our lives for our brethren. That is a blessed privilege. The Apostle Paul in the 1st chapter of Colossians, 24th verse, says that he rejoiced in the privilege of laying down his life for the brethren. We rejoice also in tribulation. Why rejoice in tribulation? We rejoice in tribulation because tribulation worketh patience, and patience worketh experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God as a result is shed abroad in our hearts. We are rejoicing as we have already said in the fact that our dear Redeemer is present and is giving forth these glorious things from His word. We rejoice also that we have fellowship one with another. "The fellowship of kindred hearts is like to that above." How glorious a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. So we are rejoicing in many things which we cannot take time this morning to enumerate.

I am going to read a few verses, and then we are going to give you a few moments to express your sentiments. 1 Pet. 1:3-6: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein we greatly rejoice, though now for a season if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation; that the trial of your faith being much more precious than the gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Or, as the Diaglott renders it, "With glorious joy unexpressible." I just feel as the Apostle Peter did about it, and I cannot find words, dear friends, to express the emotions of my heart as I come before you on behalf of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society to welcome you to this convention. It is going to be your convention, not mine, although I will share as one with you at the grand feast.

Bible Students' Convention, Cincinnati, Ohio

11 A. M.—Discourse by Brother C. T. Russell.

GOD'S PLANS vs. MAN'S PLANS

The Divine Purpose Nobler, Grander, Better Everyway Than Men Could Have Outlined. "As the Heavens Are Higher Than the Earth." The Divine Purpose Sure of Accomplishment "In Due Time."

STOR RUSSELL addressed the Bible Students' Convention this morning, taking for his text the words of St. Paul: "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate

to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called." (Rom. 8:28-30.) The speaker said:

The Prophet remarks in his proverbs that "The liberal soul deviseth liberal things." (Isa. 32:8.) By every process of logic and human reasoning we should suppose that the Almighty God would be by far the superior of every human being, in that His sentiments and plans would be higher than ours. True, we are informed that man was created in his Maker's moral image and that this enables him to reason and think on moral subjects on a higher plane than does the brute creation. But the same Scriptures inform us that the entrance of sin has wrought havoc with the likeness of God in the human race, blurring it and in a considerable measure obliterating it. While disagreeing with those who claim that "total depravity" has overtaken our race, we are all witnesses to the fact that the moral sense of the race is variant, that some have very little — idiots none — and that its brightest representatives have their limitations which are recognized by themselves as well as by their friends. For the highest standards and conceptions of justice, love and wisdom we look beyond ourselves and all our fellow-creatures to that which is perfect, which believers are hoping to attain in the resurrection. That perfect condition of heart and mind will signify our renewal in our Creator's likeness, he being the perfect standard before our minds.

The Scriptures admonish us that Satan, moved by selfish ambition, rebelled against Jehovah and his government and that he has since sought to use his every opportunity and ability to ensnare our minds, to poison them against our Creator, to make His goodness appear in a false light, to put light for darkness and darkness for light. Looking over the world we perceive that to a large extent he has been successful. Our race has followed his misleadings, as the Apostle points out in Romans 1:28, where he assures us that man originally in accord with God became alienated and forsook the Lord who gave them over to a reprobate mind and evil works, by which they have degraded themselves more and more. As a consequence we see members of the race who are almost devoid of the original likeness of God and proportionately blind to the truth—the god (Satan) of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believeth not."—2 Cor. 4:4.

Making and Serving Images.

Nevertheless, amidst all the darkness that prevails respecting God and His true character and plan the organs of reverence and worship persist in the human brain and hence we find amongst all people a tendency to worship, to acknowledge responsibility, and this, combined with a realization of their own imperfection

and unworthiness, leads them to fear the God whom they do not know. To assist them in the worship which they feel they should render they make images of earth and stone and metal or with silk batting and gold thread. These images are as different from each other as are the conceptions of their makers. Nevertheless, they illustrate three things: (1) Power, strength, ability; (2) intelligence, wisdom, knowledge of us and our whereabouts and doings; (3) anger, malice, hatred, vengeance, cruelty. Most evidently the poor heathen do not know the true God, hence do not worship and serve Him. They need a revelation that will remove from their mental eyes the delusions which now prevail and give them a glimpse of the true God—gracious, merciful, kind, loving, as well as wise, powerful and just. Alas! The poor heathen we see need to learn the message of God's love exemplified in the gift of His Son, who died for our sins and thus opened the way for our return to harmony with the Father. We send missionaries, we give millions of money and thousands of prayers for the breaking of the bonds of ignorance and the opening of the blind eyes of the heathen. We thank God that so many have this degree of appreciation of God and this degree of sympathy for the heathen.

But let us come nearer home, let us look about us in the lands of highest civilization where Christian doctrine has prevailed for centuries, where from the least to the greatest should have had an opportunity to learn of the grace of God in Christ and to become reconciled to God. What do we find in so-called Christendom? We find scores of sects of Christians possessed of the same mental organ of veneration, exercising it to some degrees in worship. We find that more intelligent than the heathen they realize the impropriety of making images of God out of wood, stones, metal, etc. But we find also that each sect or party has made a mental image of God and described this mental image until the disciples of each cult may worship the same mental image. We are not finding fault with these, for without some mental appreciation of the Divine Being worship would be impossible.

"Worship Ye Know Not What."

We are reminded of our Lord's words to the woman at Samaria, who inquired about the worship of the true God. Our Lord said to her, "Ye worship ye know not what." And undoubtedly this is true of the majority of worshippers of all the various sects and creeds. They worship, they exercise the organ of veneration, partly under the impulse of fear, but without particular knowledge of whom they worship and without any particular desire to become acquainted with Him, that they might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent to be our Redeemer. (John 17:3.) This is true undoubtedly of the majority of worshippers of all the sects of all Christendom. But, on the other hand, in all the sects are to be found those who have a different credal image of God before their mental vision. We are interested in the comparison of these various mental images of God; let us take a glance at a few of them as presented to us in the creeds of some of the most prominent Christian denominations.

The Calvinistic Image of God.

One of the highest conceptions of the Almighty, one of the most noble that prevails to a large extent in Christendom, is the Calvinistic. It pictures the Almighty as the high and lofty one possessed of all wisdom, knowledge, power; that He is grave, dignified, commanding reverence and worship. There is much in this image to attract our attention; it is so much nobler than any of the images of the heathen we have ever seen. It inspires us with awe, with reverence. But there is something lacking, a cold chill of fear comes over us as we gaze upon the august majesty. His face is serene and calm, but cold and unsympathetic, ungenerous; stern justice and uncompromising firmness are there. But love! Oh, love is lacking! We tremble before this image, and the more so as we harken to the message which this God of Calvinism has sent to those who have the ear to hear him. He has declared His omnipotence, His justice and unchangeableness; He has declared an election and predestination of a little handful of our race to wondrous glory in His presence and equally foreordained and predestinated that the vast majority of our race shall have none of His loving favor, but shall die in heathen ignorance—non-elect, predestined before their birth not only to ignorance of the only name in the present life but to an eternity of suffering in the ages to come.

To the inquiry respecting the justice of this program, the answer comes that those heathen not favored with a knowledge of Christ were foreknown of God to be unworthy, and that they would not have received Him if they had heard His message. If we ask respecting the masses of Christendom who have heard of the only name but have rejected it and failed to become His footstep followers as saints—if we inquire what hope there is for these, the answer is that there is none. Alas! we say, as we turn away to seek for a still higher ideal, a still more glorious image and a still more blessed message! This Calvinistic image, glorious in many of its features and details, can never satisfy the longings of our hearts, for while its pictures of justice and of power are satisfactory, its lack of love and sympathy makes us fear that it is deficient of the most important element of a truly noble character. We say to ourselves that with all of our weaknesses and faults we would love even our enemies too much to torture them, especially to torture them to all eternity hopelessly, uselessly. We would say to ourselves that if we possessed the wisdom and power of the Calvinistic God, the love in our hearts and sympathy would have cooperated with our wisdom and power and would have hindered us from creating a soul that could not be destroyed, could not be blotted out of existence. For this is the claim made in the name of this image of God; that He so made man that he must live forever, that God Himself could not destroy him and that being unworthy of a place in glory God has no alternative but to perpetuate his existence in misery. Our reply is that this implies either a lack of power or wisdom on the part of the Calvinistic God.

The Arminian Image of God.

Arminianism offsets Calvinism. While the latter is held by almost all the various branches of the Presbyterians and by almost all Baptists, Congregationalists, etc., Arminianism is most particularly represented today by our Methodist friends of different branches. The celebrated "five points" of Arminianism are in substance;

(1) Conditional Election. (As in opposition to the unconditional election held by Calvinists.)

(2) A Universal Redemption, or that Christ died for all alike, though only those who accept His atonement by faith will be actually saved. (As in opposition to the Calvinistic theory that the atonement was only for the Elect.)

(3) That salvation is by grace; or man can exercise true faith only by the regenerating grace of the Holy

Spirit, with which, however, he can co-operate. (As in contradiction to the Calvinistic view that the grace of God—His mercy, His forgiveness, His assistance—was only intended for the Elect and applies to none others.)

(4) That God's grace is not irresistible. (As in contrast with the Calvinistic theory, that it is irresistible; that the Elect cannot resist God's grace, but must yield to it.)

(5) That to fall from a state of grace is possible. (As in contrast with the Calvinistic view, that for the Elect to fall from grace is impossible.)

Looking at this mental image which has appeared to an increasingly large number of Christian people during the past century, we perceive that while it is a less dignified image than the Calvinistic one it has more warmth, more love, more grace. This draws our hearts sympathetically toward this image, to a considerable degree. But as we look and hearken to its message we are impressed with the thought that it, too, is lacking in some particulars. It seems deficient in the qualities of wisdom and power. Its message is really no broader than that of the Calvanistic image; the same "Little Flock" only will reach the heavenly kingdom, the same thousands of millions will be condemned to an eternity of torture. The only difference between these two images seems to be not in the result of their work but in the method pursued therein. Unlike the Calvinistic image the Arminian one does not elect, does not foreordain, does not predestinate, but gives to every member of the race all the blessings, all the opportunities, all the knowledge, all the assistance it can render them, so that if they are lost it is in spite of the best endeavors of the Arminian image for their aid. And so when the vast majority of mankind are lost in eternal torment it will not be because God willed it so, not because He predestinated it so, but because He could not help it; because with His very best endeavors He was unable to bring about a more favorable condition either in civilized or heathen lands, because the great adversary, Satan, had more power for evil than He could control for good.

Alas! Alas! The benevolent designs of this image can never reconcile us to its weakness, its inability, its unwisdom to foreknow and to forearrange and to accomplish its good and loving purposes. We need a God who is not only loving and generous and just but who is wise enough and powerful enough to make His love of practical benefit to our race. These deficiencies in wisdom and power are the very point in which the Calvinistic image displays such grandeur. But it possesses the love quality which the Calvinistic image lacks. Alas! Neither image can fully satisfy our hearts. The proper mental image of the true God, to be satisfactory to our hearts, must be complete-perfect in justice, in love, in wisdom, in power. And this can be said of neither of these. We must look further. Surely the Bible is the divine revelation of the divine character, and surely an error has been made by which some of God's people have shown Him from one side, ignoring the other, while others have shown Him from the opposite side. It should be the ambition and effort, dear friends, of every true child of God to formulate before his mental vision that proper image of God which would be complete in all respects, which would be in harmony with every declaration of the Bible—the image of God before which we could bow and worship and adore, the image of God which would awaken in us that grand conception of the Almighty as superior in every particular to all of His creatures, infinite in wisdom and love and justice and power.

The Scriptural Image of God.

Seeing that the two mental images thus described are worshipped by all Christendom as the best and grandest imaginable; and seeing, also, that these have been entertained for centuries by some of the best minds, we might naturally enough be deterred from even attempting to formulate before our minds and hearts a superior image.

But, then, we remember that the time was when these images were novelties and had few adherents. We remember that these were vast improvements upon the grosser misconceptions of those who burned each other at the stake and otherwise tormented one another, and were esteemed to be the most particularly copying the divine character, method and program. We take courage, too, when we remember that we are not left to the resources of our own imagination in formulating the proper image of God. We remember that God has revealed himself in His Word, in the Bible, and properly we go to it for guidance lest in our imagination we should be equally unsuccessful as others. We are encouraged again when we find that these two most prominent images before the minds of Christendom had both been constructed with the aid of the Bible. We say to ourselves: If the Bible presents one of these images to some minds and the other image to other minds it surely proves that there has been some mistake in interpretation, because as the Word of God it cannot be yea and say nay. It cannot contradict itself as these two credal images contradict and oppose each other in vital points. Let us, therefore, give the more earnest heed as we go to the Bible. Let us be sure to cast away all of our preconceived ideas, notions, opinions, etc.; let us build afresh our image of God from the very foundation, accepting nothing in respect to it that is not in full accord with every other portion of that revelation. Let us expect that the true God must be as perfect in His love as in His other qualities and that He must be as perfect in His wisdom and in His power as He is in His love. Surely any other image of Him must be defective.

Coming thus to the subejet of the Bible our text meets us as a consoling and encouraging message and declares in one breath not only the justice of God and His love, but also His wisdom to foreknow and prepare and plan for the execution of His justice and love. It tells us further of His divine power to carry out all that His wisdom, justice, and love have planned. How encouraging the statement, "My Word that goeth forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it. For ye shall be delivered with joy and brought home in peace;" "For my plans are not your plans, neither are your methods my methods, said the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my methods higher than your methods and my plans than your plans. (Isa. 55:11, 12, 8.) How divine mercy shines through these declarations of divine foreknowledge and power! And be it noted that the context is in full accord with this, showing that the deliverance with joy and homcoming in peace is future, during the Millenial Age, when Christ who redeemed the world shall be its deliverer from the power of sin and death, its deliverer from the prison-house of death—sheol, hades. The home coming will mean the restitution to the former estate of harmony with God, lost through father Adam's disobedience, but redeemed for all the willing and obedient by the precious blood of Christ. In our Father's house are many mansions, many stations: one is for the angels, another for the "Little Flock" of the Elect, and still another for the world in general, who will be brought into harmony with God as a result of the Millenial blessings during times of restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began—to all cursed by the fall but redeemed by the precious blood.

The picture continues. Our context declares that instead of the thorn and the briar there will then be the fir tree and the myrtle tree. The thorn and the briar are here used to typify the wicked, the injurious who now flourish. The fir tree there represents the evergreen whose balsamic influence is healthy, giving a refreshing effect, while the myrtle tree, also an evergreen, yields sweet perfume and berries that are a delicacy. These two trees represent mankind under

the favorable blessing of the Lord during the Millenium, yielding good influences and themselves possessed of everlasting life, symbolized by the evergreen qualities of these trees.

The Word of God's Mouth.

The difficulty with God's people for centuries has been that they have not given sufficiently critical heed to the Word of God's mouth; they have been contented too frequently to take the words of men, or, as our Lord declared, the tradition of men instead of the Word of the Lord. The lesson to us is that we must give heed to the Word of the Lord if we would have true wisdom, and the words of man must be heartkened to only as they are found to be in close alignment and assistances to us in the study of the divine Word, which alone is authoritative. As an illustration of how we have added man's word to the Word of the Lord and thus have perverted the teachings of the Scriptures, we remind you of the Scriptural declaration that the "wages of sin is death," and "The soul that sinneth it shall die," and again, that "all the wicked will God destroy." Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:4; Psa. 145:20.) These plain statements taken at their proper valuation leave no room for misunderstanding the mind of the Lord. But we are not content thus to do, we add to the Word of the Lord and say that the wages of sin is not death, and hence the word death here must be understood to mean life—life in torment. And again we said, It cannot be true that the soul that sinneth it shall die, because we have often heard the theory that the soul cannot die. Hence we must twist and wrest this statement of God's Word to mean its opposite. We must say the soul that sinneth it shall never die, but shall live forever in an eternity of woe and God himself cannot destroy it. Again we said, There must be a mistake about the statement that God will destroy the wicked, for we have been taught from infancy that He will preserve the wicked by miraculous power, so that the fires of torment will not consume them but merely cause pain, and again have we not heard that matter is indestructible. Thus we have beclouded our reason and made void the Word of God through the traditions of our elders and seniors, our ancient and honorable ones. Doctors of Divinity. And how silly the only real argument here adduced—that matter is indestructible, that it passes from one form to another. We are not considering the indestructibility of matter; it is not in question that if you burn a man up his entire body will pass into gases. Undoubtedly there was as much matter in the world before Adam was created as afterwards and as much today as there was then. But matter is not conscious, matter cannot suffer, cannot enjoy, hence the argument is merely a sophistry. When the Lord says, "All the wicked will be destroyed," let us accept this statement as the very truth and know that when the wicked are destroyed they will be no more, even though the matter which once composed their bodies shall have been turned into various gases. Let God be true though it proves every creed to be a lie. Let us go back to the Word of the Lord that from its standpoint we may have the true images of God's character before our minds and may worship Him in spirit and in truth.

What Saith the Scriptures.

If then the Bible written by various pens, guided by the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, is God's Word or message to His people, let us hearken to it. What say the Scriptures. They tell us that man was created in God's image and likeness, that he was intelligent, upright and worthy of trial for eternal life and that he was placed on trial in Eden. They tell us that he was disobedient, not through ignorance or deception, and that he thus came under the divine sentence—a death sentence. Not a word do they tell us of his being condemned to an eternity of torture with devils some place beyond the bounds of space and time. Not a word do they tell us of his being condemned to Purgatory to expiate his guilt.

They not only declare that the penalty for disobedience was announced to him in advance of his trial, but that after his trial he was cast out of Eden so that the penalty might take effect, so that he might die; and they reiterate the penalty, saying, "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." How plain! How simple! No one could misunderstand this simple statement without the assistance of trained theologians, skilled in the art of handling the Word of God deceitfully or wresting the Scriptures, as St. Paul terms it. The Bible record goes on to show that from time onward sin and death prevailed, and that their reign has since continued we all can testify. God's only word on the subject was, "Dying thou shalt die," and "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return."

am, and in his redemption all of his race were involved, just as through his transgression they were all involved. Jesus the Messiah first offered the privilege of joint-heirship with him in the sufferings and in the glory that should follow and a share in the heavenly nature to his own people, the Jews, and when few of them accepted the proposal we are told that the remainder were blinded until his second coming. (Rom. 11:7.) Thus it came that in God's providence, after selecting the remnant of Israelites indeed to be members of the spiritual Seed of Abraham, joint-heirs with himself, our Lord subsequently turned to the Gentiles to take out from them a people for his name. (Acts 15:14.) He has been finding and gathering these for over eighteen centuries and soon we believe the work will be completed, the last number of the Body will have been called accepted and found faithful and then this elo

He did, however, give a glimmer of hope when pronouncing the sentence upon the serpent; he declared that ultimately an offspring from the woman should bruise the serpent's head. This was a dark saying to our first parents, but to us it is luminous by reason of what has since transpired. We see that the Seed of the woman is Christ—Jesus the Head and Church and the Church His Body. The clear intimation is that eventually this glorified company shall have a victory over Satan which in some manner will inure to the benefit of the entire race. In the light of other Scriptures we see that the death of Jesus was necessary as the very foundation of any blessings of forgiveness toward our race and we see that those who have accepted Jesus and received forgiveness have during this Gospel Age been invited to become of the Elect Church, His joint-heirs in the Messianic Kingdom which is to crush Satan, destroy evil and release mankind from bondage to the reign of sin and death, delivering so many as will "into the glorious liberty of the sons of God" freedom from death, everlasting life.

called, accepted and found faithful, and then this election or calling of the Seed of Abraham will be at an end.

What will follow? We answer just what God's Word declares. He said, "My Word that goeth forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me void, but shall prosper in the thing thereto I sent it." He sent it forth to Abraham and all who would believe, announcing the blessing of all the families of the earth. But that has not been accomplished yet. He sent forth a further message through Jesus to all who would accept of him that thereby they might gather out the Spiritual seed of Abraham. This message will not return void, but will find a suitable class, a Seed of Abraham class which God can use in conjunction with our Lord Jesus for the blessing and uplifting and restitution of mankind in general. It has prospered in the thing whereto it was sent. It evidently was not sent to convert the world, neither is such a statement to be found in the Word of God. It was sent to gather out a people for His name, both from the Jews and from the Gentile nations. It will accomplish this the Seed of Abraham

For nearly eighteen centuries God was silent, giving no word, no message of hope except the glimmer which came from Enoch's prophecy, "Messiah cometh with myriads of holy ones." (Jude 14.) After eighteen centuries God revealed His purpose further and more particularly to his servant and friend, Abraham. After testing the loyalty of his faith God declared to him, "In thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 18:18.) Although this Word of God could not be broken and could not return unto him void but must be accomplished in its due season, nevertheless the time for its accomplishment being long God added his oath and swore to Abraham the certainty of this promise, "In thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." For centuries this was more or less a plain promise which the nation of Israel hoped they would inherit. For eighteen centuries more they waited for Messiah to be sent to them to exalt them, to use them as the Seed of Abraham in blessing the world with a divine law and government, stamping out sin and lifting up the slaves of sin from the prison-house of death and from the power of sickness.

will be found, and just so surely as that occurs the other part of the promise will also be fulfilled, namely, that in and through that Seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Election and Free Grace Harmonized.

Here we find supplied by the Scriptures the very features which were lacking in the Calvanistic view or image of God. We see the election of the Church during the present time, an election according to favor, and we equally see that the great mass of the world are non-elect, not called, not chosen, and that they consequently could not be faithful to a calling they did not receive nor even hear about. But so far from the election of the Church signifying the condemnation of the remainder of mankind, the world, the Word of the Lord to Abraham tells us that this Elect class will be God's' instrumentality for the blessing of the non-elect. And through the Prophet, in our next text and elsewhere, the Lord repeatedly draws attention to the Mil-

"In due time God sent forth His Son." The time seemed long from the human standpoint, but through the prophet the Lord reminded them that a thousand years in His sight are but as yesterday. Jesus at his first advent accomplished a different work from that which his nation expected; it was necessary that he should first redeem Israel and all the families of the earth before he could give them the permanent blessing of life eternal. The penalty upon them was death and they had gone down to sheol under it. And so we read that Christ died for our sins, that his soul descended to sheol, but that he was not left in sheol, in hades, but was raised therefrom on the third day. (Acts 2:27.) He did not pay an eternal torment penalty, for no such penalty had been announced; he paid a death penalty, the one the Scriptures declare God had announced and inflicted. Thus the basis was laid for the general blessing of every creature, because Christ died as the substitute or ransom for father Adlennial Kingdom, which will be established under the whole heavens for the breaking down of sin and the exaltation of righteousness and the assistance of all who under that enlightening influence will be willing to go onward to perfection on the highway of holiness. Now we are beginning to see in the proper image of God not merely the dignity of His foreknowledge, his wisdom, his justice, his power, but we see also in him the love which so draws our hearts and which calls upon us to bow before Him and adore Him, because his righteous dealings are being made manifest to us, because we are learning gradually that his plan must be considered as a whole, because we are applying in their proper places those promises which belong to the world and which assure us that they shall be brought into divine favor and have glorious opportunities for gaining by obedience eternal life.

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