The Watchtower, May 1, 1917
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Vol. XXXVIII
BROOKLYN, N. Y., MAY 1, 1917
No. 9
PASTOR RUSSELL
' Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name 's sake, said : Let the Lord be glorified ; but he shall appear to
your joy, and they shall be ashamed." — Isaiah 66:5.
WHY LOVED BY THE COMMON PEOPLE! WHY HATED BY THE CLBRGYI
find that the life and experiences of our Lord Jesus shed a
great flood of light upon the matter.
THE MASTER— "DESPISED AMD REJECTED OP MEN"
The greatest man that ever lived upon the earth was
Jesus of Nazareth. He was the greatest Reformer of all times.
Above all, he was the Redeemer and Savior of the world. Yet,
he was "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief." Why? We give the answer here
that we may show why those who have stood for righteousness
have always been bitterly persecuted and maligned.
Eighteen centuries before Jesus came in the flesh, God had
made a covenant with the nation of Israel. He favored them
above all other peoples of the earth. He gave them a code
of perfect laws. He sent his prophets to teach them. He
blessed them far above their neighbors. But he made the perpetuation
of these blessings dependent upon their obedience to
him. Many times their leaders became disloyal and led the
people away from God, and for this he punished them. When
they repented, he would again bless them, and again they would
become unmindful of his Messing. Near the close of the long
period of God's favor toward them he said, through his Prophet,
"You Only have I recognized of all the families of the earth :
therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."
In addition to giving them the Law, God instituted amon^t
the Jews the Levitical priesthood. It was the duty of the
priests to instruct the people in the way of righteousness, and
to keep them in mind of the coming Seed of Abraham, through
which they would receive a lasting blessing. Jehovah did not
authorize any sect or division amongst them.
When Jesus came to earth he found a marked departure
from the teachings that had been given to Israel through the
holy prophets. Gradually, near the close of the age, there had
come into existence certain religious sects, to wit: Pharisees,
Sadducees, Essenes and Cyreneans. These sects had mixed
with the true Word of God doctrines which they had borrowed
from heathen philosophers. They were given over to great
formalism. They pretended to worship God, worshiping him
with their lips, while their hearts were removed far from htm.
Their leaders were proud, high-minded, heady, self-willed and
egotistical. They practised fraud and deceit upon the people.
The Pharisees would stand in the streets and utter long prayers
. They publicly thanked God that they were better than
other men. They loved to be called Rabbi, Master, Father,
etc. They oppressed the widows and orphans, making their
burdens grievous to be borne. They knew well that the Scriptures
taught the coming of Messiah ; but they reasoned that tf
he should come, he would select them above all others as his
chief ones, because of their greatness of learning, and tbeir superiority
to the common people.
Man's greatness is properly measured by the amount of good
he accomplishes on behalf of his fellowmen. The good accomplished
is not to be determined in money value, but must be
measured by the amount of true happiness brought into the
lives of the largest number. The man who attains to this
position of greatness must do so through adversity, and for
this there is a reason.
Since Adam and Eve forfeited the joys and beautieB of
Eden, there have been two opposing forces contending in the
universe — good and evil. God is the perfect expression of
goodness; Satan, the very personification of evil. AH of the
sorrows of the human race are traceable to the machinations
of Satan and his coadjutors.
Every human being that has lived upon the earth has
fought either under the banner of the Lord of righteousness
or under the leadership of the evil one — Satan, Every one in
the world today is fighting under the one or the other standard.
All who have fought under the Lord's banner of righteousness
have done so willingly. The Lord coerces the will of no man.
But the great mass of the soldiers of the adversary have fought
under him unwillingly. They have been the bond-slaves of evil,
enslaved by the wrongful act of the first man, and unable to
extricate themselves from this slavery.
REMARKABLE TEIBtTTE TO PASTOR RUSSELL'S WORTH
It follows, therefore, that every man who achieves real
greatness must be a brave and valiant soldier of righteousness
. An apostle of light, he is often made to appear evil
by his adversaries; whereas the great adversary and hi3
coadjutors often appear in the garb of angels of light, thereby
deceiving many. Century after century history has repeated
itself in this respect. Why? We answer, Because the same
great forces are constantly warring against each other, the
evil always opposing the right.
The world has produced some great men. Some men,
by reason of their untiring struggles, have become great;
while some have attained greatness by reason of God's special
favor. Not since the days of the Apostle Paul has there lived
in the world a greater and better man; than Pastor Russell.
We say this advisedly, because in that time no man has been
so wonderfully used to bring lasting blessings to so large a
number of people. He, as a servant of the Lord, brought to
them in clear terms the glad tidings of salvation found in the
Scriptures, which Jesus first began to speak upon this earth.
For centuries the adversary and his coadjutors have beclouded
the message of salvation, but during the last half century the
Lord has caused greater light to shine upon this message, and
he used Pastor Russell as his special instrument in directing to
that light. If Pastor Russell was a follower of Jesus (and
no one who knew him could doubt it), why should any one
hate him ? Searching for the true answer to this question, we
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PHARISAICAL CLERGY DOOMED TO DISAPPOINTMENT
But these religious rulers were doomed to disappointment.
Instead of coming with great pomp and ostentation. Messiah
came meek and lowly of heart, giving his Father all the glory
for what he said and did. He taught the people how they
might attain life everlasting in a state of happiness. "He
spake aa never man spake" before, in fulfilment of the prophetic
statement, "Grace was upon his lips"; and his message brought
gladness to the hearts of the sincere. "The common people
heard him gladly." They followed him from place to place;
they thronged about him; they rejoiced to be in his presence.
Seeing that the people were forsaking them and following
the lowly Nazarene, these various sects, composed largely of
the Jewish hierarchy, or clergy, were incensed against our
Lord and began a systematic and wicked persecution of him.
They were blind instruments of Satan. They first sought to
destroy him by vile epithets and slander. They publicly called
in question the legitimacy of his birth and the chastity of his
mother; they denounced him as a liar, as a sinner, a-s the
chief of devils and as a blasphemer of God. Finally they paid
their ill-gotten money to have him cruelly murdered. Thirtyseven
years later the Jewish nation fell, to rise no more until
their "double" of disfavor should be fulfilled.
CLASS WHICH CAUSED JESUS' DEATH POWERFUL NOW
St. Paul produced the evidence that the Jewish age finds
it* parallel in this Gospel age. The Biblical testimony further
shows that in the Gospel age we would find a parallel not only
in time, but in the events that would transpire, and that the
same class of men who were prominent and powerful then —
the clergy class — would be prominent and powerful now.
Today we are in the closing hours of the Gospel Age. At
the close of the Jewish *ge we saw a class of men who separated
themselves from the common people, fittingly spoken of
as "the clergy." These had forsaken their God-given duty of
teaching the Truth to the people, and the Lord Jesus denounced
them as frauds and hypocrites. (Mark 7:6-8) At the close
of the Gospel age, we like-wise find a distinct class, apart from
the common people, designating themselves "the clergy," the
majority of whom have departed from the teachings of Jesus
and the Apostles, teaching instead either doctrines borrowed
from the heathen philosophers, or else doctrines of Higher
Criticism and Evolution, thereby destroying the faith of the
people in the Bible and blinding them to God's plan of salvation
. Mark, then, the parallel of events of the two ages, observing
always the virulent and persistent opposition of the
evil to the good.
NEITHER JESUS NOB THE APOSTLES EVER CLAIMED TO BB
CLERGYMEN
The Gospel age opened with the introduction of the great
Master, Christ Jesus, who declared that every man who would
become his true follower, and would continue as such, would
receive persecution similar to that which he received. He said,
"If they have called the Master of the house the prince of
devils, how much more will they call them of his household V 9
(Matthew 10:25) Again he said, "Ye are not of the world; if
ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because
ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth you." — John 15:19.
Jesus pointed out that the great objective of the Christian
was to be the kingdom of God, and to this end he taught his
followers to pray, "Thy kingdom come.*' He emphasized the
fact that his second coming would mark the beginning of the
blessings to mankind which God had promised through the
mouth of all his holy prophets, and that these blessings could
come in no other way or time. Neither Jesus nor the apostles
ever laid claim to being clergymen. Such a thing does not appear
in church history until the apostles had all disappeared
from the stage of earthly activity.
When the great apostate system was organized, the pope
became its head, and around him he gathered cardinals, archbishops
, bishops and priests, thus forming "the clergy" class;
and these alone claim to be members of the church. All others
who follow are called "children of the church." The Protestant
Reformers were themselves persecuted ; but now, in their names,
their followers in turn become persecutors.
When Luther protested against the false doctrines taught
by the Papacy, he was excommunicated, denounced and bitterly
persecuted — likewise every reformer, both those who preceeded
and those who followed him. Call to mind the experiences
of Huss, Wycliffe, Knox, Wesley, Campbell, and
others. The spirit of intolerance has been manifested in all
ages, and while more refined methods of persecution are employed
at present than in the past, this spirit is fttlll as wicked
as ever. PASTOB BUS SELL'S BOYHOOD BATS
Let ub now return to the man whose career we are here
to examine. It is due that we tell something of his boyhood.
Sixty-five years ago, in the city of Pittsburgh, Charles Taze
Russell was born. His parents were of the Calvinistic faith,
and he was reared in that environment and influence. Naturally
of a reverential mint!, he early entered religious work. His
young mind was so impressed by the teachings of the clergy
that he felt in duty bound to do what he could to save mankind
from what he had been taught was a burning hell of torment
. As a youth , he was engaged throughout the day in business
in his father's store, and after a hard day's work was
often found going about the city with colored chalk, marking
upon the- walls of buildings where men congregated, words of
warning against the hell of eternal torture. Relying upon the
high standard of the clergy in the community, he had been induced
to believe these doctrines which they taught, and this
led him to take this strenuous course.
THE TEACHINGS OF THE CLERGY
What have been the teachings of the clergy? They have
taught, and generally still teach, that every man has an immortal
soul; that when a man dies he is not in reality dead;
but more alive than ever; that the very "rood, at death, go immediately
to heaven — a state of everlasting bliss; and that all
others go immediately at death either to purgatory, a place of
torment, limited in duration, or to hell, a place of endless
torture in fire and brimstone.
The Calvinistic branch of Protestantism has taught, and
still teaches, that God foreordained a few to be saved and all
others to be forever damned; that every child, even before its
birth, has its destiny eternally sealed; that nothing that any
one could do would alter its foreordained destiny, and that
Jehovah had made this arrangement.
Another system of theology has taught, and yet teaches,
that man's sins may be forgiven by pope or priest upon a
money consideration. At least, this is the way the teaching
works.
Practically all the church systems, Catholic and Protestant,
have taught, and still teach, that all who are saved go to
heaven, that there is no other place of salvation; that at
Christ's second coming the earth will be utterly destroyed, together
with every one upon the earth who is unsaved. They
claim to be followers of the Prince of Peace, yet urge rulers
and people to engage in war.
These have further taught, and still teach, the unauthorized
and wholly untenable doctrine that no one is authorized to
preach except he be first ordained by a body of clergymen,
designated by them for that purpose. When plied with questions
, the clergy have, as a rule, waved them aside, intimating,
"These questions are too deep for you; just have faith in what
we tell you."
DRIVEN TO UNBELIEF
Young Russell believed that the Bible taught these theories,
because the clergy taught them. Up to that time he had not
given the Bible a careful study. As he brooded over the condition
of the unfortunate race, he reached the conclusion that
a just, wise and loving God could not be the author of such
an arrangement; and while still believing in God, he discarded
the Bible on the supposition that it taught these awful doctrines
Charles Russell then turned his mind to the examination of
heathen religions, only to find them wholly unsatisfactory.
While wandering from one religious teaching to another searching
for truth, until he was thoroughly dissatisfied with all,
he yet retained a belief in God. He said, "Surely a good and
wise God, who has made man, must have provided Borne way
for man to gain a knowledge concerning himself. Probably the
Bible does not teach what I have understood it teaches; I will
search the Scriptures carefully myself and ascertain."
As a young man still in his teens, young Russell then began
a careful and prayerful study of the sacred pages of
God's Word, and when he found that the Bible does not teach
that God is a fiend who will torture his creatures eternally,
but that its teachings are entirely consistent with the character
of a just and loving Creator, he then resolved to devote
all of his time, strength, energy and means to telling the people
the true teachings of the Scriptures and to putting these
teachings forth by every means in his power, that others might
know; and this he did up to his last hourfon earth.
WHY EBROB OPPOSES TRUTH "DARKNESS HATETH THE
LIGHT"
Darkness always opposes the light. As the light progresses
it exposes the darkness, and causes the disciples of error to
fight the instruments holding forth the light*. This is illustrated
in every branch of science, aa well as in religion. To illustrate :
A doctor has been practising according to the methods adopted
a century ago; he Knows no other methods and makes his livTG
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THE WATCH TOWER
Brooklyn, N. Y.
ing by those methods. ' Modern scientists bring forth new
methods of treating diseases, and the doctor sees that the new
methods will not only destroy his theories, but will likewise
deprive him of a livelihood. The spirit of selfishness that is
in every man to a greater or less degree manifests itself, and
causes him to resent the new methods. On the other hand, the
people who have proved the benefit of the new methods, would
gladly receive them.
This has been true of all professions. It is not necessary
for us to suppose that those who oppose progress and enlightenment
are always men who are wilful wrong- doers, but
the charitable, and we believe the more proper, way to look
at the matter is that self-interest blinds many to real advancement
The clergy for centuries have been following the teachings
which we have outlined. The ruts of error have been
made deep, and it is difficult for them to get out. The majority
of these have been content to follow this course; their
collections come at regular intervals and their livelihood and
prestige depend upon holding the people in subjection to their
manner of thinking.
WHAT PASTOR RUSSELL TAUGHT— TTONED HOSE ON HELL
OF THE CREEDS AND PUT OUT FIRE
When Pastor Russell ascertained the beautiful and harmonious
teachings of Jesus and hi a apostles, and that all these
harmonized fully with the Old Testament, he began to turn
the great searchlight of truth upon the error; and naturally
this exposed these erroneous theories which had been adopted
and long followed by the clergy class. As one good preacher
put it, "Pastor "Russell turned the hose on hell and put out
the fire." And that knocked down the chief prop of the clergy.
He did not attack men, but merely attacked the erroneous
doctrines by teaching the true ; and this he had a perfect right
to do; while his opponents attacked him personally.
THE BIBLE TEACHINGS PASTOR RUSSELL'S TEACHINGS
We now give the Bible teaching upon these great questions
at issue, by the citation of Scriptural authority; and what the
Bible teaches is what Pastor Russell believed and taught the
people for more than forty years.
Gcd has a wonderful plan, foreknown and prearranged by
him before the foundation of the world, which plan he is
working out to his own glory and for the blessing of his creatures
. From his Word we learn that God created man in his
own image and likeness— perfect in organism, perfect in mind.
This embraced the power to discern between right and wrong.
God did not give man a soul; he made man a soul. (Genesis
2:7) As the Scriptures set forth, all animal creatures are
souls ; none possess souls. A cow is a soul ; it does not have a
soul. (Numbers 31:28) There is quite a distinction between
being a thing and having that thing. The union of the breath
of life with the elements composing the body produce a third
thing; namely, a living, moving, breathing being, which we
call "a soul."
Adam and his wife, Eve, were given a perfect home — Eden —
and God gave to them his law, wherein he stated, "In the day
that you disobey, dying you shall die." (Genesis 2 : 17) Stated
in other phrase, God informed them that they might enjoy the
beauty and perfection of Eden forever (gradually extending
this Eden until it should cover the whole earth), on the condition
that they would obey his law; but that to disobey would
mean death. He did not say that if they disobeyed he would
send them to eternal torture. No such statement can be found
in the Scriptures. He did not say that their souls were immortal
and could never die. It was Satan who said to Mother
Eve, "Ye shall not die." (Genesis 3:1-5) Concerning this
Jesus declared that this falsehood of Satan's was the first lie
ever told, and that from it all other lies and false doctrines
emanated.
The Genesis account sets forth that Adam did violate God's
law and, in harmony with the penalty of that law, Jehovah
sentenced him to death — not to an eternity of torture. He
sentenced him to hell ; but the hell of the Bible is not a place
of eternal torment, but of oblivion.
THE BIBLE HELL— TATOHT BY PASTOE RUSSELL
For more than fifteen centuries the people have been in
darkness concerning the meaning of hell, because the true teachings
of the Bible were taken away in the third century by the
then corrupt chnrch leaders, and the theories of men were
substituted therefor. We have now come to the close of the
Gospel age, to the time when greater light than ever before
is shining upon all things, and when every hidden thing is being
uncovered. This has been true during the past forty years,
and as time has advanced the light has grown brighter and
brighter. Within this comparatively brief period more light*
has been turned upon the true teachings of the Bible than during
ail the centuries since the days of the apostles. Briefly,
we give the Bible teaching concerning hell:
The only word in the Hebrew Old Testament translated
hell is sheol. Every educated minister knows that sheol is not
a place of eternal torture, but that the word means the tomb,
or the condition of death. Jacob declared: "I will go down
into hell (sheol) to my son mourning." Surely Joseph wag
not in eternal torment! "If evil befall him (Benjamin) by
the way, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow
to the grave" (sheol). (Genesis 37:35; 42:38) Job, after
losing all his earthly possessions and his children, and then
being afflicted with a loathsome disease, prayed to God that he
might go to hell — the grave, sheol — and there rest in
silence. (Job 14:13) The Psalmist, speaking prophetically of
Jesus, stated that Jesus went to hell (Psalm 16:10) ; and the
Apostle explains this in Acts 2:29-34 to mean the tomb.
In the New Testament the Greek word hades is translated
hell, and has the same meaning as sheol in the Hebrew. The
word Gehenna is also translated hell. It has not the thought
of conscious torment, but represents the condition of complete
annihilation, eternal death, from which there is to be resurrection
.— Matthew 10:28.
The clergy teach that the dead are more alive after death
than before, whereas the Scriptures teaeh exactly to the contrary
. The Psalmist says: "What man is he that liveth and
shall not see death! Shall he deliver his soul from the tomb?"
(Psalm 89:48) "In death none shall praise thee; in hell
(sheol, the grave) who shall give thee thanks V (Psalm 6:5)
"The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into
silence." (Psalm 115:17) "His breath goeth forth; he returneth
to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."
(Psalm 146:4) "The living know that they shall die, but the
dead know not anything." "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to
do, do it with thy might; for there is~no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave (sheol) whither thou
goest." — Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.
RESURRECTION— "EARTH HOLDS SO MANT DEAD"
Except for God's love manifested toward humankind, all
would have perished forever, for the reason that "the wages
of sin is death," not eternal torture (Romans 6:23) ; and dearth
means the complete cessation of life. The fear of eternal torture
has brought horror to millions of minds, causing them
to shun Jehovah as a fiend and to repudiate his Word as a
mockery. The Prophet plainly tells us that such doctrines are
taught by the precepts of men and are not in harmony with
the Lord*s word, the Bible. — Isaiah 29:13.
For six thousand years there has been great sorrow in the
earth, and that sorrow is now greatly intensified. Billions
have gone into death after much suffering. The clergy have
held out no message of comfort to the vast majority of these,
before they died, or to their loving friends who remained behind
to mourn them. Truly the poet has said :
"The earth is, old with centuries,
But not for this she bows her head ;
Close to her heart the sorrow lies —
She holds so many dead!
But Jehovah through his prophets has held out hope of a
resurrection (Jeremiah 31:15-17; Isaiah 26:1S); Hosea 13:14) ;
and when Jesus was born the angels of heaven announced that
the great Savior of men had come, and that these glad tidings
must go to all. God sent Jesus to the earth to become a man
and to die, that mankind might not perish, but have everlasting
life. When Jesus came he brought "glad tidings of great joy
to all people." He said: "All that are in their graves shall
hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth." — John
3:16; 5:28, 29, R. V.
The resurrection of all men is made possible because of
this fact: A perfect man sinned and through him condemnation
came upon all. Through the willing and substitutionary
sacrifice of another perfect man — Ohrist Jesus — the opportunity
for life comes to all. (Romans 5:12, 15-21) 1*his was
the only means whereby man could justly be released from the
(penalty resulting from Adam's sin. No man on earth could
meet this requirement; and for this reason, the Scriptures
inform us, Jesus "was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death, that he, by the grace of God, should
taste death for every man." — Hebrews 2:9.
In being made lower than the angels, Jesus took upon himself
the form and nature of man. (Philippians 2:5-10) "He
was made flesh and tabernacled among us." (John 1:14) He
partook of flesh and blood, in order that he might become the
Redeemer of mankind. (Hebrews 2:14) "He gave his life a
ransom for all, to be testified (to all) in due time." (1
Timothy 2:3-6) He was put to death a human being and
raised from the dead a divine being. (1 Peter 3:18, Diaglott;
1 Corinthians 15:3, 4) The death and resurrection of Ohrist
Jesus is a guarantee that all the dead shall in due time be
awakened out of death, and that all shall be given a fair trial
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THE W A TCH TOW E K
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for life. (Acta 24:15; 17:31; John 5:28; 1 Corinthians
15:12-22) But before mankind at large can experience this
blessing 1 another part of God's plan must first be carried out.
"THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST"
Long centuries ago Jehovah gave an oath -bound promise
to Abraham, and renewed it to Isaac and to Jacob, saying, "In
thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
blessed." (Genesis 12:3; 26:4; 28:14} Who was to constitute
this seed was a complete mystery to all until Pentecost
, and is still a mystery to all except those who have fully
consecrated themselves to the Lord. (Colossians 1:26, 27)
The seed, according to the promise, is Christ, and Christ is
composed of Jesus Christ the Head, and the true church, his
body.— Galatians 3:10, 20; Colossians 1:18.
All who have been baptized into Christ — that is to say,
all who during the present age have been immersed into Christ's
death by a full consecration to do the Father's will — have
put on Christ; and these, continuing faithful unto the end,
•■.hull have part in the first, or chief resurrection, and together
with Christ Jesus shall constitute the seed of Abraham acenrding
to promise, and shall reign for a thousand years for
the purpose of bestowing God's promised blessing upon mankind
. — Galatians 3:29; Revelation 20:6.
MESSIAH'S GLORIOUS KINGDOM
Our Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the coming
of his kingdom, and made known the fact that its establishment
would mark the beginning of the blessings to all mankind
. The word "kingdom" is used in a two-fold sense. It
means, first, the royal family, or reigning house; second, the
realm, or dominion, including the subjects, over which the
royal family reign. The word "kingdom" i3 a name applied
in the Scriptures to the ruling seed of Abraham — Jesus Christ
the Head, and the glorified church, his body — as well a a to
the earthly domain over which they shall hear rule.
The whole Gospel age has been devoted to the gathering out
of the true followers of the Master, who are to compose the
kingdom class; and as he was despised and rejected of men,
by those who held to the errors of the sects, so his followers
were to have similar experiences.
The second advent of Christ has been the great event to
which the Master's true disciples have long looked forward;
tliey have hoped and prayed for its coming. We are today
in the closing hours of the period allotted by God for the selection
of the church, and "the kingdom of heaven is at hand"! —
now in the full sense of its establishment in the earth. The
institutions of "this present evil world" are passing away in
a great time of trouble, and soon the Lord will establish his
kingdom of righteousness, which will deal out justice to all
humanity.
All these Bible truths Pastor Russell taught for forty years,
and always without money and without price. "Seats free
and no collection!" was an eyesore to his sectarian opponents,
and drew from thehi much bitter criticism during all these
years in which he pointed to the nearness of Messiah's kingdom
; and time and again, orally and through the public press,
he announced to the peoples of earth that the age was now
closing and would pass away with a great time of trouble,
due to begin, according to Bible chronology, in 1914, and that
this trouble would eventuate in the greatest revolution and
most destructive anarchy the earth has ever known, to be followed
immediately by the setting up of Messiah's kingdom of
everlasting peace, which would bring blessings to all the peoples
of the world — living and dead.
THE KING PRESENT— "COMB AS A THIEF"
It can readily be seen how these great truths set forth in
the Bible, and taught by the Lord's special servant of these
last days, upset all the theories and doctrines that have been
taught by the clergy for the past 1500 years. It is likewise
easy to see that those not having the spirit of the Lord, those
clergymen who regard their profession as one for personal
profit, either in money or in the plaudits of men, would be
blind to the great purposes of God, and hence would vigorously
oppose the light of present truth.
The Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:3, 4) points out the->e verv
men, at the end of the age, and denominates them scoffers,
saying that they would scoff at those who would make known
the great event" of the Lord's second presence. Thousands of
Christian people have witnessed the fulfilment of the numerous
lines of testimony brought forward during the past quarter
of a century in regard to the Lord's parousia, presence, and the
consequent nearness of his kingdom, and have at the same
time witnessed the fulfilment of this prophecy of the Apostle
with reference to the scoffing of the clergy due to the announcement
of the presence of the long-promised King, who has come
as a thief, as foretold.
HE TAUGHT THE PEOPLE
The clergy of Jesus' day not only opposed the teachings of
Jesus, but ajso tried to prevent the people giving heed to
these teachings. Rebuking them for their coiir«<\ the Master
said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither
go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering
to go in."— Matthew 23:13.
When the clergymen of that day sent their officers to arrest
Jesus and they returned and reported the wonderful words
that fell from 'his lips, declaring that ''never man spake like
this man," the Pharisaical clergy sarcastically said, "Are ye
also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed
on him?"— John 7:45-48.
Every follower of the Master who has taught the people
the truth has received similar treatment at the hands of that
portion of the clergy element who have not possessed the spirit
of the Lord, but the spirit of the adversary. When certain
of the disciples of JesU3 were preaching the truth after Pente
cost, and were arrested at the instance of the Clergy element,
Nt. Luke assigned tlris reason, "being grieved that they taught
the people and pi cached through Jesus the resurrection of the
dead." — Acts 4:1-4.
Pastor Russell printed hundreds of millions of tracts set
ting forth the message of the kingdom of Messiah, and theso
have been distributed throughout the world, free of charge.
The clergy have constantly persecuted him for so doing. More
than four thousand newspapers from time to time published hi*
sermons. As an example of how this affected the clergy, one
of their number angrily remarked, "I cannot open my morning
paper without Pastor Russell's face staring at me." The religious
department of one of our great publications, which iunfriendly
, contained the following:
"Pastor Russell's writings are said to have greater
newspaper circulation every week than those of any other
living man; a greater, doubtless, than the combined circulation
of the writings of all the priests and preacher*
in North America; greater even than the work of Arthur
Brisbane, Norman Hapgood, George Horace Lorimer, Dr.
Frank Crane, Frederick Haskins, and a dozen other of the
best known editors and syndicate writers put together."
The olergy naturally were unable to answer the great hip*
sage of the truth which Pastor Russell delivered. They hated
him and persecuted him for the same reason that the agents
of the adversary hated and persecuted the Lord and the
apostles. (John 15:18-21) No one who indulges in such persecutions
has the spirit of the Lord, but the spirit of the adversary
. *In the Scriptures we read, "Whosoever hateth his
brother is a murderer." (1 John 3:15) "They shall reproach
you and cast out your name as evil." (Luke 6:22) "Deceit
ia in the heart of them that imagine evil." (Proverbs
12:20) "An evil man out of the evil treasure (of his heart)
bringeth forth evil things." (Matthew 12:35) "Speak not
evil one of another, brethren." "Speak evil of no man." —
James 4:11; Titus 3:2.
NO PERSON EVER GAVE TESTIMONY AGAINST HIS MORAL
CHARACTER
Not being able to answer Pastor Russeira arguments concerning
God's plan of salvation, the clergy of evil and cornipt
winds indulged in slander and libelous attacks against hi*
character. One of the best evidences of the falsity of their
charges is the fact that no person was ever produced who
gave testimony against the moral character of Pastor Russell,
To his dying day he was able to say, what probably very few
men aside from the Lord could say, that he had lived a life of
absolute celibacy.
Time will not permit the examination here of each of
the charges the olergy made against him, but they all have
been answered fully and clearly in a little pamphlet entitled,
"A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens," which
the author wrote from personal observation and knowledge of
the facts, and which can be obtained from the office of the
Watch To web Bible and Tract Society, 17 Hicks St. Brook -
Ivn, N". Y., by merely sending a post-card request therefor.
DARKNESS AND DAWNING
At this time the whole world is torn by war, pestilence,
famine and distress, and the clergy urge the rulers on to more
war and trouble, and have also urged the embroilment of these
United States — now accomplished. Long has it been the desire
of honest hearts amongst the people to have peace. Jehovah
declares that after this great shaking and overthrow of the
nations peace will come, and through the Prophet gives a beautiful
picture of the reign of Christ Jesus and the blessings
that will follow for the people, saying, "From the rising of
the sun (the Sun of Righteousness, The Christ, which will rise
at the beginning of the age with healing in his beams) unto
the going down of the same (the end thereof), my name shall
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THE WATCH TOWER
B«ooklyh. N. Y.
be great among the nations ; and in every place incense shall be
offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall
be great among the nations, saith the Lord of Hosts." — Malachi
1:11.
St. John the Revelator, depicting in vision the blessings
that will come to mankind, says:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth (new order
of things) ; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away, and there was no more sea (turbulent, anarchistic
masses). And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem
(the church glorified), coming down from Cod out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a
great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
15 with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall he his
people, and God himself shall be with them and "be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall
there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are
true and faithful." — Revelation 21:1-5.
HUMAN RACE TO BE RESTORED TO PERFECTION
As a sample of the Scriptural message of sweetness and
comfort which Pastor Russell taught the people, we quote
from Volume I of his Studies ik the* Sceipttjhes, pages 191
and 192:
"The Apostle Peter, our Lord, and all the prophets
since the world began, declare that the human race is to
be restored to glorious perfection, and is again to have
dominion over earth, as its representative, Adam, had.
"It is this portion that God has elected to give to the
human race. And what a glorious portion I Close your
eyes for a moment to the scenes of misery and woe, degradation
and sorrow that yet prevail on account of sin, and
picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect
earth. Not a stain of sin mars the harmony and peace of a
perfect society; not a bitter thought, not an unkind look
or word; love, welling up from every heart, meets a
kindred response in every other heart, and benevolence
marks every act. There sickness shall be no more; not
an ache nor pain, nor any evidence of decay — not even
the fear of such things. Think of all the pictures of comparative
health and beauty of human form and feature
tli at you have ever seen, and know that perfect humanity
will be of still surpassing loveliness. The inward purity
of mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify
every radiant countenace. Such will earth's society be;
and weeping bereaved ones will have their tears all wiped
away, when thus they realize the resurrection work complete
. — Revelation 21:4."
It must be evident to every fair-minded person that he
who could bring forth from the Scriptures such words of beauty
and sweetness as set forth in the foregoing paragraph was
controlled by the Spirit of the Lord, fighting for rignteousness
under the banner of Christ. Likewise it must be evident to
all fair-minded persons that he who opposes such a message
and the man who gave it is controlled by the spirit of the
adversary and fighting under the banner of the adversary.
To put it in a few words, Pastor Russell was hated by the
clergy because he taught the people the tbtjth and disregarded
their creeds and human traditions. He was loved by the common
people because he brought to them the truth, a message
of hope which has filled the hearts of many with joy.
JESUS THE TRUE VINE
This article was a Teprint of that entitled "The True Vine and Its Fruit," published in issue of April 15, 1905, which please
see.]
"Branches in Christ the Vine!
O union blest! Nor tongue nor pen can give
All that this wondrous thought doth comprehend; —
How glorious in Jesus thus to live!
"His fruit we bear; our Husbandman
Doth prune his vine, that more and more our life
May yield rich fruitage to our Father's praise;
And so we bow submissive to his knife,
"Our life, our strength, our joy,
We find in Christ; He is our all in all;
His pulsing life through all our being flows;
To him we're bound in Love's overmastering thrall."
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONTROL
[This article was a Teprint of that entitled "The Wkie of False Doctrine/' published in issue of March 15, 1907, which please
see.]
IN RE MILITARY LAW
A Bill is now pending before Congress which, if passed,
will regulate selective conscription for Military service. Many
of the friends are inquiring about this. In due time The
^V T ATCH Tower will contain a statement advising the friends
of the conditions upon which exemption may be granted by
the Government from Military service, and what steps will be
neoessary to obtain such exemption.
Our statement in the April 15th issue of The Watch
Tower related only to State laws. If a Federal law is enacted,
application for exemption should be made according to its
provisions.
We have confidence that Congress will give due consideration
to conscientious objectors. In most of the States all
will be required to register. There is no objection to this, and
there is no reason why any one should hesitate to register and
answer the questions as required. Let ua be law abiding.