The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

(318-306) THE WATCH TOWER BROOKLYN, N. Y.for the Lord's glory-as with the Sodomites, whom God tookaway as he saw good.-Ezekiel 16:49, 50.TO SHEOL, NOT TO TO-WTIt is well that we should remember that the Bible hell, towhich the Canaanites went when they were slaughtered, is notthe hell of torrnent pictured to us in the creeds. Their destruction by the Israelites sent thcm to sheol, to hades, to thetomb, ahere "there is neither wisdom nor knowledge nor de-\ice." (Eccles. 9 :lo) Therc they sleep with their forefiitl~crs-.lost31s we read of all the good as well as of all theevil ones of that tirnc. Abraham slcpt with his fathers, whowere heathcbn men.All through Uil~le history re read that both good and bad,dying, were gathcrild to their fatl~crs-slept with their fathers.Therc they art: still. \v:iiting for the glorioi~s resurrection morning,\vhci; Messin11 is kinxtlom, 11:1vin~ ioangurated a reign ofrighteouuncss, will ltrirl~ the e:~rtlr ro its Etlenic condition andbring hack eventually c,\-ery 111311 iu his own order-all thatslerp in hadcs, in sl~col, ill the tomb.-1 Corinthians 15:21-29.Death \vitll hum:n~it\- is totally different from death withthe I,rotr, l~ccau:;c of the divine promise that there shall be aresurrection of the human dcnd, the just and the unjust; andhecause in fnlfll~nent of that lmomisa God has already sent hisSon. Jesus alrez~ly has died for human sin, thus opening upthe way for tho rcsurrcction-that God might be just and yetbe the justifier of those accepting Jesus.True, fclv have accrlrtcd him as yet, because few have comeMORE ABOUT THEBrother Morton Edpr has recently issued a very neat littlebook dealing \sit11 the Pyrnmid, and corrcspon(1ing in size andshape to the Karntol and India paper S~WIES IN 'M~E SCRIP-TURES. It is on Tndin paper, cloth-hound, two shillings (fiftycents). We arc informcd that it treats the passages of thePyramid very criti~allg and finds that many of the measurementsarc eloscly corroborative of the time features of thedivine plan prescntcd in tl~e STUDIES IN TnE SCRPTURES. Wearc advised that it gives seven diffcre~~t corroborative proofsthat the closc of thc year 1014--namelyl about October, 1916will mark ttre closing of the Tinlrs of the Gentiles, and the beginningof tl~e Sl\.~c.ssi:~ni~. reign. Many of the dear friends arercjoieing in these r.r~rrol~orations.to a knowledge of the truth. The great masses of the worldare still blind and deaf, and know not. The glorious promiseis that in Messiah's day not only shall all be awakened fromthe tomb, but the knowledge of the glory of God shall fill thewhole earth. Thcn all the blind eyes will be opened and aU theCHOOSING ELDERS AND DEACONSdeaf ears will be unstopped. dl will have the opportunity ofreturning to divine favor under Xessiah's kingdom. Thoserefusing to come into harmony will be classed as wilful rebels,and will die the second death.The nation of Canaan, lie all other nations, will have ashare in that glorious time when Jesus, the Light of the world,will lighten every man which shall coine into the world.-John 1:s.From this viewpoint, the taking of Palestine from thepeople who were using it to no profit themselves, and the givingof it to Israel for the euactnlent of types of good things tocomc, was not injnsticr, 11ut wisdom. -4nd taking away by thesword the people already condemned to death was just as properas if they had been taken away hy famine and pestilence. Inany cvent, the divine provision for them all through Christ is al~lessing, which will reach them in Messiah's day, when theearth shall be free from the curse. Thm the curse will be rolledaway and the blessing of the Lord shall be rolled upon them,when the enlightened will love righteousness and hate iniquity.To all such there will be no more sighing, no more dying, nomore crying. Xtvilful evil-doers will be destroyed; and all theearth having bt%en brought to perfection, God's will sl~all hedone on earth as perfectly as it is done in heaven.GREAT PYRAMIDAny desiring to procure these boolrs ran send thcir oracrsto our office, or to Morton Edgar, 224 W. Regent street, Glasgow,Scotland.We =is11 still, honcvc~r, to reiterate what n-r ltave said fromthe first respecting the date of the close of tllc Times of thoGentiles; namely, that the calculations as we prc.sented thcm inVol. 11, S~IES IN THE SCRIPTUKES, are the truth to the hrstof our knolvledgc and belief. Nevertheless, there is cnongh UIIcertaintyabout the matter of chronology to make it a matter offaith rather than of positive knowledgr. We remind our rendersthat our consecration to the Lord is not to Octol,er, 1814,nor to any other time except that mentioned hg tl~c Savior-"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give the a crown oflife."-Rev. 2 :lo.Numcroi~x inquiries !lare comc to us indicating that some what the ideal elder would he. Each voter .should have thisof the brethren havc difficulty in applying the suggestions givenin Vol. VI, on the suhjcct of election of servants for theideal before his mind in thinking of the will of the Lord;but the class is not to be left without an elder unless thrreclnsscs---cldcrs and deaeons.are serious blemishes.It was not our thoi~gl~t there to lay down an invariable rule Our Lord similarly set a perfect standard before us whenon the su11jrt.t. The l3il)le gives none, md no one else has a he said, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is inright to c,st:~l~lish siich n rulo. Our suggestion was that heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) Who is perfect in then.hort:vc-r possil~le the rlrction should be unanimous, and unless sense that God is perfect? "There is none righteous; no, notscvcnty-five per rcnt. of the class, or more, favored a hrother's one." (Rom. 3:lO) The Master evidently meant that weelertion, it would l~rather unwise for him to accept the office shodd not measure ourselves by a low standard, but by the-the aervire. TVc did not by this mean that a minority of perfect standard, that thlis rue would be assisting ourselvestwmty-five or thirty per rcnt. should be encouraged to obstruct up to the grandest ideals in respect to our own lives andthe class and I~incler nu election.characters and in respect to those cl~oscn to he elders andStrictly speaking, a mn.jority of onc in x class nould de- ensamples to the flock.cide any mnttcr escept as love might come in to urge a eon- Be it always remembered that none are to vote exceptsideration of the rrntimn~ts of others. If, for instance, a those professing full consecration, mauifestrd hy the usualrlass ni~mhrrcd one hnndrrd, fifty-one of these would have a symhol--immersion in water. Such as have not symbolizedright to dreide respecting who should he the servants of the their consecration are not to be disowned as hrethren, hutchurch, and the other forty-nine should very quietly acquiesce, should be considered so immature as not to be competent torceopnizing thc fact that they constitute only a minority, and express an opinion in respect to who would be qualified toshould loyally strive to snpport the will of the majority. serve the church, and, of course, would not he qualified to beOnly the spirit of love and the best interats of 311 in the servants themselves.class suggests more than fifty-one per cent. Love shouldstrive for a nnanimous vote. But h o n~ighthis ~ he obtained?dnothrr question which here and there is obtruding itselfis, Should any one be chosen as a servant of the church whoWe will offer a suggestion.has not takm tho speri~l vow which so many of us have foundSuppose that in a class of one hnndred six elders were con- very helpful, and which has been rerommendrd to all? Wesidered nrerssnry for the service. A, B, C, D, E, F would cannot make the vow a test of brotherhood, for, even thoug11represent nmilal)le cnndidtatea of more or le~s ability. A mr helie~e that the Lord has specially hrought it forth at thisn~igl~t have a hundred voteg; B, ninety; C, eighe; D, seventy; time, and that to a certain extent he inklids it to serve asE, sixty; F, fifty. Under a strict voting on the lines of a test amongst the con~ecrated, nevrrthelcss the Bible doeslweferencc only t ~ would o he sdectrd on a ninety per cent. not authorize us to make this a trst of brotherhood. It isbasis; hut our thonght would be that the cntire six mipht be a matter of judgment rather than of divine direction, justunanimously electrd, if they were on t.he average as good ma- ns the candidate's misuse of the En~lish Innwage, or unterialas the class possrssed, and if nothing were known de- couthness of manner might properly enough ha taken intorogatory to their morn1 characters.considrratien, although not mentioned in the Bible amongstIt is a mistake to thii~k that the stnnilnrds established hy the qualifications for ridership.St. Paul are to he tnkcn literally, for no one would be found It would rejoire us great.ly to know that all the drnrfully up to all the requirements. The Apostle has stated rldrra and dracons amongst the Lord's people everywhere153361