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VOL. XIV. MARCH 1, 1893. NO. 5

ZION’S WATCH TOWER

AND

HERALD OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE

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PUBLISHED TWICE A MONTH.

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TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY,
“BIBLE HOUSE”
ARCH STREET, ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.

C. T. RUSSELL, EDITOR.

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SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE, INCLUDES ALSO A SUBSCRIPTION, FOR ONE YEAR, TO “THE OLD THEOLOGY” (TRACTS), QUARTERLY,

By Express Order, Postal Money Order, Bank Draft, or Registered Letter. Foreign only by Foreign Money Order.

FREE TO THE LORD’S POOR

N.B.—Those of the interested, who by reason of old age or accidents, or other adversity, are unable to pay, will be supplied FREE, if they will send a Postal Card each December, stating their case and requesting the paper.

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SPECIAL ITEMS FOR REGULAR READERS

THE DAILY FOOD 1893 CALENDARS, announced in our January 15th issue, met with a large demand. We have secured another lot at the same price,—15 cents including postage.

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OUR FEBRUARY ISSUE

Our double number for February seems to have been generally well thought of by our readers; and the offer to supply extra copies of it at five cents a copy was taken advantage of quite freely,—some ordering as many as a hundred.

As we printed quite a large edition, we still have plenty and will continue the half-rate offer. If more convenient for you, send us the addresses, plainly written, and we will attend to the mailing of them.

We have already heard from a number of ministers of various denominations and others relative to this TOWER, and believe that good results must follow.

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THE CHANGE APPROVED

While a few have written of their disappointment in connection with the cancellation of the Allegheny Spring Meeting arrangements, we have heard from a far larger number who approve the program and favor a Chicago meeting. And we trust that eventually we may all see that the Lord has guided in the matter for the general good.

Several have written from the far West, expressing great satisfaction; and saying that they hope to get to Chicago at the reduced rates; but never expected to get to Allegheny.

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Do not forget the Missionary Envelopes. We have a new lot and supply them now at the reduced price of 25 cents per hundred, and $2.00 per thousand. This includes free delivery to you at your Postoffice.

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A WORD TO CORRESPONDENTS

Letters containing money or orders should be addressed to the Tower Publishing Co. Private letters to the Editor may be enclosed, sealed, in the same envelope. Make no allowance for our remembering previous orders and explanations. Make each letter complete in itself. When changing your address give the old as well as the new one. Remit by Draft, Money Order or Registered letter. Give your full address at the beginning of each letter.

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TRACTS IN SWEDISH AND NORWEGIAN

Tract No. 1, “Do the Scriptures Teach that Eternal Torment is the Wages of Sin?” has been translated into Swedish, which is Tract No. 9; and into Norwegian, which is Tract No. 13. We do not send these out except when specially ordered. Any who can use these judiciously are welcome to order them—freely. These, as well as Nos. 1,2,3,4,5,6,10 and 14, are supplied in quantities without charge—out of the Tract Fund.

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BINDERS FOR 1893-1894

Patent Binders of a size suitable for the TOWER for two years’ issues, and with the name of our journal and the dates 1893-1894 stamped in gilt on the side, are now ready. Those therefore who hereafter order Binders should specify whether they want these for coming years or those for 1891-1892 which have no dates stamped on them. These are extremely desirable for preserving your TOWERS in a convenient form for future reference. Price fifty cents each.

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FROM GLORY TO GLORY

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”—2 Cor. 3:18

To be fully transformed into a likeness of character to our heavenly Father should be the constant effort of every true child of God. It is not enough that we gain a knowledge of his plan and a pleasurable realization of his mercy and grace toward our unworthy race, and that we joyfully tell the good news to others; and is not enough even that we exert ourselves with uncommon zeal to bless others with those good tidings of great joy for all people; for we may do all of these things and more, and yet, if we do not let our Heavenly Father’s goodness and grace have its due effect upon our own hearts, our knowledge, and even our good works, will profit us but little.

Our main object, therefore, in studying God’s Word and his character as therein revealed, should always be to bring our own hearts and minds into closer sympathy and likeness and co-operation with his. As the Apostle says (1 Thes. 4:3), “This is the will of God, even your sanctification”—our full setting apart or consecration of mind and heart entirely to the Lord, that he may complete the good work of transforming us into his own glorious likeness by the operations of his Spirit through his Word, and thus fit us for the enjoyment of his abounding grace in the ages to come.

In the above words of the Apostle we notice particularly that the statement is made of all the Church—We all are being changed from glory to glory. And the inference is consequently a strong one, that those who are not being so changed are not of the class addressed. This is a solemn thought, and one that claims the most careful consideration of all the consecrated. The question with us is not, Have we made a full consecration of ourselves to the Lord? but, having made such consecration, are we, in accordance with that consecration, fully submitting ourselves to the transforming influences of the Spirit of God to be changed daily more and more fully to the glorious likeness of our God?

Like the Apostle, then, addressing all the consecrated and faithful, we also of to-day may say, We all are being changed from glory to glory under the moulding, fashioning influences of the Spirit of God. We can see it in each other, thank God, and we glory in it. Yesterday the mallet of divine providence struck a blow upon that member of the body of Christ, and an unsightly excrescence of pride fell off, and he looks so much more beautiful to-day, because he did not resist the blow, but gracefully submitted to it. The day before, we saw another under the wearing, painful polishing process to which he patiently submitted, and O how he shines to-day. And from day to day we see each other studiously contemplating the divine pattern and striving to copy it; and how we can note the softening, refining and beautifying effect upon all such. So the Spirit of God is at work upon all who fully submit themselves.

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But while the mallet and chisel and the polishing sand of divine providence do a very necessary part of the transforming work by way of relieving us of many of the old and stubborn infirmities of the flesh which cannot be so promptly and so fully eradicated by the gentler influences of the Spirit, the Apostle points us to the specially appointed means for our transformation in the careful and constant contemplation of the glory of God as revealed in his Word, and also in his blessed ambassador, Jesus Christ, saying, “We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.”

“With open face” would signify without any intervening vail of prejudice or fear or superstition, but with simplicity of heart and mind. So we behold the glory (the glorious character) of the Lord—not with actual vision, but as in a glass, as reflected in the mirror of his Word and as exemplified also in his living word, Jesus Christ. And to aid us in this study we are promised the blessed influences of the Spirit of the Lord, who will guide us into all truth and show us things to come.

As we look into the mirror what a glorious vision we have of the divine justice, which we promptly recognize as the very foundation of God’s throne (Psa. 97:2), as well as the foundation of all our present and future security. If we could not recognize the justice of God we could have no assurance that his gracious promises would ever be fulfilled; for we would say, Perhaps he will change his mind. But on the contrary we can say, He changeth not, and whatsoever he saith shall surely come to pass. See with what inflexible justice the sentence upon our sinful race has been executed. Generation after generation for over sixty centuries has witnessed it; and no power in heaven or earth could revoke that sentence until the claims of justice had been fully met by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Justice, says the Word of God, must be maintained inviolate at any cost. And herein we read not only our rightful condemnation as a race of sinners, but also final, complete and glorious deliverance, because “God is just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9), since the precious blood of Christ redeemed us from the curse of death.

And while we thus read justice in the character of God, and mark with what scrupulous care he regards and respects this principle in all his dealings with his creatures, we see how he could have us respect the same principle in all our dealings. Thus we are led to consider what is the exact line of justice in this and that and the other transaction; and to remember also that this must be the underlying principle in all our conduct: or, in other words, that we must be just before we can be generous. This principle should therefore be very marked in the character of every Christian.

Next we mark the love and mercy of God. The death sentence upon our fallen race was a most merciful sentence. It was equivalent to saying, See, I have of my own free favor granted you life and all its blessings to be enjoyed forever on condition of its proper use; but now, since you have abused my favor, I take it away and you shall return to the dust from whence you came.

True, in the process of dying and of bringing forth a dying race to share the penalty, the mercy of God is not so manifest to the unthinking, but those who see the plan of God discover in all this, not the decree of a merciless tyrant, but the star of hope which was to be the seed of the woman to bruise the serpent’s head, and in due time the deliverer of the entire race once generated in sin but afterward regenerated to life and all its blessed privileges. And in this mercy, in all its multiplied forms, we see the verification of the statement that “God is love.” Thus we learn to be loving and merciful and kind both to the thankful and also to the unthankful.

We mark also our heavenly Father’s bountiful providence and his tender care for all his creatures; for even the sparrows are clothed and fed, and the unconscious lilies are arrayed in glory. Here we learn precious lessons of benevolence and grace. Thus, through all the catalogue of the moral and intellectual graces which go to make up a glorious character, we see in the mirror of the divine Word the model for our imitation; and in contemplation of all

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that is lovely, as embodied in him, and of all that is pure and holy and beautiful, we are changed little by little in the course of years to the same blessed likeness—from glory to glory. So be it: let the good work go on until every grace adorns the spotless robe of our imputed righteousness, received by faith in the blessed Son of God, whose earthly life was a perfect illustration of the Father’s character, so that he could say—”He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Let us, therefore, mark well the love of Christ, the gentleness, the patience, the faithfulness, the zeal, the personal integrity and the self-sacrificing spirit. Mark well, then imitate his example and shine in his likeness.

The Apostle adds (2 Cor. 4:7) that the fact that we thus hold this treasure of a transformed mind in these defective earthen vessels proves the excellency of the power of God, and not of us. And so, by constant yielding to the influences of the Spirit of God, we may show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet. 2:9.) Oh! let our efforts and prayers continually be that these poor earthen vessels may more and more show forth the praises of our God. Let them be clean in body and mind; let no evil communications proceed out of the mouth; and let no actions unworthy of the sons of God dishonor these living temples of the holy Spirit. True, on account of our deformities we may very imperfectly perform good works; but, by the grace of God, let us at least refrain from known evil.

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JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE

Such was the title of a discourse delivered a few months ago before a Jewish congregation, in a Jewish synagogue, by a Jewish rabbi—Joseph Krauskopf—from a purely Jewish standpoint. It may be regarded as one of the straws in the wind which shows that the blindness of Israel is beginning to be turned away. It is noticeable also that it indicates no disposition to accept the traditions of “Christendom” concerning Jesus—”the pagan myths and heathen doctrines which his later disciples fastened on his name”—but the Lord’s own beautiful teachings and character as presented in the New Testament are set forth as worthy of Jewish admiration and study.

The following is an extract from the discourse, from the Jewish Exponent:

Even in the synagogues, and especially in the more liberal ones, the long and dearly cherished idea of the Alone Chosen People, of the Only Favorites of God, is fast losing its hold. Closer attention is being paid to such teachings as prophets like Micah stamped upon the pages of the Bible—that not the accident of birth among a certain tribe or race, but the practice of justice and mercy and humility, constitutes the Chosen of God; or to such Talmudic teachings as that which declares that the righteous of all nations and creeds will share in the happiness of future life. There, too, poet and dramatist, skeptic and scientist, prophets and reformers, liturgies and Bibles, of other nations and religions, meet with a hearty welcome in pulpit and pew, and their teachings, when noble, are reverentially listened to and taken to heart.

There is, however, with the vast bulk of them, one conspicuous exception. There is one illustrious reformer who meets with a scant welcome in the synagogue, if he is at all admitted. His very name grates on the Jewish ear. Many of even the most liberal among them, who listen enraptured to beautiful teachings of Hindoo or Parsee or Arabic or Greek or Roman prophet or reformer or moralist, instinctively recoil from every mention of that reformer and moralist who stands nearest to us of them all, whose teachings are almost identical with ours, who is of our flesh and blood, our kinsman, our brother, a Jew like ourselves, our teacher, like our Moses, our Isaiah, our Hillel. There are some even in this liberal congregation who would rather have such subjects as this not touched upon. Others are probably already squirming in their seats, and to endure this discourse to its end will put their patience and good behavior to a severe test. Others, not connected with us at all, have been in a state of excitement, if not indignation, ever since they read the announcement that to-day’s lecture theme would be “Jesus in the Synagogue,” and are sitting in impatient suspense, expecting any moment to hear of our wholesale baptism, of our obliterating

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the word ISRAEL from the honored name of our congregation, of our turning bodily from monotheistic Judaism over to our arch-enemy, to Trinitarian, Man-worshiping Christianity.

There is certainly in all that we have so far heard or seen concerning the historic Jesus nothing so un-Jewish, or anti-Jewish, or unmonotheistic, that his name should grate on the ears of his own brethren. He certainly bears no responsibility for whatever pagan myth and heathen doctrine later disciples fastened on his name, that now the Jewish synagogue, in which he himself once worshiped, should be closed against him. There is certainly nothing in what he has taught or said so repugnant to the Jewish sense of right, to Biblical or Talmudic ethics, that while one may with impunity quote Ingersoll or Huxley or Haeckel or Buddha or Seneca or Lucretius in the Jewish pulpit, he cannot, for the most part, quote even such excellent lessons as are contained in

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the Nazarene rabbi’s Sermon on the Mount without incurring displeasure, or opposition, or interdiction.

This morning I shall select, from a large number at hand, just a few parallels between the sayings of Jesus and those of our other ancient Jewish savants, that you may convince yourselves how, by barring out from our synagogues the ethical sayings of Jesus, we close our doors to the noblest maxims in our own Biblical and Rabbinical literature.

[These we omit, for brevity.—EDITOR.]

Here are a dozen precepts from the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, and a dozen corresponding ethical maxims from Jewish Sacred Writings. With these passages before us (and what is true of these twelve passages is true of almost all the other ethical sayings of Jesus), which are identical in thought, frequently also in words, with those of Biblical and Talmudic writers, none of which are new, all of them fluent on the tongue of every cultured Jew at that time, wholly free from heathen mythology and from Gnostic theology and mysticism, how can we justly bar our doors to his ethical teachings, and extend a hearty welcome to identical teachings not only of other Jewish, but also of pagan, even agnostic, savants? With this knowledge of the parity of their ethical teachings before us, with the assurance that he himself taught nothing un-Jewish, said nothing unmonotheistic, is in no way responsible for the wrong done to Israel by his worshipers, what else does his banishment from his people, the exclusion of his teachings from Jewish homes, schools and synagogues, the Jewish aversion to his name, what else does it mean, if not visiting the guilt of deluded man-worshipers upon the innocent head of one like ourselves, and in purity of life and in excellence of teachings better than most of us?

It surely cannot be because of his opposition to, and scathing denunciation of, that barren ceremonialism and formalism which with many of his time had taken the place of pure religion, for, in truth, much fiercer were the denunciations of prophets like Isaiah, who inveighed against similar hypocrisies and ceremonialisms in their times. Much louder was their cry that it is not the fast, not sacrifice, not constant prayer, that God wants—nothing but clean hands, a pure heart, blessed deeds. More eager, and more successful even, were Rabbi Hillel and his school, who flourished shortly before the advent of Jesus, in their opposition to the rigorous legalism, profitless verbalisms and quibbles of the corrupted Pharisaism of their time.

With what justice, again I ask, do we banish him from our midst, whose very love for downtrodden Israel deluded him and his disciples into the belief that he was the expected Messiah, the “King of Israel,” for which delusion he suffered as did many an unfortunate enthusiast before him, from the Roman tyrant a traitor’s death? With what justice do we banish him, whose pure life, and beautiful teachings, and kindly deeds, whose gentleness and sympathy with the lowly and weak, whose unsparing severity on the haughty and hypocritical, are beautiful illustrations of what noble character, what exemplary specimens of humanity, Jewish home life, Jewish schooling, Jewish religion, can unfold and ripen? Why banish him, who has won a vast portion of humanity for civilization, for peace and good will, not by means of foreign dogmas or intricate theological abstractions and mysticism, but almost exclusively through such sublimely beautiful precepts and parables and incidents, as the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the good Samaritan, his tenderness toward the little ones, the freedom of his intercourse with the lowly, that are all Jewish, that sprang from, and were nurtured on, Jewish soil? Why banish such an illustrious scion of our race, one of our best proofs to a prejudiced world of what the Jew really was, still is, and ever shall be?

To all such questions answer we have none, save that of deep rooted antipathy, engendered and nurtured by eighteen centuries of Christian cruelty and injustice toward the Jew. That antipathy, though pardonable, is much to be regretted. By banishing him, for no wrong of his own, we ourselves strengthened in those

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that worshiped him the belief that we were in reality the wicked people for which they held us, that we were his executioners, who gloried in the deed, that we delighted in nothing more than in reviling and in cursing him. By banishing from us the godly man we strengthened our persecutors and his followers in the belief that he was the Man-God, that their cruel treatment of us was the visitation of God for our spurning his only-begotten Son. By closing, even in these days of kindlier Christian treatment of the Jew, our synagogues to Jesus and to his teachings, while we open them wide to those of illustrious Mohammedan, heathen or skeptic, we confirm the Trinitarian’s belief that we are stricken with spiritual blindness.

It is not with spiritual blindness that we are stricken, but with a blindness to our own and our religion’s best interest. There has been enough of antipathy, and too much of unjust visitation of others’ guilt upon an innocent head. The recognition which proud, intensely patriotic France has recently shown to the genius of a hostile nation, surely we ought to show to a genius who is at the same time our own brother, of our own flesh and blood, and whose genius was all drawn from our soil.

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I AM MY BELOVED’S

Thy spirit, Lord, has filled my life
With sweetness and with love intense.
I love to live to do thy will,
Until thou’rt pleased to call me hence.

I love to sit at thy dear feet,
And learn of thee thy will, thy mind.
And thou dost teach me lessons sweet,
And learning these, great peace I find.

Thou’rt ever ready to bestow
A blessing fresh, so rich and rare;
And as we’re filled with thy great love,
To that extent all things seem fair.

The sweetest portion of my days
Is spent just here, low at thy feet.
Words fail to tell how deep the joy.
The hour is holy when we meet.

How gladly will I hail the day
When I shall see thee as thou art,
And be made like thee, precious One,
And of thy glory share a part.
—S. J. McPHAIL.

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THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME

“For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet once [more] it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.”—Hag. 2:6,7

Here is one of the richest promises in the blessed Word of God. It is the gospel in a nutshell—the gospel of grace to the world and of glory to the Church; and it is signed at both ends with the signature of the Sovereign of the universe, Jehovah of hosts. It was thus uttered by the mouth of one of his holy prophets—Haggai. But though with the other writings of the prophets it was held sacred as the word of the Lord and reverently read by his anciently chosen people, fleshly Israel, their understanding of it fell far short of its true significance; and not until the holy Spirit was given as a comforter, a guide into all truth and a revealer of things to come (John 14:26; 16:13), was the precious import of this declaration of Jehovah made manifest to his saints (the gospel Church), as it has been through his holy apostles and prophets.—Eph. 3:5.

Fleshly Israel thought they saw in this declaration an intimation of the exaltation and universal dominion of their nation, the fall of the Persian kingdom and the subserviency of all other nations to them, and that the house of Israel, thus exalted and enthroned above all the nations, would be filled with the glory of the Lord and recognized by all the world as God’s specially chosen and honored people—a holy nation and a royal priesthood. With such a hope in view they diligently and cheerily worked to rebuild the ruined temple and to repair the fallen walls of Jerusalem after the decree of the Persian monarch Cyrus granted them liberty to return from captivity. But centuries rolled on: the Persian empire fell, but Israel’s glory still tarried; for they only passed from under the dominion of

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Persia to that of Greece, and then of Rome; and then, as a nation scattered and peeled, they were driven out of the land of their fathers—the land of divine promise—and scattered among all nations and persecuted among all unto this day.

What then? has God’s promise failed? or has he forgotten it? No; for the Apostle Paul, under the leading of the holy Spirit, calls it to mind again (Heb. 12:26-28) and shows that the house which is to be thus filled with the glory of the Lord is not the fleshly house or kingdom of Israel, but the spiritual house or kingdom of God—the Gospel Church.

The shaking of the earth mentioned in this text presupposes a former shaking, and this one is shown to be the last. The former shaking was that typified in the quaking of the earth at the giving of the law at Sinai; for under the law, says the Apostle, every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, and at various intervals the nation was thoroughly shaken and sifted by captivities and otherwise, that only the loyal and true might remain. (See Hebrews 12:25,26; 2:2; 3:17; 10:28.) But this last shaking is to be a greater shaking than fleshly Israel ever experienced; it is to be a shaking of the heavens [symbol of the ruling powers], and the earth [all organized and law-abiding society], and the sea [the lawless and anarchistic elements], and the dry land [the established aristocracy of wealth and social independence]. And it is to be a shaking, not only of one nation, but of all nations—”And I will shake all nations.” Surely this predicted shaking of all nations is but a repetition of the prophecy of Daniel (12:1) of a great time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.

But the Apostle Paul gives us the comforting assurance that “This word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.” And he further shows (Heb. 12:28) that that which will remain after the shaking, and which cannot be moved, will be the kingdom of God, which we shall inherit if we prove worthy—i.e., if we stand all the tests and shakings and cannot be shaken out.

The Apostle, in stating that the kingdom of God—the true Church, the elect—cannot be shaken, thereby intimates that it shall not be exempted from those blasts that shall shake and utterly remove all other organizations, but rather that the true, elect Church shall not be moved by them. Her foundation is sure. “God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved.” (Psa. 46:5.) As a matter of fact, we find ourselves to-day in the midst of these perilous and disintegrating influences. The storm is rising, and, as predicted, it is felt first by the Lord’s little flock of consecrated believers. Their faith and patience and zeal and endurance are being tried by every means that the adversary can devise. Every device of error is being put forth in its most pleasing and subtle form; and advantage is being taken of every weakness of the flesh to overcome those who are endeavoring to fight the good fight of faith and to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.

And when we consider that “we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12), we realize that the contest is a very unequal one unless we lay hold upon the strength which God supplies to us through Christ.

The Apostle’s language further intimates that since only that which cannot be shaken will remain and will inherit the kingdom, all others will fall. And in this light the words of the Psalmist—”A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand”—are seen to be no exaggeration. Nor should the faithful few be at all dismayed when the various shakings sift out their number; for so it must be until only that which cannot be shaken shall remain. Thus the whole nominal church, both within and outside the various organizations, must be shaken until only the true and faithful remain; for God will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend.—Matt. 13:41.

But this shaking is permitted, not only to sift out of the Church all shakable things, but

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it is to extend to all the nations; and so unprepared are they for the storm that is coming, and so unable to resist it, that the Apostle, with prophetic foresight, declares that their shaking signifies their removal (Heb. 12:27); and further, that their removal is not in order that anarchy may prevail, but in order that the kingdom of God, which cannot be shaken, may take their place.

Thank God for the prospect of an unshakable kingdom, whose king shall reign in righteousness and whose princes shall decree justice (Isa. 32:2; Prov. 8:15), and under whose dominion the whole earth shall be at rest. (Isa. 14:7.) This is the kingdom which the Prophet declares will indeed be “the desire of all nations,” when it is once established and its blessings begin to be realized by the world. Yes, truly “the desire of all nations shall come”—with blessings of life and health and peace and prosperity and good government. It is for this coming kingdom and its blessings that the whole creation groans and travails together in pain, waiting for the adoption, viz., “the redemption of our body”—the body of Christ, the heirs of the kingdom. (Rom. 8:22.) As soon as this body is all selected, fitted and tested, then the kingdom will be established and the desire of all nations will have come—the long desired peace and prosperity which every experiment of their own will have failed to secure. And doubtless every possible experiment will have been tried and proved futile before that time; the last, that of socialism, ending in universal anarchy.

It is this body of Christ, this spiritual house of Israel, which, though lashed by many a storm, nevertheless “cannot be shaken,” because it is firmly founded upon the Rock Christ Jesus: it is this house that Paul calls “the temple of God” (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19) that is to inherit the kingdom of God, and that Jehovah says he is going to fill with his glory.

He will fill it with the glory of the divine nature: he will make every member of it like unto Christ’s glorious body: he will endow them with power from on high to execute faithfully all of the divine purpose for human restitution, and for the establishment of universal harmony and peace. Praise the Lord for such a prospect for both the Church and the world. May its inspiration be felt by every devoted heart, and its warning be heeded by every one who feels to any degree inclined to be unstable. Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand unshaken in the midst of the storms of this evil day, and be counted worthy to be a living stone in that glorious temple of God, now shortly to be filled with his glory, and to be an heir of that kingdom which cannot be moved, and which shall indeed be the desire of all nations.

THE WORLD LONGS FOR PURE RULERS

The following editorial, from the Pittsburg Telegraph, February 29th, shows how worldly people estimate present governments and how an improvement is already the desire of all nations. The great time of trouble, predicted in the Scriptures as nigh, even at the doors, which will result in world-wide anarchy, will be the result of efforts to improve upon just such dishonesty of government as is here brought to our attention. We who see and have confidence in the Lord’s plan and kingdom alone realize how futile is every such hope—because rulers can not be found that are pure in heart and that rule from love of the interest of the people.

God is selecting the only absolutely trust-worthy rulers—Christ and the little flock of his saints—whose rule will be to bless all the families of the earth and whose motive will be love.

The article referred to is as follows:—

ITALY’S FINANCIAL SCANDAL

“A perfect epidemic of financial scandals seems to have swept and is still sweeping over the world. Not to speak of comparatively small transactions, we have had something like scandal in Germany in connection with the small-arms factory there. Portugal had to send one of her leading statesmen into the penitentiary for frauds committed in the State railways. France is still in the throes of a financial revulsion connected with the Panama Canal swindle. It happily did not extend to

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the government finances, which are still able to show a clean bill of health.

“Now comes a scandal of the first magnitude in Italy, compromising many of her principal statesmen to such an extent as to endanger the very throne itself. Many of the most powerful Ministers have made use of their positions to sanction fraudulent operations on the part of the principal banking institutions of the country in return for large bribes. Indeed, the situation there may be described as far more serious than that in France, since the revelations made there, however damaging to the reputation of the official and parliamentary classes, do not directly affect the national credit, as do those on the south side of the Alps.

“It seems a secret investigation was made by the Government some three or four years ago, when the National Bank of Italy had advanced some $10,000,000 to another institution in great straits. The results of this investigation were pigeon-holed for reasons which the reader can readily supply.

“A few weeks ago the Government submitted to the Legislature a proposal for a six years’ extension of the Banking law which is now about to expire. Great was the consternation of the Ministers when they found that the measure was opposed by a Sicilian Radical Deputy named Napoleone Colaianni.

“Almost at the very outset of the speech (says a letter in the New York Tribune) against the projected bill, he confronted the Ministers with the damaging report above referred to as having been kept secret by the Government. No one knows how it has come into his hands. His charges, founded on the paper in his hands, were directed principally against the great Banca Romana, and consisted, among other things, of an assertion that it kept a duplicate series of notes (each set bearing the same numbers) in circulation, thus fraudulently exceeding its legal issue by 100 per cent. It is calculated that by this means the bank has an illegal circulation of $6,000,000. This state of things, repeated in a smaller degree by the other banks of emission, had become known during the last two or three years, and has led to the institution in question being black-mailed by various statesmen, Government officials and politicians,

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under threats of exposure.

“It is stated by the writer quoted that not less than 150 Senators and Deputies are compromised by these revelations, as having borrowed money without ever having gone through the formality of paying back.

“A number of arrests have been made, but that the events alluded to will have more consequences than merely increasing the population of the jails would seem to be clear to all who consider the very precarious nature of the hold the National Government has on the masses of the people.”

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“LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MEN”

[Before our February TOWER had been issued, a reporter representing a Pittsburg journal, and several others east and west, learned something concerning its contents, and applied to us for proof sheets in advance;—proposing to call it to public attention. His report, however, was glaringly incorrect; and this led us to give to the public, through various daily news-papers, a more correct statement of our faith, and of our attitude toward fellow Christians.

Some of the friends hereabouts were quite interested in the article, and suggested that it appear in the WATCH TOWER. We have acceded to the request and reprint the article below.]

A CORRECTION

NO “CHALLENGE.”—NO “RUSSELLISM.”—NO NEW SECT.—A FAIR, CANDID REVIEW OF THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL TORMENT.—ITS CLAIMED, AND ITS REAL EFFECTS SHOWN.—LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS.

I owe it to myself and to my fellow citizens to state publicly that I wholly disclaim the “attack” and “challenge” upon the Christian ministers of this vicinity, attributed to me in the Dispatch of Tuesday. I would assure all that I have none but friendly feelings toward fellow Christians, however much I may differ from some of them regarding the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. A Dispatch reporter learned that we had on the press a pamphlet entitled, “What Saith the Scripture About Hell?” and, securing an advance copy, inquired whether we would not send a copy to the ministers of Pittsburgh and Allegheny. We concluded that the suggestion was good, and assented. This became the basis of a half column of miserable misrepresentation, and a blatant challenge, with which I have not the slightest sympathy.

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As for Russellites and Russellism, we know nothing of them and never shall. I have lived in this vicinity for nearly half a century, and have published and circulated millions of tracts and pamphlets without the name of Russell being mentioned in them in any manner whatever—a very different method from that pursued by those who seek their own name’s fame. I seek not to add to the number of Christian sects, but on the contrary, I seek to present that one harmonious view of God’s word upon which all true Christians might harmonize differences and unite in one Church as at the first—”The Church of the Living God”—whose “names are written in heaven.”

True, I hold views differing considerably from those of many. But the last fifteen years have decreased these differences considerably, and the next fifteen will probably bring still greater changes. Our Presbyterian and other Calvinistic friends have approached much nearer to us on the subjects of God’s elections and decrees, and a hope for the heathen and the ignorant beyond the present life. And the thinking classes of the entire church, of all denominations, are much nearer to us in our denial that eternal torment is the future for all who are not members of the church—or more than nine-tenths of the human race. Indeed, I am confident that more than one-half of the ministers and intellectual membership of Christendom no longer believe this horrible, God-dishonoring, soul-degrading theory hatched in the dark ages.

But most of those who see the fallacy of this eternal torment theory are afraid to let others see it, lest the influence should be pernicious. I, on the contrary, show from the Scriptures that God has no such plan; that the passages of Scripture supposed to teach it are symbolical and misunderstood, and that God’s plan is one of justice and love in Christ, and will embrace, with an opportunity of everlasting life, every member of the human family, either in the present or in a future life. They hold that, if the fear of eternal torment be taken away, people would hasten to become criminals. I reply that faith in eternal torment is confessed by almost all the criminals executed; and that an examination of the inmates of jails and penitentiaries has often proved that almost all of the inmates confess to faith in some of the so-called orthodox creeds. And the most casual observer of the every-day street profanity must admit that fear of hell and torment seems to have no effect upon the lower classes, who jest about such matters.

The fact is that while some feel a little timorous on the subject, no intelligent person really believes that the great Creator made a lake of fire and brimstone into which to cast nine out of ten, or any other proportion, of his creatures for preservation in torture to all eternity. And I hold that in hiding the truth on this subject, and making a false pretense of believing it, a serious error is unintentionally committed by some of God’s people. Such a monstrous doctrine cannot possibly be upheld before the present nineteenth century light and intelligence. And if Christian people persist in upholding it publicly, and in claiming that it is the teaching of the Bible, while denying it privately, they will commit several serious errors.

The bad effects will be:

First—God’s name and character will be made odious in proportion as people become intelligent.

Second—The Word of God will lose reverence and respect in proportion as intelligence increases among all who believe that the Bible is the authority for this doctrine.

Third—With the fall of the Bible from the reverence of the intelligent comes the fall of Christianity, real and nominal.

Fourth—With the fall of the Bible and Christianity comes the reign of infidelity—a reign of anarchy—as exhibited in France a century ago.

My teachings, both oral and by the printed page, are in harmony with this, my faith. In harmony with the general intelligence of our favored day, I believe that God is granting, to all who rightly seek it, special light upon His Word—”meat in due season” to the household of faith. I prefer to study, and think it right to interpret, the Bible in the light of its own spirit-illumined utterances (through the Apostles

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and Prophets), rather than in the light of creeds formulated in the dark ages, by fallible though probably well-intentioned men.

All intelligent people who accept the Bible as God’s inspired Word must admit that this is the correct principle in Bible study and teaching. And, if so, all true Christians should unite their hearts and heads and hands in finding out and making known that interpretation of the Scripture which harmonizes God’s character and plan with the highest development of sanctified common sense.

Since, in view of the misrepresentation set forth in the Dispatch, the sending of the pamphlet which examines the entire teaching of the Bible on hell and torment to the ministers of this vicinity might be considered a discourtesy, “an attack” and “a challenge,” we conclude not to do so. But we here announce our willingness to send this 10 cent pamphlet ree to any minister of any denomination who will drop us a postal card requesting it. And to any one requesting it, we will send free our new 32-page pamphlet entitled, “Thy Word is Truth—A Reply to Robert Ingersoll’s Charges against Christianity.”

But while I make no “attack” and offer no “challenge,” my conviction that the Bible does not teach eternal torment of any sort as the penalty for sin is so strong that if any minister, recognized as orthodox by the Evangelical Alliance, desires to discuss this subject with me publicly, for the truth’s sake, I will take pleasure in endeavoring to set him straight on what saith the Scripture on this subject, or in being set straight by him on the same authority.

Respectfully, a minister (servant) of Christ and the Truth, C. T. RUSSELL.

CONSEQUENCES OF FALSE TEACHING

The daily papers of this week mention four cases of violent insanity resulting from misrepresentation of the divine plan—based upon the fallacious doctrine of a hell-of-torment. One is a Mrs. W. Wilbur, of Rowan, Iowa. Of her it is said, “The preacher’s description of the torments of the damned made such a vivid impression upon Mrs. Wilbur’s mind that it is feared she is hopelessly insane.” The other three are Mr. and Mrs. Gleason, and another person whose name we did not learn, at Burg Hill, Ohio. Two of these went ravingly insane the same night, and had to be bound hand and foot, and when, the night following, the third became insane, a “citizens committee”

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called upon the “Evangelist” (?) and compelled him to leave the town.

To what extent this blasphemous doctrine is accountable for all the insanity of the world, God only knows; but surely it is responsible to a considerable extent. How many children have received pre-natal mental injury through the attendance of mothers at such “revivals!” Many of those made insane are so affected from sympathy—for companions, children or parents who have died out of Christ. One sister in the church at Allegheny told recently how the truth had reached her when her mind had almost given way under the strain of weeks of agony for her husband, who had died a moral man, but without profession of religion.

Surely the gospel of damnation and torment—whether the vulgar theory of literal fire and flame or the more aesthetic theory of mental anguish which some say is worse—is quite a different gospel from that preached by our Lord and the Apostles. The multitude bare our Lord witness and marveled at the gracious words which he spoke. (Luke 4:22.) None of the Apostolic epistles contain one word about eternal torment, but tell of the love and peace of God which pass all understanding, which shall keep the hearts of believers. (Phil. 4:7.) “Being justified by faith [in the real gospel of God’s love and favor to us and toward all in Christ], we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Rom. 5:1.

We whose eyes have been opened to clearer views of our gracious Heavenly Father’s plan and words do well to show our love and zeal for him and for our blinded fellows by letting our light so shine as to glorify him and bless them. Whenever you hear of a discourse about to be preached on hell, etc., send for a lot of Tract No. 1, free, and distribute to the congregation after the discourse—keeping a reasonable distance away from the church building.

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STUDIES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

—INTERNATIONAL S.S. LESSONS—

SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS DESIGNED TO ASSIST THOSE OF OUR READERS WHO ATTEND BIBLE CLASSES WHERE THESE LESSONS ARE USED; THAT THEY MAY BE ENABLED TO LEAD OTHERS INTO THE FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL. PUBLISHED IN ADVANCE, AT THE REQUEST OF FOREIGN READERS.

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ESTHER BEFORE THE KING

I. QUAR., LESSON XI., MARCH 12, ESTHER 4:10-17; 5:1-3

Golden Text—”Judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”—Prov. 31:9

In the story of the book of Esther we have a glimpse of the condition of the Jews under the dominion of Persia. From chapter 3:8,9 we learn that they were scattered all over the Persian provinces and were living in a measure of temporal prosperity, and that their destruction and the confiscation of their property and goods would be a large acquisition to the king’s treasury, since ten thousand talents of silver were willingly appropriated to accomplish this end.

The incident of this lesson furnishes also an instance of the Lord’s providential care over them and his preservation of them as a people when their destruction was threatened by a wicked and capricious king. And this marked providence is specially noteworthy in view of the fact that these were the descendents of those Jews who failed to go up to Jerusalem to restore and to build it, when Cyrus issued the decree that all who desired might do so. They had not been zealous for the Lord, but nevertheless his loving kindness did not forsake them, and when they cried unto him he heard and answered their prayer.

The special feature of this lesson is God’s providential care over those who trust in him.

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A TEMPERANCE LESSON

I. QUAR., LESSON XII., MAR. 19, PROV. 23:15-23

Golden Text—”And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”—Eph. 5:18

VERSES 15,16 manifest the right desire and ambition of a true parent for a son—viz., wisdom and righteousness. The ambitious aim of some parents is to have their own sons men of wealth, or power, or fame, or social prominence: but none of these things are worthy of their ambition. It is the wise son (wise in heavenly wisdom) that maketh the glad father.

VERSES 17,18. It is indeed folly to envy sinners and thereby to miss the joy and peace which naturally flow from a heart full of the love and reverence of the Lord; for there is an end of their brief pleasures, while those whose joy is in the Lord have a never failing source of consolation.

VERSE 19. The guiding of the heart in the right ways of the Lord is more important than the guiding of our actions, because if the heart is right the actions will regulate themselves accordingly. “Keep thy heart, for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23.) By communion with God in prayer and through the Word of truth our hearts are kept in the love and service of God; and it is therefore only by constant use of these means that our hearts can be guided in the right way.

VERSES 20,21 need no comment: they need only to be remembered and heeded.

VERSE 22. This is but another way of saying, Honor thy father and thy mother. And the obligation of honor to parents never ceases, though that of obedience does when the years of maturity and discretion are reached.

VERSE 23. Truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding are not dear at any price, and when secured should never be sold or compromised for the short-lived advantages of error. Buy the truth, and sell it not: in meekness and with a ready and appreciative mind seek instruction in the ways of God’s appointment, but never take counsel with the ungodly. In God’s Word a refreshing understanding of the truth is gained and the wisdom that cometh down from above is secured, with all the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

The Golden Text—Eph. 5:18—does not refer to literal wine, but to the spirit of the world, which is thus symbolized. Christians are here counseled not to become intoxicated with the spirit of the world (See also Isa. 28:7), but to be filled with the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of the truth, that so they may bring forth its precious fruits in abundance.

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REVIEW

I. QUAR., LESSON XIII., MARCH 26

Golden Text—”Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”—Psa. 119:105

Alas! how many of the virgins espoused to Christ are “foolish;” how many have failed to secure the oil, the spirit of the truth, in God’s appointed way, and are now beginning to find that they walk in darkness—that their lamps have gone out. Only those who have the spirit of the truth (oil) in themselves—honest hearts, zealous for the right—will be able to get light from God’s Word, shortly. But to such humble, honest ones God provides a light, a lamp, which shines now and will continue to shine in the dark places until the day dawn.—2 Pet. 1:19.

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“OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT”

Washington.

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—Many thanks for your note of the 5th inst., just received. March and January 1st copies of WATCH TOWER also came to hand. The latter is particularly rich. “In Our Day” is convincing. I have now finished all three volumes of MILLENNIAL DAWN; and more and more clearly, as I read, do your positions appeal to my judgment. It is, of course, difficult to break away all at once from opinions that have been held for years, but with me the work is done in large measure. I cannot think other than that your clear-cut expositions of Scripture and interpretations of prophecy, harmonizing as they do with present day occurrences, are of God. I have read theology (mostly Arminian) to some extent, but always with more or less dissatisfaction, because of its failure to answer many questions that would not down; while Calvinism has been to me an unthinkable system. Yet I have continued preaching and working in the hope that light would come. It has come, but not in the way expected.

I sincerely believe that in what I have thus far learned I have been led by the Divine Hand, and feeling this shall trust implicitly as to the future, although leaving the pastorate of the church which I have long loved, and in whose work and fellowship I have realized much joy, would be no small thing.

Again thanking you for your kindness toward me,

I am yours sincerely, C. COOK.

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Ohio.

MR. C. T. RUSSELL, DEAR SIR:—After having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for about twenty years, I have to-day sent to the pastor a letter of withdrawal. I have hesitated long to take the step, as it is a coming out from pleasant associations, and fellowship with many who are apparently perfectly honest in their belief; but it is also a coming out of Babylon or confusion. My prayer has been, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do;” and now, with an honest desire to do God’s will, and to walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Master, I have taken the step.

The teachings of the several volumes of DAWN and the WATCH TOWER have been food to my soul. From a child I have read the Scriptures, and all other books that I thought or hoped would make plain to my understanding the truth, as I was hungry to know and anxious to teach it; and now, as the day dawns, and the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in its beams, the clouds are being dispelled, the blind are receiving sight, and by confessing the new light, or, rather, the “Old Theology,” men are again being put out of the synagogues; but the refreshment which comes to the believer makes us rejoice in hope, knowing

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that the day of our redemption draweth nigh.

I preach the truth wherever opportunity affords; and if circumstances would permit, I would gladly go out into all the world and preach the gospel to all having hearing ears; but it is not my privilege so to do. Occasionally I have the opportunity to teach it to individuals.

I ask that you will remember me at the throne of grace, that I may be led by the spirit of Christ into all truth, that I may be enabled, by his grace, to walk worthy of the gospel wherein we are called, that my will may be fully submitted to God’s will and that I may soon be buried with him in baptism; and, being filled with the spirit of Christ, that I may be permitted to go forth bearing the precious seed (truths) of the Lord.

Yours in hope and faith,

W. E. RICHARDS.

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Kansas.

GENTLEMEN:—I have been a Christian, and a member of an evangelical church, for twenty-five years, but I could never bring myself to believe the doctrine of everlasting torment for even the worst of mankind; though I saw clearly that there could be no salvation out of Christ. The plan presented in MILLENNIAL DAWN so completely solves the difficulty, and the hitherto insoluble problem of God’s permission of evil in the universe; and it is so grand and beautiful, so reasonable, and so worthy of God, that I am convinced it must be true. What light and glory it throws upon the Bible! I have always maintained that God would give every human being a fair opportunity for salvation, thought I could not tell how it was to be brought about; and now that I know, I rejoice in it every hour of the day. I now wish to qualify myself to answer objectors, for I intend to do what I can to spread these glad tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people. The Lord bless you and your work, F. E. HALE.

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Indiana.

DEAR FRIENDS IN THE LORD:—Enclosed please find my estimated “Good Hopes” for 1893. The package of tracts was duly received, and is being disposed of rapidly.

The Presbyterian church session, here, refuses to release me, upon the ground that it cannot do so without a trial for heresy; and it will never consent to that. Had I asked for a letter to another denomination, it would have been given; and if I insist upon leaving that body, my name will be put upon the “retired” list. Nevertheless, I have fully determined to do what seems to be the Lord’s will, and I will not be argued out of doing my duty.

The most prominent elder has begun to study with a view of convincing me that I am in error. He is a physician, and is sure that I have overworked my brain upon these subjects until I have become skeptical. He says, truly, that if there be anything in my views, it is time that the church began to investigate the matter. Yours in the bonds of Christian fellowship, L. HAMILTON.

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Connecticut.

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—Although somewhat tardy in the renewal of my TOWER subscription, I heartily thank you for its continued visits up to date. There is nothing I look forward to with so much hungering as its regular portion of meat and drink for the truth-hungry. There is no other publication that has been so satisfying to my mind; and to do without it would be out of question so long as it continues to supply this demand. Surely one that has received the anointing of the spirit and the eye-salve of the truth perceives the work, the strange work, that the Lord is working, not only in the nations but in the lives of his consecrated children, as each is quarried and chiseled and polished by the various workings together of the circumstances of his life, and thus made ready for his respective place in the great Temple—his body, his Bride—according to the plan of the great Master Builder. Lord grant that none of us come short of this through conceit or neglect.

The heavens are fast “rolling together like a scroll” in our midst: all the denominations represented here, ignoring differences among themselves, have united with the Catholic temperance society in a grand rally for temperance, and in a general boom for the society of the “mother church.” So naturally and quietly do these things come to pass, that no one seems aware of the fast approach of the time of trouble. Blessed is he who has learned to lean on the arm of the strong Deliverer, and not on an arm of flesh.

May the dear Lord continue the flowing of the stream of truth to you, and through you to all the household of faith, is the prayer of your sister in Christ,

L. M. FAIRFIELD.

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Kansas.

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—Enclosed you will find a small order for Tower publications. I desire to be used in the Master’s service, and do what I can in spreading the truth. I have been a reader of DAWNS and Tower since January last—proving all things by the word; and I must confess that it has given me a joy and comfort that the world knows not of. I have been seeking to know the truth for about five years. Two years ago I came to the conclusion that the Baptist church was nearer to my views than any other denomination, as it claimed to take the Bible as its creed. So I joined that church with the understanding that I would take nothing for my guide but the Bible. I let my name remain until a few weeks ago, when I told the pastor to drop my name from the church roll. He expressed great surprise, but I told him that it was not that I had any enmity against any

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one, but that I felt a plain conviction that I could serve the Master better out of it, and by holding a membership in only the true church which Christ founded.

It is a painful thing for me now to hear the unsupported doctrines as taught by the various creeds, but what a joy it is to view the glorious glad tidings from the standpoint of the “Plan of the Ages.” What wonderful harmony! Now I can see how “God so loved the world,” and it has begotten in me a new hope and a desire to tell the good news to others. Oh, how I love to read the Tower. Do not fail to send it to me for 1893. It has food for me that I cannot find elsewhere. I must tell you, my dear brother, that you seem very near and dear to me, as do all the dear brethren in the Anointed One. I feel so glad to hear from any of them. I am almost alone here.

I have several DAWNS in circulation, and quite a number are interested. Two or three are rejoicing in the light, but as yet have not renounced their creeds. My health being poor, I am not able to be out much, and consequently I feel that I am not doing the work that I would love to do. I feel so unworthy, and long to be able to do much good in the Master’s name. I need your prayers in my behalf, that I may be filled with humility and love, to the Master’s glory. I desire to have my name on the Colporteur Roll, even if my work should seem small. I will endeavor to do all to the honor and glory of God. May the Lord’s blessings rest upon us all in such a way as to bring us in contact with those that are hungering after truth. In hope, I am truly yours, J. T. MILLER.

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South Dakota.

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—Three years ago Vols. I. and II. of the MILLENNIAL DAWN were placed in my hands. I read, re-read and studied the wonderful books, and to my own astonishment they began to break the seals of the Bible, and the hidden mystery was revealed to me. I then gave up the ministry and stepped out of Babylon. Since then I have been grieved, because I have not been able to enter the harvest work: for, being a Norwegian, I think it is of no use to try to sell English Dawns; but I intend to enter the work as soon as the Dawn is published in that language. Meanwhile I am trying to establish in the truth those who have already received it.

I recently visited a few saints in R__________, and was quite interested in learning how the truth reached them. About eight years ago a copy of the Watch Tower came into the hands of Brother M., and it made a deep impression on him. He brought the copy home and let some of his neighbors (Baptists) read it. After some time they sent for more numbers, which they read with increasing interest, and their faith in eternal torture was soon shaken. But as they had adopted some erroneous ideas of the atonement advocated by one of the leaders among the Swedish Baptists, the ransom was almost a stumbling-block to them. However, they have since been convinced, through the Tower, of their error, and now believe fully that Christ died in our stead.

When the Swedish Tower was discontinued, some of the friends subscribed for the English Tower. But as they could not read English, their progress was slow. However, being truth hungry, they have tried to dig out some of the gold and precious stones from the English. One, in particular, looks at every word in his lexicon in order to get the meaning of a sentence.

The cross is becoming more and more a rock of offence to the Swedes. Many in recent years have laid aside the paradoxes of the old German reformers, and are following in the footsteps of their own favorite leaders, who are “denying the sovereign Lord that bought them.” But there are still many humble ones among Scandinavians, waiting for the truth, who will be glad to have the Swedish and the Danish Dawn.

I myself cannot express how grateful I am to you who have been the instrument in God’s hands to lead me out of darkness into light. I know what it is to be in darkness. I was brought up in a very dark corner of the earth, in the darkest of Lutherism, and in full faith in the horrible doctrine of eternal torment. When I reached maturity, I received some light and peace, which I thought I could increase by preparing for the ministry. But while studying theology I encountered skepticism and disappointment, and was soon as discontented as ever. But now my skepticism and the former things have disappeared, and light and peace are streaming in upon me from the channel of truth, and I can praise the infinite, wise and loving God, whose ways and plan are so full of blessing to all his creatures.

Yours for the truth, K. P. HAMMER.

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