Refine Search

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 benalf 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 E6078] May 1, WI7 THE WATCH TOWER (133-133) PHARISAICAL CLEEGY 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 FOWEBFUL 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 EVEB 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 nruch 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 enrly 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 079] (133-134) 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 [6080] May 1, 1917 THE W A TCH TOW E K (135 13ft) 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 diseiples 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 [6081] (136 147) 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.