Contents of the Golden Age

Labor and Economics

The World and its News . ......

Housing Problem Not Solved......

Cost of Living in New'York City ....

Social and Educational Negroes in the United States.....  .

Child Suicides Shame the Professors .... Playing with Blasting Caps . ......

Will Help Widows of the Lynched ..... Fresno’s Handsome Ape . . , \ . . . . . Where the Fire Department Failed ....

Finance—Commerce—Transportation

Bank Run Averted by Airplane.........

Armours Must Repay $3,000,000   ........

America’s Most Attractive Highway .......

The Ten Largest Corporations .........

The Bank of Italy............- .

Bank Run Averted by Airplane

A BANK run was averted in Illinois recently when two hundred thousand dollars were rushed to the bank from St. Louis in time to prevent the difficulty from becoming serious. The financial condition of the bank was good at the time the run was started by irresponsible parties.

Why Fight Doheny’s Battles?

IN VIEW of the fact that the United States

Supreme Court has annulled the Doheny oil leases in California, claiming that they were secured by fraud and the corruption of public officials, and in view of the fact that the Doheny oil interests in Mexico are among the very largest in that country, one wonders .why this government should get excited about what happens to Mr. Doheny’s interests there. Maybe the Mexican government also has a righteous kick coming.

Armours Must Repay $3,000,000

THE arbitrator in the dispute between the Armours and the Farmers Cooperative Grain Marketing Corporation has found the former guilty of fraud and conspiracy, to the extent of $3,000,000, which must be repaid.' The arbitrator found that the Armour-owned elevators juggled their figures so as to credit the Armours with wheat that did not exist. Maybe if the Armours tried to steal these $3,000,000 and got caught at it there are plenty of other millions that they tried to steal and did steal and still possess. Probably the men who engineered the $3,000,000 steal are horrified at the Russian bolshevist experiment which, however, as a matter of fact, they are doing their utmost to encourage.

Manning the Next War

IN THE Madison, Wisconsin, Capital Times a veteran of the World War proposes that in the next war the front line trenches be manned by the international bankers, the boards of directors and higher executive officers of the corporations whose investments in the country to be attacked are at stake, the diplomats who have brought about the impasse which resulted in the appeal to arms, and the Jingo editors. As a veteran he insists that these gentlemen be compelled to fight with soft-nosed bullets, poison gas, trench knives and flame throwers, so that they can get a full knowledge of war and make a full exhibit of their patriotism. Who shall say‘that this is a bad idea?

War—‘Man’s Greatest Industry

UNDER this title, in its issue of March 13th, the New York Times Magazine contains a complete resume of the stupendous efforts now being made by all the nations of the earth to get ready for the next war. Sixteen-inch guns now throw projectiles weighing over a ton, and throw them miles farther than in the World War. Submarines can now remain submerged two and one-half days. New poison gases drive their victims raving mad. France is equipping all her soldiers to throw liquid fire 150 feet, from tanks which they carry on their backs. Torpedoes have been designed to hit marks a hundred miles away. Some airplanes have capacity for fifty men; others have machine guns and disappearing turrets. Several tons of bombs may be carried by one of them. Some of the new tanks travel thirty miles an hour. Some of the tanks weigh up to seventy tons, and carry many men. In some of the armies of the next war every infantryman will be equipped with a machine gun. It is known that some of th© governments are planning to spread disease germs. The Devil said to the Lord, Fall down and worship me and you shall have all these things, for they belong to me. And who can deny that they do, and that the Lord did wisely in turning His back on him?

Negroes in the United States

NEGROES in the United States own 600,000 homes, 80 banks, 100 insurance companies, 400 newspapers and 70,000 other business enterprises. The Negro crime rate in America is’ lower than the crime rate among the aliens. It is higher in the North than in the South, for the reason that in the North most Negroes live in the cities in a very crowded condition.

Anarchy in Georgia

TOOMBS County, Georgia, seems to have lapsed into almost total anarchy, according to reports in the public press. Armed bands of masked men, or rather, we should say, masked cowards, roam through the county flogging, murdering, burning barns, boycotting and intimidating grand juries so that no one feels safe. It is estimated that one hundred persons have been flogged by these cowards.

Child Suicides Shame the Professors

THE professors who have been so busy now for several years doing everything in their power to undermine faith in a Creator are reaping a rich harvest of shame in the deluge of boy and girl suicides, which shows no signs of letting up. Destroy faith in a Creator and there is nothing left to live fot. Build faith in the Creator, study His Word and get a proper view of His — plan, and the world and everything in it is full of the most entrancing interest.. And in this connection it may be said that every preacher who doubts the inspiration of the Bible should be locked up as a criminal, an accessory before the fact.

Suicide Wave is Spreading

rpfiE suicide wave which at present seems to be at its peak in American colleges and universities is spreading in other lands. Britain, Germany, Austria and Turkey each report a great increase in the number of child suicides.

Eighty-Four Percent Crooked

THE tests which have been made at Teachers’ College, Columbia University, during the last two years seem to bear out pretty well the Scripture statement, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Out of 263 children tested to see whether they would cheat on their examination papers when an inducement to do so was held out tb them, it transpired that eighty-four percent made at least one change in their papers. All honor to the sixteen percent of little ones who tried to stem the tide! But perhaps some of them were held back only by fear, and that makes the situation even worse.

No More Autos at Princeton

ON ACCOUNT of the fact that in the past year automobiles at Princeton University have led to seven fatalities, the dean of the university has forbidden any Princeton student to own or operate an automobile at Princeton, or dn the neighborhood, after July 1st of this year. About two hundred students are directly affected by the order.

The Babies Eave Us Gasping

THE babies have us gasping all right. Here in New York we have a baby less than two years old who identified forty musical compositions by tfie name of the composer or the name of the composition, while Chicago boasts of a baby that walked across a room unaided when only five weeks old! In the one case the parents are both musicians; in the other the baby’s father is a physician and has been specially treating the child to ultra violet rays fifteen minutes a day.

Playing with Blasting Caps

APPROXIMATELY five hundred children are crippled each year by playing with blasting caps which they have picked up in the vicinity of mines, quarries, or in the fields where agricultural blasting has been done. Some, of course, are killed, while others are blinded or go through life with mangled bodies. The bright copper of the blasting caps makes them peculiarly attractive to children who find some that have been carelessly left about, and they investigate them with terrible results.

Will Help Widows of the Lynched *

ON THE principle that boys-will be boys and will occasionally, when they get grown up, gather in mobs and murder somebody they do not like, the Delaware House has now voted that members of such mobs may be fined not more than $1,000 and imprisoned for not m?re than one year; also that the wife and minor children of the persons lynched'will be paid the magnanimous sum of $1,000 by the State. It seems too bad to gloss over and condone murder, whether done by one man or a hundred men; but perhaps this is the best that can be done in Delaware at this time.

The Pus Squirters’ Opportunity

A MASSACHUSETTS college professor has discovered thatT the laundries do not tear our shirts to pieces, but that it is bacteria which feed on the cloth. What a grand opportunity this presents to the “immunity” pus shooters! All they have to do now is to segregate, label them, and shoot new shirts full of them; and we may be sure that such vaccinated shirts will never wear out any more.           *

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What Was Done at Framinghgjn         *

AT FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts," the death rate from tuberculosis was cut from 120 in every 100,000 inhabitants to less than one-third of that amount. This result was accomplished by a committee which took charge of the entire town, looking after the milk supply, the water supply and the general sanitation. It was not done by squirting pus into all the inhabitants.

New Teeth As Needed .

EVERY once in a while we read of old people cutting new teeth. A resident of New Brunswick, N. J., aged eighty-five, is the possessor of two new molars. It is our belief that in the Millennial Age now opening this will be a common occurrence and that, in the actual operation of the Lord’s kingdom, new teeth will be provided for all, as they are needed. '

The Thermionic Micro-Ammeter

THE new thermionic micro-ammeter, invented at Lynn, Massachusetts, will detect a change of electric current as small as the ten billionth part of an ampere. The use of the instrument will be in testing radio tubes, incandescent lamps and the currents in insulators, where the human eye is tod inaccurate to render correct answers with measuring devices heretofore in use.

Ph^sants Becoming Plentiful             '

THE pheasants imported by the Department of Agriculture to fight the Japanese beetle are finding America a good place to live, and seem to be multiplying rapidly. These beautiful birds are now occasionally seen on highways and even in city streets. One was recently caught in the streets of New York. Unfortunately the boys and many grown people do not realize the great value of these beautiful birds and fail to lebthem alone.

Value of Birds Becoming Known

THE value of birds is becoming better known.

In North Carolina it was found that on a farm of 200 acres the birds destroyed at least a million bugs a day. These feathered friends of man are estimated to save, in the United States alone, at least $400,000,000 worth of food ’ for human oeings and livestock which would otherwise be destroyed. The birds are more / plentiful on the Atlantic seaboard than in other parts of the United States.

Not Enough Long Green

A PITTSBURGH evangelist, conducting a ' series of so-called revival services at Mar

tin’s Ferry, Ohio, was handed a collection of $400 at the conclusion of the meetings. Although this was at least $399.99 more than any real value he brought to the community, the gentleman was so enraged over the small offering that he abruptly concluded the service without the usual ceremony. The people should have kept their $400 and used it for better purposes.

Religion at New Haven

NEW HAVEN is bound to have religion, even if somebody has to pay for it. The Saturday - -* papers contain a full page which briefly advertises every gathering of a religious nature which is to be held in New Haven on the day following.

This advertisement is paid for by sixty of the leading business houses of the city, each also given one line, in large type, which tells their i name and address and the line they handle.

Fresno’s Handsome Ape '

A FRESNO college professor in a debate on evolution made the statement that he regarded himself as a tall and exceedingly handsome ape. The professor might have left off the    -

word handsome. When it came to a vote three-    '

fourths of the audience decided that there was nothing to his argument. The effort to crowbar mankind into a belief in the foolish evolution theory is not meeting with the success that . monkey worshipers would like to see. The average American has a little common sense _ left, after all, in spite of professors and such.’

Compulsory Training in Minnesota

THIRTY-EIGHT students of the University of Minnesota have been expelled for refus-; " ing to take part in compulsory military drill The government offers to give thirty days vacation at camp each summer for young mpn of its selection who will participate in military -drill. Their railway fares are paid and they? are given food, lodging, medical attention, and' ’ provided with uniforms and athletic equipment. ;

Instructions to Bootleggers

IT SEEMS that Uncle Sam has various, sundry and divers Congressmen; and that these men at various, sundry and divers times have delivered speeches in Congress in which they have explained in detail how to make whisky, brandy, gin and beer; and of course the speeches were all published in the “Congressional Record", as required by law. Recently there has beeif a rush for the “Congressional Record", so much so that ten thousand requests were received for the one that contained George Washington’s recipe for making beer. Uncle Sam has gratified this thirst for knowledge, and seems in a fair way to assuage other thirsts thereby. Nevertheless Uncle Sam will arrest anybody that makes use of the recipes which he so kindly furnishes. Poor Uncle Sam! No wonder recent cartoons show him with gray hair!

A Tribute to Pure Water

Representative Tillson, of Arkansas, in a recent address in the House of Representatives, paid the following tribute to pure water:

I have recently heard much for and against poison liquor. It is all poison. The surest way to avoid blindness or death is to refuse to buy or drink the stuff. As against poison liquor I recommend H²0, nature’s wholesome, palatable, life-giving beverage, pure water. You can easily find the liquor which God brews for us. You can procure it without money and without price. You will not find it in the simmering still, over smoky fires, choked with poisonous gases and surrounded with the stench of sickening odors.

You will find it in the green glade, the grassy dell and down, low down in the deepest valleys, where fountains murmur and the rills sing; and high up on the • tall mountain tops, where the naked granite glitters like gold in the sun, where the storm clouds brood and the . thunders crash; and away far out on the wide wild sea, where the hurricane brawls music and the big waves roar, there He brews it, that beverage of life-giving water. And everywhere it is a thing of beauty, gleaming in the dewdrop, singing in the summer rain, shining in the lee gem, till the leaves seem turned to living jewels, spreading a golden vail over the setting sun or a white gauze around the silver moon; sporting in the cataract, sleeping in the glacier, dancing in the hail shower, folding its bright snow curtains about the wintry world, . and weaving the many colored iris, that seraph’s zone of the sky whose warp is the raindrop of earth and whose roof is the sunbeam of heaven.

Where the OU Comes From

THREE-FOURTHS of all the petroleum now produced comes from wells located in the United States. Mexico produces about orte-eighth as much, Russia about one-thirteenth, while the remaining producers, Persia, Dutch East Indies, Venezuela, Roumania, Peru, British India, Argentine, Poland and Colombia, altogether produce about as much in one year as is produced in the United States in seventy days.

America’s Most Attractive Highway

AMERICA’S most attractive highway is now completed. It is 2,800 miles in length and stretches from Quebec to Miami, via Montreal, Lake Champlain, Lake George, Glens Falls, Saratoga, Albany, Binghamton, Scranton, Harrisburg, Hagerstown, Winchester, Roanoke, Bristol, Asheville, Gainesville, Atlanta, Thomaston, Americus, Thomasville, Madison, Lake City, Tampa, Sebring, Okeechobee and Palm Beach. The road traverses the grandest scenery in the eastern part of the United States, including the Luray Caverns, Natural Bridge, Mount Mitchell, Blood Mountain Gorge and Stone Mountain. It is no- doubt destined to be the most traveled scenic highway in the world.

A Building Sixteen Miles Long

TT IS within the range of possibility that New York may have ere long a single building that will be sixteen miles in length. This building, plans for which have been prepared, would be twelve stories high. It would carry roadways and railways for freight and passenger accommodation of the people who would work and live and find recreation and amusement in the apartments adjacent. It would seem that the . plan is entirely practical.

How the People Travel

IT IS probable that America’s automobiles have to their credit or discredit annually about 75,000,000,000 passenger miles. Perhaps it is even more than that, for there are some 22,-000,000 cars; and they probably average at least ten miles per day, and average two persons to the car. On that basis the passenger mileage would be 160,600,000,000. Street railway annual passenger mileage is 48,000,000,000; steam railroads 36,250,000,000; motor buses 5,300,000,000; waterways 3,500,000,000; taxicabs 1,500,000,0001.

Women More Susceptible to Poisoning

WOMEN are more susceptible to poisoning than are men, in the proportion of two to one. When working side by side with men in white-lead factories one woman out of eight showed symptoms of poisoning, while only one man out of seventeen showed the symptoms. With women, also, the poisoning takes the severest forms—unconsciousness, delirium, convulsions and blindness. There are many new industrial poisons developed since the war, at the rate of about one a month. Thus far America has no bureau for the investigation of these poisons, such as exists in Britain and Germany.

Housing Problem Not Solved

NEW YORK'S housing problem is as far as ever from solution. Thirty-five percent of New York’s population now live in houses of a a type which it is illegal to build and which are unfit for human habitation. Halls are dark, rooms are ■without air, staircases are of wood, and back yards, if any, are small and filthy., New York needs Christ’s kingdom in order that the poor may get some of the blessings which present incomes deny to them.

Cost of Living in New York City

THE National Industrial Conference Board has made careful estimates of the average minimum living costs of office workers in New York City for maintaining a fair American standard of living, resulting in the following: For a man, wife and one child, $29.61 per week; for a man, wife and twp children, $36.60 per week; for a man, wife and three children, $40.75 per week; for a single man, living apart from a family group, $22.12 per week; for a single woman, living apart from a family group, $19.64 per week.

Boys Three Inches Taller

Db. Hobace Gbay has just concluded a series of investigations made for the Institute of Juvenile Research, in which a careful study of thousands of school boys, compared with similar figures obtained in the public schools of fifty years ago, shows that boys now are more than th rep, inches taller than they were then. This change is largely ascribed to the wider use now made of fruits and vegetables, in the average family.

Politeness Increases Efficiency

BY ACTUAL test it has been demonstrated that the new practice of telephone operators of responding with a cheery "Thank you”, instead of a repetition of the number called, has improved the service and increased the number of calls which an operator can handle. Ad«. ditionally, the operator's work is made happier,-because the politeness brings courtesies at the other end of the wire. Little by little the world is learning some great lessons, which in the Golden Age now dawning will result in great blessings all around.

Tetanus Serum Does Not Work            —

WHEN Columbus, Ohio, had an epidemic of smallpox a while ago a physician of repute called on thirty of the patients and found that every one of them had been vaccinated from one to four times. Now comes an authority on tetanus, Dr. E. Kummer, of Geneva, Switzer-' land, and declares that the anti-tetanus serum does not work, and that the only cure for the. dreaded disease is the exposure of the infected, parts to plenty of fresh air, the best of all disinfectants.

The Ten Largest Corporations

HPHE ten largest corporations in America, in A the order of their total assets, which in each instance is over one billion dollars, are: United States Steel Corporation; Southern Pacific Kailroad; Pennsylvania Railroad; American Tele* phone and Telegraph Company; New York Central Railroad; Standard Oil Company of New Jersey; Union Pacific Railroad; Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Railroad; General Motors. Corporation and Ford Motor Company. The average age of these corporations is 36 years; average number of employes 147,600; average number of stockholders 101,800; average annual dividends paid about $40,000,000.           "

The Bank of Italy

IN 1904 two sons of an Italian fruit peddler opened the Bank of Italy in San Franciscoi, with a capital of $150,000. The next year came the earthquake, which virtually destroyed every other financial establishment in the city? The Italians loaned money to everybody. They prospered phenomenally, amazingly, astoundingly.f”

the clever, and today the Bank of Italy is next ■ to the National City Bank of New York in assets, and, owns shares in successful banks in every corher of the world. California today is covered from end to end with branches of thes great system, built up in only^twe^tr r&feeyears by two Italians. • " ’        '

De Pinedo’s j_ourney_S Through the Skies

F^cesco de Pinedo, Italian aviator, after - flying from Italy to Turkey, Persia, India, Australia, the Philippines and Japan, has now - flown from Italy westward to West Africa, across the Atlantic to Brazil and the Argentine, thence to the West Indies, Cuba, and the United States. He plans to return home via Newfound. land and the Azores, and is accounted the world’s greatest long-distance flyer.

German Air Service

LAST year the 110 planes of the German Air Service carried 56,268 passengers and collectively flew about 4,000,000 miles. During the year there was -but one accident, resulting in the death of one pilot and four passengers. It is supposed that the plane was struck by lightning. It fell on the island of Juist.

More Professional Men from Europe

CHANGES in immigration laws within recent years have resulted in a marked decrease in the proportion of unskilled workers arriving,' and a marked increase in the number of skilled workers and professional men. Before 1914 the proportion of unskilled labor was 41%; now it is only 19%.

, Mennonites Moving to Paraguay

AMONG the most industrious and desirable citizens of this country are 175,000 Mennonites. Canada has 25,000 more. These Mennonites are now heading for Paraguay, where they have been promised perpetual freedom

from military service, exemption from taking oaths, the privilege of conducting their own churches and schools and in general administering their own affairs. It is expected that more than 100,000 Mennonites will remove to Paraguay.            ‘

AN UNFORESEEN result of the most de®⁶-perate coal strikg ever waged is that Britain seems now tp- nave on hand at least 200,000 pennanently idle miners. Over 30,000 of these "are to be found in the barren valleys of South Wales. There seems to be no hope for any of these men except in the kingdom which Christians daily pray for to the throne of heavenly grace. Oil, water power, and better methods of mining more accessible deposits, have all contributed to ruin the occupation of these men.

A Mechanical Sleep-Producer

A PARISIAN has invented a mechanical sleep-producer which will have great possibilities of usefulness if it does what is claimed for it. The patient dons a black hood which covers the eyes. The current is turned on and a rhythmic fatigue spreads to the eyes and ears and induces sleep in a few minutes. When sleep comes the current is automatically turned off.

Where the Fire Department Failed

TMMBNSE flames rising to the sky led the fire department of a Swiss village to rush to a neighboring village only to find that what they had supposed was a conflagration was a most brilliant and unusual display of the aurora borealis. Although urged to do so by the amused villagers they came to save, the firemen refused to put out the aurora.

The Beggar’s Disc

TN THE city of Prague, Czecho-Slovakia, the A citizens are supplied at a nominal cost with discs to give to beggars instead of coins. A half million discs have been issued, but only a small proportion have been turned in at the Welfare Committee station where the beggar was entitled to receive aid according to his needs. One of the beggars who came to the station with his discs for redemption was found to have $2,000 in the bank.

An Appeal to Poland

PROMINENT Britishers, including at leasf one member of Parliament, have issued an appeal to Marshal'Pilsudski, President of Poland, urging amnesty for 6,000 men and women->ho are now lying in Polish prisons for purely political offences. About half of these prisoners are less than twenty years - of age* Conditions in Polish prisons are horrible beyond words. Poland, so far as known, is the only codfitiv/¹¹

'Arab Opposition Lessening

ARAB opposition to the Jews in Palestine seems to be lessening, as may be judged from the fact that one of the most important of the Arab journals, which at the first was much opposed to the development of Palestinian water power by the Jews, has now made application to be served by this power as soon as it is available.

Palestine to Have a Great Port

OR generations the problem of making landings off the coast of Palestine has been a difficult one. When the weather is suitable the passengers and mails are taken off in small boats, but many times the boats are unable to land at all and have to carry passengers beyond their destination. Now the British government is building a twenty million dollar harbor in Haifa, and Palestine will have a real port.

South Africa and West Africa

CONTRASTING conditions in South Africa and West Africa the Manchester Guardian says:                                    .

Hitherto, in almost every considerable South African town, two spectacles have presented themselves—on the one side the trim, well-kept European settlement; on the other, as far away as possible, a miserable, squalid collection of horrible hovels called the native location. Its people have been without political power and without municipal or any other power, except the grim power which comes to it when pestilence breaks out. And of late years there has been a tendency to adopt the same pernicious principle in the settlements of the West Coast.

The common fool, who thinks, or at least says, that all Africans are alike, all at the same stage, and all incapable of adopting for themselves the good points of our civilization, would, if he wishes to retain his theory, do well to avoid West Africa, with its African lawyers, doctors, teachers, editors, and officials, its independent traders, not a few of whom live in houses well built and in the European style, who import British motor cars, and whose general advancement in life has meant and is meaning “big business” to British manufacturers and British merchants.

To these words of the Manchester Guardian we feel like adding that if the British Govern-would not be today an idle man in the British Empire. Misgovernment brings ^own i^nev^* able course of failure and displacement

South Africa's Diamond Excitement

A NOTHER big find of diamonds in South Africa has led to one of the wildest stampedes in history. The official race for registration was to have begun at noon, February 25th; but in some unexplained way the line was broken twenty minutes ahead of time and the race, which had to be run over again, was on, willy fiilly. The new mines are expected to produce from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 of diamonds per month.

The Revolt of Asia

Prof. Upton Close has written a remarkable book, bristling full of facts, showing most ' conclusively that all Asia, from Egypt to Tokio, is in revolt against the white man’s rule by force and hypocrisy and his misplaced assumption of social superiority. One of the most interesting points made in the book is that Japan has discovered that the old method of Western Im- -perialism does not pay, and is in more conciliatory mood toward Russia and China. Moreover, Russian thought seems to have penetrated deeply into all Asia. Those who think that two-thirds of humanity can for ever be dominated by force and hypocrisy will have another think coming after they have made a careful study of Prof. Close’s book.                            '

Why China Is Aflame                       ’

IN AN illuminating article on China The Nation makes the following statement:

Those who charge the missionaries with responsibility for it have a measure of justice on their side; those who blame the penetration of foreign business are equally right; those who say the tens of thousands of returned students have brought back the revolutionary spark are also justified. The more troops the British ship to -China, the more bitter will be the resistance to the foreigners. They may hold Shanghai today} but what good will Shanghai do them if a nation of 400,000,000 people is roused against them, filled with hate, determined to boycott their products^? Christian and non-Chnstian, banker and coolie, foreign graduate and native-trained Chinese stand shoulder to shoulder, all demanding that the foreigner give up, at once, all his special privileges.

China's Inquiry of the League

HINA is a member of the League of Abominations, and is in good and regular standing in that League; but it has now confused matters by inquiring of the League whether it is right for England, France, Italy and other countries to send troops to her soil, to fire on her citizens and to occupy her lands, without asking China’s permission. Of course the League-will do what it always does in such cases, and: that is nothing. The Chinese are too inquisitive,

Chinese Ladies Dolling Up

HE Chinese ladies have always been a good, deal like other ladies in that they enjoy dolling themselves up. Now it seems that they have begun to find out something about the way the Western ladies do it and are beginning to buy American face powders, hair lotions, nau polishes and other things so popular with femininity on this side of the world. The Japanese ladies are taking even more interest in these matters than are their Chinese sisters.

From Coast to Coast in a Tin Lizzie By R. Bayless

Notwithstanding an attack of flu, tonsilitis and “blues”—a bad combination— I will endeavor to write this belated report of our 3500-mile trip from Brooklyn, N. Y., to Long Beach, Calif., which we made in twenty-one days of actual driving, in the dead of winter, in a second-hand Ford car.

We had our last meal at the “Bethel Home” in Brooklyn at noon on December 1st last, and at 3:30 p. m. we climbed into our “Lizzie Limited” and shouted, “All aboard for California!” By nightfall we found ourselves safely beyond Philadelphia, but in a downpour of rain; so “we parked in the mud for the night and slept in the car until morning. Next night we were to the western edge of the long state of Pennsylvania, in the heart of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Our faithful Ford was carrying us up and down the slopes at a goodly pace when - our brakes gave way and we started to run wild on the side of a dangerous incline on top of a high cliff. We gasped and thought our end was near, but finally succeeded in coasting into the fence-posts and cable, which kept us from going over the precipice.

Although we escaped personal injury, our Ford jwas badly battered up; so we were laid up that night, all next day and the next night, at a nearby farm house, for repairs. We girls spent the day roaming over the farm, which was big and. well taken care of, while our husbands got the jG&r in order for the onward journey. .We also sold a full set of I.B.S.A. books to the farmer, had an interesting conversation on Bible topics with him and his family, and incidentally had some genuinely delicious Pennsylvania farm cooking. Early next morning we set sail for the far west, braving a blinding snowstorm. But fortunately it did not continue long enough to bother or hinder our driving.

We all heaved a sigh when we reached Ohio; for we were now past the Allegheny mountains and on level country again. We made splendid time through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. We came over the National trail, and the highway was excellent for motoring. We stopped in Kansas City, our former home, for three days and saw many of our old friends.

On the morning of the third day we left our friends behind us and began steering through Kansas mud, but fortunately we had no car trouble. In due course we reached Oklahoma, where we spent two nights. One night we camped in a pecan grove, a veritable paradise, and stocked up on the finest pecans at 12% cents a pound, such as would cost us 80 cents in New York City.

Across the Biggest State

CROSSING over the Oklahoma-Texas border into the Panhandle we were accompanied, by a real mid-winter “norther”. "We lived through it; and now that it is history I am glad for having had the experience, but it was a* terrific to endure as it was spectacular to behold. I had always associated Dixie cotton fields and colored folks with warm, sunny days •—and we did see some of that before we got out of the big state. But when we first entered Texas it was snowing and storming, and the cotton looked as cold as the snowbanks. We had to change tires early one morning on the snowy-pavement; and, 0 boy, but it was cold!

Finally the “norther” passed and melted away Into the southland, and as we drove onward through Texas it was most pleasant. Texas is really a wonderful state, an empire in itself. Not only is the state itself of gigantic proportions, but its ranches, fields and houses also are large. Everything is big in Texas, even the hats that the men wear; and you can look and look for inconceivable distances over the beautiful, level plains, with nothing to mar the evenness of the horizon. We also liked the people whom we met there, all so hospitable to strangers.

At Van Horn, Texas, we found a wonderful auto camp. The houses, built for campers, are made of adobe; and on entering them you find all modern conveniences just as you would expect to see in a high-class city apartment—running water, private bath, kitchen with sink and drainage, clothes closets, bedrooms and beds; a camp de luxe, all for $2 per night.

We stopped for repairs at a tiny town in western Texas, one afternoon. We had thought we were beyond civilization and out in the barren desert; and we expressed wonderment at the location of the town, and inquired what the population subsisted on out there in the desert. The garage man soon set us straight— it was not desert, it was the grazing country. We had not suspected it, as we had seen nothing all day but sand and an occasional clump of Email bushes here and there, with practically no signs of animal life anywhere about.

It was then explained to us that the grazing country of Texas is not what it used to be. The stockmen look forward to better conditions; but consequent to the general change and rearrangement of western climate during the past five years, the share of rainfall hitherto allotted to Western Texas has evidently been given to a neighbor state. The total rainfall there for the past five years has hot equalled that which formerly fell within five months. We were told that on those plains where as many as 1OO»QQQ head of cattle regularly grazed a few years ago, now there are not 10,000 head in all that district. But the rains are beginning to fall there again, and the rangers are hopeful of returning prosperity.

At one place in Texas, in the cotton belt, we had the privilege of inspecting a cotton gin. It was most interesting to see the ginning process from beginning to end. The superintendent was very courteous and explained everything. He was the only white man employed there—the workmen were all Mexicans. We gave him a copy of The Hasp of God, which he promised to read. Our car was searched twice by border officials, for raw cotton—once on leaving Texas and once in New Mexico. We had no cotton aboard. If we had it would have been taken from us.

Passing out of Texas, we made good time through New Mexico and Arizona. At Bisbee, Ariz., we saw pansies blooming in the gardens, notwithstanding it was late December—a refreshing sight. Just out of Bisbee we crossed over a high mountain which was posted every few feet with danger signs, cautioning motorists to drive slowly. It was a dangerous mountain pass, to be sure; and made more so for us because we had to drive through a heavy snowstorm. But the mountain was beautiful, though its wintry covering was in marked contrast to the blooming pansies which we had seen only an hour or so before. We were glad, however, when we reached its western base and were on the level desert again.

We had the unusual experience of encountering two rainstorms in the open desert. A keeper of one of the desert filling stations told us that a great change is taking place in the climatic conditions of Arizona. Ordinarily they have, had but one rainy spell a year—in July or August—and then only a little. But things changed in 1926; and now they are having some rains every month. The country there, which has been barren desert for so long, now begins to look like the grazing country of Texas, except that the principal vegetation is still cactus.

Can A Ford Ford? _t

AT GILA BEND (pronounced Hela Bend), Ariz., we forded the river in our Ford, at night, a distance of one-third mile. The water, of course, was shallow where we crossed; but it was indeed exciting to plow through it in the darkness, with the high dam on one hand with its ominous roar of water spilling over it, and a realization that only a few feet away on the other hand the river was too deep to ford. And what if we should stick right in the middle of that 1700 foot-wide stream, here in the dead of 'night I But we made it, and heaved a sigh of relief when we finally reached the other side. Talk about thrills. This trip has held aplenty for a lifetime. .

Just beyond Yuma, Ariz., we were stopped for another official inspection, the same as we had been inspected in Texas and in New Mexico. But this time it was not merely cotton that the officers were after. California allows nothing to be brought into the state in the way of trees, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, etc., unless first inspected; and sees to it that very little gets by.

We had been told in an Arizona auto camp not ₍t<rbuy more fruit than we would want to eat before we reached the state line, as we would not be allowed to take any of it into California. Had it not been for that information we would probably have had our car loaded down with fruit; for we had passed ranch after ranch where delicious oranges, apples and grapefruit could be had for only $1 per crate. So we passed all this up, and also sold our surplus pecans before reaching California. The inspectors make travelers unpack everything in their car. As we had no "contraband” we passed inspection without any trouble, and the officers were very courteous to ns.

After passing the California border inspectors we expected to be able to drive the rest of the way in peace, without further annoyance. But in about three hours we came to another of those big signs reading “STOP.—OFFICERS”. We drove up and stopped our car, and in another instant an officer stepped out in front of us, whipped out an automatic and seemed to be aiming at us but missing us. I was thoroughly disgusted by this time. It seemed that we were to be murdered in cold blood, but I wondered why the delay. Then he stepped a little to one side and began shooting at the car behind us. The driver of that car was attempting to drive past the sign without stopping, and that was the officer’s way of gently reminding him of his-error. The inspection this time was for contra- ⁷ band goods of all sorts. Probably he thought we had some Mexicans stowed away in our Ford.

From Waste Land to Wonderland

T> ASSING this inspection post alive, we soon plunged into the desert—a real, honest-to-goodness desert, the tail end of Death Valley, or a near relative to it. Here and there were mountains of sand, so fine that it was almost like powder. We stopped and took some kodak _ pictures in this desert waste. There is a fine concrete highway crossing this California des-' ert. It was just recently built, and alongside .it is the old board road still intact in many places.

Passing out of the desert we entered the famous Imperial Valley, the wonderland of the west—a living monument to the ingenuity of man. Only a few years ago it, too, was a desert waste. Now it is blossoming as the rose. (Isaiah . 35:1) We did*not tarry in the valley; but as we drove through it we could see the process of irrigation in its entirety, from the first preparation of the land to flooding of the crops. At one place we saw a beautiful modern ranch, well stocked with cattle and chickens, all made pos- _ sible by irrigation. And directly across the highway from it was primitive barren desert.

Emerging from the valley we began our ascent of the eastern slopes of the Sierras. As we crossed the divide we encountered snow. For about thirty miles We drove through snow and rain. Finally we reached our destination, Long Beach, Calif., at 11 o’clock at night, on the eve of Christmas, after twenty-one eventful days of actual driving across the American continent, and receiving a warm welcome from our people.

Southern California is a paradise. The days are usually warm the year around and the nights cool. Calla lilies, geraniums, roses, ferns and numerous other flowers and plants are now abloom, and the palm trees and other unusual growths make the easterner feel that he has been transported to a foreign clime. How wonderful it will be when the whole earth shall thus become “like the garden of Eden” I-— Ezekiel 36:35.

“God be with you till we meet again, By His counsel guide, uphold you,

With His sheep securely fold you;

God be with you till we meet again 1”

Is Man Immortal?

[Radiocast from Station WBBR on a wave length of 416.4 meters by Judge Rutherford.]

RECENTLY a well-known magazine propounded to a number of famous Americans the question: “Do you believe in immortality? Is man immortal?” Among those -who responded to the question, and whose replies were I published, there were at least seven clergymen. /The expressed opinions of these famous men tend to fix in the minds of many others a conclusion upon the question at issue. The less •learned are disposed'to indulge the presumption that the clergymen speak with authority. Such a presumption is usually without foundation. The clergymen, knowing that the people expect them to speak with authority, express their opinions usually without giving a reason therefor or without assigning any evidence in support thereof.

Thoughtful men have come to the conclusion that the opinion of a man upon any important subject is of little value unles§ there is known competent evidence upon which to base that opinion. In the courts of the land the opinion of an expert will be received as evidence only after he has proven that he is an expert and that his knowledge is far beyond that of an ordinary man. The clergy assume to be experts upon questions of this kind, but they do not first qualify as experts before giving their testimony.

If one man says that he'believes that there will be a rainstorm in New York City on the Fourth of July next, and another man says he does not believe there will be a rainstorm at that time, the inquiring mind asks, What evidence have you, gentlemen, upon which you base your conflicting opinions?

Man is of more importance than the weather; therefore when one man says that he believes that he is immortal and another says he does not believe that he has an immortal soul, the inquiring mind asks, What evidence, gentlemen, have you upon which you base your conclusions ? It must be apparent to anyone who pauses to consider, that something more than merely an expressed opinion must be given to be convincing.                                             .

The question of immortality has to do with the condition of man at and after death. Of course not one of these famous Americans to whom the question was submitted, and who gave answer to the question, has ever died and then returned to give first-hand testimony as to the ⁸ condition after death. All of them were on this side of the grave when their answers were given.

How then could the expressed belief of any • one of them prove anything? Is that expressed belief sufficient to establish the fact? It must be conceded that not one of these famous Americans knows as much about mortality or immor- ' tality as a man could know about the weather next July. Is it not true then that the expressed opinion of each one, which is unsupported by any evidence, is merely a guess?

Tragic Absence of Proof "                    ~~

ROM the answer as given by one of these distinguished clergymen and published in the magazine I quote: “There is to me a wistful, almost a tragic, desire behind the myriad arguments for the immortality of the soul, to prove something which cannot be proved but which the writers so terribly wish to be true.”—Eaton.

Be it noted that it is the “tragic desire” for immortality upon which he bases his conclusion. It must be conceded that a desire for a thing is not proof that the one desiring it does possess or ever can possess that thing. The desire for immortality cannot be accepted as the slightest proof that the soul of man is immortal.

Another of these famous clergymen answers: “The forms of belief in some kind of existence after death, which we commonly summarize as the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, are phenomena which psychologists call ‘wish fancies’. These ideas have their origin in the mind of primitive man, and they are survivals of a kind of thinking known as sympathetic magic. The idea of immortality is such a device.”—Dean Martin.

Be it noted that this famous American clergyman says that while he believes in immortality, yet that it is known as “sympathetic magic”. Surely that does not prove anything.

Another distinguished clergyman answers: “There has always been an intuitive belief in some form of survival after death. Thus down the ages the human heart, terror-stricken at the thought of death, or burdened with sorrow at the parting from loved ones, has reached out with passionate longing and deathless hope toward this great truth of a hereafter.” (Straton)

Those words are high sounding, hut to the one who requires proof they mean nothing.

These famous Doctors of Divinity express without an exception, their belief in the immortality of the human soul. They also assume to be representatives of God and Christ and therefor^ to believe God and Christ. Because of their assumption to be representatives of God many people look to them to give authoritative answer to the vital questions involving eternal life. If these distinguished gentlemen do believe in God and Christ Jesus then they should believe what God says in His Word.

It is a lamentable fact that out of all of the answers published as given by these distinguished clergymen not one proof is quoted from God or from Christ bearing upon the question at issue. If Jehovah is God, and if Christ Jesus His beloved Son is the Savior of man, then the Word of God must be true, and that Word must be authoritative. If a man assumes to represent God and Christ Jesus then surely he should believe the Word of God. Jesus said concerning God’s Word, the Bible: “Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17) If God’s Word deals with the question of immortality then that Word must be taken as conclusively answering the question.

Be it noted that each one who answers says: “I believe in immortality.” A conclusion based upon a wish to have a thing, and which conclusion is unsupported by any competent evidence, is not true belief or faith, but it is credulity. True belief and faith mean the same thing.

What Is Faith?

HERE can be no faith without knowledge, which knowledge must be based upon competent evidence. Faith must be founded upon evidence arising from a trustworthy source. One must have some knowledge and then confidently rely upon that knowledge in order to have faith. In the Scriptures faith is defined in these words: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) The English word “substance” here used is from two words, sub and stare fond literally means to stand under or support or understand; therefore faith may be defined as an understanding of things for which we hope, and the proof of things which we do not see.

A man has a desire to live for ever, and this desire results in a hope that he might attain unto everlasting life. He desires to understand all he can concerning the way that leads fib eternal life. He cannot see what the future holds for him. Is there any means by which he cafi obtain proof as to what the future holds ? If so, that proof of things unseen, and the understanding thereof, constitutes faith, within the definition given by the Bible. The proof is found in the Word of God; and that proof is true and „ correct, because it comes from a truthful source and is therefore reliable and trustworthy.

It is manifest that these distinguished clergymen are without faith in the Word of God. If they had faith or true belief then they would Cite to the people the Scriptural truths sustaining their points, if there should be any. If they assume a position which the Scriptures disprove, then of course they would not cite any scriptures in support of their contention. ‘ Probably that is the reason why they do not cite any in their answers to the foregoing questions.

When Jesus was on earth He said: “When -the Son qf man cometh [again], shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Surely that prophetic utterance of the Lord Jesus is being fulfilled now, in the answers given by the D. D.’s upon the question of immortality. All of them claim to be representatives of Christ; and yet not one of them exercises the slightest faith, because they do not know the Word of God.

Faith, How Acquired

AITH in the Word of God comes from learning what the Lord’s Word says and then confidently, relying upon that Word as true. The Scriptures, in Romans 10:14, read: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ?” This proves that there can be no real belief unless man first hears the Word of God and then relies upon it.

Then the Scriptures answer, in Romans 10: 17: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If a man has faith in the Word of God he,.will find the correct answer to this question of immortality. If he has not faith in the Word of God he will grope about in darkness and his conclusion win be based upon merely wish or opinion, even as these clergymen have stated.

God foreknew the conditions that would exist at this time, when so many supposedly wise men would express themselves in utter disregard of His Word, and therefore He caused His prophet to write: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11) Because the clergymen assume to represent the Lord, and then fail and refuse to believe that Word or teach it to the people, there is therefore a famine in the land for the hearing of the Word of God.

Upon the question of mortality or immortality ~ Ahe Word of God is plain, clear and conclusive. To the one who studies His Word and believes therein, there is not left even a shadow of a doubt as to whether or not man has an immortal soul. Briefly summed up from the Scriptures, man is a mortal soul. No man inherently possesses immortality. Originally only God possessed immortality. But He has promised immortality as a reward to some, and these are .. they who shall be faithful under the test.

Definitions

MORTALITY means, liable to die, or subject to death. If a creature can die or be put to death he is mortal. Immortality means incorruptibility, an unending existence, that which is not subject to death or destruction.

Who Is God?

THE Scriptures disclose that Jehovah God created man. You may ask, then, Who is ~ God? He is the great First Cause. His name is Jehovah, as it is written in Psalm 83:18: “Whose name alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth.” That name signifies, Self-existing and Eternal One. He is the Maker of heaven and earth. (Isaiah 42:5) Jehovah is not subject to death. His existence extends from „ everlasting to everlasting, as it is written in Psalm 90: 2: “Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

That is the proper definition of immortality, that which cannot be destroyed. Upon the point of who is immortal, it is expressly written concerning God, in 1 Timothy 6:16: “Who only hath immortality, dwelhng in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.”

What Is Man?

T ONG ago David, the prophet of Jehovah, propounded the question as to what is man, and gave the answer. In Psalm 8:4,5 it is written: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than, the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. . . . Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands.”

The statement here is that man is made lower than the angels. It is pertinent then to inquire, Are the angels immortal or are the angels subject to destruction? The angels were created pure and holy. Some of these angels became wicked at and before the time of the flood. It is written, in Mark 1: 24, that when Jesus was on earth some of these wicked angels, obsessing men, said to him: “Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”

In Psalm 145: 20 it is written: “All the wicked will he [God] destroy.” This includes the angels who became wicked. The chief amongst the angels who became wicked was Lucifer, whose name was changed to Satan the Devil. He is not immortal, because it is plainly stated in Hebrews 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

If man is made even lower than the angels then it would seem unreasonable that he would possess the quality-of indestructibility. To the Scriptures then we must go to see what man is, and how he was made. And in Genesis 2:7 it is written: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

There is nothing in this scripture that would warrant the conclusion that God gave man a soul, immortal or otherwise. On the contrary God made man to be a soul; that is to say, man, soul and being are synonymous terms. Nor is there any inference here that Jehovah made that soul immortal. The proof is exactly to the contrary.

God said to man that the garden of Eden was for his pleasure and comfort, that all the fruit

■frees therein would bear fruit for him, and that he could eat freely thereof; except certain trees designated, of which he should not eat the fruit. (Genesis 2:17) “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

“The Soul—It Shall Die”

AD man possessed immortality, then God surely would not have said to him: “Thou shalt surely die,” because an immortal creature cannot die. The clergy, who assume much wisdom and express little, would lead the people to believe that it is only the body that dies, but that the soul lives on for ever. But the Bible plainly says, in Ezekiel 18:4: “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” In corroboration of this the prophet of God writes: “What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?”—Psalm 89: 48.

Man did violate God’s law and God sentenced him to death therefor, and this sentence or judgment reads: (Genesis 3:19) “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Be it noted also that the scripture reads concerning Adam: “In the day that thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die.” It is stated in the Scriptures, in 2 Peter 3:8, that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. In Genesis 5:5 it is written that Adam lived 930 years and died.

After Adam was sentenced to death he begot his children. Because of Adam’s sin and Adam’s inheritance all have suffered as a result of Adam’s wrong doing, as it is written (Romans 5:12): “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Human experience has taught that when a man dies he is dead, and no one has returned from amongst fallen mankind and testified as to the condition after death. The Lord’s Word is plain as to what is the death condition, as it is written in Psalm 115:17: “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.”

If a man is an immortal soul, and his existence is uninterrupted but continues, then he would surely have knowledge after death. But on the contrary the Scriptures show that he does not have knowledge, as it is written: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. . . . 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, whither thou goest.”—Ecclesiastes 9: 5,10.

Was the Man Jesus Immortal?

IT MUST be conceded that if any man that ever walked the earth were immortal that man would be Jesus of Nazareth. He was a perfect man, holy, harmless and separate from sinners. Is there any question of a doubt as to whether He was mortal or immortal while on the earth? Keep in mind that immortality means that which is not subject to death. Jesus said concerning Himself: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” (John 5:26) Here is a plain statement that God had promised Jesus life in Himself, which is immortality. Surely God was not promising Him something which Jesus already possessed.

Did Jesus die? There cannot be the slightest doubt about the proper answer to this question. It is written in Romans 5:6: “Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:8) “Christ died for iis.” (Romans 8:34) “It is Christ that died.” (1 Corinthians 15:3) “Christ died for our sins.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14) “Jesus died and rose again.” (1 Peter 3:18) “Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (Hebrews 2:9) “Jesus Christ, ... by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

After Jesus had arisen from the dead He said: (Revelation 1:18) “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” Jesus was granted immortality at His resurrection, and He dies no more but lives for ever.

A Perished Race

ONE of the famous American clergymen in his answer makes the statement that the resurrection of Jesus is proof that all men are immortal. The Apostle Paul, the inspired witness of God, materially differs from this famous American clergyman. In his argument con-, cerning the resurrection St. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-18: “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say

some among you that there is no resui5*eetion of the dead?; •. . . For if the dead rise ndt, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not¹ raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."

To perish means to be completely and for ever destroyed. The resurrection of Jesus, therefore, instead of showing that all men are immortal proves exactly to the contrary. His —resurrection is a guarantee that in God’s due time He will awaken the dead and give them an opportunity for life; and, says the apostle, except for this resurrection all are perished.

In harmony with this it is written, in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Here the plain statement is that no man can get life eternal except that Christ Jesus had died and arose from the dead, and even then man must believe on Him. If he does not believe he shall perish. This again proves man to be __mortal. It is utterly impossible for that which is immortal to perish.

That those who die are not immortal, existing somewhere, is proven furthermore by the words of Jesus, when He says in John 5:28: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth.”

Immortality Must Be Sought For

\ MAN does not seek' for that which he al— xjt ready possesses. If then man is instructed to feNek immortality, eternal life, that of itself is proof that he does not possess it. It is written, in Romans 2:7: “Seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.” Nor does a man put on that which he already has on. It is written, in 1 Corinthians 15:53, 54: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mor-~ tai must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then * shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

These words of the Apostle Paul are not addressed to all mankind, but the context plainly shows that they are addressed to those and those only who consecrate themselves to God and become the followers of Christ Jesus. These are begotten to an inheritance in heaven which 4s incorruptible, as it is stated in 1 Peter 1:3, -4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in ' heaven for you.”

In order to receive that gracious gift the promise is made to the Christ: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) The crown of life is immortality, eternal life, an endless, incorrup- -tible existence, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power -of God through faith. But these gracious promises are not given to those who do not believe. A man cannot rest his case upon his own theory and conjecture. No matter how much he says that he believes that all men are immortal, that does not prove it so. But the Scriptures plainly state that this is the method of the outworking of God’s plan for man, to wit:

Man was created a mortal creature, subject to death. He was told that by violating God’s law he would suffer death. Man did violate God’s will and was sentenced to death. After he was sentenced to death the first man begot his. children. These children, being begotten by a sinful and therefore an imperfect father, were born in sin and shapen in iniquity. (Psalm 51:5) By inheritance they are sinners, and from then till now men have died because they came under the condemnation resulting from Adam’s sin.

Then Christ Jesus came to earth and died as the great ransom price for man, to the end that all who believe upon Him may not perish but have everlasting life. It follows then that those who do not believe upon Him do not even have an opportunity to gain eternal life or immortality. Those who do believe, and who manifest that belief by a consecration to do the will of God, and who then patiently continue in welldoing to the end, are promised as a reward the crown of life, which is immortality. For this reason as it is written in the scripture above quoted, “This mortal must put on immortality.” /

It is so manifest from these scriptures that man is not immortal that there cannot be the slightest doubt about it. It is only “the body of Christ” that will ever have the opportunity of

gaining immortality, and the body of Christ means the true and faithful Christians. Jesus stated, in Luke 12:32, that there will be but a “little flock” of this number.

Why Is the Bible Ignored?

YOU may ask then, Why do so many distinguished Americans, including clergymen, ignore these scriptures and advance their own theories with reference to the mortality or immortality of man? That question finds an answer in the Scriptures. From the time of the expulsion of Adam from Eden till now Satan the Devil has ruled in the minds and hearts of the children of disobedience. For many long centuries he has been the invisible ruler of the world. He was designated by the Lord Jesus as “the prince of this world”. The Apostle Paul writes of him that he is “the god of this world”.

The policy of Satan the Devil ever has been to turn the minds of the people away from Jehovah and His Word, and thereby to blind men , from the truth. Upon this point it is written: “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”— 2 Corinthians 4:3,4.

It is manifest therefore that Satan the enemy has blinded these worldly-wise men to God’s Word. He has blinded them by inducing them to become wise in their own conceits. They advance their own wisdom and not the wisdom of the Lord. We are living in that day in which the wisdom of these famous worldly-wise men is being destroyed and brought to nothing.

To such men the preaching of the cross of Christ Jesus is foolishness. They do not preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified as the only means to obtain eternal life. They do not tell the people that man is a sinner by inheritance and that his only hope of life is by faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus; that man is a mortal creature subject to death; that he will die; that he does die; and that God has provided through Christ Jesus for the salvation of all. Hpw appropriate then to such a condition are the words written centuries ago, to wit: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness ; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the dis-puter of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness ofi . preaching to save them that believe.”—1 Cor- ' inthians 1:18-21.

It is so manifest from the published answers that the clergy have gotten away from the Bible that no longer can the people rely upon them as teachers of the Word of God. The Word of God is made plain to those who diligently seek-., to know it, and one does not have to be a clergyman or even a famous American to understand.

What Say the Scriptures?

OUMMING up the matter then from the above scriptures, this conclusion must be reached as indisputably true: (1) that Jehovah God is the Eternal One, and He only possessed immorality originally; (2) that because of the full obedience of Jesus to the will of God in dying and providing the ransom price for man, God raised Him out of death and rewarded Him with immortality, and He lives for evermore;

(3) that from Pentecost until the setting up of the Lord’s kingdom God is selecting from amongst men His church, which is the body of Christ, and to which God will give immortality. Many are called to .this high position and few are chosen. Not every one that says, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the kingdom.            _

Not many who claim to be preachers can be of that class, because of their lack of faith and obedience; none can be of that class unless they believe on the Lord and are faithful to Him. The faithful ones are promised a part in the first resurrection, and they will be granted the great reward of immortality. Over them death shall have no power. Concerning these faithful ones it is plainly written, in Revelation 20:6: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no po^er, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand ’ years.”

It is manifest then from these scriptures that immortality will never be possessed by all the human race, but only by a small number. Billions have died in the past six thousand years; families have been torn asunder by death; millions of people are yet on the earth who are in a dying condition; and the question necessarily arises in the minds of those living: When we die where do we go, and where are those who have died? The above scriptures show that man is mortal; that when he dies he could not go anywhere but is put into the grave, as it is written in Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand find-eth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

What Is Beyond?          .

INCE it appears from the Scriptures that only a small number will ever be rewarded with immortality in heaven, and since the facts show that billions of others have died and gone into the grave, and that there are many others in a dying condition, the further question arises, What is there beyond the grave for the mass of humankind? This question can find a correct answer only in the Scriptures.

In my next lecture I shall hope to present the Scriptural proof to you, showing what is beyond the grave for the millions who have died and the many other millions who are now living.

Palestine the Archaeologist’s New Paradise By Wm. F. Budging $

IT IS not without significance that archaeologists, beginning in 1925-26, shifted their attention from Egypt and Eastern Assyria to the land of Palestine as their principal field of activity. Singularly enough, conditions which have lately arisen in both Assyria and Egypt, particularly the latter, have made it difficult for archaeologists to pursue their excavation programs there uninterrupted; and they have literally been driven out to find other fields in which to operate.

Sir Flinders Petrie, the aged British explorer, who has worked for many decades in Egypt, and has contributed so much to our knowledge of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh and of the ancient Egyptian civilization back to the days of Joseph and his brethren, has found the new regulations there so unfavorable to the excavator that he, too, has turned his back upon that land and is now conducting an archaeological expedition in the extreme south of Palestine.

Thus it has come about that the archaeologist’s paradise has recently shifted from Egypt to the Holy Land. And this is as it should be. What land could yield more valuable information to investigators than that strip of territory at the eastward end of the Mediterranean which has been made sacred by Biblical record from the days of Abraham, two thousand years before the beginning of the Christian era? It is in Palestine that full confirmation of the Holy Scriptures is to be found through archjeological research.

No doubt an overruling providence has been instrumental in diverting scientific attention, therefrom until recently, even as it is now directing attention thereto. It was a part of the divine program that this generation should be permitted to manifest its utter faithlessness in His Word of Truth, and that "strong delusions" should come in and deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. Had archaeological interest, therefore, been centered upon Palestine many years ago, and had extensive excavations been made there during the past two or three decades, such as are being undertaken there today, the Biblical record might have been so thoroughly confirmed before the “due time” that the divine purpose for the crucial testing of Christian faith in these last days would have been thwarted.

But now that we have reached the extreme end of the “age of faith”, and the golden age of Messiah’s kingdom is being ushered in, it is altogether appropriate that the veil should now be lifted, that man may look backward through the mists of antiquity and behold the tangible evidence, such as cannot be controverted, that the Bible story is true and that Christendom’s faithlessness therein is the product of human pride and arrogance, and that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”.

Seven Nations Send Expeditions

T THE present moment there are no less than twelve archaeological expeditions actively engaged in excavation work in the land of Palestine. Four of these are financed from America, three from Great Britain, one from Germany, and the remaining four from four other countries. Thus altogether there are seven nations now engaged in this research work in the Holy Land. The International Archaeological Congress was, in fact, held there in 1926. While the work of these exploring expeditions is orily now getting well under way, nevertheless some of them have already made important discoveries confirmatory of certain Old Testament narratives.

One of the best equipped of the American expeditions now excavating in Palestine is that being conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, under the direction of Prof. A. Rowe. They are now working at Beisan (probably the ancient city of Beth-dagon mentioned in Joshua 15:41). They have already uncovered the Philistine temple of Dagon there, where the Philistines put the head of King Saul when he died (1 Chronicles 10:10), and have also discovered the temple of the Syrian goddess Astarte nearby. This vicinity has associations with the lives of Saul, David, Jonathan and Ahab, to mention only a few Biblical characters. Almost every stone in this locality has some Biblical relationship.

Another American expedition, directed by Prof. Fisher of the University of Chicago, is now excavating at Megiddo, or Armageddon. Much is expected there, and the work is well financed. It is said that Prof. Fisher has been given an allowance of $50,000 a year, for a period of five years, with which to pursue his researches at Armageddon. One of the first things he found on that ancient battlefield was a tablet' containing Egyptian hieroglyphics which, when translated, proved to belong to the Egyptian King Shishak, who the Bible tells us did invade Palestine in the days of King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.—2 Chronicles 12:1-9.

The American School of Archaeology is now established in Jerusalem; and its pupils, under the direction of Dr. W. F. Albright, are excavating at Tel-el-Mirsim, just south of Hebron. This is believed to be the ancient site of Kirjath Sepher, mentioned in Joshua 15:15 and should yield much valuable information; for the name Kirjath Sepher means “Town of Archives”, and was probably a place where valuable records were stored. They have found records there already which indicate that the town itself was destroyed four times by fire. It appears that one of these fires was the act of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, about 606 B. C.

The University of California is financing a party of excavators at Tel-en-Nesbeh, which is believed to be the site of ancient Mizpah, mentioned in the Old Testament. This expedition is under the direction of Dr. W. F. Bade. Ha has uncovered a portion of the 16-foot wall, which was guarded by immensely massive towers. It is possible that this fortification was built prior to the Jewish occupation of Canaan. A tomb, believed to be over 4000 years old, has been discovered there, and more than a hundred ancient skeletons have been unearthed.

Tell-Tale “Teis"

THE three British expeditions are (1) that of

Sir Flinders Petrie, in the extreme southern portion of Palestine; (2) that of the British school of Archaeology, which is excavating at Tantura, the site of ancient Dan; and (3) that of the Palestine Exploration Fund, directed by Dr. E. W. G. Masterman, who has been working in Jerusalem, Askalon and Tel-el-Hesy, otherwise called Tel Sanda-hannah. A tel means a hill site upon which a city has been built, and when the tels are dug into they do tell many interesting things.                       •

Professor Sellin, of Berlin, is directing a party of excavators at Tel Balata, near Nablus, on what is believed to be the site of the ancient city of Shechem, thirty-two miles north of Jerusalem. It was there that Abraham, on his first migration to the land of promise, pitched his tent and built an altar under an oak. It was there, also, that Jacob pitched his tent, and bought a field which he subsequently bequeathed as a special patrimony to his son Joseph.

It is also probable that Shechem is one and the same as the Sychar of John 4:5, where the Savior conversed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The research work there has not progressed very far as yet, although Prof. Sellin has already revealed a considerable amount of the city wall, and the west and east gates. Shechem, at the division of Canaan amongst the Israelites, fell by lot to the tribe of Ephraim, but was assigned to the Levites and was made a city of refuge.—Joshua 20:7; 21:20,21.

What Is ’Beyond the Crave?

[Radiocast from StatiQB WBBR on a wave length of 416.4 meters by Judge Rutherford.]

?' rpHIS question has claimed the attention df ’all peoples. There is no adult person on earth 4- today but that has had some sad experience v with death and the grave. Some immediate -■ member of his family or relative or friend has been stricken in death. He has asked and still enquires: "What is beyond the grave, and shall see my loved one again?”

The word grave means sepulchre or place of burial. It also means the condition of death or f destruction or devastation. The word is derived . from the same root which is translated hell in ^v our modern English. Several hundred years ago heH in the English language meant a dark place, '''"■'•’-like a grave or tomb. Since then ecclesiastics have tried to make it mean a place of conscious torment. But the Scriptures do not warrant , that conclusion.

' It is manifest that there could be no graves were it not for death. Everybody knows from observation and experience that death is a great __.enemy of the human race. The very opposite of | de'ath is life. Every sane person desires to live.

Because death robs man of his greatest treasure it is his great enemy. Every man born of a " woman is of “few days and full of sorrow”.

Since man is not responsible for his own birth why should he be a victim of a relentless enemy called death, and why should he go down in * sorrow to the grave? The reason for death and the grave must be understood before we can find an answer to the question, What is beyond the grave? There is but one source of knowledge from which we can ascertain the truth, and that , is the Word of God. No man has gone into the grave and returned to tell the story. The Word of God however is plain and explicit, and is given for the instruction of man that he might know the right way.

s It is worse than useless to philosophize and ’ express opinions. This question is fraught with too much importance to rest upon conjecture. When we have the sure Word of God told in such plain language that any one can under-t ♦ stand, why should we turn to any other source ' ’ for an answer to this question? In the language t^! of the Prophet Isaiah, Let us go to God’s Word, '    and if the answers given are not in harmony with

" His Word they are not true. What then does

His Word disclose?

Creation                                         .

JEHOVAH God is the Creator of heaven and' earth. The earth is Jehovah’s and the fulness thereof. He made man to have dominion over the earth. All the works of Jehovah aro perfect. (Deuteronomy 32: 4) He made the first man perfect and called him Adam. He did not

petuated his lie that there is no death. It is the Devil that has instilled in the minds of men that all men are inherently immortal. The Devil has great influence over the minds of men. God has promised to protect from the Devil’s influence only those who fully trust in Jehovah and obey Him. Every one who desires to be influenced by Satan God will permit to take his own course.

Satan tempts men to believe that they are wise. A man has graduated from a theological school. He is a learned man in the eyes of the world. There is a selfish desire on his part to shine before men as more than ordinary, an unusual creature. He becomes an easy victim for the Devil, and the Devil therefore induces him to put forth his own wisdom and to ignore the wisdom that comes from Jehovah.

Satan knows that the greatest desire of man is to live, and therefore he induces these wise men to say: “I believe in immortality and that there is no death.” By this means he gets the wise men as his instruments, and he blinds the people through their instrumentality. The poor people, having a keen desire to know what is ..beyond the grave, go to a clergyman or learned ' theological professor and propound the question. He looks wise and expresses his opinion, but gives no evidence upon which to base it.

One further presses the question and hands to the learned man the Scriptures, and says: “Explain this, what does it mean?” And the clergyman responds: “That is a sealed book; no one can understand it except the learned. It would be useless for me to tell you what that means. Have faith in what I say and you will be all right.” God foreknew this condition long centuries ago, and caused His prophet to write it down; and now we have come to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Note the words recorded in Isaiah 29:11-18; and see how wonderfully they fit the present conditions:

“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord - said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by fKe precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ‘ “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us ? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He ' made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.”

Now note that the apostle, in 2 Cor. 4:3,4, states that the good news of God’s plan for the blessing of the people is hid from the mass of mankind because Satan the Devil blinds them; and one of the most effective ways of blinding them has been to perpetuate his inherent immortality lie that there is no death.

The Judgment

OD sentenced man to death, and the words of the judgment relative thereto are: “In the sweat of thy face shaft thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19) Adam died within the thousand-year day, to wit, at the end -of 930 years. He died because of his sin. From that day until now men have gone into death, because they were born sinners. All who have died have gone into the grave, which is sheol or helL Here again Satan has induced the clergy to mislead the people. Based upon their false theory of inherent immortality of all souls, they have reasoned: “An immortal good soul must go to eternal bliss; and an immortal bad soul must go to a place of torment; therefore hell is a place of eternal torture.” Were it not for the doctrine of the inherent immortality of th© soul there would not be a thing upon which to base the doctrine of eternal torment. The two • false doctrines prop up each other, and when one falls they both fall.

It is written concerning Job that he was upright before God. He was a good man. According *to the clergy’s theory, when he died he would go straight to heaven—because his supposedly immortal soul must surely be in bliss. But the Scriptures show exactly to the contrary. It is written: “0 that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me1” “If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.”—Job 14:13; 17:13.

When Jesus was on this earth He said that no man had ascended into heaven. At that time men had been dying and going into the tomb for four thousand years. (John 3:13) If any had been immortal they would surely have been in heaven. The Apostle Paul mentions a long list of faithful men, from Abel to John the Baptist, and states that these did not go to heaven. Where have all of them gone who have died? The Scriptures answer: They have gone into the grave, into the tomb or condition of - death. There they “know not anything” until God’s due time to awaken them out of death.

The following texts are pertinent upon this point: “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor visdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”—Eccl. 5:9,10.

“For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” —Psalm 6:5.

“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.”—Psalm 49:15.

“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.”—Psalm 115:17.

“In that very day [of death] his thoughts perish.”—Psalm 146:4.

Surely the Word of the Lord ought to be sufficient for us to determine as to whether or not a man is alive or dead in the tomb. Upon this point it is written, in Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20: “For that which befalleth the sons of men be-falleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they * have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and aU turn to dust again.” Note also the words of the Lord, recorded in 1 Samuel 2:6: “The Lord, killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down io the grave, and bringeth up.”

Promised Redemption

THE above texts indicate that there must be -*■ some hope for the future. The texts cited show beyond a question of a doubt that the dead go into the grave and go out of existence. They would for ever remain in that condition of destruction unless God in His loving kindness makes some provision for their redemption and lifting up again. God made promise that He would do that, when He said in Hosea 13:14: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.”

It is manifest from these words then that the grave means the condition of death, and that the promise is that God in His own due time and way will redeem man from the grave and from death, and destroy death and lift man up. So surely as Jehovah God has made this promise, just that surely it will be carried out; because He says, in Isaiah 55:11: “So .shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” "I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”—Isaiah 46:11.

Provision for Life

A TEXT of the Bible familiar to all who know anything of the Bible, is John 3:16, which reads: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be-lieveth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This text standing alone is conclusive proof that man is not immortal and that those who are in the grave are not alive. The statement is there made that whosoever be-lieveth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It follows then that those who do not believe must perish for ever and not have everlasting life.

In John 10:10 the words of Jesus are written : “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This is another proof text that the human race does not possess inherent life.

The question should be asked: If man is an immortal soul then what was the purpose of God in sending His Son to earth? If man were going to live anyhow then there could have been no good purpose in Jesus’ death. God does not do anything for an idle or useless purpose. Why then did Jesus come to earth? And why did He die and arise from the dead? God has a great plan of redemption and salvation for the human race. Briefly stated, that plan as revealed in the Scriptures is this:

_t The perfect man Adam violated God’s law and was sentenced to death. All of his offspring, which means all the human family, were therefore born in sin and shapen in iniquity; because Adam,, as a condemned man, could not produce perfect children. To this effect it is written, in Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen-in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”—Romans 5:12.

God’s law provided that mankind be redeemed by another perfect human life being substituted in the place of that which Adam had forfeited. A ransom means an exact corresponding price, a life for a life. God had promised to ransom man from the grave and redeem him from death. It is written, in Psalm 49:7, that no man could give to God a ransom because all were descendants from the imperfect and sinful Adam.

Therefore God sent His beloved Son to the earth, and He was made flesh and dwelt amongst men. He grew to manhood’s estate; and when He was thirty years of age, perfect under the law and perfect in His organism, He exactly corresponded to the perfect man Adam in Eden prior to the violation of God’s law. Hear Jesus’ own words as to why He had come: “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:28.

In order to give Himself a ransom or corresponding price for man for his redemption Jesus must die. In Phil. 2:8 it is written: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus by His death provided the ransom price; that is to say, a perfect human life for a perfect human life, whereby Adam and his race can be redeemed from death and the grave.

God raised Jesus out of death as a divine being and exalted Him unto heaven, and gave Him the keys to death and hell; that is to say, to death and the grave. Jesus said, in Revelation 1:18: “I am he that live th, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and, have the keys of hell and of death.” That means, of course, that He now has the power and authority to provide the way to life which the human race so much desires. It is written, (Acts 4:12): “For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we, must be saved,” except the name of Jesus.

It would have been a useless waste of a perfect life for God to send His beloved Son to earth to die and then to raise Him out of death, if the human race already had life. This is so plain that a wayfaring man, even though he be a clergyman, ought to understand it. The. reason that it is stated in the Scriptures that God gave His Son that the people might have life and not perish is that they did not have life, and would continue to perish unless something was done; and what God did was to provide a way to life.

Of course, the Devil wants to keep the people in ignorance of this great truth which is the basis for life and the only way that leads to life; and therefore he keeps to the fore the famous men, so-called who express their opinions that man is immortal and that there is no death. By this means the minds of the people are turned away from the truth.

In Due Time

OU may ask then, Why has God not prevented the Devil from keeping the people in ignorance? The answer is that from Pentecost until Christ’s kingdom God has had the gospel of His plan preached by a few faithful men in order that some might voluntarily follow in the footsteps of Jesus and participate with Him in His kingdom.

It is written in 1 Timothy 2:3-6: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for aU, to be testified in due time.”

During the period of time from Pentecost Bntil the kingdom comes is God’s “due time” to j^ve this testimony of truth to those who desire froluntarily to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. [When the kingdom is established at the second coming of Christ then all shall be brought to an accurate knowledge of the truth. That is God’s due time for them. Now Christ has come, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and for this reason the truth is beginning to spread throughout the earth. This is the reason why God has brought into use the radio at this time, that the truth may be proclaimed to the people and that they may begin to know what is the way that leads to life.

There is no disposition on my part to hold up the clergy to caustic criticism. That would not be the spirit of the Lord. The only purpose is to point out the errors that they have been following, in order that I may aid the people to see what is God’s great plan for leading the people to life and back to Him.

Resurrection

THE resurrection of Christ Jesus is a guarantee that in God’s own due time all the dead shall be awakened out of death and be given a full opportunity to come to a knowledge of the truth. Then it will come to pass that those who believe the Lord and obey Him shall live and shall not die. Then will be the fulfilment of the words of Jesus, when He said: “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:26); and again in John 8:51: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” These scriptures are not yet fulfilled, but they are certain to be fulfilled in the near future.

Lazarus died and was in the tomb for four days. Jesus called him forth from the tomb, as it is written in the eleventh chapter of John. He did not call him from eternal torture, nor from heaven; but the scripture reads that the tomb was opened and Jesus called with a loud voice: TLazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes.” Then Jesus said, “Loose him, and let him go.”—John 11:43,44.

That was an illustration of how the Lord in His own-due time will awaken all the dead out of the sleep of death. Jesus said, in John 5: 28,29: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is com

ing, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection by judgment.”                           -

It is manifest from this text that there are two classes that will be awakened out of death. The good are those who have voluntarily followed Christ Jesus as faithful Christians unto death; and these participate in the first resurrection and are granted immortality, as the Scriptures show.—Revelation 2:10; 20:6; 1 Corinthians 15:54.

Since there is but a small number who will attain to this exalted place of the divine nature or immortality, what is there beyond the grave for the millions that have died without a knowledge of Christ ? In Acts 17:31 it is written: “He [God] hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Thus in God’s due time all shall be awakened out of death, both the just and the unjust.—Acts 24:15.

Asleep in Jesus

EATH is spoken of in the Scriptures as sleep. Christ Jesus, having provided the purchase price for all men, the human race belongs to Him; and therefore all mankind are figuratively said to sleep in Jesus. That is a consolation. The Lord desires to comfort those who mourn, and this comfort can only be given to them by the truth. The clergy claim that the belief in inherent immortality is a consolation to the sorrowful. I deny that proposition.

The Scriptures plainly state that true comfort must come from the right source, from the Lord God. It is written, in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13,14,18: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. . . . Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.”

God intends for the people to receive comfort in the fact that their beloved dead have gone into the grave. They are in a condition of silence, nonentity; and in the day of the resurrection^ which is at the setting up of Christ’s kingdom, all the dead shall be awakened and all shall eoine forth from the grave and have a full and fair opportunity to learn the truth and be obedient to the Lord; and those who are thus obedient shall live and shall not die. They shall be restored to a perfect condition of body and mind and dwell on the earth for ever.

There is no doctrine in the Bible more beautifully set forth than that of the resurrection of the dead. Resurrection means restanding to life. Every clergyman knows the meaning of this word, or should know it. The doctrine of inherent immortality of all souls is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the resurrection. If a man is immortal he cannot die. If he cannot die then he must be alive somewhere. If alive somewhere, either in heaven or hell, he cannot be resurrected.

Discussing the resurrection of the dead, it is written in 1 Corinthians 15:20: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.” At that time men were dying, and had been for four thousand years, and going into the grave. Jesus died, and on the third day was raised out of death; and the statement here is that He was the first one ever resurrected. It follows then that all the others were dead and must remain dead until God’s due time to awaken them out of death.

Death to Be Destroyed

ONTINUING, the foregoing scripture (1 Corinthians 15:21-26) says: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, evert so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up. the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The . last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

Be it noted that it is here stated that death is the great enemy, and that the Lord will destroy this enemy. How will the Lord destroy the enemy death? Remember that God promised, through the Prophet Hosea, to accomplish,this very thing; and He will accomplish it through Christ Jesus, by raising up the dead out of the graves and by restoring them to perfect humanity—those who are obedient to the Lord. Be it noted that it is written in Revelation 20:13,14: “And the sea gave up the dead which were 14 it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Here is a statement that death, which is the enemy preying upon the human race, and hell, the grave, the tomb, shall be destroyed, and all that is therein, and avery man shall be judged'according to what he does; and then death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is a symbol -of destruction. Those who are obedient shall be restored, those who are disobedient shall suffer destruction; as it is written in Acts 3:23: “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”

Man’s Home

WHAT then is in store for the teeming millions of people? What hope is there beyond the grave? The Scriptures record, in Isaiah 45:12,18, that God formed the earth to be inhabited by man, and that He made it not in vain. Restored man therefore shall have his eternal home on earth.

Will those who are living now, and who have lost their loved ones in death, see and know them hereafter? I answer, Yes. There is a happy time coming, when the dead shall return from “the land of the enemy”. Then loved ones, restored to each other, will know one another.

A picture is given of this by the prophet. A! woman is represented weeping for her children because they had died and gone into the tomb, and the Lord gives comfort in the assurance that these beloved ones shall return from til® land of the enemy, the condition of death. So it is written, in Jeremiah 31:15-17: “Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping' for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping; and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall com® again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”

That will be a happy time for those who have been separated by death. The death and resurrection of Christ Jesus provided the ransom price for all mankind, and it is written: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10) How will the ransomed of the Lord return and come unto God ? They will be awakened out of death and given the truth, and the way will be made so plain for them that they cannot err in it. During that time Satan ' will he restrained, as set forth in Rev. 20:1-3.

It is also written: “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it;, but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, ' though fools, shall not err therein.”—Isa. 35: 8.

I imagine that many will ask: Why do not the clergymen and other famous Americans, so-called, tell the people of these wonderful truths contained in the Bible? The reason is, If they told these truths they would not be able to advance their own theories; and the reason they advance their theories is because they have become wise in their own conceits and are blinded by the subtle influence of the adversary.

If the clergy and famous Americans will not tell, the people the truth, then let the people themselves go to their Bibles, and to such helps as the Lord has provided, and learn what the Bible teaches; and receive comfort and consolation therefrom. The only reason that the Bible -Students are trying to broadcast the truth is to help the people understand. There is no desire and no disposition to get members. We are only wishing to help mankind to have a reason for a hope.

Call to mind that when Jesus was on this earth He said, in John 17: 3: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Why not take the words of the Master and not the sophistries of some so-called wise men and famous Americans? Jesus spoke as never man spake, and He spoke the truth. Everyone who ' wants to live should want to know the truth. The truth is found only in the Word of God.

Briefly summing up, then, there is hope beyond the grave for the millions who have gone into the condition of death. The hope for your loved ones who have died outside of Christ is that they shall be returned to earth, given a full knowledge of the truth, and, rendering full obedience unto the righteous laws of Christ’s kingdom, they shall be restored to a condition of perfect manhood and womanhood and dwell together for ever on the earth in peace and joy.

These great truths are now due to be understood for the reason that we have reached the end of the world; Christ’s kingdom is here; and now the people must know that Jehovah is the only true God, that Christ the beloved Son is King, whom God has placed upon the throne; and let all the people who would desire the truth busy themselves in finding out the great truths contained in the Scriptures, which point the way to life and endless happiness.

Cardinal Will Try to Stop Crime

A HE A DUNE tells us that Cardinal Hayes is out to begin a campaign against crime.

It is a good idea. Let us make a suggestion. The right place to start is with the hell question. The cardinal and everybody else knows that the idea that a God of infinite wisdom and infinite love would torture almost everybody to all eternity for something that somebody else did six thousand years ago is a lie. Let the cardinal pitch the hell-fire idea overboard and the people will be ready to listen to him and to act on his ad

vice; but as long as the moss-covered creeds make God out to be a ten times bigger devil than the Devil himself, it is impossible for the churches that hold to those creeds to get very far in affecting the crime situation. Almost all criminals are professed believers in the idea of eternal torture. They seem to think that God is a criminal and therefore that there is no reason why they should not be. The way to stop crime is for the theologians, first of all, to tell the people the truth.                                    /

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Ossemrtore Romano Tells the Truth

rPHE Osservatore Romano, supposed organ of the Vatican, has just said that besides universal disarmament the spiritual education of the peoples of the world is necessary before there can be universal peace. Tlae*&sservatore has told the truth. But such education can come only from the Lord. It can never come from the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic or Protestant churches, which, for one reason or another and in one form or another, have blessed, prayed for, and participated in every war that has been fought since the Roman Catholic church was founded, three hundred years after the death of Christ. Good for the Osservatore Romano.

The First Skyscraper Ever Built

[A juvenile Bible story radiocast from Station WORD on a wave length of 275 meters by C. D. Nicholson.]

IN OUR lessons up to this time we have briefly traced the human family from its beginning in the garden of Eden, when God made Adam and Eve and then because of their sin banished them to a wild country to till the ground, where they built homes, raised families and so on, down to the.time of the flood—a period of 1656 years. In our last lesson we learned how God destroyed all of the wicked people at that time, but noted His particular care for the one righteous man Noah, and his family, as well as a few of every kind of bird, fowl and animal. Noah brought these safely through the flood, and with them started a new world or order of things.

Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with their wives, were the persons God used for populating the new world. Each of these three men raised large families of boys and girls, and within a few years there were many people again living on the earth. They did not have a garden of Eden in which to start out, but they did have a clean, new earth in which to raise their grain, flowers, herds and families.

For a long time after the flood it seems that most of the people lived in tents, but in course of time they began to build little villages which later became cities. I imagine that they had quite a different problem from the architects and engineers of our day in planning a skyscraper, because they had no modern machinery. All the work had to be done by hand power. By some it is thought that this first skyscraper was circular in form, with a system of stairs winding around and around the structure clear to the top.                                   '

Where Languages Began

P TO this time all the people in the world spoke one language. About the time this big skyscraper, which the Bible calls a tower, was nearing completion, something very unusual happened. The Lord had not been consulted regarding the matter. He therefore decided that this was the opportune time for teaching the people a much-needed lesson. In order to teach this important lesson, He confused their language so that the workmen could not talk one to another, neither could they understand one another. Can you imagine the confusion and anger of all those workmen trying to make themselves understood?

The final result was that the people were scattered or driven all over the earth because they could not understand one another, and each family had to look after its own affairs. Up to this time this giant skyscraper or tower had been known as the Tower of Babel, or Babylon, because it was built in the state or province of Babel. From that time on, it was called confusion, and ever since then people have thought of the name Babylon as meaning confusion.

There is good evidence that the time will come when all the people of the entire earth will again speak one language. It was the Lord who confused the language of manf and it will be the Lord who will turn or give to the people a universal language; and with it He will also give a knowledge of Himself. The Bible says, 'The knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. . . . For all shall know the Lord, from the least unto the greatest,’ after the pure language has been' given to the people.

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■ ^Tdttle Studies for Little People

'                                    Study Fourteen

• 88. Then there are the wicked teachers, who want power over the people, to get their money. These wicked teachers are worse than robbers; for they tell lies about the great, kind heavenly Father, in order that they may get money from people. Here is what the wicked teachers tell folks:

• 89. They say that when a good man dies, his “soul” flies out of him, goes to heaven, and stays Up there for ever; but that when a bad man dies, his soul goes to hell and is roasted and tortured with horrible pains and aches for ever.

• 90. God is love. Would a loving, kind Creator torment His creatures in this way? Of course not. Ther ‘J is such a place as hell, but it is simply the hole which men dig in the ground to bury dead people in. Hell is the grave. The Bible says so.

• 91. The man is the soul, not the man has a soul. The Bible says that, too. So we see that when the wicked teachers say that the soul of man is tormented in hell, they are telling a terrible lie about Jehovah God Himself; for God does not torment anyone.

• 92. These wicked teachers have kept people scared to death for hundreds of years. They tell them that by paying money they can escape the “pains of hell”. This is another big lie. There are no pains in hell, or the grave. “The dead know not anything.” So, you see, these wicked men are getting money from the people for nothing. In other words, they are robbing people.

• 93. In fact they are robbing them in two ways. They rob the people of money, and they rob them of love for God. Their lies make the people hate God, and feel afraid of Him. We know that we should love God, not feel afraid of Him. When other things make us afraid, we turn to God for protection; for He is able to keep us from every harm. '

• 94. It is easy for us to see where the big lies which the wicked teachers tell, were made up. They came—why, of course! that’s it! They came from the Devil, whom God has called the father of lies!

The Only Good Man in the World

• 95. The children of Adam and Eve soon became the parents of many more children, so that in time there were many people on the earth. Sisteen hundred years after Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden, things became very bad in the world.

• 96. The people had been listening more and more to the Devil’s big lies, until they got so wicked that the Lord decided to destroy them. They were very bad indeed—much worse than most of the wicked people on the earth today.

• 97. There were thousands and thousands of these wicked people. In all their numbers there was just one man and his family who loved God and served Him. This man’s name was Noah, and his family was the only family in the world at that time.

Questions on Study Fourteen

• 88. Why do some wicked teachers tell lies of this kind? What are the two things they are after? Why are they worse than other robbers?

• 89. What do they say happens to a bad man when he dies ? What good would be accomplished by roasting and torturing anybody for ever ?

• 90. Would you be willing to burn anybody for ever? Would God do anything you would not be willing to do? Is there a hell? What is the Bible hell?

• 91. Does man have a soul or is he a soul? When teachers say that the soul of man is tormented in hell whose good name are they maligning?

• 92. Were you ever burned? If somebody would tell you that you were going to be burned for ever would it scare you? Would it be right to burn anyone for ever?

• 93. In what two ways do wicked teachers rob the people? Is it right to make people hate God? When afraid, to whom do we turn for protection?

• 94. Where did all these big lies that the wicked teachers tell really come from? Who is the biggest of all liars and the father of all lies?

• 95. What was the condition of the world of mankind sixteen hundred years after Adam and Eve had been driven out of the garden of Eden?

• 96. What was one of the principal reasons why the people were so very wicked at that time? What did the Lord decide to do with them?

• 97. Who was the best man living in the world at that time? Did God’s love for him take in his family also? Is God interested in families ?

  
  
  

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STUDIES IN THE “HARP OF GOD’ ( ¹book^RD*³ )

|TT~|| With issue Number 60 we began running Judge Rutherford’s new book, “The [TT"|| tJsg Harp of God”, with accompanying questions, for use in individual or corn

gregational Bible Study.

| ⁶²¹ Finally, at the end of the Millennial reign | of the Messianic kingdom, all the obedient ones I of the human race will have been restored to I perfect conditions. The Harp of God, the great | doctrinal truths, will be magnified in the hearts I of all the people. But even now the fully con-I secrated Christian is pictured as standing above i the kingdoms of this world, having the Harp of God, and singing the song of Mdses and the ? Lamb, saying: “Great and marvellous are thy ; works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Mjhy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not

ear thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy namef And with the close of the thousand years “all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy ■ judgments are made manifest”. (Revelation 15: 3, 4) These are looking to the finished work of Christ.

⁶²² By faith looking up through the corridor of the Millennial age now opening, we see standing at the further end thereof a perfect race of human beings. Every vestige of wickedness, selfishness, and wrong has been eliminated. During the thousand-year reign of Christ that old Serpent, the Devil and Satan, has been restrained, that he might not deceive the nations and peoples during the Messianic reign. (Revelation 20:1-3) Being released for a little season at the end of that period, he has put forth his efforts again to deceive; but now these have ended and Satan is destroyed, because God has decreed* it thus. (Revelation 20:7-10; Hebrews 2:14) Abraham, the father of the faithful, and his colleagues of like faithfulness who have, under the supervision of the Christ, directed the people through their Millennial trial, have . finished their earthly career and have been raised to a higher plane ‘as spirit beings. Having during that reign turned many to righteousness, they shine forth as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3) The earth has been brought to a condition of Edenic Paradise. In it there are no weeds, thistles, or wicked thorns. It is a fit habitation for perfect man, pleasing to the eye. All men and women have been perfected in organism, mind, and character; and gracious words are upon their lips. Each one, granted a perfect voice, possesses the ability to sing perfectly; and a song of joy is upon all bps. All the creation of earth is now subjected to man; and the chief joy of every one is and will be to contribute to the happiness of his fellow men and to glorify God and Christ.

QUESTIONS ON “THE HARP OF GOD”

What will be the condition of the obedient ones at the end of the Millennial reign? fl 621.

How will the Harp of God appear to them ? fl 621.

How is the consecrated Christian pictured at this time relative to the kingdoms and the Harp of God ? Give Scriptural reason for the answer, fl 621.

To what are these Christians looking? fl 621.

What is meant by the Hallelujah chorus? fl 622.

By faith looking to the end of the Millennial reign, describe the conditions that will then prevail, fl 622.

What will be the condition of Satan at that time ? fl 622.

What will be the condition of Abraham and the other faithful prophets ? fl 622.

Describe the condition of the earth at that period, fl 622.

What will be particularly pleasing about men and women then? fl 622.

What will be their ability to sing? fl 622.

What will be the chief joy of every creature at that time? fl 622. -

The Kingdom Voice By Elizabeth P. Madole

Our Master smiles upon us

What joy to lift the burdens

As He sees each one at toil;

He pours for us the wine of joy;

His purpose nought can foil.

Oh, we glimpse the Lord of Glory!

Our eyes behold our King!

So let us cheer our comrades on, And wide our banners fling.

The kingdom now is near at hand Our King has come to reign.

From hearts with grief bowed low| To tell the heavy laden

Of blessings soon to flow, To picture death as vanquished,

Since millions ne’er will die;

For Christ the Lord takes up His power_fl He’ll heed the captives* cry.

Then herald wide the message:

Our King begins His reign I

Deliverance

An. announcement of release. A clear cry to the people that their bondage is ending. The bondage that has strewn lives full of heartaches, sorrows, pains, death. Deliverance, certain, sure and all-complete, has long been promised mankind. Now there are the unmistakable signs in our day that would mark the time for release.

Deliverance is the title of the book that assembles the prophecies

and the events that fulfil them. Know of the great events in progress— the new order being inaugurated. The book Deliveeance is but 384

Deliverance is doth bound gold stamped 384 pages -_Q j and lecture JOr course to help in reading