Publication date
11/1/01
Volume
22
Number
21
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower A New Era for the Jews, etc.
/../literature/watchtower/1901/21/1901-21-1.html
 
 
 
 
LETTERS 
FROM 
THE 
HOME 
FIELD 
[The 
following 
letter, 
written 
on 
return 
from 
the 
Oakland 
convention 
to 
the 
brother 
who 
so 
kindly 
entertained 
the 
friends, 
will 
be 
very 
interesting 
to 
many 
of 
our 
readers. 
We 
publish 
it 
with 
Brother 
"Veber's 
permission.-Editor.] 
My 
Dear 
Brother 
Weber 
:-1 
am 
glad 
to 
write 
you 
that 
arrived 
home 
Tuel5day 
morning. 
Had 
very 
pleasant 
and 
profitably 
journey, 
for 
which 
thank 
and 
praise 
my 
heavenly 
Fathcr. 
How 
much 
thank 
him 
upon 
every 
remembrancE' 
of 
you 
He 
put 
it 
into 
your 
heart 
to 
write 
to 
me; 
then 
so 
to 
arrangE' 
that 
met 
you 
on 
that 
memorable 
day 
in 
Balti­ 
more; 
thcn 
in 
invitmg 
me 
to 
this 
last 
feast 
at 
your 
home-to 
meet 
Brother 
Russell, 
your 
own 
dear 
family, 
and 
so 
many 
of 
God's 
dear 
children; 
then 
to 
feast 
at 
our 
Father's 
table, 
Oh, 
how 
good 
It 
ta~tpd 
felt 
~o 
hungry 
for 
till' 
truth. 
Although 
the 
Lord 
has 
richly 
blessed 
me 
since 
this 
glorious 
truth 
began 
to 
dawn 
upon 
my 
soul, 
had 
never 
met 
with 
but 
two 
people 
of 
the 
Dau'n 
faith 
before 
this. 
have 
written 
long 
letter 
to 
the 
church, 
where 
have 
been 
member 
for 
nearly 
thIrty 
years, 
asking 
them 
to 
drop 
my 
name 
from 
their 
roll 
of 
membprshlp, 
and 
giving 
my 
reasOn 
for 
this. 
shall 
also 
have 
to 
write 
to 
several 
missionary 
societies 
and 
other 
churches 
and 
colleges 
where 
have 
been 
contributor. 
Of 
course 
for 
the 
prespnt 
fiscal 
year 
shall 
have 
to 
contribute 
according 
to 
my 
pledges, 
but 
after 
that 
it 
will 
close 
and 
shall 
be 
able, 
if 
the 
Lord 
continues 
to 
prosper 
me, 
to 
do 
more 
for 
this 
truth 
for 
which 
now 
stand. 
\Vell, 
will 
not 
weary 
you 
with 
too 
long 
letter. 
thank 
the 
Lord 
for 
you 
and 
ask 
you 
to 
extend 
my 
sincere 
thanks 
to 
dear 
Mrs. 
Weber 
and 
the 
girls 
for 
all 
their 
work 
of 
labor 
and 
love, 
also 
to 
the 
boys 
that 
were 
kept 
so 
busy. 
know 
God 
will 
bless 
them. 
And 
now 
whenever 
you 
come 
East 
remember 
your 
oldest 
(or 
youngest) 
boy 
in 
Cromwell, 
Conn. 
shall 
indeed 
esteem 
It 
favor 
to 
have 
the 
privilege 
of 
having 
you 
with 
us, 
and 
any 
of 
your 
family 
that 
can 
conveniently 
come 
tllis 
way. 
am 
arranging 
with 
Brother 
Russell 
to 
have 
Pil­ 
grim 
hrother 
come 
here 
and 
give 
Chart 
lectures. 
Yours 
in 
the 
Master's 
service, 
A. 
N. 
PIERsoN.-Connectieut. 
Dcar 
Brother 
Russell 
:-1 
have 
not 
written 
for 
lon~ 
time; 
nevertheless 
my 
thoughts 
and 
prayers 
are 
constantly 
with 
you 
and 
thE' 
friends 
at 
the 
"Bible 
House." 
Circumstances 
forbid 
my 
entering 
the 
colporteur 
service, 
as 
had 
so 
fondly 
hoped; 
but 
wish 
you 
to 
know 
that 
my 
zeal 
for 
the 
cause 
is 
no 
less 
fervent 
than 
when 
wa" 
first 
enlight­ 
ened. 
The 
experiE'nce 
of 
those 
days 
was 
8\\ 
eet 
to 
me, 
for 
then 
drank 
deep 
dl 
aughts 
from 
the 
fount 
of 
knowledgl"--it 
was 
sweet 
in 
my 
mouth, 
but 
you 
are 
acquainted 
with 
the 
after 
effects. 
\YP 
can 
have 
Chnstian 
experience 
only 
as 
we 
put 
on 
Chri~t; 
and 
sincE' 
it 
is 
my 
daily 
labor 
to 
be 
tr,lll~foInlell 
by 
the 
rE'ne\\ 
ing 
of 
the 
mmd 
mto 
an 
example 
of 
godlllW~S. 
can 
bear 
\\ltnE'ss 
to 
the 
truth 
of 
the 
experiences 
of 
the 
brethrE'n. 
You 
may 
remember 
how 
anxious 
was 
in 
the 
beginlllng 
to 
spread 
the 
truth, 
how 
confident 
that 
would 
bE' 
an 
excE'llent 
instruc­ 
tor 
of 
the 
foolish 
and 
erring 
ones. 
HaVIng 
lE'all 
four 
volumes 
of 
Dalen, 
felt 
there 
was 
very 
little 
marl' 
to 
be 
known 
:lbout 
the 
f'criptures; 
but 
now 
having 
advanced 
furthE'r 
in 
thp 
knowl­ 
edge 
of 
Uod's 
plan, 
and 
having 
developE'd 
further 
in 
Chnstlan 
charadeI', 
feel 
thoroughly 
unfit 
to 
be 
tcacher 
of 
so 
great 
truths. 
The 
school 
had 
last 
winter 
was 
closed 
premattlrE'ly 
for 
lack 
of 
students. 
have 
tried 
in 
many 
'lay.., 
to 
prOVide 
for 
my 
temporal 
necessities 
more 
comfortably 
at 
home, 
but 
thE'y 
have 
all 
failed 
;-rather 
they 
have 
not 
materialized 
as 
ex­ 
pected; 
but 
perhaps 
from 
the 
Lord's 
standpoint 
thE'Y 
\\1'1'1' 
a. 
success. 
know 
one 
thIng'; 
thE'Y 
have 
tau~ht 
me 
humility 
and 
dependence 
upon 
God's 
loving- 
care. 
This 
as~urance 
that 
alii 
still 
in 
the 
way 
think 
is 
due 
you. 
The 
'Watch 
Tower 
find 
an 
indispensable 
tade 
mrcum, 
eVE'r 
full 
of 
instruction 
profitable 
for 
all 
who 
run 
for 
thc 
attain­ 
ment 
of 
the 
joy 
set 
before 
us. 
May 
the 
Lonl 
ever 
provide 
you 
wisdom, 
5trength 
and 
courage, 
that 
you 
may 
Incessantly 
prrach 
the 
\Vord, 
endure 
hardness 
as 
good 
soldier, 
anll 
be 
faithful 
unto 
death. 
Yours 
in 
the 
service 
of 
our 
present 
Lord, 
JAMES 
A. 
BROwNE.-Georgut. 
[The 
above 
is 
from 
colored 
brother; 
and 
mddentally 
we 
remark 
that 
about 
200 
colored 
person" 
on 
the 
lVatch 
TOlar 
lists 
give 
good 
evidence 
that 
thE'Y 
are 
of 
the 
"pure 
in 
heart," 
"accepted 
in 
the 
Beloved." 
Some 
have 
thought 
that 
\\p 
in 
some 
measure 
disdained 
brethren 
of 
color, 
because 
we 
stipulated 
that 
the 
"volunteer" 
distribution 
should 
be 
done 
at 
Ii 
kIte 
Protestant 
churches, 
But 
not 
so: 
we 
meant 
no 
disparagement 
of 
Cath­ 
olics, 
nor 
of 
blacks; 
but 
arranged 
thu~ 
merely 
because 
their 
average 
standa.rds 
of 
intelligence, 
etc., 
do 
not 
seem 
to 
warrant 
the 
necessary 
outlay.-Edltor.] 
]EPHTHAH'S 
VOW-A 
BETTER 
TRANSLATION 
In 
our 
September 
first 
issue 
we 
answered 
question 
respect­ 
ing 
Jephthah's 
\laughter. 
Since 
then 
Brother 
C. 
J. 
Peterson 
calls 
to 
our 
attention 
the 
following 
item 
from 
the 
Appendix 
of 
the 
Emphatic 
Diag-lott: 
"The 
original, 
Judges 
11 
:30, 
when 
properly 
translated, 
reads: 
'And 
it 
shall 
be 
that 
whoever 
comes 
forth 
of 
the 
doors 
of 
my 
house 
to 
meet 
me, 
when 
return 
in 
peace, 
from 
the 
children 
of 
Ammon, 
shall 
surely 
be 
Jehovah's, 
and 
will 
offer 
to 
him 
burnt 
offering.' 
The 
vow 
contains 
two 
parts: 
That 
person 
who 
would 
meet 
him 
on 
his 
return 
should 
be 
Jehovah's, 
and 
be 
dedicated 
forever 
to 
his 
service, 
as 
Hannah 
devoted 
Samuel 
before 
he 
was 
born. 
(1 
Sam. 
1: 
11 
(2) 
That 
Jephthah 
himself 
would 
offer 
burnt 
offering 
to 
Jehovah. 
"Human 
sacrifices 
were 
prohibited 
by 
the 
Law 
(Deut. 
12: 
30); 
and 
the 
priests 
would 
not 
offer 
them. 
Such 
vow 
would 
have 
been 
impIOUS, 
and 
could 
not 
have 
been 
performed. 
It 
may 
be 
safely 
concluded 
that 
Jephthah's 
daughter 
was 
de- 
voted 
to 
perpetual 
virginity; 
and 
with 
this 
idea 
agrf'e~ 
the 
statements 
that 
'she 
went 
to 
bewail 
her 
virginity;' 
that 
the 
women 
went 
four 
times 
in 
every 
year 
to 
mourn 
or 
talk 
with 
(not 
for) 
her; 
that 
Jephthah 
did 
according 
to 
hi" 
vow, 
and 
that 
'she 
knew 
no 
man.' 
We 
are 
g1au 
that 
our 
attention 
is 
callrd 
to 
this 
evidently 
better 
translation, 
which 
clears 
away 
the 
ditliculty, 
and 
shows 
that 
the 
burnt-offering 
was 
one 
thing, 
and 
the 
devotion 
of 
the 
daughter 
another 
thing. 
We 
are 
to 
remember, 
too, 
the 
te~ti­ 
mony 
of 
the 
entire 
Old 
Testament, 
to 
the 
effect 
thnt 
prior 
to 
our 
Lord's 
birth 
all 
the 
women 
of 
Israel 
cO\'eted 
E'arne~tlv 
the 
great 
blessing 
and 
privilege 
of 
being 
possibly 
the 
moth'er 
of 
Messiah, 
or 
amongst 
his 
forebears. 
We 
are 
to 
remember 
also 
the 
exultant 
language 
of 
the 
Vll'gin 
Mary 
when 
finally 
it 
was 
announced 
to 
her 
that 
she 
had 
won 
this 
long-sought 
priLl': 
"Henceforth 
all 
shall 
call 
me 
blessed"-all 
shall 
recogniLe 
me 
as 
the 
one 
who 
has 
attained 
this 
blessed 
privilege 
of 
belllfT 
the 
mother 
of 
Messiah. 
... 
VOL. 
XXII 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA., 
NOVEMBER 
1, 
ElOl 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No. 
~l 
NEW 
ERA 
FOR 
THE 
JEWS 
Lonuon, 
September 
24.-Israel 
ZangwIll, 
the 
novelist, 
poet 
and 
playwright, 
who 
has 
become 
one 
of 
the 
most 
prominent 
of 
the 
prophets 
in 
the 
ZiOllist 
movement, 
gave 
today 
some 
sig­ 
nificant 
facts 
concerning 
the 
coming 
conference 
of 
the 
Zionists 
at 
BasIl', 
Switzerland. 
·'It 
is 
not 
impossible," 
said 
l\1r. 
Zang­ 
will, 
"thai 
Dr. 
Herzl 
may 
have 
great 
surprise 
for 
the 
world, 
to 
be 
announced 
at 
that 
convention. 
Ill' 
has 
been 
negotJatmg 
in 
person 
with 
the 
Sultan 
of 
Turkey 
for 
charter 
for 
Pales­ 
tine, 
and 
it 
is 
possible 
that 
he 
has 
obtained 
that 
charter. 
It 
seems 
likely 
at 
any 
rate 
that 
the 
charter 
may 
be 
had 
be­ 
fore 
many 
months. 
"Once 
the 
charter 
is 
assured, 
much 
larger 
contributions 
should 
be 
obtained. 
We 
have 
at 
present 
about 
million 
dol- 
lars. 
most 
of 
it 
from 
tllTCP 
or 
foul' 
sub"l·ribcrs. 
\\"'.'1" 
not 
going 
to 
admit 
anyone 
except 
..,kIlled 
WOl 
knll'1l 
.Tp\\ 
II 
hl) 
want 
to 
grt 
mto 
PalcstillP 
under 
thp 
nell 
('jurt!'r 
II 
III 
h.t\,' 
to 
come 
up 
'to 
high 
stanflard 
finanClil1 
i\', 
phY~lcnlly 
and 
lllor,dl~' 
in 
order 
to 
be 
admittpfl. 
If 
we 
were 
goillg 
to 
let 
III 
tho~c 
\dlll 
were 
looking 
for 
foofl 
whcre 
there 
wa~ 
no 
[olhl 
cxeppt 
~uch 
,l~ 
the 
colonist.., 
make 
for 
themselvp~, 
it 
\\oul,l 
leafl 
tIl 
,I 
':"It'.lt 
disa~tpr." 
""'hat 
sO! 
of 
govprmnent 
wouM 
P,llc 
,tllle 
haYe 
under 
the 
chartcr 
hom 
th!' 
Rultan 
9" 
asked 
the 
rqlOrtpl'. 
"\Vell, 
there's 
the 
Chartprpd 
COlllpan~' 
'1Tl 
:"<luth 
.\frica. 
for 
instance. 
pprhnp" 
it 
would 
Iw 
"omdhing 
likp 
that. 
Hut 
you 
may 
say 
that 
tllp 
Ipaders 
of 
the 
7,lOllhtS 
h,l,\'C 
read 
(ll'pply 
enoug-h 
in 
their 
histories 
to 
know 
that 
the 
pilgrnll 
bthers 
[2897] 
1333 
3lQ) 
LETTERS FROM THE HOME FIELD {The following letter, written on return from the Oakland convention to the brother who so kindly entertained the friends, will be very interesting to many of our readers. We publish it with Brother Weber’s permission.—Editor. ] My Dear Brother Weber:—I am glad to write you that I arrived home Tuesday morning. Had a very pleasant and profitably journey, for which I thank and praise my heavenly Father. How much I thank him upon every remembrance of you! He put it into your heart to write to me; then so to arrange that I met you on that memorable day in Baltimore; then in inviting me to this last feast at your home—to meet Brother Russell, your own dear family, and so many of God’s dear children; then to feast at our Father’s table, Oh, how good it tasted’ TI felt 50 hungry for the truth. Although the Lord has richly blessed me since this glorious truth began to dawn upon my soul, I had never met with but two people of the Dawn faith before this. I have written a long letter to the church, where I have been a member for nearly thirty years, asking them to drop my name from their roll of membership, and giving my reason for this. I shall also have to write to several missionary societies and other churches and colleges where I have been a contributor. Of course for the present fiscal year I shall have to contribute according to my pledges, but after that it will close and I shall be able, if the Lord continues to prosper me, to do more for this truth for which I now stand. Well, I will not weary you with too long a letter. I thank the Lord fof you and ask you to extend my sincere thanks to dear Mrs. Weber and the girls for all their work of labor and love, also to the boys that were kept so busy. I know God will bless them. And now whenever you come East remember your oldest (or youngest) boy in Cromwell, Conn. I shall indeed esteem it a favor to have the privilege of having you with us, and any of your family that can conveniently come this way. I am arranging with Brother Russell to have a Pilgrim brother come here and give Chart lectures. Yours in the Master’s service, A. N. Prerson.—Cornnecticut. Dear Brother Russell:—I have not written for a long time; nevertheless my thoughts and prayers are constantly with you and the friends at the “Bible House.” Circumstances forbid my entering the colporteur service, as I had so fondly hoped; but I wish you to know that my zeal JEPHTHAH’S VOW—A In our September first issue we answered a question respecting Jephthah’s daughter. Since then Brother C. J. Peterson calls to our attention the following item from the Appendix of the Emphatic Diaglott: “The original, Judges 11:30, when properly translated, reads: ‘And it shall be that whoever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace, from the children of Ammon, shall surely be Jehovah’s, and I will offer to him a burnt offering.’ The vow contains two parts: (1) That person who would meet him on his return should be Jehovah’s, and be dedicated forever to his service, as Hannah devoted Samuel before he was born. {1 Sam.1:11) (2) That Jephthah himself would offer a burnt offering to Jehovah. “Human sacrifices were prohibited by the Law (Deut. 12:30); and the priests would not offer them. Such a vow would have been impious, and could not have been performed. It may be safely concluded that Jephthah’s daughter was de for the cause is no less fervent than when I was first enlightened. The experience of those days was sweet to me, for then I drank deep diaughts from the fount of knowledge—it was sweet in my mouth, but you are acquainted with the after effects. We can have Christian experience only as we put on Christ; and since it is my daily labor to be transformed by the renewing of the mind into an example of godliness, I can bear witness to the truth of the experiences of the brethren. You may remember how anxious I was in the beginning to spread the truth, how confident that I would be an excellent instructor of the foolish and erring ones. Having read four volumes of Dawn, I felt there was very little more to be known about the Scriptures; but now having advanced further in the knowledge of God’s plan, and having developed further in Christian character, I feel thoroughly unfit to be a teacher of so great truths. The school I had last winter was closed prematurely for lack of students. I have tried in many ways to provide for my temporal necessities more comfortably at home, but they have all failed;—rather they have not materialized as I expected; but perhaps from the Lord’s standpoint they were a success. I know one thing; they have taught me humility and dependence upon God’s loving care. This assurance that I am still in the way I think is due you. The Watch Tower I find an indispensable 1ade mecum, ever full of instruction profitable for all who run for the attainment of the joy set before us. May the Lord ever provide you wisdom, strength and courage, that you may incessantly preach the Word, endure hardness as a good soldier, and be faithful unto death. Yours in the service of our present Lord, JAMES A. BROWNE.—Ceorgia. [The above is from a colored brother; and imeidentally we remark that about 200 colored persons on the Watch Tower lists give good evidence that they are of the “pure in heart,” “aecepted in the Beloved.” Some have thought that we in some measure disdained brethren of color, because we stipulated that the “volunteer” distribution should be done at uhite Protestant churches. But not so: we meant no disparagement of Catholics, nor of blacks; but arranged thus merely because their average standards of intelligence, etc., do not seem to warrant the necessary outlay.—Editor.] BETTER TRANSLATION voted to perpetual virginity; and with this idea agrees the statements that ‘she went to bewail her virginity ;’ that the women went four times in every year to mourn or talk with (not for) her; that Jephthah did according to his vow, and that ‘she knew no man.’ ” We are giad that our attention is called to this evidently better translation, which clears away the difficulty, and shows that the burnt-offering was one thing, and the devotion of the daughter another thing. We are to remember, too, the testimony of the entire Old Testament, to the effect that prior to our Lord’s birth all the women of Israel coveted earnestly the great blessing and privilege of being possibly the mother of Messiah, or amongst his forebears. We are to remember also the exultant language of the Virgin Mary when finally it was announced to her that she had won this long-sought prize: “Henceforth all shall call me blessed’’—all shall recopnize me as the one who has attained this blessed privilege of being the mother of Messiah. Vou. XXIT ALLEGHENY, PA., NOVEMBER 1, 1901 No. 21 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER A NEW ERA FOR THE JEWS lars, most of it from three or four subscribers. We'le not London, September 24.—Israel Zangwill, the novelist, poet and playwright, who has become one of the most prominent of the prophets in the Zionist movement, gave today some significant facts concerning the coming conference of the Zionists at Basle, Switzerland. ‘It is not impossible,” said Mr, Zangwill, “that Dr. Herzl may have a great surprise for the world, to be announced at that convention. Ile has been negotiating in person with the Sultan of Turkey for a charter for Palestine, and it is possible that he has obtained that charter. It seems likely at any rate that the charter may be had before many months. “Once the charter is assured, much larger contributions should be obtained. We have at present about a million dol [2897] going to admit anyone except skied workmen Jews who want to get into Palestine under the new charter will have to come up to a high standard financially, physically and morally in order to be admitted. If we were going to let in those who were looking for food where there was no food except such as the colonists make for themselves, it would lead to a creat disaster.” ‘What sort of government would Palestine have under the charter fiom the Sultan?” asked the reporter. “Well, there’s the Chartered Company in South Afriea. for instance. Perhaps it would be something like that, But you may sav that the leaders of the Zionists have read deeply enough in their histories to know that the pilgrim fathers (333 339)

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