Publication date
3/15/03
Volume
24
Number
6
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
/../literature/watchtower/1903/6/1903-6-1.html
 
 
ZION'S 
WATCH 
TOWER 
ALLIlCHIKY. 
P 
.. 
ing 
the 
glory 
which 
the 
Father 
had 
given 
him 
from 
the 
founda· 
tion 
of 
the 
world-the 
glory 
of 
his 
mighty 
creative 
works, 
with 
all 
the 
other 
evidences 
of 
his 
Father's 
love.-John 
17 
:22-24. 
Thus 
all 
the 
divine 
family 
are 
bound 
together 
in 
one 
bond 
of 
love 
and 
fellowship 
and 
confidence 
and 
sympathy 
and 
har­ 
mony 
and 
common 
interest; 
and 
the 
honor 
and 
glory 
of 
one 
are 
the 
honor 
and 
glory 
of 
all. 
The 
Lord's 
prayer 
abounds 
with 
petitions 
for 
this 
oneness. 
Mark 
the 
expression 
(verse 
21) 
-"That 
they 
all 
may 
be 
one; 
as 
thou, 
Father, 
are 
in 
me 
and 
I 
in 
thee" 
[thy 
spirit 
or 
disposition 
and 
purposes 
and 
aim 
being 
common 
to 
us 
all]. 
Hence, 
he 
would 
have 
us 
adopt 
the 
same 
Father's 
spirit, 
aim 
and 
purpose, 
and 
devote 
all 
our 
powers 
with 
zeal 
and 
faithfulness 
to 
the 
accomplishment 
of 
the 
Father's 
will. 
Amen, 
so 
let 
it 
be. 
VOL. 
XXIV 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA., 
MARCH 
15, 
1903 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No.6 
ANCIENT 
TABLETS 
AGREE 
WITH 
THE 
BIBLE 
unto 
which 
we 
do 
well 
to 
take 
heed, 
as 
unto 
a 
light 
shining 
In 
view 
of 
the 
fact 
that 
most 
lecturers 
on 
the 
Babylonian 
in 
a 
dark 
place 
until 
the 
day 
dawn."-2 
Pet. 
1: 
19. 
-excavations 
are 
endeavoring 
to 
prove 
that 
their 
findings 
date 
CHRISTIAN 
SOLDIERSHIl' 
back 
thousands 
of 
years 
before 
the 
flood, 
and 
hence 
are 
in 
total 
We 
are 
pleased 
to 
credit 
the 
following 
article 
to 
a 
secular 
disagreement 
with 
t.he 
Bible 
n~rrative! 
the 
following 
testi~ony 
journal-the 
Atlanta 
Oonstitution:- 
to 
their 
corroborabon 
of 
Scnpture 
IS 
the 
more 
apprecIated. 
"Endure 
hardness 
as 
a 
good 
soldier 
of 
Jesus 
Christ."-2 
Excavators 
seem 
prone 
to 
"magnify 
their 
office" 
and 
to 
make 
Tim. 
2: 
3. 
their 
services 
and 
findings 
more 
wonderful 
than 
they 
really 
"The 
service 
of 
Christ 
resembles 
no 
other 
so 
much 
as 
that 
are. 
of 
a 
soldier. 
There 
are 
few 
life-callings 
among 
men 
that 
de· 
"Dr. 
Albert 
T. 
Clay, 
curator 
of 
the 
Babylonian 
department 
mand 
such 
absolute 
self-surrender 
from 
the 
recruit 
as 
that 
in 
the 
museum 
of 
the 
University 
of 
Pennsylvania, 
lectured 
in 
of 
the 
soldier 
. 
. 
. 
. 
Widener 
hall 
yest~rday 
on 
'The 
Old 
Testament 
in 
the 
Light 
of 
"In 
the 
decision 
to 
be 
a 
soldier 
one 
subordinates 
all 
other 
Recent 
Excavations.' 
considerations-those 
of 
self-will, 
family 
supremacy 
and 
the 
"'Accounts 
of 
the 
creation 
and 
deluge,' 
he 
said, 
'have 
been 
varied 
opportunities 
of 
the 
freeman. 
It 
is 
to 
go 
under 
a 
vow 
deciphered 
from 
early 
Babylonian 
monuments. 
No 
direct 
ac· 
of 
complete, 
unquestioning 
obedience 
to 
the 
orders 
of 
suo 
count 
has 
been 
found 
referring 
to 
the 
fall 
of 
mankind, 
al· 
periors. 
It 
is 
to 
abandon 
home 
for 
the 
camp, 
to 
forego 
~he 
though 
engraved 
rocks 
representing 
a 
man 
and 
woman 
sitting 
right 
of 
first 
serv~ng 
the 
int~rests 
of 
father 
and 
moth.er, 
WIfe 
under 
a 
tree, 
with 
a 
.,erpent 
near 
by, 
have 
been 
found, 
which 
and 
children, 
bUSIness 
or 
fnends. 
It 
means 
the 
enbre 
sup. 
undoubtedly 
refer 
to 
it.' 
pression 
of 
every 
selfish 
interest 
for 
the 
~dvancement 
of 
the 
"The 
lecturer 
went 
on 
to 
show 
that 
the 
events 
recorded 
in 
supreme 
cause 
one 
has 
contracted 
voluntarIly 
to 
serve, 
to 
fol. 
the 
Bible 
had 
taken 
place 
contrary 
to 
what 
had 
been 
con· 
low 
and 
for 
which, 
if 
need 
be, 
to 
die. 
tended 
by 
critics 
of 
the 
Old 
Testament 
in 
the 
past 
few 
years. 
"It 
seems 
hard 
to 
some 
minds 
to 
compare 
the 
service 
oi 
He 
presented 
a 
photograph 
of 
an 
engraved 
rock 
referring 
to 
Christ 
with 
that 
of 
a 
good 
soldier. 
Nine-tenths 
of 
those 
who 
the 
deluge 
and 
translated 
it. 
Although 
the 
period 
of 
time 
call 
themselves 
Christians 
refuse 
to 
give 
their 
service 
that 
sig. 
which 
elapsed 
while 
Noah 
was 
in 
the 
.ark 
did 
.not 
exactly 
c~r. 
nificance, 
and 
mutiny 
outrigl1t 
when 
called 
upon 
to 
act 
upon 
respond 
to 
the 
number 
of 
days 
given 
In 
the 
BIble, 
yet 
the 
hIS' 
that 
principle. 
The 
weakness 
of 
the 
church 
universal 
as 
the 
torical 
significance 
of 
the 
event 
was 
corroborated. 
Dr. 
Clay 
leader 
of 
morals 
and 
life 
culture 
in 
the 
world 
is 
due 
to 
the 
presented 
many 
such 
photographs, 
all 
of 
which 
had 
been 
ex· 
fact 
that 
most 
Christian 
men 
and 
women 
serve 
Christ 
as 
in. 
cavated 
in 
Babylonia, 
and 
are 
now 
in 
the 
museum. 
The 
tran.s. 
dependent 
camp 
followers. 
They 
are 
unattached, 
or 
uncom. 
lations 
of 
these 
were 
parallel 
accounts 
to 
passages 
found 
In 
manded 
or 
disobedient 
to 
the 
duty 
of 
discipline, 
and 
do 
as 
the 
Bible. 
they 
pl~a"e 
rathl'r 
than 
liS 
they 
are 
obligated 
by 
the 
commands 
"He 
further 
said: 
'This 
work 
is 
yet 
in 
its 
infancy. 
Re· 
and 
principles 
of 
Christ. 
search 
has 
not 
yet 
come 
to 
a 
limit. 
The 
low~st 
excavations 
"Goethe 
said 
that 
'earnestness 
is 
eternity,' 
and 
the 
spirit 
show 
civilization 
in 
advanced 
stages 
and 
there 
IS 
every 
reason 
of 
God 
is 
the 
spirit 
of 
earnestness. 
He 
who 
is 
~nfor~ed 
to 
believe 
that 
future 
excavations 
will 
bring 
to 
light 
the 
ma- 
llnd 
inflamed 
by 
that 
spirit 
will 
be 
filled 
to 
overflowln/l: 
WIth 
jority, 
if 
not 
all, 
the 
history 
recorded 
in 
the 
Old 
Testament.' 
" 
zeal, 
courage, 
daring, 
fortitude 
and 
the 
faith 
of 
conquest. 
In 
-Philadelphia, 
Time,q. 
the 
fervor 
and 
forcefulness 
of 
these 
feelinA's 
he 
will 
serve 
his 
A 
STATESMEN'S 
VIEW 
OF 
EUROl'E'S 
FUTURE 
Master, 
as 
the 
soldiers 
of 
Alexander 
followed 
unquestioning 
A 
Philadelphia 
Ledger 
correspondent 
writing 
of 
the 
emi· 
where 
he 
led; 
as 
the 
soldiers 
of 
Leonidas, 
who 
died 
rather 
than 
nent 
correspondent 
of 
the 
Times, 
M. 
de 
BlOWltz, 
deceased, 
retreat; 
as 
the 
soldiers 
of 
Napoleon, 
who 
believed 
him 
invin­ 
says:- 
cible 
always; 
and 
as 
the 
soldiers 
of 
Lee, 
who 
felt 
that 
he 
"Blowitz 
believed 
that 
his 
own 
forecast 
of 
events 
was 
more 
could 
not 
lead 
them 
wrongly 
or 
to 
defeat. 
accurate 
than 
that 
of 
any 
livin/l: 
statesman. 
He 
not 
only 
"If 
Christ 
possessed 
in 
this 
world 
today 
an 
army 
of 
men 
placed 
himself 
on 
an 
intellectual 
level 
with 
Bismarck, 
but 
he 
and 
women 
one-hundredth 
part 
the 
figures 
of 
official 
Christen. 
spoke 
of 
himself 
as 
belongin/l: 
to 
the 
same 
rank. 
I 
am 
not 
at 
dom 
who 
would 
follow 
him-who 
would 
labor, 
fight 
and 
en. 
all 
sure 
that 
he 
was 
not 
right, 
and 
that 
if 
his 
early 
lot 
had 
dur~ 
as 
do 
the 
soldiers 
of 
our 
American 
armies-he 
could 
not 
been 
cast 
in 
high 
places 
Blowitz 
would 
not 
have 
been 
a 
greater 
long 
be 
kept 
from 
his 
world-wide 
conquest. 
man 
than 
Bismarck. 
He 
had 
his 
faults 
and 
vanities, 
but 
he 
"But 
he 
has 
few 
real 
soldiers 
in 
his 
service. 
Most 
of 
hig 
was 
a 
man 
of 
extraordinary 
capacity. 
followers 
are 
pensioners, 
pleading- 
always 
that 
he 
will 
do 
some· 
"His 
opinions 
about 
the 
future 
of 
Europe 
are 
interesting, 
thing 
for 
them-ease 
their 
pains, 
disperse 
their 
enemi,:s, 
because 
his 
predictions 
were 
so 
often 
fulfilled, 
and 
his 
views, 
smooth 
their 
paths, 
increase 
their 
fortunes 
and 
bed 
them 
In 
therefore, 
on 
the 
subject 
are 
worth 
consideration. 
As 
far 
back 
places 
of 
plenty 
and 
comfort. 
They 
are 
a 
hungry 
and 
a 
help. 
as 
ten 
years 
ago 
de 
Blowitz 
held 
that 
in 
the 
course 
of 
a 
gen- 
less 
host. 
eration 
Europe 
would 
be 
a 
congerie 
of 
bankrupt 
states; 
t~at 
"One 
would 
expect 
naturally 
to 
find 
in 
the 
pulpits 
stalwart 
all 
the 
national 
debts 
in 
Europe 
would 
be 
repudiated, 
WIth 
captains 
of 
the 
army 
of 
our 
Lord. 
And 
yet 
how 
few 
are 
they 
the 
exception 
of 
Britain's, 
and 
that 
vast 
social 
changes, 
in- 
who 
do 
not 
look 
more 
closely 
to 
their 
hire 
than 
to 
their 
op· 
volving 
bloody 
~ars 
and 
reigns 
of 
t~r~or~ 
w~uld 
come 
to 
pass 
portunities 
to 
endure 
hardness? 
They 
ar,e 
eager 
for 
rich 
and 
in 
many 
countnes. 
He 
to?k 
a 
pesslmI~t!C 
VIew 
of. 
the 
future 
easy 
pastorates, 
they 
dwell 
in 
luxuries 
and 
preach 
as 
those 
of 
Britain, 
thou/l:h 
he 
admIred 
the 
qualIties 
of 
perSIstence 
and 
who 
make 
pleasant 
music 
on 
a 
lute. 
Transfer 
them 
to 
posts 
freedom, 
which 
form 
part 
of 
the 
British 
character. 
of 
poverty, 
scant 
rations, 
hard 
service 
among 
the 
poor 
and 
''He 
believed 
that 
the 
twentieth 
century 
would 
be 
a 
century 
the 
'lick, 
and 
they 
beeome 
broken-hearted 
over 
their 
lot 
as 
of 
struagle, 
and 
that 
in 
Germany 
and 
Russia 
especially 
the 
de· 
soldiers! 
velopm~nt 
of 
the 
industrial 
idea 
would 
lead 
to 
the 
evolution 
of 
"The 
true 
soldier 
does 
not 
debate 
his 
cause. 
He 
is 
rightly 
new 
surfaces 
of 
society, 
just 
as 
the 
iceber/l; 
which 
has 
changed 
supposed 
to 
have 
settled 
upon 
its 
justice 
and 
righteousness 
its 
centre 
of 
g-ravity 
presents 
a 
new 
profile 
to 
the 
spectator. 
before 
he 
enlisted 
to 
serve 
it. 
Thereafter 
he 
avouches 
it 
and 
If 
these 
predictions 
had 
been 
made 
today 
no 
great 
power 
of 
defies 
contradiction 
of 
it. 
He 
is 
ready 
to 
spend 
all 
and 
be 
all 
discrimination 
would 
be 
credited 
to 
the 
prophet. 
To 
have 
spent 
in 
its 
defense. 
He 
does 
not 
fight 
for 
the 
rations 
that 
formed 
such 
views 
ten 
years 
ago 
implies 
the 
possession 
of 
are 
doled 
to 
him, 
but 
for 
the 
great 
principles 
and 
great 
pur. 
great 
analytic 
power, 
coupled 
with 
imaginative 
faculty." 
poses 
of 
the 
cause 
to 
which 
he 
is 
committed 
. 
. 
. 
. 
• 
• 
• 
"No 
man 
should 
deceive 
himself 
in 
a 
matter 
so 
plain 
and 
This 
is 
interesting, 
as 
showin~ 
how 
the 
wisdom 
of 
this 
serious 
as 
the 
service 
of 
Christ. 
If 
he 
doesn't 
mean 
to 
aban­ 
world 
corroborates 
the 
forecast 
of 
prophecy-the 
revelations 
don 
himself 
to 
the 
commands 
and 
demands 
of 
hi~ 
.Master, 
he 
of 
the 
divine 
Word. 
"We 
have 
a 
more 
sure 
word 
of 
prophecy, 
ought 
to 
be 
hone"t 
enough 
not 
to 
offer 
a 
hypOCrItIcal 
profe&- 
[3162] 
<83-84) ing the glory which the Father had given him from the foundation of the world—the glory of his mighty creative works, with all the other evidences of his Father’s love—John 17 :22-24, Thus all the divine family are bound together in one bond of love and fellowship and confidence and sympathy and harmony and common interest; and the honor and glory of one are the honor and glory of all. The Lord’s prayer abounds ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLEGHENY, Pa, with petitions for this oneness, Mark the expression (verse 21)—“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me and IJ in thee” [thy spirit or disposition and purposes and aim being common to us all]. Hence, he would have us adopt the same Father’s spirit, aim and purpose, and devote all our powers with zeal and faithfulness to the accomplishment of the Father’sa will. Amen, so let it be. Vou. XXIV ALLEGHENY, PA., MARCH 15, 1903 No. 6 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER ANCIENT TABLETS AGREE WITH THE BIBLE In view of the fact that most lecturers on the Babylonian excavations are endeavoring to prove that their findings date back thousands of years before the flood, and hence are in total disagreement with the Bible narrative, the following testimon to their corroboration of Scripture is the more appreciated. Excavators seem prone to “magnify their office” and to make their services and findings more wonderful than they really are, “Dr. Albert T. Clay, curator of the Babylonian department in the museum of the University of Pennsylvania, lectured in Widener hall yesterday on ‘The Old Testament in the Light of Recent Excavations.’ “*Accounts of the creation and deluge,’ he said, ‘have been deciphered from early Babylonian monuments. No direct account has been found referring to the fall of mankind, although engraved rocks representing a man and woman sitting under a tree, with a serpent near by, have been found, which undoubtedly refer to it.’ “The lecturer went on to show that the events recorded in the Bible had taken place contrary to what had been contended by critics of the Old Testament in the past few years. He presented a photograph of an engraved rock referring to the deluge and translated it. Although the period of time which elapsed while Noah was in the ark did not exactly correspond to the number of days given in the Bible, yet the historical significance of the event was corroborated. Dr. Clay presented many such photographs, all of which had been excavated in Babylonia, and are now in the museum. The transjations of these were parallel accounts to passages found in the Bible. “He further said: ‘This work is yet in its infancy. Research has not yet come to a limit. The lowest excavations show civilization in advanced stages and there is every reason to believe that future excavations will bring to light the majority, if not all, the history recorded in the Old Testament.’ ” —Philadelphia Times. A STATESMEN'S VIEW OF EUROPE’S FUTURE A Philadelphia Ledger correspondent writing of the eminent correspondent of the Times, M. de Blowitz, deceased, gays :— “Blowitz believed that his own forecast of events was more accurate than that of any living statesman. He not only placed himself on an intellectual level with Bismarck, but he spoke of himself as belonging to the same rank. I am not at all sure that he was not right, and that if his early lot had been cast in high places Blowitz would not have been a greater man than Bismarck. He had his faults and vanities, but he was a man of extraordinary capacity. “His opinions about the future of Europe are interesting, because his predictions were so often fulfilled, and his views, therefore, on the subject are worth consideration. As far back as ten years ago de Blowitz held that in the course of a generation Europe would be a congerie of bankrupt states; that all the national debts in Europe would be repudiated, with the exception of Britain’s, and that vast social changes, involving bloody wars and reigns of terror, would come to pass in many countries. He took a pessimistic view of the future of Britain, though he admired the qualities of persistence and freedom, which form part of the British character. ‘He believed that the twentieth century would be a century of struggle, and that in Germany and Russia especially the development of the industrial idea would lead to the evolution of new surfaces of society, just as the iceberg which has changed its centre of gravity presents a new profile to the spectator. If these predictions had been made today no great power of discrimination would be credited to the prophet. To have formed such views ten years ago implies the possession of great analytic power, coupled with imaginative faculty.” * * * This is interesting, as showing how the wisdom of this world corroborates the forecast of prophecy—the revelations of the divine Word. “We have a more sure word of prophecy, unto which we do well to take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place until the day dawn.”—2 Pet. 1:19. CHRISTIAN SOLDIERSHIP We are pleased to credit the following article to a secular journal—the Atlanta Constitution :— “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”—2 Tim. 2:3. “The service of Christ resembles no other so much as that of a soldier. There are few life-callings among men that demand such absolute self-surrender from the recruit as that of the soldier. ... “In the decision to be a soldier one subordinates all other considerations—those of self-will, family supremacy and the varied opportunities of the freeman. It is to go under a vow of complete, unquestioning obedience to the orders of superiors. It is to abandon home for the camp, to forego the right of first serving the interests of father and mother, wife and children, business or friends. It means the entire suppression of every selfish interest for the advancement of the supreme cause one has contracted voluntarily to serve, to follow and for which, if need be, to die. “It seems hard to some minds to compare the service of Christ with that of a good soldier. Nine-tenths of those who call themselves Christians refuse to give their service that significance, and mutiny outright when called upon to act upon that principle. The weakness of the church universal as the leader of morals and life culture in the world is due to the fact that most Christian men and women serve Christ as independent camp followers. They are unattached, or uncommanded, or disobedient to the duty of discipline, and do as they please rather than as they are obligated by the commands and principles of Christ. “Goethe said that ‘earnestness is eternity,’ and the spirit of God is the spirit of earnestness. He who is informed and inflamed by that spirit will be filled to overfiowing with zeal, courage, daring, fortitude and the faith of conquest. In the fervor and forcefulness of these feelings he will serve his Master, ag the soldiers of Alexander followed unquestioning where he led; as the soldiers of Leonidas, who died rather than retreat; as the soldiers of Napoleon, who believed him invincible always; and as the soldiers of Lee, who felt that he could not lead them wrongly or to defeat. “If Christ possessed in this world today an army of men and women one-hundredth part the figures of official Christendom, who would follow him—who would labor, fight and endure as do the soldiers of our American armies—he could not long be kept from his world-wide conquest. “But he has few real soldiers in his service. Most of his followers are pensioners, pleading always that he will do something for them—ease their pains, disperse their enemies, smooth their paths, increase their fortunes and bed them in places of plenty and comfort. They are a hungry and a helpless host. “One would expect naturally to find in the pulpits stalwart captains of the army of our Lord, And yet how few are they who do not look more closely to their hire than to their opportunities to endure hardness? They are eager for rich and easy pastorates, they dwell in luxuries and preach as those who make pleasant music on a lute. Transfer them to posts of poverty, scant rations, hard service among the poor and the sick, and they become broken-hearted over their lot as soldiers! “The true soldier does not debate his cause. He is rightly supposed to have settled upon its justice and righteousness before he enlisted to serve it. Thereafter he avouches it and defies contradiction of it. He is ready to spend all and be all spent in its defense. He does not fight for the rations that are doled to him, but for the great principles and great purposes of the cause to which he is committed. ... “No man should deceive himself in a matter so plain and serious as the service of Christ. If he doesn’t mean to abandon himself to the commands and demands of his Master, he ought to be honest enough not to offer a hypocritical profes (3162)

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