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(239-243)
ZION}S
WATCH
TOWER
ALLEGHENY,
PA.
all
who
lost
it
through
Adam's
transgression,
and
therefore
guaranteed
a
restoration
to
perfect
and
everlasting
life
to
every
man?
Answer.-Very
few
Universalists
of
this
kind
are
to
be
found.
Generally,
they
either
directly
or
indirectly
deny
the
Ransom-deny
that
Christ's
death
purchased
everlasting
life
for
anybody.
Their
theory
generally
rests
upon
the
assumption
that
there
was
no
divine
sentence
to
be
met;
that
divine
mercy
could
exercise
itself
without
meeting
the
demands
of
divine
jus·
tice;
that
our
Lord
Jesus
died,
not
to
purchase
us,
not
to
pay
the
ransom
price,
not
to
redeem
us,
not
as
a
substitute
for
Adam,
but
merely,
they
say,
as
an
example
to
us
of
full
obe·
dience
to
righteousness,
even
at
the
cost
of
life.
To
such
we
answer
that
if
Jesus
was
merely
our
example,
and
not
our
Redeemer,
then
our
only
hope
would
be
to
keep
his
example
to
such
an
extent
that
we
would
be
individually
pleasing
to
the
Father
as
he
was;
and
this
would
mean
that
we
must
keep
the
whole
law
blameless
as
he
did.
Those
who
understand
this
proposition
must
see
clearly
that,
if
that
be
true,
there
is
no
hope
for
any
of
us,
for,
as
the
Apostle
de
clares,
"By
the
deeds
of
the
law
shall
no
flesh
be
justified
in
God'sosight."
Christ
was
justified
by
the
deeds
of
the
law,
but
perfect
deeds
were
possible
to
him,
because
he
was
born
holy,
harmless,
undefiled,
separate
from
sinners.
Perfect
deeds,
per·
feet
fulfilment
of
the
divine
requirements,
are
absolutely
im
possible
for
us
who
were
born
in
sin,
shapen
in
iniquity.
If,
therefore,
Jesus
be
merely
our
pattern,
our
exemplar,
and
not
also
our
Redeemer,
we
are
of
all
men
most
miserable,
for
seeing
salvation
we
shall
be
wholly
unable
to
attain
it.
Our
whole
hope
is
in
the
declaration
of
the
Lord's
Word
that
the
right·
eousness
of
Christ
is
imputed
to
us,
that
his
death
was
to
meet
the
penalty
against
Ug
as
a
race-for
Adam's
sins
and
ours.
Our
hope
is
that,
being-
covered
by
faith
with
the
robe
of
his
righteousness,
our
imperfect
attempts
to
follow
his
example
in
obedience
to
the
Father's
will
will
be
accounted
as
though
they
were
perfect-"throug-h
the
merit
of
him
who
loved
us
and
bought
us
with
his
own
precious
blood."
But
if
there
be
Universalists
who
take
the
position
implied
in
this
question,
our
answer
would
be
as
heretofore,
that
Christ's
death
did
purcha<;e
lasting
life
for
all
who
lost
it
through
Adam's
transgression.
and
that
God
has
guaranteed
a
full
restoration
of
all
that
was
lost
"to
every
soul
of
man
that
believeth"-in
the
Scriptural
senSe
of
obedient
believing.
Noth.
ing
in
this
implies
that
they
will
get
all
these
things
at
the
moment
of
their
awakening
from
thE'
tomb.
At
that
time
they
will
get
a
beginning
of
perfect
life
if
they
are
obedient
to
the
voice
of
the
great
Physician,
which
will
E'ventuate
in
their
absolute
perfection
in
the
close
of
that
Millennial
day.
Our
Lord,
describing
the
matter
in
John
5:29,
declares
that
the
dead
will
come
forth
unto
a
resurrection
by
judgment.
They
will
come
forth
from
the
tomb,
from
oblivion,
to
physical
con·
ditions
somewhat
similar
to
those
enjoyed
before
they
died,
with
surrounding'S
in
every
way
much
more
advantageous;
with
Satan
bound
that
he
can
deceive
them
no
more;
with
the
good
influences
of
righteousness
and
truth
let
loose
in
the
world
to
such
an
extent
that
ultimately
the
knowledge
of
the
Lord
shall
fill
the
whole
earth;
with
judges
and
law
givers
under
the
su
pervision
of
the
royal
priesthood
to
look
after
their
best
in
terests,
to
reprove
and
correct
and
chastise
their
failures,
and
to
encourage,
reward
and
bless
their
endeavors,
and
thus,
by
judgments,
of
rewards
and
punishments,
they
would
be
grad
ually
brought
up
step
by
step,
up,
up,
up
to
the
highway
of
holiness,
to
the
absolute
perfection
at
the
farther
end,
which
the
Lord
is
pleased
to
grant
to
all
who
will
have
it
upon
these
his
terms,
obedience
to
his
Son.
"But
it
shall
come
to
pailS
that
the
soul
that
will
not
hear
[to
obey]
that
Prophet
shall
be
cut
off"-in
the
second
death,
from
which
there
will
be
no
redemption
and
no
recovery.
THE
SPIRIT
AND
BRIDE
SAY
COME
Question.-When
will
the
spirit
and
the
bride
say,
Come?
-Rev.
22:17.
Answer.-This
will
be
fulfilled
in
the
future
for
several
reasons:
(
1)
There
is
no
"bride"
now.
The
church,
the
"little
flock,"
is
now
the
"chaste
virgin"
"espoused"
to
the
Lord.
She
will
be
the
bride
at
marriage,
and
for
long
centuries
she
has
been
look
ing
forward
to
that
great
event
at
the
close
of
this
Gospel
age.
(2)
The
context
refers
to
the
river
of
the
water
of
life
of
verses
1
and
2
of
the
same
chapter.
There
is
no
such
river
now,
nor
will
there
be
until
the
establishment
of
the
king
dom;
for
this
is
the
picture:
the
New
Jerusalem
(the
church
in
glory,
the
kingdom)
comes
down
from
God
out
of
heaven,
adorned
"as
a
bride"
and
then
from
its
throne
will
proceed
the
"river
of
the
water
of
life"
of
which
all
may
drink
freely,
and
to
which
the
spirit
and
the
bride
will
invite
all.
Now
the
prospective
members
of
the
bride
class
have
the
Lord's
spirit
in
them,
"n
well
of
water
springing
up
unto
everlasting
lite."
John
4:14.
By
and
by
these
well-springs
brought
together
in
glory
with
the
Lord
shall
constitute
the
source
of
the
great
river
of
life
which
shall
bless
and
heal
all
the
nations.
"In
thv
seed
shall
all
the
families
of
the
earth
be
blessed."
(Gal.
3:
29)
By
and
by
the
prophecy
will
be
fulfilled:
"He
that
believeth
in
me,
out
of
his
belly
shall
flow
rivers
of
living
water."
(3)
Now
the
call
is
a
different
one
and
is
not
open
to
man
kind.
Our
Lord
declared,
"No
man
can
come
unto
me
except
the
Father
which
sent
me
draw
him."
The
Apostle
declares
that
now
many
are
blinded
by
the
adversary
and
hence
could
not
see
even
if
there
were
a
river
of
life
flowing,
and
could
not
hear
even
if
there
were
a
bride
to
say,
Come.
HE
SHALL
•
'POUR
OUT
HIS
SPIRIT
UPON
ALL
FLESH"
Question.-Does
Joel's
prophecy
concerning
the
pouring
out
of
the
Lord's
"spirit
upon
all
flesh,"
apply
to
the
present
or
to
the
future
age!
Ansu;er.-It
applies
to
the
coming
age-the
Millennium.
God
is
now
pouring
out
his
spirit
only
upon
the
church-Hhis
servanb
and
hand-maidens."
See
MILLENNIAL
DAWN,
Vol.
5,
page
179.
VOL.
XXV
ALLEGHENY,
PA.,
AUGUST
15,
1904
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TOWER
No.
16
DISBELIEF
IN
A
FUTURE
LIFE
DANGEROUS
Professor
Goldwin
Smith
notes
the
fact
that
the
tendency
of
our
times
is
to
destroy
faith
in
a
future
life,
or,
as
the
Profes
sor
states
it,
faith
in
immortality.
(We
need
not
quarrel
over
terms,
especially
when
the
Professor's
use
of
the
word
immor
tality,
though
less
exact
than
our
own,
is
the
usual,
the
cus
tomary
one
in
our
day.
In
his
use
of
this
word,
he
is
in
accord
with
the
teachings
of
the
Scripture,
that
God
has
pro
vided
a
future
life,
through
a
resurrection,
for
every
member
of
Adam's
racf:'.)
We
give
extracts
from
his
article,
which
was
publi~hed
in
The
North
.American
Review,
as
follows:
"It
would
seem
that
we
have
come
practically
to
a
point
at
which--evollltioll
and
th('
higher
criticism
having
between
them
done
the
work
of
demolition,
and
the
work
of
reconstruc
tion,
if
it
is
ever
to
be
done,
being
still
in
the
future-no
small
part
of
educated
mankind
has
renounced
or
is
gradually
renouncing
the
hope
of
a
future
life
and
acting
on
the
belief
that
death
ends
all.
"A
general
contraction
of
views
to
the
man's
own
life
must
apparently
be
the
consequence
of
the
conviction
that
this
life
is
all.
A
man
of
sense
will
probably
be
inclined
to
let
reforms
alone,
and
to
consider
how
he
may
best
go
through
the
brief
journey
of
life
with
comfort,
if
possible
with
enjoyment
to
himself
and
in
pleasant
intercour~e
with
his
fellowmen.
Hi!1:h
social
or
political
aspirations,
or
high
aspirations
of
any
kind,
will
hardly
survive
the
disillusion.
"We
have
an
interest
in
our
own
children.
But
otherwise
what
interest
have
we
in
the
generations
that
are
to
corne
after
us
on
which
a
religion
of
humanity
can
be
founded'
It
is
not
a
very
lively
interest
that
we
feel
even
in
the
remoter
members
of
the
human
race,
to
say
nothing
of
those
in
the
next
street.
Yet
these
exist;
and
of
their
existence
we
are
conscious,
and
are
reminded
by
the
electric
cable.
Of
the
existence
of
future
generations,
supposing
there
is
no
future
life,
we
shall
not
be
('onS('IOUS,
and,
thl'refore,
for
u"
thev
will
not
exist.
'Ve
cannot
even
say
with
absolute
certainty
that
they
will
exist
at
all.
The
end
of
man's
dwelling·
place,
and,
therefore,
of
all
human
progress,
science
tells
us,
will
be
a
physical
catastrophe;
and
there
are
even
those
who
seem
to
think
that
this
catastrophe
may
be
forestalled
by
a
recurrence
of
the
glacial
era.
Natural
law.
",hidl
"eipnl'p
lJicl"
11<;
vf:'llprate.
clepal
h.
it
mu"t
be
re
membered,
with
the
lawgiver.
Nothing
remains
but
physical
forces
without
a
guiding
mind,
the
play
of
which
it
is
impos
sible
to
forecast.
As
to
posthumous
fame,
it
would
be
an
arrant
delusion,
even
if
one
man
in
a
million
could
hope
to
obtain
it.
"Whatever
conduces
to
the
enjoyment
and
prolongation
of
this
life
will
probably
be
sought
more
energetically
than
be
fore.
Material
progress.
therefore,
may
quicken
its
pacf:'.
~
or
is
it
likely
that
men
will
be
quite
so
ready
as
they
are
now
to
throwaway
their
lives
in
war.
At
present
the
soldier
in
facing
[3410]
(239-243) all who lost it through Adam’s transgression, and therefore guaranteed a restoration to perfect and everlasting life to every man? Answer—Very few Universalists of this kind are to be found. Generally, they either directly or indirectly deny the Ransom—deny that Christ’s death purchased everlasting life for anybody. Their theory generally rests upon the assumption that there was no divine sentence to be met; that divine mercy could exercise itself without meeting the demands of divine justice; that our Lord Jesus died, not to purchase us, not to pay the ransom price, not to redeem us, not as a substitute for Adam, but merely, they say, as an example to us of full obedience to righteousness, even at the cost of life. To such we answer that if Jesus was merely our example, and not our Redeemer, then our only hope would be to keep his example to such an extent that we would be individually pleasing to the Father as he was; and this would mean that we must keep the whole law blameless as he did. Those who understand this proposition must see clearly that, if that be true, there is no hope for any of us, for, as the Apostle declares, “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in God’sesight.” Christ was justified by the deeds of the law, but perfect deeds were possible to him, because he was born holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Perfect deeds, perfect fulfilment of the divine requirements, are absolutely impossible for us who were born in sin, shapen in iniquity. If, therefore, Jesus be merely our pattern, our exemplar, and not also our Redeemer, we are of all men most miserable, for seeing salvation we shall be wholly unable to attain it. Our whole hope is in the declaration of the Lord’s Word that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, that his death was to meet the penalty against us as a race—for Adam’s sins and ours. Our hope is that, being covered by faith with the robe of his righteousness, our imperfect. attempts to follow his example in obedience to the Father’s will will be accounted as though they were perfect—“through the merit of him who loved us and bought us with his own precious blood.” But if there be Universalists who take the position implied in this question, our answer would be as heretofore, that Christ’s death did purchase lasting life for all who lost it through Adam’s transgression. and that God has guaranteed a full restoration of ali that was lost “to every soul of man that believeth”—in the Scriptural sense of obedient believing. Nothing in this implies that they will get all these things at the moment of their awakening from the tomb. At that time they will get a beginning of perfect life if they are obedient to the voice of the great Physician, which will eventuate in their absolute perfection in the close of that Millennial day. Our Lord, describing the matter in John 5:29, declares that the dead will come forth unto a resurrection by judgment. They will come forth from the tomb, from oblivion, to physica] conditions somewhat similar to those enjoyed before they died, with surroundings in every way much more advantageous; with Satan bound that he can deceive them no more; with the good ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLEGHENY, Pa. influences of righteousness and truth let loose in the world to such an extent that ultimately the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth; with judges and law givers under the supervision of the royal priesthood to look after their best interests, to reprove and correct and chastise their failures, and to encourage, reward and bless their endeavors, and thus, by judgments, of rewards and punishments, they would be gradually brought up step by step, up, up, up to the highway of holiness, to the absolute perfection at the farther end, which the Lord is pleased to grant to all who will have it upon these his terms, obedience to his Son. “But it shall come to paag that the soul that will not hear [to obey] that Prophet shall be cut off’—in the second death, from which there will be no redemption and no recovery. THE SPIRIT AND BRIDE SAY COME Question.—When will the spirit and the bride say, Come? —Rev. 22:17. Answer.—This will be fulfilled in the future for several reasons: (1) There is no “bride” now. The church, the “little flock,” is now the “chaste virgin” “espoused” to the Lord. She will be the bride at marriage, and for long centuries she has been looking forward to that great event at the close of this Gospel age. (2) The context refers to the river of the water of life of verses 1 and 2 of the same chapter. There is no such river now, nor will there be until the establishment of the kingdom; for this is the picture: the New Jerusalem (the church in glory, the kingdom) comes down from God out of heaven, adorned “as a bride” and then from its throne will proceed the “river of the water of life” of which all may drink freely, and to which the spirit and the bride will invite all. Now the prospective members of the bride class have the Lord’s spirit in them, “a well of water springing up unto everlasting lite.”— John 4:14, By and by these well-springs brought together in glory with the Lord shall constitute the source of the great river of life which shall bless and heal all the nations. “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gal. 3:29) By and by the prophecy will be fulfilled: “He that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (3) Now the call is a different one and is not open to mankind. Our Lord declared, “No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw him.” The Apostle declares that now many are blinded by the adversary and hence could not see even if there were a river of life flowing, and could not hear even if there were a bride to say, Come. HE SHALL ‘‘POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH’’ Question.—Does Joel’s prophecy concerning the pouring out of the Lord’s “spirit upon all flesh,” apply to the present or to the future age? Answer.—It applies to the coming age—the Millennium. God is now pouring out his spirit only upon the church—“his servants and hand-maidens.” See MILLENNIAL Dawn, Vol. 6, page 179. Vou. XXV ALLEGHENY, PA., AUGUST 15, 1904 No. 16 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER DISBELIEF IN A FUTURE LIFE DANGEROUS Professor Goldwin Smith notes the fact that the tendency of our times is to destroy faith in a future life, or, as the Professor states it, faith in immortality. (We need not quarrel over terms, especially when the Professor’s use of the word immortality, though less exact than our own, is the usual}, the customary one in our day. In his use of this word, he is in accord with the teachings of the Scripture, that God has provided a future life, through a resurrection, for every member of Adam’s race.) We give extracts from his article, which was published in The North American Review, as follows: “It would seem that we have come practically to a point at which—evolution and the higher criticism having between them done the work of demolition, and the work of reconstruction, if it is ever to be done, being still in the future—no small part of educated mankind has renounced or is gradually renouncing the hope of a future life and acting on the belief that death ends all. “A general contraction of views to the man’s own life must apparently be the consequence of the conviction that this life is all. A man of sense will probably be inclined to let reforms alone, and to consider how he may best go through the brief journey of life with comfort, if possible with enjoyment to himself and in pleasant intercourse with his fellowmen. High social or political aspirations, or high aspirations of any kind, will hardly survive the disillusion. “We have an interest in our own children. But otherwise what interest have we in the generations that are to come after us on which a religion of humanity can be founded? It is not a very lively interest that we feel even in the remoter members of the human race, to say nothing of those in the next street. Yet these exist; and of their existence we are conscious, and are reminded by the electric cable. Of the existence of future generations, supposing there is no future life, we shall not be conscious, and, therefore, for us thev will not exist. We cannot even say with absolute certainty that they will exist at all. The end of man’s dwelling-place, and, therefore, of all human progress, science tells us, will be a physical catastrophe; and there are even those who seem to think that this catastrophe may be forestalled by a recurrence of the glacial era. Natural law. which science bids us venerate, departs. it must be remembered, with the lawgiver. Nothing remains but physical forces without a guiding mind, the play of which it is impossible to forecast. As to posthumous fame, it would be an arrant delusion, even if one man in a million could hope to obtain it. “Whatever conduces to the enjoyment and prolongation of this life will probably be sought more energetically than before. Material progress, therefore, may quicken its pace. Nor is it likely that men will be quite so ready as they are now to throw away their lives in war. At present the soldier in facing [3410]
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