Publication date
9/15/06
Volume
27
Number
18
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
/../literature/watchtower/1906/18/1906-18-1.html
 
 
ZION'S 
WATCH 
TOWER 
ALLEGHaNY, 
PA. 
To 
appreciate 
their 
question 
we 
must 
understand 
that 
the 
Sadducees 
were 
a 
class 
of 
Jew.s 
well 
educated, 
intellectual, 
but 
utterly 
lacking 
in 
any 
faith 
respecting 
a 
future 
life. 
Whether 
or 
not 
they 
believed 
in 
a 
God, 
we 
are 
not 
informed, 
but 
that 
they 
did 
not 
believe 
in 
invisible 
angels 
ar 
spirit 
beings 
of 
any 
kind, 
and 
that 
they 
denied 
that 
there 
would 
be 
a 
resurrection 
for 
mankind 
more 
than 
for 
the 
brute 
beast 
was 
clearly 
stated. 
They 
were 
worldly-wise 
men 
who 
believed 
that 
their 
countrymen 
were 
laboring 
under 
a 
foolish 
delusion 
in 
expecting 
any 
blessings 
in 
the 
future. 
They 
held 
that 
when 
a 
man 
dies 
that 
i.s 
the 
end 
of 
him. 
The 
Sadducees 
presented 
a 
question 
which 
they 
thought 
would 
show 
up 
the 
weakness 
of 
J 
csus' 
position 
before 
the 
people, 
and 
incidentally 
also 
the 
weakness 
of 
the 
theories 
of 
other 
Jews. 
Their 
question 
was 
probably 
a 
suppositious 
one, 
thaugh 
stated 
as 
a 
fact. 
They 
cited 
the 
Jewish 
law 
respecting 
Jewish 
marriage 
stated 
in 
Deuteronomv 
25:5-10. 
The 
ob­ 
ject 
of 
that 
law 
seemingly 
was 
to 
prevent 
the 
obliteration 
of 
any 
family. 
The 
suppositious 
case 
was 
that 
under 
this 
law 
one 
brother 
married 
and, 
dying 
without 
children, 
the 
second 
brother 
married 
his 
wife, 
and 
so 
on 
until 
the 
seven 
brethren 
had 
married 
the 
one 
woman, 
each 
In 
turn. 
Now 
the 
query 
was, 
Whose 
wife 
should 
she 
be 
in 
the 
re.surrection, 
since 
she 
was 
the 
wife 
of 
the 
seven 
during 
her 
earthly 
life' 
The 
question 
was 
intended 
to 
show 
the 
absurdity 
of 
believ­ 
ing 
in 
a 
reflurrection, 
that 
it 
would 
occasion 
all 
kinds 
of 
confusion, 
etc. 
Our 
Lord's 
answer 
was, 
Is 
not 
your 
difficulty, 
your 
error, 
this-that 
ye 
unc1erstand 
not 
the 
Scriptures 
nor 
the 
power 
of 
God' 
If 
you 
sufficiently 
appreciated 
the 
power 
of 
God 
you 
would 
know 
that 
he 
who 
is 
able 
to 
raise 
the 
dead 
is 
able 
also 
to 
order 
and 
dltect 
all 
the 
incidental 
affairs 
con­ 
nected 
with 
the 
resurrection 
of 
mankind. 
If 
you 
had 
a 
proper 
appreciation 
of 
God's 
character 
you 
would 
have 
faith 
in 
him 
and 
woulc1 
not 
stumble 
aver 
such 
a 
trivial 
matter 
as 
this. 
Leave 
it 
with 
God. 
Let 
me 
explain, 
however, 
that 
when 
they 
shall 
ri.se 
from 
the 
dead 
they 
will 
neither 
marry 
nor 
be 
given 
in 
marriage, 
but 
will 
be 
like 
the 
angels 
in 
heaven, 
sexless. 
This 
was 
a 
new 
thought 
to 
them. 
Our 
Lord 
did 
nat 
attempt 
a 
particular 
answer 
to 
their 
que.stion, 
knowing 
(1) 
that 
they 
were 
not 
sincere 
question­ 
ers, 
and 
that 
such 
an 
explanation 
would 
be 
like 
casting 
pearls 
before 
swine; 
(2) 
furthermore, 
it 
was 
not 
yet 
time 
to 
give 
an 
explanation 
of 
many 
of 
the 
details 
respecting 
the 
resurrection. 
Many 
of 
those 
details 
belong 
only 
to 
the 
spir­ 
itual, 
and 
could 
not 
be 
understoon. 
by 
any 
except 
those 
be­ 
gotten 
of 
the 
Spirit, 
and 
the 
Spirit 
begetting 
could 
not 
come 
until 
Pentecost, 
and 
Pentecost 
could 
not 
came 
until 
after 
the 
Lord 
had 
paid 
our 
penalty 
with 
the 
sacrifice 
of 
himself 
and 
had 
ascended 
up 
on 
high 
and 
appeared 
in 
the 
presence 
of 
God 
on 
our 
behalf. 
From 
our 
standpoint, 
however, 
we 
see 
that 
our 
Lord 
withont 
designating 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
church 
or 
th~ 
resurrection 
of 
the 
worlc1, 
stated 
the 
matter 
broadly 
in 
such 
a 
way 
as 
to 
apply 
to 
both. 
For 
instance, 
those 
who 
will 
constitute 
the 
church, 
and 
who 
will 
be 
changed 
from 
earthly 
to 
heavenly 
nature 
in 
the 
first 
resurrection-" 
changed 
in 
a 
moment' 
'-will 
be 
Spirit 
beings 
like 
unto 
our 
Lard 
and 
like 
unto 
the 
angels 
also 
in 
respect 
that 
they 
will 
be 
se~less. 
As 
for 
the 
world, 
which 
will 
not 
be 
changed 
from 
earthly 
to 
heavenly 
nature, 
and 
will 
not 
experience 
a 
resurrection 
change 
in 
a 
moment, 
but 
a 
gradual 
change 
or 
uplift, 
pro­ 
gressing 
step 
by 
step 
during 
the 
thousand 
years 
of 
the 
"times 
of 
restitution," 
it 
will 
al.so 
be 
true 
that 
when 
they 
shall 
have 
attained 
that 
world 
and 
shall 
have 
attained 
the 
resurrection 
from 
the 
dead 
they 
will 
neither 
marry 
nor 
be 
given 
in 
marriage, 
but 
be 
sexless. 
That 
is 
to 
say, 
the 
re­ 
stored 
human 
family 
will, 
during 
the 
period 
of 
restitution, 
lose 
their 
sexual 
distinctions, 
and 
at 
the 
end 
of 
the 
thousand 
year.s 
be 
all 
of 
them 
in 
perfection, 
like 
Adam 
was 
before 
Eve 
was 
taken 
from 
his 
side. 
• 
'NOT 
THE 
GOD 
OF 
THE 
DEAD" 
Having 
answered 
their 
question 
that 
the 
resurrection 
diffi­ 
culties 
they 
anticipated 
arose 
from 
a 
failure 
to 
appreciate 
the 
divine 
power 
then 
in 
control, 
our 
Lord 
passed 
onward 
in 
the 
argument 
to 
show 
that 
they 
did 
not 
grasp 
the 
spirit 
of 
the 
Scriptural 
testimony. 
They 
had 
reasoned 
that 
the 
Old 
Testa· 
ment 
saia 
very 
little 
about 
resurrection 
anyway. 
Our 
Lord 
pro­ 
ceeded 
to 
show 
them 
that 
there 
were 
various 
features 
of 
the 
Scriptures 
which 
indirectly 
taught 
the 
resurrection 
without 
mentioning 
it 
in 
so 
many 
words. 
He 
pointed 
them 
to 
the 
time 
when 
the 
Lord 
appeared 
to 
Moses 
and 
spoke 
to 
him 
from 
the 
burning 
bush, 
saying, 
"I 
am 
the 
God 
of 
Abraham, 
the 
God 
of 
Isaac 
and 
the 
God 
of 
Jacob." 
Jesus' 
argument 
with 
the 
Sad­ 
ducees 
was 
that 
since 
Abraham, 
Isaac 
and 
Jacob 
were 
at 
this 
time 
dead, 
for 
God 
to 
thus 
speak 
of 
them 
implied 
a 
resurrec­ 
tion 
of 
the 
dead, 
implied 
that 
he 
still 
recognized 
them 
in 
some 
sense 
or 
degree, 
that 
they 
were 
not 
extinct-that 
God, 
for 
in­ 
stance, 
would 
not 
speak 
of 
being 
the 
God 
of 
a 
dead 
camel 
or 
a 
dead 
dog, 
because 
he 
had 
made 
no 
provision 
for 
a 
resurrection 
of 
camels, 
dogs, 
etc., 
but 
his 
provision 
for 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
human 
dead 
is 
a 
fact, 
and 
constitutes 
a 
full 
explanation 
of 
his 
statement 
here-that 
he 
is 
still 
the 
God 
of 
Abraham, 
Isaac 
and 
Jacob. 
We 
live 
in 
a 
day 
when 
Satan's 
delusions 
through 
Platonic 
philosophy 
has 
gained 
a 
large 
control 
over 
the 
world. 
All 
the 
heathen 
today 
believe 
that 
death 
is 
not 
death, 
but 
an 
entrance 
into 
a 
fuller 
life, 
and 
Christian 
people 
in 
general 
so 
believe, 
some 
of 
them 
even 
using 
this 
passage 
of 
Scripture 
to 
demon­ 
strate 
their 
belief, 
saying 
that 
if 
God 
be 
the 
God 
of 
Abraham, 
Isaac 
and 
Jacob 
they 
could 
not 
have 
been 
dead 
in 
any 
sense 
of 
the 
word, 
but 
must 
have 
been 
alive 
somewhere, 
they 
know 
not 
where. 
We 
answer 
that 
these 
also 
err 
in 
not 
giving 
proper 
at­ 
tention 
to 
the 
Scriptures, 
which 
teach 
not 
that 
the 
dead 
are 
alive, 
but 
that 
there 
shall 
be 
a 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead, 
both 
of 
the 
just 
and 
of 
the 
unjust. 
This 
is 
what 
our 
Lord 
taught, 
and 
this 
is 
therefore 
what 
all 
of 
his 
followers 
should 
believe 
if 
they 
would 
have 
the 
full 
blessing 
intended 
for 
those 
who 
con­ 
tend 
earnestly 
for 
the 
faith 
once 
delivered 
to 
the 
saints. 
Note 
that 
our 
Lord 
so 
expresses 
it: 
his 
argument 
is 
based 
upon 
and 
introduced 
by 
the 
words, 
"As 
touching 
the 
dead 
that 
they 
arise, 
have 
ye 
not 
heard," 
etc.-he 
does 
not 
say 
"as 
touching 
the 
living 
that 
they 
shall 
arise," 
for 
how 
can 
the 
living 
arise' 
It 
is 
the 
dead 
who 
need 
a 
resurrection. 
The 
Scriptures 
never 
suggested 
the 
absurdity 
of 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
living, 
but 
continually 
assure 
us 
of 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead, 
both 
the 
just 
and 
the 
unjust.-Acts 
24:15. 
Every 
doctrine 
of 
the 
Bible 
is 
intimately 
associated 
with 
the 
statement 
that 
the 
wages 
of 
sin 
is 
literal, 
actual 
death­ 
not 
merely 
the 
death 
of 
the 
body, 
but" 
the 
soul 
that 
sinneth 
it 
shall 
die." 
(Ezek. 
18 
:4.) 
The 
death 
of 
the 
soul 
was 
the 
penalty 
upon 
Adam 
and 
upon 
all 
of 
his 
race; 
hence 
our 
Lord 
redeemed 
our 
souls 
from 
the 
tomb 
(Psalm 
49: 
15), 
and 
the 
redemption 
price 
he 
gave 
was 
his 
own 
soul, 
his 
own 
being, 
when" 
he 
poured 
out 
his 
soul 
unto 
death," 
"he 
made 
his 
soul 
an 
offering 
for 
sin." 
(Isa. 
53: 
10, 
12.) 
Since 
it 
is 
the 
souls 
of 
men 
that 
are 
redeemed 
the 
resurrection 
is 
to 
be 
a 
r~surrec­ 
tion 
of 
the 
souls, 
and 
the 
resurrection 
of 
our 
Lord, 
we 
are 
told, 
was 
a 
resurrection 
of 
his 
soul, 
as 
foretold 
by 
the 
Prophet 
and 
confirmed 
by 
the 
Apostle, 
"Thou 
wilt 
not 
leave 
my 
soul 
in 
sheol," 
hades, 
in 
the 
tomb.-Psa. 
16 
:10; 
Acts 
2 
:31. 
While 
it 
is 
unwise 
to 
push 
this 
feature 
of 
the 
truth 
to 
the 
front 
because 
of 
the 
prejudice 
that 
exists 
in 
the 
minds 
of 
so 
many 
of 
the 
Lord's 
people, 
and 
because 
it 
is 
proper 
that 
we 
should 
be 
wise 
fishers 
of 
men, 
nevertheless 
it 
is 
absolutely 
in­ 
dispensable 
to 
an 
appreciation 
of 
the 
divine 
plan 
that 
all 
should 
come 
ultimately 
to 
see 
that 
this 
is 
the 
fundamental 
teaching 
of 
God's 
Word, 
and 
to 
build 
the 
proper 
faith 
structure 
in 
har­ 
mony 
therewith. 
Adam 
died 
and 
we 
in 
him-Christ 
died 
as 
our 
Redeemer, 
and 
thereby 
made 
possible 
the 
resurrection 
of 
the 
dead, 
both 
of 
the 
just 
and 
unjust, 
as 
promised 
in 
God's 
Word. 
We 
who 
now 
are 
called 
have 
the 
special 
invitation 
to 
be 
of 
the 
just, 
the 
justified, 
the 
acceptable 
with 
God-to 
have 
part 
in 
the 
First 
Resurrection 
and 
be 
the 
kings 
and 
priests 
to 
reign 
with 
our 
Lord 
on 
the 
earth, 
to 
bless 
the 
world 
and 
to 
grant 
to 
man­ 
kind 
in 
general 
the 
gradual 
uplifting 
or 
raising 
up 
out 
of 
sin­ 
and-death 
conditions 
to 
the 
full 
perfection 
of 
human 
nature 
lost 
in 
Adam 
and 
redeemed 
by 
the 
precious 
blood. 
VOL. 
XXVII 
ALLEGHENY, 
P 
A., 
SEPTEMBER 
15, 
1906 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No. 
18 
THE 
JEW 
I 
THE 
JEW 
I 
THE 
JEW 
I 
spiring 
throughout 
the 
world 
affecting 
the 
Jews. 
Noting 
that 
Spiritual 
Israelites, 
who 
recognize 
that 
according 
to 
the 
the 
favor 
to 
Spiritual 
Israel 
meant 
the 
disfavor 
of 
natural 
Word 
of 
God 
natural 
Israel 
is 
yet 
to 
play 
an 
important 
part 
Israel, 
and 
that 
the 
completion 
of 
Spiritual 
Israel 
would 
mean 
in 
the 
world's 
affairs, 
naturally 
wateh 
keenly 
everything 
tran- 
the 
return 
of 
natural 
Israel 
to 
divine 
favor 
(Rom. 
11:25-32), 
[3854] 
(286-291) To appreciate their question we must understand that the Sadducees were a class of Jews well educated, intellectual, but utterly lacking in any faith respecting a future life. Whether or not they believed in a God, we are not informed, but that they did not believe in invisible angels or spirit beings of any kind, and that they denied that there would be a resurrection for mankind more than for the brute beast was clearly stated. They were worldly-wise men who believed that their countrymen were laboring under a foolish delusion in expecting any blessings in the future. They held that when aman dies that is the end of him. The Sadducees presented a question which they thought would show up the weakness of Jesus’ position before the people, and incidentally also the weakness of the theories of other Jews. Their question was probably a suppositious one, though stated as a fact. They cited the Jewish law respecting Jewish marriage stated in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. The object of that law seemingly was to prevent the obliteration of any family. The suppositious case was that under this law one brother married and, dying without children, the second brother married his wife, and so on until the seven brethren had married the one woman, each in turn. Now the query was, Whose wife should she be in the resurrection, since she was the wife of the seven during her earthly life? The question was intended to show the absurdity of believing in a resurrection, that it would oceasion all kinds of confusion, ete. Our Lord’s answer was, Is not your difficulty, your error, this—that ye understand not the Scriptures nor the power of God? If you sufficiently appreciated the power of God you would know that he who is able to raise the dead is able also to order and direct all the incidental affairs connected with the resurrection of mankind. If you had a proper appreciation of God’s character you would have faith in him and would not stumble over such a trivial matter as this. Leave it with God. Let me explain, however, that when they shall rise from the dead they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like the angels in heaven, sexless. This was a new thought to them. Our Lord did not attempt a particular answer to their question, knowing (1) that they were not sincere questioners, and that such an explanation would be like casting pearls before swine; (2) furthermore, it was not yet time to give an explanation of many of the details respecting the resurrection. Many of those details belong only to the spiritual, and could not be understood by any except those begotten of the Spirit, and the Spirit begetting could not come until Pentecost, and Pentecost could not come until after the Lord had paid our penalty with the sacrifice of himself and had ascended up on high and appeared in the presence of God on our behalf. From our standpoint, however, we see that our Lord, without designating the resurrection of the church or the resurrection of the world, stated the matter broadly in such a way as to apply to both. For instance, those who will constitute the church, and who will be changed from earthly to heavenly nature in the first resurrection—‘‘changed in a moment’’—will be Spirit beings like unto our Lord, and like unto the angels also in respect that they will be sexless. As for the world, which will not be changed from earthly to heavenly nature, and will not experience a resurrection change in a moment, but a gradual change or uplift, progressing step by step during the thousand years of the “‘times of restitution,’’ it will also be true that when they shall have attained that world and shall have attained the resurrection from the dead they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but be sexless. That is to say, the restored human family will, during the period of restitution, lose their sexual distinctions, and at the end of the thousand years be atl of them in perfection, like Adam was before Eve was taken from his side. . “NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD”’ Having answered their question that the resurrection diffi culties they anticipated arose from a failure to appreciate the ZION’S WATCH TOWER Atiecueny, Pa, divine power then in control, our Lord passed onward in the argument to show that they did not grasp the spirit of the Seriptural testimony. They had reasoned that the Old Testament said very little about resurrection anyway. Our Lord proceeded to show them that there were various features of the Seriptures which indirectly taught the resurrection without mentioning it in so many words. He pointed them to the time when the Lord appeared to Moses and spoke to him from the burning bush, saying, ‘‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaae and the God of Jacob.’’ Jesus’ argument with the Sadducees was that since Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were at this time dead, for God to thus speak of them implied a resurrection of the dead, implied that he still recognized them in some sense or degree, that they were not extinct—that God, for instance, would not speak of being the God of a dead camel or a dead dog, because he had made no provision for a resurrection of camels, dogs, ete., but his provision for the resurrection of the human dead is a fact, and constitutes a full explanation of his statement here—that he is still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We live in a day when Satan’s delusions through Platonic philosophy has gained a large control over the world. All the heathen today believe that death is not death, but an entrance into a fuller life, and Christian people in general so believe, some of them even using this passage of Scripture to demonstrate their belief, saying that if God be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob they could not have been dead in any sense of the word, but must have been alive somewhere, they know not where. We answer that these also err in not giving proper attention to the Scriptures, which teach not that the dead are alive, but that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. This is what our Lord taught, and this is therefore what all of his followers should believe if they would have the full blessing intended for those who contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Note that our Lord so expresses it: his argument is based upon and introduced by the words, ‘‘As touching the dead that they arise, have ye not heard,’’ ete.—he does not say ‘‘as touching the living that they shall arise,’’ for how can the living arise? It is the dead who need a resurrection. The Scriptures never suggested the absurdity of the resurrection of the living, but continually assure us of the resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust.—Acts 24:15. Every doctrine of the Bible is intimately associated with the statement that the wages of sin is literal, actual death— not merely the death of the body, but ‘‘the soul that sinneth it shall die.’? (Ezek. 18:4.) The death of the soul was the penalty upon Adam and upon all of his race; hence our Lord redeemed our souls from the tomb (Psalm 49:15), and the redemption price he gave was his own soul, his own being, when ‘‘he poured out his soul unto death,’’ ‘‘he made his soul au offering for sin.’’ (Isa. 53:10, 12.) Since it is the souls of men that are redeemed the resurrection is to be a resurrection of the souls, and the resurrection of our Lord, we are told, was a resurrection of his soul, as foretold by the Prophet and confirmed by the Apostle, ‘‘Thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol,’’ hades, in the tomb.—Psa. 16:10; Acts 2:31. While it is unwise to push this feature of the truth to the front because of the prejudice that exists in the minds of so many of the Lord’s people, and because it is proper that we should be wise fishers of men, nevertheless it is absolutely indispensable to an appreciation of the divine plan that all should come ultimately to see that this is the fundamental teaching of God’s Word, and to build the proper faith structure in harmony therewith. Adam died and we in him—Christ died as our Redeemer, and thereby made possible the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust, as promised in God’s Word. We who now are called have the special invitation to be of the just, the justified, the acceptable with God—to have part in the First Resurrection and be the kings and priests to reign with our Lord on the earth, to bless the world and to grant to mankind in general the gradual uplifting or raising up out of sinand-death conditions to the full perfection of human nature Jost in Adam and redeemed by the precious blood. Vout. XXVII ALLEGHENY, PA., SEPTEMBER 15, 1906 No. 18 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER THE JEW! THE JEW! THE JEW! Spiritual Israelites, who recognize that according to the Word of God natural Israel is yet to play an important part in the world’s affairs, naturally watch keenly everything tran spiring throughout the world affecting the Jews. Noting that the favor to Spiritual Israel meant the disfavor of natural Israel, and that the completion of Spiritual Israel would mean the return of natural Israel to divine favor (Rom. 11:25-32), [3854]

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