Publication date
1/1/13
Volume
34
Number
1
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1913/1/1913-1-1.html
 
VOL. 
XXXIV 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
JANUARY 
1, 
1913 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No.1 
TIDS 
WONDERFUL 
PERIOD 
There 
never 
was 
such 
a 
wonderful 
period 
! 
We 
Dever 
before 
knew 
so 
much 
or 
could 
do 
so 
much. 
We 
never 
ex­ 
perienced 
an 
age 
of 
equal 
comfort. 
No 
part 
of 
yesterday 
was 
as 
glorious 
as 
this 
hour. 
The 
hundred 
years 
behind 
us 
are 
jammed 
and 
crammed 
with 
achievements 
that 
outbalance 
the 
sum 
total 
of 
progress 
since 
the 
signing 
of 
the 
Magna 
Charta. 
The 
average 
mechanic 
enjoys 
luxuries 
that 
Midas, 
with 
all 
his 
wealth, 
could 
not 
command. 
The 
college 
freshman 
has 
more 
real 
information 
in 
his 
little 
finger 
than 
the 
erudition 
of 
the 
foremost 
scholar 
of 
the 
Renaissance. 
We 
have 
done 
more 
to 
put 
existence 
on 
a 
sane, 
logical 
and 
definite 
basis 
than 
the 
sum 
total 
of 
our 
ancestors. 
A 
mere 
hundred 
years 
ago 
even 
the 
scientist 
thought 
that 
the 
atmosphere 
was 
simply 
space-that 
gas 
was 
only 
a 
smell. 
The 
first 
microbe 
hadn't 
disclosed 
his 
identity. 
Metchnikoff 
'8 
annOuncement 
of 
battling 
hosts 
in 
every 
drop 
of 
human 
blood 
would 
have 
earned 
him 
a 
padded 
celL 
The 
best 
illumination 
George 
Washington 
could 
secure 
came 
from 
tallow 
dips, 
lighted 
by 
striking 
a 
spark 
from 
flint 
and 
steeL 
Every 
piece 
of 
fabric 
was 
woven 
by 
hand. 
The 
only 
horse-power 
was 
four-legged 
and 
wore 
a 
taiL 
The 
steamboat 
was 
still 
building 
on 
the 
ways 
of 
Fulton's 
brain, 
and 
the 
wheels 
of 
the 
steam 
engine 
had 
only 
moved 
in 
Stephenson's 
head. 
It 
took 
Benjamin 
Franklin 
two 
weeks 
to 
send 
a 
letter 
from 
Boston 
and 
get 
a 
reply 
from 
Baltimore. 
Abraham 
Lincoln's 
angular 
frame 
never 
reposed 
in 
a 
Pull­ 
man 
berth. 
Garfield 
called 
a 
20-day 
"liner" 
an 
"ocean 
greyhound." 
It 
is 
hardly 
a 
year 
since 
the 
father 
of 
antiseptic 
surgery 
was 
gathered 
to 
his 
fathers. 
Electric 
light, 
trolley 
cars, 
bicycles, 
automobiles, 
depart­ 
ment 
stores, 
skyscrapers, 
lO-cent 
collars, 
tinned 
salmon, 
air­ 
ships, 
penny 
newspapers, 
appendicitis 
and 
power 
cranes 
are 
infant 
ideas 
still 
toddling 
in 
their 
diapers. 
Thirty 
years 
ago 
electricity 
had 
never 
been 
hitched 
to 
a 
wheel; 
gunpowder 
was 
the 
most 
powerful 
explosive; 
subways 
weren't 
considered 
within 
range 
of 
possibility. 
"Impossibility" 
is 
now 
an 
old-fashioned 
word 
with 
a 
defi­ 
nition, 
but 
not 
a 
meaning. 
Almost 
every 
dream 
of 
the 
past 
is 
a 
reality 
today. 
The 
magic 
cities 
and 
the 
fairy 
kingiloms 
of 
your 
grand­ 
mother 
aren't 
half 
so 
wonderful 
as 
the 
world 
in 
which 
you 
live.-The 
Cincinnati 
Post. 
* 
* 
* 
PRESENT 
DAY 
INVENTIONS 
FORE 
GLEAMS 
OF 
MESSIAH'S 
KINGDOM 
The 
above 
surely 
is 
not 
exaggeration! 
What 
thanks 
should 
be 
rising 
from 
all 
our 
hearts 
to 
Gou, 
the 
Giver 
of 
every 
good 
and 
perfect 
gift! 
How 
energetic 
we 
all 
shoulU 
be 
to 
rightly 
use 
present 
Jllessings 
and 
opportunities 
for 
our 
own 
good, 
for 
the 
good 
of 
our 
families 
and 
neighbors-all 
men! 
Thinking 
people 
cannot 
help 
wondering 
why 
so 
many 
bless­ 
lllgS 
have 
been 
crowded 
into 
our 
day. 
There 
is 
but 
one 
answer, 
and 
remarkably 
few 
seem 
to 
realize 
it. 
Some 
are 
disposed 
to 
say 
that 
all 
of 
these 
blessings 
come 
as 
a 
result 
of 
another 
onward 
step 
of 
evolution! 
Is 
this 
reasonable 
~ 
Do 
we 
see 
signs 
of 
excessive 
wisdom 
in 
ourselves 
or 
others? 
How 
many 
people 
do 
any 
of 
us 
know 
personally 
who 
have 
ever 
invented 
any 
great, 
wonderful 
or 
useful 
article 
of 
the 
many 
which 
go 
to 
make 
up 
our 
wonderful 
day1 
Examining 
carefully 
the 
personality 
and 
history 
of 
indi 
viduals 
through 
whom 
present 
day 
blessings 
come, 
we 
may 
well 
be 
astonished. 
'Ve 
find 
that 
very 
few 
of 
them 
have 
been 
men 
of 
great 
education, 
and 
many 
of 
them 
are 
by 
no 
means 
great 
men 
in 
any 
sense 
of 
the 
word, 
except 
in 
the 
one 
particu. 
lar 
of 
their 
invention. 
It 
is 
by 
no 
means 
sure 
that 
the 
prod­ 
igies 
of 
today 
are 
any 
more 
numerous 
than 
those 
of 
previous 
periods, 
but 
Our 
facilities 
for 
knowing 
about 
them 
have 
in­ 
creased 
a 
thousand-fold. 
Through 
the 
printed 
page 
the 
knowledge 
of 
an 
invention, 
carried 
before 
the 
civilized 
world, 
becomes 
a 
stimulant 
to 
others, 
furnishing, 
perhaps, 
a 
connecting 
link 
for 
another 
in­ 
vention. 
Many 
of 
our 
great 
inventors 
tell 
us 
that 
they 
mPfely 
stumbled 
on 
their 
invention. 
Our 
successful 
air-brake 
patent, 
for 
instance, 
is 
merely 
the 
development 
of 
the 
cruder 
thought 
that 
water, 
hydraulic 
power, 
could 
be 
used 
to 
operate 
brakes. 
A 
still 
brighter 
mind 
caught 
the 
thought, 
and 
realized 
that 
air 
would 
serve 
the 
purpose 
better. 
As 
an 
illustration 
of 
the 
fact 
that 
mental 
illumination 
may 
be 
along 
some 
one 
particular 
line, 
we 
remind 
our 
readers 
of 
"Blind 
Tom." 
He 
was 
noted 
for 
his 
wonderful 
skill 
in 
play­ 
ing 
any 
tune 
that 
he 
might 
hear. 
He 
had 
no 
education; 
in 
fact, 
he 
was 
almost 
idiotic, 
incapable 
of 
receiving 
an 
educa­ 
tion. 
But 
he 
had 
an 
ear 
for 
music 
which 
made 
him 
famous. 
Can 
we 
claim 
that 
we 
or 
others 
of 
our 
day 
stand 
so 
high 
intel­ 
lectually 
as 
to 
be 
able 
to 
look 
down 
upon 
some 
of 
the 
bright 
minds 
of 
the 
past~ 
Have 
we 
many 
Shakespeares, 
many 
Byrons, 
many 
St. 
Pauls, 
many 
Ciceros~ 
Have 
we 
many 
Solomons' 
or 
are 
there 
many 
who 
could 
compare 
with 
Moses 
~ 
THE 
MILLENNIUM 
HAS 
COME 
I 
We 
must 
look 
in 
another 
direction, 
if 
we 
would 
rightly 
understand 
and 
properly 
appreciate 
the 
meaning 
of 
the 
won­ 
derful 
inventions 
of 
our 
day. 
They 
are 
coming 
to 
us 
because 
we 
are 
living 
in 
the 
dawning 
of 
a 
new 
dispensation! 
They 
are 
the 
foregleams 
of 
an 
Epoch 
so 
wonderful 
as 
to 
be 
]H'yond 
our 
most 
vivid 
imagination. 
Evidently 
God 
has 
been 
gradually 
lifting 
the 
veil 
of 
ignorance 
from 
the 
eyes 
of 
human 
under­ 
standing. 
Gradually 
he 
has 
allowed 
us 
to 
see 
the 
power 
of 
steam-gradually 
to 
learn 
how 
to 
apply 
it. 
Later 
he 
lifte(l 
the 
veil 
in 
respect 
to 
electricity. 
Now 
its 
marvels 
are 
enlight­ 
ening 
the 
world. 
Shortly 
chemistry 
will 
be 
accomplishing 
wonders 
for 
us­ 
no 
doubt 
making 
unnecessary 
the 
mining 
of 
coal. 
From 
the 
air 
that 
we 
breathe 
and 
the 
water 
that 
we 
drink 
we 
shall 
doubt­ 
less 
shortly 
know 
how 
to 
separate 
the 
elements 
necessary 
to 
furnish 
us 
the 
light 
anll 
the 
heat 
indispensable 
to 
the 
world's 
progress. 
Everyth 
ing 
is 
getting 
ready 
for 
the 
Millennium! 
Not 
only 
is 
it 
coming, 
but 
it 
is 
here! 
We 
are 
not, 
indeed, 
enjoying 
its 
full 
hlessings 
yet; 
but 
what 
we 
are 
enjoying 
is 
a 
foretaste 
of 
them. 
All 
of 
our 
hearts 
should 
be 
attracted 
more 
and 
more 
to 
the 
Lord 
in 
thankfulness 
for 
his 
wonderful 
mercies. 
More 
and 
more 
we 
should 
be 
studying 
his 
divine 
Word, 
the 
Bible. 
From 
it 
we 
should 
be 
coming 
daily 
to 
a 
clearer 
understanding 
of 
the 
divine 
character 
and 
plan. 
This 
alone 
will 
chase 
away 
our 
ignorance 
and 
superstition, 
and 
bring 
us 
love, 
joy, 
and 
peace. 
The 
blessings 
of 
God 
now 
coming 
to 
the 
world 
will 
center 
in 
Christ's 
sacrifice 
at 
Calvary. 
During 
the 
past 
eighteen 
centuries, 
His 
redemptive 
work 
has 
been 
the 
gathering 
of 
the 
[5153] 
erald of ((hrists Presence Vou. XXXIV BROOKLYN, N. Y., JANUARY 1, 1913 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER THIS WONDERFUL PERIOD There never was such a wonderful period! before knew so much or could do so much. perienced an age of equal comfort. was as glorious as this hour. The hundred years behind us are jammed and crammed with achievements that outbalance the sum total of progress since the signing of the Magna Charta. The average mechanic enjoys luxuries that Midas, with all his wealth, could not command. The college freshman has more real information in his little finger than the erudition of the foremost scholar of the Renaissance. We have done more to put existence on a sane, logical and definite basis than the sum total of our ancestors. A mere hundred years ago even the scientist thought that the atmosphere was simply space—that gas was only a smell. The first microbe hadn’t disclosed his identity. Metchnikoff’s announcement of battling hosts in every drop of human blood would have earned him a padded cell. The best illumination George Washington could secure came from tallow dips, lighted by striking a spark from flint and steel. Every piece of fabrie was woven by hand. The only horse-power was four-legged and wore a tail. The steamboat was still building on the ways of Fulton’s brain, and the wheels of the steam engine had only moved in Stephenson’s head. It took Benjamin Franklin two weeks to send a letter from Boston and get a reply from Baltimore. Abraham Lincoln’s angular frame never reposed in a Pullman berth, Garfield called a 20-day ‘‘liner’’ an ‘‘ocean greyhound.’’ It is hardly a year since the father of antiseptic surgery was gathered to his fathers, Electric light, trolley cars, bicycles, automobiles, department stores, skyscrapers, 10-cent collars, tinned salmon, airships, penny newspapers, appendicitis and power cranes are infant ideas still toddling in their diapers. Thirty years ago electricity had never been hitched to a wheel; gunpowder was the most powerful explosive; subways weren’t considered within range of possibility. “‘Tmpossibility’’ is now an old-fashioned word with a definition, but not a meaning, Almost every dream of the past is a reality today. The magic cities and the fairy kingdoms of your grandmother aren’t half so wonderful as the world in which you live—The Cincinnati Post. We never We never exNo part of yesterday * * PRESENT DAY INVENTIONS FOREGLEAMS OF MESSIAH’S KINGDOM The above surely is not exaggeration! What thanks should be rising from all our hearts to God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift! How energetic we all should be to rightly use present blessings and opportunities for our own good, for the good of our families and neighbors—all men! Thinking people cannot help wondering why so many blessings have been crowded into our day. There is but one answer, and remarkably few seem to realize it. Some are disposed to say that all of these blessings come as a result of another onward step of evolution! Is this reasonable? Do we sce signs of excessive wisdom in ourselves or others? How many people do any of us know personally who have ever invented any [5153] great, wonderful or useful article of the many which go to make up our wonderful day? Examining carefully the personality and history of indi viduals through whom present day blessings come, we may well be astonished. We find that very few of them have been men of great education, and many of them are by no means great men in any sense of the word, except in the one particular of their invention. It is by no means sure that the prodigies of today are any more numerous than those of previous periods, but our facilities for knowing about them have increased a thousand-fold. Through the printed page the knowledge of an invention, carried before the civilized world, becomes a stimulant to others, furnishing, perhaps, a connecting link for another invention, Many of our great inventors tell us that they merely stumbled on their invention. Our successful air-brake patent, for instance, is merely the development of the eruder thought that water, hydraulic power, could be used to operate brakes. A still brighter mind caught the thought, and realized that air would serve the purpose better. As an illustration of the fact that mental illumination may be along some one particular line, we remind our readers of “‘Blind Tom.’’ He was noted for his wonderful skill in playing any tune that he might hear. He had no education; in fact, he was almost idiotic, incapable of receiving an edueation. But he had an ear for music which made him famous. Can we claim that we or others of our day stand so high intellectually as to be able to look down upon some of the bright minds of the past? Have we many Shakespeares, many Byrons, many St. Pauls, many Ciceros? Have we many Solomons? or are there many who could compare with Moses? THE MILLENNIUM HAS COME! We must look in another direction, if we would rightly understand and properly appreciate the meaning of the wonderful inventions of our day. They are coming to us because we are living in the dawning of a new dispensation! They are the foregleams of an Epoch so wonderful as to be beyond our most vivid imagination. Evidently God has been gradually lifting the veil of ignorance from the eyes of human understanding. Gradually he has allowed us to see the power of steam—gradually to learn how to apply it. Later he lifted the veil in respect to electricity. Now its marvels are enlightening the world. Shortly chemistry will be accomplishing wonders for us-—— no doubt making unnecessary the mining of coal. From the air that we breathe and the water that we drink we shall doubtless shortly know how to separate the elements necessary to furnish us the light and the heat indispensable to the world’s progress. Everything is getting ready for the Millennium! Not only is it coming, but it is here! We are not, indeed, enjoying its full blessings yet; but what we are enjoying is a foretaste of them. All of our hearts should be attracted more and more to the Lord in thankfulness for his wonderful mercies. More and more we should be studying his divine Word, the Bible. From it we should be coming daily to a clearer understanding of the divine character and plan. This alone will chase away our ignorance and superstition, and bring us love, joy, and peace. The blessings of God now coming to the world will center in Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary. During the past eighteen centuries, His redemptive work has been the gathering of the (3-4)

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