Publication date
10/1/13
Volume
34
Number
19
The WatchTower
The Race-Course of the Age--Its "Cloud of Witnesses"
The Watchtower Magazines
/../literature/watchtower/1913/19/1913-19-1.html
 
 
 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y. 
is 
symbolic. 
It 
may 
refer 
to 
social 
upheaval 
and 
combustion, 
political 
troubles, 
fianncial 
troubles, 
and 
also 
some 
great 
physical 
manifestations 
of 
divine 
power 
in 
connection 
with 
the 
time 
of 
trouble. 
But 
all 
this 
is 
only 
suppositionary., 
We 
are 
expecting 
a 
change; 
and 
if 
this 
change 
shall 
be 
accompanied 
by 
physical 
disturbances, 
now 
is 
the 
time 
for 
them 
to 
be 
coming. 
For 
the 
Lord 
says, 
"They 
shall 
not 
hurt 
nor 
destroy 
in 
all 
my 
holy 
mountain' 
'-kingdom. 
'l'he 
supposition 
that 
there 
would 
be 
catastrophe 
then 
\yould 
be 
out 
of 
harmony 
with 
this 
prophecy. 
Rather, 
the 
appropriate 
time, 
if 
there 
are 
to 
be 
such 
calamities 
and 
changes, 
physical 
or 
electrical, 
would 
seem 
to 
be 
just 
now-just 
at 
the 
time 
when, 
as 
the 
Lord 
forewarned, 
there 
is 
to 
be 
"a 
time 
of 
trouble 
such 
as 
never 
was 
since 
there 
was 
a 
nation' 
'-at 
the 
time, 
apparently, 
when 
the 
"four 
winds," 
the 
fallen 
angels, 
will 
become 
loose. 
All 
of 
these 
things 
together 
will 
constitute 
the 
"time 
of 
trouble 
such 
as 
never 
was." 
And 
from 
this 
time 
of 
trouble, 
"Watch 
ye, 
therefore, 
and 
pray 
always, 
that 
ye 
may 
be 
accounted 
worthy 
to 
escape." 
Watch 
that 
ye 
may 
"escape 
all 
these 
things 
that 
shall 
come 
to 
pass, 
and 
to 
stand 
before 
the 
Son 
of 
Man.' 
'-Luke 
21: 
36. 
ARE 
SUICIDES 
MORALLY 
RESPONSIBLE? 
Question.-Please 
give 
the 
correet 
idea 
as 
to 
the 
end 
of 
one 
who 
commits 
suicide. 
Will 
he 
be 
punished 
for 
it~ 
Or 
is 
death 
his 
punislnnent? 
Ans,ver.-The 
theory 
that 
suiei<les 
are 
hopelessly 
lost 
was 
formulated 
dming 
the 
dark 
ages. 
The 
thought 
was 
that 
self­ 
11l1lrder, 
heing 
a 
sin 
committed 
as 
a 
lnst 
aet, 
indicated 
a 
mind 
and 
heart 
out 
of 
accord 
with 
God 
'5 
arrangement 
to 
the 
last 
moment 
of 
life. 
The 
thought 
that 
dcath 
ends 
all 
hope 
clinched 
the 
theory 
that 
eternal 
torment 
is 
the 
wages 
of 
suicide. 
This, 
lI"e 
b<'!ie~e, 
is 
thoroughly 
wrong' 
in 
eyery 
way. 
The 
proper 
view 
according 
to 
the 
Bible 
is 
this: 
(1) 
Adam 
was 
disobedient, 
was 
sentenced 
to 
death. 
Thus 
his 
raee 
was 
born 
under 
unfavorable 
conditions, 
mental, 
moral 
and 
physical; 
in 
degeneracy, 
some 
more, 
some 
less; 
some 
in 
very 
poor 
physical 
health, 
some 
of 
very 
low 
moral 
status, 
some 
with 
very 
weak 
mental 
powers. 
A 
suicide 
often 
has 
all 
three 
of 
tlH'se 
inducing 
eauses 
as 
provocations 
to 
such 
an 
act. 
Snrel~' 
he 
\\'as 
either 
mentally 
weak 
or 
uninformed, 
ignorant; 
else 
he 
\vonlel 
not 
take 
his 
own 
life. 
His 
trouhle, 
then, 
was 
weaknpss 
of 
mind 
amI 
ju<lgment 
caused 
by 
Adam's 
trans­ 
gression. 
Ill' 
,vas 
a 
sharer 
of 
Adam's 
penalty-the 
death 
penalty; 
aud 
\,hen 
he 
<lied-no 
matter 
how-he 
came 
fully 
uIl(ler 
the 
efl'pet 
of 
that 
penalty-nothing 
more. 
Eternal 
torment 
is 
not 
in 
any 
way 
intimated 
in 
the 
death 
penalty. 
"'fhe 
soul 
that 
silllwth, 
it 
shall 
die." 
(2) 
God 
ha<l 
merey 
upon 
Adam, 
not 
in 
the 
way 
of 
abro­ 
gating 
the 
decision 
of 
th<~ 
divine 
comt 
and 
clearing 
the 
guilty 
one, 
hut 
in 
another 
\Yay-by 
providing 
redemption 
through 
the 
death 
of 
Christ. 
.J 
esus' 
death, 
by 
divine 
appointment, 
is 
to 
cover 
the 
sin 
of 
Adam-not 
only 
his 
original 
transgression 
and 
its 
penalty, 
but 
all 
the 
transgressions 
of 
his 
children, 
the 
world, 
which 
have 
resulted 
from 
his 
mental, 
moral 
and 
physical 
impairment. 
(3) 
This 
provision 
of 
God 
includes 
not 
only 
mental 
sick­ 
npss, 
hut 
moral 
sickness 
and 
physical 
sickness. 
All 
mankind 
are 
rpdcemed 
hy 
the 
precious 
blood 
of 
Christ. 
(4) 
The 
rc(lrmption 
of 
the 
world 
implies 
its 
eventual 
re­ 
lease 
from 
the 
eondpmnation 
of 
death. 
The 
time 
divinely 
ap­ 
pointed 
for 
thr 
rplease 
of 
all 
is 
the 
thousand 
years 
of 
Christ's 
reign-the 
Millennium. 
All 
mankind 
will 
then 
be 
liberated 
frorn 
the 
original 
condrmnation, 
and 
will 
he 
granted 
a 
full 
opportunity 
for 
the 
recovery 
of 
all 
that 
was 
lost. 
The 
mental­ 
ly 
sick, 
thr 
morally 
sick, 
and 
the 
physically 
decrepit-all 
will 
have 
opportunity 
for 
a 
full 
return 
to 
human 
perfection. 
(5) 
The 
only 
exceptions 
to 
this 
rule 
of 
restoration 
to 
Adam's 
original 
perfection 
will 
be 
those 
who 
during 
this 
Gospel 
age-from 
the 
death 
of 
Christ 
to 
his 
second 
coming­ 
are 
called 
out 
of 
the 
world, 
invited 
to 
become 
new 
creatures 
in 
Christ, 
and 
made 
associates 
with 
J 
psus, 
sharers 
in 
his 
exaltation 
to 
the 
divine 
nature 
and 
in 
his 
office. 
These 
are 
,justified 
(reckoned 
perfed) 
by 
faith 
in 
Christ's 
redemptive 
sacrifice, 
and 
then 
given 
the 
opportunity 
to 
present 
themselves 
as 
living 
sacrifices.-Homans 
12: 
1. 
(6) 
As 
Christians, 
during 
this 
Gospel 
age, 
might 
sin 
wil­ 
fully 
and 
thus 
forfeit 
all 
relationship 
to 
God 
and 
die 
the 
second 
death, 
so 
in 
the 
coming 
age, 
during 
the 
Millennium, 
the 
world 
in 
general, 
after 
having 
been 
brought 
to 
an 
accurate 
knowledge 
of 
the 
truth, 
may 
by 
wilful 
sin 
forfeit 
all 
relation­ 
ship 
to 
God, 
and 
die 
the 
second 
death. 
(7) 
In 
thus 
declaring 
that 
not 
only 
the 
sins 
of 
the 
church 
class, 
but 
the 
sins 
of 
the 
whole 
world, 
are 
covered 
by 
God's 
arrangement 
through 
the 
saerifice 
of 
Christ, 
we 
are 
not 
to 
be 
understood 
as 
meaning 
that 
the 
sinner 
is 
exempted 
from 
all 
punishment. 
On 
the 
contrary, 
each 
one 
has 
a 
responsibility 
for 
his 
own 
actions, 
even 
if 
he 
has 
hut 
imperfect 
knowledge. 
His 
responsihility, 
as 
Jesus 
pointed 
out, 
is 
in 
proportion 
to 
his 
knowledge. 
The 
Master 
dedured 
that 
he 
that 
knows 
his 
Master's 
will, 
and 
does 
it 
not, 
shall 
be 
punished 
with 
many 
stripes-severe 
pllnishment; 
and 
he 
who 
knows 
less 
of 
his 
Master's 
will, 
and 
does 
it 
not, 
shall 
be 
punished 
with 
fewer 
stripes--Iess 
punish­ 
ment. 
Sometimes 
those 
stripes, 
or 
punishments, 
come 
in 
the 
present 
life. 
With 
the 
church 
class 
it 
is 
uniformly 
so. 
But 
often 
the 
punishments 
are 
not 
meted 
out 
in 
the 
present 
life; 
however, 
they 
will 
be 
administered 
justly 
in 
the 
life 
to 
come. 
So 
the 
A 
postle 
declares, 
"Some 
men's 
sins 
are 
open 
before­ 
hand, 
going 
before 
to 
judgment; 
and 
some 
they 
follow 
after." 
-1 
Timothy 
5:24. 
(8) 
Along 
the 
above 
lines, 
we 
would 
not 
be 
inclined 
to 
hope 
that 
any 
suicide 
could 
be 
a 
member 
of 
the 
glorified 
church 
of 
Christ, 
but, 
at 
most, 
a 
part 
of 
the 
world-to 
have 
trial 
with 
the 
remainder 
of 
the 
world 
for 
life 
or 
death 
ever­ 
lasting 
under 
the 
favorable 
conditions 
of 
Messiah's 
kingdom. 
However, 
even 
upon 
this 
point 
we 
may 
not 
dogmatize, 
remem­ 
bering 
that 
some, 
apparently 
saintly, 
have 
been 
permitted 
of 
the 
Lord 
to 
lose 
their 
reason 
to 
a 
greater 
extent 
than 
some 
of 
the 
world 
who 
have 
committed 
suicide. 
VOL. 
XXXIV 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
OCTOBER 
1, 
1913 
No. 
19 
THE 
RACE-COURSE 
OF 
THE 
AGE-ITS 
"CLOUD 
OF 
WITNESSES" 
"Wherefore. 
seeing 
we 
also 
are 
compassed 
about 
with 
so 
great 
a 
cloud 
of 
witnesses, 
let 
us 
lay 
aside 
every 
weight 
and 
the 
sin 
which 
doth 
so 
easily 
beset 
us, 
and 
let 
us 
run 
with 
patience 
the 
race 
that 
is 
set 
before 
us. 
"-Hebrews 
12 
:1. 
The 
opening 
words 
of 
this 
text 
direct 
our 
minds 
back 
to 
it 
should 
have 
a 
strong 
influence 
upon 
you. 
These 
ancient 
the 
preceding 
context, 
as 
though 
St. 
Paul 
were 
saying, 
In 
worthies, 
through 
the 
achievements 
of 
their 
lives, 
are 
looking 
view 
of 
the 
great 
things 
accomplished 
by 
these 
faithful 
char- 
down 
upon 
you. 
aeters 
of 
tIl(' 
past, 
,vho 
manifested 
such 
faith 
and 
confidence 
The 
fact 
that 
the 
ancient 
worthies 
were 
even 
then 
dead 
in 
God 
that 
they 
were 
willing 
to 
deny 
themselves 
all 
earthly 
need 
not 
detract 
from 
the 
Apostle's 
figure 
of 
speech. 
This 
rights 
and 
privileges-seeing 
that 
we 
arc 
thus 
encompassed 
style 
of 
expression 
is 
commonly 
used 
by 
us 
all. 
As 
an 
illus- 
with 
so 
great 
a 
cloud 
of 
witllcsses-martyrs-let 
the 
inspira- 
tration, 
we 
recall 
that 
on 
one 
occasion 
Napoleon 
addressed 
tion 
of 
their 
example 
spur 
us 
to 
the 
greatest 
faithfulness 
in 
his 
army 
saying, 
"My 
men, 
thirty 
centuries 
look 
down 
upon 
running 
our 
race. 
you! 
' 
, 
While, 
stri0tly 
speaking, 
centuries 
cannot 
look 
down, 
The 
Apostle 
speaks 
of 
the 
ancient 
worthies 
as 
a 
"cloud 
yet 
in 
one 
sense 
of 
the 
word 
they 
can; 
for 
we 
can 
look 
back 
of 
witnessps." 
He 
does 
not 
use 
the 
word 
witnesses 
in 
the 
into 
the 
past 
and 
realize 
matters 
that 
are 
thirty 
centuries 
old 
sense 
in 
which 
it 
is 
used 
often 
today--in 
the 
sense 
of 
on- 
and 
more. 
lookers. 
Originally, 
the 
word 
witness' 
was 
used 
in 
the 
sense 
The 
Apostle 
wishes 
us 
to 
remember 
that 
this 
"cloud 
of 
of 
a 
witness 
to 
the 
truth, 
or 
a 
martyr. 
Therefore, 
the 
text 
witnesses" 
is 
surrounding 
us, 
and 
that 
therefore 
we 
should 
would 
seem 
to 
mean: 
Seeing 
that 
you 
have 
many 
surround- 
rim 
this 
race 
faithfully. 
While 
those 
nohle 
charartrrs 
will 
ing 
you 
of 
those 
\"hose 
lives 
testified 
to 
the 
truth-martyrs, 
not 
ohtain 
the 
prize 
for 
whic.h 
we 
are 
running, 
they 
are, 
who 
were 
cut 
off 
from 
home 
privileges 
and 
from 
life 
itself- 
nevertheless, 
to 
have 
a 
prize. 
As 
we 
recall 
how 
faithfully 
they 
[5318] 
(287-291) is symbolic. It may refer to social upheaval and combustion, political troubles, fianncial troubles, and also some great physical manifestations of divine power in connection with the time of trouble. But all this is only suppositionary.. We are expecting a change; and if this change shall be accompanied by physical disturbances, now is the time for them to be coming. For the Lord says, ‘‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain’’—kingdom. The supposition that there would be catastrophe then would be out of harmony with this prophecy. Rather, the appropriate time, if there are to be THE WATCH TOWER Brooxtyn, N. Y. such calamities and changes, physical or electrical, would seem to be just now-——just at the time when, as the Lord forewarned, there is to be ‘‘a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation’’—at the time, apparently, when the ‘‘four winds,’’ the fallen angels, will become loose. All of these things together will constitute the ‘‘time of trouble such as never was.’’ And from this time of trouble, ‘‘Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape.’’ Watch that ye may ‘‘eseape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.’’—Luke 21:36. ARE SUICIDES MORALLY RESPONSIBLE? Question.—Please give the correct idea as to the end of one who commits suicide. Will he be punished for it? Or is death his punishment? Answer.—The theory that suicides are hopelessly lost was formulated during the dark ages. The thought was that selfmurder, being a sin committed as a Jast act, indicated a mind and heart out of accord with God’s arrangement to the last moment of life. The thought that death ends all hope elinched the theory that eternal torment is the wages of suicide. This, we believe, is thoroughly wrong in every way. The proper view according to the Bible is this: (1) Adam was disobedient, was sentenced to death. Thus his race was born under unfavorable conditions, mental, moral and physical; in degeneracy, some more, some less; some in very poor physical health, some of very low moral status, some with very weak mental powers. A suicide often has all three of these inducing eauses as provocations to such an act. Surely he was either mentally weak or uninformed, ignorant; else he would not take his own life. His trouble, then, was weakness of mind and judgment eaused by Adam’s transgression. H{e was a sharer of Adam’s penalty—the death penalty; and when he died—no matter how—he came fully under the effeet of that penalty—nothing more. Eternal torment is not in any way intimated in the death penalty. ‘“‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’?’ (2) God had merey upon Adam, not in the way of abrogating the decision of the divine court and clearing the guilty one, but in another way—by providing redemption through the death of Christ. Jesus’ death, by divine appointment, is to cover the sin of Adam—not only his original transgression and its penalty, but all the transgressions of his children, the world, which have resulted from his mental, moral and physical impairment. (3) This provision of God includes not only mental sickness, but moral sickness and physical sickness. All mankind are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. (4) The redemption of the world implies its eventual release from the condemnation of death. The time divinely appointed for the release of all is the thousand years of Christ’s reign—the Millennium. All mankind will then be liberated from the original condemnation, and will be granted a full opportunity for the recovery of all that was lost. The mentally sick, the morally sick, and the physically decrepit—all will have opportunity for a full return to human perfection. Vout. XXXIV BROOKLYN, N. Y., OCTOBER 1, 1918 (5) The only exceptions to this rule of restoration to Adam’s original perfection will be those who during this Gospel age—from the death of Christ to his sceond coming— are called out of the world, invited to become new creatures in Christ, and made associates with Jesus, sharers in his exaltation to the divine nature and in his office. These are justified (reckoned perfect) by faith in Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, and then given the opportunity to present themselves as living sacrifices—Romans 12:1. (6) As Christians, during this Gospel age, might sin wilfully and thus forfeit all relationship to God and die the second death, so in the coming age, during the Millennium, the world in general, after having been brought to an accurate knowledge of the truth, may by wilful sin forfeit all relationship to God, and die the second death. (7) In thus declaring that not only the sins of the church class, but the sins of the whole world, are covered by God’s arrangement through the sacrifice of Christ, we are not to be understood as meaning that the sinner is exempted from all punishment. On the contrary, each one has a responsibility for his own actions, even if he has but imperfect knowledge. His responsibility, as Jesus pointed out, is in proportion to his knowledge. The Master declared that he that knows his Master’s will, and does it not, shall be punished with many stripes—sevcre punishment; and he who knows less of his Master’s will, and does it not, shall be punished with fewer stripes—-less punishment. Sometimes those stripes, or punishments, come in the present life. With the chureh class it is uniformly so. But often the punishments are not meted out in the present life; however, they will be administered justly in the life to come. So the Apostle declares, ‘‘Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some they follow after.’’ —1 Timothy 5:24. (8) Along the above lines, we would not be inclined to hope that any suicide could be a member of the glorified church of Christ, but, at most, a part of the world—to have trial with the remainder of the world for life or death everlasting under the favorable conditions of Messiah’s kingdom. However, even upon this point we may not dogmatize, rementbering that some, apparently saintly, have been permitted of the Lord to lose their reason to a greater extent than some of the world who have committed suicide. No. 19 THE RACE-COURSE OF THE AGE—ITS “CLOUD OF WITNESSES” ‘‘ Wherefore, seeing we also are ecompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.’’—Hebrews 12:1. The opening words of this text direct our minds back to the preceding context, as though St. Paul were saying, In view of the great things accomplished by these faithful characters of the past, who manifested such faith and confidence in God that they were willing to deny themselves all earthly rights and privileges—seeing that we are thus encompassed with so great a cloud of witnesses—martyrs—let the inspiration of their example spur us to the greatest faithfulness in Tunning our race. The Apostle speaks of the ancient worthies as a ‘‘cloud of witnesses.’’ He does not use the word witnesses in the sense in which it is used often today—-in the sense of onlookers. Originally, the word witness was used in the sense of a witness to the truth, or a martyr. Therefore, the text would seem to mean: Secing that you have many surrounding you of those whose lives testified to the truth—martyrs, who were cut off from home privileges and from life itself— it should have a strong influence upon you. These ancient worthies, through the achievements of their lives, are looking down upon you. The fact that the ancient worthies were even then dead need not detract from the Apostle’s figure of speech. This style of expression is commonly used by us all. As an illustration, we recall that on one occasion Napoleon addressed his army saying, ‘‘My men, thirty centuries look down upon you!’’ While, strictly speaking, centuries cannot look down, yet in one sense of the word they can; for we can look back into the past and realize matters that are thirty centuries old and more. The Apostle wishes us to remember that this ‘‘cloud of witnesses’’ is surrounding us, and that therefore we should run this race faithfully, While those noble characters will not obtain the prize for which we are running, they arc, nevertheless, to have a prize, As we recall how faithfully they [5318]

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