NoVEMBER 15, 1913 the light.’?’ They should be shown that all occult, spiritual influences are evil; that the holy angels indeed have a charge concerning the saints, but not to give them instruction of any kind. The Bible most explicitly declares that the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) We are not therefore to expect visions or revelations or any kind of communications from the Lord or the holy angels. We are to conclude that all such attempts to communicate with us are of the adversary and to shun them aceordingly. In the instance you mention, Brother J. evidently yielded his will to some extent; else he would not have been entrapped. While obedient to the Lord, we are entirely safe—then the evil spirits cannot do us injury. ‘‘The wicked one toucheth him not.’’ But the slightest yielding of the will, as through curiosity, is dangerous, as those in insane asylums demonstrate. It is estimated that fully one-half of all those in insane asylums have no funetional brain disorder, but are merely possessed of evil spirits. In a case like that of Brother J. no time should be lost in doing everything pessible for him. A brother who is in close fellowship with the Lord should be for a time his constant companion, continually stimulating him to courage in the exercise of his will in tesisting the evil angels and in joining with him in prayer. If in spite of all these assistances the evil spirits still get him under their control, we advise that said companion exorcise the evil spirit in the name of the Lord—saying, ‘‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command the evil spirit to depart from him and to enter him no more.’’ Please read this letter to the brother and assure him of my sympathy. ‘“‘THE TOWER’’ GROWS DEEPER AND SWEETER DEARLY BELOVED BROTHER RUSSELL :— The July 15th issue of THE WatcH Tower has come to hand, and as usual is full of helpfulness. I am unceasingly and increasingly thankful to the dear Father in heaven for the wonderful manner in which he has put his blessing upon you as you have sought to serve his flock through the pages of that precious journal. I count it a privilege to confess both privately and publicly that if I am one of those so favored as to be a sharer in the glory of the kingdom, as I hope to be, the grace of God will have brought me there in large measure through the edifying influence of the articles in THz Tower. THE TOWER grows grander and its messages deeper and sweeter. As the Lord makes me to grow in grace in spite of all those infirmities in my flesh which would hold me back, the uplift each succeeding number of THE TOWER gives me becomes more and more apparent, and my prayers are multiplied for you and your labor of love. We appreciate it, dear Brother, and better still the Lord appreciates it, too. In the current number of THE WatcH TOWER you quote some views which Prof. Flinders Petrie has given expression to, and I feared that some might infer that you wished to give emphatic endorsement to the Professor’s ideas. My first impression was that this was a wonderful truth, but when I went to compare it with the Bible the erroneousness of it was readily apparent. However, I know that you are too busily engaged to find time to look thoroughly into the many matters THE WATCH TOWER (350-355) of secondary importance brought to your attention, and in addition it would be natural that in a thing of this kind we would suppose that Prof. Petrie would have gone carefully over it before putting forth such a theory. But I fear that he gave his views without sufficient study. The extract from the July Towrr, page 216, is as follows: ‘Prof. Flinders Petrie calls attention to the fact that the Hebrew word alaf is used in the Scriptures sometimes to mean a thousand, and at other times to signify a group, families, or tents, very much in the same way that we use the word regiment, as signifying a group of a thousand men, yet often far less in number, especially after a battle. Thus understood, the record, ‘Judah 74,600,’ would read, ‘Judah, seventy-four families, or tents, with six hundred men in all’; ‘so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.’—Num. 2:34.’? Now it is true that the Hebrew word for a thousand is also sometimes used to signify a family or tribe, but it would be impossible to give it that application in the Pentateuch for the following reasons: In the second chapter of Numbers we have the number of each of twelve tribes given, but there is also given the sum of the numbers of the three tribes on cach side of the tabernacle. If you figure up these statements it will be found that they are figured on the basis of thousands. The following table will illustrate it: Thou- HunTribe. sands. dreds. Numbers 2:18, 19. Ephriam ..... 40 500 Numbers 2:20, 21. Manasseh .... 32 200 Numbers 2:22, 23. Benjamin .... 35 400 Numbers 2:24, Total .......... 108,100 But according to Professor Petrie the total ought to be 107 families of 1,100 persons. Another passage will serve to futher illustrate it; viz., Num. 3:42-51. Here we are told that the number of the firstborn are twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. Now it seems incredible that all the first-born were gathered together into twenty-two families; they must have been secattered all through the host of Israel. Then verses 46-50 indieate that there were 273 more first-born than Levites, but according to the interpretation of Prof. Flinders Petrie, 273 would be the whole number of the Israelites. Other examples of this inconsistency are plentiful in the book of Numbers, but I believe these will suffice. Please consider this not in the nature of an attempt at criticism, but merely as an humble effort to present facts which your busy life may have prevented you from following up. The Lord continues very good to me in assisting me each day to glorify him in the pilgrim service. I realize that my efforts are very imperfect, but they are nothing like what they would be if I attempted this work in my own strength. Every day he is proving to me the faithfulness with which he keeps the promise that all things will be supervised by him to our good, and that his grace will be sufficient. With much Christian love, and wishing you many spiritual joys even in the midst of your earthly trials, I remain, Yours by His favor Beng. H. Barton. Vou. XXXIV BROOKLYN, N. Y., DECEMBER 1, 1913 No. 23 A RACE OF SLAVES ‘For we know that the Law is spiritual; The Apostle’s statement that we are sold under sin implies that we as a race are slaves. And so elsewhere it is expressed that mankind are slaves of sin. (Rom. 6:16, 17. Diaglott) We look back to see when we became slaves and how this condition came about. We find that Adam sold himself and incidentally all his race. What price was paid by the purchaser? What did Adam get when he sold himself and all his posterity to become servants of sin? We reply, He got his own will. He got his choice of fellowship with his wife for a time in the course of disobedience, thus rejecting God and his will, his law. For this price, this self-gratification, this measure of joy, he sold himself to sin and was cut off from being a son of God. Then he became a slave of sin and, as a result, a slave of death—Romans 5:12. Sin, the great monarch ruling the world, has enslaved the entire human family. None can escape this bondage, except in one way. Under this bondage of sin they get disease, sorrow, disappointment, death. Death is the great climax of this great Monarch. And so we read, ‘‘The wages but I am carnal, sold under Sin.’’-Romans 7:14. of sin is death.’’ ‘‘The whole ereation groaneth and traveleth in pain together.’’ (Romans 6:23; 8:22) They are all traveling in this slavery, which was pictured in the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt under Pharaoh. The whole world is in alienation from God, banished from his favor and from everlasting life. God’s promise was that he would provide a ransom for the purchasing back of the slaves. He did this, in due time, by providing the Redecmer. Father Adam went into slavery of his own violation. His children—all mankind—were born slaves, born in sin and slavery, under the penalty of death. Christ appeared that he might redeem the one who sinned—that he might give a ransom-price, a corresponding price—his own life for the life of Father Adam. All these slaves may then be set free; may attain absolute freedom, if they will. All whom the Son shall set free will be free indeed. MAN’S RELEASE PICTURED IN TYPE This release of the slaves from sin and death was pictured in the law by the release of the fiftieth year Jubilee. When [5355]
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