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JULY
15,
1915
THE
WATCH
TOWER
(227-228)
the
privilege
of
feasting
at
the
Lord's
table
in
any
way
that
he
provides.
And
I
always
have
a
prayer
and
a
.Messing
in
m~
heart
for
you,
that
fwithful
Servant,
who,
despIte
the
OppOSI
tion
of
all
the
agents
of
the
adversary,
is
still
spreading
this
feast
for
the
hungry,
thirsty
truth-seekers
to
feast
upon;
and
may
the
Lord
still
guide
and
bless
you
in
this
harvest
work
until
the
race
is
run
and
the
victory
won,
is
the
prayer
of
your
isolated
sister
in
the
truth,
love
and
fellowship
of
our
Lord
and
Master,
and
all
of
his
consecrated
children.
MBs.
LaVINA
PHILLIl's.-Ind.
VOL.
XXXVI
BROOKLYN,
N.
Y.,
AUGUST
1,
1915
"THE
BEGINNING
OF
SORROWS"
No.
15
"Seeing
that
all
these
things
shall
be
disso~ved,
what
mann,er
0t
persons
ought
we
to
be
in
aU
holy
conversation
and
godli
ness."-2
Peter
3:
11.
Many
in
the
past
have
misunderstood
St.
Peter's
prophecy
concern
ina
the
destruction
of
the
present
heavens
and
earth.
They
ha:e
inferred
that
he
meant
the
burning
up
of
the
literal
earth
and
heavens
in
a
great
conflagration.
TillS
tholwht
seems
to
be
embodied
in
all
the
creeds,
Protestant
and
bCatholic.
Apparently
there
has
been
a
serious
mistake
here.
The
Apostle
is
using
these
words
in
a
figurative
sense,
just
as
we
might
say
that
a
man
would
move
heaven
and
earth
to
accomplish
his
designs.
Throughout
the
prophecIes
of
the
Bihle
the
heavens
mean
the
ecclesiastical
powers
and
the
earth
means
organizcd
Bociety,
including
the
financial
and
the
political
powers.
The
things
of
the
present
order
are
soon
to
pa.ss
aWll!y
its
banking
institutions,
its
great
monetary
affairs,
its.
stocks
allli
bonds,
its
polities,
its
great
religious
systems,
mdeed,
the
entire
social
fabric.
The
whole
arrangement
is
now
about
to
be
melted
down.
An
entirely
new
order
is
about
to
come
in.
This
meltina
down
will
begin
in
the
overthrow
of
the
re
ligious
institutigns.
To
the
whole
world
it
will
be
an
un
expe(~ted
and
overwhelming
catastrophe;
but
to
the
true
church
watchinO"
as
the
Lord
bade
them
to
do,
it
will
not
be
a
surp~ise;
for
these
are
"children
of
the
light,"
and
this
day
of
the
Lord
shall
not
overtake
them
as
a
thief.
The
Lord's
fa:ithful,
watching
people,
guided
by
the
Word
of
Truth,
will
have
an
understanding
of
temporal
affairs.
As
St.
Paul
has
assured
us,
though
this
day
shall
come
a,s
a
thief
and
a
snare
upon
the
whole
world,
it
shall
not
so
come
uJlon
GO(l's
children
who
are
living
up
to
their
privileges.
'·When
these
things
begin
to
come
t?
pass,
then
look
u~
an~
lift
up
your
heads;
for
your
dehverance
draweth
mgh;
"When
ye
see
these
thin
as,
...
know
that
the
kingdom
of
God
is
~igh
at
hand."
(Luke
21
:28,
31)
The
Master
does
not
say,
When
ye
see
all
these
things,
but
When
ye
see
the
hC"irminlY
of
them,
then
we
are
to
lift
up
our
heads
and
re
joice-n;t
rejoicing
in
the
trouble,.
nor
in
the
sUffering~
of
othcrs,
but
in
the
faet
that
these
thmgs
are
the
foretold
SI,gnS
tha
t
the
present
order
is
about
to
be
succeeded
by
a
new
order,
which
will
be
far
better,
and
more
advantageous
and
desirable
for
all.
The
church
hersclf
will
be
the
"new
heaven,"
and
will
<'ome
into
great
glory,
power
and
privilege.
The
thought
in
the
early
,church,
evidently,
was
that
these
dispensational
changes
would
very
shortly
come
to
pass.
They
were
living
in
constant
expectation
of
the
coming
of
the
Lord,
the
es
tablishment
of
his
kingdom
and
the
glorification
of
the
church.
Some
of
them
even
felt
too
confident
of
the
matter.
The
Apostle
Paul
writes
to
the
church
of
Thessalonica
saying
that
some
of
them
had
made
a
mistake
in
thinking
that
the
day
of
the
Lord
might
have
already
come.
He
tells
them
that
that
day
could
not
come
until
the
Man
of
Sin
should
be
re
vealed.
Thus
in
the
days
of
the
Apostles
the
church
was
ever
on
the
qui
vive;
and
throughout
this
entire
age
the
Lord's
pcople
Imve
been
left
in
uncertainty
as
to
the
time
of
the
1Iastrr's
second
coming,
watching,
preparing,
for
the
things
of
the
king-(Iom,
knowing
that
the
day
of
Christ
would
come
as
a
"thief
in
the
night"
at
the
appointed
time.-2
Thessa
lonians
5:
3.
WHAT
THE
WATCHERS
NOW
SEE
No,w
we
who
are
living
in
this
day
see
the
beginning
of
these
foretol(l
evcnts.
\Ve
see
the
prelude
to
the
great
Battle
of
Armageddon.
Our
thought
is
that
the
Armageddon
itself
will
he
the
mighty
"EartlHluake"
spoken
of
in
Revelation.
(Revelation
16:16-lR)
In
this
great
revolution
and
in
the
succeeding
anapchy
all
earthly
institutions
will
be
swept
away.
The
result
of
the
anger,
hatred
and
strife,
if
permitted
to
continue
indefinitely,
would
be
so
terrible
that
it
would
bring
about
the
destruction
of
the
raee;
but
for
the
elect's
sake,
that
they
may
begin
thcir
gloriolls
reign,
God
will
cut
short
the
carnage,
and
will
set
up
his
own
kingdom
under
Christ
an<1
his
elect
rhureh.
Christ
and
his
bride
will
take
over
the
kingdoms
of
this
worl<1,
and
thus
will
hinder
the
strife
of
men
from
going
to
the
extreme
that
it
would
otherwise
go.
But
it
will
not
be
stopped
until
the
present
order
shall
have
been
wholly
dissolved.
A
vivid
description
of
this
awful
time
of
trouble
is
given
by
the
prophets.
For
the
benefit
of
our
new
readers,
we
give
a
few
citations
of
such
prophecies,
which
repay
inve8tigatlOn.
(Isaiah
24:
17-22;
28:21,22;
33:7-14;
34:1-8;
Psalm
18:7-1!J)
See
STUDIES
IN
THE
SCRIPTURES,
Vol
4,
pp.
15·20.
Along
this
same
line,
read
also
Isaiah
13:1-1:,;
Jeremiah
25:8-38;
Revelation
18;
16:12-21.
We
believe
that
the
pre~ent
strife
in
Europe
is
very
forcefully
depicted
in
some
of
the
prophecies
cited
above,
and
that
this
is
only
the
beginning
of
the
great
trouble
and
overthrow,
the
breaking
in
pieces
of
the
nations
as
a
potter's
vessel.
In
our
own
land
we
sec
the
portents
of
the
coming
trouble,
in
strikes,
labor
riots,
1.
\V.
W.
demon
strations,
etc.'l'he
Scriptures
cited
above
decLare
in
unmis
takable
language
that
the
whole
present
order
will
go
up
in
a
mighty
conflagration.
The
troubles
not
long
since
in
the
Colorado
mines,
the
more
recent
strikes
in
London,
Chicago,
Bridgeport
and
Bayonne,
are
only
premonitory
rumblings
which,
with
many
other
disturbances
of
like
nature,
presage
the
coming
storm.
Selfishness
is
the
great
motive
power
of
the
world-if
this
thing
is
done
or
that
thing
is
accomplished,
something
very
advantageous
to
themselves
will
result.
Because
people
want
their
own
names
to
be
great,
they
strain
every
nerve
to
accomplish
that
result.
They
do
this
also
in
political
lines
trying
to
"feather
their
nests"
for
the
future.
In
Europe
they
do
the
same
along
monarchial
lines.
Various
houses
in
power
seek
to
have
and
to
hold
the
honor
of
the
people.
The
whole
world
are
setting
their
hearts
and
minds
on
the
things
which
will
bring
no
real
satisfaction
in
the
end,
and
not
upon
the
things
of
the
Lord.
The
Apostle
points
out
thll!t
all
these
things
that
occupy
men's
minds
and
absorb
their
energies
are
to
p,t8S
away.
None
of
them
are
to
be
permanent.
We
realize
this
to
be
so.
We
see
that
their
passing
away
is
jU8t
at
hand
in
this
our
day.
Others
do
not
pereeive
it,
although
many
thoughtful
minds
see
that
present
conditions
are
unprccedented,
that
some
great
change
must
be
impending;
and
their
hearts
are
failing
them
for
fear.
Surely
the
knowledge
of
these
things,
of
the
transitoriness,
the
trifling
value
of
the
most
alluring
of
earth's
gifts,
should
cause
us
to
turn
from
them
and
to
set
our
affections
an(I
hopes
upon
the
heavenly
things,
which
are
infinite
in
value
and
which
shall
never
pass
aw.ay.
\Ve
should
lay
up
treasure
in
heaven,
where
the
institutions
will
be
permanent,
and
where
armies
and
revolutions
will
not
destroy
the
govern
ment.
All
those
who
believe
in
the
great
change
just
before
us
should
be
living
for
the
future
and
not
for
the
present.
The
more
we
discern,
then.
the
teachings
of
the
Bible,
the
more
we
imbibe
its
spirit,
the
more
shall-
we
live
for
and
pre
pare
for
the
groat
blessings
promiscd
for
the
future
to
those
who
lovo
God.
"Be
ye
holy,
for
I
am
holy,"
is
the
injunction
of
our
Father
in
heaven.
HOLY
ATMOSPHERE,
NOT
MIASMA,
FOR
NEW
CREATURES
These
directions
are
not
to
the
world,
and
they
are
not
to
the
flesh
of
the
chilrlren
of
God,
bnt
are
for
us
as
new
crea·
tures
in
Christ.
The
old
creatnrc
being
imperfeet
has
no
standing
with
God;
hut
there
is
nothing
unholy
in
the
new
ercature,
llnd
the
imperfeetions
of
his
flesh
being
covered
bv
the
Robe
of
Christ's
righteollSness
he
has
a
standing
witli
God.
The
dimr'nlty
which
the
new
creature
encounter's
is
the
weakness
of
the
flesh
in
which
he
must
tabernll!cle
for
the
present,
and
the
danger
of
being
misled,
enticed
away,
from
the
things
that
are
holy.
Day
by
day
he
seeks
to
control
the
flesh
and
to
bring
it
wholly
into
subjection.
The
new
('reatur('
begotten
from
above,
wishes
to
be
holy
llnd
to
kep.p
his
tahernaele
hol~'.
He
hreathes
by
nature
a
holy
atmosphere;
anything
contrary
is
poisonous
to
this
heavenly
germ
which
must
he
fostcred
and
nourishpd
with
the
greatest
eare.
That
it
may
properly
devP!op
it
is
neeessary
that
it
be
fed
upon
"the
finest
of
the
wheat;"
it
is
necessary
[5735]
Jury 15, 1915 the privilege of feasting at the Lord’s table in any way that he provides. And I always have a prayer and a blessing in my heart for you, that faithful Servant, who, despite the opposition of all the agents of the adversary, is still spreading this feast for the hungry, thirsty truth-seekers to feast upon; and THE WATCH TOWER (227-228) may the Lord still guide and bless you in this harvest work until the race is run and the victory won, is the prayer of your isolated sister in the truth, love and fellowship of our Lord and Master, and all of his consecrated children. Mrs. Lovina PuILiies.—Ind. Vout. XXXVI BROOKLYN, N. Y., AUGUST 1, 1915 No. 15 “THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS” “Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godli ness.” —2 Many in the past have misunderstood St. Peter’s prophecy concerning the destruction of the present heavens and earth. They have inferred that he meant the burning up of the literal earth and heavens in a great conflagration. ‘This thought seems to be embodied in all the creeds, Protestant and Catholic. Apparently there has been a serious mistake here. The Apostle is using these words in a figurative sense, just as we might say that a man would move heaven and earth to accomplish his designs. Throughout the prophecies of the Bible the heavens mean the ecclesiastical powers and the earth means organized society, including the financial and the political powers. The things of the present order are soon to pass away— its banking institutions, its great monetary affairs, its stocks and bonds, its polities, its great religious systems, indeed, the entire social fabric. The whole arrangement is now about to be melted down. An entirely new order is about to come in. This melting down will begin in the overthrow of the religious institutions. To the whole world it will be an unexpected and overwhelming catastrophe; but to the true church, watching as the Lord bade them to do, it will not be a surprise; for these are “children of the light,” and this day of the Lord shall not overtake them as a thief. The Lord’s faithful, watching people, guided by the Word of Truth, will have an understanding of temporal affairs. As St. Paul has assured us, though this day shall come as a thief and a snare upon the whole world, it shall not so come upon God’s children who are living up to their privileges. “\When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your deliverance draweth nigh;” “When ye see these things,... know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” (Luke 21:28, 31) The Master does not say, When ye see all these things, but When ye see the beginning of them, then we are to lift up our heads and rejoice—not rejoicing in the trouble, nor in the sufferings of others, but in the fact that these things are the foretold signs that the present order is about to be succeeded by a new order, which will be far better, and more advantageous and desirable for all. The church herself will be the “new heaven,’ and will come into great glory, power and privilege. The thought in the early church, evidently, was that these dispensational changes would very shortly come to pass. ‘hey were living in constant expectation of the coming of the Lord, the establishment of his kingdom and the glorification of the church, Some of them even felt too confident of the matter. The Apostle Paul writes to the church of Thessalonica saying that some of them had made a mistake in thinking that the day of the Lord might have already come. He tells them that that day could not come until the Man of Sin should be revealed. Thus in the days of the Apostles the church was ever on the qui vive; and throughout this entire age the Lord’s people have been left in uncertainty as to the time of the Master’s second coming, watching, preparing, for the things of the kingdom, knowing that the day of Christ would come as a “thief in the night” at the appointed time.—2 Thessalonians 5:3. WHAT THE WATCHERS NOW SEE Now we who are living in this day see the beginning of these foretold events. We see the prelude to the great Battle of Armageddon. Our thought is that the Armageddon itself will be the mighty “Earthquake” spoken of in Revelation. (Revelation 16:16-18) In this great revolution and in the succeeding anarchy all earthly institutions will be swept away. The result of the anger, hatred and strife, if permitted to continue indefinitely, would be so terrible that it would bring about the destruction of the race; but for the elect’s sake, that they may begin their glorious reign, God will cut short the carnage, and will set up his own kingdom under Christ and his elect chureh. Christ and his bride will take over the kingdoms of this world, and thus will hinder the strife of men from going to the extreme that it would otherwise go. But Peter 3:11. it will not be stopped until the present order shall have been wholly dissolved. A vivid description of this awful time of trouble is given by the prophets. For the benefit of our new readers, we give a few citations of such prophecies, which repay investigation. (Isaiah 24: 17-22; 28:21, 22; 33:7-14; 34:1-8; Psalm 18:7-19) See STUDIES In THE Scriprures, Vol 4, pp. 15-20. Along this same line, read also Isaiah 13:1-13; Jeremiah 25:8-38; Revelation 18; 16:12-21. We believe that the present strife in Europe is very forcefully depicted in some of the prophecies cited above, and that this is only the beginning of the great trouble and overthrow, the breaking in pieces of the nations as a potter’s vessel. In our own land we see the portents of the coming trouble, in strikes, labor riots, I. W. W. demonstrations, etc. The Scriptures cited above declare in unmistakable language that the whole present order will go up in a mighty conflagration. The troubles not long since in the Colorado mines, the more recent strikes in London, Chicago, Bridgeport and Bayonne, are only premonitory rumblings which, with many other disturbances of like nature, presage the coming storm. Selfishness is the great motive power of the world—if this thing is done or that thing is accomplished, something very advantageous to themselves will result, Because people want their own names to be great, they strain every nerve to accomplish that result. They do this also in political lines— trying to “feather their nests” for the future. In Europe they do the same along monarchial lines, Various houses in power seek to have and to hold the honor of the people. The whole world are setting their hearts and minds on the things which will bring no real satisfaction in the end, and not upon the things of the Lord. The Apostle points out that all these things that occupy men’s minds and absorb their energies are to pass away. None of them are to be permanent. We realize this to be so. We see that their passing away is just at hand in this our day. Others do not perceive it, although many thoughtful minds see that present conditions are unprecedented, that some great change must be impending; and their hearts are failing them for fear. Surely the knowledge of these things, of the transitoriness, the trifling value of the most alluring of earth’s gifts, should cause us to turn from them and to set our affections and hopes upon the heavenly things, which are infinite in value and which shall never pass away. We should lay up treasure in heaven, where the institutions will be permanent, and where armies and revolutions will not destroy the government. All those who believe in the great change just before us should be living for the future and not for the present. The more we discern, then, the teachings of the Bible, the more we imbibe its spirit, the more shall we live for and prepare for the great blessings promised for the future to those who love God. “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” is the injunction of our Father in heaven. HOLY ATMOSPHERE, NOT MIASMA, FOR NEW CREATURES These directions are not to the world, and they are not to the flesh of the children of God, but are for us as new creatures in Christ. The old creature heing imperfect has no standing with God; but there is nothing unholy in the new ereature, and the imperfections of his flesh being covered by the Robe of Christ’s righteousness he has a standing with God. The difficulty which the new creature encounters is the weakness of the flesh in which he must tabernacle for the present, and the danger of being misled, enticed away, from the things that are holy. Day by day he seeks to control the flesh and to bring it wholly into subjection. The new creature begotten from above, wishes to be holy and to keep his tabernacle holy. He breathes by nature a holy atmosphere; anything contrary is poisonous to this heavenly germ which must he fostered and nourished with the greatest care. That it may properly develop it is necessary that it be fed upon “‘the finest of the wheat;” it is necessary [5735]
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