May 1, 1918 Dear brethren, continue the good work. The Lord has said: “No weapon formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalg condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.”—Isa. 54:17. We do hereby express by unanimous vote our confidence in the integrity of the present head and management of the Society. Your brethren in the Lord, Houston Eeciesia.—-Tex. IN RE SEVENTH VOLUME STUDY Section 22 of Title XI of the Espionage Act provides: “Whoever in aid of any foreign government shall knowingly or wilfully have possession of or contro] over any property or paper designed or intended for use or which is used as the means of violating any penal statute or any of the rights or obligations of the United States under any treaty or the law of nations, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” United States District Attorneys and other local officers, THE WATCH TOWER (130-147) we are informed, have compelled the brethren to surrender their personal copies of Volume VII of Srupirs In THE ScrirTURES, and have broken up Bible classes. If such surrender is being compelled without search warrant, or such meetings broken up without proper complaint filed charging that such meetings are in violation of law, then such surrender and such breaking up of meetings are in violation of law. The Seventh Volume of STupIes IN TRE SCRIPTURES is a commentary upon the Bible. We do not understand that the Government desires to interfere with such study at all, but some over-zealous local officials have interfered as above, which we believe is in violation of their instructions; and this matter is being called to the attention of the Department of Justice at Washington. We have no information that the Department of Justice has ruled that the possession by any Member of our Association of a copy of Volume VII is in violation of the Espionage Act; and we do not believe that department has made such ruling. We make this statement upon advice of counsel. KINGDOM NEWS No. 3 Kinepom News No. 3 is now on the press and will be ready for distribution within a few days. You will receive the same number of copies that were sent to you of the B. 8S. M. No. 99. We advise that the Volunteer Captains arrange the work and get these papers into the hands of the people as quickly as possible. We regard No. 3 as one of the most important issues of the Volunteer matter, especially at.this time. We have had each issue of Krnepom News carefully gone over by lawyers and other competent persons and are certain that these papers contain not one word that is in any way violative of the law of the land; and therefore there should be no difficulty in putting them out. Where local officers raise objection, ask them to read the paper carefully and then they will see that it is entirely proper, in the interest of the people and the nation, and contains a great deal of information which is particularly pertinent to the time in which we are living. Be diligent and get these issues out quickly. The “dark night” is near at hand, when no man can work. IN RE PUBLIC MEETINGS The persecution of the International Bible Students Association has aroused a great desire in the minds of many to know what we believe and teach. We strongly recommend to the friends the great importance of well located halls and properly advertised meetings. This door of opportunity should be quickly entered, that the people may have the truth concerning the Lord’s kingdom, which is at hand. One public address should be given in each place on “THE Worip Has Enpep-——-MinLions Now Livine Witt Naver Die.”. Let us be zealous in proclaiming the truth while we have opportunity. CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF REVELATION We-now have in stock Blue Print Charts of Revelation similar to the one in the Question Booklet of Vol. VII. Size Von. XXXIX BROOKLYN, N. Y., MAY 15, 1918 3 ft. x 6 ft. printed on linen. Frice per chart $2 postpaid. These charts are very helpful in elass study. No. 10 FAULTLESS BEFORE HIS PRESENCE “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.’—Jude 20, 21. While the storm against God’s little ones increases in fury, those who are anxious to see the heavenly Father’s face are setting the things of their house in order, that in due time they may be presented faultless before the presence of his glory. That will be the climax of all Christian experience. The child of God loves to contemplate that blessed time. At the moment of awakening in the morning, the first thought is: “Dear Father, keep me this day so near to thee that, if this be my last on earth, it may please thee to permit thy child to see thy glorious coutenance.” And when the day’s tasks are done, when we have squared our accounts with the Lord and know that all is well, then, as we are folded in the embrace of sweet rest, our last thought is: “As for me, I wil! behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.”” Seeing by faith this glorious prospect before us, what can we do to make sure of attaining that prize? The above Scripture answers:, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” The importance of being kept in the love of God cannot be overstated. St. Jude emphasizes this by pointing out certain stumbling stanes or pitfalls that will take God’s children out of his love, and announces certain rules which, if followed, will keep one in the love of God. The writings of all the apostles are for the building up of the church on the foundation of holy faith, They wrote aforetime for the benefit of those upon whom the end of the age has come. Jude was not an apostle of the Lord, but one of his brethren, and his epistle contains a message of great value to the church. How like the loving Father to make provision for his dear children, that they might be sustained in the hour of greatest teat upon them! With eager mind and thankful heart should each consecrated one avail himself of such provisions. VII—28 HUMILITY OF FIRST IMPORTANCE The first essential to serving God in an acceptable manner is to have a proper appreciation of one’s own self, and to have in mind always that Jehovah is the great first cause, with whom none can be compared. It is he who measures the waters of the deep in the hollow of his hand, and metes out the heavens with a span; who comprehends the dust of the earth and weighs the mountains in scales and the hills in the balance; with whom the nations of earth are counted as the smal] dust of the balance—he who is the author of the great plan of the ages that is working out in an orderly progressive manner, each attribute acting in its proper time and in exact harmony with the other attributes. His love was so wonderfully manifested by sending his only-Begotten Son to die, that man, the very worm of the dust of the earth, might have life and partake of the riches of glory.—Isaiah 40:12-17, Such contemplations enabled Brother Jude to have a proper appreciation of his position. He was a preacher of God’s Word; yet he applied to himself no high-sounding titles, such as Right Reverend, Doctor of Divinity, Bishop or Oardinal, but delighted to designate himself a slave of Jesus Christ. To be the Lord’s slave is much to be preferred to all the titles, honors and emoluments that can be conferred upon one man. From this example of humility manifested by Jude we learn a lesson of much value. As our knowledge of the character of our loving Master increases, the more we rejoice to be his slaves. That such an attitude of mind is pleasing to the Father, we are assured by St. Peter’s words: “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” Pride and ambition, the very opposite of humility, have been the cause of many falling away from the love of God. With confidence, then, we can say that humility is of first importance to keep [6253]
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