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WATeHERALD OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE.

..Wetcbrnen, Whnt o f the Night?" "The Morning Cometh. "-Isaiah xxi. 11.VOL. VII PITTSBURGH, PA., JANUARY, 1886

VIEW FROM THE TOWER1\0. ;)

of earth's kingdoms; * because the t iI/Ie is come for Messiahto ta ke the dominion of earth and to overthrow the oppressorsand corrupters of the earth, (Rev. 19:15 and 11:17 , 18.)preparatory to th e establishment of everlasting peace upon theonly firm foundation of righteousness and truth.Meantime, while those who ar e in opposition to the kingdom of God and it s scepter of righteousness, impartiality andjustice, ar e being gathered to the great slaughter referred toabove, (See Luke 19:27.) th e Lord's professed Church is having it s trial completed. Its t es ting "so as by fire" is beingaccomplished, and t he s tewards ar e being heard as to thefaithfulness or slothfulness of their stewardship. (Luke19:15.) We see and feel this daily also, another evidence thatt he time for th e glorifying of th e Church th e body of Christ,is nigh at hand, after which they will shortly be manifestedfor the joy and bl essing of th e groaning creation. Rom.8: 19-23.From the TOWER is seems evident that the deeply interested are dai ly becoming more so, as inspired by the truth the:'a re making effort at th e cost of inconvenience and sacrifices ofvar ious kinds to spread th e glad tidings; while others wholove the pres ent world and it s honors and comforts ar e becoming more and more cold and indifferent, This, too, iswhat we should expect. \Ve ar e in the testing t ime, and mustt ak e our s ta nd on one side or the other.Many who inquired for th e "suggestions" offered in ourissue of September last, and engaged more actively in thework, ar e finding it a favorable opportunity for reachinghearing ears; and more than that we notice that their ownhearts ar e being enkindled with the flame of the heavenly lovein the message which t hey bear to those who si t in gross darkness al l around them.Al l this is encouraging, and in the name of th e Master.we bid his faithful ones be of good cheer, and of thankfulheart; while we trust that we al l shall be more faithful andmore used in the blessed service during the year begun, andthat it shall be ye t more ri ch in grace. knowledge, love, andgood works, of faithful stewardship, le t us render thanks forthe favors and blessings past; for hv th e grace of God we ar ewhat and where we are.To all the readers of the To\YER the Editor sends greeting and best wishes for the year 1886. May it be to al l ofyou "A Happy New Year." Happy may ye be because of God'sfavors, realizing them in all the affairs of life, especially inthe increasing knowledge of His plan and word of truth: inth e privilege of suffering reproach and dishonor for the truth'ssake, rejoicing and being exceeding glad that He counts youworthy to thus share th e sufferings of Christ. (Acts 5: 41. \May you have abundan t and well improved opportunity forsuffering reproach for th e name of Christ and in sufferingfor well doing. (1 Pet. 4: 14-16.) And being thus provedworthy of the everlasting glory reserved in heaven for suchas thus follow in th e Master's footsteps, may you have atth e same time the joy of the Lord. rejoicing with an unwavering hope in "the glory that shall be revealed in us." Rom.8:18.

The outlook at th e opening of th e New Year has some veryencouraging features. The outward evidences ar e that th emarshalling of th e hosts for the b at tle of th e great day ofGod Almighty, is in progress while th e skirmishing is commencing. While t he P ro te st an t ( t ) sects ar e coming dailyinto closer sympa thy with th e "Mother Church, " as theyrightly call the Church of Rome, the governments ar e doinglikewise. The latest proof of this is found in dispatches datedJanuary 1, 1886, in which it is announced that the Pruss iangovernment, which for several years past has been at enmitywit h t he Church of Rome, proscribing many of her p rie sts andbishops, declaring that th e influence of Papacy is contrary tothe peace and prosperity of th e Empire, is now come into perfect harmony; and th e Pope has decorated Prince Bismarckwith the "Order of Christ," th e badge of which is r ichly set indiamonds. Thi s p re sent was accompanied by an autographletter from the Pope, and in return Emperor William of Prussia ha s decorated th e Pope's chief secretary, Cardinal Jacobini,wit h the "Orde r of t he Black Eagle ," th e most honorable decoration of th e Prussians.What of this you ask? A ful fill ing of prophecy we reply.In the battle already beginning, we are clearly told that therewill be a general div is ion of the world into two contendingparties. The kings, chief men, and mighty or influential men,the wealthy and th e worldly great, are all on one side th ebattle, and with them the symbolic beast (Papacy) and Protestantism. Al l these unite their efforts, realizing that theymust stand or fal l together. (Rev. 19:18-20.) On the otherside is the now present Lord, who, having taken his greatpower, begins the work of blessing the world by smiting downthe oppressors-oppressive errors, and those influenced by th espirit of those errors, who attempt to monopolize the favorsof God both temporal and spritual, and to oppress th e peoplein their own advancement.

But who are with the Lord in t hi s g reat work of smitingdown error and oppression? The kings of earth? No. Financiers and capitalists? No; their interests ar e on th e otherside the question also. And whe re will th e professed ministers of Christ s tand who were sent to declare th e good tidingsof th e deliverance which the King of kings is now bringingabout? Where will th e dignitaries and th e influence of th eNominal Church be found? With the Lord? Ah, no; theyhave become so ident if ied with the world that their interestswill be bound up together, and th eir influence will be g ivenon th e side of error and oppression, on the side of kings andcapitalists from whom they receive th eir su pport and uponwhom they have become dependent.Who then ar e with the King of kings in this conflict?Those close to him, his "regula r a rmy" are few-a little flock.Among these hi s followers, a ll f ai th fu l and tr ue, ar e not manygreat, or rich, or mighty, according to th e course of thisworld; bu t they are all rich in faith-chosen and faithful.(Rev. 17: 14. ) But th e new and rightful King has an immense army of "irregulars" in every kind of uniform (exceptthe white of the "regulars") Communists, Infidels, Socialists,Anarchists, Nihilists; al l these fight in the battle of th egreat day, though ignorant of him whose kingdom they helpto es tab li sh, These are the vultures of Rev. 19:17, 18, 21, [This view of the physical aspects of the conflict is not out of

I d h fill ' th harmony with the exp lana tion offered in Volumr VI I of Scril'tnH'who battle for p un er and get t ei r 111 e overturning Studies. which t reat s the subject from th e symbolical standpoint.]I -52 [817]

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TRACT FUND REPORTI have the honor to re po rt th e matter of Zion 's WatchTower Tract Socie ty finally and otherwise , for the year ending December 21, 1885, as fol lows:

Indebtedness January 1, 1885 $2446.01Expended during the year 1885 in publications,etc., etc. . 2531.76Total $4977.77Voluntary contributions for the year:" to English Fund $2535.16

" to Swedish " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.19to German " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.00Total . $2615.35Receipts from sale of Florida Lands donatedto Society 1846.25Total Receipts 1885 $4461.60Deduct Receipts from Expenditures $4461.60Balance of debt still owing $ 516.17

This debt we may say is fully offset by Florida landsas yet unsold, the value of which will p robably be enhanced

by the completion of a rail road to the locality, shortly.Thus seen we have cancelled our debt to t he ext en t of$1929.84, besides expending $2531.i6 in the work. The resultsof these donat ions cannot be correctly estimated yet; we maybe enabled to judge of it more ful ly and more correctly whenthe Master makes up the accounts of the Stewards, and makesknown the results obtained in his name by the use in hi .service. But we can give some basis for calculating when wesay, that from this fund we published during the year 1885,reading matter explanatory of our blessed hopes aggregating3,086,000 pages of the usual tract or book size. Of these 160,000 were German, the remainder in the English languagemostly "Food" and special numbers of the TOWER adapted tonew readers.At present there are about three hundred colporteurs atwork in the vineyard earnestly laboring for the good of theirfellow beings and for th e "well done" of the Master, disseminating t hese publicat ions. The only wonder is that more do notappreciate their privilege of being co-workers togethe r withGod in this way. We each should ask himself-What am Idoing to herald the blessed gospel which did so much for myown heart? How am I manifesting to God my appreciationof his grace bestowed upon me? Very truly your servant inChrist. MARIA F. RUSSELL,Sec'y and Treas. Z. W. T. Tract Society.

WE REAP WHAT WE SOWFo r pleasure or pain, for weal or for woe,'Tis th e law of our being-we reap as we sow;We may tr y to evade them; may do what we will,But our acts, like our shadows, wil l follow us still.The world is a wonderful chemist, be sure,And detects in a moment the base or the pure:We may boast of our claims to genius or birth,Bu t the world takes a man for just what he is worth .Are you wearied and worn in thi s hard earthly strife?Do you yearn for affection to sweeten your life?Remember this great truth has often been proved-We must make ourselves lovable would we be loved.

Though life may appea r a desolate track,Yet the bread we cast on the water comes back.Tlrie law was enacted by heaven above-That l ike begets like and love begets love.We are proud of our mansions of mortar and s tone ;In our gardens are flowers from every zone;Bu t th e beautiful graces which blossom within,Grow shriveled and die in the Upas of sin.We make ourselves heroes and martyrs for gold,'Till health becomes broken and youth becomes old,Ah! did we the same for a beautiful love,Our lives might be music for angels above.

We reap what we sow-oh, wonderful t ru th!-A truth hard to learn in the days of our youth;Bu t it shines ou t at last, as the "hand on th e wall,"Fo r the world has it s "debit" and "credit" for a ll .Selected.

SCIENTISTS NOT INFALLIBLEpeople in the earliest ages. They are contemporaries of Abraham, Moses and Joshua. A recent writer says: ","Ve seetheir serried lines of chariots opposing Joshua on his entranceinto the Promised Land, and in the decisive battle by LakeMerom. We see their soldiers of fortune leading th e hosts ofDavid and Solomon, and their women in the harems of the samepowerful monarchs; and finally we see the Syrian army flying inpanic from the siege of Samaria for fear of the kings of theHittites." The Scriptural writers make them a great and powerful people. But no trace of the Hittites has been found inclassical history. In fact, of al l known records, the Bible excepted, not one had one word in regard to this people. Sothe destructive critics on the Continent and their imitators inEngland, with various degrees of emphasis, asserted that theseScriptural recognitions of th e Hittites had no foundation infact, that no such people had existed during Old Testamenttimes; that this part of th e Jewish history was indisputablynot true, and that t hi s wan t of accuracy destroyed the theoryof inspiration as well as c red ib ility of the record.For a long time no answer could be given that would silence objections. Not a line had been preserved elsewhere concerning this people in al l the history of th e ancient world.It wac; held to be impossible that a race of such prominencecould have l ived, flourished and passed away without leavingtraces elsewhere. "The critical method had proved the Bibleto be wrong." So th e critics said.But the march of modern discovery has proved that it wasth e critics who were wrong. In 1872 there were found atHamath, not fa r from Damascus, inscriptions that were ofHittite origin. Soon after additional testimony came fromEgypt. As the monuments there are more carefully examined,and as th e work of deciphering inscriptions proceeded, beholdgreat the Hittites appear as one of the enemies most feared by the

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The "Higher Criticism" which has undertaken to reconstruct all ancient records, which re-wrote the History of Romefor the first five centuries, pronounced Troy a myth, and hassought to invalidate or correct the Bible history, frequentlymakes such blunders and mistakes that al l but the criticsthemselves will soon doubt it s infallibility. The Troy of Priam,that they decided had never existed, has been unearthed bySchliemann, with its Scaean gates and Pergamos. At Mykenae he has found probably the very bones of Agamemnon,and the golden masks in which he and his friends were buried.The libraries of old Assyr ian and Babylonian kings have alsobeen brought to light by recent discoveries, and found to berich in confirmations of the Bible s tory. They contain accounts of the confusion of tongues at Babel and of th e flood,as well as many other illustrations of the sacred history. Totwo of these we invite the attention of our readers.The prophet Isaiah (chapter 20 : 1) names an Assyrian kingcalled Sargon. He was, as fa r as we know, mentioned by noother historian. Berosus and Herodotus were silent concerning him. Not another voice ou t of al l the history of th e pastwas raised to tell that he had ever lived. The critics did nothesitate to declare that this silence proved that he never hadan existence. They held that it convicted Isaiah of a mistakeand a want of inspired guidance. For twenty-five centuriesthe only intimation the world had that Sargon had ever livedwas found in this passage of the Hebrew prophet.Bu t the Bible was right and the critics were wrong. TheAssyrian discoveries have given us his full history. We areeven permitted to s tudy the royal archives of his reign. Hewas a founder of a dynasty, the father of Sennacherib, and oneof t he g reat es t monarchs that ever occupied the Assyrianthrone.Another example. The Bible makes the Hittites a(2)

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JANUARY, 1886 Z ION ' S WATCH TOWER (3)Egyptians, as a great people, occupying a vast terr i tory, andas one of th e chief of then existing peoples. Nor was thisall; th e Assyrian tab le ts and cylinders added their testimony,and car ri ed th e history of the Hittites back to nineteen hundred years before Christ, declaring that at that remote periodthey were a mighty people. Their remains have been foundfrom the borders of Egypt to the Euphrates and northward toAsia Minor, proving that they occupied a large part of Weste rn Asi a and were a mighty race.

Thus ar e th e critics put to shame. So will it always be.We may sometimes have to wait fo r further light in order tosilence them, bu t in due t ime it will come. "We have no t followed cunningly-devised fables," bu t the word of eternal truth.The storms of error may bea t upon i t and seem for a time toprevail, but it will stand, for "It is founded upon a rock."Evangelist.

OUR MONTHLY SPREAD

-Selected.

Forgive as we forgive, 0 Lord.My t rust will I pu t in th y word.No longer in sin's by-ways roam.The Sp irit and the Bride say come.The harvest passes, summer ends.Some spurn the mercy heaven sends.Drink deep th e heavenly waters bright.Flee from th e darkness, wa lk in light.Lo! "Rock of Ages cleft fo r thee."Into the sacred shelter flee!Swift passeth moments, hours and days.Forget no t to give God due pra ise.Above al l things, keep thyself pure.God's promises ar e ever sure.They 're saved who to th e end endure.

bread."his day our dailyJANUARY, 1886.

17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.

"Give usIn righteousness begin the year.Be strong; believe; cast out th y fear.Trust thou in God, He wil l thee save.Fight the good fight of faith, be brave.With energy pursue life's race.Soon thou may'st see th e Saviour's face.The Morning dawns! Thy blessed Lord is here.As Steward, now, unto th e K ing give an account.Error and sin, twin monsters, cast ye down.To overcomers there's a crown.By grace we conquor in the strife.The gift of God-eternal life.Turn no t the wand're r from thy door -Blessed ar e they who feed the poor.This be th y prayer, "Thy kingdom come."o Father, lead thy people home!

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.

OUR STEWARDSHIP"So account of us, as of the servants of Chr is t, and s tewards of the manifold mysteries of God. Moreover i t is required of s tewards that a man be found faithful."-1 Cor. 4: 1, 2.There is a sense in which al l men ar e stewards. Every zeal to dispose of the "goods" in their hands there would be ongood gift comes from the Creator, e ither d ir ec tly or indi- th e part of th e s tewards . They would be earnestly seeking andrectly, and every man possessing means or talents should watching for good opportunities to dispose of th e consecratedrecognize them as trust loans under hi s temporary control. "stuff." Soon influence would lose it s present high premium,But in a much more particular sense the consecrated, the and time, and ta lent , and money, in the Lord's work wouldsaints, ar e God's stewards, and of such Paul is here wri ting. be more abundant.Once we were under condemnation, even as the world still Some ge t th e mistaken idea that a steward is no t expectedis. We, through faith, ar e reckoned as having escaped the to spend that committed to his care unless circumstances de-

condemnation; we ar e cleansed; we ar e justified freely from mand it of him. This is a great mistake; it is part of a stew-all things through faith in the blood of atonement. Thus ard's business to look up opportunities f or u sing the "goods"(reckonedly) made free f rom s in and death-and (reckonedly) committed to his charge. This is th e clear teaching of Matt.restored to the perfect manhood and it s rights, enjoyed before 25 :27: "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money tosin and condemnation, we had something which we could offer th e exchangers, and then at my c o m i n ~ I should have re-to God-something ( reckonedly) clean and pure and accept- ceived mine own with interest." Such dihgence in seeking andable to God, viz., ou r justified selves. When we gave ou r ALL finding ways and means to dispose of our consecrated talentsto God, it included mind, body, time, talent, money, influ- to God's glory, and to the advancement of His truth, is es-ence, reputation-all . sential to faithful stewardship, (Matt. 25 :21) and any otherPaul informs us that al l such sacrifices (previously [usti- course is a violation of covenant; and he who does so, is anfied, i. e., reckoned clean and fit through faith in th e ransom) "unprofitable servant" (25: 29) . I t is thus that Paul reas-ar e "acceptable to God" ( l Pet. 2: 5) . But how does God oned when he wrote, I t is required of stewards that they beaccept of them? We answer, By making us t he s tewards of found faithful, an d it was thus that he practiced, also. Heal l those talents, etc., which we consecrated to him. So then, was a faithful steward indeed ever seeking new and greater opou r stewardship is a very special one. I f we consecrated al l to portunities to spend and be spent in the heavenly service.God, we have nothing, an d should no t once think of the things And as always, "H e that seeketh findeth."consecrated as ours; they ar e no more ours than the posses But says one, Can it be that God demanded this of us? Ahsions, time, talents or money of another man ar e ours. When no, dear friend, you seem no t to understand the matter at all.you consecrated all-even unto death-you became reckonedly The sacrifices which we make ar e not to meet th e demands ofdead, as a human being and to ear th ly ambitions, and reckon- God's justice; those demands were al l fully met more thanedly alive, as a "new creature," of a new, a spir itual nature, eighteen centuries ago and the re are no such demands nowso that really, considered from this standpoint, we should against those who come unto God by way of faith in the rethink and ac t thus: I am now (reckonedly) a spiritual or demption. But, God ha s purposed th e selection of a "littleheavenly being; my riches, my home, my honor, my every flock" to be the Bride and joint heir with Christ Jesus ofinterest is now in heaven; bu t I am now here on e arth , a s th e eternal glory and tells us that He seeketh such to be cona messenger o r s erv an t of God, entru ste d w ith th e responai- formed to th e divine image of His Son, as prove themselvesbility of disposing of th e earthly things once mine, (redeemed earnestly desirous and worthy of that honor by freely andby Jesus, and then by me consecrated to God,) to the best gladly surrendering their little al l of earthly valuables (? )possible advantage for the advancement of th e Lord's cause- a sacr if ice to His cause.His children an d His truth. I t is because you declared it your desire to thus sacrifice.o that al l th e consecrated may more ful ly real ize them- that he appointed you a steward of your own gif ts and talents.selves as the Lord's Stewards, or Executors, appointed to I f now you regret the consecration, and desire to be excusedadminister upon their own Wills. How i t would destroy th e I, from faithful service as the Lord's steward, nothing is moremy, mine spirit, to realize that th e I that once was is no evident than that you ar e "not fit for th e kingdom" honors,more, bu t is dead! that "I live, yet not I," my former self; "No man having put h is h and to the plow, and looking back,that I is dead; bu t Christ liveth in me; that I, as a member is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9: 62). Such ar e unof the Christ, a spiritual creature, now live. The feeling, then, worthy to be of the Bride an d joint hei r w ith Chri st , whatshould be, I want to spend, fully and promptly, ye t wisely ever else t hey might be fitted for. This is evident because th eas possible, th e Master's goods, time, talent, money, influence, very TEST which th e Lord applies, by which to select th e "Iitt leetc., pu t into my hands for disposal, anxious only that every flock" proves those unf ai th fu l and unworthv who desire tofarthing of it shall be so spent as the Master 's Word directs , shirk the opportunities for service. 'and as His example illustrated. Peter tells us that we are stewards of th e many and variousAh, if i t were thus, what an ear nest offering, and what a favors of God (1 Pet. 4: 10) and should so use them as to be

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(3-6) ZION}S WATCH TOWER PITTSBURGH, PA ."goods s tewards." And not only are we stewards of the consecrated money, goods, time and talents in ou r hands be theylittle or much; but in the text at th e head of this article Paulmentions specially, th e fact that we are stewards of the mysteries of God' s plan. In addition to our own consecrated powers to use, God gives us a glad glorious message to the worldth e "good tidings of great joy which shall be to al l people"ultimately, bu t which now is vailed from the wor ld and is tothem mysteries or hidden secrets. To receive the "good news"is to become a steward of it, and brings the opportunity andthe incentive also for carrying out the original stewardship.I t furnishes a reason as well as an opportunity, for wise anddiligent use of every talent under the s teward's charge.

I t is required of a steward that a man be found faithful to

his trust, and if unfaithful in administering upon the poorlittle valuables (1 ) which we ourselves consecrated, should weexpect to have entrusted to us t he greater authori ty and stewardship of th e future? I f we would rob God of t he things weourselves gave him in consecration; if we are unfa ithful asstewards and appropriate to ourselves the "loss and dross,"the gilded trinkets of the present, can we expect him whoknoweth the heart to entrust to such care t he true r iches ofh is g lo ry and kingdom.Every steward should speedily look up his accounts andsee to i t that however th e past has been, in t he future he willbe faithful. All such wil l hear the Master's voice say, "Welldone! good and f ait hf ul s er vant ; ent er i nto the joys of thyLord."

PAUL'S EARNEST DESIRE[Reprinted in issue of December, 1879, which please see.]

THE MORNING COMETH[Reprinted in issue of December , 1881, which please see.]

"BLIND GUIDES"At the M. E. Church Conference Nov. Oth, Bishop Foster and a ll t he ir evils together, the Bishop asks how long it willaddressing the twelve bishops and forty laymen of the Con- take to convert th e balance of the world to this same state.ference with the large audience present, among other things, We question if any bu t a very few would be bettered by suchsaid, as reported in the daily Press ; - a conversion. When they are all thus converted the Millen-"There are some who too fondly anticipate a millennium. nium will be here, the Bishop's argument would imply. Alas!There is a lack of information on th e progress of Christianity. it will indeed be a sad Millennium of war , murder, suicide,The facts are misstated daily in pulpits al l over the country. want, oppression and misery, if we judge from the MillenniumMinisters hesitate to present the worst side for fear of eaus- now being enjoyed by th e nations taking the highest ranking di scou ragement. They create hopes that are never to be among the so-called converted nations or Christian kingdomsrealized. We are not at the dawn of th e millennium. Com- (Christ-en-dom).pared with the work to be done, t he pas t is nothing. Our chil- The Bishop's blindness to the Scriptural teaching concern-dren's children for ten generations to come must labor harder ing the Millennium and it s object, and how i t will be broughtthan we are doing to accomplish the conversion of th e world. about, is another il lustration of th e truth of prophecy by it sThe world's population is 1,500,000,000. Of these Christians fulfillment. (See Isa, 29: 10-12.) He is blind and cannot secnumber less than a third. Half of that third belong to th e afar off, and his argument is based wholly upon human reas-Roman Catholic Church. The Protestants number 113,000,000. oning devoid of and opposed to Scripture. He reasons exactlyThey are divided into 500 sects . And this number of their as the worldly man reasons, and neglects to seek wisdom con-strength i nc ludes a lso al l the thieves, ex-convicts. th e de- cerning the future at the fountain of wisdom, God's Word.based, besotted, th e speckled and streaked in Christendom. We wonder whether he remembers that the Scriptures stateThe popular idea is that the Church of Rome is anti-Christ. that the worldly will be in darkness as to God's purpose andI don't agree with th e popular belief. I regard that wonder- methods, and that the child of God has the more sure wordfu l institution as a great Christian camp. I t may have to be of prophecy, to which he does well to take heed as a liglltreconstructed, but before us we have the great problem- shining in a dark place. [2 Pet. I: 19.] Does he forget thatthe 1,100,000,000 of pagans to COLvert to Christianity. That God is working the matter in such a way that i t will be ais the sol id rock that looms up in our path. Look at i t; see surpr ise to the world, and come upon them as a snare-covert-what work ha s been done in 1800 years, and how much is ye t ly, when no t expected-and that they only who have th e super-to be accomplished. In India, after more than a hundred years natura l l ight of God' s Word sha ll not be in darkness, that itof mission work, we have 600,000 convert s [ ? ] and 2,000,000 should come upon them thus? for these wil l be guided by itChristian [?] among 260,000,000 heathen. Can we remove into' an understanding of "things to come," no t discernablethat solid boulder that is as old as the hills? . . . I t is a big from the worldly standpoint. (John 16: 13.)loaf to be leavened and it has been a long time working. We As the Bishop looks ou t he sees the comparative smallnesshave now with us t he sun light of modern thought that is even of nominal Chris tiani ty , and under the false idea that themelting superstition. I am tired of the c an t from our pulpi ts world must be converted to this Babylon condi tion , in which

of sacred phrases that mean nothing." over five hundred sects contradict each other, before ChristThis contains some hard truth, symbolically called "hail," comes, he is led to relax the s tr ic tness with which Christianas i t is wri tten , "The hai l sha ll sweep away the refuge of l ies." character should be measured, so as to include under the name(Isa. 28; 17.) Thus this great Doctor of Divinity is un- of Chr is t a ll who make any pretensions toward morality, inwittingly serving truth as are Communists, et al., in other di- order to swell th e number of the five hundred sects. And be-rections, Few sensible, thinking people can differ with the cause th e Church of Rome and the Greek Catholic Churchbishop as to the facts to which he refers, bu t we must take ex- would help on th e count and number more than all th e others,ception to his inferences and unscriptural reasonings there- these must al l be counted to the "Christian Union" in order tofrom. swell the pride of Christendom and car ry out the ir theory-Among the facts agreed to, one is, that few in Christian that the world is being rapidly converted to Christ.l ands have any adequate conception of the smallness of even But God will laugh at their calamity, and mock when theirnominal Christianity as compared to the world as a whole, fear cometh-when this seemingly great structure of Babeleven when the reckoning is carried to th e extreme of reckoning falls to pieces in th e day of t he Lord ; for "the Lord knoweththe entire population of the United States as "Christian," i. them that a re h is "; and his description of that "little flock";e., no t barbarous, and including in this calculation al l th e of whom he says, "They shall be mine in that day when I makeinfidels and unbelievers and the children. I f this be reduced to up my jewels" (Mal. 3:17), leaves no question that it is aordinary limits i t is an indisputable fact that no t one third of very different flock from the "speckled and streaked" of whichthese are even professor s of religion; and of th e professors, th e Bishop speaks. I t is to th e "pu re in heart" who havewho can estimate rightly th e smallness of th e "little flock" "made a covenant by sacr if ice, " a "little flock" th at it is the" f wholly consecrated ones, bu t the Searcher of the thoughts Father's good pleasure to give the Millennial kingdom. Whenand intents of th e heart? this elect company is selected, and thus exalted to power withBut while th e Bishop sees this fact, it is in a very limited Christ their head, t hey sha ll b re ak in pieces th e shackles andmeasure, for he proceeds to reckon th e great mass of people fetters, religious and political, by which Satan, th e "god ofliving in civilization, including as he says, al l the thieves, ex- this world ," has so long oppressed the world and humanity.convicts, the debased, and besotted, and he might have added Thus he shall make "wars to cease unto the ends of the earth"the Infidels and Atheist s in Christendom, and lumping them (Psa. 46:9 and Rev. 11; 17, 18). Then "He shall speak peace

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JANUARY, 1886 ZION ' S WATCH TOWER (6-7)to t he heathen" (Zech. 9: 10). He will turn to the people apure language, that they may al l call upon the name of th eLord, to serve him with one consent (Zeph. 3: 9) . Then th eknowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth.This error that th e Church, in her p re sent condition, isto conquer and convert th e world before th e Lord comes, hasmisled many in every stage of the Church in this Christianage. I t has been Satan's snare by which he has diver ted th ea tten tion and service of many away from th e work given bythe Lord, viz.: to witness to the world, and to feed and buildup the Church, and prepa re he r as his joint-heir to accomplishwith him in the nex t age th e subduing of a ll t hings unt o himself.

JOYFULI f you want to know t he character of a house, asks theservants-especially the old servants. I f you want to knowwha t sor t of a condition th e public services ar e in, sometimesyou will hear various accounts for them. But it is differentwith th e service of our Lord. Ask the old servants and youwill get the best account of it. There may be servants whohave tried it for a while and have become f roward and willful.Those who have been at it longest have th e best things to sayabout it. Ask such an one as Paul, the aged. Observe thecheerfulness of t he l at es t epistles of Paul. You have a gooddeal about his t rouble and suffering in the midtime, but when

he came to be Paul the aged, when he is writing to Timothyand T it us , he is extremely cheerful and consolatory. He hasbeen long in the service. Ask th e Apostle John, who beganin earliest life and las ted longest in earthly service. You wil lhear how he had no t found it an easy service-nobody doeswho goes thoroughly through with the Lord. John had, afterthe Master left, been arrested and threatened along with hisfriend at Jerusalem. Afterwards he had' been exiled, as weknow, to Patmos, for the Word of God. He had los t hi s ownbrother, James , and his dearest friend, Simon Peter, by martvrdom in the service of Jesus Christ. But what does he sayof it at the end? Look at his epistle: "His commandments ar eno t grievous," He came more and more to see, as al l agedChristians do see more than they saw it in youth, howthoroughly reasonable is this service; how good, how blessed..10hn heard his Mastel ' saying, and put h is "Amen" to it

The Bishop's hopes for th e success of his plans for thefuture lie, no t in Church creeds which cause a jargon, or inthe power of th e truth as conveyed to us through God's Word,originally accepted as the sword of the Spirit; these for eighteen hundred years have failed to accomplish the Bishop's plansthough th e Word of God has no t failed to accomplish God'splans (Isaiah 55: 8-11), bu t now his hope grasps a new leverof power, which above he terms "the sunlight of modernthought."In his last sentence the Bishop voices th e sentiment ofthe world and the devil, as well as th e saints, for all are tiring of "the cant from our pulpi ts , of sacred phrases that meannothing." See Isa. 29: 15, 14.

SERVICEat the end of his service, "My yoke is easy and my burden islight." I t may be a question having regard to the context,whether, when ou r Lord says "Take my yoke upon you," hejust meant th e yoke assigned to us, or th e yoke that he hadborne, and which he called us to share. Take the latter meaning. Just as when he says to his disciples, "My peace I giveunto you." He intends no t merely a peace that he can confer,bu t the very peace that possessed his own soul in the midst ofhis tribulation, and says, "That peace I give unto you. In th eworld ye shall have tribulation, bu t in Me you will havepeace." So in regard to those obligations of duty. He callst hose who come to him to fol low him in the way, and to bearthe yoke with the courage and the burden he endured whenhe was here as the Father's elect Servant. So we are no tmerely commanded, by t he thought that God has a right togive his orders, and we cannot take a higher place than to behis servant, bu t we have, as has been ag ain and again pointedout, to follow th e Master, who himself ha s served, and knowsal l the difficulties of the service.

I t gives a master great power over his workmen when theyknow quite well that he is no t a mere amateur in th e thingi tsel f; not merely master because he has money enough to employ them, bu t is a master who has done the work himself, andknows it better than they do; has done it well, has done itthoroughly, and joins them in the work, and says, "Come andwork with me; what you do no t know how to do. I will showyou." I t is such a Master whom we serve.-Donald Fraser.

LOOK WE FOR ANOTHER?"Art thou he that should come, or

Almost 1900 years ago t he Jewish Church was left desolate.Ma tt . 23: 38. Before that t ime they were God's people as distinguished from all othe r peoples or nations; for "unto themwere committed th e oracles of God."They were th e "believers" of that age or day. They believed in the true God, in th e Scriptures, and, of course, m thecoming of th e promised Messiah. As a nat ion they were God'snominal people, or "household of f ai th ," yet among them wereonly a few "Israelites indeed." ("For they are not a ll I sr ae lwhich ar e of Israel; neither because they a re the seed of Abraham. ar e they all chi ldren," etc., Rom. 9: 6, 7.)When Jesus came, only a few became his disc ip les. Onlya few discovered that the event s of hi s birth, life, death, andresurrection were a fulfillment of their own Scriptures. .Iohnthe Baptist preached his coming, and afterwards received andbaptized him, and no doubt saw the Spirit descending uponhim, and hea rd the voice from heaven saying: "Thou art mybeloved Son in whom I am well pleased," ye t when in prisonJohn heard of the works of Christ, he sent by hi s disciples andsaid unto him, Art thou he that should come, or ar e we tolook for another? Jesus answering, said, "Go and shew Johnagain those things which ye do hear and see; how that th eblind see, the l ame walk, the lepers are cleansed, th e deafhear, the dead ar e ra.ised, to the poor the gospe l is preached,and blessed is he. whosoever shall no t be offended in me."Thus Jesus called a tten tion to transpiring events, th e fulfillment of their own Scriptures, as proof that he was the Messiah. He might have replied: "I am he." An imposter mighthave made the same claim, and given th e same answer; bu tmark, the answer .Tesus gave called the ir a tten tion to evidencesuch as would convince them of the truth of his claim, provided they had been sufficiently interested in t he Scr ip turesto make them capable of apprehending them, and of discerning th e unfolding of truth then due, i. e., the ful fi ll ing ofprophecy, etc.Notice also the significance of the last part of th e answer,"Blessed is he." etc. Many, many were they who were offended (made to stumble) in him, believing no t that he was

look we for another ?"-Luke 7: 19.the Messiah, because, perhaps. they looked for him to comein a manner different from that foretold in t he Scr ip turesconcerning him.He came to his own and thev received him not. His ownpeople then, were I sr ae l a ft er the flesh, the nominal household of faith; and now he comes to their ant itype, the nomin.i lChristian Church or household of faith. But now as thenthey receive h im not . They say, He has not come, "All thingscontinue as they were." etc. Only a few of the Jewish "household" received him at his first coming, and only a few receive him now. They receive him because of the evidence.ev idence, too , of th e same character as that given to John-transpiring events; the fulfillment of the signs of his presence bearing witness to the fact.Such as desire his appearing. and know the object of hiscoming, ar e no t only rejoicing in, but heralding his presence,and preaching that th e harvest is come, the fields ripe, and theseparating work begun; that the Gospel day or age is end irur,and the Millennial day is dawning . "To-day , if ye will HEARHIS VOICE, harden not your heart s. " Let no t prejudice hinderyou."Behold he stands at the door and knocks, if you will hea rhis voice he will come in to you, and will sup with you andyou with him."Blessed are they who do no t stumble over him, for theyshall be made rulers over all his goods. \Ve cannot force others to receive him, neither eould -Tohn the Baptist, bu t wecan bear witness to the truth as the Scriptures reveal it tous. and "He that is able to receive it. le t him receive it.""Who hath ears to hea r l et him hear." Think of the class whorejected Jesus at his first coming. They were membe rs "ingood and regular standing" in the Jewish Church; thev reverenced the Scriptures as a whole bu t neglected to search themin particular. g iv ing more earnest heed to the traditions ofthe e lders which made void th e Word of God. They werelooking for a Messiah to come, yet not according to the' Scr ip tures which declared the manne r and object of his corning.Therefore they failed to recognize him when present . And

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(7-8) Z ION 'S WATCH TOWER PITTSBURGH, PA .just SO their anti type, the nominal Christian Church is to-daystumbling, and fn.iling to discern him at his second advent;and for th e same reason. Bu t even this is in fulfillment ofthe prophecy; for it is written, "He shall be for a stone ofs tumbling and for a rock of offence to both th e houses ofIsrael." (Isa. 8: 14.) Le t us take heed, and neither be found"as leep" nor "drunken" with false doctrines and traditions,nor so "overcharged wi th th e cares of life," as no t to discernthe signs of his presence.

I f any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;believe it not: or behold he is in th e desert; go ye not for th :or behold he is in th e secret chamber, believe it not; for Christis a spiritual being- and the eye of flesh can no more seehim than it can see Satan, the god 01' ruler of this present evilworld, the end of which is so near, "even at the doors."Brethren, Jesus has come, and found the "household of

faith," the Church nominal, as a body, lukewarm, indifferen t and proud of their riches and increase in goods, bu t heknows their works, and says, "I will spue thee ou t of mymouth." (Rev. 3:15-19.) As a nominal sys tem it shall nolonger be God's mouthpiece to expound his word. He is choosing ou t from her his fit vessels. Because she is wretched andmiserable and poor and blind and naked, he counsels her, "Buyof me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayes t be rich; andwhite raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shameof thy nakedness do not appear; and ano in t thine eyes witheye-salve that thou mayest see," and "He that hath an ear, le thim hea r what the S pirit saith unt o th e churches."Who hath ears to hear, should hear th e counsel, and alsoheed the command now due, "Come ou t of her, my people, thatye be no t partakers of her sins, and that ye receive no t of herplagues." w. C. l\IAC1\frLLAN.

THE BASIS OF HOPE"Ye sha ll not surely die." Gen. 3:4.

Under the mask of friendship, and as a bearer of goodnews, Satan, filled with jealousy at sight of the newly createdbeings, s truck the blow for their destruction. He meant themurder of the race [John 8: 44,] and he was sucessful. Whileal l who accept th e Scriptures admit the authorship of thecunning lie, comparatively few a re ready to believe that itis the only text in a ll the inspired writings that intimates thatman is immortal, or that when dead he is at a ll d if fe rentfrom the lower orders of the animal creation. They everywhere recognize just what scientific research reveals , i. e.that life is not a created element at all, bu t a principle orforce from some incorruptable and immortal fountain, transmitted into d if fe rent o rgan isms . That i t is th e same pr inciple in all, the difference of it s manifestations consisting inthe endless variety of organism, and no t in the principle itself.rRpe "Food for Thinking Christians," page 134-Eccl. 3: 1820; 1 Tim. 6:16.]All life is th e same whether in fish, fowl, beast, man orangel, and can be withdrawn by Him in whom all "live andhave their being." [Psalm 36: 9.]God subjected th e creation to f ra il ty in hope, [Rom. 8:20],and mankind in endeavoring to find a basis of hope for thefuture, believed it lay in an inherent immortality; that deathis not r ea lly death , bu t a condition of some k ind th roughwhich he passes into another sphere of exi st ence . Andupon this idea ar e built al l the theories and philosophies ofa future state, that man has conceived.God 's dea lings with the Jew and with th e world wereno t of a kind to enlighten mankind upon th e real hope if hechose Satan's lie. He manifested no love toward his creature, bu t was a "jealous God, visiting th e iniquifies of th efathers upon th e children unto the third and fourth generation of t1l

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which we enter at our b ir th , is simply th e process which culminates in the full penalty-death-cessation of l i f e ~ x t i n c -tion of being-non-existence. I f death is th e penalty, thenwhen will th e penalty end? There is no inherent power inus which can ever deliver us from non-existence-death. Theon ly way which th e Scriptures disclose for man's restorationto existence is by the payment of his ransom, an equivalentprice, a substitute. And this ransom was found in theSon of God who became a man-was "made flesh" [transformed from the spir itual to the human nature] in order that hemight give himself a ransom for all.That which J esus l aid down for ou r redemption was hisbeing or existence in the condition he then possessed i t - i . e.life or existence as a human being. We must not considerlife (vitality) in the abstract without regard to nature thething referred to, which he had power and commandment bothto lay down and to take again. But in th e sense of beingor personality, the human Jesus gave HIMSELF his LIFE, hisBEING, a ransom for all. And likewise he received l ife, being, or personality, in his resurrection; but it was a new being that arose of a new nature. Jesus arose a spiritual andno longer a human being; existence "it" was recovered, bu tno t under human conditions, not human existence, for he neverdid and never will take back ou r ransom price, thank God.I t remains the equivalent price of our condemned race; andbecause it was laid down forever , we may live forever. I tis life in the abstract sense that the pronoun "it" refers toin the text mentioned." I f th ere had been a law given which could have givenlife, verily ri ght eousne ss should have been by the law," andno t by a sacrifice. But commanding a man could nevermake an imperfect man capable of meeting the requirementsof jus tice ; and even i f able to do so fully, there were penalties against each of us through and because of Adam's sinswhich must be met, paid, settled by some one, and for eachto meet t hem for himself , would be death-c-extinct ion. Hencethe need of first a r ansom, and secondly a l ife-giver; bothof which needs ar e supplied to us by God in Chr is t JesusOUr Lord. A thousand or a million years in death wouldnot pay man 's penalty, as there is no limitation of time eithermentioned or implied, in the terms of th e prescribed penaltyno r in any scriptural reference to it; there is no escape exceptthrough the ransom provided.The human existence of .Iesus, our ransom, ou r substitute, was surrendered to everlasting death; bu t thank Godhe lives as a divine being to claim and res tore to it s perfection that purchased by his human life-mankind.

QUESTION COLUMNQues. Matt. 19 :21. Wh)' did Jesus te ll th e young manto "keep the commandments" in order to "enter into life"instead of making faith a ground of salvation? and how doesthis harmonize with Rom. 3 :20? In verse 20 he replies thathe has kept a ll the se ; bu t still he lacked , and Jesu s says[v. 20]: " I f t hou wil t be per fect , go and sell that thou hastand give to th e poor, and thou sha lt have treasure in heaven:and come follow me." What is implied in th e word perfectmore than what is covered by the commandment, and whatwas t he t rea su re he should have in heaven aside frometernal life?A. In his answer to the young man, Jesus declaresjust what Moses had dec lared [Lev. 18:5], that underGod's covenant with them, keeping t he Law would insure eterna l life to any Jew; but from the days of Moses to Christno t one had merited life by keeping the law. Hence deathstill reigned even as it had reigned f rom Adam to Moses,t hough many prophet s and faithful men of t he p as t had tried,in al l s inceri ty, to keep the commandments. Hence everyJew should by t hi s t ime have been convinced that none wereable to keep the law, because of their imperfect, degeneratecondi tion. God's perfect law is the ful l measure of a perfectman's ability. Had Israel acknowledged th is , t he law wouldhave answered it s purpose to them, for God knew beforehandthat they could no t keep it, and never expected them to. I twas s imply g iven to them to prove their shortcomings and theirinability to measure up to it s requirements, and hence should

have prepared them to accept deliverance through Christ.This young man had not learned this lesson, and thereforeJesus bade him go on trying to keep the law. But a littledoubtful lest he might no t be any more successful in winninglife than had hi s forefathers, th e patriarchs and prophets, although he thought he kept the law perfectly, he inqui red,"What lack I yet?" .Iesus' answer is designed to convincehim that he had not kept the law perfectly-that he did notlove God wit h all his heart, no r h is neighbor as himself. Heproved to him that he loved himself and his possessions morethan either. And the young man evidently understood it , forhe went away sorrowful, evidently convinced that he ye t fellshort of the requirement of the law. To keep the law perfectly in this age requires sacrifice. Who can love hi s neighbor as himself and see that neighbor suffer while he has enoughand to spare? All mankind are suffering under the weight of sin,ignorance and misery, and whensoever we will we may dothem good. Natural benevolence sometimes plans and ar ranges fo r th e comfort and blessing of fellow-creatures, bu tthe Body of Christ, al l in whom th e Spirit of the Master rules,'Hill be ready and anxious to follow His example of doinggood to th e extent of self-sacrifice in order to do good totheir fellows. In giving they will, above al l else, seek to PRINCE BISMARCK recently honored by the Pope with anbestow spiritual food and clothing to th e hungry and naked. autograph letter and a medal of th e Order of Jesus se t inTo keep th e law in the next age, whi le it will still reo diamonds, is the first "Protestant" ever so honored by thequire a measure of restraint and self-denial until perfection Church of Rome. Does this indicate that the "infallibleis reached, ye t will not require sacrifice of things lawful, even church," whose doctrines she c la ims ar e "unchangeable," hasunto death, because of th e changed condition of mankind and changed? or that Protestants have changed? That Pro-his surroundings. testante no longer protest has been shown in these columnsHad the young man sold al l and followed Jesus, he would recently by reference to the course and language of represen-have obtained more than th e law promised. The law prom- ta tive Baptists, Methodists and Presbyter ians.ised life everlasting, human existence-restitution, a treasure Ie YOUR work a task? I f so, why? Is it because--ofon earth; bu t the treasure in heaven to which Jesus referred your own self-will and against God's ordering-you have chosenis a change of nature from human to spiri tual , and no t only some labor of which he does no t approve? Is your tra deso, bu t to th e highest order of spiritual being, th e divino or your profession a dishonest one? Does what brings profi tnature, as explained by Peter. [2 Pet. 1 :4.] to you bring evil to others or dishonor on the cause of God?The treasure in heaven is reserved for al l those who, like Then the quicker you abandon that work the better. HoweverJesus, keep the law in this age, when it s requirements amount profitable it may seem to you, however much it coincides withto and imply a sacrifice even unto death. And only those your own most intense desires, it can never be otherwise thando keep the law who, being justified by faith in the precious a task. You wil l never find your calling, until you l is ten toblood of Christ, henceforth walk not a ft er th e flesh, but after the voice of God; you will never find freedom save in obedithe spirit. Such are reckoned of God as per fec t, and as hav- ence to th e law of God.ing kept the commandments; and are thus joint-sacrifices Bu t if your work is a task simply because your answerand joint-heirs with Jesus Chris t their Lord. to God's cause has been half hearted, or because you thinkThis is in harmony with Rom. 3:20. By th e actual deeds you could have chosen your work more wisely had the choiceor doing of th e l aw shall no flesh be justified, bu t by faith in been left to you, the remedy is easy. Give th e whole heartChrist we are reckoned as perfect and our sacrifice therefore to God's service; cast ou t th e rebellious thought-i t is aacceptable. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us delusion born only of your discontent and brooding. Thewho walk not a ft er t he flesh, but after the spirit. [Rom. 8 :4.] moment you accept God's ordering, that moment your work

Que8. Bro. R. With the understanding that we have-that ceases to be task and becomes your calling. The secre t ofdeath, no t dying, is the penalty of sin, how shall we har- what is best in t he Chr is ti an life finds expression in themonize the statement that Christ gave his life as a ransom precept of Paul. ''Work heartily! . . . . ye serve the Lord[substitute] for many [Ma tt . 20 :28], and the statement, "I Christ."-Sel.have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. We desire th e address of some Swedish brother, whoseThis commandment have I received of my Father." John heart is filled with the love of th e truth and with a desire10:18. Does no t it in both cases refer to the same thinF;! to serve it , who has th e following qualifications for specialA. That th e penalty of sin was death, is most clear ly service, viz.: one who has no family; one who has a goodand emphatically stated-"The wages of sin is death"-"Dy- Swedish education and a fair understanding of the Englishing, thou shalt die." The imperfect and dying condition language. Such will please address the Editor at once.[823]

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CHURCH AUTHORITYThe church of our Lord .Iesus Christ is composed of converted people only, and is of divine institution.Christ is the only Head of the cnurch , and the Word ofGod the only rule of faith and practice.Every person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and whoobeys the gospel of God our Saviour, is a member of his Spiritunl Church, and entitled to a recognition as such by fellowmembers.There is bu t one church, of which Christ is the livinghead.When men affirm that something more than membershipin the body of Christ is essential to membership in their religious organizat ions , they make it other than th e church ofChrist, and make themselves greater than th e Lord, for theyrefuse to receive him whom they admit t he Divine Master hasaccepted.

The only division that is recognized by the divine Wordis a local division. All the members of this holy churchwho ar e found in a given locality, a re the church of that place.They ought, indeed, to recognize and receive one another, bu tonly as Christ has received them. In al l things t hey oughtto regard i t as his church, that he alone can constitute membership, and that al l whom he has accepted are for that reason to be recognized as members of his church in that place.Le t all then who regard each other as members of thebody of Christ, come together in any given place as thechurch of that place. Le t the great object be in al l cases,not the building up of an organization, bu t growth in graceand knowledge; le t such local churches be in true fellowshipwith al l of God's people; no t because they hold to certainbel iefs or are organized in a peculiar method, bu t becausethey belong to ou r common Lord.-Selected.

YOLo YII PITTSBURGH PA., FEBRUARY, 1886 No.6VIEW FROM THE TOWER

much t ime and talent as they could command. The responseswere more than we had expected. About five hundred eagerlygrasped fo r the oppor tunity, and in response we sent to eacha printed, private l et te r, expla in ing the method proposed, lindover three hundred ar e now at work, laboring, enduring andsacrificing for the truth's sake, and for the sake of himwho said, "Feed my sheep"-ga ther ing frui t unto eternallife; and still applications continue to come in from others.Should no more engage in this service, we reckon that thesenow laboring will succeed during th e presen t y ear in havingthe "Food" read by no t less than twenty thousand thinkingpeople; possibly fifty thousand. The result of this work inenl ightening the minds and renewing consecrated hearts nonecan estimate now; and the re su lt s we find are even moremarked upon the hearts of the "laborers" than those forwhom they labor, the promise that he that watereth othersshall himself be watered, being veri fied to each.The results of th e work of these as thus far prosecuted,reveals the fact that th e ha rve st is truly grea t, and thatmany hungry, s tarving, fainting sheep are famishing for thebread of life. Many of the workers t el l us that they areencouraged, and indeed surprised, to find some fruit of theirlabors where they had no t expected it. This searching workreveals the fact that th ere a re more t ru th-hungry than wehad supposed, who are tryin g to feed upon the husks oftradition, and who though almost disheartened and blindedby error are still striving and feeling after the true Godof j us ti ce and love. To search these out and feed and enlighten them is th e presen t great harvest work. In viewof the great work to be done, and the privi lege of doing it ,the thought is suggested, why may no t many more be thusengaged? And we have therefore concluded to lay the planbefore al l our readers in this issue of the TOWER. 'Vhy mayno t five or t en thousand, instead of three hundred, be thuslaboring for and blessing others? By thus preaching fromhouse to house why not reach half a million or a mil li on.and have that number read of these refreshing "good tidings."

It is with these thoughts that we now lay before you allth e p la n a lre ady working good resul ts with some. We knowof no better method available to most of you for spreadingth e truth than to get people to read the pamphlet "Foodfor Thinking Christians," and to know of the publication ofthe TOWER. And while bringing them and the ir topics to theattention of the people a most favorable opportunity is offered you for reaching the truth-hungry who have "an ea rto hear" by bringing you in contact with such, manifestingthem, and thus affording you opportunities to tell the dearstory w ith yo ur own lips, also.To this end, as an aid to such laborers, we have prepared a l arge quant ity of l arge printed envelopes, each containing a sample copy of the TOWER and a copy of "Food."These can be distributed from house to house and called forand collected a few days later, at which time you couldtake subscriptions, or sell the sample packets, or have conversations, etc., as you may find possible and expedient.We need scarcely say to you that ZION'S WATCH TOWERno t a money-making en terp rise. (Your own experience

"And .Icsus went about all th e cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,and healing ovorv sickness and evpry disease among the people. Bu t when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassionon them. hocnusr- thoy faintod nnd worr- scnttorcd abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto hi s disciples : The harvest truly is plenteous, bu t the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of t he harvest that he will send forth laborersin to h is harnst ."-Matt . fl :::lfi-::lS.That was the "harvest" or closing period of the J ewishage, and we today find ourselves and the work similarlycircumstanced in the "harvest" of the Christian age. Allwho realize the importance of the work, and are following('lose to the grea t Chief Reaper, are not only praying thatothers may be sent, but are themselves laboring and gathering fruit. All who have the compassionate, loving spiritof t he Mas te r are today moved with compassion for the multitude of the blind following their blind leaders, as togetherwe see them going toward t he d it ch of unbelief and infidelity,and passing by the opportunity to make their calling andelection sure to the great prize of our high calling.The preaching and labors of Jesus and the apostles inthat typical "harvest" was not often in the synagogues, bu tgenerally by priva te talks to individuals, and f rom house tohouse. Many of the deepest sermons of the great Teacher

WE're del ive red to congregations of one or two or a dozen.Jesus sent the twelve, and afterwards the seventy also, "twoand two before hi s face into every city." They were no tora to rs . nor with the exception of Paul, were any of themgraduates of Theolog ical schools, else probably they wouldhave been so full of the t radi tions of their day that theywould have had no "ear to hear," or hearing, would havebeen too great to utter the simple message of "good tidings,"which the Master commissioned. They attempted not dramaticattitudes, they simula ted not a superior dignity and austeri ty,they used no t "feigned words," and tones, bu t in simplicitylike their Master, their lips expressed the overflow of theirhearts, as here to an individual, and there to a group at thecorner in t he publi c parks, t hey sought to inform the peopleof th e Lord's presence and the kingdom which he was toestablish, bu t which few of the Jews were ready to receive(a s God had foreseen and announced), and which being withdrawn from them (as a nation), the Gentiles were invitedto share; which kingdom is now-even at the door.The work in this harvest is very similar in respect to it sbeing mainly individual effort, and that of the humble andno t too "wise and prudent " according to this world's wis(lorn. The synagogues of today are even more closely guardr-d than those of the typica l harvest , so that rarely indeedis there in a ~ of these any opportuni ty to deliver the message of the kingdom to the Lord's sheep, who may be boundup and starving therein; hence the work now as then, is moreof an individual and priva te character. Consequently it s rewards ar e no t enticing to those who look for rewards popular among men-popularity, money, etc. Those who laborfor the wages now offered for this service must have highe rthan selfish motives-love for the Lord, hi s truth and hi schildren. These take willingly (Heb. 10:32, 33) the presentwages of reproach, etc., and wait for the equal ly sure andgreat reward of honor and glory in th e futu re. By thisarrangement the Lord chooses hi s ministers (servants), thussecuring though in all a "little flock," a ministry under whosefaithful efforts now and hereafter, his infinite plans willreach a glorious consummation.In the issue of September last, we mentioned a plan wehad in view by which t he humbles t could share in the pr ivi If,ges anrl blessings of the harvest-work now, investing so is

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FEBRUARY, 1886 ZION ' S WATCH TOWER (1-2)

probably proves this.) I t has never ye t repaid the cost ofpaper and printing any year since it was started. Never-theless, if you ar e dependent for your living on you r dai lylabor, you must needs have some income, or you could no tgive you r t ime in the manner suggested. To such we wouldsay that the following provision is made for this contingency:-You may retain ONE-HALF of all the receipts obtained asdescribed from NEW readers to go towards your support, yourtraveling expenses, and the support of anyone dependenton you, returning to the Tract Fund any surplus you maybe able to spare.

Those who find themselves possessed of th e gift of teaching(1 Cor. 12:8, l l , 18, 22, 29 ; and 14:1, 3, 9, 15, 22, 24 ) ability to make c lear to others t he p lan of ou r Father fromhis Word of truth, wiII thus be provided a grand opportunity for holding public meetings in school houses, halls,churches, court houses, market places, parks and vacantlots, to which th e public might be invited; or priva te gatherings for th e help of those found t ru th -hungry dur ing thecanvass might be held where and when possible.As you go, le t it no t be for strife or vain glory, but thatthe spirit of truth filling you may overflow upon others.Speak th e truth in love, love for th e truth. and love fo r thoseyou would assist. Be no t ashamed of t he Sword of th e Spirit,the Word of God; handle it with confidence, but no t boastfully; it is no t thine, bu t God's. In speaking of t he p la nsof the grea t Jehovah , l et it be with reverence, as well aslove. Do no t for a moment forge t th e responsibility andhumble dignity of your mission as an ambassador and heraldof the Lord of life and glory. Go forth each day from yourcloset. from private reflection upon th e glorious message youbear, forewarned and fore-armed al so, to meet th e receptionyou may expect from many who know us not; that being thusshod with th e preparation needful, you may not so much feelt he sharpness and ruggedness of th e way. Even so it waswith our Maste r also. Consider this lest ye be WEary andfaint in your minds. (Eph. 6: 15; Heb. 12 : 13). Preparefrom the first to endure hardness as a good soldier of JesusChrist. This is you r min is tr y. Make full proof of yourministry. Keep th e object in view, and look unto Jesus foran example of how to endure, as well as for grace to helpyou. You may no t see much of the fruit of your labors, ye tthe Lord may show you some, for your encouragement bythe way. The fruits will be better seen by and by."Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves ." (Matt.10: 16. ) We suggest this method of leaving the "packets:"Do your sca tter ing of th e packets and your after can-vassing in a systematic manner so that you will know justwhere you have been and where you have no t been, andgenerally f in ish one street and town or city before beginningin another.

Remember the OBJECT before you; that it is no t the sell-ing of the packets, nor t he ta ki ng of subscriptions, bu t thespread of the truth, by getting people to read. Endeavoras fa r as possible to forget the money feature of th e work.I t might be possible to take a SUbscription from a partywho would never get much good of it , nor read it, ,)1' itmight be possible to get a party to read by wise and fitly spokenwords at the time of leaving th e packet, who after readingwould not subscribe, nor yet purchase th e packet, bu t thelatter would probably in the end yield most fruit to theLord's glory; for the thoughts implanted while readingwould probably never die i f th e heart-soil was good, and inthe f ut ur e m ight bud, blossom and bear good fruit. Wemust not measure success entirely by th e present results.We would not , however, have anyone think that th e takingof subscriptions even from those bu t slightly interested isvalueless; fa r from it . Some have had th e TOWER in theirhands repeatedly without having their attention riveted andthe ir interes t fully awakened who, by and by, were wonder-fully aroused and blessed. Of such was. our Broth er Zech,mentioned in the Dec. '85 "View." So then take all the sub-scr iptions you can, and sell al l th e packets you can, whilebearing in mind that your OBJECT is, above all, to attractattention to the beauty and harmony of T H ~ ~ TRUTH concern-ing t he teachings of the Bible."Be wise."-To secure attention to your mission andpacket of reading matter you must be neat and respectablein appearance; kind, interesting and dignified in your language and manner, leaving no doubt in th e minds of thoseyou meet that your service is from your heart, a nd rendered to the Lord, and that not t he ir money, but the ir heart syou seek especially. Take advantage of all the circumstancesto so deeply interest, by conversation, t hose upon whom youcall, and w ith whom you leave th e "Packets," that they CAN-

NOT HELP READING to sat is fy interes t or curiosity. Do no tattempt to tell them all about the plan of God; th e readingwill do that better. Tell them just enough to make themdesire to know more. Take advantage of their present re-ligious views, as t h Apostle di d ( Cor. 12 : 16.) I f t h ~ y ar ePresbyterians, Baptists, or Methodists, call their attention toth e fac t that "Food for Thinking Christians" harmonizes thehitherto supposedly contradictory doctrines, Election and FreeGrace, and makes them both clear and beautiful, aidinggreatly in th e study of th e Bible, and st imulat ing both heartan d mind to Bible study. To one who is skeptical, pointou t th e fact that this treats religious matters from a reasonable standpoint; and make clear to him that th e creeds ofthe sects, and no t th e Bible, are unreasonable and contradictory. Many infidels and skept ics have been led to th eLord through reading "Food;" and hundreds write that theysat up all night to finish reading it th e first time, only toread it over more carefully several times after. When, afterleaving t he packe ts several days, according to circum.sta:ncesand appointment, you call to collect or take aubscrtptions,do all the preaching you can. The Lord has promised, ''1will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist." (Luke 21 :15.) And you will find this true to the letter. You willfind that none, even those professing to be teachers and ministers of th e gospel, will be able to withs tand the "Swordof the Spirit" with which knowledge of the truth arms you.

The best point to make prominent in these brief conver-sations is the ransom, it s completeness and efficacy (Rom.5:17-19), as far-reaching in it s influence fo r good as th ecurse of s in was fa r-r each ing in evil effects-"a ransom forALL to be testified in due time" to all; and made avail ab leto them. Study these your sermons and points and texts;be thoroughly famil ia r with "FOOD" and it s references. Re-fer them to it , and it s arguments, and it s Scripture citations.STUDY with all your heart to show yourself approved untoGod, and to be used more and more of him to hi s glory;and study his Word with a ll the helps he has provided you,that you may "be ready to give an answer to him thatasketh you-A REASON FOR THE HOPE that is in you, withmeekness and fear." Meek and humble in your deportment,remember that you ar e sent with this balm, no t to curse,bu t to bless; no t to smite and wound, and drive th e sheep,bu t to heal and help and draw them nearer to the trueShepherd, and hi s green pastures. Fear, lest you should le ta precious moment or opportunity be wasted, wherein youmight honor the Master or bless a brother. Fear, lest youyourself should through pride or vain glory, or unfai th fu lness, fail to attain the glorious heavenly prize of which youteach other s.One Sister of this c it y r eport ed as many as ten sub-scribers obtained in one day and many very interesting con-versations with some evidently truth-hungry. There ar e more,many more of th e Lord's children-our b re th ren and s is te rs-who are starving spiritually, and each faithful servant,each steward of th e manifold grace of God should rememberhi s commission to preach (Isa. 61: 1 and Matt. 5: 16 andMark 16: 15). "Let y ou r l ig ht shine," and Go ye into al lth e world and preach th e "good tidings" to every creature.Sound forth the glad song of ful l redemption by a mightyGod and Saviour. Flash forth the truth into every nookand corner where dark creeds and black theories have solong lain. The harvest is ripe, le t every servant thrust inthe sickle. The Lord is with us ; in hi s name alone and byhis word a lone we conquer .Do no t be d iscour aged ; you wi ll daily l ea rn bet te r howto awaken and interest t he sheep ; at first you may frightenth e sheep only and have little success, but "Stu dy to showthyself approved unto God," pray for help and let the Mas-ter's voice speak more and more in al l your words and looksand deeds, and soon you will be used to bl ess and feed some.Spare not the steps nor the time; sow beside all watersand in due time ye shall reap if ye faint not.Send for th e Sample Packets as you need them, but don'tlet any be idle, re-distr ibute them over and over again, ex-cept where you make sale, or take a subscription, or giveto one who is much interested, bu t t oo poo r to purchase.So surely as you ar e of the "body of Christ," so surelyyou will have a strong desire to "Preach th e gospel to themeek." You have often sighed perhaps that you had butlittle money you could give to spread th e message, and thatyou had nei ther t he abi li ty nor opportunity to publicly proclaim, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." XowGod opens up this method whereby the humblest may. ifthey will, do effective preaching , much after the mannerof the Mas te r and the Apostles.

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(2-3) Z ION 'S WATCH TOWER PITTSBURGH. PA .Of course those whose hearts are no t absorbed in th e"good tidings" and a desire to obey t he i njunc tion, "Feedmy sheep," can go, one to hi s farm, and another to his merchandise or household a ffa irs and find no time to be thusco-workers with the Master; and of course those whose heartsare full, will find some way to render service. They will findopportunities in which self-denial (self-sacrifice) wil l enablethem to do what they can, and the warmer th e int ere st th emore time can an d will they spend in this or some form ofservice appreciated by th e Master.One Sister can only find time as she goes and comes

from the market and shows he r will in the matter by usingthat. Another commenced by giving one half-day each week,and is now deeply i nt eres ted and giving nearly four daysof each week in this preaching. One Brother writes that'he uses th e evenings after his d ay 's labor; another, that hefinds th e Lord 's Day especially favorable to th e work, an dmuch more profitable than anything else to himself as wellas to those whom he endeavors to interest, and whose mindsand bodies ar e more at rest and who ar e more easily int eres ted then, than upon other days. Next to meeting fel-

low saints for Bible study, no work could be better adaptedor more suitable to the day which memorializes t he re su rrection of ou r Lord after having given himself a ransomfor all; witnessing as it did, to the perfectness of that ransom which is the foundation of all the glad tidings of forgiveness of sins and ful l release of al l from s in 's penal ty .Be no t in too g reat has te ; wherever you find a hearing eargive i t plenty of time and call hack repeatedly to assist.Be instant in season and out of season-when convenientand when no t convenient to you. Take a long a note book ;keep a note of those specially interested, of those you failedto see, and where you began and left off distributing on astreet, etc.Le t us know whether you ar e ready to try-When ?-Howmany samples you will likely need, and whe ther you expectto canvass adjoining towns, etc., etc. God bless you. Godspeed the truth.N. B.- In answering t hi s s ta te yourself clearly, and giveyour full address very plainly. Should you send in any listsof subscribers, six months and yea rly subscribers should always be on sheets of paper separate from your letter.

HOW WE LEARNGreat truths ar e dearly bought. The common truth,Such as men g ive and ta ke from day to day,Comes in th e common walk of easy life,Blown by the careless wind across ou r way.Great truths are great ly won; no t found by chance,Nor waf ted on the breath of summer dream;But grasped in the g re at struggle of th e soul,Hard buffeting with adverse wind and s tream .

Not in the general mart, 'mid corn and wine;Not in th e merchandise of gold and gems;Not in the world's gay hall of midnight mirth:Nor 'm id the blaze of regal diadems:But in the day of conflict, fear and grief,When t he s tr ong hand of God puts forth in might,Ploughs up th e subsoil of t he s tagnan t hea rt ,And brings the imprisoned truth seed to th e light.

Wrung from the troubled spirit in hard hoursOf weakness, solitude, perchance of pain,Truth springs , l ike harvest, from the well-plowed fields,And the soul feels that it ha s not wept in vain.-Bonar.IN. BY. AND THROUGH CHRIST

Words ar e mediums for communicating thoughts. Whereth e same word is used in giving expression to various thoughts,we must judge of t he meaning or sense in which it is usedin any par ti cu la r cas e f rom th e context. This rule appliesto the use of th e preposition in of ou r English language, andalso to it s corresponding word en in th e Greek. As an illustration of this, take the following sentence:I had my satchel in (1 ) my .hand as I went in (2 ) th ewrong door in (3 ) mistake, in (4 ) has te to take the train,and determined to he in (5 ) subjection no longer.In this sentence the word in is used to convey five different thought s which though correctly stated, might be as wellor better expressed by other preposi tions. Thus, in the abovesentence, th e first in ha s th e strict o r p rima ry meaning ofin, while the second might more accurately be renderedthrough, the third by, the fourth with, and the fifth under.The same is true of th e corresponding Greek word en ji ts p rima ry significance is (1 ) in, as, "in thy heart and inthy mouth" bu t en is also used as signifying (2 ) through,and (3) by, and (4 ) with, and (5 ) under.This word (en) is translated (2) "through" in ou r common translation of the Bible, as the following instances wil lillustrate: "He casteth out devils through [en] the princeof devils." (Matt. 9:34.) "Sanctify them through [en]thy truth." (John 17:17.) Also Acts 4:2, Titus 1:3, and2 Cor. 11 :3 . I t is forcibly translated by (3) when theApostle says, "I would stir up your pure minds by [en] wayof remembrance." (2 Pet. 3: 1.) I t is, with evident correctness, rendered with (4 ) in Matt. 26:52, "They that takethe sword shall per ish with [en] the sword." (See it s similar use, Matt. 20:15, 22:37, and 25:16.) The same word[en] is well and proper ly rendered under somet imes , as forinstance (Matt. 7:6), "Lest they trample them under [en]their feet:" and (Rom. 3 :19) , "What things soever th e lawsaith, i t saith to them who ar e under [en] t he Law ."With the above demonstrations of t he meaning and useof th e word in mind, i t must be evident to every reader thatthe accurate meaning of these little words "in" and "en"in any case must be determined from the context, and fromth e general teaching of Scripture. To this we now directattention in connect ion with the following texts:(1 ) " I f any man be in [en] Christ, he is a new creature."2 Cor. 5: 17.

(2 ) "The dead in [en] Christ shall r ise f ir st ." 1 Thess,4:16.(3) "As in Adam all die, even so in [en] Christ sha ll a llbe made alive ." 1 Cor. 15: 22.( 4) "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, hemight gather together in one a ll t hi ngs in [en] Christ, evenin [en] him." Eph. 1: 10.(5 ) "God was in [en] Christ reconciling the world untohimself." 2 Cor. 5: 19.Those who have not noticed that, as above shown, th ewords in and en have no less than five significations, or whofail to make use of their knowledge and always give the wordsin and en t he ir p rima ry signification, must of necessity besomewhat bewildered by the foregoing texts; and gat he ri ngthem together they would conclude that finally God, angels,men, devils, and the lower animals, would al l be in Christ "new creatures." And finally when asked how and in whatsense these wou ld ever be in Christ, they would doubtless bepuzzled for an answer.In examining these Scripture statements, le t us avoidsuch a stupid and bewildering error, and noting th e connectin g te xt, let us rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim.2: 15) , app ly ing th e proper significance to the word in aswhen reading any othe r book. By recognizing the foregoingrule, we can r eadi ly b ri ng a ll these texts i nto harmony witheach other , and w ith a ll o ther passages of Scripture.We start with the unqualified statement that the Scriptures everywhere recognize the Christian Church as Elect,according to the foreknowledge of God, and being selectedthrough faith and obedience th ro ugh the Christia n age "the acceptable year [epoch] of th e Lord"-as the membersof or in the body of Chris t, joint-heirs with Jesus the ir Headand Forerunner, to the great prize and inher it ance of "glory,honor and immortality"-the divine nature. All these ar e"new creatures." (2 Pet. 1: 4. ) These alone may therefore properly be said to be members in the body of Christ;and they are in al l bu t a "little flock" of "overcomers."This being true, and we shall give yet fur ther proof of itshortly, i t follows that the other texts under present consideration should no t be so construed as to nul li fy and cont radi ct t hi s plain a nd general testimony, and as we look atthem we will find that they do not.The second text corroborates th e first and the above view

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FEBRUARY, 1886 Z ION ' S WATCH TOWER (3--4 )when i t refers to a " fir st " o r chief resurrection; fo r i f allare to be in Christ as members of his body, why separatethe members of one body? Furth ermore th is t ex t separatesand distinguishes between th e dead in Christ, and o th er deadno t in Christ, an d thereby contradicts th e idea some havedrawn from the third text in the list.The t hi rd t ex t would have been more c lear for the averagereader had the Greek word en been translated through orby instead- of "in" fo r this is th e evident sense: As by orthrough the act of Adam our f i rs t representa tive al l died,even so by or th rough the ac t of another representative shallall be made alive. The one caused the death of all, th e othercauses the re-living or resurrection of all. This text ha sth e same significance a s ano th er by th e same writer (Rom.5:18, 19): "By one man's disobedience the many [all] wereconstituted sinners, so by th e obedience of one shall th e many[all] be constituted righteous."Besides i f we were to attempt to put upon this thirdte xt th e primary signification of in, would i t not imply thatt he dead would get into Christ first and be made a live afterward? And wou ld not this imply an absurdity?In th e fourth text in th e above list the word en mightbetter have been translated 1tnder as in th e other cases i tha s been rendered thus, and properly. (See illustrationsgiven.) Jehovah has not only appointed Christ to be th e"head over th e Church which is HIS BODY" and which is tobe associated with him in all his work in th e future dispensations, bu t He also appointed the Christ (including thebody) to be head or ruler over all things, purposing thusto agai n br in g unde r one rule a.ll things and beings earthlyand heavenly, putting all things under Christ-under hisfeet or control, excepting only himself (1 Cor. 15 :27). Thusunderstood this te xt is in harmony with al l others, as wellas grandly sublime in itself.

In the fifth text th e word en may be translated advantageously, by either of th e words by, in, or through. Thethought is, that Jesus did not form the plan in th e execution of which he ha s had and will have so important aplace: for i t was Jehovah 's own plan. "God was [operatinghi s own plan] in [o r by or through] Christ; reconciling th eworld unto himself."Le t i t be noticed, moreover, that while "by" suit s the thirdof the above texts, and "under" suits t he fou rth, and either"by" or " th rough" sui ts th e fifth, ye t none of these canbe applied to the first and second. These ar e sensible andreasonable only when en is translated in, and understood ini ts p rimary sense.We trust tha t th e above is he reby mad e clear to all;ye t lest an y should thus fa r have fai led to note how clearlyand forcibly t he Scr ip tu re s everywhere separate those "in"Christ a s body members, or unde r the other figure membersof his espoused Bride , f rom th e world which is to be blessedafter the body or bride is complete (Rev. 19:7), and by thatbride or body in connection with, and under control of th ehead, we will cite some Scripture relative to th is poin t bel ow: -

THE ONE BODY OF CHRIST, THE MEMBERS OF IT BEINGSELECTED, DISCIPLINED AND PROVED NOWFOR FUTURE SERVICE AND GLORY

Because of the close relationship of this company, andbecause of their joint-heirship with Him, as the wife iscalled by th e name of he r husband, so these ar e called bythe name of Chr is t and ar e th e body of Christ.The entire nominal Chu rch is nominally "the body ofChrist," bu t only th e faithful "overcomers" who ta ke u p th eircross dai ly and follow him, are wor thy of him, and a re re allyhis body (Matt. 10: 38), and th e names of them he will notblot from the roll (Rev. 3:5) ; but he wil l eventua lly ownand g lo ri fy them with himself as members of his "body,"h is "br id e" an d jo in t heir.The p re sent Christian age ha s for it s special object theselection of this ONE BODY, of which Jesus is the head andchief. And as soon as th e last members of this select company a re p repared by discipline, etc., they will all be glorified by resurrection power, made like their head, and withhim they will enter upon th e great and l ong prophes iedwork of blessing all the families of th e e arth . G aI.:1 :29.How anyone can read the Scrip tu re s w ith i nte re st a ndcare, ye t fail to see (notwithstanding occasional imperfectionsof translations) that t he Chr is ti an Church is separate an ddistinct in the promises made to it, and in the hopes setbefore it , and in every sense, from th e world, is more thanwe can unders tand.

Note th e following references : -"Thero is one body evenas ye are called, in one hope of your calling" "one

Lo rd , one faith, one baptism. one God and Father of all.". "And He gave indeed th e Apostles and the Prophetsand the Evangelists and Shepherds and Teachers for th ecomplete qualif ication of th e saints fo r th e work of service in order to the building up of th e body of the AnointedOne." . . . "Being truthful, in love we may grow up inal l things into him who is the head- the Anointed One from whom the whole body . . . by means of every assisting joint . . . affects th e growth of the body for thebuilding up of itself in love." (Eph, 4:4-16). Thus theApostle clearly shows that th e work of th e Church in th epresent time is for th e completion of th e Church-the bodyof Christ, as he had alr eady shown ( chap . 2: 6, 7) that afterour exa lt at ion wit h .Tesus to heavenly honor s God wouldexhibit "in t ho se age s that should come after, th e surpassing riches of his favor, in graciousness on us, in [en] ChristJesus." [Rotherham's translation.]In th e same letter (chap. I :4-11) Paul tells us of th epredestination of this body for this work "accord ing as hechose us in him before founding a wor ld , . in lovemarking us out beforehand unto adoption of sonsaccording to th e riches of his f avor which he made to superabound toward us; in al l wisdom and prudence" [i . e., aswe could bear it] "making known unto us th e mystery ofhis will" [or plan] "according to his good pleasure whichhe purposed in him, with a view to an admini st ra tion [dominion] of th e fullness of th e seasons-to reunite for himself under one head [or ruler sh ip] th e al l things, in [en-under] th e Chris t [head and body] th e things on th e heavensand the things on the earth, in [en-under] Him; in whomalso we were taken as an inheri tance, being marked out [a sa class or body] beforehand, according to a purpose of him."-Rotherham's translation.And in th e same chapter verses 21 and 23 we are- toldthat God exalted Jesus above a ll others, b ot h for the presentan d a ll fu ture ages, "and subjected a ll t hi ngs under his feetand consti tuted him aHead above all things for that Churchwhich is His Body-the ful l development [o r completeness]of Him [the Christ] who the all things in all, is for himselffilling up."How well these statements from one epist le agree withth e words of the Master h imse lf, who said . "I pray no t fort he wor ld but for them which thou hast given me" [the disciples]. "Neither pray I fo r these alone, bu t fo r them alsowhich sha ll believe on me through their word. rTho enti repreviously marked out "Church," "body." "bride," or "brethren" of Christ.] That they al l may be one thatthey may be made per fect in one and [as a result of th eperfecting of that one body] that the world may know [inthat due time] that thou hast sent me and hast LOVED THE:>las thou hast loved me." .Iohn I i : ! l . I !l-Z:l,'Ve