CLOSE X

Epiphany Truth Examiner

JESUS' HARVESTS' SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES

View All ChaptersBooks Page
THE PAROUSIA MESSENGER VOL. II
CHAPTER X

JESUS' HARVESTS' SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES

PETER'S AND JOHN'S JOINT MINISTRY. PETER'S EXCLUSIVE MINISTRY. PAUL'S AND BARNABAS' JOINT MINISTRY. PAUL'S EXCLUSIVE MINISTRY. 

IN NOTE III of "Thy Kingdom Come," pp. 404-410, the Harvest Parallels as distinct from Dispensation Parallels are set forth. It is not necessary for us to quote this long section, but it would be well for our dear readers carefully to review that Note, as a means helpful to the better understanding of our Lord's Special Representatives in the Harvest Parallels. In the Harvest Parallels of the Jewish Age the Twelve Apostles were Jesus' special representatives, having power to bind and loose, as they also were the ones as the Lord's special representatives to give the arrangements for doing the Lord's work in the Jewish Harvest from Pentecost on. We have in the Note referred to above shown how in the Parallel Harvest, that of the Gospel Age, our dear Pastor was the parallel of the Twelve. For, like them, he was given the special charge of the Truth as meat in due season, to bring it forth from the storehouse, as well as was given charge of the General Church. This same thought we see lies in the two antitypical Eleazars; for the Twelve Apostles in the Jewish Harvest were the antitype of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, into whose charge the Tabernacle and its vessels were placed, while the Eleazar of the Harvest of the Gospel Age was our Pastor, into whose charge was placed the storehouse, to bring forth the meat in due season, as well as into whose charge the General Church, the antitypical Tabernacle, was given. The David picture is another type that shows that the Twelve after Pentecost and our Pastor were parallels. We have given details on our Pastor as antitypical David; and many of the allusions that occur to David in the Large Parallels of

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

486 

Judah's and Israel's kings refer to the Apostles also as an antitypical David. Furthermore, the facts of the histories of the Twelve from Nisan 14, 33 A. D. on, and of our Pastor from Nisan 14, 1878 on, prove this statement with reference to these parallels to be true. So we stand on firm ground when we hold to the thought that that Servant in the Harvest of the Gospel Age from Passover, 1878, on was the antitype and parallel of the Twelve from the Jewish Harvest Passover on. With the Lord's help we desire to study this parallel at least in general outline, without going into too many details. We expect, of course, to give more details than we gave in Note III of Volume 3, pp. 404-410. Generally the parallels will be pointed out as set forth in the paragraphs of Acts; though at times they will be pointed out in specific verses and phrases. 

The experiences of Jesus from His resurrection to His ascension, Acts 1:3, give us certain parallels. The view that the brethren had as to Nisan 16, 1878, was that in their human bodies they would suddenly be caught up and changed to make their spirit bodies comfortable in a heavenly existence. The failure of this thing to happen was anticipated by Mr. Barbour, who two days before betrayed our Lord by denying the Ransom in antitype of Judas betraying the Lord. But in the forty days following Nisan 16, 1878, the Lord made it clear by many proofs from the infallible Word that the sleeping Church was awakened, Nisan 16, 1878, as spirit beings and would meet the Lord in the air as such, and that the rest of the saints as they would make their calling and election sure would at death be changed to spirit beings, which is proven by 1 Cor. 15:51, 52—"We shall not all sleep … [which all saints did who died before Nisan 16, 1878]; but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Thus, as though the brethren had wrongly expected to undergo what in the nominal church is called "the rapture" without dying, the Scriptures show that each one of the Elect must die. "Ye are gods … ye shall die like 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

487 

men, and fall like one of the princes" [Prince Jesus as the sacrifice, not like prince Adam, who died for his sin]. This was also proven to the brethren by the statement of Rev. 14:13, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth [Nisan 16, 1878, onward]: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." These are some of the proofs that the Lord gave a change of nature to His sleeping Elect Church, and does the same when each one of it completes his calling and election, thereafter. In fact, the begettal of the Spirit implies a birth of the Spirit for all the faithful. 

These facts were made clear to those brethren who were faithful and who overcame the No-Ransomism Sifting during the forty days from Nisan 16, 1878, onward. And thus to them by that time the Christ Body that had slept up to that time had ascended to be with the Lord. And they were assured that such would return in Kingdom glory with our Lord by the testimony of the two angels, as the Old and New Testaments, which in truth and righteousness made this known to them. It was the Lord who at that time charged the brethren not to leave the sphere of executorship of churchianity until the Truth as due would come to them, which had to be given out as it related to our Lord as the Ransom sacrifice (v. 4). The Church before this period did in antitype of John the Baptist's work a work of leading people to repentance and faith; but the Holy Spirit of the Harvest was given to them to work along spiritual lines of Truth when the Pentecost of 1878 came. The brethren at that time wondered if the Kingdom would not be restored to Israel in 1878 (v. 6), which they misconstrued from the parallel of the reception of the true Church in 33 A.D. at Pentecost, as a misunderstanding of the parallels. Jesus and the Church beyond the vail informed them that this was a secret that God kept in His own power (v. 7) and was not for them to know, but assured them that they would receive the teaching powers which would qualify 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

488 

them in the Gospel-Age powers to witness not only in Churchianity, but in all so-called orthodox and unorthodox sects of Christendom and throughout the whole earth (v. 8). And the Christ class beyond the veil, making these things (v. 9) clear, withdrew for a little while from further communication, until the 1878 Pentecost, as the parallel of Pentecost 33 A.D., would come. 

It was thus while they studied over these matters that the Old and New Testaments made plain to them the return of the Christ Class to reign (v. 10). These scriptures made clear to their minds that they were not to watch the physical heavens for the return of the Christ Class, which was to come invisibly, like our Lord, who left the Apostles in secret, unknown to the world (v. 11). Thereupon Bro. Russell gave his attention to Churchianity from his viewpoint of spiritual knowledge, which was indeed as distinct from that of the nominal church as the Millennium is distinct from the teachings of the nominal church (v. 12). Bro. Russell as the parallel of the Apostles had the eleven characteristics of the faithful Apostles, and led the brethren in meditation and prayer; and all that viewed matters as he did continued with him in prayer and supplication. This includes the best justified ones as a class (vs. 13, 14), and all the individuals of the justified class who saw some of the Truth at that time. In Acts 1:15-26 the unauthorized choice of a special helper to take the place of Judas is set forth; and this represents the effort that Bro. Russell made to gain a special helper against the No-Ransomism teachings of Mr. Barbour. One of these two was Mr. Paton; of the second we are not certain. It may have been Mr. Adams, a Methodist minister who had accepted the Truth, or it may have been Mr. Jones, who was an employee in Bro. Russell's Pittsburgh store. But the one that was chosen by the brethren as sharing with Bro. Russell the responsibility of sending the Truth forth against Mr. Barbour's No-Ransomism was Mr. Paton, the antitype of Matthias. The plan was that Bro. Russell

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

489 

in his attribute of zeal was to write the opening article against the No-Ransomism theory of Mr. Barbour in their paper, THE HERALD OF THE MORNING; and this was to be followed by an article from Mr. Paton, which in due time came; but the Lord never recognized Mr. Paton as the one taking the place of the quality that in Bro. Russell paralleled the missing quality that Judas could have developed, had he remained faithful. Jesus in due time selected Saul of Tarsus. The Lord, therefore, quietly set aside the one who was undesirable for the place of Judas, and brought forth in due time Saul of Tarsus as Paul the Apostle, who represented the qualities of deep thinking, earnest love, and great aggressiveness, attributes that were needed to complete Bro. Russell as the parallel of the Twelve. And this occurred by November, 1879, paralleling Paul's call, when Bro. Russell was made that Servant and when the storehouse had been put into his charge by his having been given the light on the Tabernacle, especially as given in Lev. 16, which opened up much Scripture. 

The outpouring of the Spirit upon the Twelve, as well as upon the others, especially represents the large measure of the spiritual Truth and the Spirit of the Truth that was given to Bro. Russell and the other faithful brethren at Pentecost 1878, and that appeared in the article that he wrote in The Herald Of The Morning (Acts 2:1-4). In the nominal church (Jerusalem, v. 5) were believers from every denomination and every sect; and these were attracted to the truth on the Ransom contained in that article, and in subsequent pen products of our Pastor, as this was made clear to such as were prepared therefore by their creeds' teaching Christ's atoning sacrifice (vs. 7-12). It struck some favorably; but, of course, others mocked at this teaching as our Pastor issued it from time to time, claiming that he was teaching error (v. 13). Bro. Russell in his quality of zeal, v. 14, for which Peter stood, and in all the rest of the apostolic qualities, in that 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

490 

particular article and subsequent ones on the same subject, invited the attention of all professed Christians whom he could reach, assuring them that the teachings that he was issuing were not human error, but such as flowed from the Holy Spirit and as were set forth in numerous Scriptures (vs. 15-21). Having set this thought forth, our Pastor then presented Jesus as one proven to be a prophet by God in His earthly ministry by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among the Jews through Him; that according to God's plan and foreknowledge the Jews had wickedly crucified and slain Him, but that God raised Him from the dead, since it was not possible that such a Holy One could be retained by death (vs. 22, 23). Bro. Russell thereupon quoted prophecies and other Scriptures proving Jesus' resurrection from the dead (vs. 25-31). The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead proves that God had made Him both Lord and Christ, and that it was He who had given the Spirit of the Truth to the Harvest people (vs. 32, 33). That these prophecies did not refer to any of the Old Testament prophets is evidenced from the fact that they refer to Jesus as their Lord and that on their death they remained in the death state, whereas the One to whom they refer was aroused from the dead (vs. 34, 35). This should give all professed Christians the assured knowledge that God has made this same Jesus, whom the Ransom-deniers had crucified afresh, both Lord and Christ. 

This teaching that Bro. Russell issued forth through the characteristic of zeal struck deeply into the hearts of his readers and some errorists, and they asked him what they should do. His answer was that they were to repent of this Ransom denial and to consecrate themselves into Jesus Christ, which would prove that their sins had already been forgiven, and thus they would have evidence of having received the Spirit of the Truth; for He said that the covenant promises belonged to the consecrated, old and young, to those near and to those afar (v. 39). With many other teachings 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

491 

did he give witness and exhortation that they should withdraw from the Ransom-deniers (v. 40). Many thousands accepted this teaching, and were received among the believers (v. 41). They maintained steadfastly his teachings and fellowship in the giving forth of the Truth with one another (v. 42). Reverence fell upon the many because of the wonderful works and teachings that God issued forth through that Servant (v. 43). All such believers met together and held all of these Truths in common one with another (v. 44). They yielded their human all in consecration and gave of their human all in service to all of the brethren as they had opportunity and as they all saw need (v. 45). These continued in the nominal church with one accord and in dividing the Truth from house to house, partaking of the Truth with gladness and singleness of heart (v. 46). They were in favor with God, having favor with all true Christians; and God added to them those who were being saved (v. 47). 

We will now study the parallel of Acts 3: Bro. Russell in his quality of zeal (Peter) and love (John) went everywhere throughout the nominal church wherever he could get a hearing, particularly at meeting times, in the period in which the second antitypical Gospel-Age sacrifice was being offered up, i.e., the period in which the High Calling was yet open and general (v. 1). There was a class in the nominal church from the time of their entering it who were lame in their characters, and who were continually brought to the entrance of the nominal church where repentance and faith were especially taught. These begged Truth of those who would come into the nominal church (v. 2). These, seeing Bro. Russell in his zeal and love mingling in the nominal church, asked creedal help of him. In his love and zeal he gave them attention, and said to them, Contemplate me in my work (v. 4). This class did give heed, expecting to receive something of creedal teachings from him (v. 5). In his zeal Bro. Russell denied that he had anything of 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

492 

such to give them, but said that he had the Truth that would cure their moral lameness and that he would give it them freely. Therefore he charged them in the office of Jesus Christ in faith in Him to walk uprightly in the ways of the Lord (v. 6). Assisting such with his strength of Truth, he raised them up in their conduct, through the Truth thus presented, and gave them strength wherein before they were weak (v. 7). And these, receiving through the Truth the strength to enable them to overcome their faults, made special progress and entered in among the nominal church of God, conducting themselves aright, making considerable progress and praising God (vs. 8-10). These were recognized by the people in general who knew that they had been lame in their conduct and had begged for some help to neutralize the disadvantage of their fault at the entrance of the nominal church in repentance and faith. These people were amazed at the reformation that they witnessed (v. 10). These reformed ones cleaved to Bro. Russell in his attributes of zeal and love; and this attracted the attention of many people to assemble in the place where religious teachings and wisdom were set forth (v. 11). When Bro. Russell in his zeal saw the people thus assembled and amazed, he asked them why they marveled and looked so intently upon him in his attribute of zeal and love, as though it were by his power that they helped these moral limpers to walk uprightly (v. 12). Then he ascribed the glory to God, who had made the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as the One who had glorified Jesus, whom they had rejected, denied, even in the presence of the civil ruler, despite his desire to liberate Him (v. 13) according to the Gospels. 

He further accused them of denying Christ and of their even preferring a murderer to the Holy Messiah (v. 14). Thus they denied the Messiah, who can give life, whom God had raised from the dead, a fact that the Bible throughout testified (v. 15). He showed that by faith in the office of Jesus were these moral

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

493 

limpers enabled to walk in righteousness. Yea, that it was solely faith in Christ that gave these moral limpers the ability to walk uprightly, as the people saw with their eyes (v. 16). Then in sympathy Bro. Russell said that he knew that they had renounced the Ransom in ignorance as also their teachers had done (v. 17). He showed furthermore that God had indicated the course that Jesus took by the mouth of all His prophets (v. 18), and, therefore, he urged all to turn to the Lord that their sin might be blotted out, in order that, the elect having been gathered, the times of refreshing from the withered, cut down condition of the curse might come from God, that He might send forth Jesus Christ, who had been preached to them, to reign in His Second Advent (vs. 19-22), and that Jesus would remain in heaven until the times of restitution of all things, promised by God through the mouth of the holy prophets since the world set in. Then he quoted from Deut. 18:15, 19, that the Lord would raise up a prophet as the antitype of Moses, consisting of brethren, whose Head was Jesus and whose Body was the rest of the faithful, as the antitype of Moses, to which Christ it would be His will that all should give heed (vs. 22, 23). Furthermore, our Pastor assured all by his writings and teachings that all of the prophets from Samuel onward spoke of these days of restitution, and convinced them of the thought that it would be by teachings of the prophets and the covenant that God had made with Abraham, bound by an oath, that the Seed of Abraham would bless all the families of the earth in the Millennial Age. Therefore, first of all, to church members was it due to preach these doctrines from God, for their turning away from sin and receiving the Truth, that they might be in a condition to receive the blessings of the Covenant as the Seed (vs. 24-26), which was the hope of true Israelites. 

Bro. Russell's and his cooperators' vigorous campaign after the Harvest Truth began to be heralded soon raised up a storm of opposition from the ordinary 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

494 

leaders, from the special directors of the nominal church and from the infidelistic clergy (4:1). These were greatly angered that Bro. Russell and his colaborers talked to people and preached that through Jesus' Ransom sacrifice the resurrection of the dead would come (v. 2). They laid hands on Bro. Russell in his zeal and love and restrained him for a period of time (v. 3). Despite the opposition of the clergy and their leaders, the message wrought responsiveness in many who were greatly increased in numbers (v. 4). After a pause the nominal church's executives, chiefs and scholars (v. 5), with the higher clergy and the chief crown-losers, with all close to them, gathered themselves together in the sphere of executorship of the nominal church (v. 6). They summoned Bro. Russell in his qualities of zeal and love, and when they had set him in their midst they demanded by what power or authority was he, a haberdasher, carrying on a religious work (v. 7). Bro. Russell in his grace of zeal, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed the higher clergy and the hierarchy, saying that if he was examined for the good deed done to the moral limpers and for the means (vs. 8, 9) by which their cure was wrought, he would tell them plainly that the world should know that the cure was by faith in the Ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whom they had rejected as the Ransomer, but whom God had raised from the dead, even by Him were the moral limpers made morally sound (v. 10). This Lord Jesus as the Ransomer was the symbolic Headstone of the corner of God's temple, whom these nominal-church leaders had set at naught (v. 11). He then proclaimed that salvation could be given by none other, since Jesus' office is the only one given under heaven among men by whom salvation was possible and actual (v. 12). This is the true gospel. 

The clergy and the hierarchy, when they saw Bro. Russell's courtesy, zeal and love, took note of the fact that he was not a university-bred man, which made them marvel at his ability to explain the Scriptures

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

495 

and they recognized that he had been with the Lord Jesus and had learned of Him (v. 13). Seeing the moral limpers who had been healed taking their stand on the side of Bro. Russell, these hierarchs could not deny the good effects that attended Bro. Russell's teaching (v. 14). They then set Bro. Russell aside, so that they might confer together in secret, which they did. They questioned one another what they might do with Bro. Russell; for it had to be conceded that he had wrought a marvel, and that this was recognized by everybody within the sphere of executorship of the nominal church—a thing that they could not deny (vs. 15, 16). They counseled, in order to prevent further spread of the Parousia Truth among the people, that they very strongly threaten Bro. Russell, forbidding him to preach anymore in the name of Jesus, the Ransomer (v. 17). Having formed this decision they called Bro. Russell before them by their preaching and writing, charging him to speak no more or preach in the name of the Ransomer (v. 18). But Bro. Russell in his quality of zeal and love answered that they were the ones to whose judgment he would leave the matter as to whether he should obey God rather than them, who were but men (v. 19), affirming that he could not but speak of the things which he had seen with his eyes of understanding and had heard with his ears of faith out of the good Word (v. 20). The clergy and hierarchy threatened him further, then dismissed him from their midst, not seeing anything for which they could punish him in harmony with church law, because the people favored him for the wonderous things that he had done (v. 21). For these moral limpers were of full age and their testimony therefore could not be denied that on them this wonderous power operated through the Word (v. 22). 

After the clergy and the hierarchy had dismissed Bro. Russell, he went to the brethren and reported all that the clergy and hierarchy had said to him (v. 23); and when they heard his report the

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

496 

brethren lifted up their voices to God in unison, praising Him as the only true Mighty One, the Maker of the symbolic heavens and earth and the race under the curse and all therein, who set forth by the prophetic Word that the nations would rage against the Lord and the people would imagine a vain thing; for the kings of the earth had set themselves and the rulers of the people (the chief clergy and hierarchy) had gathered themselves against Jehovah and against the feet of Christ, even as this had been done against the Head of Christ; for this had been done against Jesus by Herod and Pilate and the people of Israel and the Gentiles in opposition to Jesus and His mission. In so doing they fulfilled the prophecies and the features of the Plan that their wickedness fitted them to do (vs. 24-28). Thereupon the brethren prayed the Lord to take note of the threatening of this clergy and hierarchy and to grant unto His people courage to speak His Word everywhere where opportunity afforded (v. 29), asking Him to stretch forth the hand of Christ to heal moral limpers and to work signs and wonders through the Word by the office of His holy Servant Jesus (v. 30). After the brethren had so prayed the position where they were gathered together gave manifestation of the Lord's mighty presence; and they were all filled increasingly with the Spirit of the Lord and spoke the Word of the Lord with greater courage (v. 31). The many that believed were of one heart and one mind, seeing to it that if any of them were in need of the Word those who had it gave it to them. Thus they held the Truth as the thing that was common to all among them (v. 32). Bro. Russell was by the Lord's grace given great power to witness to the resurrection of the Christ Class and great favor was upon him from many (v. 33). None of the brethren were permitted to lack any of the Truth; for those who had consecrated all to the Lord laid their human all at the disposal of Bro. Russell for his use of them in the Harvest Work to fulfill the needs of all of the brethren for the Truth

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

497 

(vs. 34, 35). Sr. Russell at that time became deeply interested in the Truth and became a comforter of the brethren, having come out from the nominal church into fellowship among the Truth people. She made her consecration and put her human all at the disposition of Bro. Russell to be used in the interests of the Lord's cause (vs. 36, 37), and for years was faithful. 

But there were certain leading brethren and certain led brethren who made a partial consecration of themselves and kept back part of what should have been given to the Lord in consecration. Both of them combined to do this evil thing, and presented what they consecrated to Bro. Russell for his disposal in the Lord's work (5:1, 2). But Bro. Russell in his quality of zeal asked the leaders why Satan had filled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit that operated through Bro. Russell, and to keep back some of the all that they should have consecrated (v. 3). He assured them that they were under no obligation from the standpoint of justice to consecrate, and that it was in their power not to profess that they have given all—why then, he asked, did this class, the leaders of the pseudo-consecrators devise such a dishonest thing; for what they actually did was lie to God (v. 4). These pseudo-consecrated ones, hearing this statement, lost every vestige of the spirit of consecration, which caused great fear to come upon the brethren who heard of the evil transaction (v. 5). The more newly believers led these pseudo-consecrators away from among the Lord's people by the exposures and opposition that they made to them (v. 6). A little later on the pseudo-consecrated led ones came before Bro. Russell, not knowing what had happened to their leaders (v. 7); and Bro. Russell asked these whether they had united to claim that they had given over all to the Lord, while holding back some of their human all; and when these pseudo-consecrated led ones acknowledged this (v. 8), then Bro. Russell asked how was it that they agreed together to tempt God's Holy Spirit as acting in him, assuring 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

498 

them that those who had opposed and exposed their leaders had driven away from the Lord's people the pseudo-consecrated leaders, and were at hand to do the same with them as the pseudo-consecrated led ones (v. 9). Hearing this they became guilty of conduct that showed that their consecration was totally dead, and the recent believers, opposing and driving them out from among the brethren, left them with their disfellowshipped pseudo-consecrated leaders (v. 10). This resulted in great fear coming upon the Church and all others who had heard of it (v. 11). 

By the ministrations of Bro. Russell were many wonderful typical and non-typical Bible teachings made clear to the Lord's people as miracles of the Truth bestowed upon them. All of the brethren were with one accord in the condition of instruction (v. 12). As for the others, no unconsecrated one durst join himself to the brethren, but a multitude of people regarded Bro. Russell as a very great light (v. 13). The result was that many more believers were added to the Lord and to the Church, consisting of multitudes of leading and led believers (v. 14). So great was the influence of our Pastor at that time that they brought the morally sick before him, even as these were on their creed beds and theoretical views, so that even an image of Bro. Russell's power might come over and help them (v. 15). And many came from denominations apart from the nominal church's sphere of executorship, bringing the morally sick and those that were tormented by demons, that by the teachings of Bro. Russell these might be healed; and they were indeed all healed (v. 16). Thereupon the crown-lost leaders and all that were their supporters, chiefly the rationalistic clergy, were filled with wrath (v. 17) against him and by their writings and preachings brought him to their attention and put him under restraint in his preaching the Word; e.g., shutting him off from opportunities of preaching in the various churches (v. 18). But the Lord's Word secretly released him from his restraint, and brought 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

499 

him forth publicly to testify in the nominal church to the Plan of God (vs. 19, 20). And when certain ones heard that Bro. Russell had come into the nominal church at his first opportunity and had taught there, they came, gathering the chief clergy together, and with them they sought to bring him before them (v. 21); but their messengers not finding him in restraint anymore returned and told the chief clergy and hierarchy (v. 22), saying, We found the condition of restraint as it had been left in all safety and the guards at their posts, but when we had entered this condition of restraint we found Bro. Russell not there (v. 23). 

Now when the hierarchy and the crown-lost leaders and chief clergy heard these things they were in doubt as to what this course of Bro. Russell would grow into. Then a messenger told them that he whom they had put in restraint was mingling among the churches, teaching the people (vs. 24, 25). Then the crown-lost leaders with supporters brought him without violence before them, and that because they feared the people, thinking that the people would hurl the Truth as figurative stones at them, if they would do him any violence (v. 26). Giving their attention to him they set him before the entire clergy class; and the hierarchy asked whether they had not strictly commanded him no more to teach in the name of Christ as the Ransomer, and then blamed him for having filled their sphere with his doctrine, intending thereby to bring upon them the vengeance due for their rejecting of Christ as Ransomer (vs. 27, 28). Then Bro. Russell in all his qualities, like those in the Apostles, made answer, saying, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (v. 29), assuring them that God had raised up the Ransomer, whom they by their repudiation had slain and crucified (v. 30). Him, he said, God had exalted to the place of chief power and favor to be the Leader and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sin (v. 31). Bro. Russell assured them that he was a witness from God's Word that these things were

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

500 

true, and so was the Holy Spirit that God gave to those who obey Him with their whole hearts. 

When they had heard this they were deeply hurt and took counsel on the matter of utterly disfellowshipping him (v. 33). But there was among these clergy and hierarchs a class of very eminent theologians in high repute among the people, who asked that Bro. Russell be put out of their midst, a little way (v. 34). Then they said, Christian friends, be careful what you intend to do about these things (v. 35), for before their time there arose a false teacher that claimed that he was the Christ and who gained a number of adherents; but he was slain and all that obeyed him were scattered and brought to naught (v. 36). There also arose another sect from among the more lowly people, and drew away many after it and it also came to naught, and all who obeyed it were scattered abroad (v. 37). Therefore, these eminent theologians said, Abstain from doing anything to this man; for if his plan or work is of human origin, it will come to naught (v. 38); but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it; therefore cease from it, lest you be found fighting against God (v. 39). The hierarchs and the higher clergy agreed to this thought; and after maligning Bro. Russell with many words publicly as well as privately, they charged him no longer to speak in the name of Christ, the Ransomer. He, leaving their presence, rejoiced that he was found worthy to suffer for the name of Christ, and was continually among God's nominal people and in every church wherein he could have access, teaching and preaching Christ, the Ransomer (vs. 40-42). 

It was early in 1879, when the Truth People had greatly multiplied, when there arose a murmuring among some of the leaderless classes against classes that had leaders, because these widowed classes failed to receive teaching daily as it was given forth by the leaders of other classes. This led Bro. Russell to call the multitude of brethren together, assuring them that 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

501 

his place in the Harvest did not suffer him to leave the ministry that God had given him, and to lead these leaderless churches (6:1, 2). He therefore advised that in every ecclesia the brethren should seek out a number of meek brethren, honestly reported of, and full of the Holy Spirit and Truth, whom he advised to be appointed to be the elders in the leaderless churches (v. 3), he himself saying that he would give himself over to the general ministry and prayer continually (v. 4). Bro. Russell's solution pleased all of the brethren; and they chose a full number of brethren with teaching qualities who should minister the Word of Truth in the various ecclesias that had no elders, also suggesting that all other ecclesias elect qualified elders (v. 5). These Bro. Russell sanctioned after he had prayed for them, and gave them his sanction as a benediction (v. 6). The result was that the Word of God increased greatly and the number of Harvest people grew into multitudes, and even some of the clergy became obedient to the Truth. 

The account of Stephen, not being a history of the Apostles' experiences, and thus not typical of Bro. Russell's experiences, will be passed over by us here; for we are paralleling the Apostles and Bro. Russell in their Harvest ministry. Likewise Saul, the persecutor, because as such he was not an Apostle, could not be a type of our Pastor as that Servant, though Saul was a type of our Pastor as an infidel persecuting the Truth. Hence we skip his persecution of the Christians, as not belonging to our subject. We, therefore, proceed to Acts 9:9, where the Apostle Paul is shown to have been blind three days, typing our Pastor's three days of inability to see the truth on the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus in its two sin-offerings. On the third day toward noon the light came on that subject, since at that time he was made "that Servant," and he therefore was visited by the power of the Holy Spirit to become "that Servant" at about the noon hour of the third day. Objections were made to giving Saul 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

502 

opportunities of fellowship until he convinced the brethren that he was fully in harmony with the Lord's Word, even as Bro. Russell was given the opportunity to show his full harmony with the Word after he became chosen to be "that Servant." He has surely been a choice vessel, bearing the name of the Lord before Gentiles and earth's great ones and all Israel, both fleshly and spiritual; and in that capacity he suffered greatly, according to the Scriptures. But after being filled with the Spirit, he was given the power in his office to demonstrate what God desired him to demonstrate and was thus filled with the power of that office. Not only was he given the outward signs of it, antitypical of Paul's baptism, but he was also given the power to demonstrate that he was faithful as a servant of the Truth. Bro. Russell preached everywhere he had an opportunity, both in public, in churches and in private, on this account, and convinced all of the brethren of his office as fulfilled, despite the fact that efforts were made to refute him by those who did not believe in his office. Sr. Russell commended him to the brethren so strongly that they accepted him as such in his office and he, therefore, spoke boldly among those who were known as Christians. 

He went back to his native condition after having escaped the machinations of those who sought to overthrow him, preaching the Gospel wherever it is heard. He healed brethren who had ceased serving by their symbolic paralyzed condition and put them in an unperverted condition of serving with all their might. Not only so, but he was very ready to give help to those churches that seemed to be falling away in inactivity, though having once been very active, and this he did as the antitype of Peter's awakening of Tabitha, or Dorcas. This created an immense amount of prestige for our Pastor among the brethren everywhere where they heard it; and he on that account kept on working in the good cause, to the edification of the brethren, in the beauty of holiness. As the Fall 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

503 

of 1881 set in, he began his great work of circulating the two booklets, "Food For Thinking Christians" and "Tabernacle Shadows"; and in so doing he antityped what Peter did in his mission with Cornelius. The Lord, by His Word, caused Christians everywhere to long for more of the Truth and they were used to send for more Truth, which message came to "that Servant"; and he accordingly made use of steamships, railroads, express companies and Western Union boys to circulate the message at church doors, wherever they could find a hearing or willingness to accept the two booklets, all of this in antitype of Peter's mission to Cornelius. 

The Lord had given Bro. Russell to see that his work should not be limited to the brethren who are in the Truth, but should be very much spread to the people in general, both in natural and spiritual Israel, which he accordingly did; and the Lord's Spirit fell upon those who got his literature and they immediately began to give evidence of their having been strengthened by the Truth, which they had received at his mouth. This mission was carried on with great zeal and ability by our Pastor in the antitype and he, therefore, was enabled to see that God was using him as a special vessel fitted for the Lord, though as yet he had not come to see that he was "that Servant." His sermons preached everywhere, in book form, by speech, by pamphlets, by the Tower and by letters, were the antitype of Peter preaching the sermon to Cornelius and his friends; and the faithful response that Cornelius, etc., gave was antitypically evidenced by the Spirit which fell upon antitypical Cornelius, etc. Of course there was more or less objection among the brethren to Bro. Russell's extending a very public ministry apart from the Truth people, but he met that objection fully refuting the ones who brought it; and in that case he was given the authority by the Lord to demonstrate that God wanted him to do the kind of work that He wished done, God counting none unclean who desired to come

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

504 

into harmony with Him, through Jesus Christ, our Savior; and therefore, our dear Pastor vindicating the steps that he had taken, the brethren that had gone with him testified to what he had done. His accompaniments at the beginning were Messrs. Paton, Mann, Keith, Rice, Jones, and Sr. Russell. A brother who had given only $5,000 to the distribution of the above-described literature became quite envious of our Pastor, when he had found he had put more than four times as much money into that good work as he had done; and therefore, the brethren were much edified when they found out how very little our Pastor considered that he had done in this work. 

Sr. Russell in her efforts to defend Bro. Russell sought him out from where he was in practical defamation and seeming idleness, and, finding him, brought him to the brethren where they were first called Christians, where he gave the message as it should have been given. The brethren everywhere endorsed Sr. Russell's and Bro. Russell's stand in these matters, as indicated in Acts 11:30, but the efforts of the brethren in this matter stirred up an immense amount of criticism. Joseph Cook, the famous lecturer, in his book on the "Occident," gave Bro. Russell a lashing over the back of Dr. A. Dorner, who taught an opportunity for salvation after this life. Mr. Cook sought to refute Dr. Dorner, but made a very miserable failure of it; but he succeeded in preventing Bro. Russell from lecturing in the conventions of many churches, antitypical of Agrippa putting James to death, but failed to prevent his speaking in individual churches, antitypical of Peter's deliverance from prison. However, he was so greatly praised for his efforts that God immediately smote him with spiritual blindness; and he was soon found to have gone into deeper and deeper error on account of his persecution of the Lord's faithful people. And the good work went on. The brethren at Antioch correspond to the 1891-1894 sifting, that is, the sixth-hour 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

505 

sifting. These continued to be very oppositional to the course that our Pastor had taken, after he was delivered from the machinations of Mr. Cook and gave evidence to the brethren of such a deliverance. Accordingly, our dear Pastor started out on another effort at preaching the good Word. During the 1891-1894 sifting, there were four prominent teachers among the Truth people apart from our Pastor: Sr. Russell, Mr. Von Zech, Mr. Bryan and Mr. Rogers, who were antitypes of those mentioned in Acts 13:1. The three were for awhile apparently very loyal to our Pastor and very much praised him, but they showed themselves very shortly to be exceedingly disloyal. The brethren in general, however, desired our Pastor to go forward in the good work that he was doing, and therefore, he and Sr. Russell went forth to her native sphere, the 70 pilgrims and auxiliary pilgrims being his special helpers as "that Servant," and here they preached, as his third special helper as a star-member, the Word of God in the churches by word of mouth and by literature; and they had at first, as a helper, Sr. Russell's sister, who, however, soon turned out to be disloyal. The sifters, however, began to do their work of mischief, even though they professed to be of the Truth people, and they sought to turn aside prominent ones from hearing the Truth message, which Sr. Russell and Bro. Russell were glad to give them. These sifters, the antitype of Elymas, were attempting to turn aside all who had listened to them and bring them on their side. This met with a most severe rebuke from Bro. Russell, who accused these sifters above-mentioned of being full of subtility and mischief, children of the devil, enemies of all righteousness, who would not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord. This he did after their sifting work began to be noticed, and God punished them with blindness as to what the situation really meant; and that blindness remained on them throughout the whole period. But those who were prominent and listened to the Word as given in 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

506 

the literature and by word of mouth, made great wonderment at the teaching of the Lord. 

Therefore, Bro. Russell left that sphere of work and went to another, and that was to demonstrate before the brethren and the supporters of these sifters, that they were sifters and therefore could not be trusted. In this matter the sifters were thoroughly refuted by the power of the Spirit that dwelt upon our dear Pastor and he was enabled to preach to those in more private ways in their churches, though not in nominal-church conventions to those who would listen to him, whether they were of natural or spiritual Israel, and he described the course in which God had dealt with His people up through the period of the Judges in the antitype, showing how there were many siftings during the Gospel Age corresponding to those of the Jewish Harvest. It was then pointed out how our Lord was raised up as the King of God's people, speaking through "that Servant." His work and his teachings, typed by those of Paul, were so strong that many people repented and believed, even though they did not see the Truth fully at the time. Therefore, the invitation was given to consecrate to those who were of the real and natural Israel probationarily, and these, accordingly, did so. But Paul and Barnabas witnessed that persecution came on those who followed this way, even to the setting aside of our Lord, which found its antitype in the setting aside of the true Church in the Harvest time, especially in its Parousia and Epiphany time. These have all been fulfilled, as God said they would be, God giving His witness to His people, so that they could see matters aright. And this message was a true message, for it gave the Abrahamic promise in its true form, as we read this in Acts 13:34; and as our Lord was faithful, so the Parousia and Epiphany faithful sought to do the Lord's good will, and kept on till they will have finished their course. And, therefore, we find that God will acknowledge these in due time and give warning against the sifters, who at the period of the pertinent 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

507 

sifting, 1891-1894, were recognized as evil, while the faithful ones, according to verse 43, recognized and adhered to Bro. Russell and Sr. Russell, as against the sifters. But these sifters, according to verse 45, did their evil work wherever they could get a chance. In every assembly of the Lord's people they tried to do this, but they failed, except among those who like themselves were reprobates, according to vs. 44 and 45. 

The Lord by our Pastor and Sr. Russell showed great courage in presenting the Truth and forwarded the work, so that it would be recognized on the part of those who were ready to hear the good Word: and thus they heard and glorified God. But as some sifters were stirred up to do the evil work against the Apostle Paul in the type, so they did the evil work in the antitype, as described above. And these then let the sifters and the siftlings go, disclaiming all responsibility for them, as we see in vs. 51 and 52. However the sifters got, according to chapter 14, a number on their side, who professed to be true followers of the Lord, but actually were followers of the evil one. They at first gave Bro. Russell and Sr. Russell very devout service, then repudiating any such form of service, they gave them up and would have nothing more to do with them, after these had done their work of repudiating "that Servant" and Sr. Russell, in antitype of the Jews at Antioch turning suddenly against Paul and Barnabas after these had refused to receive the worship of these, typical of how Bro. Russell, as well as Sr. Russell, refused the adoration of the sifting ones. 

From here Bro. and Sr. Russell went on to other places. They went on to brethren who were true and brethren who were partly true, and did their work among these until their work got its full prosperity in the region roundabout, as we notice in vs. 6 and 7. There were brethren in the type who were impotent in the service of the Lord ever since they had come into the Truth. These were by Paul awakened from that condition unto activity, typical of how our dear 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

508 

Pastor aroused unto Truth service brethren who had not been active as they should have been. In this he was joined by Sr. Russell. But the sifters in the type gave Sr. Russell the place of the chief mighty one and Bro. Russell the place as his messenger, in antitype of the worship that the sifters and siftlings for awhile gave to Paul and Barnabas. But when these refused to receive the worship of these sifters and siftlings, they repudiated them, hurled doctrinal teachings against them, and cut them off from all access to the public service, while Paul and Barnabas, running among them, forbade them to do such things and gave them no more opportunity to do work of this kind, as we see in the antitype of Bro. Russell and Sr. Russell. They were thus symbolically stoned with the errors of the siftlings and Bro. Russell was supposed to be entirely refuted, but he overcame and refuted the sifters, kept on with the good work and preached the Gospel in the antitypical cities of Derbe, Lystra and Iconium, as God's Word showed in the type, and as was showed in the antitype among both the siftlings and the sifters; and therefore they strengthened the brethren and gave them directions as to how they should conduct their work in the ecclesias, appointing, through the ecclesias, elders in every church, and thus got the brethren into a well-organized condition, and so continued until they came back to the condition in which the brethren were when they first started out in the Truth work. 

The 15th chapter of Acts gives us the type of the sifting that occurred in the nominal church in the 6th hour; that is, from 1891-1894. The Judaizers who came at the typical time of sifting wanted to subject the brethren to the Mosaic Law, otherwise they claimed for them no opportunity of salvation; and the Apostles discussing the matter in the conference at Jerusalem, cooperated therein by the elders of the Jerusalem Church, represent how our beloved Pastor attacked this great error of Combinationism, especially in his 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

509 

article in the double Tower of November, 1893, reprinted and revised in Vol. IV, in the chapter, "Babylon's Confusion, Ecclesiastical." The word of God that came to our dear Pastor on the subject was, that God's people were freed from all kinds of Combinationism, and were simply to be maintained steadfastly in the Truth and for the Truth, and in this he was supported by the leading brethren everywhere. Sr. Russell was his chief supporter at this particular time. But there were those who were determined to Combinationize the true Church, as typically the Pharisees arose, saying that one would have to keep the Mosaic Law in order to gain everlasting life. This position was overthrown. Peter in the type made his argument against it, representing how our dear Pastor in his zeal worked against this error. James spoke against it, representing again how our Pastor defended the Truth on the subject, and the elders, typing the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims, etc., joined in with them, they quoting from the Scriptures the passage that showed that after the Gospel Age was over, then would come the time when the people would have the opportunity of gaining everlasting life from the covenant promises that God had given to Spiritual Israel. Therefore, the brethren were exhorted by our dear Pastor, in antitype of James' exhortation not to allow anything to mislead them and bring them away from the proper goal. Sr. Russell gave her testimony very strongly from church to church on the subject, corroborating our dear Pastor in the matter, and the result of this conference was, brethren everywhere were made to see that the Lord had made a distinction between the Mosaic Covenant and the Covenant of Grace; and accordingly, word was sent to the brethren everywhere by Bro. Russell as the antitype of the Apostles at that council, cooperated with by the dear brethren who supported him, and thus there was great comfort administered to the brethren everywhere, in that they were free from the evils of Combinationism. Accordingly, 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

510 

we see that God helped out in this particular matter as He desired to do. 

The only charge that was given by the Lord's servants was that the particular sins of which the Gentiles, in general, were guilty should be avoided; the sins against polluted spiritual food and the sins against evils of Combinationism, for this was the thought of all who took part in this discussion; and it pleased Bro. Russell and the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and leading elders and the whole church to send messengers to the brethren who were disturbed by this trouble, along with Bro. Russell, namely, Judas, surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren. Silas, Silvanus, types M.L. McPhail as our Pastor's special helper as a star-member, but not as "that Servant," whose special helpers were mentioned above. These delivered the message to the brethren everywhere they went, and it ministered great comfort to those who had been troubled so much by the error. They pointed out the cause of the trouble and the remedy for it, and this made the brethren everywhere rejoice that they were freed from what was trying to be imposed upon them, and thus they were by God given an advantage that had not before been had. 

Shortly after this, Bro. Russell suggested to Sr. Russell that they visit the brethren again in every city where they preached the Word of God and see how they did, but Sr. Russell, by this time, about 1897, was determined to follow the course that her sister, the wife of Bro. Russell's father, wanted marked out. This Bro. Russell could not agree to, because this wife of his father had interfered time and again with the father's desire to will certain of his property to his daughter, Sr. Land, Bro. Russell's sister. When Sr. Russell continued to side with her sister against Bro. Russell, the division came between them so that she first separated from him in 1897, and this, of course, caused more or less of confusion in the work. Bro. Russell would not concede that this should be done and 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

511 

so he was forsaken by his wife in his work and he took with him antitypical Silas, Bro. M.L. McPhail, and he and antitypical Silas did what Paul and Silas did in the type: they went to the brethren everywhere under recommendation of their brethren, preaching the Grace of God, and thus they went among all of the churches where they had been before, confirming the churches in every good word and work. 

We now come to the sixteenth Chapter of Acts; and we notice that the scene is transferred in the type from Asia to Europe. God's having hindered Paul from doing work in Asia and opening the way for him to go to Europe indicates a change in the work; in other words, the work outlined in Paul's epistles in which he shows his various attitudes toward the various churches, is used to represent Bro. Russell's long public work, but it is the work confined to the brethren from various standpoints, and these are opened up in the Scriptures of Paul's epistles especially. The Apostle Paul found it necessary to make Timothy, for the sake of Jews in a matter that was morally indifferent, an example that would show the Jews that he did not abhor national customs, and for this reason he types Bro. Russell in his dealings with Bro. Henninges, whom he took for a while as his son Timothy, which he called him in a Tower article. He became Bro. Russell's private secretary for a while, and as such acted out the Timothy type, although Timothy later on no longer acted as the type of Bro. Henninges. 

Bro. Russell, in antitype of Paul's activities, made known what had been decided by the Apostolic band in type, that is, the things that the Gentile Christians should do under the ministry of our dear Pastor. This established the churches in more faith and increased them in numbers as he continued to minister to them. The Lord's Word was not to be proclaimed in certain places in Asia, because the Lord had other things that He wanted Paul to do, typing how Bro. Russell would 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

512 

cease from certain sections of public work and give his attention more to the work among the brethren. This is indicated in vs. 6 to 9, when the message came to Bro. Russell that he should, in antitype, take up matters that concerned the prosperity of the churches particularly. He and M. L. McPhail, in antitype of Paul and Silas, had to endure a great deal of persecution on account of their activities toward the brethren, typed by Paul's persecutions at Philippi. Paul hunted up those that could be best reached by the Word, and that typed Bro. Russell's going into those ecclesias where there was a better entrance for the good Word, as indicated in v. 13. 

Lydia was a type in Paul's action of those ecclesias that were very thoroughly faithful in their doing of the Lord's good work, and Bro. Russell thus found plenty who were very willing to take part in the good work, typed in v. 13. After these had been taken in among the brethren, they sought to be faithful to Bro. Russell as the servant of the Lord, ministering to him, even as Lydia ministered to Paul in the type. Bro. Russell was very active in his work against demonism, typed by the woman that was possessed of the spirit of divination, and this brought upon him persecution from Spiritists, even as Paul and Silas were persecuted in the type because they opposed the woman of divination. They would not accept any endorsement from such a source, even as Bro. Russell would not accept endorsement from Spiritists. After he had been pestered by these Spiritists for a long while, he wrote his booklet on Spiritism, which proved a hard blow to Spiritists and made them persecute him all the more, in antitype of Paul's having been stirred up against the Spiritists in this particular woman and he thus came out against them. These saw to the persecution of Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail, in antitype of Paul's and Silas' persecutions by the rulers who were in sympathy with more or less of the Spiritists, even as it occurred in Paul's and

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

513 

Silas' case. These were misrepresented, as always is the case with evil-doers and false teachers with the Truth servants, even as Paul and Silas were misrepresented before the rulers at that time. This resulted in a great multitude arising against Bro. Russell, for Spiritists are very numerous, and they antitype the divination woman and her masters, or rather, their supporters, arising against Paul anal Silas. These, after having been very severely blamed by the Spiritists and the Divinationists, were more or less hampered in their activity, even as Paul in the type was hampered by the restraint put upon him at Philippi. And just as these praised God for the condition in which they had come, so Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail praised God that they were suffering for the Truth's sake, even though they were restrained more or less in their work, in antitype of Paul's and Silas' restraint at Philippi. Instead of this matter turning to injury, Paul's and Silas' prayers and praises aroused some of the evil-doers to investigate matters, and the Lord manifested His power at that time in such a way as resulted in the conversion of the jailer, in type of Bro. Russell's and Bro. McPhail's being aroused by their persecution to renewed zeal and efforts to help those who were helpable, even those who were more or less of a restraint on them. In the type they prevented their restrainer from committing suicide, even as Bros. Russell and McPhail prevented others from doing themselves injury in their cause and work, with the result that in due time a deep conversion of many persecutors took place, as was typed by Paul's and Silas' converting their jailer. They explained the way of salvation and this resulted in an acceptance of them by the restrainers, even as Bro. Russell explained the plan to such as were more or less persecuting him and Bro. McPhail on account of their stand against Spiritism. 

They gave the symbol of consecration to such as had indicated that they wanted to consecrate and symbolize their consecration, and this was in antitype of 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

514 

Paul's baptizing the restrainer at the Philippian jail. Then they were refreshed by this jailer, even as Bros. Russell and McPhail were refreshed by those who were turned to the Truth by their anti-Spiritism work. Bro. Russell refused to allow himself to be set aside in what was wrongly done by those in authority, even as Paul and Silas refused to be set aside privately after the wrong was done, but required a public acknowledgment that they had been mistreated, and this public acknowledgment was made, and the result was that they found themselves at liberty, and left, after going to the dear ones who were faithful to the Lord at Philippi, serving them in type of Bro. Russell's being faithful among those who turned to the Lord's work in good heart by the message that he and Bro. McPhail gave. Thus ended their work as described in the 16th chapter of Acts. 

We now come to Acts 17. This gives us the founding of the church at Thessalonica. After they had passed certain places, they came to Thessalonica and sought to win those Israelites who might be amenable to the Truth as they were assembled in their synagogues, even as Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail sought in various churches to win those who were winable to the message. The result was that they proved strongly that Jesus was the Christ, even as Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail proved the central doctrines of the Ransom and Christ's Resurrection; and the believers that turned to them were, both in type and antitype, very good, a large multitude, these consisting of a number of churches. 

Opposition came from those Jews who were hardened against the Lord's message, and they caused persecution to come upon Paul's and Silas' supporters, even as persecutors in the nominal church made opposition to Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail in their good work. These found that instead of being able to prevail against them, they came to an ignominious fall; and in that ignominious fall they were led into a condition 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

515 

that made them lose out in what they sought. These made it expedient for Paul and Silas to go to Berea, typical of Bro. Russell's introducing the Berean Study form among the brethren in the studies that they had, as they went from church to church. This resulted in much edification to the brethren; and many of the churches, taking advantage of this, made themselves rich in the good Word and work by this method of teaching, both in the type and in the antitype. The brethren took advantage of the situation and sent Paul away from the place of persecution and the condition of persecution, and Silas with him, even as Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail were shielded from the persecutors that came upon them. Paul left Silas and Timothy behind at Berea. These represent how Bro. Russell and Bro. McPhail and the other pilgrims ministered, as they had opportunity, to the brethren in antitypical Berea. 

This brings us now to Paul's experiences at Athens. St. Paul was conducted to Athens by the brethren, in type of the brethren helping Bro. Russell to come in contact with the learned world. His charging the ones who helped him to Athens that they have Silas and Timothy return as soon as possible to him, is a type of our Pastor's desiring the continued help of M. L. McPhail and the pilgrims. His stay at Athens represents in the antitype how our Pastor came in touch with the learned world, for Athens was at that time the intellectual capital of the world; and Bro. Russell came in contact with antitypical Athenians and showed them his conduct toward them by teaching the Truth as opposed to the learned and wise of this day. As Paul's spirit was stirred up by the idolatry of the city of Athens, so Bro. Russell, contemplating how they were making gods of evolution, higher criticism, and other theories of their own, was deeply stirred up to testify against these errors. He continued his work wherever he had an opportunity among the nominal people of God, in antitype of Paul's discussing with

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

516 

the Jews in their synagogues, in v. 17. He even went to the public daily and spoke to those whom he met. 

The philosophers with whom Paul had to deal, the Epicureans and the Stoics, stand for the pleasure-lovers and the moralists of the present time with whom Bro. Russell had his contact and against whom he had to testify. As the Epicureans and Stoics mocked Paul as a babbler, so Bro. Russell seemed to the Evolutionists, the Higher Critics, the Modernists and the Moralists to be only a babbler doting about words without any meaning. They caught this thought from him: that he seemed to set forth strange doctrines that had not been held in Christendom and therefore he was a suspect and should deserve to be put out of contact with the nominal church. They took Paul, therefore, to the Areopagus, which was the highest court of Athens, where the most learned Athenians were assembled as a supreme court in their day, in type of how in our day the pleasure-lovers, the Moralists and the Modernists brought Bro. Russell as an accused one before those who were in chief authority among the nominal people of God, and accused him with such a crime in their eyes as deserved him to be put out of all contact with the nominal people of God. They said that he was bringing strange doctrines in the type, and it was a capital offense at Athens to bring strange doctrines into vogue there. This was typical of how the Modernists, the Evolutionists, the Higher Critics and Combinationists and the like, brought against Bro. Russell charges that he was setting forth teachings and practices that were to be condemned among God's people. The Athenians and the strangers that were there, in their seeking knowledge, were constantly trying to get something new, that is, wanted to be up to date. The very newest thing out they wanted to know; and they would like to tell and hear some newer thing. In antitype of this, the antitypical Athenians mentioned above sought to make our dear Pastor an object of their accusations and wanted to hear from him something 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

517 

new in harmony with their views, but not in harmony with other things. The Apostle Paul, according to v. 22, used the utmost tact in his approach to the Areopagites. The Authorized Version mistranslates the thought by the word superstitious; it should have been rendered, "I perceive that in all things ye are very religious." In other words, he was complimenting them, instead of giving them blame, as the A. V. puts it. He made use of this as a means of bringing to their attention something that was not a new thing entirely to them, although they were not able to fathom it, thinking it came from the unknown God; and this one, Paul in his tact, showed to be the true God, in antitype of how Bro. Russell showed that the true plan of God made manifest the real God, who was really unknown to Christendom in their various sections, sects and divisions and movements. Therefore, the Apostle Paul brought them a teaching of which they did not know, in type of Bro. Russell's bringing the true teachings of the Ransom and the Resurrection, centered in God, who made the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them as the Creator, according to Paul's statement, typical of Bro. Russell's giving God the glory of the creation of all things in the literal and symbolic heavens and earth, insofar as they were in harmony with His principles. As Paul said that God was not circumscribed in temples made by hands, so our Heavenly Father was not circumscribed by the various sects and parties in Christendom, according to Bro. Russell's teachings. He was not worshiped by man-made devotions, man-made teachings and man-made practices. He was served only by being given the honor due to Him, according to Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power, as Bro. Russell showed in v. 25. 

Against the Evolutionists and others he stood for the unity of the human race, as Paul set forth the thought that the whole human family was descended from Adam and Eve, and to them was given to dwell throughout the earth, even as God allowed those who 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

518 

professed to be his people to dwell in the symbolic heavens and the symbolic earth. As Paul showed that God had time features to His plan, so our Pastor showed that God had time features by which He circumscribed everything connected with His plan, and to which the human family had to be subject. He did this in order, in the type, that the people might seek after Jehovah and thus perhaps find Him, because He was to be found by those who sought Him with true hearts, all of this typical of Bro. Russell's showing that if people came to God with true hearts, they would be given opportunities of consecration and service, and would find God very close to them as their Helper. It is by Him, Paul taught, that human beings lived, acted and had their existence, even as certain of the poets of the Athenians had made claim; we are also His offspring; so Bro. Russell showed that originally the human family was God's offspring in Adam and Eve, and therefore could become such again, if they would make approach to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. They ought not to think that the Deity was made like the creeds and the teachings of men, even as Paul showed that the gold, silver and stone graven by man's art and device could not be the true God. As Paul in the type showed that God passed by their ignorance, not holding them to too strict an account, so Bro. Russell showed that by Christ's merit the human family was not being held to a too strict account; but God waited after giving them a command to repent so that they would be fit for the next Age; Bro. Russell showed in antitype that good conduct now will help people in the next Age, for their repentance would certainly be of assistance. They should be prepared for that next Age, because, by The Christ, God is going to judge in righteousness the whole human family, as He taught, and that in antitype of what Paul said in v. 31, that God had appointed a judgment Day in which He would teach, test, stripe and finally sentence people, according to the way in 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

519 

which they acted in their trial time. This was our Pastor's teaching in the antitype. 

When the Areopagites had heard of the resurrection of the dead from Paul, some mocked and others delayed the matter, saying, "We will hear thee again of this matter," even as in the antitype our dear Pastor was mocked when he preached on restitution for the human family as well as the Divine nature for the Church and other natures for the other elect classes. He was mocked, and others put it off for further delay, according to v. 32. Paul, having thus made his defense and having proved himself not guilty of a capital offense in Athens, left the Areopagites, in type of Bro. Russell's leaving the learned of this world to go their own way, he having sought to give them a measure of enlightenment. However, his work was not in vain among the Athenians. There were certain learned ones, typed by Dionysius, that gave heed to what Bro. Russell said, even as Paul was heeded by Dionysius the Areopagite and the woman named Damaris and others with them. These type those who gave to Bro. Russell's message a hearing ear and became counted among Truth people. This brings us to the end of Chapter 17. 

Chapter 18 treats of Paul's activities at Corinth. We continue with our study of Jesus' Special Representatives in the Two Harvests, and that as we find it recorded in Acts 18, in type, which foreshadows the antitype. Having finished his work at Athens, Paul came to Corinth, where he had a great work to do on behalf of our Heavenly Father's Plan. The Roman Emperor on account of his hostility to the Jews expelled, among others, Christians and all Judaizers from Rome; and, among others, Aquila and Priscilla, in the type, were driven out of Italy. Paul joined himself with these, because he was of the same class as they, and as a tent-builder he shadowed forth Bro. Russell as a builder of Ecclesias. This was Bro. Russell's special

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

520 

work as we find it set forth in Acts 18. For the Church at Corinth gives us especially a great many congregational things, and one of Bro. Russell's works in antitype of Paul's work at Corinth was the development of the churches, by his giving them proper instructions to keep them from the evil and to build them up in the good. As Paul's usual custom was to go away and find responsive hearts, that is, among the Israelites first, he persuaded them along the lines of the message that he gave; and these consisted of Jews and Greeks. After M. L. McPhail and the pilgrims had joined Bro. Russell in the antitype, he was very much pressed in spirit, in antitype of Paul's being pressed to testify to Jews that Jesus was the Christ. So Bro. Russell testified that our Lord's ransom and our Lord's resurrection were the two great things that should be presented. But many of the nominal people of God opposed his message and that of his co-laborers and slandered him and them; and this made him give them up as unworthy of further help, putting the responsibility upon them for their evils, in antitype of St. Paul's charging those impenitent opposing Jews at Corinth, that he was clean of their blood and that they would have to answer for it, and that henceforth he would go to those more responsive; so Bro. Russell went to some outsiders more responsive than many nominal Christians. 

The chief ruler of the nominal people of God, the clergy, in some cases believed on the message that was given; and many of the believers on hearing this symbolized their consecration and carried it out, in antitype of Paul's symbolizing consecration of those Corinthian believers. As Paul was encouraged to keep on his good work at Corinth, so the Lord encouraged Bro. Russell to keep up his good work among the brethren who were responsive to his message, and this came from his proper understanding of the Scriptures, God assuring him that He would be with him and that He would set him in such a way as nobody could harm 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

521 

his New Creature, for he would protect him in the interest of his many people at antitypical Corinth, even as God made the typical encouraging statement to the Apostle Paul. He continued there for a long while in this work, in antitype of Paul's continuing a year and six months teaching the Word of God among the Corinthians. The Jews made insurrection against Paul, and with one accord they appeared against Paul before the deputy of Achaia, typical of how the nominal people of God appealed against Bro. Russell and sought to have him silenced, even if it went to the judgment. The authorities entertained the accusations against Bro. Russell, in antitype of the ruler at Corinth entertaining the charge against Paul. In the type the deputy was enabled to let Paul give a defense of himself, but prevented his so doing by defending him against the Jews, assuring them that it was not wrong for man to preach what was his conviction, even as in the antitype Bro. Russell by those in authority was given the assurance that he could speak the good Word of God, and have liberty therein, because freedom of speech was there carried out. He not being guilty of any wrong-doing, the Jews had no right to accuse Paul in the type, even as the antitypical Jews had no reason to justify them in attacking our beloved Pastor in his good work. If it were a question of words and names and the laws of Christendom, in antitype of what the ruler said to Paul, Bro. Russell would not be judged by them, because of freedom of speech, which was guaranteed to him; and therefore the accusers of Bro. Russell who wanted to take away his freedom of speech were driven away from the court. Then the believers from among the Gentiles took the chief rulers of the nominal people of God and gave them a [verbal] beating before the judgment seat, even as this was done in the type with the chief ruler of the synagogue; and the civil authorities cared not at all for what was done. The matter went on so that Paul tarried there for a good while in the type, doing the good work 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

522 

before he took leave of the brethren; and he sailed from them in order to meet the dear ones at Jerusalem, which would take him through various sections of Asia Minor; and with him were Priscilla and Aquila, he having fulfilled his consecration vows at Cenchrea, as recorded in v. 18. 

On the way he came to Ephesus and left the two brethren, Aquila and Priscilla, there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews in the hope of winning them, even as Bro. Russell hoped to win from the nominal people of God many for the Truth. When they desired that Paul tarry longer in the type he would not consent, even as Bro. Russell would not continue longer in his work at antitypical Ephesus, which concerned especially the elders, but he bade them farewell, in antitype of Paul's bidding the elders farewell at Ephesus, for he was determined to get to Jerusalem in time for the coming feast, when the first-fruits of the Gentiles would be presented among the brethren at Jerusalem. So our dear Pastor coming among the brethren gave out his testimony again and again and told the elders that he would not see them again, unless it would be the Lord's will. In the meantime Paul must pursue his journey to meet the Apostles at Jerusalem and this caused him to land at the capital of Palestine, Caesarea, where he saluted the church; and he came down to Antioch, in type of Bro. Russell's being busy with the missionary work, to try to win whom he could in the good work of the Lord. After he spent some time, he went to the country of Galatia and Phrygia, in order to strengthen the brethren there, all the disciples whom he could meet who had to have more or less hard experiences with the evil-doers that were with them. While Paul was thus engaged against the evil sifters, who were busy in Galatia and Phrygia, Apollos, typical of the Epiphany messenger, who was to be such, came to Ephesus and worked among the elders and sought to strengthen them in the good Word of God. In the antitype he 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

523 

came from one of the notable places in the Lord's work, even from the church at Columbus, where much good missionary work was done through him by the church at that place; and this man was instructed in the way of the Lord only partially, but being fervent in spirit he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord as far as he understood them, and as was pertinent through the elements connected with the antitypical baptism of John, which was to bring the Jews to repentance. When Apollos came out and spoke boldly in the synagogue, Aquila and Priscilla took him and instructed him more thoroughly in the ways of the Lord, even as the brethren at the church in Columbus, where much missionary work was done, and where they used the future Epiphany messenger to do that work toward the public, instructed him how to do this work to the Lord's greater glory. Apollos was then inclined to go to the brethren in Achaia, where Paul had been, so they wrote to the brethren at Corinth and at Athens to arouse them to support him in his good word and work, even as the Columbus Church wrote to Bro. Russell in the antitype, asking him to accept the future Epiphany messenger in the pilgrim service since, unknown to them, he was the antitype of Medad at that time. This enabled him mightily to convince people at Allegheny that Jesus was the Christ of God; and thus among the nominal people of God at Allegheny the future Epiphany messenger had opportunities for a great deal of fruitfulness for the good Word and work of the Lord. Thus we find he was rewarded of the Lord with diligence in his work. This brings us to the end of Chapter 18. 

We continue with Acts 19. While the future Epiphany messenger, as the antitypical Medad, was engaged in pilgrim work, our dear Pastor passed through various parts of the country of the elders, helping them better to see and understand the matters pertinent to their office, in antitype of Paul's passing

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

524 

through the upper coast, coming to Ephesus and finding certain disciples. These disciples, according to v. 2, were asked by Paul, whether they had received the Holy Spirit since they had believed, and they answered they had not so much as understood anything about it. Paul in v. 3 asked them unto what they had been baptized. This is typical of Bro. Russell's coming into contact with justified persons who had not yet proceeded to consecrate, and therefore the exhortation from our Pastor to them was that they should consecrate themselves, represented by Paul's urging them to undergo symbolic baptism. The Apostle Paul in v. 4 explained what John's baptism was intended for, to bring people to justification, even as Bro. Russell in the antitype showed that the symbolic baptism of antitypical John was intended to help people to come to justification. As those who heard this message made their consecration in the type under the symbol of baptism, so Bro. Russell invited the justified to consecrate; and when they heard this invitation, they were glad to undergo it and thus come unto Christ as members of His Body. According to v. 6 Paul then, by his ministry to them, gave them the gifts of the Spirit, typical of how our Pastor gave the brethren, through the ministry of the Word, more and more of the Lord's grace and more and more of the Lord's good Word, so that they testified and gave evidence of being the Lord's people. The fact that there were twelve in the type would seem to indicate that this would be for the full number of the twelve Apostles, representing our dear Pastor in the antitype. 

The Apostle Paul, as his usual custom was, began, according to v. 8, to speak courageously for the Truth, for quite a while, three months, discussing and persuading as to things pertinent to the Kingdom, typical of how our Pastor, as he had opportunity among the pilgrims, elders and auxiliary pilgrims, persuaded them more and more to do the good work that God had for them to do with reference to the Kingdom. 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

525 

But as many of the nominal people of God, in the type, became hardened at Paul's preaching, so in the antitype, many of the nominal Christians became hardened and believed not and began to speak against the way of the Truth before the people, and this made Bro. Russell leave them, even as in the type Paul left the disputing and contradicting and misbelieving Jews; and as Paul in the type separated the disciples from the Jews who were unbelieving, so Bro. Russell gathered into various ecclesias the brethren that had been won from among the people at antitypical Ephesus. Leaving them, he began daily to teach in a college, conducted by a brother, Tyrannus, which means one that is a teacher in a college, and this continued on Paul's part for the space of two years in the type; and in the antitype Bro. Russell gave a long period of time for the testimony to the pilgrims, elders and auxiliary pilgrims; and the Word of God thus became heard wherever there was a hearing ear found. In v. 11, God indicated that he worked special miracles by the hands of Paul, even as miracles of opening the eyes of understanding to perceive the Truth and to live in harmony with the doctrine of the Truth, were given by our Pastor. These in the type sent of their garments to the Apostle Paul for him to touch; and in the antitype the qualities of the people were brought before our beloved Pastor and he gave them strength to do good in the works of their hands, by which they were able to get rid of their sin sicknesses and their doctrinal sicknesses and thus they were ridded of evil disposition, of evil conduct and of evil teachings. 

There were certain exorcists among the Jews who wanted to exercise exorcism against the Lord's Word and workings, as Paul was given in the type to do; and this indicates how certain evil persons more or less adapted to Spiritism sought to injure the antitype of Paul, in our dear Pastor, in the work that he was doing and in his preaching; and as in the type these evil teachings and evil practices indicated by their condition that they were acquainted with the teachings 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

526 

of Jesus and the teachings of Paul, so in the antitype these Spiritists claimed to understand that they were acquainted with the teachings of our Pastor and the practices that he had introduced. There was a whole family of evil ones, whose father was called Sceva, which means, the hope of his parents, and he was one of the most prominent of the opponents of the Lord's Word along Spiritualistic lines, and his sons cooperated with him in doing this. Bro. Russell showed his open opposition to Spiritists whenever they sought to interfere with his good work; and as the evil spirit, in v. 15, said that he knew Jesus and he knew Paul, from their teachings and their conduct, but would not recognize these, so the Spiritists would not have anything to do with our dear Pastor, claiming that they wrought with Jesus and wrought in harmony with Paul. In the type the result was that the man upon whom this evil spirit worked leaped upon these seven sons of Sceva and greatly maltreated them, rending them loose of their clothes, and sent them away in open shame, naked and wounded; and this in the antitype indicated how our Pastor proved that the Spiritists that opposed him were destitute of all righteousness of the Lord and were miserably mistreated by the evil spirits with whom they had to do. 

As in the type this fact became known both to Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus and fear fell upon them, according to v. 17, so in the antitype the better nominal-church people and the better among the consecrated among the nominal people of God, who were more or less connected with the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, gave response; and reverence fell upon them and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified through Bro. Russell's ministry. This resulted in many, in the type, believing and acknowledging their evil deeds, as we note in v. 18, even as many Spiritists came to see the wrong of Spiritism and accepted the Truth as presented by our Pastor, with those who cooperated with him. These Spiritists who were occupied with more or less divination brought together the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

527 

evidences of their Spiritism and destroyed these and counted the price of them and found them to be valued at fifty thousand pieces of silver. 50,000 = 10x10x10x10x5, and this indicates that it was an imperfect thing, because 5 is only a part of 10; and thus it became manifest that the exposure of the Spiritists made by our dear Pastor demonstrated that they were worthless so far as God's Word is concerned. Thus, as in the type, in v. 20, the Word grew and was magnified by Paul, so in the antitype, the Word of God mightily grew and prevailed wherever it was presented. This led to the fact that Paul was determined that he visit the brethren whom he had met before in Macedonia and Achaia and after that go to Jerusalem, where the Apostles had their headquarters, and after that he was determined to seek fruitage in Rome. Accordingly, our Pastor in the antitype made his antitypical passage through antitypical Macedonia and Achaia, doing the work there and finding his way to lead him to where the twelve stood; and after that he determined that he would seek even a wider presentation of the Truth, even in the city of Rome. Paul sent pilgrims before him who taught the good Word and Paul stayed for a while among the brethren with whom he had worked in Ephesus and also elsewhere. At this time in the type, there arose a great furor against Paul, led by a certain silversmith, who in v. 24 showed that he was animated by evil because of what he was doing. This man and his colaborers represent the creed-makers, which creed-makers found out that they were unable to cope with the Truth as it came from the words of our Pastor, in antitype of Paul's overthrowing these men where he worked. These workmen, having gathered together in their occupation, were addressed by the typical creed-makers in a most selfish address, intended to put away the work that the Apostle Paul did in the type, typical of how the creed-makers sought to put aside our dear Pastor's work and would not allow him to continue therein, for they found their creed-making and his work would not agree. Therefore, they sought 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

528 

to put him aside in what he was doing on behalf of the Lord's good Word and work. 

The selfish appeal that Demetrius made to his fellow workers had this effect upon them: they felt that their craft was endangered by the preaching that Paul had been giving, typical of how the creed-makers in Christendom were sure that their work was being broken up by Bro. Russell's anti-creed teaching and by his presenting the Truth and a life in harmony with the Truth before the public. As the typical creed-makers became greatly angered, through their images being despised, and being filled with wrath against Paul, they began to agitate in favor of Diana of the Ephesians, whose Greek name is Artemis, and who was the same as Astarte, Venus according to the Roman way, Ashtoroth according to the Phoenician and the Hebrew languages, and this represents the unchaste union between creed-makers and the church system. And this agitation of theirs, according to v. 28, made them cry out against Paul; and the result was, according to v. 29, that the whole city was filled with confusion, and they caught two of Paul's helpers in typical Macedonia, so Christendom in its creed-building section became greatly confused and very angry and seized on the pilgrims, the auxiliary pilgrims and the elders, in order to do them mischief. In this, they, in the type, rushed to the public theatre where they could demonstrate in riotous manner to their hearts' content, typical of how in the antitype, in public forums of various kinds, the creed-makers agitated very much against our Pastor, as Paul's antitype. Paul was willing to face these image-builders in the theatre, but the brethren who understood the situation hindered his doing it, even as Bro. Russell sought to combat the creed-builders in certain ways that the brethren knew would bring evil upon the cause, and this made our Pastor desist from his efforts, as we see from v. 30. There were certain chief men, who were friends of Paul in the type, according to v. 31, who also asked him that he do not go into the public theatre, where

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

529 

they would tear him to pieces limb by limb, had they gotten hold of him, typical of how certain of our Pastor's friends who knew what the enmity of the creed-makers against him was, held him back from endangering himself by a work that would not have been profitable for the Lord or for the cause for which our Pastor stood. The people, v. 32, were in great confusion, some crying one thing, others crying another thing; and the entire assembly was so confused over Paul and the work he had been doing, that no one knew for what they were really agitating, even as in the antitype the creed-builders were in confusion one with another, contradicting and disputing with one another, and thus were unable to face the presentations of the Truth against their suppositions, as they were given by our dear Pastor. 

In the type they took out of the multitude a certain brother who was faithful, and the Jews who were opposed to the Apostle Paul put this one forward, in order to bring evil upon him, even as in the antitype the Lord's servants, pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, were fearfully misrepresented and spoken against by those who were the creed-builders' supporters. These brethren wanted to defend themselves, but they were not allowed to make the defense, and thus they maintained silence, according to v. 33, in the antitype. But when they knew that this brother was a Christian, all with one accord for the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians, i.e., the unholy creed-building unionistic movements that resulted from them in defiance of their real thought, as we read this type and antitype in v. 34. The officer who had charge of the situation, v. 35, had to work very hard in order to quiet the people, and he asked them if they did not understand that everybody was aware that the people of Ephesus as creed-builders and creed-worshippers were much devoted to symbolic Diana worship, and this was claimed to be an image that fell down from the supreme god, Jupiter. The man in authority said that since nothing could be said 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

530 

against this position, the people ought to be quiet and say nothing more about it, and especially do nothing rashly against their creeds and their unionistic efforts and their efforts against the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders. He said that they had brought men forward who were neither evil-doers, nor destroyers of the churches, nor who were blasphemers of their unholy worship, and therefore they should stop their agitating against them, both in type and antitype, as we read in v. 37. He therefore said that if the real creed-builders and their subordinates had a matter against anyone, they had the law courts open for them to enter, both in the type and in the antitype, as indicated in v. 38, and there were deputies there that would let them plead for one another. But, he said, if they had other matters that they wanted to inquire about, this could be done in a lawful assembly, both in reference to what they thought lawful and unlawful in the sight of God, and therefore he let them go their way, for he told them warningly, that they were in danger, on account of the uproar and the lawlessness of that day, both in the type and in the antitype, that they would have to give an account before the civil authorities, for what was said against Paul and his work there, and for what was said against our Pastor in his work in the antitype, as he denounced this unholy work that was done. With these words this unlawful assembly, both in type and antitype, was dismissed; as we read in v. 41. This ended another episode in the type and antitype, where Paul and our Pastor had to stand for truth and righteousness against untruth and unrighteousness in doctrine and practice. 

We now come to Acts 20. This chapter treats of a number of conditions. It shows that Paul, after having passed through the experience of the uproar at Ephesus without injury, called the disciples together, bade them farewell and departed to go to Macedonia, where at Philippi he likely recalled the persecutions that he had from Spiritism; at Thessalonica the persecutions

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

531 

that he had from the Jews, and at Berea the work that he did in connection with the Berean lessons. Having finished these places in his visit and thus preaching there, he represented how our beloved Pastor did the work antitypical of these conditions that were set forth of Paul in Macedonia. This is implied in Acts 20:1. After he had gone through these particular places and served the brethren there with much exhortation, he came to Greece, where he especially visited Athens and had discussions with the learned ones of that time, and then went to Corinth, where he attended especially to congregational matters. Here he purposed to return by way of Macedonia on his way to Syria and on his way to Jerusalem, typical of our Pastor going back over the same symbolic territory mentioned in v. 1 and also in v. 2, and showing how he was getting ready to go to Jerusalem, there to meet the headquarters brethren. It will be noticed that in v. 4, Paul had 7 brothers to accompany him on this journey. This would represent in the antitype the complete number who served with Bro. Russell as he was antityping the work of going to antitypical Jerusalem with the ministry for the poor saints there. On the way, they tarried for a while in the type at Troas, as Bro. Russell also in the antitype was busy with his good work in preaching, without ceasing, for a long time, edifying the brethren. St. Paul's custom on the first day of the week was to break bread with the brethren, and intending to leave on the next day, he gave a very long address, lasting the whole night, typical of how our Bro. Russell worked day and night to the advancement of the good work and in the fellowship of the dear brethren. The many lights that were in the chamber where Paul preached represent the many truths that our beloved Bro. Russell gave as he was in the antitypical ministry of antitypical Troas. The young man who fell asleep under the preaching of Paul, in the type, represents those to whom our dear Pastor preached and for whom he labored a long while, but who were not so deeply interested in what he said and 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

532 

who fell into a deep spiritual sleep, thus meeting with a spiritual accident from which our beloved Pastor raised them, even as Paul in the type raised the boy that had apparently died by his fall, but was recovered from the dead by the Apostle Paul's miracle. After they had been together awhile in the antitype, our dear Pastor continued the address by his papers, his speeches and his discussions on doctrine; and thus they continued in the good Word and work, as this matter went on. 

From v. 13 to v. 16, the Apostle Paul is represented as doing a work that is typical of what our Pastor was doing in the antitype, fulfilling the third thousand-year day of the Gospel Age, by his ministration on behalf of the brethren everywhere. Paul's determination to pass by Ephesus without stopping in the city itself, represents how our dear Pastor was determined to give only such time as would be required to help the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, who are represented by the elders that Paul had come to him from Ephesus. The address that Paul gave at this place, represents our Pastor's special instructions to the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders. Paul in reminding them, in the type, of what he had done for them, represents Bro. Russell reminding the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders of what he had been doing on their behalf, in order better to qualify them in their good work. Paul reminded them of the many troubles and temptations that befell him while he was at Ephesus, as a servant of the Lord, typical of how Bro. Russell had all sorts of testful, trialsome, experiences by those who sought to put him aside from his good work toward the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders. As Paul in v. 20 assured the brethren that he had held back nothing that was profitable to them, but had given them publicly and privately, from house to house, his best thoughts, so our dear Pastor in the antitype gave the brethren the example of a faithful ministry on their behalf in public and in private. Paul's testifying to the Jews and the Greeks repentance toward

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

533 

God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, represents that our beloved Pastor, in the antitype, gave testimony in his ministry on behalf of the elders, the pilgrims and the auxiliary pilgrims, that they were to exercise repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus, even unto consecration unto an end. As Paul did not know just exactly what would happen to him at Jerusalem, but knew that there would be things that would be hard to bear, so Bro. Russell gave a testimony to the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, as to how he would be faring in those places, afflictions and bonds abiding him, restraining him in his work, but he being faithful in spite of everything, in the antitype. As none of these evils moved Paul to become unfaithful, nor did he count his life something that should be spared as dear to himself, in order that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which the Lord Jesus had given him, to testify the gospel of God's grace, as we read in v. 24, so our beloved Pastor assured the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders that he did not count his life dear to himself, but was willing to sacrifice, to finish his course in the spirit of joy and the Lord, and the ministry that Jesus had given him as "that Servant" in fulfilling the Gospel work at the end of the Age. In the type the Apostle Paul said that he had gone among them, preaching the gospel and that he would not see them again face to face, typical of how Bro. Russell toward the end of his ministry came to see that he would not see the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders any more. 

The Apostle Paul, in v. 26, called the brethren's attention to the fact that in his faithfulness as a servant of the Lord, free from guilt from anybody, he was going on to the end of his course, guiltless, since he had warned all as he should have done, typical of how Bro. Russell told the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, that he had faithfully fulfilled his preaching toward them, keeping nothing back, and giving them what should be done for them. He therefore warned them against sifters and siftings that would 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

534 

come in, not sparing the flock, among which the Holy Spirit had made them overseers, telling them to feed the flock, the Church of God, which He had purchased by the blood of His own beloved Son; and this is typical of how our beloved Pastor told the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders that they should be faithful in spite of the trialsome experiences that would come to them from sifters and from siftlings, who were, by the evils that they were doing, working against the ransom sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. For as Paul told them, in v. 29, that he knew that grievous symbolic wolves would enter in among the flock, not sparing the Lord's people at all, so Bro. Russell assured the brethren that after his ministry would be over, there would come sifters and the flock would not be spared, and therefore they were to do what they could to defend the Lord's people, as indicated in the antitype of vs. 29, 30. In v. 31, the Apostle Paul gave the brethren the exhortation that they should watch and remember that he for three years had not ceased to warn everyone, day and night, with tears as to their ministry, typical of how Bro. Russell told the brethren that they should be on their guard, having been warned by him to be faithful. In v. 33, the Apostle shows that he was unselfish in his ministry, coveting nothing of man's silver or gold or apparel, even as Bro. Russell by his example, his life and his ministry, showed that he was covetous of nothing, but was willing to lay down his life unto death on behalf of God's cause. Yea, he said that the brethren knew that he had faithfully ministered by his own hands; he worked, in his own ministries, to his necessities and the necessities of those that were with him, and thus he gave a good example to others to imitate his course, as we see in the antitype of v. 34. He showed them this in example, in antitype of what Paul had showed from his laboring to support the weak and his exhortation to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive,"—he told them how they should also do in the case of the elders, pilgrims

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

535 

and auxiliary pilgrims, so that they might be a blessing to the weak and help them to realize that it was a good thing to minister unto the weak, it being more blessed to give than to receive. After Paul, in the type, had spoken, he offered prayers that the Lord's blessing might be with the brethren for whom he was praying, typical of how Bro. Russell prayed for a blessing and worked for a blessing on behalf of the pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders. All of these, in the type, wept sore, falling upon Paul's neck and kissing him, sorrowing above all that they would not see him again, and he bade them good-bye, typical of how Bro. Russell did the same with the ones with whom he had to deal. 

We now continue with Chapter 21 of Acts. It will be noticed that there are three different places mentioned in three different parts of this chapter. In v. 1 we find Coos, Rhodes and Patara. In vs. 2-7 we find that in connection with Syria there is mention made of Tyre, Phoenicia and Ptolemais; then, again, in connection with Judea there is mention made of Caesarea, Jerusalem and the Temple. The threefoldness in each of these cases suggests to our mind in the antitype that our dear Pastor performed the antitype after the third thousand-years of the Gospel Age would be entered. In the first set of names in v. 1 we identify those people whom our Pastor won from the world itself. In v. 3 we notice that they passed by Cyprus on the left hand. Cyprus, we recall, is where Barnabas was in the type, and he was there with Paul before they were rent asunder and after the rending asunder he went there again; and we saw that he typed Mrs. Russell, first, while she was a good helper of our Pastor, and, secondly, after they fell out from 1901-1904, yea, even earlier than that, in 1897. The passing by on the left hand represents the avoidance of her as a sifter, which was accordingly done. 

The three connected with Syria suggest to our mind in the antitype how our beloved Pastor won nominal Christians to a belief in the Truth of the 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

536 

Parousia and thus was a blessing to them. The three places represent to our minds the thought that it would be in the third one-thousand-year day of the Gospel Age when this antitype would be entered. Some of these were so well gathered out of the nominal people of God and became so thoroughly one with the Lord that they and theirs were very glad to hear from our beloved Pastor the messages that he gave them in that particular time; and after Paul and they had fellowshipped with one another, they took leave of one another in the type; and then the brethren of Tyre went back to their home and Paul went on to Ptolemais, which is also a city of Syria in its part of Phoenicia. The threefoldness has the same idea in the antitype that we mentioned above. While in Judea the three, still in the antitype representing our Pastor's activity in the third one-thousand-year day in the Gospel Age, represent him as he dealt with consecrated people whom he had won for the Truth out of the nominal church; and these were they who were at Jerusalem, these were they who were in Caesarea and these were they who were in the Temple. At Caesarea St. Paul dealt with Philip, the Evangelist, representing how our dear Pastor cooperated in the third one-thousand-year day of the Gospel Age with brethren who were being kept by God's grace in the Little Flock as faithful servants; and the four virgins, daughters, represent faithful ecclesias connected with the ministry of antitypical Philip. The brethren warning St. Paul not to go to literal Jerusalem, represents the thought that the Lord made known to our Pastor in the antitype that persecutions would come to him in the period of the ninth hour when Mrs. Russell would begin her savage attacks on him, urged on by the clergy, who supported her in everything and simply made use of her in order to do evil and mischief to our Pastor's good word and work. 

The brethren in the type did something that was displeasing to the Lord. Our Pastor in commenting upon this transaction where they told Paul to recognize 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

537 

the ministry of a priesthood that God had rejected, by using their ministries in connection with vows, represents the thought that in the antitype Bro. Russell made the mistake of advising the brethren to stop celebrating the Memorial at the proper date as we get it and told them to take the nominal-church day, namely, Thursday night, for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, but the brethren recognizing that this was wrong came out very strongly against our Pastor for doing this; for it contained a twofold wrong: not only did it sanction a wrong date for the Memorial, but it sanctioned a wrong place from which the Memorial date was arrived at, i.e., Rome, under the superintendence of Antichrist. And therefore, our Pastor in recognizing these two wrongs did something that was not creditable, as it showed itself in the type and, of course, also in the antitype. Those brethren who were the leading ones at Jerusalem in the type were very glad to welcome Paul and to receive the account of what the Lord had done through him among the Gentiles, as well as among the Jews that he met on his trip; and this represents how the brethren generally were very glad to know that our beloved Pastor was successful in doing his work toward nominal-church people that were winable and those among them who were won in consecration. They wanted in their suggested compromise to make the brethren feel that it was all right for them to continue favoring a reprobated, rejected priesthood whom God no longer would recognize or use to serve Him. The tumult that was raised by the clergy through Mrs. Russell, who lent herself to their foul purposes, was stopped in a measure by the legal authorities of that time, represented by the chief captain in Jerusalem; for our beloved Pastor was by court officials rescued from the bad purposes of a symbolic murder of him by false and malicious and rigid slanders that were raised against him, especially through Mrs. Russell's cooperating with the clergy in this matter. 

They who were attacking Paul did not understand the 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

538 

situation in the type, nor did they in the antitype understand the real situation, but they cried out in their rebelliousness against our Pastor and wanted to have him cut away from the symbolic earth, even as in the type they cried out against Paul, "Away with him," as we read in v. 36; so they wanted Bro. Russell to be cut off from all relationship to the nominal church, and all relationship to a public witness to the Lord. Helped by the court officers, typed by the chief captain, our beloved Pastor in the antitype was rescued from the evil. The captain misunderstood who Paul was in the type and the court officials also misunderstood who Pastor Russell was in the antitype, thinking that he was one symbolically killing, in the nominal church, people that should have been (so-called) saved there. Paul disabused the mind of the chief captain of his citizenship and of his being an Egyptian and disabused his mind of his being a non-Roman. This was typical of how our beloved Pastor disabused the minds of the court officials from the thought that he was in a wrong way and doing wrong for the work. Paul showed that he was a free-born Roman citizen, while the captain showed that he had been a slave once and had obtained his liberty from that by much money. In the antitype our dear Pastor showed that he was a genuine Christian and had been so from his birth, consecrated by his parents, and that he was ready to defend himself before those who were attacking him so severely. This ends chapter 21. 

St. Paul began in Chapter 22 to defend himself and was very tactful in using the language that the people would understand. He told them who he was, of his early life, how he was taught by the strictest sect of the Jews, the Pharisees, and how he had kept the law that was given to him, typing how that our Pastor told that for awhile through mistreatment on the part of nominal-church absolute predestinarians and eternal tormenters he was made to become an infidel and that at that time he attacked Christians right and left, in antitype of Paul's persecuting the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

539 

Christians from city to city, as he tells us in v. 4. The commission that St. Paul received to persecute, he had witnessed to from the people that were then in connection with his infidelistic actions; and his going elsewhere to persecute them types how Bro. Russell in antitype of Paul did his persecuting work in a great many different places. Paul was interrupted by our Lord Jesus in his persecuting work, because our Lord knew that he had a good heart and therefore wanted to give him the opportunity of serving the right. Jesus appeared to St. Paul and gave him the lessons that he should have and therefore was merciful to him and called him to be an Apostle, typical of Bro. Russell being called to become "that Servant" in Nov. 1879, by the Lord's giving him the light on Lev. 16 on the two sin-offerings. The Lord Jesus showed him that he would be taught exactly what He wanted him to know and that He was going to give him the needed light, and the Word of God was the means by which Jesus gave him that light. 

The scene with Ananias in vs. 12 to 16 inclusive we have already expounded and need not repeat the matter here. The Lord Jesus warned the Apostle Paul that he would be persecuted when he would come among the Jews; and he recognized this to be true. Jesus gave Paul at that time a special revelation, as we read in v. 17, causing him to go into a trance. Jesus there told the Apostle Paul that he should make haste to leave Jerusalem, for they would not receive his testimony respecting Jesus. All of this types that our Pastor was by Jesus given the vision of the Word of God which he was to proclaim, and that he was not to tarry among either the nominal people of God or among the sifters led by Mrs. Russell, especially in the years 1901-1904 and several years following that. Thus our Lord started our beloved Pastor on the work that he had to do, indicating that he was willing to be mistreated, if he could only serve God's cause. St. Paul instanced the fact that he had persecuted

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

540 

some of the most faithful of God's servants, even as our Pastor in the antitype indicated that he had fought refutatively many faithful Christian people. As Paul was told by our Lord to leave and that he would send him on his mission among the Gentiles, so our beloved Pastor was told not to concern himself with the sifters and with the clergy that urged them on, especially Mrs. Russell, to get a divorce from her husband, so that they might make him very unpopular and appear as a wicked man; Jesus told him to go on the mission on which He wanted him to go. 

Just as in the type they gave attention to Paul up to what he said about his being sent to the Gentiles, and then cried out very lustily against him, desiring not to love him, but to persecute him and to put him to death, so that the sifters and the clergy desired our Pastor to be utterly cut off from all fellowship with what they thought were true Christians, they thinking he was not worthy to live among them. They therefore in various ways showed themselves to be very bad in their character; they even threw off their symbolic clothes (marred their graces) and threw an immense amount of symbolic dust into the air (defiled themselves by what they did with the antitypical dust, the memory and teaching of things that they disapproved of). The chief captain commanded that Paul be brought into the castle, which types how the court officers connected with the divorce proceedings brought our Pastor under their protection, but sought by a series of cross-examinations to torture out of him testimony that they could bring against him. In the type the captain thought he could find out why the people were so much against Paul. But in this matter a pause was made as Paul was being bound in the castle, so our beloved Bro. Russell was restrained by the divorce proceedings in the court. As Paul was commanded to be examined by torture, so our dear Bro. Russell was commanded to be cross-examined by pettifogging lawyers, who would thereby bring unpopularity upon him among God's nominal people. 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

541 

The Apostle Paul seeing that they were binding him, which they had no right to do, since he was a Roman and was untried, called it to the attention of one of the inferior officials in connection with his arrest, and asked him whether it was lawful to scourge a Roman that had not been condemned; and this inferior officer, realizing that this was wrong, took measures to prevent the matter from being carried out. All of this was typical of how Bro. Russell in this court action demanded from the court officials proper treatment, so that he would not be cross-examined in an unfair and unjust way, with all sorts of evil aspersions cast upon him, due to the misrepresentations from the other side against him. When the chief captain found out that Paul was a Roman, he confessed to him that he had been a slave to the Romans for awhile, but had by a large amount of money purchased his freedom so that he could be a Roman citizen. Paul assured him that he had been born free and thus was a Roman of the best kind possible. This in the antitype showed that Bro. Russell proved to those who wanted to pettifog him by the court procedure in the divorce matter, that they were mistreating him; he called attention to the fact that they should stop that; and this they were ready to do, especially because they were afraid that they were over-stepping themselves and were taking away Bro. Russell's rights as an American citizen, by cross-examining him in the way in which they were doing. In the type the chief captain thought that he would investigate the matter further against Paul, so asked the chief priests to gather together the counsel and there examine Paul in his presence, so that he could find out exactly what the matter was. This is typical of how the court officials, who were mistreating our Pastor in connection with the divorce proceedings, gave him the privilege of defending himself before the nominal people of God, before the clergy and especially before the sifters; and of this he made good use.

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

542 

We now come to Acts 23:1-10, which describes Paul before the Sanhedrin; and this will give us still further the history of the persecution of Paul; and we will by God's help trace the antitype of it. Paul was very earnest in dealing with the counsel. He told it that he had lived a conscientious man his whole life before God, even up to that time, typical of how our dear Pastor assured the nominal people of God, their clergy and the sifters that he had been a faithful man in all things respecting God as he understood His Word. On Paul's saying this (v. 1) to the council, the chief officer, the chief one among the clergy, asked that he be smitten on the mouth. This was typical of how the leaders of the nominal people of God and the sifters sought to smite the utterances of our beloved Pastor and make him appear as erroneous. As Paul, not seeing who the one was that caused him thus to be unfairly treated, rebuked him very much as being a hypocrite, so Bro. Russell called attention to the hypocrisy of the leading clergy and of the sifters and their partisan supporters, demanding why they should mistreat him thus contrary to the law. St. Paul, being rebuked by them for speaking in this way, acknowledged that one should not rail at rulers, but he did not apologize for what he had said; so our Pastor without an apology spoke of the way that one should speak of rulers, and thus sought to make matters in a tactful way clearer, appealing to the Scriptures as his justifier. 

As the Apostle looked at the counsel, he saw that it consisted of two parties: the Sadducees, who were infidelistic, and the Pharisees, who were ultra-orthodox; and having once been of the latter party himself, he cried out that he had been a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee and had the faith of a Pharisee, the promises that God had given the fathers, the hope of the restitution and the blessing of the children of men by the seed of Abraham. He thus won over to his side the Pharisee section of the council. This is typical of how our beloved Pastor made an appeal, when he saw that 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

543 

his seducers were of two classes in this divorce matter, some anti-Millennialists, practically infidels, and some Millennialists, who were not clear on all of its subjects. He claimed that he was of their group and therefore sided with them and told them that he was being persecuted for his adherence to the Oath-bound Covenant and to the hope that it engendered, both for the saints and for the world of mankind. This caused an immense commotion among the two groups in the council in the type; and thus they were divided against one another. Paul very tactfully succeeded in getting them to fight among themselves and thus forget him. In his tactfulness he gained a deliverance. The Pharisees said, If he has thus been taught aright, we should not fight against him, for we would thus be fighting against God, but if an angel has appeared to him and told him the things that he has seen and done, we should not contend against God, but should accept these things as genuine and proper. When this was said, there was such a great dissension among the leaders of the sifting group, of the clergy and their supporters, that they were almost ready to tear Paul to pieces. Therefore, the chief captain came to the help of the Apostle and gave him deliverance and brought him back into his right as a Roman citizen, typical of how our Pastor was protected by the court deputy in the divorce trial. 

In view of the fact that Acts 21—28 treats typically and expressly of the experiences of St. Paul and impliedly of those of the other Apostles from June, 56 to Oct., 69 and antitypically of Bro. Russell's experiences from June, 1901 to Oct., 1914, it would be well if we would set forth in parallel columns the main time features of the two Harvests, which we hereunder do. It will be recalled that in E5, 97-142 we gave the proof that the two Harvests of forty years each are parallels in their calls and siftings. In a forty-year day of twelve symbolic hours, each hour is three years and four months. It will also be noted that the first and second hour call period was followed by the 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

544 

third hour call period, June, 1881-Oct., 1884, and that the sixth and ninth hour call periods began in each case ten years later, and that during and after each one of these call periods began an hour of sifting set in. The sixth hour sifting period began in the Jewish Harvest June, 46-Oct., 49 and, in the Gospel Harvest June, 1891-Oct., 1894. The ninth hour one began June, 56-Oct., 59 in the Jewish Harvest and in the Gospel Harvest June, 1901-Oct., 1904 and continued thereafter. The eleventh hour sifting began, in the Jewish Harvest, Feb., 63-June, 66, and in the Gospel Harvest, Feb., 1908-June, 1911 and continued thereafter. And the twelfth hour was in the Jewish Harvest June, 66 Oct., 69 and in the Gospel Harvest June, 1911-Oct., 1914. Accordingly, the fifth call was for six years and eight months: Feb., 63-Oct., 69 in the Jewish Harvest and in the Gospel Harvest Feb., 1908-Oct., 1914; and the Jewish Harvest day's twelfth hour began June, 66 and ended Oct., 69; and in the Gospel Harvest day the twelfth hour began June, 1911 and ended Oct., 1914. These matters we will put into parallel columns as follows 

Oct., 29-June, 36 (1st & 2nd hours) Oct., 1874-June, 1881 

June, 36-Oct., 39 (third hour call) June, 1881-Oct., 1884 

June, 46-Oct., 49 (sixth hour call) June, 1891-Oct., 1894 

June, 56-Oct., 59 (ninth hour call) June, 1901-Oct., 1904 

Feb., 63-June, 66 (eleventh hour call) Feb., 1908-June, 1911 

June, 66-Oct., 69 (twelfth hour) June, 1911-Oct., 1914 

It will be noted that there was a period of ten years in each case between the third-hour call and the sixth-hour call and the ninth-hour call. It is important to note these time features, because it was in the start of the sixth-hour call and in the start of the ninth-hour call that the two sifting times covered by Acts 21—28 began and continued later. In Acts 21—27 St. Paul's and other Apostles' pertinent experiences are given from Oct., 56-Feb., 59 as the type, and Bro. Russell's pertinent experiences in antitype are given from June, 1901-Oct., 1904; while in Acts 28 St. Paul's and the other Apostles' pertinent expressed or implied experiences are given as the

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

545 

type from Feb., 63-Oct., 69 and Bro. Russell's pertinent experiences as antitype are given from Feb., 1908-Oct., 1914. But Acts 28 does not complete the whole time, for the Epistle to the Hebrews doubtless was written after Paul's deliverance from his first captivity, i.e., some time between 64 and 66, corresponding to Bro. Russell's Sin-offering, Meditator and Covenant writings and addresses in 1909-1911. These parallel datings we derive from the 1845 years' parallel, because Matt. 20:1-16 and 1 Cor. 10:1-14 show that the two sets of calls and siftings are in the parallel Harvests. 

We continue our study with Acts 23:11. The vision that the Apostle had in this verse represents our dear Pastor having the eyes of his understanding opened on the widening of his mission which would take place as the result of the shaking that he had with his wife in her pleas for a divorce. As the Jews banded together under a curse to take no refreshment until they had killed Paul, so the ministers' conference in Pittsburgh, consisting of more than forty men, entered into a conspiracy to overthrow our dear Pastor's influence, represented by the conspirators' attempt to kill Paul. They told the chief priests and the elders in the type that they would take no nourishment under penalty of a great curse, till they had slain Paul; thereby they typed how these more than forty ministers of the Pittsburgh conference had arranged with Dr. E. L. Eaton to debate with Bro. Russell and overthrow him, they thought, in the debate, as indicated in v. 15, on which, however, they were mistaken. Paul's sister's son learned of this conspiracy against Paul, as we read in v. 16; and Paul told a centurion to take the young man to the chief captain, so that he might tell him of this conspiracy, typical of how some of the brethren of the Allegheny Church told Bro. Russell of the conspiracy of that ministerial conference, and how Bro. Russell told these brethren to get in touch with the prosecutor and tell him what was being attempted against him.

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

546 

When the chief captain learned of the matter, he kindly invited the young man to talk to him privately and asked him what he wanted, whereupon the young man told him of the plot, typical of how the brethren of the Allegheny Church told the deputy in the court case of the situation in respect to the attempt to destroy Bro. Russell's influence in the work. The young man told how the conspirators were going to ask for Paul to get another hearing so that their representatives could waylay him and put him to death. This was typical of how Bro. Russell told the attorney who had charge of the divorce case what was being attempted to be done and warned him that he should take proper steps. Just as the young man had told the captain by no means to yield to what these more than forty conspirators wanted, so the members of the Allegheny Church told this deputy prosecutor not to yield to the demands that were being made. The chief captain let the young man depart, charging him to keep the matter secret, typing how that court official told these brethren of the Allegheny Church to keep the matter secret, while the court official would take measures proper in the case. 

The officer arranged for two centurions to take 200 soldiers and 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen by the third hour of the night, thus in the type working secretly, representing how the court official took measures to bring Bro. Russell safely from the conspiracy to the court proper, represented by Felix at Caesarea. We note that in the type the captain of the force wrote to the governor a letter explaining what he was doing and in that explanation acquainted Felix with the fact that he had to rescue Paul, being a Roman, from the mob that wanted to destroy him, typical of how the court official sent rescue to our Pastor, because he was a full-fledged American citizen, having a right to liberty and life, and therefore he sought to secure these for him. In the type Lysias told what he had hitherto done, explaining that he found that the matter was simply one of religion 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

547 

and not one that concerned the Roman law itself, and that Paul was innocent and therefore not worthy of death, or even bonds. This types how our Pastor was given a clean bill by the deputy attorney so that he could have an impartial trial. After the captain had told his mission he bade farewell to Felix, even as the deputy in the trial matter, bade farewell to the court official on this particular action on which he was taking a stand. When they came to Caesarea they delivered the epistle to the governor and presented Paul to him, typical of how the court official stated the matter to the trial judges, so that they could understand that our dear Pastor was to be presumed to be innocent of any wrong and therefore should be given an impartial trial. As the captain commanded Paul's accusers to go to Caesarea and there confront Paul, so in the antitype the court official who was seeing to it that Bro. Russell would get an impartial trial, gave him suitable protection; and he was therefore put into the judgment hall as one against whom there is no prejudice. This ends Acts 23. 

We now continue our study with Chapter 24. In a short time the head of the Sanhedrin, with the Sanhedrin itself and with a certain lawyer, under cover of seeking to get justice against Paul, appeared before Felix to bring accusations against Paul, typical of the fact that the court official presented the matter and had a lawyer inform against our dear Pastor. Tertullus made a flattering speech in the type, in order to prejudice Felix against Paul, but this was quite by the side, as Felix wanted to be impartial, typical of how our Pastor was misrepresented by the attorney of the other side, but that this did not bring him into prejudice in the divorce court. The attorney for the Sadducees, who were the infidelistic part of the Sanhedrin, wanted to get Felix on their side by his flattering speech against Paul, but this failed, as we should expect; and in the antitype the prosecuting attorney sought to get the court prejudiced against Bro. Russell, by accusing him on religious grounds 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

548 

and not on grounds that really held against him, accusing him of being the leader of the Truth people, who had profaned the nominal church, as in the type they claimed that Paul had done this to the Temple. They wanted to put him to death according to their own law, but they claimed Lysias would not allow them to do it, but took Paul by force from them and commanded them to appear before Felix and give their case as he said it should be given, typical of how the court official in presenting the case before antitypical Felix sought to get him against our dear Pastor in the interests of these more than forty men and the infidelistic members of the antitypical Sanhedrin; and these in the type claimed that the attorney had presented the matter as it was, typical of how the attorney in the divorce case, who stood up for antitypical Sadducees, claimed that our Pastor was to be condemned. 

Then the Apostle Paul began his defense before Felix in the following way: He assured him that he had come to Jerusalem to worship and to do good to his people, and had not been doing anything that could in anyway be faulted by those who were accusing him, as we read in vs. 10, 11 and 12, typical of how our Pastor defended himself in the divorce case before antitypical Felix and in that way showed that he had not been doing anything against right, but had done what he as an American citizen had the right to do; and he therefore said that he acted in this matter conscientiously, even as Paul in the type had shown that he was preaching the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust, and was exercising himself always to have a good conscience toward God and toward man in this. So our dear Pastor defended himself in the trial and showed that the only difference they had with him was on religious grounds, for which they wanted to put him out of all fellowship with the people who were working there. Thus our beloved Pastor vindicated himself as not

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

549 

being a wrong-doer. Paul showed that after many years he came to Jerusalem in order to bring alms to his people. This types how our dear Pastor came to the churches to bring the good Word of God as a gift of love from him to church members. While Paul was engaged in this in the type, certain Jews from Asia found him purifying himself in the Temple, without his doing anything that was out of order, typical of how our dear Pastor was found among the nominal people of God in the nominal church, not in strife, not in tumult, but simply as a well-wisher of all of God's people. Paul said that those who saw him in the temple should have been there to accuse him, but were not there, and that he was, therefore, really not accused by the right persons, typical of how those who found Bro. Russell's teachings in the nominal church to be in harmony with God's Word, but faulted him for it, should have been present as his accusers, instead of the antitypical Sanhedrin, as its infidelistic typical portion, which appeared against Paul. But as Paul said that he would say there before Felix what he had said when he stood before the counsel and that they could not fault him for that, except possibly his claim that he was being prosecuted because of his teaching the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and that this was really the accusation that the Sadducees had against him, so our Pastor in the antitype said how the infidelistic clergy were accusing him falsely and not letting it be known that it was his advocacy of the glorious resurrection for the church and of the world for which he was being accused. 

When in the type Felix heard these things, he caused the matter to be postponed awhile in order that he might get more information from Lysias, typical of how the court required more information before it would come to judge in the matter between Bro. Russell and his wife in her seeking a divorce. Therefore Felix commanded a subordinate officer to keep Paul and to allow him to have his liberty, to 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

550 

forbid none to call upon him, but to let his friends minister unto him, typical of how, recognizing that Bro. Russell should be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, the court commanded that he should be given the consideration of liberty as an American citizen, and that his acquaintances should be allowed to fellowship with him and to minister to him. Paul therefore had another hearing before Felix; and this time Drusilla, the wife of Felix, a Jewess, was present, typical of how our Pastor had another hearing before the divorce court and the jury, typed by Drusilla. Paul took advantage of this situation in order to preach the Lord's Word, which had a very humbling effect upon Felix, because Paul reasoned on the demands of righteousness, self-control and the coming of judgment, which rather frightened Felix, who did not apparently have a very good conscience; and therefore he delayed further investigation for a more convenient time. This is typical of how Bro. Russell's reasonings influenced the trial judges, so that they found themselves more or less guilty of what he had been speaking and therefore sought to defer the matter for a more convenient hearing. As in the type Felix desired money from Paul in order to deliver him, so the judges desired some praise from our Pastor in the antitype for his being treated by them the way in which he was treated. This was continued until we come to the end of this period of the sifting, bringing us down to the year 1906, when the divorce case came into a full hearing before the judges, with Mrs. Russell standing for her side on this matter. 

In Chapter 25 St. Paul is represented as appearing before Festus, the new governor in Caesarea, typical of how our Pastor came on trial in 1906 after a long delay before the judges who were to decide on the divorce question. After Festus went to Jerusalem the high priest informed him against Paul, in order to prejudice him against Paul, typical of how when the trial came an attempt was made by the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

551 

antitypical Sanhedrin to prejudice the case against our Pastor in favor of his wife, which really was in favor of the clergy, infidelistic as they were against our Pastor. The centurion told Festus that the Sanhedrin wanted him to send Paul into their midst to be judged, they intending to have Paul killed on the way, typical of how the antitypical Sanhedrin wanted the divorce trial judges to give them special favors against Bro. Russell, to prejudice the former against the latter, and thus decide the trial against him. As Festus told them that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, that he himself would go there shortly and that they who were able among them should come to him and accuse him there (vs. 4, 5), so these trial judges, not wanting to decide the case prejudicially against Bro. Russell, wanted his accusers to appear before them when the trial came up in May, 1906. When these Jews came down from Jerusalem and sought to prejudice the judge, Festus, against Paul, with varied grievous complaints, which they could not prove, Paul defended himself, typical of how our Pastor defended himself in the trial in 1906 and showed that the charges brought against him were untrue. Paul said that neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar had he offended in anything. This was typical of how Bro. Russell pleaded innocent of all charges made against him, both as to the laws of the nominal Christians and the civil power, saying that he had offended in nothing and therefore deserved freedom. But in the type, when Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, asking whether he would go up to Jerusalem to be judged of them, Paul, seeing that this would prejudice the matter against him, refused to do this and told Festus that he well knew that he had done nothing wrong, typical of how our Pastor in the trial when it came up in 1906 claimed that it would be against him to allow him to be tried by the antitypical Sanhedrin, with their false charges against him, and therefore Bro. Russell said that he could not 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

552 

undertake such a change of place of trial. In v. 10 Paul told Festus that he stood at Caesar's judgment seat as a Roman citizen, and, having done no wrong, he did not want to be put to a disadvantage by going up to Jerusalem and letting himself be judged by prejudiced judges. This is typical of how our Pastor claimed that he deserved a thorough and honest trial and could not allow himself to be mistreated in the way that the attempt was made; and as Paul appealed to Caesar, so Bro. Russell appealed to the highest court that would give him justice and not condemn him, because he had done no wrong, for he would not be rightly treated, if he were sent to the prejudiced judges of the nominal church. Paul's course was typical of how our Pastor refused to be judged by the antitypical Sadducees and Pharisees who were against him and therefore claimed that he would appeal to the highest court possible for safety. 

After certain time, King Agrippa and Bernice his wife came to Caesarea to salute Festus, and while they were there some time Festus told them of Paul's case and told them how he had been left there in bonds by Felix (v. 14). This was typical of how when in 1908-1911, as to the matter in the fifth sifting, a change set in, Bro. Russell's case was presented to the judges who would sit and hear it during the fifth sifting, from 1908-1911. As Festus said that Paul had made an appeal to Caesar, so this types how our Pastor, claiming to be innocent, wanted to be protected by an appeal to the highest court, which we read of in vs. 14, 15 and 16; and thus Bro. Russell was given the right to make this appeal in the antitype. When Festus told Agrippa of this matter and Agrippa told him that he would like to hear Paul, he said that he could hear him on the morrow. Accordingly, on the next day Paul would come before Agrippa, and in vs. 17, 18 and 19 Festus makes the charge, declaring the condition of the matter and showing just why Paul had made his appeal to Caesar, as we read from vs. 17 to 21. In v. 22 Agrippa tells Festus that he would

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

553 

like to hear Paul and he was assured by Festus that he would be able to do this the next day, typical of how a higher court desired to investigate the matter of an appeal and it was given permission to hear this matter. Accordingly, as we read in v. 23, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains and the principal men of the city. At Festus' command Paul was brought forth. This was typical of how at the second hearing that our Pastor received, he was listened to by a very great number of prominent people, because by this time the matter had been very widely published, in antitype of v. 23. As Festus, making a speech to King Agrippa and all the others that were present, told how he was brought into this condition by the Jews of Jerusalem and how he had found that on examining the matter there was nothing wrong in Paul, but nevertheless Paul had appealed to Caesar, in order to get relief from what he felt was a prejudiced trial (vs. 24 and 25); so in the antitype the lower court was pleased to give the higher court the opportunity of hearing our Pastor on this matter of the divorce and at the same time told it that our Pastor had appealed to the highest court, in order that he might get his case righted, and that in so doing our beloved Pastor was given the opportunity to vindicate what the Lord would have him say and do. Festus told Agrippa that he had found nothing wrong in Paul and that he did not know what to write to Caesar about him; therefore he had given the king the opportunity to hear him, so that he would know what to write (vs. 25, 26). This we find to be the type of how our Pastor was given a clean bill of health by the lower court to the higher court, but which, nevertheless, said that it wanted to hear the matter presented and given its proper attention, even though there had been an appeal made to the highest court. Festus told Agrippa that it is unreasonable to send a prisoner without accusations against him, so the lower court, in sending Bro. Russell to the highest court, stated

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

554 

that it seemed unreasonable to send one to the highest court without having a charge that it could lay against him. This brings us to the end of Chapter 25. 

We now begin Chapter 26, which gives us Paul's defense before Agrippa. Agrippa's telling Paul that he was permitted to speak for himself showed that there was an effort made to show Paul that he had a right to speak for himself, and that he should take advantage of that right. Paul, therefore, as we read in the end of v. 1, began to give an answer for himself, typical of how our Pastor stood ready and actually did begin to give an answer to the higher court in defense of himself. Paul considered it a good thing for him that he could defend himself before Agrippa, since Agrippa knew the matters at issue very well; so in the antitype our Pastor indicated to the higher court that he was glad that he could give an account of himself to it, since it was well acquainted with the laws pertinent to the case and he knew that it would judge aright. As Paul was willing to be tried by Agrippa and to get a hearing from him, because of his being expert in all the customs of the Jews, and as he requested that Agrippa hear him with patience, so in the antitype our dear Pastor asked the higher court to hear him patiently as he defended himself. Paul told of his earlier life in vs. 4 and 5 in the type; so Bro. Russell told of his experiences of early life, showing that he was raised a very strict Calvinist and acted as such in his early life. As Paul in v. 6 said that he stood and was being judged for the promises made by God to the fathers, i.e., the Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant made to the Jews themselves under Moses, so Bro. Russell showed that he was a firm believer in the Abrahamic Covenant and in the Oath-bound Covenant and in the privileges that were his as such under both of these covenants. As Paul demanded why it should be counted incredible that God should raise the dead, so Bro. Russell asked why it should be counted an unbelievable thing that God should 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

555 

have the dead to be raised, some on the spirit plane and some on the human plane. 

Paul showed that he was a persecutor of the believers in Christ, as we read in v. 9. This types our Pastor in the time when in his infidelistic condition he became an unbeliever and certainly attacked believing nominal Christians wherever he got a chance, with infidelistic ideas that in many cases they were unable to answer, for our Pastor had been made an infidel by the absolute predestinarian and eternal torment theories and had taught infidelity and refuted, as he thought, various real and nominal Christians by his infidelistic questions put to them. Paul kept up his persecuting course until finally he was met by our Lord on his way to Damascus, the strange city to which he went to persecute the Lord's people, as we read in vs. 11 and 12. This is typical of how our Pastor kept up his attacking the real and nominal Christians by his infidelistic questions, until he was stopped on his way to antitypical Damascus by our Lord, who in a mighty vision showed him as to the Truth as we find it stated in Hebrews 13:10-16, interpreting the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus in its two sin-offerings. As Paul saw a great light from heaven on his way to Damascus, as we read in v. 13, the opening of these Scriptures brought a great light that became clear to our beloved Pastor, and he was thus converted to see the two sin-offerings of the Christ, Head and Body. Paul wanted to know, in v. 15, who was speaking to him. Our Lord, in the Hebrew tongue, the Word of Truth, said, "Saul, why do you persecute me? it is hard for you to kick against the goads." As Paul was given these answers in the type, so our dear Pastor, through the opening of the above-mentioned Scriptures to him, was told what his course actually should be, in antitype of v. 15. Paul was persecuting Jesus in the type; so our Pastor really persecuted Jesus in the antitype, by his attempted refutations of true Christians. 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

556 

As Paul in v. 16, was told to arise, and that Jesus had appeared to him, in order to make him a servant and a witness both of these things he had seen up to that time and of those that He would make known to him afterwards, he typed how our Pastor was given his commission as "that servant" to declare the things that were shown to him when he was appointed "that servant" in November, 1879, as well as to tell in due time the other things that should come to him as he would be exercising that office, Jesus promising him that he would deliver him from persecuting nominal Christians and from persecuting unbelievers, to whom he would send him, as we read in antitype of v. 17; for this is typical of how our Pastor was assured by Jesus, as the antitype of v. 17, that he would deliver him from persecuting nominal Christians and persecuting infidels, among whom he would be sent in his ministry. He was told that he was to present the Truth, so as to open their eyes and turn them from error to the Truth and from Satan's power to the power of God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (v. 18). Paul was thus given his commission, typical of how our dear Pastor in being given the great truth in November, 1879, was told how he was to act, and did act (vs. 19, 20), these things out in the antitype. 

Just as Paul in v. 21 said that the Jews had caught him in the temple and wanted to kill him, so our Pastor informed the higher court that the Jews had laid hold on him and wanted to cut him off from all access to the nominal people of God. As Paul said that he had obtained help from God from that day forward and that he continued to witness both to the small and to the great, saying none other things than were Scripturally stated, so our Pastor said that he was giving evidence as he had opportunity to all who would hear him of how he was doing in this matter in the work of our Heavenly Father. In v. 23 Paul told that Christ suffered, that he should be the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

557 

first that should rise from the dead, and should show the Truth to the people and to the Gentiles. This was typical of how Bro. Russell in the antitypical time was given the antitypical mission, as we have set forth in antitype. Paul was so insistent in his speech and spoke with such learning that Festus interrupted him, saying that he was insane, by his much study and much learning. This is typical of how some of the judges thought that our Pastor was beside himself, by insisting so thoroughly on the wrong of these conditions as they were put there before him. Thus our Pastor said that these things, in antitype of Paul's saying that they were done publicly, "not in a corner," were done very publicly; and thus he was given the opportunity of showing that he had been speaking in all earnestness and honesty, for our Pastor, in his writing, speaking, etc., was in dead earnest. As Paul in vs. 26 and 27 asked Agrippa, who was well informed on all matters of the Jews' religion and who had given him the opportunity to speak freely, whether he did not believe Israel's inspired prophets, saying that he knew that Agrippa so believed; so our Pastor appealed to the judges of the higher court as to whether they were not also believers, assuring them that he knew that they so believed. 

In v. 28 Agrippa gave Paul an encouraging statement, to the effect that Paul had almost persuaded him to be a Christian, which types that our Pastor was told by the court of the second instance that it was almost persuaded to accept the things of which he spoke. Then Paul showed his humility and kindness of heart, when he said that he wished of God that not only Agrippa, but also all that heard him that day, were both almost and altogether such as he was, except his being a prisoner. This represents our dear Pastor in the humility and generosity of his heart wishing that not only the court of the second instance, but all that were listening to the matter, were not almost, but altogether as he was, except being accused of wrong-doing and bound as a result. When Paul 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

558 

had thus spoken, the king, the governor, Bernice and they that sat with them arose and when they had gone aside they talked among themselves, saying, "This man did nothing worthy of death or of bonds," as we read in vs. 30 and 31, typing that those who heard our Pastor in the third instance agreed that he had done nothing wrong, the jury agreeing. In the type they all said this and they ruled, after they had entered into a private talk one with another, that Paul might have been freed had he not appealed to Caesar, typing that these judges said of Bro. Russell that he was evidently a good man and had done nothing worthy of bonds or of being cut off from his position as a teacher and a lecturer on Bible matters. Agrippa told Festus that Paul might have been made free, if he had not appealed to Caesar, typing how our Pastor was spoken of by the court of the third instance as one who could have been made free by them, only his appeal to the highest court in Pennsylvania prevented their being able to set him free. 

This brings us to Chapter 27. When it was determined (v. 1) that Paul and his companions would have to sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. This types how our beloved Pastor, on it being decided that he, having appealed to a still higher court, could not be freed by the lower court, had to be sent to that higher court and thus have his case investigated by the very highest court in existence in Pennsylvania. Entering into a ship of Adramyttium, they sailed by the coasts of Asia; and one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, with them (v. 2). This indicated in the antitype that our Pastor entered into a new line of argumentation, requiring that it would be given in the trial that should soon come. The next day (v. 3) they touched at Sidon, and Julius courteously treated Paul and gave him liberty to go with his friends to the local brethren and refresh himself and them. This types that as Bro. Russell was being handed over to the court of higher position, 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

559 

he was treated very courteously by the one in charge of this matter and was given liberty with his companions to go to his friends and refresh himself and them. From there Paul (v. 4) passed by Cyprus, because the winds were contrary, which types how our Pastor passed by Mrs. Russell, whose sphere as a sifter is typed by Cyprus. There he found that conditions were much against him, through the misrepresentations that his wife made in connection with the divorce case and that those made who urged her on a wrong course in this matter. They, therefore, in the type (v. 5), sailed over the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia and came to Myra, a town of Lycia. Here again we see in the type three different places mentioned in connection with Lycia, and this is the same thought as we pointed out often before, that Bro. Russell's experiences in the antitype would be connected with the third one-thousand-year day of the Gospel Age. 

In v. 6 we read that the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing to Italy and put those whom he had in charge thereon. This indicates that our dear Pastor was put into a condition of argumentation that would bring him to the court of highest instance. Paul, etc., after sailing slowly many days scarcely were come over against Cnidus. The wind not suffering their harboring, they sailed under Crete over against Salome. Here again we find that three things are brought to our attention in connection with Crete: Salome, The Fair Havens and the city of Lasea, having the same antitype for our dear Pastor as we often mentioned above and need not repeat here. In v. 9, much time having been spent, their sailing was now dangerous, because their fasting was not yet past. Therefore Paul admonished those that were with him (vs. 9, 10) to eat, declaring that this voyage would result in much damage and injury, both to the lading and those that were in the ship, typing how our dear Pastor, as he was going on to the court of highest instance, admonished those that were with him, saying 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

560 

that this appeal to the highest authority would bring them much damage and injury, not only to their special arguments, but also to the plea as a whole, endangering their entire cause; for our dear Pastor perceived that matters were going quite contrary to what his desires were, and therefore he spoke as he did, as they were going on to the court of highest instance. In v. 11 it is said that the centurion did not believe what Paul said, but what the master and owner of the ship said. 

In v. 12, because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the most part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to, and winter in Phenice, which is a haven of Crete, which lieth toward the south-west and north-west. This in the antitype shows that our dear Pastor in the dangerous situation of his appeal to the highest court found that he could not persuade those who were managing the plea to take his view of the matter; but they were determined to go on to the place of highest instance in court and thus did they go on, keeping close to the thought of the suit that was on the way to the highest court of affairs. In vs. 14, 15 we are told that a very great storm arose and that this storm caught the ship, which could not bear against the wind; so they had to let it take its own course. This types how our dear Pastor, when he saw that things were going more or less against him as he was pursuing his course to the court of highest instance, had to let matters run their course. In v. 16 they came to a certain island called Clauda and they had much work to make the boat go. When they were taken up by the storm they tried to support the boat, as we read in v. 17, fearing that it would fall to pieces in the quicksand, but under sail it broke away and they were thus driven off. This is the type of how our Pastor came to a certain dangerous condition in his trialsome experiences in attempting to get to the court of highest instance; and therefore he had to do all that he could to strengthen his cause, as it was being taken up to the court of highest instance, all the time fearing that the conditions under which 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

561 

they were traveling were such as would result in utter ruin for his cause, as he went onward toward the court of highest instance. As in vs. 18, 19 the Apostle Paul says that they were greatly tossed about by the tempest, and the next day they had to make the ship lighter and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship, so our dear Pastor, seeing in the antitype that matters were going against him, took advantage of the situation, to give up hope of winning his case from the standpoint of his plea, and thus let the matter drift as best it would. When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest laid on them (v. 20), it types that our Pastor and his helpers in attempting to get to the court of highest instance saw that things were working against our Pastor and his helpers and they, therefore, had to let the matter drift as best it would. 

After they had a long abstinence from food (v. 21), Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. He then exhorted them (v. 22) to be courageous and not downcast, for there would be no loss of any man's life among them, but only the ship itself would be lost. This in the antitype represents how our dear Bro. Russell sought to encourage those who were working with him, as he was journeying to the court of highest instance, and indicated that all that were with him would be spared, but that their argument for their defense would go to pieces. Paul indicated (vs. 23, 24) that God had that night, by the angel of God, whom Paul served and whose he was, said that Paul should not fear, that he must come to the court of highest instance and that God was pleased to give him in safety all that were sailing with him. This types how our dear Pastor was from the Word of God given in a secret way a message which indicated to him that he who was God's servant and who actually served God would come out alright; and it told him not to be afraid, but to press on until he came to the 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

562 

court of highest instance and that God had spared for him all that were undertaking with him. Accordingly, in v. 25 the Apostle admonished all to be of good cheer, for he believed God, that it should be even as God had told him; nevertheless, he said (v. 26) that they would be cast off on a certain island where they would be for awhile. This types how our dear Pastor encouraged all that were going with him to the court of highest instance, since God had decided to spare all who were engaged with him in this perilous errand; therefore he encouraged them, that they should be comforted, for his faith was in God; for it would take place even as God had foretold in the type; and he showed that there would have to be a pause for awhile in their journey. 

When the fourteenth night had come in the experience of Paul, as they were driven up and down in the sea of Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country and sounded and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther they sounded again and found it to be fifteen fathoms (vs. 27, 28). This would indicate how that in the antitype the ones who were bringing our Pastor to the court of highest instance gave way to the opposition encountered and they allowed themselves to drift up and down in helplessness. At midnight, the climax of their distress, they concluded that they were drawing near to some relief. After they had sounded, in the type, they found that they were coming into ever decreasing depths of sea. This typed how when in the climax of their distress, the highest point of the trouble that they had on account of their appeal to the court of highest instance, they were driven back and forth, and in secret it was deemed that their cause would be shipwrecked, and this they found to be true as they journeyed on, the whole case going against Bro. Russell, who saw it going against him. In v. 29 all that were in the ship feared that they would fall upon rocks. This they sought to prevent, by casting four anchors out of the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

563 

stern, hoping that daylight would come. This typed how Bro. Russell added four safeguards at the end of his plea, in the hope of clarification of his plea. When the sailors were about to forsake the ship (v. 30), they let down the boat, under pretense that they were casting out anchors in the front part of the ship. This would indicate in the antitype that those who were taking our Pastor to the court of highest instance, seeing that things were going to the contrary, determined in hypocrisy that they forsake all of Bro. Russell's plan and make the best of the escape that they could make, pretending that they were going to guard the argument in the fore and background. 

In v. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, that if the sailors would not remain in the ship, none could be saved; and then the soldiers who remained in the ship (v. 32) cut off the ropes of the boat in which the sailors wanted to escape and let it drift off. This represents how some who were accompanying our Pastor to the court of highest instance were seeking their own safety and caring nothing for others, pretending that they were trying to make the plea safe. Our Pastor, in antitype of Paul speaking to the centurion and the soldiers, assured them that if they would not stand by their plea as they were approaching the court of highest instance, they would all be wrecked; and, therefore, they let that boat in which the sailors sought to escape drift away, i.e., they let the pretended argument that our Pastor was going to put up in the court of highest instance go its way. In vs. 34, 35 Paul admonished them to take some food, for the good of their health, and he encouraged them thereto by the assurance that not a hair from the head of any of them would fall; and when he had thus spoken, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. Here we see how our dear Pastor in the antitype encouraged those who were going with him to be of good cheer, to partake of some refreshment on the line of the argumentation that they were to use at

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

564 

the court of highest instance; if they would do so, no injury would come to any one of them, but their argument would hold water in the court of highest instance. Having spoken thus, our Pastor himself took something for his strengthening and gave thanks to God in presence of them all; and when he had taken up the argument for their encouragement that they were to take up at the court of highest instance, he encouraged them to do the same, which they did, as indicated in v. 36. 

There were holding the plea in all 276 persons (v. 37), a very large number supporting our Pastor, including good, bad and indifferent Truth people. These accompanied our Pastor on his voyage to antitypical Italy, where he was to appear in the court of highest instance, to defend himself against the unjust attack made on him by his wife and by those who egged her on to attack him. Accordingly, they all did as he advised them to do. In the type (v. 38) they lightened the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea. This typed how after our Pastor had encouraged all to take fresh strength, in view of what was taking place in their symbolic voyage to the court of highest instance, they themselves did what they could to make the argument hold water as they went on. In the type (v. 39) when it was day, they knew not the land toward which they were sailing, but they discovered a certain creek a short distance from them, into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. This would indicate that as our Pastor was going on toward the court of highest instance, they came to a certain position where they thought they would get some relief and so they sought to get that relief by putting the argument that they were reserving for the court of highest instance into the best position in which it could be. In v. 40, when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted up the mainsail to the winds and made for the shore. This types how our Pastor, having made all the preparation that he 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

565 

could to gain a good position from which he could present his case before the court of highest instance, had all who were with him to do the best that they could to make that argument stand up against the argument made against him and thus they sought to come to a haven of safety in the coming trial. 

In v. 41, Paul and those with him in the ship fell into a place where the sea was double, i.e., the under current ran in one, and the upper current in another direction, and this made the ship go aground; the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. This typed how as our Pastor was proceeding to the court of highest instance, they came into contrary conditions that made matters very hard for him to go forward, some clashing occurring in the different arguments being used; but they did the best they could with the arguments that they had and they found that it became more or less useless, for the forepart of that argument was stuck fast and remained unmovable, so that they could not get any comfort out of it and had to let things at other points go to pieces, as they were tending to go to pieces from the standpoint of his symbolic journey to the court of highest instance; and thus the troubles in which they were made things break up very hard for them. The soldiers (v. 42) in the type wanted to kill the prisoners, including Paul, but the centurion was unwilling to do this, and to save himself and Paul he kept them from their purpose and commanded they that could swim to get to the land. This types how our dear Pastor, as everything was going to pieces in the argument, for his relief did the best he could and allowed things to take whatever course they would in this instance; and thus we see that the argument points were forsaken. In this we come to the end of Acts 27. 

We begin now with Acts 28:1. Paul and all who were with him escaped and came to an island called Melita, typing how the argument of our Pastor for his release was temporarily wrecked. There, as we

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

566 

read in v. 2, the barbarous people showed them much kindness, kindled a fire and received every one, because of the rain and the cold. This types how our dear Pastor, when he had ridded himself of those parts of his argument that would not hold water, came into a condition in which he received more or less sympathy from those who were not at all Christian people, but thought that he was being mistreated very severely. Some of the papers and some of the common people took his side, and thus they helped relieve him of the evils which he was suffering at that time. In vs. 3, 4 we are told that Paul gathered sticks and laid them on the fire and there came a viper out of the heat and fastened itself on his hands; and when the barbarians saw this taking place, they said that Paul was doubtless a murderer, whom, though he escaped from the sea, justice would not allow to live. This types how our Pastor gathered as much as he could of arguments that he could present in his defense in the court of highest instance and put them in such a position as would give comfort to all that were there, but as he did so a venomous argument was used by his enemies to overthrow him; and many who first heard this among those who were not believers, worldly people, who had sympathized with him, feared that Bro. Russell had done something that was exceedingly wrong and that justice would not allow him to continue his cause, even though he had escaped the loss of some of its points that he intended to present in the court of highest instance. As Paul shook off the viper from his hand and felt no harm, and as the barbarians looked to see him swell up or fall down dead and saw no harm done to him, they changed their minds and concluded that he was a being of a higher nature than human. This is typical of how, as worldlings, sympathizers with Bro. Russell, feared, on account of his experience with the viperous argument that had been presented against him, that he had done something that was wrong and that justice would not allow him to continue on 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

567 

account of that wrong, Bro. Russell found that he was by God's grace and God's power given enough strength, in his argument for the court of the highest instance, to prove that he was not a wrong-doer and that justice was pleased to permit him to continue on his course; and this is how, by the Word of God, he shook off the harm that was intended to be done him, as typed in vs. 4 and 5. In v. 6 Paul was given to see, as also the barbarians were given to see, that he was an innocent man. Therefore they concluded that he was of a higher nature than a human being, typing that Bro. Russell would be strong under the conditions which he was suffering. 

In the island there were properties owned by its chief man, whose name was Publius (v. 7). He received the brethren kindly, lodged them three days courteously. These three days type that our dear Pastor, as we have often seen before, would come to this experience in the third one-thousand-year day of the Gospel Age. Publius' father (v. 8) was sick of a fever and a bloody flux. Paul coming to him prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him; and he did the same with others (v. 9), so that those who had diseases on the island came and were healed. This types how our dear Pastor by the Word of God that he preached cured the fever of over-haste in some people and cured them of the loss of religious life, and did this for them by prayerful labor, and secured thus the religious life of benefactors of prominent people. He also did this to all others that came to him to be healed of their moral diseases. This types also how, as our Pastor continued his work on the defense that he was to make at the court of highest instance, he was enabled by the teaching that he gave to cure people of sin-sickness and of the loss of religious life, by his coming to them, praying for them, working for their good and preaching the Word, by word of mouth and publications, thus healing them unto seeing what was the truth on the situation. This was done by our Pastor, not only to the benefactors of

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

568 

the chief persons in that community, but it was done to all those who would come under his ministry, and by his teachings he lifted up and blessed them, healed them in their sin-sickness and of their errors and brought them more and more into the Truth. These people, seeing the good that Paul did, honored him and his companions (v. 10); and when they left they gave them such things as they needed on their trip. This indicates to us how that our dear Pastor, as he was proceeding to the court of highest instance, fortified himself by preaching and writing the Truth, unto the healing of many of sin and error sicknesses; and those who were thus being helped by him loaded him with their confidence and with their blessings, so that he felt that he was being very kindly and finely treated by all that were there. 

In the type (v. 11) at the end of the three months, they departed in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the isle. The ship's sign was Castor and Pollux, the twins, as a figure-head on the ship's prow. The Gemini were regarded as patron deities by sailors, hence their use as the ship's sign. They landed at Syracuse and tarried there three days, then fetched a compass and came to Rhegium; and after one day the south wind blew and they came next to Puteoli. Here again we find that the argument that our dear Pastor was forming all of the time against what enemies would bring against him in the court of highest instance, was what would make his case as strong as possible. We notice that here there are three cities brought to our attention: Syracuse, Rhegium, and Puteoli. This gives the idea, as we have often seen before, of our Pastor dealing with three kinds of people: those whom he won from the world, those who were nominal Christians whom he won for the Truth out of the nominal church, and those consecrated ones whom he won for the Truth out of the nominal church. These three also indicate, as we have often seen before, how in three different kinds of work our beloved Pastor was kept in the 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

569 

third one-thousand-year day of the Gospel Age fellowshipping with sympathetic brethren (v. 14), in perfecting the good work that he had to do. They, therefore, pursued their journey onward, as we see, to the court of highest instance, typified by Paul and his companions coming in due time to Rome. The brethren came to meet Paul and his companions as far as Appiiforum and The Three Taverns. These brethren gave Paul the encouragement that he needed (v. 15); for when he saw the brethren at these three different places, he gave thanks unto God and took courage and went onward. This types how our dear Pastor, as he was seeking to strengthen his argument as to how to deal with the people with whom he had to do in the court of highest instance, was encouraged. In these three situations, as we saw before, he won, some from the world, some unconsecrated people from the nominal church unto consecration and for the Truth some of the consecrated in the nominal church, and that on the third one-thousand-year day, in which he was doing his work at the end of the Gospel Age. In v. 16 we see that Paul reached Rome and was delivered with the other prisoners to the one who would represent the emperor for the court of highest instance, Paul being allowed to dwell by himself with a soldier who kept him safe and secure. This types how our dear Pastor as he came to the end of preparing his argument to be presented in the court of highest instance was allowed to have more or less of liberty, though put under the control of a deputy of the court of highest instance. 

In Rome the Apostle Paul (v. 17) called the chief of the Jews together; and when they came together he presented the matter of his being brought to Rome, addressing them courteously as men and brethren, telling them that he had done nothing against the Lord, his people or the inner life and the customs of their fathers, yet was delivered a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who when they had examined him could find nothing in him that was a reason

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

570 

of death or even of bonds. This shows us how, as our Pastor came to the court of highest instance, he was finally put into a position in which he perfected his argument in the defense of himself, and called together the people who were amenable to teaching, people of the nominal church, telling them that he was not against the nominal church at all, that he had done nothing worthy of bonds, nothing for being made a prisoner, nevertheless he was delivered over to the court of highest instance in this particular matter. Thus we find our dear Pastor antityping what was stated in vs. 17, and 18. The Jews spoke against Paul's deliverance and hinted against him so much at Jerusalem before Festus, that Paul had to appeal to Caesar, which was a privilege of a Roman citizen; and he did this, not that he wanted to accuse his nation of anything, but because he wanted to defend himself against wrong accusations, as we read in v. 19. In this Paul typed how our dear Pastor told those nominal people of God who came at his invitation to hear what he had to say, that he did not have anything of which he wanted to accuse the nominal church or the nominal people of God, but that he had to do something in defense of his own life and therefore appealed to antitypical Caesar, the court of highest instance. Paul in v. 20 says that he called together the Jews at Rome, desiring to see them and to speak with them, because it was for the hope of Israel that he was bound with a chain. This types how our dear Pastor assured those that came to hear him from among the nominal people of God, in his addresses and writings, that he had nothing of which he wanted to accuse the nominal church, but that it was for the hope of spiritual Israel that he was bound by the nominal-church leaders, for he was made a prisoner, falsely accused, though innocent of any wrong-doing. He declared that he believed in the Abrahamic Covenant, in the covenant that God had made with Israel, and that this was the reason why he was there as a prisoner. Those who came to hear Paul (v. 21) said

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

571 

that they had neither received letters out of Judea concerning him, nor did any of the brethren that came from Judea show or speak any harm of him, typing how our dear Pastor was told by those people who sympathized with him, and who had come to hear him in his lectures, that they had heard nothing against him that was to his detriment. Paul (v. 22) was told that they would be glad to hear him as to what he thought; for they knew that the Christians were a sect everywhere spoken against. This represents how our dear Pastor was told by those people of the nominal church whom he invited to hear him in his speech and in his writings, that they considered the Truth people such as were everywhere spoken against and that they would, therefore, have to be understood by Bro. Russell as having that position. 

Then the Apostle Paul was appointed a day (v. 23) in which to deliver his address to these people. Many came to him in his lodgings and he expounded and testified to the kingdom of God, proving to them concerning Jesus that He was the Messiah, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning until evening, and thus continued to minister toward them as a faithful servant of God. This represents how our dear Pastor received those who came to him as he lectured and as he wrote, and that he gave them abundant testimony of the coming kingdom of God, proving what he had to say about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. This was a matter which he did wherever he went, for he was full of the Word of God, and desired to preach it wherever he had an opportunity. The result of Paul's preaching all of that day to the Jews was, that some believed the things spoken, and some did not (v. 24). This was also Bro. Russell's experience; his testimony with respect to the kingdom and with respect to restitution was believed by some of the nominal people of God, and by some it was not believed. Those who did the believing were of the three groups that we have already mentioned repeatedly. 

The Parousia Messenger (Vol. 2). 

572 

In this we rejoice to know that he was faithful as a servant of God. 

In vs. 25, 26 Paul, when the Jews who came to him could not agree among themselves and left, made this statement just before they left: "Well did the Holy Spirit by Isaiah, the Prophet, speak unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive." This types how when our dear Pastor found that those who heard him would not agree among themselves, but were against what he said in some cases, and favored him in other cases, he said that the Word of God spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Prophet Isaiah unto their fathers certainly applied in this case, saying, Go to this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. Our Pastor, in the antitype of vs. 25 and 26, quoted the Scriptures from Isaiah, saying that the people of Israel, of nominal fleshly Israel as well as nominal spiritual Israel, would hear, but not understand; and would see, but not perceive. Thus his message was treated similarly to that of Paul's, since it was the antitype of what Paul said. Paul gave the reason in v. 27: "For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Here the Apostle Paul shows that the people of Israel had waxed gross, their ears of understanding were dull, their eyes of perception were closed; they could see with their eyes, but they could not understand; their hearts were hardened; and this prevented their being converted and God's healing them; even as our Pastor made it known to the various classes that heard him, that some could hear, but the unbelievers were those who had waxed gross; their ears of understanding were dull of hearing; their eyes of understanding were closed, so that 

Jesus' Harvests' Special Representatives. 

573 

they could not perceive and understand with their hearts. This prevented them from being converted, which prevented God from healing them. Our Pastor, in the antitype, showed why it was that some believed and some did not believe. Those that believed were those whose hearts were right, who had eyes that could perceive, and ears that could hear and understand, and hearts that could be converted. Therefore, these would be healed, if they were converted, but those who would not do these things, our Pastor said, would not be converted, and would not be healed. 

In v. 28 Paul told them that they should know that the salvation that he had first offered to them was the salvation of God and that God was sending him to the Gentiles and that the Gentiles would hear. When he had said these things, (v. 29) the Jews departed and had great reasonings among themselves. This types how our Pastor told those who heard him that the salvation of God was sent to the nominal people of God that they might hear it, and that if they would hear it, they would get a great blessing from it. It also types how the nominal people of God had great reasonings among themselves, some believing and some not believing. Paul, therefore, let them go, even as our Pastor in the antitype let their antitypes go their way. Paul remained two whole years (v. 30) in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him (v. 31). This types how our Pastor, during the 1908-1911 sifting, and from that time on until the end of the twelfth hour kept on preaching and teaching as he had opportunity, despite some not believing, and helping those who would believe; and so he continued, not being overthrown by anyone, to make known the good Word of God, the glorious message that God has in reservation for the people. And so we come to the end of our Pastor's experiences as they are given us typically in the book of Acts.