A MISCELLANY
TWO HOUSES BUILT AND TESTED
EXPLANATION OF MATT. 7:24-27. THE FOURFOLD BUILDING PROCESS: INSTRUCTION; JUSTIFICATION; SANCTIFICATION; DELIVERANCE. THE THREEFOLD TESTING PROCESS: DOWNPOUR OF TRUTH; A FLOOD OF ERROR; SPIRITUAL WARS. BEREAN QUESTIONS.
THE TEXT on which the theme of this chapter is based consists of two parables, that of the wise, and that of the foolish builder. On these our Pastor has given us three interpretations, all of which, we believe, are correct. According to the first, the wise builder is the Little Flock and the house is the true Church (the Church builds itself up; the Bride makes herself ready), while the foolish builder is the nominal church and the house is Babylon. According to the second interpretation, the wise builder is the Little Flock as a class and the house is its faith and character structure, while the foolish builder is the Great Company (crown-losers) and the house is their faith and character structure. The third interpretation is an individualizing of the second: the wise man representing the individuals of the Little Flock and the foolish man representing the individual crown-losers, while the houses represent the pertinent individual faith and character structures. If we remember that it was mainly the crown-losers—the crown-losing princes—who built Babylon, the inner agreement of the three interpretations becomes apparent. In this article we will use especially the third of these interpretations. The language of these two parables is almost as nearly alike as the difference in the thoughts
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between them permits. This will appear from a parallel columned quotation of them:
(2) Certain explanations will elucidate the meaning of these texts. The word heareth occurs here in the sense of understand. To hear is used in at least three senses in Biblical and current language: (1) to take in sound by the ear-drum; (2) to understand and (3) to obey. A good illustration of the use of the first and second of these meanings is found in Acts 9:7, where Paul's companions are said to have heard a voice, and in Acts 22:9, where they are said not to have heard the voice that spoke to him. Here a flat contradiction would occur, if we did not give the word in Acts 9:7, the meaning, to take in sound by the eardrum, and in Acts 23:9 the meaning, to understand. A good illustration of the third meaning of the word is found in Ex. 6:12, where it is said that Pharaoh would not hear—obey—the Lord. That the third meaning is not the one in our text is evident from the fact that the foolish builder represents a class which did not obey, though they heard, in the meaning of the word as it occurs in the text. That the first meaning does not here apply is evident from the fact that many hear the Lord's sayings in the first sense who never build at all, while all who hear in the sense of the text do build—"everyone," "whosoever." This leaves the second sense as the one here applicable; for to do the building here
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referred to one must understand the Lord's teachings, at least to the degree necessary to build. The structure here referred to, of course, cannot be a literal one; for neither every one, nor even the majority of those who understand Christ's sayings in the Sermon on the Mount build a literal structure. Hence, it must be a symbolic structure. From 1 Cor. 3:9-15 this house is from one standpoint shown to be the Church and from another standpoint the faith and character structures that are built upon Christ. Accordingly, the building process means the development of the faith and character structures of New Creatures, which implies the building of the Church.
(3) What does the text's rock, on which the consecrated build, represent? We reply, Christ; for St. Paul in 1 Cor. 3:11 assures us that He is the foundation on which the consecrated build. What, then, does the sand represent? Again we answer, Christ; for, according to the same passage, He is the only foundation on which all the consecrated build, regardless of whether they are crown-retainers or crown-losers (1 Cor. 3:11-15). At first hearing, the thought that Christ is also the sand seems repulsive. But this is due to a false thought connected with the figurative rock, in contrast with which false thought the sand must be given an evil sense not compatible with Christ. The false thought associated with the meaning of the word rock in this passage is strength of character. Of course such a thought, if true, would by contrast suggest weakness of character as represented by the sand, which, if applied to our Lord, is, of course, repulsive to a sanctified mind. But since 1 Cor. 3:11 proves that both the rock and the sand represent Christ, evidently neither of these words in this passage suggests anything in His character. When we recognize that, not a characteristic of His, but attitudes and activities of His are represented by the rock and the sand, the thought becomes satisfying to the sanctified
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mind. Accordingly, we understand the rock to represent our Lord as the Stayer and Supporter, the Helper and the Strengthener of the Faithful in their trial time, and the sand to represent Him, not as the Stayer, the Supporter, the Helper and the Strengthener of the measurably unfaithful, but their Forsaker, their Abandoner and the One who leaves them in the lurch during their trial time. Certainly the Scriptures teach the above thoughts as our Lord's attitudes and activities toward these two classes (Heb. 13:5, 6; Jude 23; 1 Cor. 5:5).
(4) Our remarks above show that our text and 1 Cor. 3:9-15 are parallel passages, i.e., they treat of the same general subject. While this is true, they present with some identical features some different phases of the same general subject. These identicalnesses and differences will repay noting. The Corinthian passage presents no difference in the foundation, while the Matthew passage does in order to bring out the different attitudes and activities of our Lord toward the two kinds of builders. In the parabolic representation of the Matthew passage no difference between the materials used in the two buildings is brought out, while this difference—gold, silver, precious stones, on the one hand, and wood, hay, stubble, on the other—is very marked. Again, the means of testing, both in the figures—fire and rain, flood, wind—and in the things figured forth, are different. These differences, of course, are not contradictions. They merely emphasize different phases of the one general subject. Hence, these two passages are splendid illustrations of the Scriptural principle that the whole of a subject is not treated in any one place in the Scriptures, but rather each of its subjects is treated "here a little and there a little" (Is. 28:10-13).
(5) While in the parables proper of Matt. 7:24-27 no difference in the building process is brought out,
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the difference being set forth as existing in the foundations, yet in the words introducing the parables such a difference is brought out. The wise builder is represented as doing "these sayings" and the foolish builder as not doing them. The doing of them is represented as erecting the house on the rock, and the not doing of them as erecting the house on the sand. Among other things, we desire here to point out in some detail how the doing of these sayings is indeed building on Christ as upon a rock, and how the not doing of them is indeed building on Christ as upon sand. The better to present these two kinds of building upon Christ, we desire to draw into our discussion of them 1 Cor. 1:30: "Who [Christ] is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and deliverance," because it is in response or non-response to Christ in the four respects indicated in this text that we do or do not these sayings of Christ. This passage is at one and the same time one of the most succinct and yet most comprehensive passages of Holy Writ on the steps of salvation, both for the four elect classes and for the world of mankind. None of our fallen race will ever attain salvation apart from making Christ his wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and deliverance. Especially pertinent, therefore, to the explanation of the kinds of building treated of in our text is this passage. We will explain how these two kinds of builders erected their faith and character structures as to these four aspects of our Lord's office functions in the salvation process.
(6) First of all, Christ is made of God unto us wisdom. What does this mean? It means that He makes the consecrated wise. This is done by His acting as their Teacher. To teach means to cause another or others to know and understand. The teaching process implies two things: a teacher and a learner. No one teaches another unless he makes him know and understand. One may explain, prove,
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compare, contrast, argue and illustrate ever so well; but if he does not cause another to know and understand, he does not teach him. As our Teacher, our Lord does cause us to know and understand those features of God's Word and Plan that are due to be understood. The Faithful do take Him as their Teacher and do this especially in two ways: they learn from Him to know and understand the subject matter of His teachings—the various phases of the Truth that He teaches them—and they learn to know and understand these by the proper tests of Truth. Of course, He presents only Truth to them. Satan, however, presents to them a mixture of Truth and error. How may they know what things those are that come to them from Christ and what things those are that come to them through Satan? The Lord gives them certain axioms or criterions whereby the Truth or error on any religious subject can be recognized by the Faithful. Harmony of thought is the heart of these axioms or criterions. This harmony must be established in seven respects; and if it is, a faithful follower of the Lord may be sure that he has the Truth on the subject so harmonized. A teaching, to be true, must be harmonious (1) with itself; (2) with every Scripture passage; (3) with every Scripture doctrine; (4) with God's character; (5) with the Ransom; (6) with facts and (7) with the objects of God's Plan. If any religious teaching impinges against any one or more of these axioms, it is thereby proven to be untrue. We know that an understanding of a subject is given us by Christ, our Teacher, when it is in harmony with these seven axioms, as we also know that an understanding of a subject is given us by Satan when it contradicts one or more of these axioms. The Faithful build upon Christ in wisdom as the Rock by subjecting every thought that is presented to them for acceptance to the acid test of these seven axioms and only then accepting it, if it stands
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this acid test (1 Thes. 5:21; 1 John 4:1-4; Ps. 45:1; Is. 8:20; Matt. 4:3-10; John 17:17). Thus they build the faith part of their structure in the right way and out of the right materials, and thus and thus only do they build upon Christ in wisdom as the Rock. Accordingly, they do His sayings as to their taking Him to be their Teacher in wisdom.
(7) But crown-losers fail to do His sayings as to their taking Him as their Teacher and that in two respects. They fail to seek His teachings in the right way and frequently take as His teaching things that He does not teach. The Lord guarantees to give the meek (Ps. 25:8, 9), the hungry (Matt. 5:6), the humble (Matt. 11:25), the honest and good (Luke 8:15) His Truth; but He will not give it to others. It is because the Faithful have the above-mentioned qualities and then use faithfully the seven axioms as the tests of Truth that they are freed from error and taught the Truth by the Lord. Those who do not do these sayings of His on teaching lack one or more of the five qualities just mentioned as pre-requisites of obtaining the Truth. Hence the Lord allows them to imbibe more or less of error. Their unhappy heart condition has a blinding effect on their minds, so that they are often prone to accept error for Truth. Moreover, they are not particular to scrutinize every thought presented for their acceptance with the seven axioms as tests of Truth and error. Consequently, they imbibe more or less of error. Some of them go to the extreme of receiving with blank and unquestioning minds whatever a real or fictitious channel of the Lord presents to them. It is even required of them in the Catholic wards of Great and Little Babylon to shut their eyes, open their mouths and swallow whatever is presented to them on the ground that it is not their, but God's business to keep the channel clean, while it is their business to drink whatever comes through the channel. Despite his teachings and warnings
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to the contrary, some have even treated the real human channel, that Servant, in that way. Instead of heeding his instructions to build a personal faith structure, whose existence needed not to depend on any human being for its integrity under trial, some made a crutch out of him; and when he died, not having an independent faith structure that could stand in trial by its own inherent strength, they had to have another crutch, which Satan gave them in the form of the Society as "the channel," which they have been blindly following in its multitudinous errors of doctrine and practice against those that they swallowed from that Servant, and whose many changes prove it to be a rubber crutch that, bending in all directions, does not hold them erect, but as they lean upon it, makes them fall often. Of course, such built, as to wisdom, upon Christ as Sand, i.e., they built such a faith structure as is in its trial time being forsaken by Christ; just as sand forsakes the building erected on it as a foundation when exposed to floods, etc.
(8) Early in our career as a pilgrim, a sister remarked to us, "Brother, I am sure that I am going to attain the Kingdom." On being asked how she was sure of this, she replied, "Bro. Russell as that Servant is going to get into the Kingdom and I will hang on to his coat tails, and in that way I will attain the Kingdom." On being asked what she meant by that, she replied, "Bro. Russell is that Servant. Accordingly, I will believe everything that he teaches and do whatever he says and that will bring me into the Kingdom." Instead of subjecting his teachings, as he frequently exhorted, to the acid test above described, and only then accepting and practicing them as they were proven by that test to be right, she blindly bound herself to him in angel worship, instead of binding herself to the Lord, and thus failed to build an independent faith structure that would stand every test, regardless of the agent through whom she learned
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the Truth. This course always led to the forfeiture of one's crown, as the type of Gideon's selection of his 300 shows. The 32,000 who rallied to his call type all who during the Gospel Age accepted the Lord's invitation to enter the warfare of Truth and righteousness. The 22,000 who, fearful and afraid, turned back, represent those justified ones who, from fear of the battles ahead in consecration, do not go forward to consecration. The 10,000 who remained type the consecrated. These were subjected to a test as to how they would drink the water. Those who drank it on their knees, in which position they did not and could not look upward and did not and could not examine the water, were set aside by themselves, while those who drank it standing upright, lapping it out of their uplifted hands, which required them to look upward, were also put aside by themselves. The former—9,700—type the crown-losers, who, not looking wholly to the Lord while partaking of the waters of Truth, bowed down in human servility to the messengers and, as worshipers of angels, did not and could not while so doing clearly examine the Truth presented to them, and thus, swallowing it without proper examination, forfeited their crowns. The 300 type the Little Flock, who were very active (raising the water in their hands) in their study of the Truth, grasping a firm hold of it, who looked upward to the Lord as the Giver of the Truth as they imbibed it, who little by little but rapidly took it as it clung to the tongue of Biblical truth already theirs, and who did not worship the messengers, the stream's channel, though they properly came to them for the Truth and got it from them. Hence the latter built upon Christ in wisdom as the Rock, while the former built upon Him in wisdom as Sand.
(9) The second respect in which new creatures build on Christ as Rock or Sand is expressed in the word righteousness in 1 Cor. 1:30. Christ is made
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of God to us righteousness in the sense that He justifies us (Rom. 3:20-26; 4:1-25; 8:1-4; 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Gal. 2:16, 17; 3:24; Phil. 3:9). God's grace provided Him to become our righteousness. His perfect human obedience worked out this righteousness. Our faith receives it, as He imputes it on our behalf to Divine Justice and God's grace then imputes it to us. Thus tentatively it was imputed to every believer and vitalizedly it was imputed to every consecrated believer who was about to be Spirit-begotten. Accordingly, every crown-retainer and crown-loser has Christ as his righteousness, i.e., as his Justifier. Unless one had truly repented and believed, he could not at all have attained tentative or vitalized justification. Therefore, from this standpoint there is no difference between the two classes referred to in our text. Would it, therefore, be right to say that both alike build on Christ in righteousness? We answer, No. This answer must be given for at least two reasons. First, the building of our text does not begin until after one is a new creature, while Christ's merit is both tentatively and vitalizedly imputed before the begettal. Secondly, the implications of justification are a building work as to justice before and after the begettal. Hence both the crown-retainers and the crown-losers build upon Christ in righteousness. A little consideration will prove this. Christ's righteousness adjusts us reckonedly with Justice. It makes up whatever we lack of 100% of justice. But it implies that we practice justice as best we can, which doing progressively we need less and less of Christ's righteousness to make us 100% righteous. Therefore, God requires that we practice justice as much as we can, all the time covering our failures therein due to weakness and ignorance through Christ's imputed righteousness. Hence, the Faithful seek to develop a righteous, just character, i.e., they seek in duty good-will to love God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, and their neighbor
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as themselves. If in any measure of willfulness they temporarily fail to do this, they by stripes and amendment make this up, so that they do develop a just character. This is the first feature of the character part of their faith and character structure, they in wisdom having built the faith part of their faith and character structure. Accordingly, we see that these do build upon Christ in righteousness as the Rock—yea, the Rock of Ages.
(10) Do the crown-losers build upon Christ in righteousness? We reply, Yes; but not on Him as the Rock, but as Sand. A little reflection will make this manifest. For the reason given above, we see that these, like the others, do not build at all in the sense of that word as used in our text before the Spirit-begettal. But a little reflection also shows that they were before their consecration loyal to righteousness; otherwise they would never have consecrated; for it is only those who are faithful in justification who proceed to consecration. Hence it is impossible that any building on Christ as Sand could have taken place before Spirit-begettal. But sometime after consecration, with some sooner, with others later, an increasing degree of disloyalty to righteousness sets in, which makes them build upon Christ as Sand. The sensitiveness of their consciences becomes dulled. Their hatred of, and revulsion at sin becomes less keen. Presently they become more or less indifferent to some calls of righteousness and more or less open to those of sin. Instead of retiring each night with a proper reckoning made with God, which gives them a clean slate for the next day, they leave some sin or sins unsorrowed for, unconfessed and unamended. This goes on with increasing failures of giving supreme love to God and equal love to man and with the commission of violations of these. Thus a more or less unjust, along with a more or less just strain of character
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is developed; and this is a building of their character structure upon Christ in righteousness as Sand.
(11) Next 1 Cor. 1:30 brings to our attention Christ as our sanctification. This office of His has three separate functions, according to which He works upon us. In the first place, as our Sanctifier Christ enables us to consecrate ourselves to God. This He does by holding before our minds and hearts, through such animate or inanimate agencies as are at His disposal for the purpose, such parts of God's Word as work a consecrating faith and love in our hearts, whereby we are enabled to consecrate ourselves to God. Thus He consecrates us in the sense that by the Word He works in our hearts the two graces that enable us to consecrate ourselves to God; and in so doing He exercises the first function of His office of Sanctifier. But on this point of making their consecration there can have been no difference between those who retained and those who lost their crowns; for whoever did not make a whole-hearted and unreserved consecration could not have attained the Spirit-begettal; for God never begat of the Spirit any whose consecration was not whole-hearted and without reservations. Thus, again, we see that the building referred to in our text can be done by new creatures only. Therefore, it must be in the steps of sanctification following consecration and Spirit-begetting that we are to look for the differences between building on Christ as a Rock and as Sand in sanctification. And there, in deed and in truth, we find them.
(12) Our Lord's second function as our Sanctifier is His work, after our consecration and Spirit-begettal, of enabling us to keep our wills dead selfward and worldward and to sacrifice our human all unto death on behalf of God's cause. This He does by imparting through His Spirit, Word and providences all the enlightenment to the intellect, all the energy to the heart and all the external conditions to enable us to keep
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our wills dead selfward and worldward and to sacrifice our human all unto death on behalf of God's cause. The Faithful submit themselves to Him in His exercise of this His second function as our Sanctifier, i.e., under His tuition they study the Word to get all the enlightenment needed to enable them to see what, why and how to do to remain dead to self and the world. And that Word so studied under His ministry is received into their responsive hearts. So received, it is charged, as an electric wire is charged with electricity, with the energy—the Spirit—that gives the responsive heart the power to keep the human will dead selfward and worldward. Moreover, it also gives the responsive heart the power, through its above described enlightenment and energy, in the various circumstances of life, to keep on serving God's cause unto the expending, little by little and more and more, of one's human all in that service even unto death. Thus seen, it is recognized that our Lord as our Sanctifier, in His second official function as such, always takes the first steps in the acts whereby our wills are kept dead and our bodies are put to death sacrificially; and, thus seen, it is also recognized that the Faithful make a loyal response to His advances, and thus enter into the work of keeping their wills dead selfward and worldward and of laying down sacrificially unto death their human all. This they do in good report and in evil report, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in pleasure and in pain, in victory and in defeat, in toward circumstances and in untoward circumstances, in prosperity and in adversity, in gain and in loss, always and everywhere, as the Lord indicates His will for them. If they are guilty of any imperfection in this work, they take recourse to the Throne of Grace for forgiveness and, as well as they can, seek to make amends in their thoughts, motives, words and acts. They let nothing make them give up such deadness to self and the world and such
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laying down unto death of their human all. Faint, yet pursuing, they persevere unto the end, and thus they build their house upon Christ in this feature of His sanctification office as the Rock.
(13) With the crown-losers the matter ultimately is different. The momentum that the will to consecrate gathers is so great that, even if not reinforced, it pushes one on for awhile to remain dead to self and the world and to sacrifice of his human all. But unless reinforced this momentum peters out; and one is ere long brought to a standstill in the two respects just mentioned. Some crown-losers run well for a long while; others do almost nothing after the momentum of their faith and love-produced consecration comes to a standstill, and between these two classes of crown-losers there are all sorts of variations, for some crown-losers come within the skin of their teeth of gaining the crown, and some within the skin of their teeth of going into the Second Death. But all crown-losers, whether sooner or later, fail to respond whole-heartedly to Christ's enlightening, energizing and providential works exercised on them to enable them to remain dead to self and the world and to lay down their human all sacrificially unto death. Instead, they allow some selfish or worldly motives, along with some unselfish and heavenly motives, to control them; and this makes them "double-minded" (Jas. 1:8). As a result, they do not bring forth fruit unto perfection (Luke 8:14). They do not wholly give up their consecration; for this would make them sink into the Second Death class; but they are more or less compromising in their consecration. They do not like the unpopularity, or the reproach, or the weariness, or the painfulness, or the hardship, or the privation, or the loneliness, or the exclusiveness, or the peculiarity, or the inconvenience, etc., of the narrow way of sacrifice. They seek so to serve as to endure, if possible, a minimum of these. They shun what the world calls
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the extremes of the Faithful and draw back from them. They are the greatest of fence straddlers, facers in two directions, carriers of water on two shoulders, riders on horses going in opposite directions—in a word, they are double-minded. They have been well described in the words, "Let not a wavering heart be mine, that is the world's, and would be Thine." This course of theirs prevents their performing an acceptable sacrifice, and results in their building upon Christ in this aspect of sanctification as Sand.
(14) The third part of Christ's office work as Sanctifier is developing the new creature unto perfection in all the features of a Christ-like character. This implies the development of heavenly affections and of the resultant heavenly graces, which after being developed must be strengthened, balanced and finally perfected—crystallized. It also implies the cleansing of one's-self from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. This also is a work which in all its features Christ initiates and in which He takes the leading part as to its accomplishment. In this work He avails Himself of the Spirit, Word and providences of God. But He does not do it without the co-operation of the New Creatures involved. It is for them to respond to His helps: to listen to His instructions, to submit themselves to the influence of His teachings and to exercise themselves along pertinent lines amid the providences that He sets into operation for their assistance. This, too, must be done in good report and in evil report, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in pleasure and in pain, in victory and in defeat, in toward and in untoward circumstances, in prosperity and in adversity, in gain and in loss, always and everywhere, as the Lord indicates His will for them. By so doing they grow in grace, knowledge and fruitfulness in service. In varying degrees the Faithful do these things, and thereby become in character more and more like our Lord, even unto crystallization of character; and
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by so doing they build a part of the character part of their structure upon Christ as the Rock.
(15) Those who become crown-losers had this same ideal set before them; and Christ exercised this third function of His work as Sanctifier upon them in order to enable them to make their calling and election sure to the Kingdom. Some of them responded well for a long time; some of them responded well for some time; and some of them made almost no response at all. But finally all of them made but a feeble response. They grew weary of taking from our Lord the whole pertinent enlightenment; they failed to submit themselves loyally to the influence of the transforming Word; they failed to exercise their New-Creaturely powers enough unto becoming thoroughly heavenly in their affections and in their resultant graces; they failed to avail themselves sufficiently of the helping and hindering providences that our Lord set into operation on their behalf; and they wearied of the work of purging out the old leaven of sin, selfishness and worldliness sufficiently to become a new unleavened lump. Their blending with their heavenly thoughts, motives, words and acts, selfish and worldly thoughts, motives, words and acts, not only hindered their developing the New Creature in every good word and work, but produced a mixture of heavenly and worldly mindedness and a mixture of the graces of the Spirit and the faults of the flesh that gave them the quality called in Scripture double-mindedness. This could not result in their building upon Christ in this third feature of sanctification as the Rock, as was the case with their faithful brethren, but did result in their building upon Him as Sand in sanctification.
(16) According to 1 Cor. 1:30 Christ's fourth official work toward us in the salvation process is deliverance, which He has been made by God for us. His being made deliverance to us means that He has been given the work of saving us from all our enemies. He
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does this partly in this life and partly after this life, when He will deliver us from the grave—the death state—in the resurrection. This phase of our deliverance does not belong to our subject; for it is something in which we will be entirely passive, and that long after the building work is completed. Therefore, we will not discuss it further here. Accordingly, we will limit our attention to His delivering work performed upon us in this life. In delivering us now our dear Lord, on condition of our following His directions, does two things: (1) He rescues us from all of the snares that the devil, the world and the flesh lay for us; and (2) He gives us victory in all our conflicts with them. In doing these two things He fulfills His present office functions as our Deliverer. But His doing these two things is conditional on our following His directions. He will not so act as Deliverer for those who disregard His plans and arrangements for deliverance. He is the cause of deliverance to those who obey Him and to them only (Heb. 5:9). Naturally, He cannot deliver those who will not obey Him.
(17) This will become manifest as we glance at the things implied in His delivering work. These are those of warfare, which implies that two hostile armies are engaged in campaigns against one another. Of one of these armies Satan is commander-in-chief. He has two lieutenant-commanders under him, the flesh and the world. His army consists of four corps. The first corps is that of error, whose soldiers are erroneous thoughts, motives, words and acts. The second corps is that of sin, whose soldiers are sinful thoughts, motives, words and deeds. The third corps is that of selfishness, whose soldiers are selfish thoughts, motives, words and acts. The fourth corps is that of worldliness, whose soldiers are worldly thoughts, motives, words and acts. Of the other of these armies, Christ is Commander-in-chief. He has
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under Him two lieutenant-commanders, the Spirit and the Word. In His army there are five corps. The first is that of wisdom, whose soldiers are the New Creature's wise, Truth, thoughts, motives, words and acts. The second is that of justice, whose soldiers are the New Creature's just thoughts, motives, words and acts. The third is that of love, whose soldiers are the New Creature's loving thoughts, motives, words and acts. The fourth is that of power, whose soldiers are the New Creature's self-controlling and patient thoughts, motives, words and acts. The fifth is that of heavenly-mindedness, whose soldiers are the New Creature's heavenly-minded thoughts, motives, words and acts. As His soldiers fight obediently and courageously, Christ delivers the army from every ambush, trap or snare that Satan arranges for their undoing. And as they so fight Christ gives them victory, enabling them to come off more than conquerors.
(18) As our Pastor in Studies, Vol. V says, the Spirit's battle ground is the minds of the saints. Here it is where this spiritual warfare goes on and must go on until complete defeat overwhelms the unfaithful, temporary defeat the partially faithful and full victory crowns the Faithful at the end of the war, while incidental victories crown their every faithfully fought battle. God's oath (Gen. 22:16, 17) pledges the Faithful victories in all the incidental battles of this war and final victory at its end. These victories are not achieved by simply wishing for them, nor by perfunctory fighting, nor by half-hearted defense or offense. They are the rewards of wise bravery, undiminished loyalty, true obedience to orders and persevering following in detail of the plan of campaign mapped out by the Commander-in-chief. Moreover, the sentinels of this army must watch in all faithfulness; and the soldiers must endure the hardships of camp life, the weariness of long and forced marches, the heat of torrid summers and the cold of frigid winters. They
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must rise above the bribes of self-indulgence, world indulgence and sin indulgence, offered them as the price of treason, and maintain the optimism of hope in victory. In temporary reverses they must be undaunted and undismayed. In drilling they must be persevering. In sickness and wounds they must be hopeful of cure; and in all things endure hardships as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, as they fight the good fight of faith. Those who so do, Christ's righteousness compensating for all unwillful weaknesses and all ignorance, come off more than conquerors through Him who loves them, their Commander, in this the best of all wars. And in so doing they build their faith and character house on Christ in deliverance as a Rock.
(19) But as Christian soldiers the crown-losers do not so wage war. For awhile all of these fight; but some sooner, some later, relax their soldierly qualities. They look too much at their enemies' advantages and too little at their own; too much at their reverses, sickness and wounds and too little at those of their enemies. They dread too much the hardships of the sentinelship, drilling, marching, fighting and enduring of their warfare. They think too little of the superiority of their officers, cause, equipment, drills, position, plan, prospects and booty, as compared with those of the enemy. This results in the chilling of their courage, the dampening of their ardor, the arresting of their perseverance and the acceptance of the defeatist mental attitude. They attempt to act out and often do act out, in many a fight the couplet of certain cowardly earthly soldiers:
"He who fights and runs away
Lives to fight another day."
(20) However such a sentiment may occasionally be true in earthly wars, it certainly is not true in our warfare of the Spirit. To yield in, and flee out of its battles, leads to discharge from the army of the King's
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Own. Moreover, such yielding and fleeing expose one to greater danger than facing the foe; for it exposes one's unarmored back to the darts and thrusts of the enemy, who is sure to take advantage of this state of affairs to the fleer's discomfiture, wounding and possibly death. It is only by always presenting an armored front to the enemy that the soldiers in this warfare continually prove invulnerable. The other course results in damage to the person and morale of the pertinent soldier; and only too often his bad example spreads the contagion of his cowardice; and when it does not so do, it always makes it harder for the Faithful to hold their position and to push on to victory. But as such a soldier perseveres in such a course of warfare he more and more disqualifies himself and ends in ruin as a soldier. He is not delivered from the ambushes of the enemy. He is captured and loses much valuable time and many valuable opportunities of participation in the war. And even if he is finally delivered from such captivity, he fails to become more than a conqueror in the war. Therefore, in deliverance he has failed to build upon Christ as the Rock, but has built on Him therein as Sand.
(21) We have now considered from the standpoint of the two kinds of building presented in our text, in relation to the four steps of salvation, the building processes of the crown-retainers and the crown-losers. Throughout this study we have seen that the crown-retainers built their faith and character structure on Christ as the Rock and that the crown-losers built their faith and character structure on Christ as Sand. We have seen that in each one of the four salvation steps the former built upon Christ the Rock by practicing His teachings—"whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them." And we have also seen that in each one of the four salvation steps the latter built on Christ as Sand by not practicing His teachings—"every one that heareth these sayings of
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mine and doeth them not." Doing and not doing His teachings makes the difference in the two foundations. Doing them makes Him one's Strength, Stay, Support and Help in the trial time. Not doing them makes Him one's Forsaker and Abandoner in the trial time. Surely these considerations may well prompt us to ask ourselves, how have we built? Have we built on Christ as the Rock, or on Christ as Sand? Which?
(22) Having above discussed the building of two houses, the faith and character structures of the crown-retainers and the crown-losers, it will now be in order to discuss their testing. Their building is parabolically set forth in vs. 24, 26; and their testing is set forth in vs. 25, 27 of our text. We saw that whosoever did Christ's sayings built upon Him as a Rock; and that everyone that did not do Christ's sayings built upon Him as Sand. It is evident that there have been crown-retainers (Rev. 21:14) and crown-losers (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:19, 20) from the beginning of the Gospel Age; but so far as the latter are concerned they were not in this life put into the Great Company, and thus treated as a separate class as such, until since the tribulation began (Rev. 7:14; 2 Tim. 4:1 [the Epiphany and the tribulation are identical as periods of time, see Vol. III, Chapter I]). Not only do the passages just cited prove this thought, but also the tabernacle picture confirms the teaching that the crown-losers have remained during the Gospel Age as priests and members of Christ in the Holy until after the last member of Christ's Body was laid on the Altar; for we are told (Lev. 16:20) that after completing the atonement for the brazen altar [i.e., antitypically, after our High Priest had fully imputed His merit on behalf of the humanity (brazen altar) of the entire Church, which was only then finished when He imputed it for the humanity of the last one to come into His Body] Aaron began to deal with Azazel's goat [i.e., antitypically, the World's High
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Priest began to deal with the crown-losers as a class]. But this must be after the tribulation began; for Spirit-begetting and forehead sealing then ceased (Rev. 6:11; 7:3; Amos 9:13). Simultaneous with the leading of the antitypical Goat to the Gate was the leading of its New Creatures from the antitypical Golden Altar, Table and Lampstand to the antitypical first Vail; and simultaneous with the putting of the antitypical Goat out of the Gate of the Court was the putting of its New Creatures outside of the first Vail into the Court as the Epiphany Levites; which proves that dealing with the Great Company as such did not take place until after the tribulation began.
(23) Another consideration proves this: The Gospel-Age picture of the tabernacle allows no place for the Great Company as a class. This being true, it follows that there was no such class in existence during that Age. This proposition evidently is true; for the Gospel-Age Camp was the world—the nominal people of God; its Court was the faith justified; and its Holy was the New Creatures as priests. Hence there was no place for the Great Company in the Gospel-Age picture. Hence for the Gospel Age there was no Great Company as such; though there were, of course, throughout the Age individual crown-losers. These must, therefore, have been regarded by the Lord as priests and members of Christ's Body. Accordingly, the Great Company as a class is Epiphaniac as to the time of their being dealt with, i.e., then for the first time God began to deal with the crown-losers as with a class separate and distinct from the Little Flock. It is necessary for us to keep this fact in mind in order to understand the time setting of our two parables. In the building time for awhile all builders were necessarily crown-retainers; for only after longsufferingly dealing with measurably unfaithful New Creatures did God take their crowns away. St. Paul's showing that the gold, silver, precious
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stones, wood, hay and stubble get their tests as the possessions of two classes separate and distinct from one another, by fire during "the day," implies that this day must be the Epiphany, though evidently the testings that caused the loss of the crowns preceded the Epiphany; for by then all crowns had been assigned, and hence the last one to be lost was by then lost (Rev. 6:11). These latter-mentioned testings are not referred to in our texts nor in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. These same lines of thought are also taught in Mal. 3:2, 3, as we showed in the preceding chapter; and they also follow from the consideration that the Great Company as such is developed in the Time of Trouble (Rev. 7:14; 2 Tim. 4:1). These considerations prove, therefore, that the building time of both classes, as such, so far as these parables are concerned, is the Parousia and that the testing time of the parables for these classes as such is the Epiphany. Accordingly, the time of these parables as to these two classes as such is the end of the Age—the Parousia and Epiphany; though doubtless during the Age the Lord dealt with individual crown-retainers and crown-losers, but not as separate and distinct from one another as classes, along the same lines as indicated in the parable, so as to fit them respectively for the throne or for life (Matt. 28:20; 1 Pet. 1:6-9; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:19, 20), which they get as members of the Little Flock or the Great Company as classes in the resurrection. Hence as respects the classes as such we understand that the Parousia was the building time and the Epiphany the testing time of these parables. Facts as well as Scriptures demonstrate that this is true. These remarks do not apply to the first view of these parables, in which the houses are the true Church and the nominal church.
(24) With these preliminaries prefaced we are prepared to study the testings of our parables. The means whereby the faith and character structures of both
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classes are tested are parabolically spoken of as rain, floods and winds. Of course literal rain, floods and winds are not here meant; for the faith and character structures of all God's people are not tested by literal rain, floods and winds. Moreover, the figurative character of all parables implies their figurative use here, a fact further confirmed by everything else in the parables being figurative. Accordingly, we must find out the figurative uses of these words in the Bible and apply these figurative meanings as meant in these parables. Of what is rain ordinarily used figuratively in the Bible? Truth—God's Word (John 17:17)—is the Scriptural answer to this question. Deut. 32:2 is to the point: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." This passage is so clear in proof of rain being used in Biblical symbols to represent the Truth as to need no comment. Beautifully does this symbol in the text show that the easier truths (small rain) are for the immature and that the harder truths (showers) are for the full grown. Ps. 72:6 gives the same thought: "He [the Christ] shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth." The following remarks will clarify this passage. In Biblical symbols grass represents human beings (Is. 40:6-8). By the curse they are mown grass, and the fierce heat of the experience with evil has burnt this mown grass. And just as in nature the mown and burnt grass is revived and made to grow again by copious supplies of rain falling upon it, so the Truth in the Millennium, coming down from the Christ, will cause the race, cut down by the death sentence and burnt by the experience with evil, to be revived and to spring up again—restitution (Acts 3:19-21). Showers [stronger truths] will water [make fruitful] the earth [society]. The following passages also use the word rain in the same
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symbolic sense: Is. 55:10, 11; Hos. 6:3; Joel 2:23; Zech. 10:1; 1 Kings 17:1, 7, 14.
(25) The rain of our parables is, therefore, according to the Bible symbols, the Truth. Its falling upon both houses would imply that the Truth coming in contact with the crown-retainers and crown-losers would prove testful to both, and would be one of the factors determining whether one had built upon Christ as a Rock or as Sand and thus had either retained or lost his crown, i.e., whether a New Creature was in the Little Flock or Great Company. Do facts show that there is now a downpour of Truth? If so, is it testing all builders? And is it instrumental in manifesting who are Little Flock members, and who are Great Company members? To each of these questions we answer, Yes. That there has been since our dear Pastor's death a downpour of Truth upon the Truth people is certainly true; for since that time the Parousia Truth is being reasserted and the Epiphany Truth is being newly asserted. The reason for the reassertion of the Parousia Truth is that many who once were its exponents as pilgrims, elders, etc., are seeking to overthrow it. As Satan's mouthpieces, in proportion to their abilities they are attacking the Truth that they once professed to hold as dearer than life itself. Some of these attack some of its features; others attack others of its features; and by the time that the 60 groups of Levites will have been formed, every feature of the Parousia Truth will have been repudiated and attacked by one or another of the 60 groups of Levite leaders. The Tower has attacked many of the Parousia doctrines, precepts, prophecies and types. The P.B.I. Herald has attacked much of its chronology, prophecies and types. The Olsonites have attacked some of its doctrines and many of its prophecies and types. The B.S.C. of England has supported the P.B.I. attacks. The Adam-Rutherfordites have attacked some of its chronology, prophecies
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and types. All of the Kohathite, Merarite and Gershonite groups have attacked the doctrine that the World's High Priest now functions sacrificially. Beside these various individuals among the Truth people have arisen and attacked Parousia teachings.
(26) This has led to the reassertion of the Parousia truths thus attacked, by those who uphold such attacked truths. As these group attackers do not usually repudiate and attack the same truths, frequently some of these defend some of the attacked truths, e.g., when J.F. Rutherford attacked tentative justification, the P.B.I. quoted articles from our Pastor in its defense against him; and when the P.B.I. repudiated the Parousia Truth chronology, the Tower defended it against them. Moreover, individuals have as such defended such truths, e.g., when the Society's president attacked the Pyramid as the witness and altar of Is. 19:19, Bro. Morton Edgar ably refuted these attacks. But the main defense of these attacked truths has been by The Present Truth, one of whose three missions, as set forth among its standing announcements, is "the defense of the Parousia Truth, given by the Lord through that Servant, as basic for all further development of the Truth." It has fulfilled this mission by carefully and detailedly expounding and proving that Truth and by exposing the sophistries of the attacks made on it. In so doing it has waged pointed controversies in defense of the Parousia Truth and in refutation of the attacks made thereon. It has sought to make the expositions, proofs and refutations transparent, strong and irrefutable, and by the Lord's help has always succeeded in the defense of the Truth and in the overthrow of the attacks thereon. Much of its contents are of this character and, please God, will continue so as long as the Levites continue to attack the Parousia Truth.
(27) Some think that in this activity the author, as it were, goes about with a chip on his shoulder, daring
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anyone to knock it off, and if it is attempted, gladly strikes the attempter with great severity. Such, dear brethren, is not the case. He abhors controversy with brethren, and at first had, by the Lord, to be pushed into it, greatly against his inclinations. But as he more and more came to see the adversary's purpose in these attacks, and as he came more and more to see that it was unholy ambition to get and keep a following (Acts 20:30) that was animating these repudiators and attackers of the Truth, he more and more ceased to shrink back from entering such conflicts, though it is always painful for him to have to do it. Just as after the Apostles fell asleep, Satan used crown-losing leaders who hungered for a following to pervert the Apostolic Truth, until it was lost from the earth through their efforts, culminating in the papacy; so after that Servant passed beyond the vail, Satan began to raise up crown-lost leaders to take away from the Church the Truth that the Lord gave by him, seeking by them to destroy it entirely. Knowing this, as a servant of the general Church who loves the Lord, the Truth and the brethren, the author set himself to the task of defending the Truth against all attacks and of refuting these attacks. Knowing that this is the Epiphany, which requires for its exposures the plainest of sober speech and the most cogent proofs and refutations, and that it is selfishness that animates the sifter's (2 Tim. 3:1-9), he cries aloud and spares not, because he knows this is to be the Lord's will in this time. The result is that the Truth repudiators and attackers are not by him patted with kid gloves; rather they are by him beaten with the whip of small coils and driven out of the Holy as Levites. Nor is he faulted for this by those who see through Satan's purpose with the sifters and the latters' unholy selfishness. It is only those, for the most part, who do not see through these evil characters, and who do not understand the Lord's Epiphany
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purposes, who fault him; and he quietly awaits their enlightenment.
(28) This reassertion of the Parousia Truth is very trialsome to those who have built on the Rock, as well as to those who have built on the Sand. This is true from a number of standpoints. In the first place, with Parousia purposes and methods in mind, which sought to attract and hold all the consecrated, and seeking to make these purposes and methods active in the Epiphany, it is a sore trial to the Faithful, the wise builders, to see some of the brethren so severely handled with the Parousia Truth. It seems to them that the false teachers should be more gently dealt with. This they feel because they do not see the dispensational change in the priestly work, which requires the priests to repel and drive from them those who revolutionize against the Truth and its arrangements once accepted by them, i.e., to lead these rebels as parts of Azazel's Goat from the Door of the Tabernacle to the Gate of the Court and as New Creatures from the Holy to the Court. For a similar reason this course is very trying to those who built on the Sand. This course is also very trying on the crown-lost partisans of the Levite leaders, because it grates hard on their sectarian and servile spirit and pride to see their leaders so unanswerably refuted, and thus proven and pointed out to be false teachers, and themselves proven to be followers of errorists. Again, the reasserted Parousia Truth, as contrasted with their freshly imbibed errors, is a trial to those who superficially and without thorough study swallowed the Parousia Truth, and who are as carelessly swallowing the new errors; for their shallowness makes them not conscious of the fact that their acceptance of the latter implies their rejection of the former, since the former, but dimly at first impressed on their minds, has in the meantime been mostly effaced therefrom, and they only too often think that
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the reasserted Parousia truths are some new invention of the author.
(29) To others the analytical, logical and detailed reassertion of the Parousia Truth is sorely trying, because lacking industry and perseverance, they are unwilling to study hard enough and long enough to gain a proper insight into it, even being too lazy to look up the copious Scriptures quoted in proof. Some are sorely tried by this reasserted Parousia Truth, simply because their leaders deny it, and they trust their leaders. Some are sorely tried by the wealth of types and prophecies expounded in further proof of the Parousia Truth. Some are stumbled at the length of the pertinent articles, because they fail to recognize the many details that the Bible gives on such truths, which details God desires His faithful people to know (Rom. 15:4) as they become due. Many are sorely tried by the unpopularity of The Present Truth, in which mainly such reassertion of the Parousia Truth takes place. The sight of this magazine, as a red object to a bull, is enough to arouse resentment in some. Some are stumbled because the defenders of the Parousia Truth are not "witnessing the Kingdom message to the world," thinking that that is a sure evidence of God's exclusive use of its doers, failing to see that since 1917 this has become the Great Company's work and that since that time God has given the priests the work of dealing with Azazel's Goat. Others are greatly tested, because there are so few who stand four-square for the Parousia Truth, while the bulk of the Lord's people are not so standing. Others are tested by this downpour of the Parousia Truth, because they love, and seek to retain the fellowship of many who reject more or less of such Truth. Then this downpour of the Parousia Truth tests all as to whether they received it in the love of it or for some other reason. Thus we see that the reasserted Parousia Truth as a part of the descending
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rain tests all who built on the Rock or Sand.
(30) Not only has there been a reassertion of the Parousia Truth since our dear Pastor left us, but there has also been an assertion of the newly due Epiphany Truth, which is also implied in our parables under the symbol of descending rain. So far as its literary expression is concerned, this has occurred through the publications of the Epiphany Bible House, and that mainly through The Present Truth. Through the ministry of that Servant the Lord gave as the Parousia Truth those teachings that won and developed the last members of the Little Flock, also those teachings that laid the foundations of those that are now developing the Great Company and Youthful Worthies, and also those that were then due on the justified, Israel and the world. The Epiphany Truth consists of such truths as are needed by the Little Flock to equip her for her Epiphany work, as are needed to furnish the superstructure of Truth required to develop the Great Company and Youthful Worthies, and as are needed to complete the pre-Millennial Truths respecting the justified, Israel and the world, due for God's people to know during the Epiphany. Such Epiphany truths, of course, are new unfoldings since our Pastor left us, and seem to be given by the Lord through the Epiphany messenger in a sense similar to that in which the Parousia Truth was given by the Lord through the Parousia messenger. Neither of these have been the source of these truths, which God alone is. Their highest privilege has been that of servants of God, God's Truth and God's people.
(31) The mere mention of some of these Epiphany truths will suggest the trialsomeness of them to both kinds of builders: The Last Related Acts of Elijah and Elisha; Calls-Siftings-Slaughter Weapons (especially the Sixth Sifting and Slaughter weapon); The Society As Channel; The Church Completely
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Organized; The Time Of Reaping; End Of The Begettal and Sealing; The Epiphany; Azazel's Goat; Gideon—Type and Antitype; Olsonism; P.B.I.ism and other isms; Priests, Levites, Israelites—Typical and Antitypical; Youthful Worthies; The Great Company; The Pyramid; Revolutionism; Judging; That Evil Servant; The Foolish, Unprofitable Shepherd; Types; etc., etc., etc. It is especially so in connection with the Epiphany teachings on the close of the call before our Pastor's death and on the manifestation of the Great Company as a class and of individuals of that class. The Epiphany Truth has been very trialsome, because it shows that consecrators after Sept. 16, 1914, cannot be in the Little Flock, and consecrators, coming into the Truth after Passover, 1916, cannot be of the Little Flock, even if consecrated before Sept. 16, 1914. This has been trialsome to many faithful brethren, because ignorantly they have been offering the high calling to many since that date. It has been trialsome to those who built upon Christ as Sand, partly because their leaders, desiring a following, find that the offer of the high calling attracts numbers to them, and this Truth, proven, disapproves of their getting a following for such a reason. Others of those who built upon Christ as Sand are sorely tested by this teaching, partly because it excludes them from the Little Flock, and partly because they have certain friends whom they want to see in the high calling. But the most testful of all the Epiphany truths to both classes of builders are those that prove that certain ones are manifested as in the Great Company. This has always hurt the Faithful until they became properly instructed; and even thereafter for a while they have felt pain as a result. But more than all others are those who are pointed out as in the Great Company tried by this truth, to evade which they have repudiated many a previously accepted truth, like those on Elijah and Elisha type,
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the present (sacrificial) ministry of the World's High Priest, the Penny Parable, the Pyramid, the chronology, the Youthful Worthies, the Epiphany as a period, Bro. Russell as that Servant, etc. The teaching that the World's High Priest is now leading Azazel's Goat to the Gate, delivering it to the fit man and abandoning it in the wilderness to Azazel, is very trying to those so dealt with and their sympathizers.
(32) The unpopularity of the leader of this work this side of the vail, whose official acts as such require more or less emphasis under present conditions, has been another very testful thing to both those who built on the Rock and on Sand. Such unpopularity is to be expected; for always has the priesthood, especially its leaders, been unpopular among those, apart from themselves, toward whom their ministry has been exercised. Thus our Lord was unpopular with the Jews. The Apostles were unpopular with Jews and Gentiles. In pagan Rome the Faithful, especially their leaders, were exceedingly unpopular with the pagans. In papal Rome the Faithful, especially their leaders, were very unpopular among the "Catholics." How very unpopular with the "Catholics" were the Reformers and their faithful supporters! How unpopular among most Protestants were the later members of the Philadelphia Star! Our dear Pastor's unpopularity with the nominal people of God and the clergy is well known. This principle has not changed with our change of work—its almost exclusive limitation to the Great Company and Youthful Worthies. The Epiphany-enlightened saints are, of course, unpopular with the Great Company, toward whom as outside of their own number their mission largely extends. It, therefore, need not surprise us that the Epiphany messenger has become very unpopular among those outside of the Little Flock toward whom his ministry extends. If he were not unpopular among the Great Company and those Youthful Worthies who
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are associated with them, there would be good reason to fear that his mission is fraudulent. But this very unpopularity is a trial to those of the Faithful who do not yet understand the situation, and even more so toward the measurably faithful, the builders upon Sand. The fact that not many of the readers of the Epiphany Truth are among the great ones of the Truth people is also testful to all.
(33) One of the severest tests of all to both these classes is the Epiphany teaching that manifested Great Company brethren are by the priesthood to be pointed out as such. On this being done, they immediately recall that Servant's Parousia-applying teaching that brethren were not to be pointed out as Great Company members. The error in which they are is that they do not rightly divide the Word of Truth on this subject; for such prohibition is for the Parousia, not the Epiphany. While applicable in the Parousia, it is an error to apply it to the Epiphany. Those who do so fail to remember our Pastor's teaching that in the extreme end of the Age—the Epiphany is such—the Great Company would be manifested as separate and distinct from the Little Flock (Z '11, 22, 234, 349; Z '16, 39, par. 1; 264, par. 1; 1916 Convention Report, page 198, Question 10); and that when this separation would occur, it would be in order to point out these manifested Great Company members as such. They quote 1 Cor. 4:5, "Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts," and interpret it as though it forbade judging "until we are on the throne." But it does not so teach, but teaches that our judging begins with our Lord's return. Our Lord came in 1874 and His Second Advent has three stages of manifestation, and thus three judging stages: (1) the Parousia, when His judgments manifested the Tares and the Second Death class as separate and distinct from
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those who retained the Holy Spirit; (2) the Epiphany, when His judgments manifest the Little Flock and the Great Company as such, separate and distinct from one another; and (3) the Basileia (Kingdom), when His judgments will manifest the Sheep and Goats as separate and distinct from one another. This passage forbids our judging in any of these periods any as belonging to its manifested classes until He has first manifested them in their pertinent classes; but this passage commands us to accept the manifested individuals in their proper class after He has manifested them as such. Hence with propriety during the Parousia we pointed out certain ones as Tares, others as of the Second Death class, not before, but after He had manifested them as such. So now we are warranted in pointing out individuals to be such that as a result of His Epiphany judgments He has manifested as Great Company members. This passage commands such activity on our part, not before, which it forbids, but after He has manifested them. But those who bring over into the Epiphany a principle that applies solely before the Epiphany and make it applicable now, will, of course, be sorely tried by our pertinent teachings and practices on that subject now in the Epiphany.
(34) Thus we have seen that the reasserted Parousia Truth and the newly asserted Epiphany Truth has proven a sore trial to both classes of builders. But while trying them sorely it has affected the faith part of the faith and character structure of the Faithful quite differently from that of the others. This downpour of these two forms of Truth has had no evil effect on the faith part of the Faithfuls' structure. Nor will future downpours of this symbolic rain have such an effect, because having built well into their faith structure the Parousia Truth, this Truth does not antagonize any part of their faith structure. The Epiphany Truth, being harmonious with the Parousia
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Truth, will likewise not antagonize their firmly built Parousia Truth faith structure. Hence the downpour of these Truths, though under the circumstances trialsome, does not illy affect them in their faith structure. These are like a well built and rainproof house whose tile, slate, shingle or tar-paper roof, free of leaks, sheds torrential rains without damage to self.
(35) Far otherwise is the effect of this downpour of the reasserted Parousia, and the newly asserted Epiphany Truth on those who build on Christ as Sand. Their faith structure being composed of a mixture of Truth and error, their hold on the Truth being more or less superficial, resulting in a weak faith structure, their being unable "to see far off," due to their double-mindedness, their love for the Truth being more or less weak, resulting in their faith structure not being regarded as a treasure to be held at all costs, and above all Christ as a Sand foundation, not strengthening, supporting, staying and helping them against Truth-retaining requirements too hard for them to meet, but forsaking and abandoning them, they have not been able and are not able to stand this downpour of Truth. It finds the various weak points in their faith structure and works devastation thereon. How otherwise would they so easily reject the Truth on tentative justification, the Youthful Worthies, the robe of Christ's righteousness, the sacrificing World's High Priest, the time of the Harvest, antitypical Elijah and Elisha, seventy jubilees, Satan's princeship of this world, the wise men, the gospel of the Kingdom, the Lord's great prophecy, that Servant, time of worldwide witness, the channel, twelve Apostles, the outpouring of the Spirit for all flesh, character development, many parables, types and prophecies, the chronology, Daniel, the organization of the Church complete, the Pyramid, the last related acts of Elijah and Elisha, the man of sin, the Epiphany period, etc., etc., etc.? How otherwise would they reject practically the
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whole of the Epiphany Truth, which is grounded on, elaborated from and in harmony with the Parousia Truth? Is there not a state of mind existing, e.g., in Society circles, that stands ready to reject anything of the Parousia Truth, and does it not act out this readiness promptly on the Tower's objecting to any one of the Parousia truths? Brother Wise's statement in Indianapolis in November, 1928, is a splendid illustration of this state of mind, when he told his Society audience there that they did not anymore believe as they used to in the reaping time, yea, five years before, yea, even the last year, and that there was no certainty that they would believe in the following year what they believed that year, and that the only thing on which they were certain was the Ransom!
(36) This devastation of their faith structure is both a group and an individual matter. Hence all groups among the Lord's people, except the Epiphany brethren, reject one or more features of the Parousia truths given through that Servant for the development of the Church. We can see the truthfulness of this remark when we consider the teachings of the Society, the P.B.I., the Olsonites, the B.S.C. (of Britain), the Elijah Voice Society, the Adam-Rutherfordites, the scattered Sturgeonites, the Chomiakites, Zion-Messengerites, etc., etc., etc., as indicated. Even the Kohathites have done this; for without exception they have rejected the Parousia truth that the Christ class, while in the flesh, is the sacrificing World's High Priest, claiming that the World's High Priest first comes into existence after the Church in its entirety passes beyond the vail. In other words, they accept only the glorified priesthood as the World's High Priest. The rejection of this particular feature of the World's High Priest seems to be universal among Levites. At least we know no exceptions to this among them. The Scriptures are plain that unless
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we are a part of the abased and sacrificing World's High Priest, we cannot be a part of the glorified and blessing World's High Priest (Heb. 7:26, 27; 10:9; 13:10-16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:10-12). This rejection is, of course, based on their desire to evade the conclusion that they are now being led to the Gate by the World's High Priest—Head and Body—on this side and the other side of the vail. But the rejection of some feature of the Parousia Truth is not only the act of groups; it is also in many cases an individual act apart from groups, as can be seen from the course of what we might call the Toms, Dicks and Harrys among Truth people arising in repudiation, orally or in writing, of Parousia truths.
(37) This course of these repudiators is the fulfillment of the parable's description of the damage done the house built upon sand, among other things, by the rain. Using the figure of our text, we might say that this house, unlike the other, whether roofed with figurative tile, slate, shingles or tar-paper, has breaks in these that prove to be veritable leaks in the Truth-rain time. Through these leaks the torrential Truth-rain finds its way into the house's attic, where it accumulates in increasing measure on the floor slats and plaster. These become thoroughly soaked, and under the weight of the other accumulating rain water, the plaster bulges downward until, unable to resist the weight, it drops to the floor, ruining the carpet and spoiling the furniture. As the rain continues its waters flow down the walls, spoiling the paper, which more and more soaked, begins to fall off in large strips. As time after time such Truth-rain falls on the house it causes the lumber of the house to become mouldy, and a mouldy scent fills the house, while the lumber rots. Thus the downpour of this symbolic rain causes much devastation to the structure of those who built upon the Sand.
(38) But this is only the first means of the testing.
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Our text speaks of two others; and as we consider these carefully we come to recognize the thoroughness of the test. Under all of these tests the house built upon the Rock stands secure and strong, uninjured, unweakened and untarnished. But not so with the house built upon the Sand. Each successive means of testing it leaves it in a worse condition than the preceding one, until the final one leaves it a total wreck, whose sundered parts, as debris, float on the crest of the flood, pounded by the rain and blown hither and thither by the winds.
(39) The second thing by which both houses were tested is spoken of in our text as the floods—"the floods came." Floods made by rivers or streams overflowing their banks, or by rain covering grassless or near grassless land outside of rivers or streams, consist of a mixture of water and earth, and take on the color of the soil that their waters absorb. Thus floods overflowing black, brown, gray or red earth partake respectively of these colors. We have never seen a flood caused by rivers or streams overflowing their banks or by rain covering grassless or near grassless land outside of rivers or streams to consist of pure, transparent water. The floods spoken of in our text apparently were such as were made in one or the other or both of these ways, and hence their waters were not transparent, but mixed with earth—muddy waters. In Biblical symbols transparent, unmixed water is used to represent the pure Truth in its thirst-satisfying, refreshing and nourishing effects. The Revelator shows this in Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 2, 17, when he speaks of the pure, crystalline Millennial Truth unmixed with error under the symbol of the water of life. Other Scriptures give the same symbolic use of the word (Is. 12:3; 35:7; 41:17, 18; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25; John 3:5; 4:10-15; Eph. 5:26; 2 Pet. 2:17; 1 John 5:6, 8). The Scriptures also speak of the waters of Truth that have been symbolically
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muddied—"fouled"—by the feet of the false shepherds treading in them, i.e., mixing error and Truth as the portion that they have been giving to the Lord's flock (Ezek. 34:18, 19). Thus the Biblical symbols pertinent to our text suggest the thought that the floods of our text represent a mixture of Truth and error. Accordingly, the second tester of the two symbolic, houses—the faith and character structures of crown-retainers and crown-losers—is a mixture of Truth and error. If our understanding of the symbols of the text and the time setting of its fulfillment be correct, we are to understand that now a mixture of Truth and error is testing both the crown-retainers and the crown-losers.
(40) And this certainly is a thing that we now see to be testing them. Satan is too shrewd to give unadulterated and transparent error through any mouthpiece whom he may be using to give his thoughts to the Lord's people; for who would accept what they believe to be entirely erroneous? His hope of successfully seducing from Truth into error is to mix them with one another and make the partial Truth that one may hold a stepping stone toward the error that he seeks to inculcate. This is also one of his methods of spreading error among others than God's real people. Accordingly, we see an immense amount of error being now mixed among the truths that the Lord's people held in the Parousia time. In palming off this mixture Satan is using Levite leaders by pen and word of mouth as his agents. A brief look about us at what is coming through magazines, books, booklets, pamphlets, tracts and leaflets, circulated among the Truth people, and a brief hearing given to what is said in the addresses of many pilgrims, auxiliary pilgrims and elders, and in the conversations of the majority of the Truth people, will convince us that such a symbolic flood is testing all of the New Creatures on earth. E.g., not everything coming in the Tower is Truth or error. There is much of Truth
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there, e.g., what they reprint from our Pastor's writings; but there is much error mixed in with this Truth, especially in the writings of J.F.R., Satan's chief mouthpiece among the Truth people. In his writings there is a Satanic attempt continually made to make the Truth a stepping stone to the error.
(41) We will instance some of these errors appearing in the Society's publications: No tentative justification; consecration at the gate; Christ's merit not deposited at Calvary, but after the ascension; Christ's death on a tree not necessary to satisfy Justice; the Church a part of the High Priest and sharing in the Sin-offering only after her glorification; Egyptian firstborn typing the clergy as such; no Youthful Worthies; antitypical Elijah transubstantiated into antitypical Elisha, both of them typing not classes but works; the seventy jubilee cycles ending in 1925 and many connected errors; confusion on the parables of the penny, the virgins, the pounds, the talents, sheep and goats, the wedding garment, wheat and tares and the robe of righteousness; Satan having had until 1914 the right to rule over the race; confusion on the gospel of the Kingdom and its time setting, on the star of Bethlehem and the wise men, on the point of the sword, on the three parts and the fires of Zech. 13:8, 9, and on the bound ones and prisoners of Is. 61:1; all New Creatures as such die; the faithful Society adherents are the "remnant" and "that Servant"; the "opposition" are the man of sin and that evil servant; the new birth takes place in this life, with no difference between it and the begetting of the Spirit; the Devil built the Pyramid; (two years ago) the Philadelphia Church was from 1874 to 1918, since then has been the Laodicean stage; (now) all seven churches were contemporaneous and from 1879 to 1918; Revelation 4-22 fulfilling and to be fulfilled since 1918; we are not to develop character; Enoch experienced death; confusion on repentance, faith, conversion and consecration;
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our Pastor still directs the Society's work; a 50 years' Harvest; antitypical Elijah's work began in 1874, ending in 1918; the pre-anointing did not occur until between Christ's resurrection and ascension; there were 19 Apostles; time features are no more to receive special attention; the Spirit is now poured out on all flesh; a new dispensational work began for the Little Flock in 1919; Satan was in heaven until 1914; joy began in heaven in 1914 when Satan was cast out; the nominal church was completely rejected since 1918; Jesus came to the temple in 1918; Oct. 29 A.D. to April 33 A.D. parallels Oct. 1914 to April 1918; Mal. 3:1-4 applies to 1918 and onward; Matt. 24:4-14 applies from 1914 on; the earth was not redeemed; impingements against the ransom on at least nine points; God did not foresee Adam's fall; Ancient Worthies return with perfect characters; mankind was not sentenced with Adam; Christ was not a grain of wheat. The above are a selection from a list of 140 errors of J. F. Rutherford coming out in various Society publications and tabulated by us in P '26, 143, 144, with a few others selected from the multitudes coming out since that issue was published. Thus we see that muddy waters, fouled especially by the treadings of that foolish, unprofitable shepherd in the streams of Truth, are coming through the Society's publications among God's flock.
(42) So, too, are some of these flood waters coming through P.B.I. publications: Their books on Revelation insofar as they give our Pastor's interpretations give Truth; but they also give an immense number of interpretations of "foolish virgins," particularly of Adventists, many of which they know our Pastor rejected, and the bulk of which are certainly false, e.g., that which they give on Mohammedanism, which is not referred to at all in Revelation. Their book on Daniel not only rejects practically everything that our Pastor gave in interpreting
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its prophecies, but gives the false interpretations of "foolish virgins," they accepting the datings and events that Satan counterfeited in his misrepresentations of things set forth in Daniel and Revelation. They give the false nominal-church chronology, which makes them unable clearly to explain the 70 weeks of Daniel, the 2300 days of Daniel, the jubilee cycles, the parallel dispensations and the correct times of the Gentiles. Consequently they reject the years 29 A.D. for our Lord's baptism, 33 A.D. for His crucifixion and 1874 for the beginning of the Harvest, they not being sure about its date, but thinking it may have begun in 1893 and may end in 1933. Their alleged Harvest began after the Tower and Vols. I, II and III had appeared—after the sickle had been used for years!!! Their chronological errors make them ignore the Pyramid. Thus they reject practically everything in Vols. II and III and not a few things in Vol. IV. They reject, contrary to Tabernacle Shadows, the present ministry of the World's High Priest, alleging that He functions only in the glorified condition. Their teaching that a corporation is necessary for the management of the Church's general ministry is a denial of the organization of the Church as having been completed by Christ and the Apostles. They deny that the last related acts of Elijah and Elisha were typical. Their claim that that Servant is a class is a denial that Bro. Russell was exclusively such. Their radical group has gotten control of the organization, and not only fellowship with A.E. Williamson in pilgrim and convention work, but some of their pilgrims and elders have accepted his errors on the Sin-offerings, Mediator, Covenants and Ransom, thus going over to the errors of the 1908-1911 sifters, antitypical Korah! We pass by others of their errors, believing the above sufficient proof that these false shepherds have "fouled the waters" for the Lord's sheep.
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(43) And what shall we say of the Olsonites, who have taught factually disproved errors on dates, prophecies and types? Of the Zion-Messengerites, who have done the same? Of the Adam-Rutherfordites, who have done the same? Of the Standfasts, who have done the same? Of the Elijah Voice Society, who have done the same? Of the Eagleites, who have done the same? Errors are appearing in the Berean Bible Student, the Bolgerites' organ. Similar things may be said of other Levite factional leaders. Then, too, individuals are teaching various errors and spreading them among the Lord's people. E.g., Bro. Morton Edgar, who has done such good work on the Pyramid, has allowed himself to use a false inch symbol for certain parts of the Pyramid, i.e., instead of limiting the Pyramid inch to symbolizing a year, he has in certain parts of the Pyramid connected the Pyramid inch with a false chronological month—a 30 days' month, while the Bible in its chronology used the lunar month, which averages about 29½ days—and on this false basis he forecast May 30, 1928, as the date for special trials beginning to come on the Church, whereas they began almost at once after our Pastor's death; and during the severest parts of them Bro. Edgar was preaching the "millions" message, even by letter exhorting us to cease our opposition to J.F.R.'s teaching and likewise preach the "millions" message, and only then became awake to the Society as a false channel when it in 1928 struck his specialty—the Pyramid. Bros. Horace Hollister, Saphore, Crawford and numerous other individuals in the Truth, among whom are the only locally knowns who we call the Toms, Dicks and Harrys, have arisen and taught perverse things to draw disciples after them. Some, not using the printed page, confine themselves to letters and personal conversations whereby they muddy the waters of Truth. Do we not on all sides of us see these mixtures of Truth and
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error coming as floods among the Lord's people? Was there ever a time among the consecrated people of God when so many floods of errors flowed among them? If we look back at the five Harvest siftings, we find that none of them produced one-tenth of the errors mixed with Truth that we now see flowing among the consecrated in such great measure.
(44) Let us not forget what St. Paul says about the source of such errors (Acts 20:30). In this Scripture he tells us that they flow from the ambition of leaders desirous of a following. Most of those who presume by printed page to address the general Church have no right to do so, not having been appointed by the Lord through His special Servant to the office of general elder in the Church, without which office no one has the right to address the general Church. Accordingly, brethren like Bros. Bolger (Berean Bible Student), Adam Rutherford, Henning (Zion's Messenger), Lardent (Gleanings for Truth Seekers), Stahn, Bricker, etc., etc., etc., are usurping power-graspers, who, unauthorized by the Lord, "rush in where angels fear to tread." "My brethren, be not many teachers" (Jas. 3:1). Personally we warned Bros. Bolger, Adam Rutherford, Henning and Stahn against their power-grasping usurpations; but, bent on winning a following, they gave no heed; and as a result they are each now cutting down a tree that the Lord is fashioning into a post for the Epiphany Tabernacle's Court. The fact that so many of the pilgrims have gone into error should have deterred these lesser lights from usurping so dangerous a position; but lacking humility they judge themselves fit for an office to which the Lord never called them, and for which He evidently would not call them. To the fallen heart, to be a somebody is so enchanting a thing that it will impel to almost any course to attain its ambition. Even warnings of the
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danger to themselves and others are not sufficient to restrain such.
(45) And certainly the numerous and rising floods of our day are sorely testing the house built upon the Rock and the house built upon the Sand, and each one in a different way. The guilelessness of the Faithful at first makes them open to the test coming from a mixture of Truth and error. Their trustfulness has the same effect. So does their love. The fact that most of them are not of "the wise" likewise leaves them open to these errors reaching them. Thus they are slow to suspect teachings as false when they come from brethren. But in the end these very qualities are their safeguard from falling. At most they have suffered bewilderment by the mixture of Truth and error that has reached them. They have not been deluded by the sophistries that have come to them in these symbolic flood waters (Matt. 24:24). Having dug deep, far below the surface to the bedrock and thereon laid firmly the foundation of their faith and character structure, no swirling, rushing and beating of the flood waters upon their house can take it away from its foundation, which well supports it. These flood waters may dash their spray and foam upon that house and discolor it, but cannot move it away from its foundation. The Truth that they hold in the love of it secures them from the flood-waves, so that as a house their faith structure is not injured; and the support that it receives from Christ, the Rock, holds this house immovable from its foundation.
(46) Some of these saw through the mixture of Truth and error as soon as it began to make its appearance among the Lord's people. This, of course, kept them free even from the bewilderment that some of their faithful brethren experienced. Others saw through it a little later, and some still later. Some are just coming to see through it, and others have not yet done so; but of this we may be confident: the
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Lord will not allow one of the faithful brethren to be deluded, even if He suffers them temporarily to be bewildered. And when the time is due, each faithful heart, sustained in his faith and character structure in the meantime by the immovable Rock of Ages, will come to see through the situation, and thus be freed from the special trial of this symbolic flood. But as long as the trial is upon him, he has the Lord Jesus as his Rock, as his Sustenance, Support, Stay and Strength. And this keeps him safe and secure in his trial by the flood waters. Here, too, the passage has an indirect application for him: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee" (Is. 43:2). Blessed be the Lord for such assurance and the help that comes therefrom to those who have it (Ps. 91).
(47) But these symbolic floods test also the houses built on the Sand and manifest the faith and character structures built thereon to be quite different from those built upon the Rock; for these are indefensible against the floods beating upon them. The crown-losers' hold on the Truth in most cases never was very strong and well reasoned. In most cases it was lamentably superficial. In some cases it was almost zero. In all cases there were various errors more or less mixed up with the Truth that was received. They did not receive the Truth in such a love of it as would make them give up life rather than lose it or corrupt it with error. There is a more or less absence of the amount of humility, meekness, hunger, honesty and goodness necessary to receive and retain the full Truth. Their "worshiping of angels" made them fail to defend themselves against the specious claims of channels or other erroneous leaders with sufficient strength to present an impenetrable head and heart to their teachings. The inability "to see afar off" made them open to accept plausible, but misleading explanations, whose doctrinal consequences
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they failed to take in. Their undue, deference to leaders, their leaning on channel-crutches, their unsteadfast heads, their wandering hearts and their double minds, all conspire to make them amenable to some frenzy of delusion with damage to their faith structure, to such a degree as ruins it (2 Thes. 2:9-11).
(48) Look at the Society partisans. Among them the flood waters have increasingly come. Doctrinal errors on multitudes of subjects are flowing wildly among them and are beating on their faith structure. Delusions on prophecies are engulfing them. Ethical teachings of vastly erroneous proportions are swirling about them. The swift currents of typical hallucinations beat relentlessly against their house. Look at the P.B.I. partisans. The same conditions on a somewhat smaller scale present themselves among them. On prophetic matters, particularly on large parts of Revelation and on almost all of Daniel, flood waters are washing away at their faith structure. On chronological matters these flood waters are swirling about them in almost damaging effects. Look at the Olsonites. Flood waters of doctrinal, typical and prophetical error are beating upon them, are rolling about them and are overflowing them. Look at the Adam-Rutherfordites. They are surrounded by rising, beating, swirling and tempestuous flood waters on chronological, typical, prophetical and pyramidal matters, that are working great havoc among them. The Zion-Messengerites, under the impact of the flood waters of doctrinal, typical and prophetical errors, are being shaken through and through. The Chomiakites are being greatly damaged by flood waters of error in almost every subject of the Parousia Truth. In Germany, Poland and Switzerland many of the P.B.I. adherents, under the leadership of a P.B.I. supporter, Bro. Sadlack, one of the joint authors of a German book entitled, The Desolation of the Sanctuary, which has been translated into English, and which is being distributed by the P.B.I.'s and
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Bolgerites here in America, are denying that Jesus' Second Advent has set in. Their confidence in the chronology was undermined by the P.B.I., who leave the date of the Second Advent uncertain, and the latter having said the A of error on the time of the Second Advent, the Sadlackites are saying the B of error in denying its having set in. This illustrates the danger of going wrong on even one point; and shows the great responsibility of the P.B.I.'s on this subject.
(49) Many individuals are arising and are breaking up some other reservoirs of error, thus increasing these flood waters and the consequent damages wrought thereby. Pride and ambition as a rule are the causes of people imbibing error and spreading it. They get a thoughtlet. Not realizing that Satan injected it into their minds, they turn it about and look at it from many sides, patting themselves on their backs as inventors of deep and wonderful thoughts. The more they think of it, the more the thoughtlet grows in their estimation. Soon they think: "This is too good to keep to ourselves, for that would make no one wonder at the depth of thought in us. We must write a book, a magazine, a booklet, a pamphlet, a tract or a leaflet. This will convince others of what great thinkers we are; and we will have the pleasure of feeling how good it is to be leaders and have a crowd of followers!" This, dear brethren, according to Acts 20:30, is the way false teachers arise, teaching perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. This is the way the bulk of the error that is spreading among God's people has had its start. Satan is ever on the alert to find among crown-losers such as he can inflate with the sense of their imagined greatness and profundity, and thus make them misleaders of their brethren by bringing among them a flood of error. He, after all, is the source of all of these flood waters that are coming among those who built upon the Rock and upon the Sand.
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(50) These flood waters are certainly doing their work of destruction on the house built upon the Sand. As a literal flood beating against a house built upon sand would first wash away the sand foundation and then, rising higher and higher, would lift a frame building up and carry it away; so this symbolic flood of error has created such a condition in the crown-losers who have received more or less of these errors as has made Christ in similar measure forsake them and leave them in the lurch in their time of trial, so that in matters of belief they are thrown upon their own resources and are soon carried away from Christ as wisdom. Thereby they are left to the pitiless surgings of the floods of error. Again, as literal flood waters, rising higher and higher, drive the occupants of the house to the second story and then to the roof; so the floods of error drive these crown-losers further and further away from formerly held truths into more and more error. As literal floods carrying a literal house on their crest will make it sway from side to side, turn it over, whirl it around and toss it hither and thither; so this symbolic flood causes its victims with their house to sway to and fro, turn upside down, whirl around and toss hither and thither until the occupants are almost too dizzy to hold to the house. At times they find themselves above, and at times under the floods of error. And under the pressure of these floods their faith structure creaks and cracks unto its increased weakening. Thus the flood waters of error ruin their faith structure.
(51) We now come to the discussion of our text's symbolic winds, as the third means of testing the two houses of our text. Of course, the winds of our text are not literal ones; for comparatively few of the Lord's people have received any trials from literal winds, while the winds of our text try every house built on the symbolic Rock or Sand. Hence, as in the other two cases, we must look for the Scriptural symbolic
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use of wind and apply that use of the word in our text. In Biblical symbols wind is used to represent war. The wind that Elijah saw (1 Kings 19:11) rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord represents the World War rending the kingdoms and breaking up many of the strong fortresses of the nobility and of capital. In Rev. 7:1 the wind that was prevented temporarily from blowing on the earth, the sea and any tree, represents the same war held in check from damaging society, the lawless masses and great ones, until all God's servants were sealed on their foreheads. The same war as destructive of Britain's ships is set forth by the wind of Ps. 48:7. Among other passages in which the word is used to represent war are the following: 1 Kings 18:45; Ps. 147:18; Is. 32:2; Jer. 51:1; Dan. 2:35; Ezek. 13:11, 13; Eph. 4:14; Rev. 6:13. These passages prove the point.
(52) Some might ask, Was the World War the winds of this parable? We would answer that while undoubtedly the World War was a sore test to many of the Lord's people, it was more than half over before any of the trials symbolized in our text started. Moreover, it was but one, not more than one symbolic wind. Nor did it test all of the Lord's people. Nor was its testing of so crucial a character as the winds of our text. There are other wars to which the winds of our text refer—spiritual wars. They are the wars referred to in many passages. These are not fleshly, but spiritual, one along lines of justice, another along the lines of love, and another along the lines of power (2 Cor. 10:4, 5). These are good wars (1 Tim. 1:18, 19). They require one to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12); to fight against the devil (Eph. 6:12; 1 Pet. 5:8), the flesh (Rom. 7:23; 1 Cor. 9:25-27; Gal. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:11) and the world (John 16:33; 1 John 5:4, 5). They require endurance of hardship (2 Tim. 2:3, 10). They require our having on and using
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the whole armor, if we would be victorious (Eph. 6:12-17). Our Pastor speaks of these as follows: "The battle ground of the Spirit is the minds of the saints." It is these spiritual wars that facts prove to be the symbolic winds of our text. And, beloved, by many an experience each one of us knows these wars, and what it means to share in their battles, sentinelships, marches, maneuvers and privations. These are internal wars, and often go on amid a calm exterior, nobody suspecting the battles that are on in the minds of the saints. And these battles furnish results that undeniably prove whether one is a crown-loser or a crown-retainer.
(53) This test of our text affects mainly our character—that which we developed while building on Christ as righteousness [justice], sanctification [love] and deliverance [power], while the other two tests of the text, the rain and the flood, mainly affect our faith—that which we built upon Christ as wisdom. Accordingly, we see that both parts of the houses are tested—the faith structure and the character structure, but as a rule by different testing agencies. Accordingly, we ought to see character tests amid spiritual battles. These battles are the conflicts that we have in temptation. And as we examine our own hearts and listen to the testimonies of our brethren we learn that there are now hard-fought battles within and without going on. Perhaps in no previous time were there so many temptations abroad in the world as now. The general world spirit is one that comes laden with temptations above that of any other time. The means of self and world gratification on account of the many inventions of our day, the possibilities of travel, abundance of riches and prospects of position, influence, education, pleasure, ease and comfort make such tempting appeals to God's people as never were made before with nearly so great force. Never did sin so greatly abound, nor more subtlety attack the minds of saints
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in allurement. Satan never was busier in seeking to seduce the consecrated from the narrow way. Therefore, he strews temptations thick and fast at the feet of the New Creatures, making them fight hard and constantly, if they would maintain the good fight of faith without falling and wavering.
(54) These battles in temptation strike every phase of character. As our Lord, the Captain of our Salvation, was tempted at every point of character, so is it necessary that we also be so tempted. These temptations strike our strong and weak points of character; and we must fight faithfully, if we would win out. If we have any envy, covetousness, malice, resentment, revengefulness, hypocrisy, cowardice, laziness, vanity, pride or unholy ambition in our hearts, which we do not suppress or destroy by the graces, especially by faith, hope, love and obedience, these temptations will surely bring them to external expression. Only then are we victorious in the trial when we suppress their efforts to control us, and more and more extirpate them from our dispositions; and the Lord allows these temptations to strike us at every one of these points of character, so that it may be determined whether we built upon Christ as the Rock or Sand. And only those who built upon Him as the Rock will have the strength amid these battles to overcome the temptations that as figurative winds beat hard and often on these points of character. And those who built upon the Rock are amid these battles sustained, stayed, supported and strengthened, so that they can beat back the attacks made upon the integrity of their characters and emerge from their wars victorious. Thus amid their battles, strengthened by the Rock, they will stand victoriously the beatings of the symbolic winds against them and come out of the warfare stronger than when they entered it, holding aloft the banner of victory (Cant. 6:10). The Faithful can from many a hard battle give testimony of the reality of this warfare and
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of its outcome. The inner strength of character that they developed during the Parousia time, supplemented by Christ's sustaining grace, enables them to come off more than conquerors in these wars!
(55) But how otherwise is it with those who built the character part of their house upon Christ as Sand? They lack this inner strength of character able to resist in the evil day, not having built character faithfully as they should on Christ, and hence built upon Him in this respect as Sand. In their characters are the disgraces more or less in the ascendency, with the graces too weak to suppress their efforts at control and to destroy them. Hence, the temptations that come to them do not find the strength of their graces sufficient to overcome. Rather, the appeals that the temptations make to their faults stir up the latter to such activity as to bring them into successive stumblings and falls. Hence, some of the crown-losers are living predominantly in the filthiness of the flesh; others are living predominantly in the filthiness of the spirit; and still others are living in more or less of a combination of both. Tempted and falling; tempted and falling; tempted and falling—such is a summary of their experiences, as they are exposed to the beatings of the symbolic winds. Bro. Wise in 1928, while pilgriming in Florida, without realizing what his language betrayed, said at various places in one of his sermons, "Brethren, I do not know myself any more. In former days I was full of the victories of the spirit, but now I find myself continually falling in my temptations.'' He further said, "My experience is not at all unique. Everywhere the brethren confess to the same experience. This has especially been the case since that article came out in the Tower on Covenant or Character Development—Which? Since then all the bars have been let down; and the brethren are running riot in sin." A certain Society sister remarked after that article came out, "How glad I am that I do not have to
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develop character; that all I have to do to attain the Kingdom is to sell books!" The blowing and beating of the winds of our text upon the house built on the Sand accounts for the works of the flesh, the devil and the world among many of the crown-losers—that part of God's people who failed to develop a Christ-like character.
(56) Perhaps some illustrations of the blowing of the winds on various representative leaders among the Truth people might clarify the operation of these symbolic winds on both kinds of builders. In the three British managers the spirit of power-grasping was acted upon in temptations, both in Bro. Russell's absence while alive and in his inactivity when dead. Instead of resisting this temptation in various ways, though in some things acting in opposition to one another, they more or less unitedly sought to gratify it, resulting in their bringing more or less confusion upon one another and upon others. In our relations to them as the Society's special representative, we were tempted not to oppose them, on the ground that we might ruin our work in Britain through their opposition. Then the specious pleas of keeping peace were brought to bear upon us, even though it meant a relaxing of our attention to our duties. Threats of ruining our work were brought to bear upon us. But by God's grace we were enabled to overcome these temptations, and as a result under the Lord and in co-operation with various brethren succeeded in leading all three of these managers with their partisan supporters to the gate. When J.F.R. knew that he had enough votes to elect him president of the Society, he was confronted with the possibility of humbly accepting only the few and unimportant extra privileges of service that the presidency of the Society would give him above the other six directors, or the possibility of plotting and grasping for powers additional to these. In the temptation his desire for pre-eminence proved the greater. He, therefore,
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worked out with their degrading details all the plots necessary to deceive or browbeat others into giving him exclusive managerial and executive power in all the business and other affairs of the Society. Confronted with the offer of being groomed for the presidency of the Society, we immediately set the proposal aside and, preferring J.F.R. in honor, supported him for that office as against ourself, and rejoiced in his election.
(57) When we learned that the Lord had given us the leadership of the priestly work, both as teacher and executive, though we, at the time, mistook the name for the office, in the guilelessness of our heart, believing that he would be as happy for our privilege as we were for his; we told him of it. Confronted with the possibility of being magnanimous or envious, unable to endure a supposed rival, he deliberately, wickedly and deceitfully, before the whole Church, assassinated us whom he claimed to love above all other pilgrims, in order that he might have the pre-eminence. Confronted with the possibility of being subject to the Society's Board, as he should have been, or unlawfully ousting an opposing majority, he chose the latter that he might retain his illy gotten power, even if it meant the division of the Church. Confronted with the possibility of opposing such a usurpation, in the prospect of losing much that was dear to us, or quietly submitting to it as the price of being a great one in the Society, we boldly stood for the right and endured great loss. But out of these trialsome temptations came a transparent manifestation from the Lord, the subsequent events lending confirmation to it, that J.F.R.'s faith and character structure had been built upon Christ as Sand.
(58) As a reward, somewhat later the Lord gave us to see that the separation of 1917 was the separation of antitypical Elijah and Elisha. This was while the so-called opposition put up candidates for the Society
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offices. Menta Sturgeon was its candidate for president. We were no candidate, refusing to consent to be a candidate for a director. During the Jan., 1918, Convention at Pittsburgh, in connection with which the election of the Society officers and directors was held, we told him of our understanding of the separation, supposing he would be happy to know it. Confronted with the choice of being magnanimous or envious at our having been favored by the Lord with this understanding, he, as Mr. Paton showed envy at Bro. Russell because the Lord had favored the latter and not the former with the light on Lev. 16, gave way to the spirit of envy, which carried him to such extremes as alienated from him almost all "the opposition," whereas in the trial we were kept sweet in the love of God, who used us and others to lead him to the gate and fit man. Four of the members of the Fort Pitt Committee, confronted by the possibility of continuing to exercise the very modest powers given that committee or to form a corporation which would give them the powers that the Society directors had, in the temptation succumbed to power-grasping and became manifested as builders on Sand, while we, confronted by the same possibilities, refused to corrupt the organization of the Church, though we knew that it meant further loss and suffering. Confronted by the choice of preaching the advancing Truth on Elijah's and Elisha's last related acts and on that evil servant (which truths they had accepted), or of winning adherents by hushing these subjects, they for popularity's sake chose the latter, and sought to force us to be quiet on those subjects on pain of being out of harmony with (the majority of) the committee. Confronted with the choice of remaining silent on seasonal Truth or lose the favor of that majority, with its attendant losses, we spoke out the Word and suffered the loss, but overcame the temptation.
(59) These few examples will illustrate some of the
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blowings of the winds. Each builder in his own case can study its manifold operation, and therefrom learn its lessons. Upon the house built upon the Rock the winds have no ill effect. They sometimes rattle its doors and windows and even shake it somewhat; but in the end they leave it intact. But not so do they affect the house built on the Sand. We have already seen how the rain had wrought devastation with its ceilings, walls, floors and furniture, and how the floods had partly filled it, removed its Sand foundation and carried it away from its place, swaying it from side to side, swirling it around and around, turning it over and over and tossing it about until it creaked and cracked. This house, so woefully beset and weakened, is finally struck by the winds, whose repeated blasts and blows finally break the house up and dissolve it into debris, which floats scattered over the waves of the flood. The inhabitant finds himself in the water, unmercifully beaten by the rain, waves and winds. Fortunately, he seizes hold of a rafter—some good quality of his—which providentially floats within his reach. To this he clings for dear life. But many a submerging in the water does its repeated turning over give him. As time slowly drags on, he floats aimlessly with the tide, now under, now above the water. His strength approaches exhaustion. He seems not much longer able to cling to the rafter, and as he is slipping off, his feet strike the ground, whence he sees that the land is nearby. Favored by the Lord, and gathering together all his remaining strength, he laboriously makes his way to the shore and his life is saved—with everything else lost! Are we like him or like the one who built on the Rock—which? As the coming of tomorrow is sure, so time and the rain, floods and winds will reveal which.
BEREAN QUESTIONS
(1) Of what does our text consist? What are they called? How many and what interpretations did our Pastor give of them? What thought will harmonize completely
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these three interpretations? What are the likenesses and differences between these parables?
(2) In what sense is the word heareth used in our text? What three meanings does it have in Biblical and current language? What seeming contradiction is solved by using its first and second meaning? What case illustrates its third meaning? How is the second meaning proved to be used here? What is a necessary antecedent to the building process in our text? What kind of a building is not referred to here? Why? What proves the twofold definition of the text's building?
(3) What do the rock and sand represent? How is this proven? What is the first reaction to the thought that the sand represents Christ? Why? How is this impression to be removed? In what respects is Christ represented by the rock and the sand? What do the Scriptures teach on this head? What passages teach it?
(4) How are our text and 1 Cor. 3:9-15 related? How do they present the same general subject. In what three respects do they show different aspects of this subject? How are these differences not to be regarded? How are they to be regarded? What Biblical principle is illustrated by these differences?
(5) Where is no difference brought out in the building process? Where is it brought out? What is the chief difference between the two builders? How do the parables bring this out? What is purposed in this article? What passage will help in realizing this purpose? What two characteristics does this passage have? Of what does it treat? In what way is the passage useful for our purpose? How will we use it?
(6) What is meant by Christ's being made our wisdom? What does teaching mean? What two things are implied in teaching? Why? What does our Lord as our Teacher do to us? In what two ways do the Faithful take Him as Teacher? Who presents Truth and who error to them? What does He give them as tests of Truth? What is the heart of these axioms? How many are these axioms? What are they? How do they manifest error? Truth? How do the Faithful build their faith structure in relation to these axioms? What Scriptures prove these
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axioms? What two things do the Faithful do as a result? What is this in relation to our text?
(7) Wherein do crown-losers fail as to Christ as their wisdom? In what two ways do they do this? What five qualities are antecedent to one's getting the Truth? Which Scriptures prove this? Why do the Faithful get the Truth? Why do the measurably unfaithful fail to get the Truth? What, instead, do they imbibe? What has a blinding effect upon them? What other fault do they commit in this connection? To what extreme have some of them gone? Where? What reasoning is given for such a course? Toward whom even was this fault exercised? How did he treat this course? How has the Society been in this respect? What do such build as to Christ in wisdom?
(8) What are the details of a certain sister's view on this point? What mistake did this sister make? Contrary to whose repeated teachings did she and many others do this? What is such a course in reality? In what two bad things has this resulted? How should our faith structure be as respects our faith helpers? What typical Scripture describes the crown-forfeiting result of this wrong course? What do the 32,000 followers of Gideon type? The fear of the 22,000? Their separation from the 10,000? What do these 10,000 type? The 9,700 and the 300? What is typed by the drinking on the knees? The drinking erect? What are the antitypes of the details of these two postures in drinking? What two results come from these two ways of receiving the Truth?
(9) What is the second way of building on Christ? How is Christ our righteousness? How is this Biblically proved? What are God's, Christ's and faith's part in this? From what two standpoints may justification be viewed? What two classes have Christ as righteousness? What do they not do alike as to Christ as righteousness? What two reasons prove this? What does Christ's righteousness do with us justiceward? How so? What does this imply? What does this prompt the Faithful to do? What is done in case of measurably wilful sin on their part? What different parts in this structure are erected by wisdom and justice? What results from such building?
(10) How do crown-losers build as to Christ as
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righteousness? Before what is no building done? Why not? How did eventual crown-losers act toward righteousness before Spirit-begettal? How do we know this? What follows from this as to the time of building as implied in our text? When do these begin to build on Sand? How are they related in time to one another in such building? What are the steps of such building? In what does this result in character? As to foundation?
(11) What third office as Savior does our Lord exercise toward us? How many functions has this office of His? What is the first of these? How does He perform it in us? How does He consecrate us? How do the crown-retainers and crown-losers comparatively respond to this function of Christ's sanctifying work? How can we prove this? What conclusion follows from this fact? When only can the building of our text begin?
(12) What is our Lord's second function as Sanctifier? How does He perform it? What response to this work do the Faithful make? What two things does this mean? What two effects do these two things have on the heart? What does this manifest of our Lord's part in His second sanctifying function? Of the Faithful's part therein? Amid what contrasted conditions do they do this? What do they do in case of sin therein? What quality will they especially exercise in this connection? What results from this?
(13) How do the crown-losers act in this respect? Why for awhile do they go right in this matter? What results from non-enforcement of this momentum? What differences appear herein among crown-losers? Wherein do they all do alike? What produces this course? In what two things does it result? What kind of a course do they follow? What do they not like? To what does this lead them? What figures illustrate their course? What words describe them? What results therefrom?
(14) What is Christ's third function as Sanctifier? What does this function produce, positively and negatively? What is Christ's relative relation to this double result? What means does He use therefore? What is required in this work from the involved new creatures? What three things must they do in response? Amid what
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conditions? What results from this? What kind of builders does it make them?
(15) What ideal did crown-losers have set before them? What did Christ do toward them in this respect? What varied responses did they temporarily make? What similar response did all of them finally make? In what five things did they fall short? What course made them double-minded? By comparison and contrast with the Faithful, in what did this result for them?
(16) What is Christ's fourth office work toward us in the salvation process? What is meant by His being made to us deliverance? In what two different times does He execute this office? What work of deliverance will He do for us after this life? Why will we not discuss this further here? To what phase of His delivering work will we limit our present discussion? Why? What two features does this phase of His delivering work have? How only does He offer to do this work? Why so?
(17) What will manifest this? With what are these implications associated? What is implied in warfare? Who are the chief and subordinate commanders of the army of evil? How many corps has this army? Of what do the first, second, third and fourth corps consist? Who are the chief and subordinate commanders of the other army? Of how many corps does it consist? Of what do its first, second, third, fourth and fifth corps consist? What are the conditions of their deliverance from their enemies' ambushes, etc.? In what does the fulfillment of these conditions also result?
(18) What is the battle ground of the Spirit? What kind of a warfare is there waged? What results therefrom? What guarantees these results? How are these victories not achieved? How are they gained? How must the sentinels act? What must the soldiers endure? Above what must they rise? What must they maintain? How must they act in reverses? In drilling? In sickness and wounds? Yea, in all things? What results from such a course? What supplies deficiencies therein? What is the eventual result?
(19) How do the crown-losers not wage war? How do they temporarily at first fight? What then sets in? How comparatively as to time? How do they view the
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conditions of the warfare? In what does this result? What couplet do they at times attempt to act out?
(20) In what does this couplet acted out in earthly warfare often result? In heavenly warfare? To what do yielding and flight lead in this warfare? To what do they expose their doers? Why? How does one prove vulnerable in this warfare? What two evils to their doers result from yielding and flight? What are their effects on the other soldiers? What are the near and final consequences of such a course? What negative, and what positive thing happens to such soldiers? If finally delivered from captivity, what does such a soldier not become? How does he build in deliverance?
(21) What has our study covered as to building? The four salvation processes? The classes of builders? What two things were seen throughout the study? By what did the Faithful build on the Rock? By not doing what did the measurably faithful build on the Sand? What makes the difference in the foundation? What does the Faithfuls' doing Christ's teachings make Him to them? What does the measurably unfaithfuls' not doing Christ's teachings make Him to them? How have we built, as to Christ? Have we built on Him as the Rock? Or as Sand?
(22) Of what did the previous portion of this chapter treat? What will we now discuss? In what is the building set forth? In what the testing? Who built on the Rock? On the Sand? What have there been from the beginning of the Age? When did the Great Company as such not begin? When did it begin? How do Rev. 7:14 and 2 Tim. 4:1 prove this? How does the atonement day service type this? How do corroborative Scriptures prove this? What two works belonging to this line of thought occur simultaneously? How does this prove the point under consideration?
(23) How does the Gospel-Age application of the tabernacle prove this? If no Great Company existed until the Epiphany, what related persons did exist during the entire Age? How must they have been regarded by God? What conclusion must from this consideration be drawn? Why for this study must this be kept in mind? What for awhile were all builders? Why? What do these thoughts prove as to the day of testings and of 1 Cor. 3:12, 13?
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What testings preceded these? What did they effect? What does Mal. 3:2, 3 teach on this line of thought? Rev. 7:14? 2 Tim. 4:1? What, then, as respects the classes as such, was the building time of these parables? Their testing time? What in principle, according to the parable, was done with individual crown-retainers and crown-losers throughout the Age? Why was it then done? What conclusions are to be drawn on this line of thought? What proves them? To what view of these parables does the foregoing not apply?
(24) For what did the above study prepare us? By what means is the testing accomplished? How are these means not to be understood? What three reasons prove this? What procedure should be followed to find out what the rain, floods and winds mean? What does rain usually represent in the Bible? How is this proved by Deut. 32:2? What is meant by the small rain on the tender herb? Showers on the grass? How does Ps. 72:6 prove rain to represent Truth? What does its grass represent? What is the teaching of its first clause? Its second clause? What other passages use rain for Truth?
(25) What does the rain of our text symbolize? What things are implied in its falling on both houses? What do facts prove of three things in this respect? What has been done with the Parousia Truth since our Pastor's death? With the Epiphany Truth? Why is the Parousia Truth being reasserted? What are Satan's mouthpieces doing? How do they differ in their attacks? What will happen by the time the 60 Levite groups are formed? What has been done on this line by the Tower? The P.B.I. Herald? The Olsonites? The B.S.C. of Britain? The Adam-Rutherfordites? What have all groups of Levites done with the World's High Priest doctrine? What have individuals done herein?
(26) To what have these attacks led? Who even have taken part in this? What are some examples of this? What have individuals done in this respect? Who especially as to the Pyramid? Wherein has this been mainly done? Why? How has it fulfilled one of its professed missions? Accordingly, what has it been doing? How has it sought to make its expositions, proofs and refutations?
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In what has it succeeded? By whose grace? Of what do and will its contents consists?
(27) How do some think of the author in this connection? What has been and is his attitude on controversy? Whose courses have gradually increased his readiness to enter these controversies? What parallel course of Satan marked the times after the death of the Apostles and that Servant? What effect did the knowledge of this have on the author? What other knowledge animates him? Why does he cry aloud and not spare? How do these things affect him? Who do not fault him? Who for the most part do fault him?
(28) What does such reassertion of the Parousia Truth prove to be? To whom? Why? What is the first reason for this? How do they think the sifters should be dealt with? What occasions them so to feel? What shows that they are illy advised on this subject? Who else are similarly affected? How does this course test the partisanship, servility and pride of some followers of Levite leaders? How does such reasserted Parousia Truth prove testful to swallowers of Truth and error?
(29) What other things in its presentation make it trialsome? Why? How does their leaders' stand affect others? Why? What parts of Scriptural forms of Truth in elaboration of Parousia Truth try others? How does the length of the Truth articles affect some? Why? What in The Present Truth tries some? Why? The absence of what feature of Truth work in the Epiphany people tries some? What two reasons make this trialsome? What attitudes toward the Parousia Truth by the few and the many test others? How is "fellowship" as affected by the downpour of Truth trialsome? How is the spirit of their having received the Parousia Truth tested by this downpour? What has this investigation proved the Parousia Truth to be in these Parables?
(30) What other Truth has been presented, as implied in the parables' rain? In what literature has it been presented? What is the Parousia Truth? The Epiphany Truth? Since when has the latter Truth come out? What similarity is there in the giving of both Truths by their respective messengers? Who is the source of both? What is the highest privilege of their messengers?
(31) What suggests the trialsomeness of the Epiphany
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truths? What are the main ones of these? Which two of these are especially trialsome? What two time features as to consecrators are trialsome? What about this has been trialsome to the Faithful? Why has it been trialsome to the measurably unfaithful leaders? To their followers? What is the most testful feature of the Epiphany Truth? Why so to the Faithful? To the measurably unfaithful? How have they sought to evade its truthfulness? What are the main teachings so denied? How does the teaching as to the Priest's threefold work with Azazel's Goat affect them?
(32) Whose unpopularity makes this Truth trying to both classes? What should such unpopularity not occasion? Why not? What illustrations make this plain? In what change of work has this principle not changed? What follows from this? How does this affect the Epiphany messenger? What would follow, if he were not unpopular? What is this unpopularity to the two kinds of builders? What other thing is herein trialsome?
(33) What Epiphany teaching is one of the sorest tests? What does its presentation occasion? What wrong is thereby done? Why? What is overlooked by this course? What passage in this connection do they misapply? How do they treat it? When did our Lord return? What three stages of manifestation does it have? What manifestations take place in its first stage? Its second stage? Its third stage? What does this passage forbid in each of its stages? Before what? What does it command in each of its stages? After what? What could we therefore properly do after the pertinent manifestation in the Parousia? In the Epiphany? What must result from this procedure to those who apply to the Epiphany the form of prohibition that applies only before the Epiphany manifestations?
(34) What has heretofore been seen? Comparatively, how have these trials affected the two kinds of builders? What kind of an effect did they not have on the Faithful? What kind of an effect will they not have on them? Why not? As to the Parousia Truth? As to the Epiphany Truth? What results therefrom to the Faithful? What illustrates this?
(35) What contrasted effect does the downpour of Truth have? What five conditions make this effect set in?
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What does this Truth find in those who build upon Sand? What proves the presence of these? What are the chief repudiated truths? What Truth do they reject almost entirely? How is it related to the Parousia Truth? What state of mind exists among crown-losers? In what circles especially? How does it act? Whose statement illustrates this state of mind? What was this statement in its particulars, giving each in its turn?
(36) In what capacities does this devastation go on? What results from this among the Truth groups? What group is an exception to this? What proves the truthfulness of this description? Even what class of Levites have experienced this devastation? What truth have the Kohathites without exception repudiated? What is their claim in this connection? What do the Scriptures teach on this subject? What proof texts show this? How do they show it? On what is the rejection of this truth based? Who else beside groups reject various Parousia truths? What kind of brethren often exemplify this? In what ways do they show their Parousia Truth rejections?
(37) What does the course of the repudiators fulfill? In what particular? However roofed, what are in the roofs of the houses built on sand? What do these prove to be? What does the rain do with them? What does it do with the attic's slats and plaster? What effect does this have on the plaster? On the carpet and furniture? What does the rain do with this house's walls and paper? To what does this add? What effects does the repeated rain have on the house's lumber and air? What is a summary of the effects of the symbolic rain?
(38) In order among the testing means how does this rain stand? Of how many others does our text treat? To what conclusion does a careful examination of these tests lead? How does the Rock-foundationed house meet the tests? How does the Sand-foundationed house meet them? What under them is its final condition?
(39) What is the second means of testing the two houses? What kinds of floods are implied in the text? Of what do they consist? What will condition their color? Of what kind of waters do such floods not consist? What does pure, transparent water represent in Biblical symbols? Why? How is this shown in Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 2, 17?
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Quote and explain this symbolic use of water in the other proof passages given in the paragraph under study. Of what other symbolic waters does the Bible treat? Where and how does it so do? What does Ezek. 34:18, 19 suggest as to the flood waters of our text? Specifically, what is the second tester of the two houses? If this understanding is true, what should we expect to see about us?
(40) What do we see in this respect? What is Satan too shrewd to do? Why? On what is his hope of deceiving any of the Lord's people based? Among whom else does he use this method? What do we accordingly see? Whom does Satan use as his agents in such deception and by what methods? What printed and oral means does Satan use herein? What are these doing to all new creatures? What is not the character of all the Tower articles? What is also in them? Especially in whose writings? What attempt is continually made therein?
(41) Read in turn and comment on each one of the many errors cited in this paragraph as coming from J.F. Rutherford's pen. Of what are these errors a selection? What do these prove as to fouled waters?
(42) Through what other channel do fouled waters flow? What erroneous interpretations do they give on Revelation? What special illustration applies here? What erroneous interpretations do they give on Daniel? What false chronology do they give? What does this disable them from doing? What special dates for noted events do they reject? What do they tentatively give as the date of the Harvest's beginning and ending? What disproves this thought? What effect do these errors have on their attitude toward the Pyramid? What books do they reject almost entirely and what one partly? What error on the World's High Priest do they teach? On corporations as to the Church's organization? On the last related acts of Elijah and Elisha? On that Servant? What do these errors prove of the P.B.I. leaders?
(43) On what lines of thought have the Olsonites gone astray? Zion - Messengerites? Adam - Rutherfordites? Standfasts? Elijah Voice Society? Eagleites? Bolgerites? What others have introduced errors among the Truth People? Who else? What prominent brother who has done good work has added to this error? What other
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more or less prominent brethren have advanced error? Even who else has done this? What other means do some use to spread error? Where is this error seen? How is it in comparison with former times? In what, for example?
(44) What does St. Paul say is the source of such errors? Why do most of those who presume to address the general Church have no right to do so? What brothers violate this arrangement? What do they thereby become? Despite what do they continue their usurpations? In what has this resulted? Whose warning example should have deterred them? What lack and what evil in them effected their power-grasping? What even did not restrain them?
(45) What are the floods doing with the two houses? How contrastedly? What qualities open the Faithful to these tests? How does each one do this? What do these qualities ultimately do for them? At most what do these trials effect in them? From what are they delivered? What can the flood waters not do to them? Why not? What can and what cannot these flood waters do to them? Through what and by whom are they sustained?
(46) When did some of these get their deliverance? How in point of time are others delivered? What will the Lord not allow to happen to any of the Faithful? Throughout the trial what will the Faithful experience? What passage applies to his comfort and stay? In what Psalm is his security promised?
(47) What other house is tested by the floods? What difference do they manifest? Why? What are some of the 13 things in the crown-losers responsible for this? What do the floods accordingly do with their house?
(48) Who are prominent examples of those injured by the floods? In what four lines of teachings have they gone wrong? Who furnish other prominent examples of such? On what two special lines of thought do these go wrong? Who form a third set of such? In what three respects have they gone wrong? Who form a fourth group? In what four respects have they gone wrong? Who form a fifth group? In what three respects have they gone wrong? Who form a sixth group? In what respects have they gone wrong? What flood water is rising in Germany, Poland and Switzerland among
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many P.B.I. adherents? Who is letting this flood water loose? Who gave the impetus to this error? How?
(49) Who else is responsible for opening the flood gates of error? What in them makes them amenable for such work? What is the process of their development into error teachers? What Scripture proves this of them? How does it prove this? Who is on the watch for such? What does he do to win them for his purposes? Who ultimately is the source of this flood?
(50) What effect do these flood waters have on the house built on the Sand? In the picture and the thing pictured forth what are the first and second effects of such flood waters? What is the third effect in the picture in the thing pictured? The fourth and fifth effect?
(51) What was the third means of testing the two houses? What kind of winds were they not? Why? What kind must they be? What does wind in the Bible symbolize? How is this shown in 1 Kings 19:11? In Rev. 7:1? In Ps. 48:7? Read and explain this use of the word in the other cited passages.
(52) What were not these symbolic winds? Why not? To what do the text's winds refer? What kind of wars are these? Against whom are they waged? What special two things do they require? How does our Pastor designate them? What proves that these are the wars referred to in our text? What things do we know of them by experience? Under what condition does the warfare often go on? What does it finally manifest?
(53) On what do the winds mainly act as a test? How did we build character? On what do the rain and floods mainly act as tests? How did we build the faith structure? What, accordingly, is tested in this symbolic house? How varyingly? Accordingly, what kind of tests should we expect to see? What are our spiritual battles? What do experience and observation on this head reveal? How do our times compare with others as to temptations? What conditions make them so? What does sin now do? Satan? In what does this result?
(54) On what do these temptations act? Who have had similar experiences? On what kind of qualities do they act? What does this make necessary? What qualities make one prone to temptation? What qualities will
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suppress and destroy evil characteristics? If these do not do these things, what will result? When only will we be victorious? Why does the Lord allow such temptations? Who only will overcome them? What enables them to gain the victory? How will they come out of this warfare? Of what can the Faithful give testimony? What two things enable them to gain the victory?
(55) How do things stand contrastedly with the crown-losers? What do they lack? Why? What are in their characters? In what measure, contrasted with the graces? How do their temptations find them? How do their temptations affect them? In what three conditions do they varyingly live? What is a summary of their experiences? What is Brother Wise's testimony in this connection? On what did he lay the responsibility for pertinent Society conditions? What was the pertinent expression of a certain Society sister? What accounts for the works of the flesh, the devil and the world among crown-losers?
(56) What will help clarify the experiences connected with the symbolic winds? Illustrate this by the experiences of the three British managers. By the Society's special representative who dealt with them. By J.F. Rutherford's seeking extra-charter powers as president. By another brother's attitude toward the presidency.
(57) How did J.F.R. act when a supposed rival as teacher and executive appeared? When tested as to subjection to the Board? How did another act amid the temptations of the resultant conditions? What manifestation was made as to J.F. Rutherford amid these experiences?
(58) How was faithfulness amid the temptations of the separation rewarded? How did this test Menta Sturgeon? In what two respects? Like whom under similar conditions did he act? What was the outcome of the temptation to him and to another? What two trials came to members of the Fort Pitt Committee? What temptations accompanied them? How were they met by the involved persons?
(59) What can each builder do as to these symbolic wars? What near and ultimate effects do the winds have on the Faithful? On the unfaithful? Like to which builder is each of us? What will surely reveal it?