1995 – Volume 6
The Memorial Supper – When is it Properly Observed?
Among Bible Student groups, there is general agreement that the celebration of the Lord's Supper should be carried out on an annual basis, as a remembrance of the fulfillment of the Paschal sacrifice. The term “Memorial” Supper has been adopted as a reminder that the primary emphasis of the occasion is to commemorate the death of Christ as the atoning sacrifice on behalf of [...]
This Thing is From Me
“Statements such as this, made by the Lord to his people, should bring home to us with blessed reality the fact that everything which concerns us is of even greater concern to the Lord-that he is just as interested in our personal welfare as we, and eminently more qualified to know what is best for us. This is the reassuring lesson which Jesus gives [...]
Cloak, Books and Parchments (2 Timothy 4:13)
This is what the Apostle Paul requested from Timothy. He wrote, “The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” These were the last days of the apostle. The words imply that these were the only possessions the Apostle Paul had before he was executed. He knew that he would not [...]
Five Smooth Stones (1 Samuel 17:40)
One of the most notorious, heroic events of the Old Testament is the courage and faith of David in the slaying of Goliath. David was a humble lad and the youngest among eight brothers. The Philistines were an ominous foe and it took the strongest and bravest to stand against the enemy. There has been much written about this conquest. There are also two [...]
Contrasting the Two Gardens
When our Lord entered the garden outside of Jerusalem, the Garden called Gethsemane, one's mind is immediately reminded of another garden, the Garden of Eden. The contrasts between the two are most striking, indeed. In Eden, all was delightful and perfect. In Gethsemane, all was dark and foreboding. In Eden, Adam and Eve spoke with an enemy. In Gethsemane, Jesus sought his Father in [...]
An Angel or An Eagle?
“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound” (Revelation 8:13, King James Version) This curious close to the record of the fourth trumpet is rendered differently in [...]
The Three Signs
“And the Lord said to Moses.- When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand.” Exodus 4:21 It is a fact well known that the return of Moses to Egypt represents the return of our Lord Jesus to the surroundings of the earth (1 Thess. 4:17). As Moses returned to Egypt [...]
Seven Kings and Eight Princes
“And this shall be our Protection from Assyria: When he comes into our land, And treads upon our soil, Then we will mise up against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men,- And the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword,- And they shall rescue us from Assyria When he comes into our land, And treads upon our border.” (Micah 5.-5, 6, Smith-Goodspeed, [...]
The Burden of Dumah
“The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Isaiah 21:11, 12 The burden of Dumah comes near the end of a series of “burdens” or “woes” on the nations surrounding Israel. As in [...]
The Philosophy of Atonement
The Apostle Paul is noted as a great logician. In few places is this more exhibited than in the fifth chapter of Romans, specially in verses 16-21. To get the background we will begin this study in verse 12. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have [...]
Where Does the Year Really Begin?
(The following interesting article is reprinted by permission from the b’nai b’rith “Messenger” of April 7,1995. However, please observe some editorial comments at the end.) Somewhere in the long evolution of the Jewish calendar there was a minor hiccough. The Biblical system of counting the months by simple ordinal numbers, first, second, third, etc., changed quite suddenly to Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Tamuz, and so [...]
The Sea of Glass
“Also before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.” (Revelation 4:6, RSV) In the Holy Scriptures the sea often symbolizes the asses, peoples, multitudes and nations. The Bible says that the sea is the gathering of waters (Genesis 1:10). The signification of the waters is given to us in Revelation in this way: “The waters you saw ... [...]
Weights and Years
In the November, 1994 issue of Beauties of the Truth appeared an article titled “Two Secret Numbers.” One suggestion of the article was that the cryptic message of Babylon’s judgment, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,” carried a veiled testimony of the 2,520 years which would pass until Divine Judgment fell on the last of the four world empires. I think that suggestion is correct. The [...]
The Parousia
The promise “I will come again” (John 14:3) has been associated -and rightly so -with the Scriptural foreview of the end of this Age and the winding up of affairs of this world preparatory to the inauguration of the new world order centered in Christ. There still remains some faith in medieval ideas of a twenty-four hour Day of Judgment, the annihilation of the [...]
The Parable of the Vineyard Laborers
Sometimes known as the “Parable of the Penny,” this story of Jesus in Matthew 20:1-16 has been explained in a variety of different ways, but not often is it connected with the incident of the rich young ruler recounted in the previous chapter. The division is at an unfortunate point; the passage from verse 16 of chapter 19, to verse 16 of chapter 20, [...]
Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass
THE PROBLEM It has bothered many, justifiably, that Bible student interpretations of Revelation tend to ignore the above phrase of 1:1 when these interpretations explain the message to Ephesus (2:1-7) with Paul's being its “angel.” Since Revelation was written at the very end of th ' e first century, by that time the Ephesus stage of the church was almost all history, and the [...]
Holy Anointing Oil
“Take... principal spices … pure myrrh 500 shekels ... sweet cinnamon ... 250 shekels sweet calamus 250 shekels ... cassia 500 shekels ... and of oil olive an hin make it an oil of holy anointment” (Exodus 30.-23-25) The precious oil used to anoint both high priests and kings consisted of five ingredients: olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, calamus and cassia. It was neither to [...]
From our Readers
On reading the article “The Parable of the Vineyard Laborers” in the August issue, I was reminded of Pastor Russell's explanation of this parable given in 1914, R5473. Pastor Russell pointed out the “penny” wage for vineyard labor could hardly signify “the prize of eternal association with the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of the kingdom” as the previous article suggests - but [...]
Articles for Beauties
Articles for this journal are reviewed by each of the editors for clarity and value according to the mission printed with the banner of each issue. We look for helpful critique from each author and substantive recommendations for change are reviewed with the author. We also look for approval of at least four of the six editors before using an article in these pages. [...]