1998 – Volume 9
The Setting of the Vision of Ezekiel’s Temple
The vision of Ezekiel's temple is the most prominent part of his prophecy. It covers the last nine chapters of the book and is the focal point of his entire message. This remarkable book covers a span of 20 years, from the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity (1:1, 2) to the vision of the temple in the fourteenth year after the fall of Jerusalem [...]
The Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamesh
"All the mighty windstorms blew together ... at the same time the rainflood swept over the cult centers ... and the windstorms drovethe mighty boat about on the mighty waters" (Epic of Gilgamesh, Sumerian version, circa 3rd millennium BC). 1, 2 Clay tablets with curious wedge-shaped script emerging into daylight from beneath nearly three millennia of dust electrified the biblical and archeological community in [...]
The TRINITY… Mystery or Confusion?
"There is but One God, the Father." -- 1 Corinthians 8:6 All who consider the issue agree that the doctrine of the Trinity is incomprehensible. Its most ardent proponents suppose this to be a strength -- that as we cannot comprehend the majesty and glory of the infinite Creator, so we cannot fathom his nature and being. Not so. The Creator has explicitly revealed [...]
Views of the Early Church Fathers
"To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and for whom we live; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things; and through whom we live" (1 Corinthians 8:6, KJV and NIV). If Jesus taught and revealed himself to be an uncreated "God the Son" rather than the Son of God, it should have been universally [...]
Trials
It seems to me that God tries or tests not our weaknesses but our strengths, not our weak points but our strong points. Isn1 this reasonable? A teacher does not test his pupils until they have been instructed and have learned their lessons. The higher the education the more difficult the examination. The greater our strengths, the greater our trials along those lines may [...]
Daniel and the Lions
Fear knocked on the door Faith opened it. No one was there Not for a moment did King Darius think of what might happen to Daniel when he signed the decree outlawing the petitioning of any god or man save the king himself never did he suspect his counselors were seeking to entrap him so they might legally accomplish the death of his most [...]
The Great Debate
TRINITARIAN VIEW The doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that God is three separate personalities or three persons. Eash person is God, but each person is distinct from the other persons. Thus Jesus is God and the Father is God, but Jesus is not the Father - they are separate persons. It is a puzzle not to be grasped by the human mind. [...]
Elisha’s Typical Experiences
Following the taking of Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elisha recrossed the Jordan and became involved in a succession of fourteen episodes recorded in 2 Kings 2-10. Since Elijah represented the church taken to glory, and Elisha the Great Company whose experience this side the veil ends soon after, it has been customary among many brethren to suppose Elisha represents the ancient worthies [...]
Jephthah’s Daughter
The story of Jephthah in Judges 11 is quite peculiar. How are we to excuse an army captain who heartlessly offers his daughter in exchange for victory in a war against the Amorites? The account begins in Judges 11, verse 30: “And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, [...]
Samson, a Type of Socialism
Through Pastor Russell, the Lord furnished us with the "keys" of understanding. Using these keys we can understand things which could not be understood 80 to 100 years ago because it was not the due time. In this treatise we will examine the manner of the burning of the tares, the fall of Babylon, and the role of natural Israel. We are to watch [...]
Notice to Subscribers
The Editors of Beauties of the Truth kindly request that all subscribers in North America please send a notice to us indicating your wish to continue receiving this publication. It is a service we are glad to provide, but only to those who wish to have it. Accordingly, please send us a note by mail or email, simply informing us whether you wish to [...]
Matriarch Prophecies
In view of the fact that the Hebrew nation has been known as “the children of Israel,” a closer look should be given to the children of Jacob from which the nation took its name. Since Chapters 29 and 30 of Genesis record the early history of these twelve sons of Jacob, it follows that their history, in some way, corresponds with the history [...]
The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb is a theological conundrum. We cannot use it to prove anything really, nor can we use it to disprove anything. Yet if Jesus' body lay entombed there, how difficult it would be for the disciples to believe in the resurrection. The instances when the disciples witnessed Jesus' power to raise the dead always involved a body being raised. Therefore, for the [...]
The Trial of Faith
The Edomite saint [a classical title for Job] must have looked into birds' nests when he used the comparison, “I said, I shall die in my nest” (Job 29:18). That is what a good many people say. They build each a nest for himself, and not for a summer, but for a life. They say that they shall die in it after many years [...]