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SEPARATIONS of THE HARVEST
Stenographic Report of an Address by
Brother R. O. Hadley
Delivered at the Vancouver B. C..
STAND FAST BIBLE STUDENTS CONVENTION
December 30, 1918
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Quite a timely subject in line with our day
subject—Separation Day. In 1914, Pastor Russell set before us the example as the
Lord's great leader, by carrying on the work through conventions to a great extent, and
that makes me think that perhaps this will not be the last. It appears that the Lord is
leading in the line of conventions at this time, and I think among the last things that we
will have will be a convention, and then The Great Convention.
I wondered if I wouldn't have a hard time
tonight to find anything to say after Bro. Livermore and Bro. Heard had been on the scene,
and if it was not for the boundlessness of the Lord's Word and His goodness to us perhaps
I would run short. Bro. Heard and I especially always get along well together. In his very
energetic way, he is somewhat offset by my more mild way. It was suggested something over
a year ago, if they were going out two and two like they used to, it would be a good idea
to send us together. I heard since I came here that Bro. Heard was appointed to go to a
certain class, and some of the dear ones not wholly satisfied with the Stand Fast views,
wrote that Bro. Heard would not come and they would let Bro. Hadley come. "He might
let us down more easily than Bro. Heard." I wondered if their condition would be more
mollified by the smoothness of Bro. Hadley than it would be by the thunder of Bro. Heard.
I rejoice very greatly in the truth and in
all the plans and providences of Jehovah God so far as He reveals them to us from time to
time. I wish to honor His great name and the name of His great Son, our Lord. I wish to do
credit through Divine grace to the great plan that He has set forth, and to follow the
lines laid down by Him through that great servant, Pastor Russell. What a wonderful order
we have in the subjects at this convention; they form for us a lesson themselves,
beginning with Stand Fast Day; today, Separation Day; tomorrow, Loyalty Day, and next, the
Day of Deliverance. I am glad to hold strictly to the subjects; they are more orderly and
appropriate than any I could suggest, so for this reason I speak to you tonight on
"Separations of the Harvest Time."
The purpose of the gospel age is well known
to Bible Students. We used .to think about the world's conversion. the so-called
evangelization of the world. Different thoughts applied to what was to be done in the
gospel age. We now see very clearly that the Divine purpose of the gospel age was
primarily that Jehovah God, under His great Agent, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been
gathering out from the multitudes of earth, the Church. There have been other things done
the light of the gospel has blessed another way and other lessons have been taught, but
this is the primary lesson and the great thing that Jehovah has been doing. Knowing well
the ability of our Heavenly Father to accomplish that which He pleases, and understanding
the time features, the parallels and the chronology of the Bible in general, we believe
that now the great purpose of this gathering is complete. All down through the age from
Pentecost to the present time have been the three classes in the church; two classes of
the church, and one in their midst, -the Kingdom or the Bride class, the great company,
and those that have sinned against their covenant. The thought of the separation of these
classes and the conditions and circumstances of the Church at the present time, are of
paramount importance to each one of us. The reason I say but little concerning the interim
between the harvest periods of the Gospel age and the Jewish age is because that
definitely we know but little about it,—who were the saints at that time. We have
some records left us. We know certain movements, certain leaders, the seven messengers of
the seven periods of the church, but speaking according to the Master's Word, He said,
"Let them both, the wheat and the tares, grow together until the harvest time."
All through the age were both classes of the church, the kingdom class and the great
company; as they each one in turn finished their course, they were marked for the
resurrection according to their development. But now finally in the harvest period, the
identification has been more manifest, and since the end of the harvest, it is still more
manifest. We have come to the place now when we begin to know where the classes are, and
this is of very great importance to us indeed. In the three years' pilgrim service that I
have enjoyed, I could preach to you any sermon that I have used during these years insofar
as doctrine is concerned. I have not changed a particle. Not all of those sermons would be
proper; but every one of them would be just as true as it was then, and it is especially
so in regard to the sermon I preached to you in Vancouver and everywhere, the separations
of the harvest time. I quote to you certain things that I said in that sermon, for I could
not beat it now; the very things that I said to you then have now come to pass. Lest you
should think that I would claim to be the originator of these thoughts, I will say to you
that I copied them from Pastor Russell; you knew it then, and you know it now.
In the harvest period we find in Volume 3
there are to be three separations. First, the wheat from the tares. All of us that are
here now in the Truth were at one time in one or another quarter of Babylon. We did not
know where the wheat was. We had read something about it in the Bible, but we did not
know; we couldn't find the wheat,—we could hardly find ourselves, at least I
couldn't. I was pretty nearly like a brother that I met in the south. One morning as I was
sitting at breakfast, he asked me the question: "Bro. Hadley, describe a tare to
me." I did my best; I told him all I knew about tares, and after I got through he
said, "Well, I always thought that I was a tare." I never was so surprised in my
life; I had no idea that he wanted to apply it to himself. The distinction that divided
between the wheat and the tares, the word of truth that distinguished between the two,—was
a very fine distinction indeed. Up till 1878 we understand that the Lord's word spoken to
the Apostles in the 13th of Matthew's Gospel, continued. The Apostles were listening to
the Master's sermon on the wheat and the tares, and some of them said, -I have always said
it was Peter,-"Master, if there are tares among the wheat, let us go out and root up
the tares"; and the Master said, (Matt. 13:30) "Let both grow together until the
harvest and in time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'gather together first the tares
and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather my wheat into my barn.'" Jehovah
God is the great Fountain Head of truth. He is not and never has been a channel. He is the
great Spring or Fountain Head. Pastor Russell states that the Lord, the Apostles and the
Prophets were the channels through which the truth came from the great Fountain Head. We
add and believe that Pastor Russell was the special channel of the Lord to bring meat in
due season to the household of faith, and certain warnings and blessings to the world so
far as they would receive them. Until 1878 the preaching of the gospel under the figure of
sowing and watering was carried on, but about that time the matter changed,-three and a
half years preparatory service for the harvest,-1874-1878. In 1878 the cry went out from
that great servant of the Lord: "It is time to stop sowing and watering and to reap
the crop." My, what a stir it caused I understand the first thing that Bro. Russell
did was to call together the preachers of Pittsburgh and put before them the new message,
that it was time to stop the ordinary work that had been done of sowing and watering, and
to reap the crop; that it was ripe. Not one of them agreed with it, and so he began
himself and sent out the message to those that would hear. Do you know what made such a
stir against Pastor Russell? It was the kind of work he was doing and not the amount.
Bible students are not great people according to numbers and never have been; we are very
few in number and always have been comparatively. The great Methodist Church and all
branches have over 6,000,000 -all the bible students that have ever been would make a very
small impression on that number,-and yet Bro. Russell caused more stir than anybody else
that ever lived, we might say. I have heard it said,- I never heard him say it,-that
offers were made to him by the clergy many times, if he would just stop the particular
thing he was doing, and join in with them, they would like him well. I remember one
instance of a certain writer who began to describe the kind of work the Pastor was doing,
and before he got through he turned into a rage. He said "Pastor Russell is robbing
our churches' of its best soil." He went on a bit and said "These people that
are following Pastor Russell haven't got much sense anyhow." You have all heard of
the statement at the church door, when you used to put out the tracts, when they were
looking for wheat, and the preacher said, "There is no wheat here." He would not
have known it if there had been.
One other figure occurs in the same chapter.
The gospel age is represented as a time of fishing, and the-harvest time was a sorting of
the fish. Matt. 13:47: "The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a net . . . . when it was
full"-the full number had been completed in 1881-"but cast the bad away."
All at once in 1878, the cry went up from Pastor Russell: "Time to stop fishing now
and go to sorting the fish." What a tremendous remonstrance went up! It was not the
number of fish that was sorted out, that stirred the clergy of the world, but it was the
kind of fish? You couldn't think of it in any other way because in numbers they were few.
You have heard of people fishing out of season. Just think of me, I began in 1896, and
never heard of it till away down in 1914. As soon as I found out the time for separating
the fish had come I joined the band and went to work as best I could. If the sorting out
of the wheat from the tares in this general way took fine discernment, and only the Lord's
word could show the difference between the wheat and the tares, it would take a still
finer thought to know the difference in the two classes in the church, the kingdom class
and the great company. When I came into the truth in August, 1914, they were looking for
the change of the last members in October. Well, October came, and they were not changed.
It did not bother me very much for I was not far enough in the truth, though I was greatly
interested in the possible glorification of the church; but when it didn't come, the next
Sunday as I went to Portland, I met one of the sisters on the train and I said,
"Well, the church was not glorified. What is the next great thing to happen?"
She replied, "Well, I heard them talking at a certain convention in California that
probably the next thing would be the division between the kingdom class and the great
company; and so that is the next thought that took hold of me, and while I think Bro.
Yerex will bear me witness that I did not make any fuss there, I went up looking around to
see if I could tell the difference between the kingdom class and the great company. You
will take into account that I was very new in the truth, and if I would tell you some of
the details of the recent separation, I was not long in finding out something about it,
from looking into the life of those with respect to the doctrine they were teaching. No
one but the Lord could make this separation. So we have believed, and now we are sure that
the time has come when this second separation is taking place, that the kingdom class is
being divided or separated from all others. It is represented in the Tabernacle. The Holy
represents the condition of the kingdom class, those that are to be heirs with the Lord
Jesus Christ. The great company were never in the holy. All who will form the great
company, while they were in the holy were prospective members of the Bride, and only when
they had been dismissed from the race for the prize of the high calling did they become
the great company, and as a class they were never such until the recent division that we
have had. The Holy of the Tabernacle was covered in; the only light in the Holy was that
of the Golden Candlestick. You could see everything in there, but you couldn't see
everything,-only such things as were to be seen. Now, for one to see too much would
indicate that they had gone into the great company, as well as to see too little. Applying
that test, you can see at the present time where many stand. I remember something like 40
years ago, I went to a small show, and there is only one thing I remember about it now.
Certain ones were performing in there by riding an old-fashioned high bicycle. If you had
asked me the next day, I would have known almost every item there, but now at this
distance, I know but very little. So from two standpoints we recognize in a general way
those who were once in the Holy and have gone out, those that see too little and those
that see too much. When they asked Pastor Russell about certain new tracts, he, answered
them: "Brethren, when I wrote Tabernacle Shadows, I put into it all that I
knew." I have looked at that wonderful, well-shaped forehead and have thought that
there was revealed to him by Divine guidance the wonderful message of Studies in the
Scriptures, including Tabernacle Shadows, and after writing it in 1881, he watched it
until 1916, and if he could make no improvement on it, surely I would not attempt to. Let
us then be careful, recognizing that we are standing on holy ground, and if we continue
faithful a little longer, we will get into the kingdom.
We learn also that besides the separation of
the church into the two classes and the general separation of both classes from the tares,
that there is another particular separation,-that of the second death class. I like to
look at it in the way that our Pastor gave it, that in the final separations of the
harvest time, the Elijah class would be separated from all others. As I come directly to
the situation in which we are, it is surely a wonderful one. I do not. know whether you
all feel as I do, but I am quite sure that something of the kind comes to each of your
minds, that we are in a grand and awful time. We believe the last things of the church in
the flesh are being enacted. We heard this morning of the soles of the feet of the priests
standing, and the Brother said that means you at the present time. In the darkest period
in the earth's history, we are walking by faith, one step at a time, and so far, the Lord
has opened the way, and I believe that He will continue. What a wonderful experience,
having broken from everything human and stepped out as individuals, united in heart and
purpose, and knowing by the Divine promise of the Lord Jehovah that we are right, we move
on.
It is of great importance to us to look at
the movement the Lord has started, and to understand as much about it as possible. The
light in connection with this movement that we now enjoy seemed to come first in a special
way to these northwest classes. That may be accounted for by the wonderful scripture that
the Apostle gave us (Matt. 24:27):"For as the sun cometh out of the east and shineth
even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." In one of the
pilgrim trips I traveled four hours to the sun-rising, turned my watch on four hours, away
in northeastern Quebec. The comment on that scripture is this: "Even to the extreme
west." The reason my mind was attracted to that was because near the close of the
harvest, the light of the Shining Sun that had risen in the east shone in my heart, in the
far west, the land of the setting sun, and you know that it is dark on the Atlantic coast
four hours before it is here, and in some respects probably the last rays of the setting
sun at the close of the harvest are shining upon us here in the north-west. Everything in
human history from the beginning to the present time has come from the east to the west.
The far east was the cradle of the race; the far east was the cradle of our Lord.
Civilization has been "Westward-Ho." The Truth began at the Atlantic, and
seemingly the final end of the great work will be in the land of the west. After this
division of the church into classes came, one of the sisters called my attention to page
264, 1916 Tower. I read it very fully, and then read it to the Portland class, and then I
waited for it to come from Vancouver. Knowing that the Lord was dealing with you here, and
believing that this certain piece expresses the condition. at the present time, I was
looking for this identical expression at this identical time. (Read) Brother Russell says:
"It will be after the smiting of Jordan, after the division of the people by the
message of truth and the mantle of Elijah's power, that the separation of the church into
two classes will take place. Thereafter, the Elijah class, the Little Flock class will be
clearly manifested, separate and distinct from the great company class. The division, be
it remembered, will be caused by the fiery chariot, some very severe trying ordeal which
the elect class will promptly accept and enter into,-the Elisha class holding back from
the persecution, but not drawing back to sin or a repudiation of the Lord. It will be but
a little later on that the whirlwind, probably anarchy, will bring about the change of the
Elijah class. This first part we believe to be taking place right now; and that it will
affect every ecclesia." That is of great importance to us. I believe, and did even
before I received a certain letter from this class, that this was the very thing that was
being enacted now, the division of the church into two classes. First the division brought
primarily by the articles of May and June Towers, 1918, and from that time to this and
from this time on, the separation of the two classes. I felt bad about it at first,—in
fact until after I had resigned from the pilgrim service on the 22nd September, I didn't
see that this was particularly the work of the Lord at this time, to separate the church
into two classes. If there are any of you here that haven't seen this, I emphasize it to
you, that Pastor Russell states that at this particular time the Lord's work would cause
the church to be separated; and as soon as I found that it was His will and His work to
separate the church, then I was glad to co-operate with Him. This is a sweeping statement
here: "We believe that it will affect every ecclesia,"-and I am certain that it
will. We might ask them then what will be the magnitude of the work of the Stand Fast
Bible Students. I do not just know. We are being led one step at a time I know this: These
three conventions have been wonderful. We believe it is the time of the glorification of
the church in the flesh, the honoring of the church in the flesh. I do not know how long
it will continue, or how far it will go, but it will be wonderful while it lasts. The
harvest is ended, the door closed, the saints sealed, and the demons loosed, and the
evidence of these great events and conditions are increasing around us every day. What we
could accept at first only by faith is now more clear and open to our sight, and we
believe that ere long the Lord Himself will demonstrate who are His, placing a difference
between him that serveth Him with a pure heart, and him that does not, and probably the
demonstration has already begun. That it will affect every ecclesia there can be no doubt.
On page 54, 1918 Tower, it is stated that the
Watch Tower is the chariot. We believe that this is correct, and that it is now doing the
separating work. We know that the scriptures state that the chariot parted them asunder,
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. We believe in anti-type, what happened to
Elijah in reality, will happen to the Elijah class. Probably, as many of you know, last
Memorial Day I was in Brooklyn, meditating over the fact that the Lord called me there.
Though I did not see and do not yet see anything very wonderful at what happened by my
presence, I have thought that it must be of importance. Probably I was the only
narrow-view pilgrim that was there. For forty years nearly since its organization, the W.
T. B. & T. Society had been the agency through which that great servant had sent out
the truth, and I suppose that the Lord wanted one of his true representatives there at
headquarters to see the last acts that would transpire in the great organization or agency
that had been the means through which the saints of the harvest period had been sealed. On
the 16th January, 1916, I left home in Oregon City, a cold, stormy day, and the 49th day I
landed in Brooklyn and worshipped with them on the 50th day. On the 3rd day of February,
1917, after leaving the Alpha-Omega convention at Victoria, I started again on an eastern
tour. Quite a peculiar thing happened. When I reached Lincoln, Nebraska, my route sheet
was broken there, and in one week I was called from Lincoln to Brooklyn. At the end of 49
days again I landed in Brooklyn and worshipped with them the 50th day, during which time
there was a four-day convention at the Memorial season. Looking back at the conditions and
circumstances, we can see more than we could at the time. I notice the strangeness of the
atmosphere as I look back. The brethren then were in far greater tension than I had ever
seen before. The authorities had pressed them hard for things they believed were sedition.
The soldiers visited the home. 1 was privileged to address their convention. I preached
from Ephesians, 6th Chapter, and used as a text: "Wherefore take unto you the whole
armour of God,"-under two propositions,-first, if you do these things, ye shall never
fall, and if you do not do them, you will fall,-little realizing how great application it
would have concerning the great division that was so soon and even then beginning to take
place. Some have asked me if I saw anything there that would indicate that there was a
change of opinion among the brethren concerning the issues of the present time. Looking
back over the time I can say that there was some, but if these things had not occurred, I
could never have known it to be so. When I visited Brooklyn the first time, Brother
Russell had a custom on Wednesday evening of receiving any of the friends visiting or
local that desired to talk with him. Among others I had a few moments with him. When I
came this second time, Bro. Rutherford was carrying on the same privilege, and I had a
private talk with him right in the same place that I had a talk with the Pastor two years
before, and it may be encouraging to you to know that either the first or second day after
Memorial, Bro. Rutherford advised me very kindly to continue in what we now term, the
narrow view. He was still as he had been, at that time.
After serving points for about a month in
Maryland, in Bro. Ward's home one of the friends said to me: "Bro. McMillan has
come," and they told me where. He was in another room. I went in to visit him, and
among other things he said that he and some others, without naming them, had found that
they were not wise in their narrow course, and now had begun to invest in bonds, etc., and
Bro McMillan said, "I would just as soon preach in uniform as not if I could win more
for the Lord." Note, that the moment this change came, they began to get the idea of
winning somebody to the Lord, and I understand now that still more and more that idea is
coming into their minds. We believe that the Lord's people are already won, for the Lord
said that during the harvest period He would gather together His saints, separating them
from all others, and the chronology as attested by the Pastor, shows that the harvest
closed, and we have all; at least in the past, been agreed that Memorial season, 1918, was
the end of the harvest. From these conditions on, the matter progressed until it came to
the great culmination in May and June, which has effected the separation that we now
enjoy.
Note that the Pastor states that it will be
after the smiting of the waters by the mantle of Elijah's power that the classes will be
separated. As I understand the time features, we came to the River Jordan in this picture
in 1914 and stood there until 1917, then receiving the mantle, Elijah and Elisha
together,-holding to the picture,-smote the waters and passed over and then walked along.
(Read) "And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and
they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry, ground."
(2nd Kings, 2:8). We understand the mantle to be the truth. The mantle was something that
Elijah had with him all the time. The truth has been with us all the time in the six
volumes. In this picture, we believe the 7th volume represents the mantle. When the truth
of the six volumes was wrapped up in compact form with which Elijah and Elisha smote the
waters. (Read 2nd Kings, 2:9, 10, 11). The chariot came along and passed between them.
There are some things that are profitable to know in connection with this. A chariot is a
vehicle to carry a message. We might say that the chariot and the mantle was that which
separated between the two classes, the vehicle and the message. I believe that the
underlying principle of this separation was wrought by the message that the chariot
brought represented in the mantle, or The Finished Mystery. You know how much we heard at
the time, and still we believe it, that those who in heart sincerely accepted and since
have lived by the message that came by the chariot, are the ones that are now standing. A
great many said, "We believe this is the 7th volume, and it is the Lord's message,
and we accept it," but a great many of them since have failed, and this is one of the
reasons why we are separated from those on the other side, because we still accept the
message of all the volumes, and the writings of that great servant, Pastor Russell, while
those on the other side have practically rejected them all. We have not changed but are
still in line with present truth as it has been expressed all through the harvest period,
and I am sure that the Elijah class will continue on to the very end faithful to the
Divine word of Jehovah God and its interpretation by the great Angel of the Laodicean
Church. (Read 12th verse, 2nd Chap. 2nd Kings, to end of 13th verse). Those who are of the
broad view claim that there is a great work to be done. The 7th volume holds out this
thought, and we believe that their preparations may not be altogether unfruitful, but the
Elijah class represented by the prophet, has no further smiting to do after the first
passing over the Jordan. Their meat which will carry them through the one great meal set
forth by the Pastor in these years, is sufficient to carry them on to the end. So the
great mistake that they make is to claim that the Elijah class is to do a second smiting;
and it would seem now that the work left to be done by the feet members might be quite
short, but surely it will be grand and glorious while it lasts. The Chariot passed between
them, the great message of present truth did the dividing, and now they are in two
classes, Elijah waiting for the whirlwind, ready to be glorified when the Lord wills. The
Pastor says the whirlwind will be caused by the coming together of the four winds,
symbolic wind. We understand by Revelation 7:1-3 and other scriptures that this will be
the loosing of the demons, and surely these evidences are, present and probably will be
more and more until it will result in a great whirlwind on the earth. The Pastor said, and
we believe that it is very scriptural indeed, that the winds or demons would first affect
the church, and that then they would go on and affect the whole world and bring on the
condition that would do away with the order of the reign of sin and death, and open up the
way for Messiah's reign of righteousness and glory on the earth. So then we see that the
career of the Elijah class will end in the way that the scriptures state and that Pastor
Russell interpreted to us. Still further, the reasons why we should be separate, and are
separated from the others, not only because of the articles of May and June, but because
there have come other changes: We believe that meat in due season for the house hold of
faith was given by Pastor Russell, and that no one has a right to change what that great
servant wrote. I remember what he said about this himself. In Seattle convention, 1916,
just before he was glorified, some one got out some opposition literature, and the
head-note of it was "Pastor Russell has no Right to Change the Bible." Someone
asked the Pastor if he wanted to read one of them, and he said, "No, but he has a
good start; (referring to above heading); he is right in that, and neither does anybody
else have a right to change the Bible." We believe that is true. In a Colorado class
at one time they put the question, "Is Pastor Russell infallible?" Each one gave
his thought until it came to Brother Sa, a Jap brother, who, the last I saw of him seemed
very fine in the truth indeed,-and he gave the best answer I ever heard: "No, Pastor
Russell is not infallible, but he is pretty near it" You couldn't beat that. He never
claimed to be infallible and we have never claimed it for him, but we do claim that he has
given us the true meat in due season that will get us through into the kingdom if we are
faithful to it. As a pilgrim and servant of the truth for four years I have never tried to
bring new things, but have prayed continually day by day, and year by year, that the Lord
would help me to understand and put forth the truth that is revealed. Oh, how grand and
glorious present truth looked to me after having been in darkness in Babylon for all these
years; when I found the truth, how glad indeed I was, and how much I have appreciated it
since.
Let your minds go to the chart of the ages.
That is a grand lesson for us. You remember where the Little Flock has passed the plane of
spirit-begetting away up toward the plane of spirit-birth, clear from the great company,
and the great company represented by a topless pyramid above the line of spirit-begetting,
is represented under the shaded line. I wondered for a considerable time before I found
out what that meant, but I understand that it means that the great company are still in
Babylon, symbolic Babylon. Don't take that literally to mean only in the nominal church;
whoever is in confusion is in Babylon, whether they are among us or wherever they are. The
Lord's real ones are not in confusion; they have the light. That is a tremendous picture.
I believe the Stand Fast Bible Students are the Elijah class. I believe that the others
are the great company,-I do not wish to judge any farther than I have to as individuals,
but rather as a class. You know what the scripture says regarding those who are in
Babylon? "Wherefore come out from among them." Do we have a message to the great
company? A general message. Probably if we knew who they were, we would have a more
particular message. In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, it does not say to you
who are the wise virgins, that you shall go over and give the oil to the great company.
Every time some new feature comes up and you are directly interested in it, it comes to
you with new force and blessing. (Read Matt. 25:3-8). "They that were foolish took
their lamps . . . . . give us of your oil for our lamps are going out." When they
come and ask you for oil give them the oil as far as you can, or the instructions to get
it. You know what it is,-a tremendous message, isn't it? Listen: "Go to them that
sell and buy for yourselves." The comment is "into the great day of
trouble." The great company are accused of a number of things, lack of zeal,
carelessness, and to a certain extent willful sin, not wholly willful, but willful sin in
the sense that-their robes became spotted, and the Divine justice of Jehovah God states
that they shall go into the great day of trouble. This will be the special message. What
is the message now? A general one, first expressed in the text of the evening,
"Wherefore come out from among them." I believe there is going to be another
separation yet. It will be a good deal like this one. How are we separated from Babylon,
the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society? By coming out from among them. Why did we come
out? Because we believe the Lord no longer is using the W. T. B. & T. Society as a
channel. When the Lord casts off an institution, He never takes it back. After the
churches were cast off, none of them were received back again,, and I think it is a safe
conclusion that the Lord will never again use the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.
The picture I gave you shows that the great company are still in Babylon, and since He is
never going to use any part of Babylon, first or second, the great company will have to
come out also, so I extend to any in a general way that might be yet in Babylon,
"Wherefore come out from among them."
We have another text that I wish to apply in
a general way to those who are in Babylon.. It is now perhaps to a great extent the
message to the great company. It is a pretty severe one but it is in the Lord's Word; I
didn't put it there, and I bring it to you with all the kindness of my heart. At the same
time wishing to be firm and pleasing to the Lord, I show you from the Divine Word why all
must come out of Babylon. Rev. 18:1-5. "And after these things I saw another angel
come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his
glory,"-the Lord Jesus Christ in 1874. (Read to 5th verse). So when all of the Elijah
class is out, and we believe that they are, at least to a great extent, then the message
will come to others that are still in the great company, "Come out of her, my people
. . . . God hath remembered her iniquities." What a picture is this after the close
of the gospel age, the great harvest period. Why again are we separated? The Lord says in
the end of the age that He would send forth His messengers and sever the wicked from among
the just. The separations of the harvest time and of the whole gospel age have been for
the final result of separating those that are righteous from all others, and this is the
work we believe that is now progressing. The gospel age has ended, and with its end the
work belonging to that age passed away, and now we have entered a new age. Since the
over-lapping period of forty years has closed, we are in the Millennial age, and a new
earth is on hand. The Elijah class is still the general channel of the truth, and their
work; we believe, is the gathering together and unifying and confirming the remaining
members on earth. How long it will take I do not know. How blessed it is I am assured of
by what we have received. I rejoice with you and gladly have entered into this work, and
by His grace will continue until all the work committed to me is done.
May the Lord add His blessing in Jesus' name.
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