| R E S O C O N T O D I S C U S S I O N E |
| gattosilvestro67 |
Inserito il - 29 September 2011 : 20:08:32
messaggio
Per Pellegrino.
La ringrazio di questa domanda, perché mi permette di rispondere ai molti detrattori del fratello Russel, che ignorano completamente la vita di questo nostro caro fratello, cercando in ogni parola in ogni comportamento in ogni sfumatura della vita di quest’uomo di gettare fango su di una persona che essendo morta non è più in grado di difendersi. Come lei giustamente dice il fratello Russell non fu mai un Massone. Come dovremo capire le sue affermazioni “per altro vere” “Noi siamo Massoni, Massoni liberi” ? Il significato del termine Massone è: costruttore. La Massoneria propone ad ogni persona di lavorare su se stesso. Per questo vengono adoperati simboli di lavoro come il compasso, la squadra, filo, piombo, livella, maglietto, scalpello, regolo, cazzuola ecc. sono tutti strumenti che servono per lavorare e costruire. Cosa? Non mi addentrerò nell’applicazione di questi simbolismi nella Massoneria, ma perché il fratello Russell ebbe a paragonarsi ad un “massone libero”. La Bibbia definisce i membri della Chiesa a “pietre viventi”. Esse hanno bisogno di essere levigare smussate tornite attraverso un lavoro su se stessi con l’aiuto dello Spirito Santo, si può arrivare a essere quelle “pietre elette preziose, tanto care e ricercate dal nostro Signore Gesù”, e forgiare un carattere cristiano che ottenga l’approvazione del Padre. Senza questo lavoro attento accurato e costante, non si può ottenere la modificazione del carattere e l’aiuto dello Spirito Santo che è indispensabile in questo trattamento di affinamento. Bene fece Il fratello Russell nel definirsi “un massone libero”, cioè un costruttore del suo carattere a somiglianza delle regole date da Cristo. Nel’’esaminare l’intero testo da cui sono estrapolate queste definizioni, si ha una chiara interpretazione di cosa il fratello volesse dire, ed il motivo della sua “simpatia” per questo “ordine”. Ho postato l’intero articolo anche se in inglese sul Forum, per chi come lei ama la verità delle cose, e per rendere giustizia ad un fratello. Con pace e stima la saluto.
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| 8 U L T I M E R I S P O S T E (Le più nuove sono all' inizio) |
| n/a |
Inserito il - 05 October 2011 : 16:52:24
Veramente lodevole fratello mio il tuo zelo traspare anche da questo! è una cosa che apprezzo molto! Possiamo solo lontanamente immaginare quanto Geova e il nostro Re, Regnante, possa compiacersi!
"Lode a Dio, Lode a Geova Dio. Che è Grande noi lo facciam Saper!!!" |
| vlady |
Inserito il - 04 October 2011 : 07:53:17
Anchio avevo trovato questa traduzione, e credevo che ci vorranno un paio d'ore di controlarla con originale inglese.
Invece e tradotta malissimo, ci sono spariti tante parole e frasi, a tratti illegibile, a volte traduce contrario, e si vede che traduttore non conosce terminologia biblica (traduce ingese priest in 'clero' invece di sacerdote per es.).
Quindi ho dovuto di rifare traduzione a 90 percento. |
| gattosilvestro67 |
Inserito il - 03 October 2011 : 20:20:12
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| gattosilvestro67 |
Inserito il - 03 October 2011 : 20:05:48
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| vlady |
Inserito il - 30 September 2011 : 20:39:18
Sei piu preziosa per me che io per te. Grazie a te per argomento.
Non voglio aggiungere articolo pezzo per pezzo, quindi controlate mio post precedente,domani articolo sara completto. Pace a tutti! |
| gattosilvestro67 |
Inserito il - 30 September 2011 : 16:18:23
Sei un prezioso fratello per me. Grazie. |
| vlady |
Inserito il - 30 September 2011 : 12:35:55
ASSEMBLEA DEL
1913
DISCORSO DEL PASTORE RUSSELL
Soggetto: Il Tempio Dio.
"Il mio argomento per questo pomeriggio cari amici, si puo trovare nelle parole degli Apostoli : "Poiché il Tempio di Dio è santo,il quale tempio siete voi." (1 Cor. 3:17).
Come popolo Cristiano, Studenti Biblici di tutte le confessioni, sembrerebbe abbiamo qualcosa nella nostra fede che è in accordo e armonia con ciascuna confessione sparsi nel mondo.
I nostri amici Presbiteriani parlano di elezione? Noi di più.
I nostri amici Metodisti hanno la dottrina della grazia libera? Noi di più.
I nostri amici Battisti comprendono l'importanza del battesimo in ogni estensione? Noi di più.
I nostri amici di confessione Cristiana e i nostri amici Congregazionisti apprezzano grande privilegio di individualità del governo i nella chiesa? Noi di più.
I nostri amici Massoni comprendono qualcosa riguardo al Tempio, essendo Cavalieri Templari, e cosi via? Noi di più.
I nostri amici della Chiesa Romano Cattolica e della Chiesa d'Inghilterra credono in una chiesa Universale? Noi di più.
In altre parole, sembrerebbe che il messaggio della Parola di Dio sia stato più o meno suddiviso; e che ciascuna confessione preso possesso di una parte della verità; e su questa briciola di verità, ha raccolto molte cose, che pensiamo sia errato.
Ma siamo lieti che abbiano quella piccola parte di verità. Se essi non avessero avuto almeno un po' di verità, non avrebbero avuto neanche minima esistenza. Così chi ha preso una piccola parte di verità, e la riempita di teorie e ha formato una chiesa divisa. Dio non ha mai detto di fare chiese separate. Dio non ha mai detto di fare una chiesa Batista, Presbiteriana, Metodista,ecc. Il Signore intendeva fare una sola Chiesa e voleva che la sola Chiesa non avesse soltanto un piccolo frammento di verità, ma tutta la verità. Noi non cerchiamo dei difetti nei nostri vicini e amici - per niente; poiché ricordiamo di aver avuto molte idee simili e non molto tempo fa; ma, senza cercare difetti in qualcuno siamo lieti che siamo riusciti di vedere in modo più ragionevole armonioso; di abbandonare tutti i credi e gli steccati della chiesa,che cosi a lungo separavano il popolo di Dio; ci siamo ritrovati insieme sulla piattaforma della Bibbia e sulla ogni cosa che è nella Bibbia solo nella Bibbia.
Non siamo molto felici per questo? Non e forse questo che ci ha portato cosi molta benedizione nello studio della Parola di Dio, come gli Studenti Biblici internazionali? Si e, cosi.
Dunque sono lieto di rivolgermi ai delegati qui, specialmente dalle citta di Bay e di includere anche i 35 Stati rappresentati nel raduno. Sono molto lieto di avere questa particolare opportunità di dire una parola su alcune cose in cui siamo d'accordo con i nostri amici Massoni, perché ci parliamo in un edificio dedicato alla Massoneria e anche noi siamo Massoni. Io sono un Massone Libero. Sono un Massone libero ed accettato, - se posso portare la questione alla sua piena estensione, perché questo è ciò che i nostri fratelli Massoni amano dirci, - che sono liberi e Massoni accettati. Questo è il loro stile di presentarsi. Ora io sono un libero ed accettato Massone. Spero che tutti siamo. Ma non siamo seguendo lo stile dei nostri fratelli Massoni. Non abbiamo nessuna lite con loro. Non cerco di dire una parola contro i Liberi Massoni. Infatti, alcuni dei miei molto cari amici sono Massoni; e io posso apprezzare che ci sono certe preziose verità che sono sostenute in parte dai nostri cari amici Massoni. Io a volte parlavo con loro ed essi mi hanno detto: "Come puoi sapere di tutte queste cose? Noi pensavamo che nessuno conoscesse queste cose se non quelli che hanno accesso alla nostra logia pìu alta." Ho detto di aver comunicato con il Grande Maestro Operaio, il Signore stesso e che io ho delle informazioni segrete per mezzo dello Spirito Santo che mi guida secondo a ciò che dice Ia Bibbia, la quale contiene tutta la verita, credo, su ogni soggetto. E quindi, se noi parliamo ai nostri amici Massoni del Tempio e del suo significato, e di essere buoni Massoni, e della Grande Piramide che è importante simbolo che essi usano, e di ciò che significa la Grande Piramide, i nostri amici Massoni si stupiscono. Uno, che era stato Massone per lungo tempo,recentemente comprò dei libri che discutevano della Grande Piramide e li mandò ad un migliaio di Massoni. Li ha pagati lui e li ha spediti a proprie spese. Voleva che i Massoni scoprissero qualcosa della Grande Piramide. Sapeva che erano molto interessati in questo.
Ma questo a pomeriggio non discuteremo della Grande Piramide. Discuteremo, cari amici miei, della libera e accettata Massoneria - della Bibbia di Massoneria. Gli Apostoli Pietro e Paolo sono la nostra autorità, che ci dicono che siamo il Tempio di Dio e che il Tempio di Dio è santo. Cosa Signore intendeva con questo? Intendeva questo: Quel Dio che condannò mondo intero come peccatori, e che dichiarò che non avrebbe fatto amicizia con i peccatori, ha fornito il modo per questi peccatori di ritornare in armonia con Lui. E loro possono ritornare solamente tramite disposizione che Egli Ha fatto con riferimento a questo grande Tempio. Bene, voi dite, dov'è il Tempio per mezzo del quale il mondo può ritornare Dio? Io rispondo, il Tempio che Dio si prefigge non è stato ancora costruito. Deve essere un Gran Tempio, Fratello Russell - con tutti questi secoli passati, L'edificio non è stato ancora costruito?
E' così. Il Grande Maestro Craftsman (Operaio) del nostro Alto Ordine della Libera e Accettata Massoneria, il Signore Gesù Cristo, ha posato le fondamenta di tutto questo; come dice la Bibbia, altre fondamenta nessun uomo non puo mettere tranne quello messo, Gesù Cristo. Egli ha le fondamenta per L'alta ed Accettata Massoneria; e tutto cio che appartiene ad essa. E che cosa sta succedendo dai tempi di Gesù? San Pietro dice che Dio sta selezionando le pietre viventi che devono diventare parte di quel gran Tempio che Egli intende di costruire. Chi sono le pietre viventi e che cosa significa? Voi potete essere una delle pietre viventi, e io posso essere una di loro; San Paolo, San Pietro, San Giovanni, San Giacomo e tutti i santi uomini di Dio, dal inizio sono stati invitati di entrare ed essere pietre viventi in questo grande Tempio che Dio sta erigendo. E questo grande Tempio ebbe la sua figura nei giorni di Salomone. Il Tempio che eresse Salomone era una figura o quadro di questo Tempio piu grande che Dio sta erigendo. Il Tempio che costruì Salomone, aveva le sue caratteristiche particolari. Una caratteristica molto speciale erano le grandi pietre ottenute dal luogo adatto. Fui una volta in quel luogo e vidi io stesso;alcune pietre erano giacenti là, in parte preparate ed apparentemente abbandonate. Ma il Tempio fu costruito con le pietre che erano estratti cosi vicino ad esse. Ma E il Tempio di Salomone, ricordate, aveva delle particolari che anche i costruzioni di oggi ne hanno; vale a dire che ciascuna pietra, quando è numerata, è fatta esattamente per sistemarla nel punto in cui deve essere collocata. E poi è segnata definitivamente per quel posto con dei segni che i costruttori capiscono, che poi quando loro vengono a costruzione, una pietra viene sopra L'altra; e ogni cosa va avanti tranquillamente e ordinatamente e senza nessuna confusione. Fu proprio così con la costruzione di quel [CR360] Tempio, che è la prima costruzione, che conosciamo,della storia del mondo, che fu edificata lungo le linee della nostra massoneria moderna. Quel grande Tempio di Salomone fu costruito e assemblato, e ogni pietra veniva sistemata nel proprio posto, senza rumori di martelli, senza bisogno di cesellare o fare qualcosa del genere e senza una particella fuori posto.
Questo che cosa rappresenta? Rappresenta voi e me; noi siamo le pietre viventi, dice L'Apostolo. E che cosa dire del nostro cesellare, raffinare, imprimere per il nostro posto? Potete vedere voi significato di tutto cio, cari fratelli. Non c'è bisogno che io mi allargo su questo. Le prove e le difficoltà della vita sono i cesellanti che vengono su tutte queste pietre di cui si occupa Dio. La cava e tutto il mondo. Noi siamo portati fuori dal mondo, separati dal mondo, ma siamo anche cesellati nella cava, preparati per la nostra posizione e presi per il nostro proprio posto. E per quanto tempo questo continua? Per 1.800 e piu anni, questo lavoro di cesello e preparazione. Fratello Russell intendi che piu lungo di questo? No cari amici. Non c'erano pietre viventi prima di allora? No, Gesù fu la pietra di fondazione; non c'era nessuna pietra cesellata prima che venisse lui; nessuno poteva essere accettato prima di allora.
Egli fece il grande lavoro di fondare questo grande ordine al quale noi apparteniamo, L'ordine della Libera e Accettata Massoneria. Egli è il Gran Maestro e noi non riconosciamo nessun altro. Possiamo davvero riconoscere gli assistenti nel lavoro; e i soprintendenti in questo, questa o L'altra divisione nella cava, nella costruzione,ecc. Ma c'è L'unico Gran Maestro che ha la supervisione di tutta la materia. Ed è il nostro Signore e tutti voi siete fratelli; uno solo è il vostro Maestro, solo Cristo.
Voi sapete quali esperienze avete avuto durante la separazione dal mondo; e stata una impresa difficile prima di tutto ad estrarre fuori il vostro carattere e di arrivare nel posto dove dovete essere separati dalle circostanze del tempo presente. Sotto alcuni aspetti forse e stato ancora piu difficile, di dover ricevere i cesellamento, colpo dopo colpo, esperienza dopo esperienza, prova dopo prova, affinché siate adattati, modellati e preparati per un posto nel Glorioso Tempio quale sta per essere costruito. Ora anche il processo di pulitura continua. Credo che la pulitura definitiva deve arrivare alla fine. Io spero che abbiate un po di pulitura ora. Sapete che otteniamo la maggiore pulitura uno con l'altro. Voi potrete ripulirmi un po e io ripulisco vuoi per un po; cosi come le Scritture ci presentano la materia; la Sposa prepara se stessa; e un processo di rifinitura. E qui vedo una lezione per noi come per i discepoli del Signore: che, mentre varie dure difficoltà, prove ed esami possono provenire dal mondo, ma questa pulitura finita avverrà tramite il contatto con i fratelli. Tuttavia, se impariamo ad amare i fratelli ed oltrepassare tutti le varie debolezze ed imperfezioni che essi come esseri imperfetti possono far pesare su di noi ( come anche quel che noi facciamo puo pesare su di loro), e se noi ci abbiamo esercitato correttamente strofinandoci uno con altro, noi riusciremo di superare la pulitura, quale il Signore ha descritto, ricordate, come fruttamento di Spirito Santo, dicendo che frutti dello Spirito sono manifesti, e che sono: mansuetudine, dolcezza, la pazienza, la lunga sopportazione, gentilezza fraterna e amore. E se queste cose sono in voi e abbondano in voi - lucidando voi - non sarete mai né sterili, né infruttiferi nella conoscenza del Signore. E così ingresso nel Regno eterno del nostro Signore e nel Salvatore,Gesù Cristo, sara servito a voi abbondantemente.
Bene, cosa dite del Tempio, Fratello Russell? Ora Il Tempio è in corso di costruzione crediamo. E non è stato in fase di costruzione nel tempo passato? No, semplicemente furono poste le fondamenta, e qui noi pensiamo di avere il quadro reale della Piramide: che le fondamenta furono poste in Cielo, e che fondamento e la pietra angolare, come dice L'Apostolo. Ora tutto questo sembra molto stranno, ma noi dobbiamo ricordare che tutte queste immagini sono innaturali - infatti sono immagini celesti. La pietra angolare, Gesù, fu messa per prima di la; e tutte le pietre devono crescere conformi da Lui. Allora Apostolo dice che io e voi dobbiamo essere costruiti su di Lui, in conformita alle Leggi del nostro Grande Maestro; poiché sapete che il Capo della Piramide è una perfetta piramide in se stessa; e tutte le pietre sotto chiaramente sono in linea con la pietra angolare in alto; e che la pietra angolare è cio che dichiara la Bibbia su Gesù: la principale pietra angolare, le fondamenta di tutto e che noi dobbiamo esseri costruiti dal alto, anziché dal basso. Voi penserete: come può essere? L'Apostolo dice che noi tutti dobbiamo essere mutati, e la gravitazione sara dall'altro lato, trasformati in un momento - in un batter d'occhio, perché la carne e il sangue non possono ereditare il regno. Non potreste mai gravitare in alto senza che abbiate il cambiamento; ma mutati in esseri spirituali come il Signore, sarete costruiti e completati con Lui sul piano celeste, lontano e sopra di angeli, principali, e autorità e sopra ogni nome. Quando sara completato questo Tempio? Secondo nostra compressione, con la fine di questa eta verra la costruzione del Tempio. Esattamente come prima, quando furono pronti tutte le pietre e i materiali per il Tempio di Salomone solo dopo iniziata la sua costruzione; così noi comprendiamo che il nostro Grande Maestro Workman (Operaio), il Capitano della nostra Salvezza, ha preparato queste pietre viventi tutte per quel tempo - sorvegliando alla faccenda secondo strette regole e regolazioni, riguardo la forma, misura, la qualità e ogni cosa - e non prima di quando il numero intero di pietre sarà completato, comincerà la costruzione del Tempio. Che cosa sara la costruzione? La costruzione del Tempio sara quella resurrezione mutamento dalla natura terrestre a quella celeste. Ma, Fratello Russell, forse tutte le pietre erano finite quando Salomone cominciò la sua costruzione? Io rispondo e presumo che tutte fossero praticamente finite, ma non so se L'ultima lucidatura è stata compiuta su tutte le pietre prima del inizio di lavoro. Così presumo, che ora il lavoro di costruzione del Tempio è iniziato. E così dichiarano le Scritture che i morti in Cristo sorgeranno prima, - in anticipo, - e poi in seguito noi, che siamo vivi e rimaniamo, saremo presi su per essere con loro e con il Signore. Così noi, che siamo vivi e rimaniamo, non ancora presi, siamo ancora nel luogo di lucidatura e preparazione; il buon lavoro del Signore continua con noi e ci prepara per il nostro mutamento. Il Tempio non sara completato finché ognuna pietra vivente non sara di là. E allora? La cosa prossima sara questa la quale nostri amici Massoni fanno cosi tanto e facciamo tanto anche noi, e cioè: la glorificazione del Tempio. Questa è una grande cosa nella Massoneria. Loro descrivono come Salomone, il saggio, - il simbolo di Gesù, - ha offerto il sacrificio, e come Dio lo accettato e la gloria del Signore entrata nel Tempio. Proprio cosi, il nostro Tempio, la Chiesa Glorificata, non sara e il Tempio di Dio fin quando Padre Celeste stesso non lo riconoscerà. Sara il lavoro del Signore Gesù a costruire con queste pietre viventi, di modellarle, lucidare, e finalmente trasformarle nelle condizioni gloriose tramite mutamento di resurrezione, e poi quando muteranno tutti, il Tempio sara costruito, nessun altra pietra sara da aggiungere,nessun altra pietra mancherà, poi si attendera per L'azione del Padre. E cosa sara questo? Ce lo dimostrato con illustrazione. La gloria del Signore verra su questo Tempio vivente, di cui noi speriamo di essere pietre viventi al di là della vela - come esseri spirituali. Come ricordate, questo e rappresentato in vari modi. Uno dei modi è nel Salmo 91, dove il Signore Gesù e rappresentato quando introduce la Sposa; e come essa sarà portata, ben abbigliata, alla presenza Re. La classe della Sposa è una illustrazione, la classe del Tempio e un'altra illustrazione, ma da questa illustrazione della Sposa che arriva, abbiamo un pensiero che Gesù per prima deve, come fosse il grande Avvocato della Chiesa, presentarci innocenti e irreprensibili davanti al Padre amorevole. Poi il Padre ci accetterà. Egli ha già accettato queste pietre viventi nel senso che loro hanno ricevuto lo spirito del Signore. Concepimento dallo Spirito Santo, come ci dice L'Apostolo, è la garanzia della nostra eredita;quello che noi ereditiamo è la gloriosa abbondanza del favore e dell'amore del nostro Padre oltre velo. Cio che abbiamo ora è un semplice assaggio di cio, - un piccolo campione. E se l'assaggio è cosi buono, che cosa sara la pienezza, quando saremo fatti come Lui e riempiti con spirito del Padre e con potere divino, per essere da allora e in seguito, per sempre,agenti di Dio, Tempio di Dio per mezzo del quale Egli si manifesterà agli angeli e agli uomini!
Quale sarà L'uso di questo Tempio, dopo che sara completato? E a cosa serve il Tempio? Allora L'uso del Tempio era illustrato durante Periodo della Legge. Doveva essere una casa di preghiera per tutte le nazioni. Questo era in particolare il Tempio di Gerusalemme. Ricordate che aveva diversi cortili. Prima di tutto era il Santissimo e Santo, poi venne la corte in cui potevano venire gli Ebrei, poi venne la corte delle donne, poi la corte dei Gentili e varie divisioni, rappresentanti classi differenti. Così, durante l'Età Millenaria, - e questo era l'illustrazione della Età Millenaria, dopo che il Tempio sarà glorificato, Dio sarà [CR361] nella Chiesa, la potenza divina opererà in essa; e tutte le nazioni si attingeranno presso Dio. E per fare cosi, devono attingere a questo Tempio perché la gloria di Dio sarà in esso. E questo è il nome con cui sarà chiamato: La Giustizia di Geova. Questo deve essere nome della Chiesa. Saremo realmente giusti allora? Oh, si, solo i giusti saranno là. Tutte le nazioni, i pagani e tute le classi, gli Ebrei e i Gentili, verranno al Padre per mezzo di questo al Tempio. Chi sarànno i sacerdoti? E' un altra illustrazione. I sacerdoti in questo nuovo Tempio del futuro sarànno, prima, Gesù, grande Sommo Sacerdote, - Re e Sacerdote insieme, Sacerdote sul Suo trono, secondo l'ordine di Melchisedec. Lui non è ancora sul trono, ma sta aspettando. Dove aspetta? Ebbene, Bibbia dice che aspetta alla destra del Padre. Cosa significa alla destra?Che è il posto di massimo favore, vicino al Padre. Il Padre ha detto: "Siedi alla mia destra fino al giusto tempo che verrà per sottomettere i tuoi nemici." Non è ancora il tempo per questo, aspettate ancora un po. E il tempo dell'attesa è il tempo per preparare quelle pietre viventi per il Tempio. Anche il tempo in cui aspettiamo rappresenta la preparazione del Sacerdozio Reale. Ma noi non siamo ancora Sacerdoti Reali. Ma non disse San Pietro, Voi siete un Sacerdozio Reale? Sì, ma parlava profeticamente. Voi sarete Sacerdozio Reale. C'è ne ancora opportunità, che non lo sarete. Soltanto quelli che saranno dichiarati degni di stare seduti con Lui sul Suo Trono diventeranno Sacerdozio Reale. "Benedetti e santi saranno tutti quelli che faranno parte della prima resurrezione; su questi, la seconda morte non avrà potere." loro saranno divini. Loro saranno sacerdoti per Dio e per Messia e regneranno con Lui mille anni. - "Mille anni di gloria per la terra." Si, mille anni di benedizione del mondo per mezzo di questo grande Tempio che Dio sta preparando. Mille anni, durante quali questi Cavalieri Templari diffonderanno benedizione a tutte le famiglie della terra. Ora non possiamo portare le nostre veste bianche, ma fra breve avremo tutti vestiti bianchi. "Loro cammineranno con Lui vestiti di bianco,poiché sono degni."
agiornato 3.10; continua ancora...
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| gattosilvestro67 |
Inserito il - 29 September 2011 : 20:11:33
Accludo articolo in originale.
The Temple of God
MY TOPIC for this afternoon, dear friends, is found in the
Apostle's words, "For the Temple of God is holy, which temple
ye are." (1 Cor. 3:17.)
As Christian people, Bible Students from all denominations, it
would seem that we have something in our faith that is in
sympathy and harmony with each denomination, the world over.
Do our Presbyterian friends speak of the election? We more. Do
our Methodist friends have the doctrine of free grace? We more.
Do our Baptist friends understand the importance of baptism, to
some extent? We more. Do our friends of the Christian
denomination, and our Congregational friends, appreciate the
great privileges of individuality in church government? We
more. Do our Masonic friends understand something about the
Temple, and being Knights Templars, and so on? We more. Do
our Roman Catholic and Church of England friends believe in a
Universal church? We more.
In other words, it would seem as though the message of God's
Word has been more or less subdivided, and each denomination
has taken hold of a piece of the truth, and around that bit of truth
has gathered a good deal that we think is erroneous. But we are
glad they have that little bit of truth.
If they had not had some truth at least they never would have
had an existence at all. So one has taken a little line of truth, and
encircled it with theories and made a separate church. God never
said they should make a separate church. God never said to
make a Baptist church, or Presbyterian, or Methodist church,
etc.
The Lord intended to make one Church, and he intended that
one Church should have not merely a little scrap of the truth, but
all the truth. We are not finding fault with our neighbors and
friends --not at all; for we remember we had very similar ideas,
and not very long ago; but, without finding any fault with
anybody, we are glad that we are coming to see a more
reasonable and harmonious way, and, abandoning all church
creeds and fences that so long have separated God's people, we
come together upon the platform of the Bible, and everything
that is in the Bible, and the Bible only. Is not that very
happifying to us? Is not that what is bringing us so much
blessing in the study of God's Word, as International Bible
Students? It is.
So I am glad to address delegates especially here from the Bay
cities, and also including some thirty-five states represented in
the excursion party. I am very glad to have this particular
opportunity of saying a word about some of the things in which
we agree with our Masonic friends, because we are speaking in
a building dedicated to Masonry, and we also are Masons. I am
a Free Mason. I am a free and accepted Mason, if I may carry
the matter to its full length, because that is what our Masonic
brethren like to tell us, that they are free and accepted Masons.
That is their style of putting it. Now I am a free and accepted
Mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our
Masonic brethren. We have no quarrel with them. I am not
going to say a word against Free Masons. In fact, some of my
very dear friends are Masons, and I can appreciate that there are
certain very precious truths that are held in part by our Masonic
friends.
I have talked to them at times, and they have said, How do you
know about all of these things? We thought nobody knew
anything about these things except those who had access to our
very highest logic. I said that I had been in conference with the
Great Master Workman, the Lord himself, and I have secret
information through the Holy Spirit and guidance in respect to
what the Bible says, and that contains all the truth, I believe, on
every subject. And so if we talk to our Masonic friends about the
Temple and its meaning, and about being good Masons, and
about the Great Pyramid, which is the very emblem they use,
and what the Great Pyramid signifies, our Masonic friends are
astonished. One who had been a Mason a long time recently
bought a lot of books that had the Great Pyramid discussed, and
sent them to I am sure a thousand Masons. He paid for them and
sent them out at his own expense. He wanted the Masons to see
something about the Great Pyramid. He knew they were greatly
interested in that.
But we are not going to discuss the Great Pyramid this
afternoon. We are going to discuss free and accepted Masonry--
the Bible Masonry, my dear friends. The Apostle Paul and the
Apostle Peter are our authority for saying that we are the
Temple of God, and that the Temple of God is holy. What does
the Lord mean by that? He means this: That God who
condemned the whole world as sinners, and declared he would
have no fellowship with sinners, has provided a way by which
these sinners can come back into harmony with him. And they
can only come back through the arrangement He has made in
respect to this great Temple.
Well, you say, where is the Temple by which the world can
come back to God? I answer, the Temple that God purposes is
not yet built. It must be a Great Temple, Brother Russell--all of
these centuries and the building not built yet? That is so. The
Great Master Craftsman of our High Order of Free and
Accepted Masonry, the Lord Jesus Christ, laid the foundation of
it all; as the Bible says, Other foundation can no man lay than
that which is laid, Jesus Christ. He has the foundation for high
and acceptable masonry, and all that pertains to it. And what has
been going on since Jesus' day?
St. Peter says that God is selecting living stones to be parts of
that great Temple he intends to construct. Who are the living
stones, and what does it mean? You may be one of the living
stones, and I may be one; St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, St. James,
and all the holy people of God from their day down, have been
invited to come in and be living stones in this great Temple
which God is erecting.
And this great Temple had its figure back in Solomon's day. The
Temple which Solomon erected was a figure, or picture, of the
great Temple which God is erecting. The Temple Solomon built
had its peculiarities. One very especial peculiarity was that the
great stones were taken out from right underneath the site. I was
in that quarry once and saw it myself; and some stones were
lying there that had been partly prepared and apparently
abandoned. But the Temple was built of those stones brought
from right near where it was built.
And Solomon's Temple, you remember, had the peculiarity that
our buildings of today have; namely, that each stone when it is
numbered is made exactly to fit the place in which it is to be
located. And then it is marked definitely for that place with
signs which the builders understand, and when they come to the
construction one stone goes upon another, and everything goes
up quietly and orderly, and no confusion about it. Just so it was
in the building of that
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Temple, which is the first building we know of in the world's
history that was built along the lines of our modern masonry.
That great Temple of Solomon's was built and came together,
every stone fitted to its place, and not the sound of a hammer;
they did not need to chisel or do anything of the kind; it was not
a particle out of true.
What does that represent? That represents you and I; we are the
living stones, the Apostle says. And what about our chiseling,
and polishing, and branding, for our places? You can see the
fitness of it, dear brethren. I need not particularly dwell on that.
The trials and difficulties of life are the chiselings that come to
all of these stones that God is dealing with. The quarry is the
world in general. We are taken out of the world, separated from
the world, but we are chiseled in the quarry, made ready for our
positions and then taken to the proper place.
And that has proceeded for how long? For 1,800 and more
years, this work of chiseling and preparation. Brother Russell,
don't you mean longer than that? No, my dear brother. Were
there no living stones before that? No, Jesus was the foundation
stone; there were no stones chiseled out before he came; none
could be accepted before that. He did the great work of founding
this great order to which we belong, the order of Free and
Accepted Masonry.
He is the Grand Master, and we are not to recognize any other.
We may indeed recognize assistants in the work, and
superintendents in this, that or the other division in the quarry,
or in the building, etc., but there is the one Grand Master who
has the supervision of the whole matter. He is our Lord and all
ye are brethren; one is your Master, even Christ.
You know what experiences you have had in the way of
separating you from the world; it was a difficult matter to block
out your character first of all and come to the place where you
would be separated from the other surroundings of the present
time. It was still more difficult perhaps in some respects that you
should receive the chiselings, blow after blow, experience after
experience, trial after trial, in order that you might be fitted and
shaped and prepared for a place in the glorious Temple that is
yet to be constructed.
The polishing process is also going on. The polishing properly
comes last, I presume. I trust you are getting some of the
polishing now. You know we get most of the polishing with
each other. You may polish me a little, and I polish you a little;
as the Scriptures express the matter, the Bride makes herself
ready; it is a polishing process. And here I see a lesson for us as
the Lord's followers: that while various severe difficulties, trials
and tests may come from the world, yet this very finest
polishing of all will come when in contact with the brethren.
Therefore, if we learn to love the brethren, and to put up with all
the various weaknesses and imperfections that they as imperfect
beings may bring to bear on us (and that we bring to bear on
them), and if we are rightly exercised by these rubbings
together, we get on finally the polishing, the polishing that the
Lord describes, you remember, as the fruitage of the Holy Spirit,
saying, the fruits of the Spirit are manifest, which are these:
meekness, gentleness, patience, long suffering, brotherlykindness,
love. And if these things be in you and abound--if they
polish you--ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of the Lord. And so it is an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Well, what about the Temple, Brother Russell? The Temple is in
process of construction, we believe, now. And it has not been in
process of construction all down through the age? No, simply
the foundation was laid, and here we think we have the real
picture of the Pyramid: that the foundation was laid in Heaven,
and that is the top stone, as the Apostle says. Now that all seems
very strange, but we must remember that all of these pictures are
unnatural--they are heavenly pictures.
The top stone, Jesus, was first laid there, and all the stones must
be fitted up to Him. So the Apostle says that you and I are to be
built up into Him, into conformity with the laws of that great
Master of ours; for you know the Head of the Pyramid is a
perfect pyramid itself, and all the stones under that simply come
into line with the top stone; and that top stone is what the Bible
declares Jesus is --the chief corner stone, the foundation of all,
and we are being built up instead of being built down. You see
how that can be?
The Apostle says we must all be changed, and the gravitation
will be the other way--changed in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. You
could never gravitate upward unless you had the change; but;
changed into spirit beings like the Lord, you will be built up and
completed with Him on the heavenly plane, far above angels,
principalities and powers and every name that is named. When
will this Temple be completed?
To our understanding, with the end of this age comes the
building of the Temple. Just as they first got ready all the stones
and all materials for Solomon's Temple, and then began the
building of it, so we understand that our great Master Workman,
the Captain of our Salvation, has been getting ready these living
stones all of this time--supervising the matter under strict rules
and regulations as to the shape, size, quality and everything--and
not until the whole number of stones is completed will the
construction of the Temple begin. What will the construction
be? The construction of the Temple will be that resurrection
change from earthly nature to heavenly nature.
But, Brother Russell, all the stones, perhaps, were finished when
Solomon began his building? I answer that I presume they were
all practically finished, but I do not know that the last of the
polishing had been put on all of the stones before some of the
work began. So I am assuming now that the work of
construction of the Temple has begun. And the Scriptures so
intimate when they say that the dead in Christ shall arise first--
beforehand--and then afterward we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up to be with them and with the Lord.
So we who are alive and remain, not yet being caught up, are
still in the place of polishing and preparation; the good work of
the Lord is going on with us, and it is getting us ready for our
change. The Temple will not be completed until every living
stone is there.
And then what? The next thing will be that which our Masonic
friends make so much of, and which we make so much of,
namely: the glorification of the temple. That is a grand thing in
Masonry. They picture how Solomon, the wise--the type of
Jesus--offered the sacrifice, and how God accepted it, and the
glory of the Lord came into the Temple. Just so our Temple, the
Church in glory, will not be the Temple of God until the
Heavenly Father himself shall have recognized it. It will be the
work of the Lord Jesus to build with these living stones, to shape
them, polish them, and finally to translate them to glorious
conditions by the resurrection change, and then, all changed, the
Temple built, not another stone to be added, not a stone lacking,
then it will wait for the Father's action. And what will that be?
Pictorially, he shows us.
The glory of the Lord will come upon this living Temple, of
which we hope to be the living stones beyond the vail--spiritual
beings. This is represented, you remember, in various ways. One
way is in the ninety-first Psalm, where the Lord Jesus is
represented as introducing the Bride, and how she shall be
brought in raiment of fine needle work and gold into the
presence of the King.
The Bride class is one picture, the Temple class another picture,
but from this picture of the Bride coming in we have the thought
that Jesus must first, as it were, as the great Advocate for the
Church, present us blameless and irreprovable before the Father
in love. Then the Father accepts us. He has already accepted
these living stones in the sense that they have received the spirit
of the Lord.
The begetting of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle tells us, is the
earnest of our inheritance; that which we are to inherit is the
glorious fullness of the Father's favor and love beyond the vail.
What we now have is a mere foretaste of it--just a little sample.
And if the foretaste is so good, what will the fullness be, when
we shall be made like Him, and be filled with the Father's spirit
and the divine power, to be thereafter forever God's agency,
God's Temple, through which He will manifest himself to angels
and to men!
What will be the use of this Temple after it is completed? And
what is the Temple for? The use of the Temple was all pictured
back in the Law Dispensation. It was to be a house of prayer for
all nations. That is what the Temple at Jerusalem was
particularly.
You remember it had different courts. First of all was the Most
Holy, and the Holy, then came the court in which the Jews
might come; then came the women's court, then the court of the
Gentiles, and various divisions, representing different classes, as
it were. So during the Millennial age--and this was a picture of
the Millennial age-- after the Temple shall have been glorified,
God will be in
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the Church, the divine power operating in it, and all nations will
begin to draw near to God! and in order to do so they must draw
near to this Temple, because the glory of God will be in her.
And this is the name wherewith she shall be named--The
Righteousness of Jehovah. That is to be the name of the church.
Will we really be righteous, then? Oh, yes, none except those
who are absolutely righteous will be there. All the nations,
heathen and all classes, Jews and Gentiles, will come to the
Father through this Temple.
Who will be the Priests is another picture. The Priests in this
new Temple of the future will be, first, Jesus the great High
Priest --a King and Priest together, a priest upon his throne, after
the order of Melchisedec. He is not on the throne yet; he is
waiting. Where is he waiting? Why, the Bible says he is waiting
at the Father's right hand.
What does it mean by right hand? That is the place of chief
favor, right next to the Father. The Father said, Sit at my right
hand until the right time comes for your foes to be subjected to
you. It is not time yet; just wait awhile. And the time of waiting
is the time for preparing those living stones for the Temple.
The time in which we wait also represents the preparation of the
Royal Priesthood. But we are not Royal Priests yet. Did not St.
Peter say, Ye are a Royal Priesthood? Yes, but he was speaking
prophetically. You are to be a Royal Priesthood. There is still a
chance that you should not be. It is only those who will be
declared worthy to sit with him in his throne that will be the
Royal Priesthood. "Blessed and holy are all those who have part
in the first (chief) resurrection; on such the second death shall
have no power." They will be divine. They shall be priests unto
God and unto Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand
years--"A thousand years, earth's coming glory." Yes, a
thousand years for the blessing of the world through this great
Temple that God is preparing. A thousand years during which
these Knights Templar are to scatter blessings to all the families
of the earth. We may not wear our white feathers now, but we
will have all white raiment by and by. "They shall walk with
Him in white, for they are worthy."
Now the question arises, How can we become members of this
order? Would you like to become one of these Knights Templar
on the heavenly plane. I am not saying anything against the
earthly Knights Templar. You can use your own judgment. You
know I never advise one way or another respecting what things
we shall eat, or drink, or wherewithal we shall be clothed. I
merely advise how we come into harmony with God, according
to the Bible, and each man and woman must use his or her own
judgment respecting the will of God.
If you think it is the will of God you should join the Odd
Fellows, and don't feel you are Odd Fellow enough in becoming
a follower of the Lord, go and join the Odd Fellows. If you feel
that you want to become a member of the Free and Accepted
Order of Masonry, and do not feel free and Masonic enough as a
follower of Christ, God bless you, use your judgment; that is
yours to decide, not mine. But now I am talking about this great
order of masonry of which Jesus is the Grand Master.
This Order is to be entered in a peculiar way. There are certain
conditions,--the low gate, the narrow way, the difficult path.
Although I have never been a Mason, I have heard that in
Masonry they have something which very closely illustrates all
of this. It is in riding the goat, etc. And the Bible calls for the
goat, you know. The Bible tells you that your goat, which you
have to ride more or less every day, is your own flesh. Our
Masonic friends have it down very fine. I do not know where
they got it so well. I have often wondered where they found out
so many of the secrets of our High and Accepted Order of
Masonry. From the time you come in to be a member of the
Royal Priesthood.
A living stone, a member of the craft of Masonry, from the
Lord's standpoint, to be chiseled yourself and to help chisel
others, and help prepare one another for the kingdom, a place in
the Royal Temple,--from that moment on it was necessary for
you to enter by that narrow, difficult way.
Jesus described it, saying, If any man will be my follower --that
means, if any man will be a living stone in the Temple, if any
man will be a member of this High, Free and Accepted
Masonry--let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow
me. And the Masons have another thing, I am told, that
represents it--every stitch of clothing is to be removed, nothing
on at all: "nothing in my hand I bring." That is the way it reads
with us.
The High Order of Masonry does not leave you a single thing
when you enter it. You give up all to the Lord--everything,
yourself included. That is the condition. It is the most stringent
condition known in any secret order in the world.
Do you mean that the Lord's Church is a secret order? Yes,
surely it is. It is the most wonderful secret order the world has
ever known. The mystery of God is not finished yet, the Bible
says--the mystery of God which he has kept secret from the
foundation of the world--will not be finished until the sounding
of the seventh trumpet. The Bible tells us that the Church is the
mystery--the mystery is represented in the Church.
So we may walk through the world, and the world knows us not,
even as it knew Him not. Did the world know the great Mason
when he was here? No. Did the world slay the great Master
Mason? Yes. And Masonry also has its chief Mason slain. It is
the same picture. The Masons are accepting that first Mason that
was slain, because he had the secret.
It is their theory that this first Mason had the secret plans for the
Temple, and that when he was slain more or less of the mystery
connected with the Temple was lost, and that certain features
will not be completed until his resurrection. So the Masons as a
body theoretically declare that they are waiting for the return of
that first Master Mason who lost his life back in Solomon's day
because of the secret of the Temple.
So you and I as under-masons are waiting for the return of our
Master Mason who gave his life on this very account in
connection with this secret of the construction of the Temple,
the Church. So we might find other analogies, but this one of
full consecration is the main thing.
The only way in which one enters this High Order of Divine
Masonry is by the giving up of himself, full self-surrender--and
by riding his goat to death. The goat represents your human
nature. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him; if we
be dead with him, it is the condition on which we shall live with
him.
It is interesting to know something about the degrees of our
Masonry, too. There are some who take merely the initiatory
degree, and never go on unto perfection. The first step, or
degree, is recognition of Jesus as our Savior, and faith in Him.
That will give us a right to go on to higher degrees. Then if we
would become of those who have a right to enter into the secrets
of the Lord, and know about the mysteries that belong to this
High and Accepted Order of Masonry, we must go on to higher
degrees, because those who are in the first degree practically
know very little.
The Apostle tells us that the natural man, the world, receiveth
not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. So then, since the
mysteries of this Order must be spiritually discerned, you see
there are secrets that nobody on earth can find out. More than
that, our Masonic friends have great trouble in keeping their
secrets from leaking out, but God in his great Secret Society has
fixed it so that you can tell all you like about it, and the other
man cannot understand it unless he has the key. Jesus preached
in the world, preached out in public, and thousands heard him,
but very few understood. And you and I might tell the good
tidings of great joy, and the Bible says none of the wicked shall
understand. Why? Because they must belong to this Order
before they have the power, the hearing ear. "Blessed are your
ears, for they hear." "Blessed are your eyes, for they see."
Not everybody has the hearing ear and seeing eye. It is only
those who have come into this divine masonry that have this
spiritual insight, and this spiritual guidance, and may know the
things that are freely given unto us. It is something that is freely
given to one class, and not intended for anybody else.
Why not for everybody? Because God is not dealing with the
world. He will deal with the world after he has built the Temple.
But they will never be priests, or members of the temple. They
will have a great blessing, restitution, human perfection. It will
be grand for the world, but it would not be for them to know all
about the secrets of this masonry God is carrying on; they would
interfere with God's plan; as, for instance, if all the Jews had
understood about our Lord Jesus, if they had understood his
parables and dark sayings, they would not have crucified him.
Then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled? How would God's
plan have been carried out? St. Peter said to some of the Jews, I
wot that in ignorance ye did this and also your elders, for if they
had known they would not have crucified the Prince of Life.
How wise then on God's part to keep a little part secret from the
world and
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not let them know too much. Besides, in proportion as the world
has knowledge in that same proportion it has increased
responsibility.
The more I see of God and His Book, the more I appreciate his
wisdom and love and kindness, not only toward this Royal
Priesthood, this Temple Class, but also toward those who are
ultimately to be blessed of Him through these. So, then, I repeat
what Jesus said about the terms of membership. I do not know if
we are all members of this order or not. You know our order is
so secret we cannot know each other always. Is not that
wonderful? I find that is so with Masons also.
Many Masons shake hands with me and give me what I know is
their grip; they don't know me from a Mason. Something I do
seems to be the same as Masons do, I don't know what it is; but
they often give me all kinds of grips and I give them back, then I
tell them I don't know anything about it except just a few grips
that have come to me naturally.
But the Lord has so arranged this matter that you and I cannot
know who are the approved Masons; He alone knows; He alone
knows how true and loyal we are at heart. We might put on
uniforms and wear feathers--and I think there are many Masons
perhaps that go around and parade who do not come up to all the
high standards of Masonry either, and some of their Masonic
brethren are perhaps ashamed of them. So there are many who
come in and have more or less of an outward appearance of
being Christians and are not such really at heart.
I wonder how many of us here present have taken the first step,
the first degree? I wonder how many have gone on to take the
second and third degrees? I wonder how many have come into
Knighthood--shall I say?--to be Knights Templar? That simply
means to be very honorable in connection with this Temple
service; as, for instance, to be leaders in the Church. That is
getting up to one of the high degrees, to be leaders in the Church
of Christ, to be Knights Templar, to be amongst those who are
special functionaries in any matter pertaining of the interests of
the Temple, and know most about the things of the Temple.
You know that in these orders of Masonry, as they progress
from one step to another, they learn more and more, and there
are Masons in the thirty-second degree that know a great many
things that Masons of the fourteenth or sixteenth plane would
not know. And those on the fourteenth plane know a great deal
more than those down in the third degree. It is a matter of
increased knowledge.
So it is in the Spiritual Temple. The Apostle urges us to come up
higher. He tells us to grow in grace, and grow in knowledge, and
grow in character likeness of our Lord, and become more and
more like the great Chief Commander, the great High Priest of
our profession, the great Templar of all Templars, the one who
died for us and set us an example; who not only redeemed us
and gave us an opportunity to come in and be members of this
higher fraternity, but also set us an example of how we also
should walk.
A Mason will tell you with a great deal of pride, we Masons try
to live up to a high standard. I am sure they do. So I say to you,
dear friends. We of the Free and Accepted Order of Masons of
the Lord Jesus Christ's Commandery have the very highest
standard, and ours is not the cross that is on the head of the
sword, but ours is the cross of Christ, the cross with which we
must be marked day by day. And our marks are not uniforms
and white feathers, but our commander has given us different
kinds of marks if we belong to his high Commandery.
One of the very highest of this order of ours, a thirty-second
degree spiritual Mason I will call him, was St. Paul. St. Paul in
one of his epistles boasted about the kinds of marks he bore. He
said, I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am
one of His. What did he mean? Oh, they were not marks the
world would appreciate! They were marks such as our Savior
had, and such as all the high spiritual Masons must have. Where
were they, Brother Russell?
St. Paul goes on to tell us, as Jesus had the mark of having been
smitten and condemned, and beaten and crucified, those were
his marks of faithfulness to God, to truth and to righteousness.
So St. Paul says, so many times was I shipwrecked, so many
times did I receive thirty-nine lashes over my back, and the salt
then rubbed on to make it smart and leave a scar. And he said, in
this will I glory. These are the marks and the Masonic Fraternity
does not know much about that kind of marks.
It is generally very honorable amongst men, but our Society has
its own marks, and there is one that knows all these marks. If
you receive any marks in his service, he tells you, Faithful is he
who called you who also will do it. What will he do? Oh, he will
give us exceedingly, abundantly more than we could have asked
or thought and all of these light afflictions which are but for a
moment, transitory, shall work out for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. Where? Beyond the vail, in that
Temple which is about to be constructed, in the Royal
Priesthood, that is about to be established, of which Jesus is the
head.
Now, have you taken the first step of humility to acknowledge
your sins? Have you acknowledged you have nothing in your
hand to bring to make you worthy to be accepted of God? Have
you acknowledged that you are trusting in the precious blood of
Jesus? Have you taken these degrees? Have you said, Simply to
Thy cross I cling? Have you taken that degree? Have you gone
on then to say, Lord, I give myself to Thee? And have you
received the initiation into this high degree in which you may be
called a Priest, a saint of God, a member of the Royal
Priesthood? I hope you have.
And are you going on still from grace to grace, from knowledge
to knowledge, from one degree to another degree? Are you
laying aside the things of life that you may more and more
practice or work these things that belong to our order of Free
and Accepted Masonry? It is the grandest Masonry of all. It is
the greatest Temple of all.
All the other Temples, all the other societies, are only shadows
and pictures, or figures, of this one which is the great one of all.
No matter where you may come from, no matter who you may
have been when you came into the lodge of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to be one of this Order, you have a right to the regalia
and all that belongs to the Order. And you are not at liberty to go
back on that which you have attained. There is only one way
that anybody whom the Lord accepts and gives a degree of the
Holy Spirit can go out. And if he is once in, there is only one
way to put him out, and that must be according to the Lord's
arrangements; because there is a secret writing of the names
even in our Order.
Their names are written in Heaven. Everything is kept secret.
Nobody even knows who the members are. What do you mean
by Free and Accepted Masonry? We are free, my dear brethren;
not free to do sin, thank God! we do not wish to do sin. Our very
desire to come into relationship with God means that we do not
love sin, but we are free from it, free from the domination of sin,
free from the fear of death, free from that condition of sin and
death in which we once were by nature when we were children
of wrath even as others.
The shackles have fallen off. If the Son makes you free, then are
ye free indeed. And thus every man made free by the Lord Jesus
Christ, through the merit of his sacrifice, in thus presenting his
body a living sacrifice and being received of God, and inducted
fully into this Masonic Fraternity, into this Masonry of the
highest order, into this Royal Priesthood, happy is his position,
for the spirit of Glory and of God rests on him. And the more he
is laying down his life, the more faithful he is, the more attentive
to the rules of the Order, the more progress he will make, the
higher will be his station; he will rise from stage to stage and
from degree to degree until he shall have the highest rank and be
in the fullest sense in favor with the great Chief Captain of our
Salvation.
The Lord gives another picture of the Temple through the
Apostle Peter. It is a very good thing to have this in view at the
same time. It is one thing to think of the glory and another thing
to think of the present time difficulties. He says to each of us,
Know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit?
Those persons who have received the Holy Spirit are Temples of
the Holy Spirit. It is not the world.
The world by nature knows not God; the world is under
condemnation; the world are called in the Bible, "children of
wrath." God has not begun to deal with them yet nor to give the
blessings He intends for them. He is now only dispensing
blessings that belong to the Church class, to those who come
into this position of receiving the Holy Spirit. Now we have not
received the Holy Spirit in full.
We explained a while ago that the Holy Spirit in full will be
given beyond the vail, when all of these living stones as the
completed Temple will be filled with the Glory of God. That
will be the glorification in full. But there is a sense in which you
received the Holy Spirit when you gave up your will to the Lord,
and the Holy Spirit came into your own heart. And in that sense
of the word this body of yours became a temple. Wherever
God's spirit is, there is a temple. So the Apostle says, Know ye
not that ye are the temple
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of the Holy Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you?
Have you received it, my dear brother? And is it dwelling in
you? I hope you have not grieved it or ignored it, or lived
contrary to this new spirit with which you have been begotten.
The Apostle says, Grieve not the Holy Spirit wherewith you
were sealed unto the day of redemption. From the very time that
stone was taken to be worked upon, from the time it was sealed,
the preparation began. That is, it was marked as one of the
stones of the Temple.
We have received the seal, the mark of the Holy Spirit. Now,
then, the chiseling and polishing goes on. The Apostle says we
have this treasure, the Holy Spirit, in earthen vessels that the
glory may be of God. That is to say, God's Holy Spirit that you
have received constitutes you a temple. It is not a very
satisfactory temple, is it? No, it is not. It is more like a
tabernacle, as the Apostle elsewhere calls it.
What is the difference between a temple and a tabernacle? A
temple is a permanent structure, a tabernacle is a temporary
structure. So the Apostle calls our present condition, in which
the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, a tabernacle condition; it is
not to last forever; it is to be for the present time. If we are
rightly exercised by this power of God in us, and learn the
lessons and have the experiences, then we will be ready for the
Temple conditions.
They are different pictures--blended pictures. The Temple is one
figure and the Tabernacle is another. But the thought is, if the
Holy Spirit dwell in you, that means that you should regard your
bodies very sacredly. The Apostle in that same connection, goes
on to say, What communion hath light with darkness? What
harmony is there between the Temple of God and the Temple of
idols? Or, between the purity that belongs to the Temple of God
and the impurities that belong to the flesh, the world and the
devil? Do you see the wide distinction?
You have been accepted into this high Order of being Temples
of the Living God, and he has placed his Holy Spirit in you, and
now we see that as a Temple of God we should be pure and
clean. We see that this sanctifying power of God extends and
operates through all your powers, in your mind as well as in
your tongue, and in your words, and in your hands, and where
your feet should go. And so one of our hymns says most
beautifully:
Take my life and may it be,
Lord, acceptable to thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift on errands, Lord, for thee;
Take my voice and let it bring
Honor always to my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Moved with messages from thee;
Take my silver and my gold;
Nothing, Lord, would I withhold.
We are all His Temple--the whole Body is the Temple of God--
and here we see finally the threefold picture of the Body of
Christ. We have the Body of Christ first of all in the sense that
we become members of the spiritual company of which Jesus is
the Head. That is the Body of Christ you enter when you make
your consecration. That is one picture of the Body of Christ.
Now another is that Body of Christ beyond the vail, the elect of
God, the Royal Priesthood class--all the Body of Christ of which
He is the Head. But there are more of this present Body of
Christ begotten of the Holy Spirit than will be in that after Body
of Christ--many more. Why? Because not all of those who have
been called, not all of those who have been accepted, will be
finally found worthy to be of that Royal Priesthood. Some of
them will even be found worthy of going into the second death,
and be utterly destroyed, if they turn to the flesh, and the world,
and the devil, and live in these things.
Then there is still another class, a large class that will not prove
disloyal but they will not be sufficiently zealous; they will not
deny the Lord and go into the second death, as those who turn
their back on righteousness; but having a love for righteousness,
and a great love for the Lord, they still do not have enough zeal
and fervency of spirit to make them worthy to be accounted
members of that Royal Priesthood class.
What will be done with them? The Bible tells us that they will
constitute a great company out of all nations, peoples, kindreds
and tongues, and that they must wash their robes. They do not
keep their robes unspotted from the world, therefore they must
wash them and make them white. But how? It will be in great
tribulation they will wash them; but the power of cleansing is
not in the tribulation; the power of cleansing is in the blood.
They must wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
Now we are glad indeed that the Great Company class will thus
be brought up even through great tribulation. They will be the
anti-typical Levites, the Great Company class of Revelation. Do
you wish to be of that class? Or do you wish to be of that class
to which God has invited you? Remember they were all called in
one hope of their calling. There was just the one invitation sent
out. There was the same begetting of the Holy Spirit in every
case, and the difference between the Little Flock, the Royal
Priesthood, and that Great Company of the Anti-typical Levites
who will be servants of the Priests in all of the glorious work of
the future is that the one was more zealous, more like the Lord,
and the others hung back.
Why? The Bible describes it-- through fear of death. Didn't they
know they had consecrated to death? Yes. They knew they gave
their lives but still they hung back. The pleasures of life, and
family, and wealth, whatever it may be, held them back. They
never really carried out what their own hearts desired. They
wanted to do it, they saw the pattern, Jesus running in the race;
they saw the Apostles running along in the same narrow way.
They have seen saintly ones since then going hastily along with
good courage, and do not seem to be afraid of death at all; they
plunge right in and seem to enjoy it; and they say, Here I am,
fear of death--Oh, I would like to be with them! But they hold
back, fear of death and love of the world-- do not like to break it
off. They look away awhile from the pathway, and get absorbed
in the world and are crushed with the cares of life. By and by
they look back and something calls their attention to the narrow
way. O, yes, I would like to be of those running in the narrow
way. I almost envy them! Why don't you go? Well, you know I
cannot; I have so many things here; it seems to me I have more
to break loose from than other people.
If you love the Lord more you will love the world less. We all
love the world naturally to begin with. Therefore it is a test as to
how much you love the Lord. The Lord says, in speaking of the
Bride class, He that loveth father or mother or houses or lands,
or self, or any other thing more than he loves Me is not worthy
to be My disciple. That settles it.
So then, these dear friends--good people, honest people, they
love righteousness, they like to give money to good causes, they
appreciate saintly living and all of that, but they are holding
back through fear of what it is going to cost. They made the
consecration else they would not be of this class at all. They
gave their life to the Lord, but they have not faith enough,
perhaps.
More faith would say, "Jesus says that all things shall work
together for good, so He will make them work together for me,
and I will go on, laying aside every weight and besetting sin and
everything that would hinder me from running the race with
patience. I need more faith and zeal, more love." How do we get
more love? We get more love of the Lord the more we think
about Him and about what He has done for us, and His glorious
plan.
Well, says one, I have been that way, but Brother Russell, I get
filled up sometimes, just running over with love for God and
appreciation of His plan, then it seems to all go away. Why, yes,
naturally enough. You know you have an earthen vessel that is
leaky; you cannot hold in very much; you must come often and
stay long enough at the throne of Heavenly Grace that you may
obtain the streams of blessing from God, in order that you may
keep full.
You cannot expect to pray once a week and keep filled with the
Spirit. I do not think you could expect to pray once a day and
keep filled with the Spirit. I would not expect to. I believe we
need to go frequently to the throne of Heavenly Grace. What
for? To obtain mercy.
Mercy for what? For your imperfections. There is none perfect,
no not one, and if you do not acknowledge it and do not get
these imperfections cleansed away day by day, your robe will
not be fit to be seen when you come into the presence of the
great King. You are on test to see where you will be fit to be.
That is the thought
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the Bible gives us. We all know that none are worthy to begin
with, and when we come into the Lord's company a robe is
given to each one there--a white robe representing purity
covering all our garments.
Our own garments, you know, are like filthy rags; you haven't
any righteousness at all. You would better not tell everybody all
you know about your own natural robe. But the Lord's
arrangement is that all those coming through the straight and
narrow gate making a consecration and entering this high order
of Priesthood shall be given clean, new garments.
Oh! it is nice to have on something nice and clean, sweet, good,
and to know that now we can come into God's presence and,
figuratively speaking, He will not recognize our imperfections,
but we will be there as one of His, clothed in the righteousness
of Christ. It is so nice to come in amongst the Lord's brethren
and to recognize that we all meet on a level, and part on the
square, and all can feel that the robe of Christ's righteousness
makes us all common members of the one fraternity. It is a very
blessed thing.
One says, I knew that man ten years ago; he was a drunkard in
the gutter. Never mind about what he was ten years ago. He has
come into this High and Accepted Order of Spiritual Masonry,
he has become a member of the Royal Priesthood; he wears the
livery of God, given him through the Lord Jesus Christ, the robe
of Christ's righteousness. There is not a spot on that robe. None
may say a word against him truthfully, or properly. All his past
is under the blood; Jesus has made him whole; he is accepted as
a member of this spiritual Masonry. Thank God! That is the way
we should view each other.
All of these spiritual Masons should know each other, not after
the flesh but after the spirit. Now, what about this robe, Brother
Russell? Can anybody wear His robe? Well, the instruction is to
keep your garments unspotted from the world. So you watch
from the time you become Christian. Oh, you say, seeing how
much sin there is in the world, how many allurements and
pitfalls there are, how can I ever keep from making a mistake or
misstep, getting too close to something that would soil my
garments?
The Apostle says to walk circumspectly. That means, looking all
around at every step you take. That means that whether you
move out to this ranch, or into that city house, whatever you do,
you shall think first of all how it will affect you as a New
Creature--not how it will affect your pocketbook merely. When
Lot went down and lived in Sodom he made a very bad choice,
and if you go and live in Sodom in order to get the beautiful
advantages of earthly things, you will be making a bad choice.
With every one of us it is the same. So he that is begotten of the
spirit and has this robe of Christ's righteousness is to walk very
circumspectly. What he eats? Yes. You don't mean that, do you?
Yes, I do. Whether ye eat, or whether ye drink, whether ye buy
or whether ye sell, whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
That is the Bible way. That is the way you will progress and
keep your garments unspotted. If you are not careful you will
get spots on them and if you are careful you will get some spots
also.
Do you suppose anybody except the Lord Jesus ever walked
through this world of sin and imperfection without getting some
spots on his robe? None but He. You have gotten some on your
robe, and I have gotten some on my robe--everybody has gotten
some. Well, what shall we do? How can we walk through the
world unspotted from the world and be in the end without spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing, as the Bible says, if you say it is
impossible to go through the world without getting spots or
wrinkles?
The answer is that God has provided a fluid that will take off
these spots--they are figurative spots and it is a figurative fluid.
The Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from
all sin. If you have a spot on your robe that is the thing to do,
and the more earnest you are, the more you love the Lord, and
the more you appreciate that grand prize of our High Calling,
the more diligent you will be to keep your garments unspotted.
What will that mean? That will mean that every morning you
will go to God in prayer--perhaps many times in the day, but at
least every morning--and say, Lord help me to so live today that
I may walk with thee unspotted from the world. Will that do,
Brother Russell? Well, that will do for a start, dear brother, then
you must watch. The Lord said to watch and pray, so you have
prayed, now go on watching and watch the best you can all day
that you keep far away from all sin. You say, I cannot make
more than half as much of a fortune. Better not have any
fortune. Better enter into the Kingdom a bankrupt to some extent
as far as earthly things are concerned than having much riches to
be cast out as unfit for a place in the Kingdom.
Well, you say, suppose in spite of ourselves we get a spot? That
is the thought, dear brother, you will get a spot in spite of
yourself--perhaps the very moment you are not thinking;
therefore it is all the more important to try to keep thinking,
watching, watching, because even in spite of watchings you will
get some spots and if you don't watch you will run into nearly
everything.
Did you ever notice a lady with a white dress going down the
street? If she has worn a white dress many times you will see
she watches her steps carefully and when she comes near
something likely to soil, she will turn the skirt over. That is the
right idea.
You have a robe and I have a robe and every now and then we
need to "keep" our garments that they may not be spotted with
the world. And if you get a spot what would you do? The right
thing would be to make some apology to the Lord at the very
minute you noticed it, and say, Lord forgive me, I have made a
mistake there; I will try to be more careful.
And then you may not have an opportunity to say more to the
Lord on the subject before evening; but you need to go before
you retire to rest, and it should be that you would be so anxious
for the Lord's smile that you could not possibly go to sleep
without being sure there were no earthborn cloud between your
soul and the Lord. That is the only way to live close to God.
That is the way to keep your garments. There is no patent way,
dear brother--no other royal road. That is the royal road that the
Lord has marked out for all His followers who would gain the
prize.
Then the next day perhaps it is the same thing in a little different
form--so much the same though that you feel more discouraged
than you did the first time. Now! that is practically the same
thing; it came just a little different. Before I knew it there it
went, and I got that spot again. Now you feel more ashamed of
that spot than you did of the other one? Why? Because you had
told the Lord before that you would be very careful, and if
possible you would never do that same thing again, yet it was
pretty near the same thing. Oh, you felt sick almost at heart!
What would you do? Well, there is just one right thing to do,
even if it is the seventieth time seventy, and that is to do what
the Lord has instructed you, through the Apostle, to do: To go
with courage-- Oh, you say, Brother Russell, I had courage the
first time. Well, brother, there is only the one way. I cannot go,
Brother Russell. There is only one way to do, to go with courage
to the throne of heavenly grace that you may obtain mercy and
forgiveness, and may find strength, grace, to help you in future
times of need. That is God's way.
Well, Brother Russell, I cannot see any good in that. There is a
great deal of good in it if it is God's way. And He is pleased to
have it that way. Besides, there is another good thing in it--you
will be humbled by it; it will bring you right down low in the
dust. If we can go and acknowledge the same thing over a
second time, or a third time, or a tenth time, Oh, it should make
us all the more humble, so that we could hardly feel as though
we could lift up our eyes to the Lord at all! Yet it is the only
thing we can do.
Do you want to leave those spots on your robe? That is a
mistake some make, and after they have gone once or twice and
had forgiveness, then they make mistakes and grow cold, and
the spots multiply on their garments. Then some might say, I see
you have several spots on your robe? Oh, yes, everybody has
them. They try to hide them, or they don't amount to much--
most people have more than that. Now that is just the wrong
thought. That person cannot go to the Lord, and that is what
stopped most of the family or individual prayer--spots on the
robe.
You have got to
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get right down and acknowledge those spots, or they will get the
better of you--one or the other. If your robe continues in that
way, and you do not get it cleansed, be sure that when the grand
end of the age comes, and the Master will inspect, He will not
say that you may walk with Him in white for you are worthy,
and that your robe is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
If you are amongst those who have the spots and wrinkles, then
you are in that class that is mentioned in Revelation--the Great
Company. There will be a good many of them.
They started well, and went on until they found faults coming,
and they were not humble enough to accept God's arrangement
for their sins, they broke off communion, and therefore the sins
got more and more the better of them. So while they still loved
righteousness, still preferred it--they did not prefer sin, they did
not prefer the devil and his service--yet they are not fit for the
Kingdom.
No one is fit to be of the Bride class except he wear that
wedding garment without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. But
I am glad that God has something for these dear brethren. They
will come through great tribulation--more tribulation perhaps
than they would have had if they had walked right in the
footsteps of the Lord. We are not forgetting it says that through
much tribulation we shall enter the Kingdom.
The Little Flock will go through great tribulation, but they have
so much of the spirit of the Master that they do not feel the
tribulation nearly so much. Notice Paul and Silas, their backs
beaten with thirty-nine blows each, until the blood came, then
washed with salt water, and yet they were able to sing praises to
God in prison. That is the spirit of the overcomers.
Do you think they suffered nearly as much as someone else
would have suffered under the same circumstances? I tell you
no. And so it is with all of those who suffer with Christ. They
have the spirit of loyalty and zeal, and the spirit of glory and of
God rests on them. It compensates so much to know that these
are only light afflictions in comparison to the blessings that shall
come, and are working out for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things of this
present time, but at the things that are unseen --the things of
glory beyond the vail. We trust that as we think over the
gracious arrangements our Father has made for us, we are more
and more determined that by His grace we will have that which
He offers to us, that which He is most pleased to give us and that
by His grace we will be--conquerors?
Yes, the Great Company will be conquerors. We read palm
branches were given to them. Thank God, they will have the
palms of victory! If they do not get the victory they would never
be on the spirit plane at all. No one will ever get everlasting life
unless he gains the victory. But they have to gain it by being
pushed into the great time of trouble, forced to the point where
they decide for God or for sin, and they will finally decide for
God and come off conquerors. Oh, we are glad! Conquerors
before the throne.
But the more than conquerors are those in the throne; they are
such as rushed on toward the prize; presenting their bodies
living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, their reasonable
service, they delighted to do God's will, even as their Leader
did. These shall be accounted worthy to be His joint-heirs in the
Kingdom. Let us, dear brothers and sisters, choose the wise part.
Let us count all other things as but loss and dross that we might
win that pearl of the Kingdom.
You remember Jesus said that if you once got your eyes on that
pearl to go and sell all that you have and buy it. You cannot give
too much to get that pearl--the prize of our High Calling in
Christ.
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