Preserving Parousia and Epiphany Truth: Psalms 107: 10, 11

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Psalms 107: 10, 11 - Supporting Error

E5 Pg 135: (57) The sixth slaughter weapon is Revolutionism (Ps. 107: 10, 11); and the Revolutionists are represented by the sixth slaughter-weapon man. Whoever among the consecrated revolts against the Lord's Truth and arrangements given through "that Servant" is represented in the sixth slaughter-weapon man; and whoever among the consecrated imbibes his errors and supports him in his practices is represented by those slain in the temple. Revolutionism has assumed several forms among Truth people: setting aside Truth by error and setting aside right arrangements by wrong ones. Both practices are against the Lord's protective ways given through "that Servant." One of the worst forms of the latter is Clericalism, which has manifested itself in two forms, general and local. General Clericalism has gotten control of the organizations among the Lord's people, and has more or less dominated over the general Church, while local clericalism manifests itself in local elders grasping for power and lording it over the ecclesias. One of our dear Pastor's last warnings was against clericalists, given in the article on "The Hour of Temptation" (Z. 1916, p. 327).

See Also: PT. 1957 Pg. 12; PT. QB Pg. 468 C2; PT. 1960 Pg. 52 C2; PT 1990 Pg. 3 BS 1990 Pg. 4

(The Sixth Slaughter Weapon) still active... See PT. 1969 Pg. 59; E5 Pg. 136

Sifters—Who Are The Sifters

Question (1968)—Bro. Russell called Messrs. Barbour, Paton, Williamson, Henninges, McPhail and other similar disseminators of error sifters, and they in turn called him a sifter; Bro. Johnson called J.F.R. and others like him sifters, and they in turn called him the same; and now you speak of certain ones as sifters and they accuse you of being like J.F.R., who “accused Bro. Johnson of being a sifter.” It is rather confusing. Who are the sifters anyway?

Answer.—It should not be confusing if we hold carefully to the Truth as unfolded for us from the Word of God and look for His holy Spirit. In all cases Satan is really the sifter—the one who originates, initiates and carries on persistently a sifting (Luke 22: 31; 1 Pet. 5: 8). Through pride, ostentation, self-exaltation, envy, jealousy, deceit, misrepresentations, falsehoods, slander, favoritism, unfaithfulness to the Truth, malice and other works of the flesh he appeals to God’s people and uses those who respond to Him as his agents to oppose the Truth and to spread error, which of course sifts out the unfaithful ones. We are not to forget that God’s approval or disapproval is manifested through testings and siftings (1 Cor. 11: 18, 19; see also P. ’53, pp. 50, 51). Nations are sifted “with the sieve of vanity,” but “through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down” (Isa. 30: 28-31). The Assyrian here, as in Micah 5: 5, 6, represents “those who make spoil of God’s people by devastating the Truth and its Spirit” (E. 10, p. 115).

Satan’s emissaries “call evil good, and good evil” and “put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isa. 5: 20). Many leaders who once had the truth, given by the Lord through Bro. Russell, on Jesus’ Second Advent, His invisible presence, the Bible chronology and the forty years’ Harvest reaping, now claim . . . that the Bible chronology as given by Bro. Russell is wrong,. . . The Lord’s true sheep will heed only the voice of the Good Shepherd; they will study to show themselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2: 15). They will keep themselves in the love of God and in the most holy faith. The Truth and its Spirit will be the touchstones that will determine for them which is true and which is false. Teachings that do not agree with (1) themselves (2) all other Scriptures, (3) all other Scripture doctrines, (4) with the Ransom, (5) with reason, (6) with facts, and (7) with the purposes of Godliness, should be rejected as erroneous. ’68-46