The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-12-29

from which to date his justification by faith in tbs
and through the operation OF the faith of his
parents, he was born In justified condition
He. therefore, very naturally. became inter-
ested In church work at an early age
! His special attention soon attracted TO the
doctrine Of eternal torment. 1t wrought upon
his feelings that he was unable to sleep, and was
round day and night FASTING UP signs and no.
tees warning his friends and fellow creatures
Of the awful fate that awaited the wicked and
urging them to fee the wrath to come. But as
he prosecuted the work It spread out into
immensely, and he began to realize that he could
never hope to comepass 1t. and became very much
discouraged and disheartened
In this condition he began to think and wonder
why II was that he. poor, puny, worm OF the
| dust should be so much concerned about the
eternal welfare OF human beings. when God, whom
the Scriptures represented to be aflove, goodness
and power, could sit serenely upon his great white
| throne in heaven and see myriads and millions
going down continuously into this lake of fire. and
! yet seem to manifest no concern or dsposiuoh'
whatever, to save them.
| He concluded that there was something radi-
cally wrong, that either God was not The Goa
Of love that the Scriptures portrayed him 10 Dc.
or else the Bible had been terribly misread and
misunderstood. He therefore. determined 10 put
aside all human creeds teachings and traditions.
and to make careful and prayerfu Individual
study of the Scriptures, along independent INES
and. If possible, discover as to whether the
Scriptures did really contain revelation of Goo
to men, and II so. what that revelation was
Accordingly in 1874 God rewarded his efforts by
shedding great light upon the Scriptures and ne
discovered that the Bible revealed clear-cut,
systematic plan of the ages by which every
text of Scripture. from Genesis to Revelation
might be harmonized and explained. He also saw
that the harvest Of the gospel age had begun
He at once began to write down these Things.
and with his meager monetary means, to PRINT
them into books and booklets. and to scatter thefn
broadcast in the mental and moral forum OF
human intelligence.
Soon the watchers upon the walls. who had the
seeing e-es and the hearing ears and receptive
hearts began to rally to his support. and thus
the b. S. A. was founded, and the work begun
In 1874
Although this work appeared SO small and in
significant in the outset yet II is quite certain
that Satan. by some means, realized that IN t1e
person OF Pastor Russell, an arch enemy or MS
He !, once marshaled ali of his minions. and
hosts of darkness and arrayed them against nIn
and by his willy arts and cunning devices he
succeeded in separating from him many of those
whom he had esteemed and appreciated "A ms
most trusty tried and true friends' p roHliheht
among which, was the wife OF his bosom, whom
he had sworn to love and cherish until death.
How well these enemies have succeeded in i'm,
pcding and restraining the progress growth ara
DEVELOPMENT of his work, Is a matter of pam
and pleasing record.
His books have been published In every known
language and have been distributed throughout
tho civilized world. until they have attained
circulation exceeding that Of any other BOOKS
published. the Bible excepted. He has hel.ed tue
earth rroca inning the glorious gospel of the cent
ing kingdom and has planted Bible classes, as
far as the light of civilization has 5hea heF
radiant beams. He has preached to all nations
oly Land and at Jerusalem the city OF the ''reat
King.
The human mind must be hled with wonder
and anna zeraent as it ccntemplates the magnt-
tude and vastness of his work, in view NJ the
fact that he has never asked any one to cen
tribute one cent to Its aid and advancen lie
has taken UP public, or private, cotec~
ton OF any kind and never sold hook At q
price above what ii actually cast to print H.
All OF this great work has heen accomplished
| by voluntary gifts unasked and unsolicited
Another charac teristic, rare and peculiar is
, that there is no enrolment OF names with THESE
Bible stu9ents anywhere on earth. Nor are trey
| ioined toge her by any human VOW, or rHtiVe
obligation. They stand fast In the liberty ~here-
with Christ has made them free, They know
each other by affiliation and cooperation they
| speak the same thing. and perfectly Joined
| together in the same mind ana in the same
| Judgment Il Con, 1:10). They trust tina: their
/ names are written in the lambs book Of life and
hone to obtain membership in the body of Christ
and to be associated with him in his Miilennial
Kingdom. when Ia shall reign TO bless all the
Families of the EARTH in fuhment of the promise
which God made father. Abraham, say
ing: "In thee and In thy seed shah an me iafni-
lies of the earth be blessed Gen. 22:lG. Hav-
ing trespassed at great length upon your time
and space will add few words in relation TO his
books and close.
| His hooks are nothing more and nothing less
than the Bible rearranged with notes and refer
ences to aid the sincere student of the boie, TO
grasp the truth of Gods holy word. They are
free from every tnge ana touch OF reSoiutioh a1u
higher criticism.
They teach the fall Of the perfect man. Adam.
ton of the perfect man. Adam, by the sacrifice
Of the perfect man. Jesus. and they teach the
final restoration. in Gods due time or All the
willing and obedient OF the human family. BACK
to the perfect conditions OF life. and being by
the great Observation-Disclosures anonted body.
His books have been the subject OF the most
hitter harsh crucial criticism they have been
the mark of the fiery darts OF venom malice,
madness and misrepresentation, and though hated
most OF all books have attained the widest.
broadcast and greatest circulation OF any other
ever printed, the Bible excepted.
Why is tbs? Let the Scriptures reply. Just
before our Lord departed from earth to the
heavenly domain he said to his disciples: All
POWER IS given unto me In heaven and on earth
go and teach all nations the gospel of the king
dom and 10, I am with you always even to the
end Of the age Matt. 2S:1S-e0).
God Is with these books-God is In these DOCKS
hence their great success They are going out
as beacon lights. bearing the harvest message OF
the blessed truth, to scatter the error ignorance
superstition and mysticism of the dark ages. and
In Gods due time will supply the light to lighteth
every man that cometh into the world tJohn 1;s).
Most respectfully.
S. H RoANE
Highland Springs, Va.