Pagină:Organization-part-II-1938.djvu/9

JuNE 15, 1938 25 At the dedication of Solomon’s temple the glory of the Lord was made manifest. It was on the first day of the temple dedication, that is to say, the sev- enth month, the eighth day of the month, 1028 B.C., when the ark of the covenant was brought into the most holy or ‘‘oracle’’ of the temple, at which time there were temple songs and other music by the priests, and ‘‘then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God’’. (2 Chron. 5:18,14) Then Solomon prayed and in that prayer made mention of ‘‘the stranger’’, and ‘‘when Solo- mon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his merey endureth for ever’’—2 Chron. 7:1-3. 20 The facts which the Lord caused to be brought to pass in the year 1925 show the fulfillment of this prophetie ceremony. In that year the name of Jeho- vah began to come to the fore and it came to be ap- preciated that Jehovah would now make a name for himself. In the beginning of the first Hebrew month The Watchtower of March 1, 1925, published the arti- ele ‘‘The Birth of The Nation’’, meaning the kingdom had begun to function. An editorial committee, hu- manly provided for, then was supposed to control the publication of The Watchtower, and the majority of that committee strenuously objected to the publica- “tion of the article ‘‘The Birth of The Nation’’, but, by the Lord’s grace, it was published, and that really marked the beginning of the end of the editorial com- mittee, indicating that the Lord himself is running his organization. Following that, to wit, at the Indian- apolis convention in 1925, the resolution ‘‘ Message of Hope’’ was published and, among other things, con- tains these words: ‘‘The time has come for God to make for himself a name in the earth, and for the peo- ples to know the truth concerning the divine [pur- pose], which is the only means of salvation for the world. Therefore, in the name and in the spirit of the Lord the standard of God’s truth and righteous- ness is here lifted up against the enemy, and for the benefit of the peoples, which standard is, to wit: That Jehovah is the true God, the Most High, the Almighty, the author and finisher of his great [purpose] for the salvation of man, and is the rewarder of all that diligently seek and obey him.’’ That was the first public oceasion that announcement was made that Je- hovah’s purpose is to make a name for himself. Thus fhe WAT CH TOWER. 185 at that time the glory of Jehovah began to be seen in the real temple and in a new relationship to his people, and that vision of God’s glory inereased until it was seen that God’s chief purpose is the vindica- tion of his name. Shortly thereafter, to wit, in Jan- uary 1, 1926, issue of The Watchtower, there was pub- lished the article ‘‘Who Will Honor Jehovah?’’ thus calling attention to the glory of Jehovah’s name and stressing his manner of making a name for himself. (2 Sam. 7:23) This glorious purpose of Jehovah was therefore called publicly to ‘‘Christendom’s’’ atten- tion at the proper time by the distribution of the ‘Message of Hope’’. Like the fourth plague described in Revelation 16: 8,9, and the fourth trumpet (Rev. 8:12), that ‘‘Message of Hope’’ began to dim the glory of Satan’s crowd on earth and show forth the Lord’s glory, and God’s people were greatly lifted up and rejoiced.—Light, Book One, page 130. 27 At the dedication of the typical temple Solomon prayed, and, amongst other things, his prayer con- tained these words: ‘‘Moreover, concerning a stran- ger that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake: (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house: hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace, and do according to all that the stran- ger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name.’’—1 Ki. 8: 41-44, 28 Parallel thereto, the ‘‘Message of Hope’’ (para- graphs 12 and 13 thereof) contain these words: ‘‘We confidently appeal to the peoples to rally to the divine standard of truth thus lifted up and thereby learn the way that leads to life and happiness. We call upon all the people of good will of every nation, kin- dred and tongue, to discard the errors invented by the enemy Satan and for many years taught by man, and to receive and believe the divine [purpose] for salvation as set forth in the Scriptures. God’s king- dom for which the peoples have long prayed is at hand. It alone can and will establish and stabilize the world so that it cannot be moved. Its ensign of righteousness is the standard now lifted up for the people. Christ Jesus, as glorified King and great ex- ecutive officer of Jchovah God, has become the right- ful ruler of the world. Let the peoples receive, believe and obey him and his laws of righteousness. All who so do are eertain to reecive the blessings of peace, pros- perity, health, life, liberty and eternal happiness.’’ Thus is now seen the hand of the Lord guiding his covenant people in the way that they should go as he