Faith on the March chpt. 1

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Faith on the March A.H. Macmillan Copyright 1957

PART ONE

"CALLED
OUT OF
DARKNESS"

Page 3
A TURNING-POINT
Chapter 1

I AM A WHITE-HAIRED OLD MAN, in my eightieth year of life, as I begin to tell you these facts. For nigh onto sixty years I have been associated with a movement that today is commanding world attention on a widening scale. It is a religious movement that has seemed new and recent to millions of people, a movement that has been fought tooth, tongue and pen by the dominant religions of this world, a movement that has been misrepresented, persecuted, cursed and damned, prayed against to the God of heaven, and subjected to mobbing, bans, confiscation and proscriptions, driven underground by Nazi, Fascist and Communist dictators, all this under the influence of religious leaders, all of them together up in arms against this lone movement. I know. I have gone through enough of it along with this movement to know whereof I speak and write. I myself have spent nine long months in prison for my faith before I was released with my fellow-sufferers and then

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CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS

cleared of all the untrue charges that put us behind bars. Since then I have talked to hundreds of young men likewise put behind bars for their faith. In the course of the years I have traveled through many countries, including Palestine where Jesus and the apostles preached the same message; talked to hundreds of thousands of people from the public platform, frequently through the aid of an interpreter, yes, and from house to house as the apostles did; and at present it is my privilege to address untold numbers by the modern means of radio over a pioneer station in New York City, answering people's questions, giving them Bible counsel delivered straight from the shoulder. From the horse-and-buggy days, when as a young lad I learned to handle an ox-cart, I have lived down through the years into this age of jet- propulsion and thermonuclear explosives, through two world wars into the most terrifying situation of all human history. But I'm not afraid, for being with this religious movement has made me fearless of the future. I'm not afraid of what is ahead of the human race in the purposes of the great Creator, even though come, as it must, the worst time of trouble that mankind has ever experienced. To know a movement you've got to live with it, even be an official in it, as I have been. Besides that, I have lived through to the end of two presidencies of the religious society that governs this movement, and I'm now living under the presidency of the third man in that office in the Society. I've seen things grow, I've seen the understanding of things clear up, I've gone through the ups and downs of this religious movement. Yet I am holding on, and that with more zest than ever before. More than ever I am convinced that it is right, that it has the truth, that it is giving a right lead to all the people of good will throughout the earth. Why?

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A TURNING-POINT
I FOUND A FA1TH

Have you ever wondered whether you had the right religion and have you tried to find the right one, to find the truth that solved your questions about God and his purposes toward mankind? I have, and I know what a battle it means. But it's worth the battle. Today people are feeling after religion, because life without the truth about God and man does not satisfy. These people fumbling about don't know where this world is going. Once I, too, did not know. I did not know where I myself was going. As a lad in my teens, I was just an ordinary boy, with a desire for play and fun that all of us enjoy. Still I had a deep feeling that I would like to know more about God and why this earth was made and people put on it for such a short time, only to die and go no one knows where, perhaps never to see family or friends again. Asking questions on the subject from those who were supposed to know the answers, I received little or no information. But I kept on looking, believing that the answers must be somewhere to be found. They are, for I have found what I was looking for. I was still a young man. But that makes no difference. What I have found thousands of people are still finding every year. And they are people just like you and me, because they come from all nationalities, races, walks of life and are of all ages. Truth is no respecter of persons. It attracts all kinds of persons and those who are following it find themselves being drawn ever closer together, away from a world that is showing a rapidly diminishing regard for personal, or even national, integrity. Now I do know where I am going. I am confident too that I know where the world is going. I have been watching it travel that road for almost sixty years. A short space in the span of history, you say? Perhaps, but these years are destiny-

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CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS

shaping, never to be repeated. These are years that were longed for centuries ago, years that were seen in prophetic vision, years that are climaxing six thousand years of human history. Why am I so sure of that? Because that is the message I have learned from the Bible and I have seen it being fulfilled with my own eyes during the eighty years of my life. From my first glimpse of the promises held out to sick and dying mankind my hope in what that message of the Bible has revealed has not faded. Right there I determined to find out more about what the Bible teaches so that I might be able to help others like myself who are seeking knowledge about the Almighty God, Jehovah, and his good purposes toward mankind.

THE FAITH OF MY FATHER TESTED

My first real opportunity came sooner than I had anticipated. After about a year of study I was called home to see my father, who was dangerously ill. Like many people he had always been a strong believer in his religion. I wondered how he would react to my presentation of what I had learned since I last saw him. It was so different from what he had taught me. Being still a youth, I journeyed home to Canada with some misgivings as to my ability to inform my father, for he was a well-educated man. However, I determined to discuss my new-found beliefs with him if at all possible, trusting the Lord to help me show him the things I had learned about Jehovah's purpose to bless mankind. After arriving home, I went to my father's bedside. I saw he was very weak and would not live much longer. He was an old man, about the age I am now. As I approached the bed, he held out his hand and, with a faint smile, he said: "Son, I'm glad you came home to see me before I pass away. You were

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A TURNING-POINT

the only one of my children that gave much evidence of deep interest in religion, and I want to talk to you about the Bible. "I believe many more people will be saved than my minister has led me to believe," he continued. This surprised me somewhat because my father was a Calvinist and believed in predestination. However, I was pleased that he should feel that way and replied, "I agree with you, Father. I'm sure the Bible shows God is willing that all men should be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth, and if any are lost, it is because they refuse to take the way he has opened up. God did not predestinate that any individuals should be lost and tormented forever, as many believe." As we went on with our talks I could see father seemed no longer interested in what Calvin taught. Apparently he had been reading and thinking very seriously about the Bible itself. He started asking me questions about the new world mentioned in the Bible. Surprised again, I asked what led him to that line of thinking and he replied: "Before I became so ill I read a book issued by one of the Bible and tract societies in the United States, and that answered many questions that have bothered me." Then he told me the title of the book. You can imagine my surprise and delight to find it was the same book 1 was studying and from which I had already received so much comfort and satisfying knowledge. This lively hope being kindled in my father seemed to rally him somewhat and for the next few weeks we had many happy studies together. He would ask the neighbors, who came to visit him, to join us in our studies, and those did. The new world was generally our theme. I pointed out from the Bible that the earth was created to be inhabited by perfect men and women who would live forever in peace without anything to mar their complete happiness. None of them had ever heard of such a possibility. But it sounded good to them.

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HOPE OF A NEW LIFE

All who joined us in our studies said they believed the Bible was the Word of God, and they would accept what was written there. Some of them had read only a little in the Bible, and they soon learned that it contained many things they had never realized. We read that the earth would become as beautiful as the garden of Eden was when Adam and Eve were living in it as their God-given estate. I was able to find for them where that was written in the Bible. Naturally, what the condition of our health would be at that time came up for discussion. I assured them, one of the prophets had said that in that new system of things to be established after Armageddon no one would say he was sick. Furthermore, it had been revealed to the apostle John that there would be no more crying or pain--not even any more death! My father, who was suffering much physical pain, said: "How I wish that time were here now!" And all agreed with him, for they were thinking of their own loved ones, many of whom were no longer with them. Then I read an excerpt from our Bible-study aid that brought tears of joy to my father's eyes: ¹
The human race are God's children by creation--the work of his hands--and his purpose with reference to them is clearly revealed in his Word. Our Lord, and all the prophets since the world began, declare that the human race is to be restored to that glorious perfection Adam had.
This is the portion God has arranged to give to the human race. And what a glorious portion! Forget for a moment the misery and woe, degradation and sorrow that still prevail on account of sin, and picture before your mental vision the glory of the perfect earth....There sickness shall be no more; not an ache nor a pain--not even the fear of such things. Think of all the pictures of comparative health and beauty of human form and feature that you have ever seen,

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and know that perfect humanity will be of still surpassing loveliness.. The inward purity and mental and moral perfection will stamp and glorify every radiant countenance. Such will earth's society be; and weeping bereaved ones will have their tears wiped away, when Christ's kingdom work is completed.

HOPE FOR THE DEAD

Of course this brought up a number of questions, some of which may be in your own mind. One was, what hope can we have in that new world if we die before that happy time arrives? This I could answer through the clear-cut promise of the resurrection. Then my father asked me the direct question: "Son, will I be lonesome in the grave while I am waiting for the kingdom to begin its work of filling the earth with perfection? " That was a question a young man could not readily answer to the satisfaction of an older person who had never thought along that line. In reply I asked him: "Father, did you sleep well last night?" He answered, "Yes, my son, I did after the doctor gave me some sleeping pills." "Were you lonesome while you were asleep?" "No, I was not. I wish I could sleep all the time, for then I feel no pain." Then I remembered something I had read about Job, who was suffering much bodily pain after he lost everything he had including his family. I read to my father what Job had said: ²
"Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol [the grave], . . .until thy wrath be past, . . . Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee." . . . "There the wicked cease from troubling;

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And there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there: And the servant is free from his master." "So you see, father," I explained, "the dead are in a death sleep and know nothing while inthat condition, so how could they be lonesome? Too, the Bible says 'the dead know not anything.' When you fall asleep in death no one will bother you; you will have no pain either. When God's proper time comes and Jesus calls you, then you will come to life in a world where there will be no pain, sorrow or death." As my father breathed his last I read to him the heartcheering words of the twenty-first chapter of Revelation:"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Yes, my father died with a glorious hope and I know the sting of death was relieved by that hope. That same hope, as outlined in God's Word, has been mine for over half a century. It has brought me peace of mind and joy of heart. It has sustained me through many dark hours. It has taught me a reverential fear of my God and a deep and sincere love for my fellow man. It has brought to me a new way of life.

CIVILIZATION'S SHAKY FOUNDATION

I do not need to tell you that mankind are enjoying many comforts and pleasures in this life, yet still there is great fear as to what the future holds for this generation. You know the nations are armed to the teeth with the most deadly weapons

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ever invented or constructed. Those who should know tell us bombs are now made that could destroy a good-sized city in a few moments. They also tell us that deadly guided missiles carrying atomic warheads can be accurately delivered to distant targets in a matter of minutes. They further claim that other death-dealing weapons exist that are too terrible to talk about. Even limited tests are restricted for fear of the results. Some believe that the Communists are determined to destroy every nation on earth that will not come around to their terms or surrender to their way of life, which is slavery for the many, and all the luxuries of the land for a few ruthless rulers or dictators. The "free nations," at the risk of bankrupting their own economy, are spending billions of dollars to aid others remain "free." But even if compromises are achieved, even if the policy of co-existence is developed to where it seems workable, is there not only one inevitable outcome? On what kind of foundation do you think modern security rests? Can you truly be happy at prospects of our future, with the nations sitting on stockpiles of thermonuclear explosives? With fear, hatred and suspicion sitting at the conference table, with distrust and deceit undermining even hardwon peace negotiations and efforts at disarmament, how small a spark would be needed to set the world aflame? Is the destiny of modern civilization dependent solely on the volatile emotions of selfish, greedy and unscrupulous dictators who loudly hold forth the palm of peace while only partially concealing the strong arm of fission-fusion might? What is your honest opinion of world conditions? Beware of shrugging it off with a noncommittal air of, "Oh well, we have survived in the past, we'll find a way out." Is there any evidence whatsoever that the direction of the world has radically changed in the relation of man to man, nation to nation? Does the history of the world--even of the last few decades--

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reveal we have found a safer, saner approach to solving international controversies? How far must we go before we have reached "the end"? Those who turn to the Bible learn that everything we now experience was foretold by the prophets of old, who spoke under divine inspiration. Why do the clergymen of Christendom remain silent? Why do they say nothing about the threatened end of this system of things or about the blessings of the new world, which are certain to follow the battle of the great day of God Almighty so near at hand? It is only by such a war as Armageddon, fought by Jehovah God and his invisible forces, that the earth can be cleansed of all unrighteousness and the way opened for lasting peace on earth. Consider the evidences for yourself. The Bible was written by men like us, men from all walks of life, but men whose faith surpassed all fear of man. You can read the Bible and understand it, too.

WHY MY FAITH ABIDES

When I first began to look for these answers they were not nearly so apparent as they now are. In fact, the evidences we now accept as everyday occurrences did not even exist. They were at that time only prophecies of the Bible that were being interpreted in many different ways by different groups. But one group of earnest Bible students presented matters in a way that made sense to me. Now I see my confidence was well grounded. You ask me why I am still an active part of that movement, why my zeal is keener and my conviction stronger than ever? I'll tell you. It's because I've lived to realize already much of the hope that so filled my young life. It's because I've lived to see prophecies of the Bible which we held dear and sacred--yet which were mocked and scorned by unbelievers-- already

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come true. It's because I've lived to see this same movement hunted and persecuted by those who claimed to serve God until it lay beaten in death-- only to survive and come to rebirth in a new way of life, reorganized for an even more powerful work, yet dedicated to the same standards of righteousness which have characterized its operation from the beginning. I have seen this movement hold fast to those standards, refusing to compromise them for the sake of expediency. I have seen ambitious men rise up within the organization and seek to pervert it, only to meet with complete defeat because the majority of those associated with this movement are unalterably dedicated to serve God, not man. I have found companionship, yes, real brotherhood, with people of all races and nations. These are the things I have desired from my youth. Can you tell me why a man who--not once, but many times--has seen things come into existence that he was told he would see; why a man who has watched the outworking of God's foretold purpose and the fulfillment of prophecies;--can you, I ask, tell me why such a man should not have faith? My faith is stronger each day. And having seen so much come true already I am more and more confident that those things for which I still hope will some day be realized as well.

FACING THE FUTURE WITHOUT FEAR

I am most thankful to share with you this message of hope that is now being preached in many lands throughout the earth. Because they see that this old system of things is doomed, hundreds of thousands of people are grasping and devouring the knowledge now available on the subject. This hope is tangible, reasonable and real. Men and women on this earth, even with many troubles, do not want to grow old and die. No, they want to stay right here. Don't you? Well, that

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is not surprising, for man was created to live on this earth and he enjoys himself when he has a reasonable amount of the blessings now possible to obtain. To every thoughtful person it is apparent that mankind has reached a turning-point in history. A day of judgment is upon us. Even Satan the Devil himself knows that but a short time remains in which the human race, yes, this generation, must decide the greatest issue ever put before mankind. The issue is this: Will you continue to support and bear up a system of things that has filled the earth with suffering, sorrow, sin and death? Or will you choose, and fit yourself for God's love filled new world? Running with the world means, in the near future, eternal death. Walking with God and the New World society and devoting yourself to the principles of the new world will mean peace, happiness and real freedom with an endless life in perfection on a paradise earth. Everywhere people are rallying to this hope. My personal experience may help you. With you I hope I can live through the fast-approaching world catastrophe, the most appalling in all universal history,and then enter alive into the new world that Almighty God in his love has promised to establish for all those who seek to know him and to love and serve him. So now let me get along with my story, setting out the facts and experiences of my personal history that have some importance, some bearing on the big, decisive issues that face you and me.

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Contents Page

Chptr. 1

Chptr. 2

Chptr. 3

Chptr. 4

Chptr. 5

Chptr. 6

Chptr. 7

Chptr. 8

Photographs

Chptr. 9

Chptr. 10

Chptr. 11

Chptr. 12

Chptr. 13

Chptr. 14

Chptr. 15

Chptr. 16

Reference

Index

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