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Chosen no: R-5016 a, from: 1912 Year. |
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The Committee Homeward Bound
Leaving India
the Committee journeyed via Suez, stopping two
days at Cairo. A
visit was made to the Great Pyramid, whose wonderful Passages tell by their
construction so much of the Divine Plan that it has been called the Stone
Bible. We need not here give space to an explanation of the meaning of the
passages and their wonderful lessons, so in harmony with the prophecies of the
Bible, because the majority of our readers already have this as one of the Chapters
in the Third Volume of the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. We do, however, urge all
to a fresh reading of this testimony, so helpful to faith.
On the second day an excursion was made to the
ruins of Memphis,
the ancient Capital of Egypt in Joseph's time, when he was next to Pharaoh in
authority. Many of the scenes brought freshly to mind the Scripture narrative
respecting Joseph, and later on respecting the finding of Moses in the rushes
of the Nile. The land
of Goshen, where the Israelites spent
two centuries, and from which they were miraculously delivered, the place of
their possible crossing the Red Sea, the wells
of Moses, and the bitter waters of Marah on the opposite shore, were noticed.
ATHENS AND MARS HILL
Next we visited Athens,
made famous through the visit of St.
Paul eighteen centuries ago. There we visited the
Stadium, where Socrates and other orators of ancient Greece held large audiences by
their eloquence. We thought, too, of the fickleness of public applause, as we
viewed the ancient prison in which he died. Other items of interest at Athens were the wonderful Temple and the great Amphitheatre, with a
seating capacity of forty thousand, recently remodeled after its original
style, in marble. [R5016 : page 138]
But the ruins of the greatness of ancient Greece, grand
as they were, led our minds still more particularly to the great Apostle St.
Paul. We considered that his monuments in the New Testament writings are more
eloquent a thousand times than all the achievements of all the philosophers,
poets and artists of the whole period of Greece's fame. We climbed to Mars
Hill, traversing quite probably the same steps, cut in the natural rocks, by
which the Apostle ascended and descended. We went to a platform in the rocks
above, and near to the old market house mentioned in the Scriptures, and
surmised that St. Paul
spoke to the people from that very spot. Our little company while on Mars Hill
engaged in a short service of praise and prayer, and Pastor Russell gave a
little sermonette re the Gospel which St. Paul preached--Jesus and the
Resurrection--Jesus, the Redeemer and Savior; the Resurrection, the method by
which a Divine blessing will come through Jesus to all the families of the
earth.
We noted that as the doctrine of the
Resurrection was scoffed at by the ancient Greeks, so the worldly-wise of today
are still inclined to stumble over it and to mock and say, "We will hear
thee again of this matter--enough for the present."
Two public meetings were held in one of the
principal auditoriums of Athens,
addressed by Pastor Russell. On both occasions many were turned away, while
others were obliged to stand. Many heard the Gospel of the Two Salvations for
the first time:--
(1) The present call and development of the
"elect," the consummation of whose hope will be in the glorious
change of the First Resurrection.
(2) The Restitution blessing then to be brought
to the world in general with full opportunity for all the willing and obedient
to return to human perfection and a world-wide Eden and everlasting
life--rejectors being destroyed in the Second Death.
Our experiences at Corinth were interesting. We were shown the
ruins of ancient Corinth,
which have recently been uncovered. We walked about some of the very market
places and fountains visited by St.
Paul, and probably upon the very stones. St. Paul's Cathedral, a
fine, modern structure, is the City's memorial to the great Apostle. The
Cathedral is Greek Catholic--or rather Greek Christian, for so the natives
prefer to speak of themselves.
Here, at the request of the Mayor and the
Ecclesiastics, Pastor Russell gave two addresses of about an hour and a half
each. They were well received. The reasonableness of the presentations and
deductions and the harmony of the same with the Bible seemed to be the general
comment of the people, many of whom seemed hungry for a clearer knowledge of
God's Word and a surer foundation for their faith. Here as well as at Athens many addresses
were handed in with requests for reading matter.
Brief stops were made at two places in France, where
several semi-private conferences were held with Bible Students. The following
Sunday brought us to London,
where a most interesting and profitable week was spent. Pastor Russell
delivered eight addresses in London
and nearby--four of these were in the London Tabernacle.
W.T. R-5016a : page 137 - 1912r