<< Back |
Chosen no: R-5893 b, from: 1916 Year. |
Change lang
| |
YOUR BRETHREN THAT HATED YOU
"Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My
name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but He shall appear
to your joy, and they shall be ashamed."--Isaiah 66:5.
HOW beautifully reasonable is the Message of
God's Word! Many of the followers of
Jesus, young in faith and possessed of but a
small measure of the Holy Spirit, would be
inclined to threaten their enemies with dire
vengeance from God, even as the Apostles
James and John at first desired to call down
fire from Heaven upon the Samaritan city
because the people had refused to sell them
bread for the use of Jesus and His disciples.
Where in the Bible do we find one word of threatening
in respect to those who persecuted Jesus unto death, or
those who have persecuted His followers? The simple
statement is, "They shall be ashamed." The Lord's declaration
through Daniel's prophecy is, "Many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," some to shine
as the brightness of the firmament--the saintly, the Church
of glory--others to be ashamed--to have shame and lasting
contempt.--Daniel 12:2,3.
And even here our Common Version Bible oversteps
the matter and declares, "Everlasting shame and contempt,"
whereas the Hebrew text says merely "lasting shame and contempt." The shame will last as long as the
wrongdoer continues to be in his shameful condition of
opposition to the Lord and to His Message. The contempt
will last as long as the individual's course shall be a contemptible
one. But as soon as reformation sets in, the
shame will begin to depart; and eventually there will be
neither shame nor contempt to those who will manifest a
proper appreciation of the character of our God and the
principles of His Government, when under the instructions
of the Kingdom they shall come to understand them.
So then, dear brethren, since the Messianic Kingdom
will be administered by those who have suffered for the
name of Christ, receive persecutions patiently, joyfully.
As the Lord advised, "Rejoice and be exceeding glad."
Everything that we may suffer for the Lord's sake, for
the Truth's sake, will, He assures us, eventually bring us
an everlasting reward, if we are rightly exercised by it,
if we become character copies of God's dear Son.
The names of all who suffer for righteousness' sake,
we are assured, are written in Heaven; but we shall be
glad to have a little memorandum on earth, too, from
those who desire to send their names in to us. Make the
record just as brief as possible, head it I.H.S., and
crowd it down into a few words on a postcard, even
though you enclose the postcard in an envelope. We want
your address on one side and this brief review on the
other side; and we will keep these cards on file.
In addition to telling us very briefly something about
what the Truth has cost you, you may add one line about
your family, and then a brief word respecting your talents,
abilities and experience. Who knows but that we might
be able to suggest something for you in future?
In addition to this card, we suggest that any brothers
or sisters who have special literary talents as writers or
as editors, and other special education, or such as are
lawyers, doctors, or fluent preachers, send us a brief letter
respecting their financial standing--accompanying the
above mentioned card.