be shared by His Bride and Joint-heir. (Rev. 20:4.) "The terrible crystal"-literally "the reverential ice"-suggests the reverence due to the ruling Christ Head and Body, and their own reverential attitude towards the Father. The color is that of ice, clear as crystal, pure, unmixed "truth in the inward parts" (Psa. 51:6), characterizing the new ruling powers in the spiritual phase of the Kingdom of God.

1:23. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.-Beneath, subject to the direction of the Christ, Head and Church triumphant, are the wings (Word of God-Rev. 12:14). Whenever Divine Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom are in action, the Word of God points straight up to the Father as the Source of every good thing.

1:24. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.-The sound of the Father's Word is as the voice of great waters (Rev. 1:15), mighty truths, in "the voice of speech," for the benefit of His children. It is the voice of God, too, when spoken by His people. When Divine Justice, Power, Love and Wis dom operate upon human society, then the Word of God is in full harmony therewith.

1:25. And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. It is through the reigning Christ, Zion, that the voice of Jehovah shall sound forth. "The Lord will roar from Zion." (Amos 1:2.) "Out of Zion shall go forth the Law." (Isa. 2:3.) Through The Christ sounds forth the Word of God bespeaking to the world infinite Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom.

1:26. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a Man above upon it."THE HEAD OF CHRIST IS GOD." (1 Cor. 11:3.) Above the triumphant Christ, Head and Body, is the Throne of Almighty God. "The Son [is] subject to Him that put all things under Him." (1 Cor. 15:28.) The Throne represents the dominion of God. As the blue sapphire (symbolic of faithfulness), so is the rulership of the Almighty. "God is faithful." (1 Cor. 1:9.) In the contemplation of the watchers, the faithfulness, unchangeableness of God, is seen shining through the Christ, the firmament, like the

soft blue of the sapphire stone. Man is in the image and likeness of God. Reigning over all is One whom men can understand, a Deity whose perfect Justice, Power, Love and Wisdom elicit complete consecration. God is seen to be not a ferocious demon, belying His own command of love, but a just, reasonable, loving God, able to save all the willing and obedient. Jesus, the friend of sinners, was and is the perfect image of the Father.

1:27. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appear. ance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of His loins even upward, and from the appearance of His loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.-"God dwelleth in light whereto no man can approach." (1 Tim. 6:16.) Radiant is the Almighty with the golden glow of the Divine natare. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12: 29); only the perfect can stand in His presence; for all dross, not refinable (Mal. 3:2, 3), is consumed by Justice. The essence of the Divine Revelation is Love, the golden light radiating in every direction from Our Father. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light" (1 John 2:10), in the Divine love-light that surrounds the Throne and pervades the entire spirit realm. This love is the light of the world, to light men unto God.

1:28. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the bright ness round about. This was the appearance of the like. ness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.The Throne and He that sat thereon were surrounded by all the colors of the rainbow. (Rev. 4:3.) The love spirit finds fruitage in character fruits. So the light of our Father is divisible into the warm red of love, the glowing blue of faithfulness, the brilliant green of immortality, the royal purple of kingship, for those on any plane who are worthy of that honor, etc.-the manifestation of every good character fruit and every good purpose for the bless. ing of all His creatures. (John 15:8; Gal. 5:22.) The glory of God is not a display of blinding light to terrify men; but it is to do good, to manifest to the uttermost His character of love. When the watchman of the Laodicean age discerned the Divine character and Plan he fell upon his face (Rev. 1:17), in reverential worship and in complete consecration to do the will of his Father in Heaven. There sounded forth and through him, from the pages of God's Word (Isa. 30:21), the voice of the Sublime One who has been speaking to Christendom during this dawn of the Golden Age.

EZEKIEL 2

THE REBELLIOUS HOUSE AND THE BOOK

2:1. And He said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.-It is a mark of favor to stand before a king. (Prov. 22:29.) Those who stand before rulers receive commissions, are invested with au thority and power.

2:2. "And the spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that spake unto me."-"The words which I speak, they are spirit." (John 6:63.) When the full import of the Word was discerned, Pastor Russell took a firm stand. The spirit, power, influence of God entered into him, never to leave. He stood firmly, before God, before his friends, and before all the hostile hosts of Mystic Babylon the Great.

2:3. "And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day."-Pastor Russell's work was largely among professing Christians— not slum work, Christian work among the professedly nonChristians, or a revivalistic work calling to repentance and conversion. This was not the work appropriate to the Harvest of the Christian Age. John the Baptist announced the First Presence of Messiah, and began the harvesting of Jewry, and was not sent to the heathen, but to the Lord's people, the Jews, to acquaint them with the First Advent, expose those withholding the keys of knowledge (Luke 11:52), and warn of the impending destruction of Jerusalem and Judea in A. D. 70 and 73. (Matt. 3:7; 24:2.) A like work was to be accomplished in Spiritual Israel, Christendom, after the Lord's Second Advent in 1874. The man raised up, "set upon his feet," and given wisdom, grace and power for the task, was Pastor Russell,

2:4. "For they are impudent children and stiff-hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God."-Few things are more trying than a family of impudent children. Forwardness in evildoing and evil-speaking was one of the characteristics of the Hebrew people. They violated the Word of God and justified the violation. (Matt. 15:5.) By impudent-hard faced-tradition they made void the Word of God. The

effrontery of the "Christian" era has been unsurpassed. Possessing greatest light, they have sinned most grievously. The Word said, "He that is begotten of God sinneth not” (1 John 3:9); yet John Tetzel was, and in some countries Roman Catholic priests still are, selling indulgences to commit sin. Professing "Christians" keep Christianity out of their affairs with the phrase, "Business is business." 2:5. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a Prophet among them.-The work of Ezekiel among the Hebrews in captivity proved a thankless task. He was rejected by both those in captivity and those remaining at Jerusalem under Zedekiah. His following was almost nothing. But he witnessed faithfully, and no Hebrew could say that he had not been cautioned of danger and warned of impending catastrophe. Whether the clergy and people of Christendom wished to heed Pastor Russell or not, they certainly heard his words. (Z.'03-436.) His work was peculiarly prospered. Against difficulties it grew and extended beyond the wildest dreams, until it compassed the civilized world. In the face of the united opposition of Protestant and Romanist clergy, the steward of Almighty God accomplished the most gigantic preaching work ever done by one man. "I cannot open the morning paper without Pastor Russell staring me in the face," said a prominent minister. In the newspapers, in the theatres, on the bill-boards, in billions of tract pages distributed gratis, in millions of home libraries, in the questions of inquiring church members, it was evident everywhere that a great preacher was faithfully sounding forth a trumpet message. With a voice of many waters, reverberating like thunder throughout the world, spoke Pastor Russell; and ere long "they shall know that there hath been a Prophet [preacher] among them."

2:6, 7. "And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak My words, unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.-Fearlessness characterized Ezekiel and Pastor Russell, both out. casts among the "best" people. Pastor Russell was thrust by the church people into a wilderness condition, amid the briers of opposition and reproach. Though the thorns of persecution crowned his head, he was never afraid of words nor of angry looks. (Jer. 1:8-10.) "I would rather see him stoned to death," said a Wilkes-Barre, Pa

preacher, in answer to a kindly invitation to come and hear Pastor Russell preach. "He ought to be skinned alive, and his hide stretched on a door," remarked a Chicago "divine" to another "divine," coming out from one of Pastor Russell's addresses. A scorpion has a great swelling, formidable looking head, but it stings with its tail. (Rev. 9:5, 10.) Ecclesiasticism is made up of or ganizations whose heads utter boastful, swelling words, but which do injury through their followers. The sting of a scorpion-of the followers of synods and popes-is through poisoned words. Every great reformer has had some turn on him who were very close to him. Not from outside did Pastor Russell suffer most. A few from among his own household, whom he had befriended, helped, pushed, advanced, struck at him to ruin him and destroy his influence and his work. It is characteristic of the scorpion to sting and poison in the dark corners of a man's own home. “Be not afraid, though thou dost dwell among scorpions."

2:8. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.-The attitude of the rebellious Christian was not that of God's chosen servant. Never did he rebel against the Divine leading, nor seek to pervert the Word of God. "My flesh is meat (food) indeed." (Jno. 6:55.) "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4.) Whatever the word or message that came from the Father's lips through the inspired pages of the Bible, the Laodicean steward was to appropriate, assim. ilate.-Rev. 10:9.

2:9. And when I looked, behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein.-The Divine hand sent from God is the Divine power, support, upholding and advancing the interests of whatever is in the hand. "The book therein" is the Divine Plan of the Ages, Pres ent Truth, especially as relating to the impending downfall of Christendom in the end of this Age. Ancient books were written on a continuous sheet, rolled up. The sheet was often written on both sides. The writing outside could be plainly read until covered by the rolling, but that inside was entirely hidden from view. Present Truth, the Divine Plan of the Ages, contains features which are plain to any one who looks at them; such as those relating to the earthly features of God's Plan -the evil in the earth, the clashing interests of rich and poor, and various other elements of the present order of things, the great war, and the approach of a better order of things after