"THE CHILDREN OF THE BLESSED"

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:--

I submit to you some of my deductions, desiring to know whether you view these matters in this light. My ruminations follow:--

The 65th chapter of Isaiah, from the 17th to the 25th verses inclusive, gives a prophetic view of the Millennial Reign of Christ, as is shown from the statement in the 17th verse, "I create new heavens and a new earth." Evidently this is the same new arrangement that Peter saw by faith when he said, "We, according to God's promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, in which dwell righteousness"--the same new heavens and new earth that are referred to by the Revelatorin chapter 21, verses 1-5 inclusive.

During a recent study particular attention was directed to verse 23 of Isaiah 65, which reads, in the Leeser Translation, "They shall not toil in vain, nor bring forth unto an early death; for the seed of the blessed of the Lord are they, and their offspring with them," and the question presented itself whether the statement, "nor bring forth unto an early death," had reference to child bearing during the time of the incoming Kingdom. It will be observed in the King James Translation the reading is, "nor bring forth for trouble." Young's Concordance shows that the Hebrew word "Yalad," translated "bring forth," beget, bear, is exactly the same word used under inspiration in Genesis 3:16, where God said unto the woman, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children." With these points in mind note the significance of Isaiah 65:20 (Leeser's Translation): "There shall no more come thence an infant of few days, nor an old man that shall not have the full length of his days; for as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at a hundred years old."

These Scriptures seem to indicate that child bearing will continue for some time, at least, into the Millennial Age, if not up to within one hundred years or thereabouts of its close. At first thought this apparently conflicts with the Lord's statement in Luke 20:34-36, "And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry and are given in marriage; but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels and are children of the resurrection." However, a more careful consideration of these words of the Lord would indicate that he presented at least primarily the estate of those accounted worthy to obtain an inheritance as members of the Kingdom, and as sharers in its resurrection, thus leaving the question of human conditions during the period of "resurrection by judgments" for amplification under other Scriptures, as well as under the secondary application of the Lord's words in Luke when the walk up to full resurrection by the earthly class is attained.

We recall God's mandate to Adam and Eve after the creation, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." No doubt this command will have been literally carried out by the time of the end of the "Gentile Times." From other Scriptures we know that during the Gospel Age there will have been taken out from amongst men not only the "little flock," who will be upon the throne with their Lord, but also a "great number," who will be before the throne. In addition to these there is the "Son of Perdition" class who go to the Second Death; and the teaching of the Scripture is that during the Millennial Age there will also be some of this latter class who will not attain the heights to which the Highway of Holiness leads, and hence will be cut off in the Second Death.

We have learned in our Bible Studies that our Heavenly Father is an Accurate Book-keeper, and that during the past few years the door has been left open after the close of the "General Call," that the places of those who lose their crowns may be secured by other volunteers, who are willing to join in and do what they can in the completion of the harvest work. Reasoning by analogies, the suggestion presents itself that the same Accurate Book-keeper, designing to have the Earth properly filled with human sons, has probably so arranged that during the Millennium, and from those who have not been child-bearers during the present evil world, there shall be "brought forth" those who may take the place of those sons of Adam who have gone to higher planes, or who through wilful sin lose life entirely. This class coming up by an awakening from the dead are not considered as Adam's seed, but are the seed of the "Blessed and only Potentate," who will then be known as the "Everlasting Father." (I. Tim. 6:15; Isaiah 9:6.) This gives special significance to the phrase in Isaiah 65:23, "For the seed of the Blessed of the Lord are they, and their offspring with them."

Surely it will be a wonderful manifestation of the love and favor of God to thus arrange to fill the places in the human ranks that either his special favor on the one hand, or Satanic character on the other, may have vacated. And, further, under such an arrangement the manifold wisdom of God would be shown in ordering conditions under which child-bearing would be not in sorrow, as under the Adamic conditions since the fall, but under blessed conditions, where every feature of the curse would be removed. Thus humanity would have an example of how the earth would have been peopled had Adam and Eve not sinned, and had sorrow in conception and multiplication of conception not been inflicted as a penalty.

Again, we can see that another grand feature will be brought to light; i.e., that it is sin in its cancerous working that has caused the fearful degeneracy in sex matters that is today preying upon the world, and that this quality, given to the race by its Beneficient Creator, when used in wisdom and righteousness, will be shown to be of the divine and pure order. It is true that right-minded men and women, even during the reign of sin, have discerned that it is sin and the abuse of God's favors that has brought especial trouble along these lines, yet, amongst the sodden classes of all ages and nations, the gross darkness is so complete upon this, as well as other matters, that no doubt a demonstration coming through the channels suggested will bring to full light the righteousness and majesty and wisdom and power of our God in this as in all other matters.

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