View source for Page:Drama-of-vindication-part-II-1939.djvu/9

<noinclude><pagequality level="1" user="" /></noinclude>Fepruary 15, 1939 
service, which the Lord God had provided for them? 
At that time the holy spirit had not been ‘poured 
out on all flesh’. (Joel 2: 28,29) Now call to mind 
what did take place, and let your hope be increased 
and rejoice. 
**As Joshua was in command of the Israclites, 
so the Greater Joshua, Christ Jesus, was leading 
his people at the time above mentioned in fulfill- 
ment of the prophetic drama: “And it came to pass, 
after three days, that the officers went through the 
host.” (Josh. 3:2) The “three days” here mentioned 
corresponds to the three years, 1919 to 1922, dur- 
ing which time there was much speculation as to the 
meaning of God’s Word, and particularly the “elec- 
tive elder” element were putting forth many prog- 
nostications. Some of the faithful ones exhorted to 
boldness, while others grew timid and frightened and 
insisted on holding back, not attempting to move for- 
ward. The Watchtower August 1,15, 1919, carried 
articles “Blessed Are the Fearless”, and dwelt upon 
Elisha’s course at the Jordan and the miracle there 
performed by the parting of the waters. The Cedar 
Point convention of that year was the beginning 
of the public discussion of these important ques- 
tions. A special issue of the Golden Age magazine, 
much of the contents of which had been written 
behind prison walls, was published and shortly 
thereafter four million copies were distributed, and 
which exposed the religionists who had led and were 
leading in the opposition to the message of God’s 
kingdom. When that issue of The Golden Age was 
ready for distribution, some objected and complained 
against distributing it, charging that the movement 
was the result only of the opinion of one man and 
that the bold ones were following a man, whereas 
the objectors preferred to give heed to the one who 
once led them and who was then dead, and they 
put forth that as an excuse for doing nothing for 
the advancement of the work. Rather they insisted 
that the Lord’s people should sit still and talk about 
love and not attack the enemy. Those objectors at 
least doubted and denied that the Lord was any 
longer using the Watch Tower. A great shaking 
was the result, which well compared to the lodging 
overnight beside the raging waters of the Jordan 
with no human means of getting across. Both in 
the picture and in the antitype the faithful trusted 
the Lord. And so it is written that “the officers went 
through the host” at the command of Joshua; and 
this corresponds to A.D. 1922, when at the command 
of the Lord the faithful went about amongst the 
people of God to encourage them to become active 
and zealous in the service. 
78 Joshua had given command to his officers, which 
they were obeying, even as Christ Jesus, the Greater 
Joshua, directed his servants in 1922. “And they 
She WATCHTOWER. 57 
commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark 
of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the 
priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove 
from your place, and go after it.” (Josh. 3:3) 
Those organization instructions in the antitype pro- 
ceeded from the Greater Joshua, Christ Jesus, and 
were transmitted by his servants to the consecrated 
people through the earth. Upon the ancient ark of 
the covenant rested the Shekinah light, showing the 
presence of Jehovah. As Jehovah is the head over 
Christ Jesus, the ark there pictured Christ Jesus, 
under the command of the Almighty.—Pss. 80:1; 
99:1; 1 Cor. 11:3. 
»° The substance of the message or command trans- 
mitted to the faithful was this: When you see that 
the Lord Jehovah God, as represented by his Mes- 
senger, Christ Jesus, is at the temple (Mal. 3:1), 
in the drama pictured by the ark, then is the time 
to move forward, and then follow the Lord’s com- 
mandment, and not man’s leading. “Follow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth.” (Rev. 14:4) The Israclites 
on the banks of the Jordan no longer had the cloud 
by day and the pillar of fire by night to lead them. 
They must look to and follow the ark of the cove- 
nant. So with the coming of Christ Jesus to the 
temple, no longer did the holy spirit serve as a 
guide to the consecrated, but the Lord Jesus, the 
antitypical ark of the covenant, the representative 
of Jehovah, from that time onward guides and di- 
rects the movement of his people. Those who have 
failed to see Christ at the temple have fallen com- 
pletely away. 
*° The priests of the Israelites bearing the ark on 
their shoulders were more than half a mile ahead 
of the rest of Israel, and they were leading the 
march: “Yet there shall be a space between you 
and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come 
not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which 
ye must go; for ye have not passed this way here- 
tofore.”—Josh. 3:4. 
The people could see the ark, and they were 
following its lead. From 1919 onward Christ Jesus, 
the antitypical ark, then and since at the temple, 
by faith is seen or discerned to be there and he is 
guiding and leading all those devoted to him and 
to Jehovah God. In 1919 and thereafter Jehovah’s 
witnesses needed the leadership of Christ Jesus, for 
they were now engaged in a work that led them over 
untrodden paths. It was a new work, different from 
that of the “Elijah period” of service. It is now 
easy to be seen that it was hard at that time, in 
1919, for some to let go the leadership of a man 
whom they had understood to be that “faithful and 
wise servant” and the “seventh messenger”. They 
found it difficult to let go the Scripture Studies and 
the Daily Manna book, and to strike out for further 
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