Families of the earth come to worship at the temple

9 O worship Yahweh in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

It Is For The Prince

"O worship Yahweh in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations that Yahweh reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved"-Psa. 96:9-10

Bro. Sulley's book is one of the few basic books on the Truth that we should study thoroughly. It was the product of many years of investigation and labour.

Ezekiel's Temple is a difficult subject. Many in the past had struggled to get a coherent picture from it, but none had succeeded. Bro. Sulley presents a consistent exposition. It fills all the required necessities, and it is in full harmony with the Truth. In fact, it very materially assists in giving body and substance and vividness to the Gospel.

There are today, unhappily, strong movements in other groups to try to break down and discredit this whole concept. A recent one ap­plies it all to the days of Nehemiah: a pitiful, negative, dogmatic effort that at least does serve the useful purpose of emphasizing the beauty of the Truth by contrast. Another new theory thinks the service and worship of the nations of the world will be merely voluntary. More than ever it is important that we study, and keep clear, and defend the basic scriptural picture as presented by our pioneers.

None of us has any time to waste on nonessential, worldly, passing things, on mere self-pleasing activities. There is infinitely too much to be learned, and to be faithfully defended. The strength of a fellowship depends on the depth of the intelligent scriptural understanding of all its members. Life is very, very brief. We have absolutely no time to waste on present things.

If we hope for salvation-a few saved from the billions cast away-we must devote our lives to making ourselves a prospective part of the Cherubim of Glory which underlie and give meaning to all Ezekiel's visions. It is of the deepest significance that they rest not day and night from saying-

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!" (Rv.4:8).

Holiness is the essence of the purpose of God-

"Without holiness shall NO MAN SEE THE LORD" (Heb. 12:14).

The common conception of holiness is that it is theoretically beau­tiful and desirable, but too high for humans, and inconsistent with pleasure and enjoyment and having a good time. Until we learn that holiness is the only happiness, the only true pleasure and enjoyment: until we, by diligent scriptural study, get out of babyhood and infancy, and mature to the realization that anything not related to God is empty folly, and that anything out of harmony with pure divine holiness is ugly and dirty and repulsive-until we learn this, we are no fit candidates for the Cherubim of Glory. They forever rejoice in God: they rejoice in nothing else. They have no time for anything else.

The quality of pleasure varies according to mental development. A baby enjoys a rattle, a young child enjoys playing in the mud and comic books. As we grow naturally, we advance a little beyond the rattle, mudpie and comic book stage, but not very much, as we see from the adult world's amusements. Most of mankind are content with this meager advance beyond puerility. But the Word of God studied and meditated upon can carry us to much higher and fuller levels of pleasure and satisfaction, related to the beauty of holiness.

Bro Growcott - BYT 4. 18

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

To mention all the correspondences between the natural and political world that are referred to in the Scriptures would be to almost riddle the Bible, they are so constant and numerous.

The fact of their existence to such an extent is one evidence that the Creator of the heavens and earth, and the Author of revelation are one and the same being; whose work the one is, and whose word the other is.

The political history of nations thus far is a history of political wild beasts. The time will come, however, when both nations and wild beasts will cease to prey one upon another (Isa. 11:6–9; 19:23–25); in other words, when

"they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and learn war no more."

This will be one of the results of the reign of the Prince of Peace, who will at once

"reign for God and dwell with men."

The heavens and earth of God's progressive purpose are three, and thus enumerated by Dr. Thomas:

First Heavens and Earth.—The commonwealth of Israel, as constituted by the law of Moses.

Second Heavens and Earth.—The commonwealth of Israel, as constituted by the law of Christ, yet to be promulged from Zion. This is the dispensation of the future age, or economy of the fulness of times, styled, "the world to come."

Third Heavens and Earth.—That social organisation of mankind in which evil shall no longer exist, but everything shall be good, and all the inhabitants of the earth equal to the angels of the now invisible world.

The Christadelphian, Jan 1889