Request from Atlantis "Bible Students Monthly" ~1917 (page 2)

Atlantis

jgnat:

Yep! The Watchtower has got them on their knees begging for mercy! please Shaking in their boots! Cheers! Atlantis-

jgnat

Excerpts from the main article, The Fall of Babylon - Ancient Babylon a Type - Mystic Babylon the Antitype - Why Christendom Must Now Suffer - The Final Outcome

In summary, I found the language disturbingly similar to modern publications. They may not be as blatantly virulent against the "papacy", but seed words still in heavy use today like "clearly" "true" "largely" and "sincere" are all there. There is no justification in the entire document for their having named Christendom as Babylon the Great. They start with that bold assumption and exposit from there. The article promises to tie the two together, but never delivers. Most of the article is prophecy, interpretation, and accusation, in the most violent language. The article wraps up in familiar style, the promise of the paradise to come. - Janet/Jgnat

My comments are in (

brackets ). I am providing sections for comment only and where I didn't bother to type verbatim, I included that text in these [brackets]. I've bolded manipulative or amending words to show how the article pads their claims and leads the reader to accept unfounded assumptions.

[box, promotion for The Finished Mystery]...Pastor Russell held the distinction of being the most fearless and powerful writer of modern times on ecclesiastical subjects...[the book] is handsomely bound in embossed cloth, 60 c postpaid.

..it is clear..It is clear also...(

I am amazed how LITTLE the writing style has changed. No messing with a known formula, huh? )...the solemn warnings and predictions of the Prophets against Babylon - Christendom - are matters of deepest concern to the present generation....then we will note the present attitude of Christendom and the present indications of her foretold doom..( I note that the article begins with the assumption that Christendom is Babylon, and provides scant proof texts )..In symbolic prophecy a "city" signifies a religious government backed by power and influence. ( No explanation for this claim )

[Christendom] and backed, to a considerable degree, by the kings of the earth, the civil powers, which are all more or less intoxicated with her spirit and doctrine. The apostate church lost her virgin purity. Instead of waiting...she associated herself with the kings of th earth and prostituted her virgin purity - of both doctrine and character - to suit the world's ideas; and in return she received, and now to some extent exercises, a present dominion in large measure by their support, direct and indirect...(

These amending words means the "revelator" made it up. He can't back his claims )

And since the kingdoms of the civilized world have submitted to be largely dominated by the influence of the great ecclesiastical systems, especally Papacy, accepting from them the appellations, "Christian nations" and "Christendom," and accepting on their authority the doctrine of the "Divine right of kings," etc., they also link themselves in with great Babylon and become part of it. (Would you say these claims are still true today?)

...but some sincere Christians, not yet awake to the decline of Protestantism, (remember, this was written in 1917. Has protestantism declined steadily or catastrophically at any time in the last 90 years?)..The Protestant sects (and we say it with [ad are] deference to a comparatively few devout souls within them, whom the Lord designates as "wheat" in contradistinction to the overwhelming numbers of "tares") are the true daughters of that degenerate system of nominal Christianity...[Lots of snipes at the Papacy]

[Exposition on Revelation.] (

I skipped it. I'm revelated out. )

Ecclesiasticim's Pollution

...comments thereon taken from Pastor Russell's last message to the Church and to the world. We strongly urge that every Christian person, every order-loving man and woman, carefully read these prophetic stateements and comments, as fully set forth in volumes IV and VII of his STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, elsewhere announced...[Exposition on Ezekeil.] (

I skipped it. I'm revelated out. )

Clergy Responsible

The clergy, as a class, have existed since the third centry. Amongst them have been many good, honest, noble Christian men. But by far the greater majority have been unfaithful, disloyal, unrighteous men. Alas, the unfaithful class prevails at this time, and the great climax has come; God foretold this centuries ago. (

No backup of claims. ) [more exposition on Ezekiel, more exposition on Revelation]

Experiencing a sudden conviction of their error in so doing, and of the truly devilish character of the system, the masses will turn upon her and she shall be cast into the sea - that is, overwhelmed in a flood of anarchy. The masses of the people, no longer ignorantlystupified as during the Dark Ages, but awakening to the true situation, will execute upon Babylong the Great the judgement of the Lord...The sea represents the masses of the people and especially the restless discontented class. And thus shall great Babylon perish from the erth and bear her name and shall be forgotten forever!

(And as a final flourish') "Universal Peace with Rejoicing" (I'll leave it up to your imagination how the article ends)

Excerpts from article, "Methodism in Holy Writ"

(This is a secondary article in the tract, basically warning Methodists that they are not exempt from the dire warnings against all of Christendom)

...revelator's depiction of the Papacy and the Reformation. To whatever extend the "daughters" have followed the course of the Mother Church in hiding the increasing light of the Truth which discredits their time-worn deeds....the Lord has held them in derision. [What follows is a reprint and promotion for The Finished Mystery. There is an interesting comparison of John Wesley, founder of the Methodists, to a fallen star. An entire paragraph is dedicated to the scorpion. Then the article goes on to condemn the Methodist church for preaching hellfire.] (

By the way, Methodists later joined up with several other protestant groups to create the modern United Church .)

Illustration:

Here's the text on the building blocks of ruin.

PROTESTANTISM - Creeds, Clergy, etc.

There is no evil, no pain, no death, no devil.

Doctrine of the Trinity. ('3x1-1')

Immortality of the Soul

Eternal Torment Theory

ROMANISM - Popes, Cardinals, etc., etc.

Infallibility of the Popes

Vicar of the son of God

Doctrine of the Mass

Baptism of Infants

Purgatory

Granting of Indulgences

Confessions

The end justifies the means

Apostolic succession.

IN THE BACKGROUND, Finance and Imperialism

cabasilas

Thanks, Atlantis and Investigator74 for making this rare tract available to researchers!

Atlantis

cabasilas:

Thank you my friend!

"Invetigator74" saved the day! and deserves a six pack!

Cheers! Atlantis-

Invetigator74

Atlantis I'll pass on the 6 pack(watching my weight or my weight is watching me.) I'll just take a can(lol) Anyway my friends, if you need a copy of any of the WT old literature let me know , I may have. Just reading that tract had me shaking as well (lol) Rick

Leolaia

Notice this sly comment in the Finished Mystery ad:

"It Foretold the Pope's Peace Plan and It's Temporary Success".

The book is ascribed the prophetic power of foretelling the course of events. But part of its success is that it foretold that the armistace was only temporary, i.e. God will bring it to an end when he dissolves all governments in 1920 (the book claimed that the world would go through three years of war, i.e. 1914-1917 and then three more years of upheaval until God brings the world relief from oppression). In other words, the advertisement is counting a false prophecy that was not even due to be fulfilled yet as a success.

AlphaOmega

Atlantis and Investigator74 MANYTHANKS for this file... what a find !

It seems like you've had enough beer put your way this evening, so here are a couple of Martinis for you :

Invetigator74

Thanks for the martinis! I see a meeting at "AAA" in my near future. lol Investigator74

Request from Atlantis "Bible Students Monthly" ~1917

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