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(Cont.
from Page 31/8/86A).
"THE SERVANT OF THE LORD… (From Wisdom of Solomon 2:1 to 3:5. The Apocrypha NEB).
"They said to themselves in their deluded way: 'Our life is
short and full of trouble, and when a man comes to his end there is no remedy;
no man was ever known to return from the grave. By mere chance were we born, and
afterwards we shall be as though we had never been, for the breath in our
nostrils is but a wisp of smoke; our reason is a mere spark kept alive by the
beating of our hearts, and when that goes out, our body will turn to ashes and
the breath of our life disperse like empty air. Our names will be forgotten with
the passing of time, and no one will remember anything we did. Our life will
blow over like the last vestige of a cloud; and as a mist is chased away by the
sun's rays and overborne by its heat, so will it too be dispersed. A passing
shadow
'Down with the poor and honest man! Let us tread him
underfoot; let us show no mercy to the widow and no reverence to the grey hairs
of old age. For us let might be right! Weakness is proved to be good for
nothing. Let us lay a trap for the just man; he stands in our way, a check to us
at every turn; he girds at us as Law So they argued, and very wrong they were; blinded by their own malevolence, they did not understand God's hidden plan; they never expected that holiness of life would have its recompense; they thought that innocence had no reward. But God created man for immortality, and made him the image of His own eternal Self; it was the devil's spite that brought death into the world, and the experience of it is reserved for those who take his side. But the souls of the just are in God's hand, and torment shall not touch them. In the eyes of foolish men they seemed to be dead; their departure was reckoned as defeat, and their going from us as disaster. But they are at peace, for though in the sight of men they may be punished, they have a sure hope of immortality; and after a little chastisement they will receive great blessings, because God has tested them and found them worthy to be His."
YES, WE DO STYLE OURSELVES AS SERVANTS OF THE
LORD.
In relation to the persecution of
us by the Godless, servants of the Lord exercise patience because they have come
to know the "Way of Holiness", that it is their opportunity for
immortal spirit life through "God's hidden plan", that immortality
will be recompense for their holiness. The recompense described in Joel 2:18-32
and Revelation 11:18 will begin after the spiritual cleansing work of anointed
"locusts" has been completed. (Isaiah 35:8
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