[Bflyleaf]
STUDIES
IN THE
SCRIPTURES
"The Path of the Just is as the Shining Light,
Which Shineth More and More
Unto the Perfect Day."
SERIES II
The Time is at Hand
"Times of Refreshing Shall Come From the
Presence of the Lord; and He Shall Send Jesus
Christ,...Whom the Heavens Must Retain until
THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS
Which God Hath Spoken by the Mouth of All His
Holy Prophets Since the World Began." "Ye Brethren,
Are Not in Darkness, That That Day Should
Overtake You as a Thief." Acts 3:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:4
To the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
IN THE INTEREST OF
HIS CONSECRATED SAINTS,
WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION,
--AND OF--
"ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE LORD,"
"THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH,"
--AND OF--
THE GROANING CREATION, TRAVAILING AND WAITING FOR THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD,
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED.
"To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the
beginning
of the world hath been hid in God." "Wherein He hath abounded
toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which
He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation
of the fulness of the times He
might gather together in one all
things, under Christ."
Eph. 3:4,5,9;1:8-10
Written in 1889 by Pastor Russell
[Bi]
"The Time is at Hand"
THE AUTHOR'S FOREWORD
THE FIRST EDITION of this Volume was given to the
public in A.D. 1889. Since then, one edition after another
has gone forth in various languages, until now more than
one million and a half copies are in the hands of the people.
These figures are astonishing when we consider how few
people today have any faith in the Bible as a Divine Revelation,
and how few of those who do have faith in the Bible
have an appreciation of prophecy and of chronology--especially
of Bible chronology and the Bible's history of the
world.
The author and the publishers have great cause for rejoicing
in the evidence continually coming to hand that this
Volume has proven very helpful to the people of God in every
land in the study of the Bible--in collating the message
of the Lord's Word under various headings and classifications
assistful to the student. Especially have we heard
of many being blessed in their study of the manner of the
Second Advent--in the Scriptural proof set forth in this
Volume that our Lord will never again come to this earth as
a man, having fulfilled completely His mission as a human
being when He by the grace of God tasted death for every
man at Calvary. The texts brought to the attention of the
reader, proving that now our Lord is the glorified One at
the Father's right hand, and is soon to become King of the
world, have been assistful to many, as their letters testify.
This Volume makes no claim to infallibility, and no
claim of any direct inspiration from God in the interpretation
of His Word. On the contrary, it does claim that
the Divine Revelation is the Bible. Its endeavor has been to
collate the Bible evidences and to offer suggestions in respect
to their significance.
[Bii]
Dealing with subjects so difficult that they are rarely
touched by others, it is not to be considered strange if some
of the suggestions made in this Volume have not been fulfilled
with absolute accuracy to the very letter. But the author,
the publishers, and the thousands of readers of this
Volume are not ashamed of its presentations, and are still
handing it forth to all who have an interest in Bible study--
as most interesting and most helpful in an understanding of
the Lord's Word.
The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six
great thousand-year Days beginning with Adam are ended,
and that the great Seventh Day, the thousand years of
Christ's Reign, began in 1873. The events of these 43 years,
which this Volume claims as the beginning of the Millennium,
we still find fully corroborating Bible prophecies, as
herein set forth. During these 43 years, nearly all the inventions
of our day have been accomplished. The sewing
machine, one of the first, began to reach its perfection 43
years ago. Since then, we have all kinds of farming machinery
and tools, and workshop, store, factory and home conveniences,
in abundance and cheap--through human
invention. These are shortening the hours of labor, and
doing away with the "sweat of face," which the Bible declares
to be identified with the curse.
It is entirely safe to say that in these 43 years the world
has increased its riches one thousandfold. And when we remember
that behind the 43 years lies a total of six thousand
years of human endeavor, it seems almost a miracle that the
world should accomplish one thousand times more in the
past 43 years than in the six thousand years preceding.
Surely this well attests the claim of this Volume that we
have entered the great Seventh Day, and that what we are
already experiencing as a race are only the foregleams of
the much greater blessings still to come--when the Sun of
[Biii]
Righteousness shall arise with healing in His beams, and
scatter all the darkness, ignorance, and superstition of the
world!
This Volume sets forth, what its author has been preaching
for over forty years, that the "Times of the Gentiles"
chronologically ended in the fall of A.D. 1914. The expression,
"Times of the Gentiles," in Bible usage signifies the
years, or period of time, in which the Gentile nations of the
world were to be permitted to have control, following the
taking away of the typical kingdom from natural Israel,
and filling the hiatus between that event and the establishment
of God's Kingdom in the hands of Messiah--
"whose right it is." Ezekiel 21:27
We could not, of course, know in 1889, whether the date
1914, so clearly marked in the Bible as the end of the Gentile
lease of power or permission to rule the world, would
mean that they would be fully out of power at that time, or
whether, their lease expiring, their eviction would begin.
The latter we perceive to be the Lord's program; and
promptly in August, 1914, the Gentile kingdoms referred to
in the prophecy began the present great struggle, which, according
to the Bible, will culminate in the complete overthrow
of all human government, opening the way for the
full establishment of the Kingdom of God's dear Son.
We are not able to see behind the veil; we are not able to
know the things progressing under the direction of our
glorious Lord and the members of His Church already glorified.
Our thought is that somehow the Lord is taking a
hand in the affairs of the world now as He did not do in
times past. We do know that the great Time of Trouble,
which has begun, very closely corresponds to the Divine
declaration respecting the time and conditions of the establishment
of Messiah's Kingdom. The Lord Himself informs
us that, at the time He shall take to Himself His great
[Biv]
power and reign, the nations will be mad and the Divine
wrath will come. A little later on the time will come for the
judging of the dead, and the giving of the reward to God's
servants, small and great, leading on finally to the destruction
of the incorrigible, who would exercise a corrupt influence
upon the earth. Revelation 21:8
All over the world people knew of the expectations of
Bible Students in respect to the year A.D. 1914; and when
so stupendous a war as the present one broke loose, when
the winds of strife began to blow with such fury and destruction,
thousands remembered what they had heard and
read respecting the end of the Gentile Times. Thousands
today have come to fully appreciate the times in which we
are living. The influence is very helpful and inspiring. A realization
that we are in the Day of the Lord, and that very
soon all of His saints will be gathered to Him by the resurrection
change, has a stimulating and encouraging influence
upon Bible students, separating them from the
world and its fears and ambitions and fixing their eyes
upon the Crown of Life, which the Lord has in reservation
for them that love Him most.
The author acknowledges that in this book he presents
the thought that the Lord's saints might expect to be with
Him in glory at the ending of the Gentile Times. This was a
natural mistake to fall into, but the Lord overruled it for
the blessing of His people. The thought that the Church
would all be gathered to glory before October, 1914, certainly
did have a very stimulating and sanctifying effect
upon thousands, all of whom accordingly can praise the
Lord--even for the mistake. Many, indeed, can express
themselves as being thankful to the Lord that the culmination
of the Church's hopes was not reached at the time we
expected; and that we, as the Lord's people, have further
[Bv]
opportunities of perfecting holiness and of being participators
with our Master in the further presentation of His Message
to His people.
Our mistake was evidently not in respect to the ending of
the Times of the Gentiles; we drew a false conclusion, however,
not authorized by the Word of the Lord. We saw in the
Bible certain parallels between the Jewish Age and the Gospel
Age. We should have noted that these parallels follow
the nominal systems to destruction in both cases, and do
not indicate the time of the glorification of the New Creation.
This explanation will help the reader as he studies
"THE TIME IS AT HAND." We have no doubt that the
great blessings which have come to many of us in the past
will continue to go through the Volume to thousands of
others. So with it go the prayers of the author,
Charles T. Russell
Brooklyn, N.Y.
October 1, 1916
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