Believer ’s

M AG A Z I N E

We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
(1 Timothy 4.10)

AUGUST 2022
 FROM THE
EDITOR
“the wall of the city shall fall down flat”
(Josh 6.5)
T he way in which Scripture focuses on God’s
dealings with men through the ages is clear
when we think of great events on Earth that
have no place in the Biblical record. Many scientists
and academics who reject the Bible as the Word of
God will, nevertheless, acknowledge the accuracy of
the history it contains, but only when it suits them to
do so. Events that demand the intervention of the God
they deny must be dismissed as myths. In such a way,
man’s record of human history has become ever more
distorted, and that process is still going on today.
Take, for example, a little study on the subject of
‘walls’. Since the year 2000, when a Swiss institution
decided it was time for ‘The Seven Wonders of the
World’ to be updated, (after all, only one of them,
the Pyramids of Giza, was still standing), the new
list has been headed up by the Great Wall of China.
(Incidentally, the new list, just like the original that was
compiled around 200 BC, is all about things that man
has built.) A modern myth concerning the Great Wall
is that it is the only man-made structure that is visible
from space. “Not so”, say those who are qualified to
comment: the idea was publicised in promotional
literature when China opened up to tourism, but it has
no basis in fact. What is fact, however, is that work
began in earnest on what would eventually become
known as the Great Wall of China, when rival kings
of the eastern provinces surrounded their respective
territories with defensive walls during China’s ‘Warring
Period’ (445-222 BC). At precisely the same time (444
BC), Nehemiah and his brethren began rebuilding
the walls of Jerusalem. The latter project was part of
God’s unfolding plan for His people Israel, and is thus
recorded in Scripture, whereas the former became a
vanity project for successive Emperors and dynasties,
and destined to head man’s list of ‘The Seven Wonders
of the World’ some 2,500 years later!
Jan Assman, Professor (Emeritus) of Egyptology at
the University of Heidelberg, is no friend of the Bible,
and typical of those in high positions of Academia who
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make it a large part of their life’s work to discredit the
Word of God. In his Blackening Egypt’s Reputation,
Assman asserts:
In the Bible, the story of the exodus from Egypt is
an orally transmitted myth that serves as the basis
for this story [Israel’s enslavement] … In my opinion,
however, it must postdate the time when the kingdom
of Judah collapsed (586 BC) and the people were
deprived of any exterior stabilizers of memory and
identity: kingship, state and territory, temple, priest-
hood and cult. In exile, they experienced, discovered
or invented a new form of spiritual resettlement in
the ideas of revelation, covenant and faith, which they
codified in the Torah [as] the spiritual foundation of
the new Second Temple Judaism.
This same Professor spent a lot of time exploring
the site of ancient Jericho, and came to the conclusion
that the Bible is wrong - there never was a wall around
the city, because he could find no trace of it! Thus,
this godless man, “professing [himself] to be wise”
(Rom 1.22), helpfully confirms the Biblical record: “The
Lord said unto Joshua … the wall of the city shall fall
down flat” (Josh 6.2-5). The Hebrew word translated
“flat” is also used in the well-loved verse, “The eternal
God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms” (Deut 33.27). The walls of Jericho, contrary to
the old spiritual, did not “Come a’tumblin’ down”,
but God removed them as an obstacle, putting them
‘underneath’ the city. Thus, Rahab’s house came down
to ground level, and the Israelites could “ascend up
every man straight before him” (Josh 6.5). They didn’t
clamber over rubble - the wall had gone!
The arrogant assertions of men who oppose God’s
Word will, like their ‘Seven Wonders of the World’,
always be reduced to rubble. The believer asserts, “Let
God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom 3.4).
Phil Coulson
 MEN OF
FAITH
in the 19th Century

Captain Allen Gardiner, RN (14)

The Final Voyage (continued)

Banner Cove and Spaniard Harbour (continued)

Further extracts from Captain Gardiner’s journal:

May 8 1851.

Children of Him whose watchful eye,

regards the ravens when they cry,
What need they fear or bode of ill?
They know their hairs are number’d all;
nor can the smallest sparrow fall,
without their Father’s sovereign will.
Though all around is dark and drear,
nor sun, nor moon, nor stars appear,
and every earthly Cherith dries;
faith bears the drooping spirit up,
and sweetens every bitter cup:
a bow in every cloud descries.
The Lord who gave may surely take,
the bruisèd reed He will not break;
He knows we are but dust.
The oil and meal alike may fail,
the ’whelming storm may long prevail,
yet on His promise we will trust.
Whate’er in wisdom He denies,
a richer boon His grace supplies,
a peace the world can ne’er bestow;
though nought remain, we’re not bereft,
what most we value still is left,
the Rock, whence living waters flow.
Then come what may, we’ll humbly wait,
His arm was never bared too late,
the promise will not, cannot fail.
Though dark the night, the morn will break,
His own the Lord will not forsake;
the prayer of faith shall yet prevail.
(Then we shall deem the trial sweet
that laid us, waiting, at His feet.)
May 12. Three fish caught in Cook’s River. As the biscuit
was getting low, and we may not altogether have
supplies for more than three weeks longer, those who
were in health were today put upon short allowance.
May 20. When I was at Cook’s River this afternoon,
I found Mr Williams engaged in prayer with the two
who were left on board. It is delightful to see him so
heavenly-minded, and so anxious to draw all around
him to the fountain of grace from whence he derives
such inward comfort in the midst of his afflictions.
May 22. Yesterday was set apart for special prayer on
account of the sick, and for supplies of food, and the
expected vessel. It was in the following order: General
Confession; Communion Service; Psalms 77 and 34; 1
Kings 17; Psalm 23; Acts 27; Prayer for all conditions of

5
men; General thanksgiving; One of Roberts’ sermons
on Proverbs 3.11-12; Prayer for present relief.
May 28. The net was broken by the strength of the tide
on Monday night, but has not yet been hauled up, as
there is too much ice on the river. Snow fell yesterday,
and also in the night.
June 4. Pioneer Cavern. “Until the time that his word
came: the word of the Lord tried him” (Ps 105.19).
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (27.14).
June 10. The net was recovered and repaired and,
on Saturday night, the 7th, was put out; but so much
ice floated down the river during that night, and on
Sunday, that it was again torn, and indeed has been
almost entirely carried away, so that repair is impos-
sible. Thus, the Lord has seen fit to render another
means abortive, and doubtless to make His power
more apparent, and to show that all our help is to
come immediately from Him.
June 12. Mr Williams writes:
Ah, I am happy day and night, hour by hour. Asleep
or awake, I am happy beyond the poor compass of
language to tell. We have long been without animal
food of any kind. Our diet consists of oatmeal and
pease, with rice occasionally; but even of this we have
only a stock sufficient to last out the present month,
or a very short period beyond this. The weather
is very severe, with a deep fall of snow upon the
ground. But this is not the worst feature of our case.
All hands are now sadly affected. Captain Gardiner,
a miracle of constitutional vigour, has suffered the
least and, if I listened to his own words, he is still
none the worse; but his countenance bespeaks the
contrary. Would it were not so! Mr Maidment like-
wise has sustained the shock of our circumstances
very well, but great debility is now manifesting itself.
June 14. Five fine ducks were shot yesterday near the
boat, in Cook’s River. They were evidently driven from
the interior by the late snow, and were seen in a large
flock. This is a merciful supply. Mr Williams and Badcock
are very weak, the disease having greatly increased.
June 16. Again we have had a merciful supply, five
more ducks having been killed on Saturday evening.
One shot only was fired on Friday, and on Saturday, so
thick were the fowl settled on the water near the boat.
6
June 21. “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto
me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of
thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities
be overpast” (Ps 57.1).
June 28. Saturday. My Birthday. “Who am I, O Lord
God … that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Sam
7. 18). We are now, by the providence of God, brought
into circumstances which to the flesh are trying, but
I will not be anxious on that account. We are in the
Lord’s service, and He is merciful, and full of compas-
sion. Though He cause grief, He will have compassion
according to the multitude of His mercies. I know that
it is written, “They that seek the Lord shall not want
any good thing” (Ps 34.10) and, again, “Cast thy burden
upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee” (55.22).
Whatever the Lord may in His providence see fit to
take away, it is that which He Himself has bestowed.
Still I pray, that if it is consistent with Thy righteous
will, O my heavenly Father, Thou would’st look down
with compassion upon me and my companions, who
are straitened for lack of food, and vouchsafe to
provide that which is needful; but if otherwise, Thy will
be done. May I learn entire submission of my will to
Thine; may every high place of pride be abased in my
heart. Lord, I pray that Thou may’st be honoured in
me, whether by life or by death, and that I may never
depart from Thee. Uphold me by Thy grace, and keep
me from anxious care, from murmuring and unbelief;
and may the sincere language of my heart be under
every circumstance, “The Lord gave”; and should the
Lord my God see fit to recall any of His gifts, and even
to take away all, still “Blessed be the name of the Lord;
He hath done all things well”. One more petition I
would offer to Thy throne of grace, O merciful Lord: I
pray that Thou would’st graciously prepare a way for
the entrance of Thy servants among the poor heathen
of these islands. Grant, O Lord, that we may be instru-
mental in commencing this great and blessed work;
but should’st Thou see fit in Thy providence to hedge
up our way, and that we should even languish and die
here, I beseech Thee to raise up others, and to send
forth labourers into this harvest. Let it be seen, for the
manifestation of Thy glory and grace, that nothing is
too hard for Thee; and hasten the day when the knowl-
edge of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be manifested, not
here only, but throughout every nation, and people,
and tribe, and prayers and praise shall ascend, and a
pure offering from the hearts of multitudes who are
now sitting in darkness.
(To be continued …)
THE COLOSSIAN EPISTLE (24)
Chapter 3: The Secret Life of the Believer (vv 1-4)
(continued)
In the last article we noted that the opening verses
of chapter 3 deal with:
• The Believer’s Desire (v 1)
• The Believer’s Occupation (v 2)
• The Believer’s Life (v 3)
• The Believer’s Hope (v 4)
In this article we will consider verses 2-4. Firstly, in
verse 2, Paul exhorts the believers to “set your affection
on things above, not on things on the earth.” The idea
is to ‘mind’ things above; this has to do with our mental
occupation, we are to turn our mind to things above,
then think upon and contemplate them. This involves
the moral interest and reflection of the believer. These
words have evoked the sceptical comment, ‘too heav-
enly minded to be of any earthly use’. This is demon-
strably false; take, for instance, our Lord Himself.
He was in constant communion with His Father in
Heaven, and accomplished more on Earth than any
other in history. We could also cite the Apostle Paul
as an example of a heavenly-minded man. The truth is,
rather, that we will be of no earthly use if we are not
heavenly minded. Our problem today is not that we
are too heavenly minded, but that we are too earthly
Andrew de Ville, Dunfermline, Scotland
minded! The beautiful and practical life described in
this chapter and the next flows from minding “things
above”. The apparently vague term, “things above”, is
used to encompass all that is open to us by revelation,
connected with Christ now at the right hand of God. It
includes the vast scope of the present life and ministry
of Christ. It is well worth individually reflecting on the
time in any day or week we spend positively minding
“things above”. Evidently there are matters of life on
Earth that need a place in our thinking, but the chal-
lenge comes to assess to what degree we are prepared
to allocate time getting to know the present life of
Christ in Heaven - to engage with things above.
The positive exhortation is reinforced by the nega-
tive: “not on things on the earth”. What “things” does
the apostle have in mind? Certainly, this includes those
earthly things mentioned by the apostle in chapter 2,
including philosophy originating in the tradition of men
(v 8), the shadows contained in Jewish ritual and type
(vv 16-17), the mystical speculations regarding angels
(v 18) and, finally, the ineffective approach of ascetism
(vv 22-23). These are all earthly things. We could add to
this list many other temporal aspects of life on Earth
that simply distract from the enjoyment of eternal life.
Verse 3 provides the reason that justifies the apostolic
exhortation: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Christ in God.” Evidently there are two parts to this
reason, both relating to what is now true of every
believer. Firstly, “ye are dead”. This must be understood
in the context, notably, chapter 2 verse 20, where we
learned that the believer is “dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world”. As we have previously noted,
death brings separation and, in this context, a separa-
tion from the “rudiments of the world”. If we have died
to these earthly things we cannot go on living in them,
and they are not to dominate our thinking.
Positively, our “life is hid with Christ in God”. This
statement is based on two doctrinal facts, specifically,
we have been “quickened together with him” (2.13)
and we are “risen with [him]” (3.1). There are two
immediate implications: firstly, we are alive with Christ;
secondly, this life is focused on where Christ now is.
Although not the central thought in the context, it is
appropriate to note that these words certainly imply
7
the security of the believer. Our life is hid with Christ
in God; there is no safer place! The Lord spoke about
the security of His sheep: “neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand” (Jn 10.28), and “no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (v 29). It is also
appropriate to consider the idea that our life is “hid”.
Why so? Simply because the Lord Himself is presently
hid from the eyes of the world. Paul will draw out the
contrast in the following verse by referring to the
appearing of the Christ in the future. The world has
no sense of the present life of Christ in Heaven, even
if they accept the truth of His resurrection. Christ to
them is hidden, out of sight, and mostly out of mind.
For the believer, minding things that now pertain to
a living Christ in Glory, that life is also hid; the world
now knows nor cares nothing for it. This is the secret
life of communion of the believer with divine Persons;
a life the world knows nothing of. The expression “in
God” confirms that our life here is immersed in God
and in His things.
THE EXPRESSION “IN GOD”
CONFIRMS THAT OUR LIFE
HERE IS IMMERSED IN GOD
AND IN HIS THINGS.
Lest there be any misunderstanding, let us note that
the fruit of this life is certainly seen on Earth. Although
Christ is hidden, the purpose of His body on Earth is to
manifest the Head. Individually, the character of Christ
is to become the character of the saint, which Paul
details throughout this chapter.
We now come to the glorious prospect before the
believer as detailed in verse 4: “When Christ, who is
our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory.” Paul looks forward to the appearing of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In this regard, it is assuring to
note that he begins with “when”, not ‘if’. The future
appearing is a certainty in the purpose of God! We
know from other Scriptures that this event will be
after the Lord’s coming to the air to take us to the
Father’s house (1 Thess 1.10; 4.13-18; Jn 14.2-3), and
after the days of tribulation and great tribulation (Mt
24.29-30). The precise day and hour of His appearing
is in the Father’s power (v 36). The description of the
Lord here is important to note: “Christ our life”. In
verse 3, we considered “your life is hid with Christ”;
now there is an advance in thought - “Christ” has now
8
become “our life”. This will be true for every saint on
the occasion of His appearing. Our life, freed from
earthly care and occupation, will be absorbed and
totally focused on and with Christ; He is our life. There
is a present challenge in this regard. In Philippians 1.21,
Paul was able to say, “to me to live is Christ”. He had
arrived in his soul at the evaluation, “I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord” (3.8), and his desire was simply “that
I may know him” (v 10). For Paul, his life even while
here on Earth was Christ. This can be ours too, but it
will only be so in the measure we mind things above,
where Christ is.
As already noted, Paul is looking forward to “when
Christ, who is our life, shall appear”. The idea in the word
“appear” is that of being manifested. The contrast is
clear: now Christ is hidden from the eyes of the world;
then He will be seen. Scripture details this wonderful
occasion in Revelation 1.7: “Behold, he cometh with
clouds; and every eye shall see him”. His manifestation
will be universally witnessed by men on Earth. The Lord
spoke about this great event in Matthew 24.30: “then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory.” It is on this occasion that
He will deal with the Man of Sin, the wicked one, “whom
the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,
and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (2
Thess 2.8). The details of His manifestation are further
described in Revelation 19.11-16. This is the great day of
vindication for our Lord Jesus. The last time this world
saw Him was hanging on a shameful cross; the next
time it will be as the undisputed “KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19.16). We should certainly be
amongst those who “love his appearing” (2 Tim 4.8),
not least because this revelation has been given to Him
by God the Father (Rev 1.1).
Wonderfully, on that great day for the Lord, He will
have His Church associated with Him: “then shall ye
also appear with him in glory”. Presently, our life is hid;
then, we will be manifested with Christ. The world will
then see the saints in a new light; they will be seen
sharing the glory of Christ and participating in His rule
of the Millennial Earth (1 Cor 6.1-3). It would seem that
the Son of God had this in mind when He said, “the
glory which thou hast given me I have given them”
(Jn 17.22). Again, it will then be that “he shall come to
be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that
believe” (2 Thess 1.8). All these thoughts should cheer
and encourage; it is indeed brighter on before!
(To be continued …)
THOUGHTS ON THE POST-RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
OF THE LORD JESUS (4)
“Jesus himself drew near, and went with them”
(Lk 24.15)
The Lord’s appearances were to His brethren and
to the women who followed Him from Galilee, minis-
tering unto Him. He appeared to individuals and to
companies, by day and at night, in the open and within
doors. Witnesses saw Him, touched Him, listened to
Him, walked with Him, ate with Him, and completely
satisfied themselves that it was He Himself bodily
present with them. When Luke records the details of
the appearances, he stresses the effects upon the 11
whose labours he is going to write about in the Book
of Acts. Luke’s Gospel presents the sympathetic
Saviour who comes near to us, who feels for us, and
who meets our needs. Luke chapter 24 is a miniature
Gospel of human emotions and divine promise; of
sadness and joy; of weariness and energy; of unbelief
and faith. In this chapter, we read of burdened hearts
and burning hearts, of wonder and worship, of grace
and glory.
For 40 days the Lord tarried upon Earth. He Himself
was on the journey back to His Father. Luke is the
Gospel of His walk: “Behold my hands and my feet”
(24.39). The Lord speaks of Himself as the Samaritan
as He journeyed, the Shepherd on the hillside, and
the Saviour at the bedside. In chapter 24, He is the
Stranger on the roadside. Before taking this last
triumphant journey to the skies, He joined two weary
travellers to walk with them, to talk with them by the
way, to go in to tarry with them, to sit at meat with
them, and to open to them the Scriptures. In the
Book of Acts, Luke writes about cities. In his Gospel,
he writes about villages: the villages where He went,
the houses that He entered, and the tables at which
He sat. Emmaus was the village at the end of the road.
J Alan Davidson, Portadown, N Ireland
Matthew says that He went before them, as the King
(Mt 28.7). Luke records that He went with them, as the
Companion along the way (Lk 24.15). Luke 24 is the
chapter of the open sepulchre, the open Scriptures,
the opened eyes, and the open Heaven, for He was
“carried up into heaven” (v 51). They were sad, weary
and disappointed. They had hoped, they trusted, but
their expectations were dashed. Of course they were
“sad”; they had their backs toward Jerusalem, and
they were journeying away from the cross. Paul said,
“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me, and I unto the world” (Gal 6.14).
“And beginning at Moses and the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself” (Lk 24.27)
“That same day” (Lk 24.13) was the resurrection
day. Their conversation was not all correct, but at
least they were talking about Jesus of Nazareth. A
stranger drew near, but they did not need to change
their conversation. “Then they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened,
and heard it” (Mal 3.16). How is it that we can talk
about everything under the sun, yet we have so
little to say about Him? There were “two of them”
(Lk 24.13). Jewish law required two witnesses. There
were two (Simeon and Anna) who looked for Him
and spoke of redemption at His coming. These two
on resurrection day were not of the 11, they were not
apostles, but humble believers, perhaps a man and his
wife going to their home. They “went”, they walked,
they “talked”, they “communed”, they “reasoned”,
but “their eyes were holden”. In Luke chapter 2, as
Joseph and Mary journeyed from Jerusalem, they
9
supposed that Jesus was in their company, but He
was not with them. Here, in Luke chapter 24, there
are two who journeyed from Jerusalem and the Lord
was at their side, but they did not know Him. We are
not good at discerning His presence in our lives or
at the meetings. In whatever circumstance, we will
make no progress without Him. “Jesus himself drew
near, and went with them” (v 15). He is attracted to
the needy, the burdened, the ordinary folk. He is
touched; He is sympathetic; He knows the way we
take. We need to share our concerns and burdens
with Him in prayer. In Luke chapter 24, these two
disciples were preoccupied with their disappoint-
ment. In John chapter 20, Mary was preoccupied
with her sorrow. In John chapter 21 the disciples
were preoccupied with their fishing. They all had one
thing in common: they failed to recognise the Lord.
Bringing the risen Christ in to share our difficulties
will deliver us from a vain struggle to do what is right
in our own strength. Luke 24.19-24 is a summary of
Luke’s Gospel from Nazareth to the sepulchre. The
disciples looked for redemption by power; Christ
came to provide redemption by blood. “Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
his glory?” (v 26). Peter also learned this: “the suffer-
ings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet
1.11) are inseparably linked. “Beginning at Moses and
all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk 24.27).
The Jews were selective - they omitted the truth of
the suffering and the rejection of Messiah. To them,
the bruising of the seed, the brazen serpent, the
Pascal Lamb and the Man of Sorrows were all ‘no-go’
areas of the Old Testament. However, Christ is the
Key to “all the Scriptures”. The Lord’s application
of the Scriptures as He spoke to His followers was
always timely. In the upper room, as they learned that
He was leaving them, they needed comfort so, as He
went out to the garden, they sang a Psalm. To the two
on their weary way to Emmaus, He began with Moses.
Moses was the man of the journey - he had been 40
years on the road. They were not theologians, but
they were hearers at one of the most tremendous
meetings that ever occurred upon Earth. The Lord
was the Expositor, and it was “all” about “himself”.
“He went in to tarry with them” (Lk 24.29)
“They drew nigh unto the village … he made as
though he would have gone further” (Lk 24.28). The
ancient custom of hospitality was to offer the stranger
food and lodging in the evening. The Lord will not
10
force an entrance. He enlightened their minds, He
warmed their hearts, then He tested their desires. Do
we want to know more about Jesus? At Bethlehem
there was no room for them. At Nazareth they sought
to cast Him down headlong. Three days previous, in
Jerusalem, they cried “Away with him” (Jn 19.15). At
Emmaus “he went in” (Lk 24.29). From Bethany He
went up. Verse 29 tells us “it [was] toward evening,
and the day [was] far spent”. The Day of Grace is
almost over, the shadows lengthen, storm clouds
are gathering, and this world is a cold place for the
believer. Man and wife, widow, widower, family man,
mother, aged saint, young believer, take Him home
with you. “He went in to tarry with them” (v 29). The
more we get to know about the Lord, the more we
will want to know. When we are talking about Him, the
time passes quickly. The result of true Bible study will
increase the desire for fellowship and the enjoyment
of His presence. He went in as the Guest; He became
the Host. He is made known to them who give Him
His rightful place. “They knew him; and he vanished
out of their sight” (v 31). His appearances were more
miraculous than the periods of His absence. He was,
in fact, preparing them for His absence. He was going
to leave them. We likewise are left in the period of His
absence, but He has left us just as He left the disci-
ples - we have got all we need to live in communion
with Him. They were enjoying the Scriptures; we now
have the complete canon. Do you enjoy the Bible
more than your daily bread? They no longer feared to
journey in the evening as we are told “they rose up the
same hour” (v 33). There is no need to be “terrified
and affrighted”, because He says “Peace be unto you”
(vv 36-37). They went back to the meeting, and they
“found the eleven” (v 33). It is blessed to enjoy the
fellowship of those of kindred spirit. Better still, they
got another look at Him: “He shewed them his hands
and his feet” (v 40).
More about Jesus, in His Word,
Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in every line,
Making each faithful saying mine.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fulness see,
More of His love who died for me.
(Eliza E Hewitt, 1851-1920)
(To be continued …)
2 TIMOTHY (32)
2 Timothy 3.1–17: The Awareness of the Man of
God (continued)
Verses 14–17: The Fulness of the Scriptures
Verse 14: The emphatic second-person pronoun at
the beginning of this verse turns our attention away
from the “evil men and seducers” of verse 13 and back
onto Timothy’s individual responsibility.¹ We have
already noted that this is characteristic of this epistle.
Although Paul repeatedly speaks about the wider
background to Timothy’s ministry, he never allows him
to forget that what is really important is not the dark-
ness and difficulty that surrounds him, but his own
responsibility to be God’s man in the circumstances
and context in which he finds himself. We often find
a contemplation of the hostile world that we live in a
distraction and an occasion for despair. Sometimes we
use our context as an excuse for our fruitlessness and
faithlessness. For Paul, by contrast, the surrounding
gloom served as a spur to increased steadfastness in
the service of God. In contrast to the downward spiral
of evil men and seducers waxing “worse and worse”,
Timothy is to continue – better, to abide or to dwell –
in the truth that he has received.
Before examining in detail what Timothy is to abide
in, it is worth taking a step back in order to grasp the
Mark Sweetnam, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
overall flow of Paul’s argument in this paragraph. Paul
reminds Timothy of the two great bodies of truth
that he has received. The first is described as “the
things which thou hast learned and hast been assured
of”. These “things” are the teachings of the apostle,
received from Paul himself, validated by the char-
acter of his life and the reality of his sufferings, and
fully known by Timothy (v 10).² The second, outlined
in verse 15, is the ‘sacred writings’ (hiera grammata),
which Timothy knew from his childhood. The term
that Paul uses to describe these ‘sacred writings’ is
found only here in the New Testament, but is used
elsewhere as a technical designation for all or part of
the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament.³
Paul then does a remarkable thing. With one hand,
he takes the holy writings, the revered Jewish Scrip-
tures, God’s Word to his ancient people; with the
other he takes the apostolic teachings that Timothy
had received. Then he brings them together under a
single – and singular – description: graphe, “scripture”.
This word is frequently used in the New Testament
to describe the Old Testament Scriptures in part or
in whole. Significantly, Peter also uses it to describe
the epistles of Paul (2 Pet 3.16) and, in 1 Timothy 5.18,
Paul applies it to a quotation from Luke’s Gospel.
Here, Paul is using it in a sense that subsumes these
usages – as a term to describe the whole Bible – Old
Testament and New. The truth of God communicated
by the apostle is placed on an equal footing with Old
Testament revelation (just as it is in 2 Peter 3.2).⁴ The
crucial point is clear: whether the Old Testament or
the New, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
And, precisely because all Scripture is God-breathed, it
is profitable for the man of God, and has the capacity
to equip him for every need that he will face.
With that outline of Paul’s argument in our minds,
we can turn again to the detail of verse 14 and notice
that two terms describe Timothy’s relationship with
the truth that he has been taught by the apostle – he
has “learned” it and “been assured of” it. “Learned” is
the same word as that used of the foolish women in
verse 6, but, while they were locked in a loop of futile
learning, Timothy’s education has led to assurance,
11
to wisdom and, ultimately, to his complete equip-
ment for “all good works” (v 17). The verb rendered
“been assured of” can be interpreted in two ways.
It can mean “have become convinced of” (NIV⁵) or
“been faithful to”.⁶ Either sense would fit the context
here but, on balance, while it is true that the latter
reading “corresponds more closely to the contrast
developing between Timothy’s commitment to the
faith and the heretical rejection of it”,⁷ the former
seems to fit better with the basis that Paul gives for
Timothy’s confidence in what he has learned. Timothy
has not merely acquired an academic knowledge of
the truth, nor has he simply adopted “traditionalism
or the status quo”.⁸ Rather, he has embraced the truth
with conviction – he is entirely convinced of its reli-
ability. A mere intellectual acquiescence to Scripture
is not sufficient – if we are to continue in the things
we have learned – and we must – then we must also be
convinced and convicted of their truth. Timothy had
that assurance, and he had a basis for it: “knowing of
whom thou hast learned them”. This echoes verse 10,
where Paul stressed Timothy’s intimate knowledge of
his life. Here, too, Paul is insistent on the importance of
knowing those who teach us, of being able to observe
godly lives that lend credibility to the doctrine taught.
Verse 15: The importance of this is further underscored
as the apostle reminds Timothy of his upbringing.
Already in this epistle, we have had a glimpse into
Timothy’s childhood home (1.5), and here, as there,
Paul’s purpose is to remind Timothy of his roots. In
contrast to all the churn and upheaval of the false
teachers and their teaching, Timothy can look back
to his “infancy” (NIV, NET⁹) and the Scriptures that
he learned at his mother’s – and his grandmother’s –
knee. In contrast to teaching that was powerless (v 5)
and unable to produce “the knowledge of the truth”
(v 7), the Scriptures have power “to make … wise unto
salvation” (cf Ps 19.8). There is in this verse a mandate
for the vital work of mothers in teaching the Scriptures
to their children in the home. Timothy never outgrew
that instruction, for it was not only able to make him
wise unto salvation, in the initial sense of bringing him
to faith in Christ, but, as the present tense indicates, it
continued to do so. And the salvation that he learned
about is “through faith which is in Christ Jesus”. That is
to say, it is the salvation proclaimed in the Gospel that
Paul preached, for there is no disconnect between Old
Testament and New Testament revelation, and the
message that Paul preached was altogether consistent
with the Scriptures that had filled Timothy’s childhood
(cf Acts 26.22–23).
12
False teaching cannot deliver the promise of salva-
tion. Paul’s Gospel, on the other hand, grounded
as it is in the truth of Christ’s death and resurrec-
tion, completes the ancient revelation in a way that
augments and releases its power to save.10
Timothy was to continue. Even when others
departed from the truth, lurching outwards and
downwards into deception and darkness, he was to
stand fast. That stand was not born of a stubborn
intransigence or of a reactionary love of tradition. It
came, rather, from the depth of Timothy’s conviction
about the truth of divine revelation, a conviction that
took its power from the character of those who had
taught him. For those of us who teach God’s people,
the lesson is both solemn and salutary – character
matters. And, for all of us, Timothy’s faithfulness is an
example and an exhortation. May we, like him, have
a deep conviction about the truth of God’s Word so
that we, in days as dark as his, may continue in the
things that we have learned.
¹ The word order in the Greek is ‘You however, continue …’.
² There is some disagreement in the manuscripts as to whether
“whom” is singular or plural. If singular, it refers to Paul alone.
If the plural is to be preferred, the expression includes others
who have taught Timothy the apostolic doctrine and may
also include Lois and Eunice – who are certainly in view in the
following verse.
³ Philip H Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New
International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006), pp 582–3.
⁴ This argument differs from the more usual suggestion that “all
Scripture” refers in context to the Old Testament, but avoids
the necessity to explain why Paul uses two different words for
the same thing (grammata, v 15; graphe, v 16). The argument
assumes that Timothy knew Paul’s teaching in its written form.
This is likely, not least because Paul’s reference to the “parch-
ments” that Timothy was to bring to him (2 Tim 4.13) used a Latin
loanword that (while it occurs only here in Scripture) was used
to describe the codex - the rudimentary books which early Chris-
tians overwhelmingly preferred for the transmission of Scripture.
⁵ New International Version.
⁶ Towner, Timothy, p 580.
⁷ Ibid, p 581.
⁸ George W Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles, New International
Greek Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1992), p 442.
⁹ New English Translation.
10
Towner, Timothy, p 584.
(To be continued …)
FIVE COUPLETS OF
TITLES OF CHRIST (5)
David Richards, Kamloops, Canada
The Bright and Morning Star
So far, in the preceding articles, we have looked at
four pairs of titles of Christ that are mentioned in
Revelation 22: “Alpha and Omega”, “the Beginning
and the end” and “the first and the last” (v 13); also,
“the root and the offspring of David” (v 16). We have
seen that they are all couplets, and that they are
opposites. Now we come to the final set: “the bright
and morning star” (v 16).
A literal translation of the Greek text would be ‘the
star, the bright, the morning’. Although the conjunc-
tion “and” appears in the King James Version text,
it does not appear in the original Greek text. On
the other hand, the definite article appears three
times. As we probably know, the evening star and
the morning star are actually Venus, seen at different
ends of the day. Although Venus is a planet, we refer
to it as a star because that is how it appears to the
naked eye. If we follow the pattern that we have seen
with the previous titles, what we are looking at here
is Venus, seen at the two ends of the day. ‘The star,
the bright’ is the evening star, whereas ‘the star …
the morning’ is the morning star. Some might object
by saying that the word star only appears once. This
is certainly true. But, as we have seen, the evening
star and the morning star are the same planet, seen
at different parts of the day. The evening [bright]
star precedes the darkness. On the other hand, the
morning star succeeds the darkness.
In Revelation 2.18–29, we have a letter written to
“the church in Thyatira” (v 18). In that letter, a promise
is given to the overcomer (vv 26-28). Part of that
promise reads, “I will give him the morning star” (v
28). Notice, it does not say “the bright and morning
star”. Also, notice the rest of the promise:
He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto
the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the
vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of my Father” (vv 26-27).
This part of the promise very obviously relates to
the coming Kingdom of Christ, when He will reign for
1,000 years. What the Lord is promising is that, in His
coming Kingdom, believers of the Church age (“he
that overcometh”) will have administrative authority
over nations. This being so, the inference seems to
be that “the morning star” relates to when Christ will
return to reign.
In 2 Peter 1 we read the statement:
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn,
and the day star arise in your hearts” (v 19).
Surely, the day star is the same as the morning star.
It is generally taught, and I believe rightly, that Peter
never refers to the coming of Christ for the Church.
If, on the one hand, Paul emphasises the Church in
his epistles, on the other hand, Peter emphasises the
Kingdom in his epistles. Not that there is any conflict
in their teaching, just a difference in emphasis. Paul
indicates the difference in their calling when he writes
“for he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apos-
tleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in
me toward the Gentiles” (Gal 2.8). Peter’s ministry was
primarily toward Jews. Paul’s ministry, on the other
hand, was toward Gentiles. Of these two apostles, only
Paul refers to the Rapture of the Church (1 Cor 15.51-58;
1 Thess 4.13-18). Peter, on the other hand, says:
13
 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make
your call and election sure, for if you do these things
you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be
supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2
Pet 1:10-11, NKJV¹).
The Rapture precedes the Tribulation which, in
turn, precedes the return of Christ to reign. Believers
of the Church age will be taken to Heaven at the
Rapture, but will return with Christ to reign with Him
in His eternal Kingdom.
Now, back to our titles, ‘the Star, the Bright (evening),
the Morning’. As mentioned above, the evening star
precedes the darkness of night, whereas the morning
star follows the darkness of night. As the Evening Star,
the Lord is coming secretly to the air to take us home
to Heaven before the darkness of the Tribulation. But,
as the Morning Star, He is bringing us with Him out of
Heaven after the Tribulation to share in His reign.
As believers, we are very much looking forward
to the return of Christ to take us to be forever with
Him. In John’s Gospel, we read the words of the Lord
Himself:
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where
I am, there ye may be also (14.2-3).
There is possibly an allusion to this event also in John
chapter 11: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die” (vv 25-26). These verses seem to be referring to
the fact that, when the Lord returns, the believers who
have died will be raised from the dead, while believers
living at that time will be caught up without dying. The
text of 1 Thessalonians 4.15-18 reads:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words.
14
Notice particularly the phrase, “we which are alive
and remain” (v 17). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is writing
about the changes to take place in the bodies of
believers when the Lord returns at the Rapture:
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep [that is, die], but we shall all be changed, in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed (vv 51-52).
In both of these passages, Paul numbers himself
with the “we” - those who will still be living when the
Lord comes. Was Paul mistaken to expect to be still
alive when the Lord returns? After all, Paul has long
gone home to Heaven. No, he was not mistaken! The
point is that there are no prophetic events that have
to take place before the Lord returns for us. He could
return at any moment! Are we expecting His return?
For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ: who shall change our vile [lowly] body, that
it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things unto himself (Phil 3.20-21).
However, the Rapture is just the preliminary event.
The main event is the return of Christ to claim His
Kingdom, at which time we shall come out with Him.
At this time, Christ shall reign as “KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19.16), and every knee
will bow to Him and acknowledge that He is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father (Phil 2.9-11). Then, the
Scripture will be fulfilled: “the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea” (Hab 2.14).
It should thrill the hearts of the Lord’s people that,
at last, Christ will have the glory that is His due. Revela-
tion 20.6 reads, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and
of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
The reign of Christ will be literal, as will be the period
of 1,000 years. Revelation concludes with the appeal,
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (22.20). May that be the
yearning of our hearts.
¹ New King James Version.
(Concluded)
   


   
 



FROM EGYPT  

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TO CANAAN (19) " 
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    '!!
John Salisbury, Northampton, England "
 




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Progress to the Tableland of Pisgah - Numbers 21 %

  


This chapter is an action-packed description of
events along the last stage of Israel’s wilderness
journey from Egypt to the borders of Canaan, where
they moved “from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the
country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah” (v 20). This
would be the tableland adjacent to Mount Pisgah.
It is a chapter of contrasts, in which we read of
conquests, complaints, confession of sin, songs, and
more conquests. And, through these experiences,
God’s people made real progress with their God. On
this journey, God’s people were learning to overcome
their enemies. Battles would have to be fought and
foes defeated with God’s help if they were to enjoy the
bounty and blessings of their inheritance in Canaan.
Defeating the Canaanites (vv 1-3)
Arad, the Canaanite king, fearing that Israel would
invade his kingdom, sent forces to attack them and
succeeded in taking some Israelites prisoner. It had
been over 38 years since Israel had suffered a similar
surprise attack, on that occasion from Amalek (Ex
17.8-16). Did they remember that victory in the valley
had been dependent upon the man on the mountain?
Interestingly, we see that opposition from without
created unity within the nation, and it was a united
Israel that made a solemn vow, presumably through
Moses, that if the Lord would give them victory over
Arad’s army, they would utterly destroy his cities. The
Lord did give them victory, they destroyed the cities
and, in celebration of this, called the place “Hormah”,
which means ‘utter destruction’.
Complaining to God (vv 4-9)
As God’s people moved away from their encamp-
ment on the border of the Promised Land to
circumvent the land of Edom and head north, they
became discouraged. They could not understand
God’s purpose in leading them by this route, as it did
not seem logical. They were slow to learn that God’s
purposes often defy human logic so, once again, they
complained and failed to trust Him.

Encamped by the border of the Land, and remem-
bering the abundance of fruit and grain that they
knew was there, they began to despise God’s wilder-
ness provision. The people who so recently had
prayed to the Lord in faith now turned directly to
Him in anger: “The people spake against God, and
against Moses” (v 5). In the past, they had vented
their anger on Moses, but now they complained
directly to God, who responded directly to them in
judgment. The complaint was unjustified, and their
statement that “there is no bread, neither is there
any water” (v 5) was untrue. For 40 years the Lord
graciously provided manna. It was “the corn of
heaven. Men did eat angels’ food” (Ps 78.24-25), and
yet they complained, “Our soul loatheth this light
bread” (Num 21.5). As no additional water needed to
be miraculously supplied, there must have been an
adequate supply already at hand.
The Lord responded by sending venomous snakes
into the camp which bit the people, causing them
to die. They are described as “fiery serpents” (v 6),
probably because of the burning sensation the people
experienced as the venom achieved its deadly end.
Very quickly the people came to Moses, saying “we
have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and
against thee” (v 7). They asked Moses to intercede
on their behalf, and he was commanded to make
a serpent of brass, set it on a pole, and instruct the
dying people to look and live. Observe that had God
merely answered their request to “take away the
serpents from us” (v 7), large numbers of those who
had been bitten would have been left to die. But the
Lord accomplished more than they asked. Through
the brazen serpent, all the dying who looked, lived! The
brazen serpent was carefully preserved by the people,
no doubt as a reminder of this event, but eventually it
became an object of idolatrous worship, and Hezekiah
destroyed it in his endeavour to stamp out idolatry in
Israel (2 Kgs 18.4).
15
Singing at the Well (vv 10-18)
The journey continued north, with the nation
pitching camp at three more settlements before
arriving near Arnon, where a stream divided the lands
of the Moabites and the Amorites. It is interesting that,
as Israel approached the borders of the Land, condi-
tions were more amenable, and there was no longer
the need for a miraculous supply of water. We read
here about “the brooks of Arnon … the stream of the
brooks” (vv 14-15). And now they moved on to Beer,
the place of the well. The Lord commanded Moses to
gather the people round the well at Beer, and prom-
ised to supply them water, but they must play their
part. In this He was continuing to show them that
the time of miraculous provision would soon be over.
From now on they would find their own water supplies
and, once they entered the Land, the manna would
also cease. Moses, “the lawgiver” (note the new title),
instructed the leaders to clear the debris blocking the
well, and the Lord fulfilled His promise. This prompted
the people to burst into song, without either Moses or
Miriam to lead them, as had happened the last time 40
years earlier by the banks of the Red Sea (Ex 15). What
a contrast with their earlier complaint!
Encampment by Pisgah (vv 19-20)
Three more encampments brought the nation to
the Valley of Moab, from whence they moved to an
elevated site described as “the top of Pisgah”.
Two Great Victories (vv 21-35)
Moses later recounted these events to the nation
in more detail (Deut 2.9 - 3.13). The Lord revealed to
him that Israel would defeat Sihon, and possess his
land for this reason: “This day will I begin to put the
dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations
that are under the whole heaven, who … shall tremble,
and be in anguish because of thee” (2.25). Israel sent
messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, requesting
safe passage through his land, but he refused their
request and set his army against them, only to be
utterly defeated. Israel then faced another formidable
enemy: Og, king of Bashan. A giant of a man, his bed
is described as being nine cubits long and four cubits
wide (Deut 3.11). The Lord encouraged Moses to “fear
him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and
all his people, and his land” (Num 21.34). So, Israel
completely defeated him, his family and his people,
taking possession of all his land too. Israel would
never forget these early victories, which gave them
confidence to enter the Promised Land and engage in
warfare with the various nations there.
16
Possessing the Land (Deut 3.12-13)
The large area of land that Israel now possessed on
the east of Jordan would be allotted to the two-and-
a-half tribes who wanted to stay in this area rather
than cross Jordan and inherit portions of the land of
Canaan. It was therefore divided between the tribes of
Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Picture of Christ
The account of the brazen serpent is one of the
great evangelical pictures in the Old Testament. The
Apostle John wrote, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have eternal life” (Jn 3.14-15). The call to those dying
with the serpent’s poison in their systems was to look
and live. To look in faith to that serpent of brass, taking
God at His word, brought cleansing and healing to the
needy soul. That a serpent, a picture of sin and death,
suspended on a pole, should be a picture of Christ at
Calvary reminds us that He was “made … sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him” (2 Cor 5.21). In light of this, the message
for guilty sinners, dying in sin, is “believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16.31).
Praise God for the Christ of Calvary!
Time to Meditate
We have seen that, as God’s people drew near to
Canaan, they faced fierce opposition from mighty
enemies. We are reminded that the Christian life is a
battlefield in which we face the spiritual opposition
of enemy forces, “the rulers of the darkness of this
world” (Eph 6.12), who are seeking to prevent us from
enjoying our inheritance in Christ. For this reason, we
are exhorted to “put on the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”
(v 11). Confession of sin marked the start of a spiritual
journey for the people of God. They “set forward” (v
10) with purpose, and faith in their God. The direction
they took was “toward the sunrising” (v 11) - it was the
dawning of a new day. As they progressed, they enjoyed
refreshment from brooks, streams and the springing
well where they spontaneously sang for the first time
in 40 years. They went on to gain victory over powerful
foes, and to occupy new territory. All this was a fore-
taste of the blessings they would enjoy in the land of
promise. May we learn these lessons and enjoy our
inheritance, for we are “blessed … with all spiritual bless-
ings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1.3).
(To be continued …)
INTO ALL
THE WORLD
Update on Sri Lanka
S ince the report on the work in Sri Lanka was
published in the April 2022 issue of Believer’s
Magazine, Jack Hay and Leonard Currie, Secretary of
the Lord’s Work Trust (LWT), have been able to visit
the island to see at first hand the conditions under
which the local Christians are living. Jack has kindly
provided this update to the April report.
The Economy
The tourist industry in Sri Lanka was a major foreign
currency earner, mushrooming extensively when the
civil war ended in 2009. Sadly, the Easter bomb-
ings of 2019 staunched the flow of visitors, and
then a fledging recovery was stifled completely
by the pandemic. The economic effect of all of
that was enormous, as were the restrictions
that were introduced in attempting to curb the
spread of the virus. All of this was developing
at a stage when it was payback time for foreign
loans, particularly those from the Chinese. The
island nation is now in default of these debts.
The major consequence of the situation is
the inability to pay for imported necessities,
in particular, petrol and diesel, and bottled
gas for cooking. Petrol stations are empty,
and whenever there is a rumour of a delivery,
the queues become enormous. The knock-on
effect of the scarcity is that goods cannot be
transported around the island, creating short-
ages of essentials, and exorbitant prices. To add
to the misery of the people, power cuts can be
for hours at a time. At present, there still seems
to be a downward spiral of despair.
As a result of these hardships, many have
taken to the streets for what have been
mainly peaceful protests. This had the effect
of ousting the Prime Minister, but the Presi-
dent is still in place. (Whilst this was true at the time
of writing, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has since
resigned office one day after his official residence was
stormed by a large crowd of angry protesters, and the
Prime Minister’s house was torched. Ed.) With that
background, LWT’s Leonard Currie and I were due
to arrive on the island at the end of May. The British
Government advised against all but essential travel,
but we decided that the Lord’s work came under the
umbrella of “essential travel”! We were confident
that our dear brethren on the island would advise us
appropriately, and they gave the green light. That was
17
 During this period, there were a number of food
distributions to the saints, made possible by the
generosity of believers in the West. These are
ongoing as a result of the continuing economic hard-
ships. A brother from the Colombo assembly was
granted a permit to be out of
his home, and he was able to
source necessary foodstuffs, Baptis
arrange for their transport
to Bethesda Gospel Hall,
and see them divided up for
Food in Bethesda Gospel Hall, Colombo distribution to the north,
ready for distribution. east, central and southern
provinces of the island. On
a relief, for our visit was already two years overdue arrival, these provisions
and, speaking personally, I was homesick for Sri Lanka! were further divided, with
For some of the local believers our visit meant the sacks being filled for each
tedious task of standing in line for hours to purchase household. On our recent
some diesel. They then hoarded it away in preparation visit, Leonard and I witnessed
for our travels to different locations on the island. It around 300 sacks being
is a tribute to the overruling grace of God that our distributed in a very orderly
plans went ahead without any interruptions and, for way in the east of the island.
the most part, there were attendances in excess of
what we have ever experienced before. For an impor- During the lockdown I was able to speak to the saints
tant part of our visit there were no power cuts on the twice a month by Zoom, and others helped in this way
island in order to facilitate national school exams! God too. In both 2020 and 2021 I had a three-day series
is good. with them over the Christmas
period, Christmas Eve to Boxing
Lockdown Day. Rightly, from the day that
they were allowed back to their
My previous visit to the island was Halls, the Zoom meetings ended.
in February 2020, at the point In the initial stages of their
where the world was recognising return, police were in attend-
COVID-19 as a serious threat. On ance, ensuring that a register
that occasion Ian Steele accom- of attendees was kept, and
panied me, and we had the joy of that temperatures were being
witnessing a total of 37 baptisms. checked. The police still attend,
These were at three venues in the but are less intrusive now.
Indian Ocean, in a jungle stream
at Hatton, and in a major river The Recent Visit
at Yatiyanthota. Not long after-
wards, there were the almost Colombo
universal lockdowns. In Sri Lanka, As I mentioned, Leonard Currie
the regulations were very strict, accompanied me on this latest
Children’s Meeting at Dematagoda.
with military patrols enforcing trip which was my 26th visit to
what was a virtual imprisonment Sri Lanka. Over the years, many
for the whole population. On saints have used LWT to channel
certain days, according to the last digit of the iden- their gifts in support of the Lord’s work on the island.
tity card number, one member from each household It was very helpful that Leonard was able to share in
could leave the home to try to purchase provisions, the preaching at all the meetings, and also to see first-
but confinement in cramped and stifling conditions hand how the funds that have been sent through LWT
created mental health issues for many. have been used.

18
 As usual, both weekends were spent in Colombo, the
capital city. The assembly there comprises around
90 believers, which is wonderful, considering that
in the late ’60s it was almost extinct. The story has
been told before of how Mr & Mrs George Nicholas
were saved in Aberdeen and,
on returning to their native
sm in Colombo of Daniel Kanas, 17. Sri Lanka, threw them-
selves into the work of the
assembly at Bethesda Gospel
Hall. Under the good hand of
God they were used to see
the assembly reinvigorated,
and Mrs Nicholas and her
son Rajeev and his wife are
still heavily involved in the
ongoing work.
We arrived on the island on
Friday 27th May, and our first
meeting that evening was for
ministry at a brother’s home.
Both his main room and yard were packed with
80-100 believers, so it was a good start.
The Saturday mornings were spent helping in a chil-
dren’s work in a slum area of the city, Dematagoda.
Numbers were in excess of 100, more than double
the pre-COVID attendance. A highlight of our visit
was the fact that, on the first Lord’s Day, around
50 parents and friends from that area attended the
Gospel meeting at Bethesda, most of them hearing
the Gospel for the first time.
Believers at Alamkulam in their newly-extended Hall.
Leonard Currie speaking at a meeting in
Bethesda Hall, Colombo.
The Saturday afternoon work with the children at
Bethesda also exceeded pre-virus numbers, with
almost 120 present on both weekends. Later in the
afternoon, the youth Gospel meeting brought 50-60,
many of them unsaved.
On our second Lord’s Day at Colombo we had a mini
conference. This was the only meeting that was down
from usual, simply because believers from other areas
could not be present because of the lack of fuel. The
conference ended with a Gospel session at which
three young people from Colombo were baptised.
The East
On the Monday morning, we set off at 5.00am for the
east of the island, breaking our journey at 8.30am for a
ministry meeting at Kurunegala where there is a fairly
new assembly. It was good to be in their new Hall, kindly
funded by saints from the West. One or
two finishing touches are still needed,
the main problem being the fact that the
necessary materials are unobtainable.
Three years or so ago, Craig Munro and
I had the joy of witnessing 13 believers
being baptised in a lake there. From time
to time we have preached in a jungle area
near Kurunegala. Regular attempts have
been made to intimidate the believers at
that location, with threats to those who
associate with them.
Later on the Monday, and many hours to
the east, we met with around 70 saints
at Alamkulam where, again, it was great
to see a recently extended Hall, a far cry
from the banana-leaf structure where we
gathered in the early days.
19
 The next day was a full day
of conference at Valaich-
chenai when around 500
gathered, a number that
greatly exceeded expecta-
tions in the current crisis.
Attention was remarkable
considering the heat;
God was gracious. That
was the day that a food
Leonard and Jack with two of the distribution was made to
overseers at Kurunegala. believers from outlying
Distribution of much-needed food aid at Valaichchenai.
areas. The local saints
received their quota subsequently.

The Conference at Valaichchenai underway with brother

Mahendran as Jack’s Tamil interpreter.

While in the east, visits were also made to Mutuchchenai, Palch-

New believer Yogeshwaran is
baptised in the river at Vaddavan.
chenai, Ralodai and Vaddavan, where two were baptised in the river
after a meeting in a jungle clearing. Mutuchchenai is another place
where there has been the need for an extension to the Hall. There
has been growth despite repeated opposition. Among other things,
they would cut off their electricity, but in recent years a generator
has been provided to make them independent if necessary.

Members of the assembly at Muttuchchenai.

On returning to Colombo, we made one
more trip for a Gospel meeting at Badure-
liya where there is a relatively new assembly;
it is a two-hour drive south-east of the
city. In the initial work there, the saints
were greatly helped by visits from Charles
Davidson and local brother Ajith Peiris.
The believers have experienced constant
harassment, and they switch around their
meeting venues to remain as ‘invisible’ as
possible. That evening our meeting was in
the jungle, up a hill, and under a corrugated
iron shelter; quite an adventure!

Do pray for Sri Lanka.

20
QUESTION
BOX
In what way do sisters “prophesy” (1 Cor 11.5)
seeing they are not permitted to speak in assembly
gatherings?
A n important principle of Biblical interpretation
is that Scripture will never contradict itself. Any
conclusion we may reach about a proper under-
standing of a passage must agree with everything else
the Bible has to say on the subject. It is wrong, there-
fore, to say (as some do) that Paul contradicts himself
in that he allows women to pray and prophesy in the
church in 1 Corinthians 11, but forbids them to speak in
the church gatherings in 1 Corinthians 14. This is, after
all, God’s breathed-out Word.
Many suggest that the answer to the apparent
tension between chapters 11 and 14 is that, in chapter
11, the apostle deals with one problem at Corinth - that
of head coverings - and then goes on to deal with
another problem in chapter 14 - that of the audible
participation of the sisters in the assembly gatherings.
This has its attractions as an explanation, but it also
might lead to the conclusion that, as it is not permitted
for the sister to speak in the church (14.34), there is
therefore no need for her head to be covered at all.
Another answer to the apparent tension between
the two passages is that, when Paul speaks of “praying
or prophesying” in chapter 11, he is speaking by way of
illustration. The suggestion is that the apostle is not
saying that any time a sister audibly participates she
is to cover her head or, in the case of a man, uncover
his head. Rather, Paul is illustrating what characterised
every assembly gathering. Two-way communication
took place: they spoke to God, in prayer, and He spoke
to them, through prophesy. The apostle is simply
speaking, then, of the need for the covered head of the
sister and the uncovered head of the brother, while the
assembly is met together.
This explanation recognises that Paul does not teach,
in chapter 11, that the sister needs a head covering
only when she is audibly praying or prophesying in the
church, seeing that he is about to teach, in chapter 14,
it is not permitted for her to speak at all. The Lord’s
mind, clearly expressed in chapter 11 verses 2 to 16, is
that headship is to be symbolically expressed in the
covered heads of the women and uncovered heads of
the men, whenever local churches meet together.
Ian Jackson
If “John verily baptized with the baptism of
repentance” (Acts 19.4), why was the Lord Jesus
baptised?
D oubtless this question was in John’s mind when
he asked, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and
comest thou to me?”, to which the Lord responded
with the assurance that “thus it becometh us to fulfil
all righteousness” (Mt 3.14-15): it was God’s will that
John should baptise Him. Many good suggestions have
been made as to why this was so. Here we will confine
ourselves to three of them, chosen because each relates
to the issue of “repentance” raised in the question.
First, the Lord being baptised was necessary from the
perspective of John, who had been preaching repent-
ance; a message which engendered much opposition.
Soon he would be arrested, imprisoned and executed.
Those who were denying that John and his ministry
were from God would increasingly seem to be in the
ascendancy. In being baptised by him, the Lord was
authoritatively vindicating John’s character, validating
his work, and endorsing his call: “Repent ye: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v 2).
Second, it was important viewed from the position
of those who had responded to John’s message by
repenting and being baptised. By submitting Himself
to this baptism, the Lord was telling these repentant
sinners that they had made the right decision, and that
they had the approval of the One to whose coming the
baptism of repentance was linked: “I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with
fire” (v 11).
Last (but by no means least), it marked the Lord’s
public presentation to the nation as the One who not
only would continue the work that John had begun, but
would take it through to its fulfilment. Not long after
this event, John said, “He must increase, but I must
decrease” (Jn 3.30). Then, when “John was cast into
prison … Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4.12, 17) – a call
identical to John’s. His baptism by John left everyone in
no doubt that He was the Lord, before whom John had
prepared the way (11.10), and whom everyone ought
now to follow.
David McAllister
21
THE CROSS
the late Jack Hunter, Kilmarnock, Scotland
Standing by the Cross (John 12.26; 19.25-26)
These Scriptures would indicate to us that to follow
Christ, and to identify ourselves with His cross and all
that it means, we need to be moved in our spiritual
affections for Him. The little company of women, and
the disciple whom Jesus loved, formed an illustrious
group that day as they stood by the cross: when
others had fled, the devoted affections of those disci-
ples held them fast by His cross. The supreme hour
had come and, with it, rejection, reproach and shame.
How precious that company must have been in the
sight of God as they stood by the cross of their Lord,
with their love for Him rising above all the hatred and
scorn of men!
Beloved reader, do you subscribe to His cross only
in its historical sense, or has it entered into your life as
a spiritual power? Is your heart so filled with love for
Him who hung there, that you are presently prepared
to ‘stand by His cross’ and all that that means to you
in its moral implications, and to apply to your life the
doctrines of the epistles built upon the cross? May our
hearts be kept soft and tender, so that the Holy Spirit
can impress them by the wondrous love of Him who
filled that cross for us.
On the Cross with Christ (Romans 6.1-10)
Here, we have the ordinance of baptism associated
with the cross. While it is the will of God for every
believer to be baptised, acknowledging the authority
of His holy Word, it is more blessed if its real meaning
has entered into our experience. Romans undoubtedly
gives that experimental aspect of this truth. What does
it mean? The cross, or crucifixion, was the form of
capital punishment adopted by the judiciary of Impe-
rial Rome: to be crucified was to be doomed to die,
there being no hope for such a person, for their life
was going to be ended. And God has incorporated this
system of judgment into the understanding of spiritual
truth. He has sentenced our “old man” (that is, our evil
sinful nature or, the evil principle that operates in our
ruined nature – “the flesh”, Rom 7.5) to death in its
22
capital sense. Therefore, in the cross we must learn
that God has no intention of reforming or repairing
our old nature, but that He has condemned it abso-
lutely as something that is unfit to live. In the cross we
learn that God has brought our sinful nature to a moral
terminus. Its practical issues are resolved in this, that
if I allow sin to operate in my life, I allow something
to act that the Lord died to put away. What a serious
reflection on our baptism if this is the case. May we
ever live in the light of our baptism and, in doing so,
we will never go wrong. Burial is what follows death,
its first mention in Scripture being when Abraham
bought the sepulchre from the sons of Ephron to bury
his dead “out of [his] sight” (Gen 23.8). This is where
God would have the “old man” - dead and buried out
of sight. In rising out of the waters of baptism, we are
brought into the light of resurrection, and under moral
obligation to live unto God and to walk in newness of
life. God delights in living things so, in this way, we can
minister pleasure to Him in our lives: we live unto God.
The Death of the Cross (Philippians 2.1-8)
This aspect of the cross has nothing to do with sin,
something which is never mentioned in this epistle.
This should not startle the believer, but should make
him endeavour to know and learn the will of God in
this particular presentation of His cross. The cross in
the Philippian epistle is to teach the believer how to
behave in the local assembly, especially in regard to
its service and how that should be carried on. Thus,
the injunction that nothing should be done through
strife or vainglory would indicate that, in this other-
wise good and happy assembly, there was an element
which caused disturbance in the service of God. In
fact, at the time of writing, it amounted to some-
thing of the nature of a crisis. Because of the appeal
in chapter 4 verse 2 to the two sisters, Euodias and
Syntyche, it can be safely assumed that they had made
a definite contribution to the disquiet of the assembly,
and were exposing its very existence to vital danger. It
was this that caused the apostle to write these words
contained in the second chapter, and never have words
like them come from an inspired writer’s pen. They
stand unequalled, unique, profound as they describe
the humiliation of Christ from His Godhead glory right
to the death of the cross. Paul prefaced these words
with this request: “Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus”. The mind of Christ was to come
down, as can be seen from our passage.
Beloved, if pride of place in the assembly has been
allowed to grip our hearts, we need to learn the
meaning of His cross afresh. And how can this be
done? Most of us have, in our assembly experience,
been faced with situations whose solutions have
meant the renunciation of our personal rights (not
of divine principle), our complete humiliation being
involved and not a shred of dignity left in us. How can
we descend to such a level? Remember, however far
we come down in this way, beloved child of God, we
shall always find One who has come down further. He,
in His obedience and service, came down to the death
of the cross. Can pride really exist in our hearts; can
strife and vainglory influence; can murmurings and
disputings mark us in our assembly life as we learn the
meaning of His cross? How far is it true of us when we
sing those well-known, yet profound, words:
When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
What a test the cross is to us as to our spiritual
development! The cross, then, in the Philippian aspect,
is to teach us the mind of Christ. And, having learned
this lesson, we arrive at the apostle’s exhortation to
work out our own salvation (that is, the salvation of
the assembly in its local testimony) with fear and
trembling. “For it is God that worketh in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil 2.13).
Enmity Slain by the Cross (Ephesians 2.15-16)
The context of this passage helps us to understand
yet another aspect of the cross. The mystery, hid from
all ages, has now been revealed to us by the apostle,
that is, the Jew and Gentile have now been brought
together in one body. That which formerly separated
them was enmity caused by the Law, and this has now
been abolished. The Law gave the Jew his standing
above the other nations, and he was such an elevated
person with respect to the old covenant that other
nations and people were called Gentile dogs! This Law
made him a proud aristocrat amongst other peoples
but, in the light of the new revelation, national distinc-
tions were levelled at the cross: the privileged Jew, as
well as the alienated Gentile, required equally to be
reconciled to God. The dividing wall – pride of place,
race and privilege – was broken down completely at
the cross.
The truth thus given teaches us that, in the Church,
the new creation, there is no place for national
distinction. It is one body, making of the twain one
new man. While the politicians of this world find the
problem of racial discrimination insoluble, let us who,
in this present dispensation, have been called by His
grace, rejoice in that we form part of that glorious
body, that heavenly corporation where nothing exists
which distinguishes men from men. And should this
fundamental principle, which has its universal bearing
in Ephesians, be lost to us locally? No! For all those
features that might separate believers from each
other, the distinctions which men love to make, and
which obtain in this world - racial, social etc - have
been removed by the cross. Oh, may our hearts
respond in a practical way, so that we will endeavour
to give the necessary expression of our love to those
of other nations in the body of Christ and in our local
churches. Let us refuse to recognise the distance that
men create between men, embracing all in our love
and affection as being in the body of Christ, “… the
cross, having slain the enmity thereby”.
The Offence of the Cross (Galatians 5.11; 6.12)
The Epistle to the Galatians is not, in its primary
sense, direct revelation, but is rather one of recovery,
written to recapture the ground lost by the Galatian
error. For, they had gone back on the basic doctrines
of the faith. They were guilty of submitting to the
Judaisers, who taught them that it was necessary
to keep the Law for their justification. The exacting
nature of the Law had destroyed their Christian char-
acter. Chapter 2 verse 16 teaches us that works of the
Law will never justify the believer; chapter 4 verse 19
that legality will take every mark of Christ out of our
characters; chapter 5 verse 15 that it will destroy our
23
relationships with our brethren, until nothing is left.
Let us beware of all these dangers! In chapter 5 verse
11 and chapter 6 verse 15, we are directly referred to
the rite of circumcision, and the cross as that which
is radically opposed to such practice. This is probably
referred to by the apostle as that which represented or
betokened the whole system of rites and ceremonies.
It left its mark in men’s flesh, and provided something
in which they could glory. In chapter 1 verse 4, the
Lord gave Himself to deliver us from this present evil
world and, in chapter 6 verse 14, the apostle speaks
of himself as being crucified unto the world. Now, to
give these passages their contextual value, “the world”
must of necessity incorporate into its meaning that
part which an obsolete Judaistic system gave to it,
and, although other features are certainly there, this is
its primary connection in chapter 6.
Has it not its counterpart in the vast ecclesiastical
system existing in Christendom today? Many believers
are there, and we love them for Christ’s sake, but we
repudiate the unholy system with which they are asso-
ciated. May the offence of the cross never cease in this
sense with us! And, if we feel that our present associa-
tion with the people of God, gathered to His Name,
be characterised by outward insignificance, may we
find our compensation in this, saying with the apostle,
“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto
me, and I unto the world.”
RITCHIE
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24
The Preaching of the Cross (1 Cor 1.18-25)
The cross, to the unbelieving Jew, was a stumbling-
block and, to the educated Greek, foolishness. Seeing
it is the preaching of the cross, would it not have a
strong bearing on our evangelical service, in our Gospel
meetings both inside and out? To preach the cross is to
make nothing at all of man; whether he be religious or
educated, its preaching coming as a fresh challenge to
all. To preach the cross with such effect needs much
of God’s presence and power. The cross will be forever
isolated in all its solitary grandeur from the cheap
accompaniments that are found in modern methods of
preaching. No one in the will of God can glamourise the
cross or make it appeal to natural man, for it reduces
him to the very dust. Although the preaching may be
regarded as foolishness, and the preacher very often
a fool, to the saved it is the power of God. Thus, God
in His infallible Word has linked the cross and salvation
together. May the message of the cross lie at the heart
of all our spiritual exercises in evangelical labours. While
it exposes man and all that he is in the sight of God, it
also accomplishes salvation to those who believe.
So, while the cross my sin displays,
In all its blackest hue,
Oh, wondrous mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
(Concluded)
%
BELIEVER’S
BOOKSHELF
Please Note: the inclusion of a title in Believer’s Bookshelf should not be taken as an endorsement of all the t

Random Reminiscences: Fifty Years of Ministry by H A Ironside; published by Crimond House,

2021, and available from John Ritchie Ltd. Price £7.99 (9781908618313).

A s an early teenager, I first encountered the writings of H A Ironside

when an assembly elder gave me a copy of Sailing with Paul, still an
ideal booklet for a young believer, and freely accessible online at
https://www.wholesomewords.org/etexts/ironside/sailing.pdf
Harry Ironside (1876-1951) was a well-known American Bible teacher and
prolific writer who, between 1929 and 1948, pastored the Moody Memorial
Church (now called the Moody Church) in Chicago. His series of non-
technical commentaries possesses the uncommon virtue of being written
in a style which, without compromising doctrinal accuracy, can be easily
understood by the ordinary reader.
The present collection of 16 examples of Gospel work provides a simple
and straightforward introduction to the challenge of personal evangelism.
In this slim paperback of just over 100 pages, first published in 1939, we
trace the writer’s spiritual conversations with a variety of colourful and memorable individuals. We
meet an outspoken young agnostic, a Franciscan priest, an elderly Jewish umbrella-mender, an official
representative of the IWW Movement (“the ‘Industrial Workers of the World’, though opponents of its
socialistic principles generally interpreted the mystic letters as standing for ‘I Won’t Work’”, p 62), a
Dominican sister, a Japanese businessman, and a fanatical member of a heretical sect called ‘Christian
Israelites’.
Ironside’s travels across the USA evidently brought him into contact with a startling range of people,
and he seems to have grasped every opportunity to talk about God’s way of salvation in Christ Jesus. But
this is more than a series of autobiographical anecdotes. Ironside deftly inserts into almost every brief
chapter some snippets of Biblical doctrine to stir the reader’s interest. He touches on the priesthood
of all believers (p 21), the Lord’s soon coming for His saints (pp 24-25), the present intercessory work of
Christ (p 43), the Gospel message as found in 2 Corinthians 8.9 (pp 82-86), the meaning of baptism (p 98),
and the unique value of the shed blood of Christ to deal with our sins (pp 114-116).
Some of the stories are unashamedly sentimental, some are amusing, some are self-deprecatory, but
all are readable, ultimately testifying to the power of God’s Word to touch the conscience and transform
the life. As Ironside writes, “The Holy Scriptures are God-breathed. They are living and energetic, and
can be depended upon to do their own work if men are but willing to search them with honest hearts,
ready to act on the truth when the Holy Spirit reveals it” (p 105). Those who have appreciated the author’s
expositions will enjoy reading about his experiences.

David Newell

26
titles written by that book’s author. Each review is a stand-alone assessment of the particular book illustrated.

Design Dissected – Is The Design Real? by David J Galloway, 2021; published by, and available
from, John Ritchie Ltd; 224 pages. Price £9.99 (9781914273001).

W ritten by a highly-respected surgeon, and with the subtitle A clinical look at life’s complexity,
design and ultimate causation, this new book has an authoritative message which many people
today are debating. It is a science-based defence of the ‘Intelligent Design’ concept, with a multitude of
examples taken from the field of medicine and physiology, and highly commended by others.
In his first section of ten chapters, collectively called Enigmata, the author
focuses attention upon the basics of scientific discovery, especially in the
development of medicine and surgery over the past 200 years.
The second section, called Layers of Complexity, has six chapters with
fascinating descriptions of some physiological phenomena. In these, the
complexity of the substances involved, and their dependence upon each
other, are absolutely essential to their success and to the survival of the whole
- in most cases, that means the human ‘patient’. These phenomena could by
no means arise by unguided natural chance, be it for birth, control of blood
pressure, blood clotting, or a host of other vital processes. The final section,
Thinking about Thinking, is shorter, and explores the deep mystery of mind and
thought, of self-consciousness, of what it is that makes us human and vastly
different from every other life-form on Earth.
The author’s dissection of the design found everywhere leads to the conclusion which many, scientists
and non-scientists alike, choose to avoid – the existence of a Designer, the God “with whom we have to
do” (Heb 4.13). That is the basic reason for their refusal to follow the evidence, to accept the obvious,
and to persist with unanswered questions and illogical deductions. David Galloway makes this point
effectively several times: “All too often, the plain and obvious conclusions are avoided in preference to
a favoured theory or idea.”
This is a scholarly work, indexed and with 58 detailed references. It is beautifully illustrated with
relevant images and clever design features, and the many interesting anecdotes told in the author’s
friendly manner are engaging. To follow all the arguments properly, however, the reader will be at a
disadvantage without some knowledge of medical science and its terminology and, even with these,
some sections are not an easy read.
Something to be regretted about Design Dissected is the lack of explicitly evangelical references
pointing a reader to Christ – His Name does not appear in the book, and the Name of God is hard to
find! Even a short appendix could have helped to remedy this, and thus widened the applicability of this
interesting book.

Bert Cargill

27
WITH CHRIST
In view of the number of obituary notices the publishers are requested to insert, we ask those who submit
them to keep them as succinct as possible. All obituaries will be edited with the utmost care and respect.
Mrs Chrissie Buchan, aged 98, passed away very
suddenly on 26th April. Her long life brought occa-
sions both of joy and sorrow. In January 2016, Chrissie
and her husband John celebrated their 70th wedding
anniversary. That was only three months before John
passed away. She experienced sadness and loss in the
deaths of two sons, and of a well-loved granddaughter,
but the Lord sustained her and she bore these trials
with grace and dignity. Chrissie was saved when young,
and she and John were baptised and received into the
fellowship of the assembly meeting in Prince Street Hall,
Peterhead in February 1963, after a series of Gospel
Meetings held by Mr Harold Paisley. She retained a
clear mind and excellent memory and was able to live in
her own house until the day the Lord called her Home.
She would often mention that she had all she needed,
and that she thanked Him every morning for His good-
ness. She is survived by a daughter, two sons, and many
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mrs Norah Clarke, aged 79, was called Home on
4th July after suffering a massive brain haemorrhage.
As a young woman of 21 years of age she attended
Gospel Meetings in Lurgan Gospel Hall, conducted by
the late Albert McShane and Alex Lyttle. She became
burdened about her sins, and thought much about the
Lord’s return, knowing that she was not ready. One
Lord’s Day morning, her parents, aware of Norah’s
longing for salvation, left a tract about John 3.16 on
the kitchen bench. Through those precious words
Norah realised that Christ had died for her personally,
and all she had to do was trust Him. A few months
later she was baptised and received into fellowship in
the assembly at Bleary where she remained until her
homecall. She was a devoted wife, and a true helpmeet
to her husband, Arthur, who often wondered how he
would ever manage without her. Please remember
Arthur, who suffered another stroke a few weeks ago
and has been in hospital since; also unsaved loved ones
for whom she was greatly burdened. Her funeral was
conducted by J Rogers, P Kaestner and R Reynolds, her
brother-in-law.
Mr Ritchie Deans, aged 89, was called Home on
15th January. Born into a Christian home, Ritchie was
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taken along to Wolsley Hall, Glasgow and was saved
at the age of 14. He was later baptised and received
into fellowship there. Aged 18, he was called up for
National Service and joined the RAF, being stationed
first in Yorkshire, where the believers at Harrogate
were very kind to him, then in Kent. It was there that
he met his wife, Audrey Corke. They married in 1955,
and set up home in Kent before eventually moving to
Scotland. From a young age, Ritchie studied the Scrip-
tures and became involved in Bible teaching. He was
known throughout Central Scotland as he helped local
assemblies in many locations. He also served faithfully
as an elder in the Deans, Livingston assembly and,
latterly, in Hareleeshill, Larkhall. He and Audrey were
given to hospitality, and many visited their home over
the years. Ritchie had a particular interest in encour-
aging and teaching young folks. Prayer is requested for
Audrey and the wider family circle.
Mr William (Willie) Gaffney, aged 94, was called
Home on 8th June. He was brought up a Catholic, but
was saved, in 1955, through a workmate giving him
tracts at work and inviting him to a Gospel Meeting
in Plantation Street Gospel Hall, Glasgow (now Harley
Street). A young man visiting from the north of Scot-
land was preaching. Willie waited after the meeting,
stating “I want what that man has got”. He got salva-
tion, was baptised, and added to the assembly in due
course. Over the years he was faithful in the assembly,
regularly attending and taking part. He was a Sunday
School teacher in earlier years and, latterly, an elder.
He attended the Lord’s Day morning meeting and took
part until a month before his homecall. The funeral
service, which was taken by local and nearby brethren,
was from the Gospel Hall, Harley Street. Willie leaves
a large family circle for whom prayer would be valued.
Mrs Annie Irwin, aged 101, was called Home on 5th
June. Brought up in the Clogher Valley, County Tyrone,
she went to the Sunday School at Lungs Gospel Hall
where she heard the way of salvation. In February 1941,
at the age of 20, she was saved at meetings in the area.
In 1944, with her husband Willie whom she married
when she was 19, they moved to the Drumbo area to
work on a large dairy farm. Annie was blessed with good
health, and she worked hard even after retiring age.
She was in the assembly at Ballymagarrick for many
years, and was faithful at all the meetings up until the
last few years. A lover of the Gospel, Annie gave loyal
support when it was being preached in the district.
She was also given to hospitality, and enjoyed having
people in her home. After a long life she has entered
into her eternal rest. Her funeral was conducted by
Sydney Glenn, John Rogers, Jackson Patterson, Joe
Rogers, George Irvine and Roland Pickering.
Mrs Evelyn Magill (née Hull) was called into the
presence of her Lord on 19th May, aged 89. She was
saved in December 1948 at Gospel Meetings held
outside Newry by the late Wilson Radcliffe and the
late Joshua Hewitt. For a number of years, Evelyn was
a member of the Newry and Whitehouse assemblies.
On her marriage to Bob Magill in 1972, she was received
into the Dunmurry assembly where she was a much
valued and exemplary member for over 50 years. Like
ASSEMBLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please note: All material relating to forthcoming meetings, holiday homes and personalia for the October 2022
issue of Believer's Magazine must be submitted by 5th September 2022. Please send to graphics@johnritchie.co.uk
SCOTLAND
AUGUST 27
Dunfermline: Hospital Hill Gospel Hall. Annual Confer-
ence in The Vine Conference Centre, 131 Garvock Hill,
Dunfermline KY11 4JU at 4.00pm. (Please note the
change of venue.) Speakers expected: J Dunlop, C
Hutchison, A Sinclair. A buffet supper will be served in
the Gospel Hall after the Conference.
Inverurie: Gospel Hall. Annual Conference to be
held in the Town Hall at 3.00pm and 6.00pm. D
Mowat, G Edwards.
SEPTEMBER 3
Kinross: Gospel Hall. Annual Conference in Orwell
Kirk, 29 South Street, Milnathort KY13 9XA at 3.00pm.
(Please note the change of venue.) K Oh, D Radcliffe,
J Thompson.
SEPTEMBER 17
Ayr: Gospel Hall, Prestwick Road at 7.00pm. Ministry
and Bible Reading (Luke 22.39-53). C Hutchison.
Phebe, it could be said of her that she was “a servant
of the church” (Rom 16.1), and this was clearly evident
to all. Evelyn was marked by Christian dignity and an
in-depth care and compassion for all, “especially unto
them who are of the household of faith” (Gal 6.10).
Her occupation as a Nursing Sister brought her into
contact with many that she was able to help and care
for, both in hospital and in her own home, which was
open to all. Her home was not large, but it carried a
fragrance of the Lord’s presence. Many can testify to
this, from students studying in the local university to
various servants of the Lord. Her care was not just
local, but extended to such places as Nova Scotia,
Brazil and Venezuela, which she visited on a number
of occasions in order to assist and care for others.
Evelyn’s well-attended funeral service from Plantation
Gospel Hall, Lisburn was conducted by D Gilliland, B
Currie, A Thompson and T Wilson. The Scripture is
true of her, “... they may rest from their labours; and
their works do follow them” (Rev 14.13).
OCTOBER 15
Ayr: Gospel Hall, Prestwick Road at 7.00pm. Ministry
and Bible Reading (Luke 22.54-71). A de Ville.
OCTOBER 22
Aberdeen: Riverside Christian Assembly Hall, 20
Twin Spires, Mugiemoss Road, Aberdeen AB21 9BG.
Ministry at 7.30pm. S Arbuthnot.
NOVEMBER 19
Ayr: Gospel Hall, Prestwick Road at 7.00pm. Ministry
and Bible Reading (Luke 23.1-25). C Munro.
NOVEMBER 25-27
Aberdeen: Riverside Christian Assembly Hall, 20
Twin Spires, Mugiemoss Road, Aberdeen AB21
9BG. Bible Teaching Weekend. D Rudge. Friday 25th
at 7.30pm. Saturday 26th at 10.00am, 11.15am and
7.30pm. Lord’s Day 27th at 4.00pm.
DECEMBER 17
Ayr: Gospel Hall, Prestwick Road at 7.00pm. Ministry
and Bible Reading (Luke 23.26-49). A Summers.
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