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Millennial Dawn
1:19-23; Phil. 2:6-11; 1 Thess. 1:9, 10; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6 ; 3:16; Heb. 1:3, 4 ; 1 Peter 3:21, 22; Rev. 1:17, 18.) The Lord Jesus did not and could not become Divine at His exaltation, for He was Divine from eternity. Can a mere creature be- come a sharer in the Godhead, and be endowed with the infinity and the almightiness of God? Is not the Divine Essence in- communicable? Believers are indeed said to be partakers of the Divine nature, (2 Pet. 1 :4), but this does not mean that they partake of the perfections of the Almighty. “Partakers of Christ” (Heb. 3:14) is exactly equivalent. But, was there a resurrection of Christ at all if Dawnism teaches the truth ? His body was not raised; “He is no longer human in any sense or degree”, we are told. His human spirit did not die, for He commended it to His Father. He promised the penitent thief that “this day thou shall be with Me in Paradise”, and it was His spirit that should be in that blessed place. The spirit being He had before His advent was changed into His human spirit, it did not retain a sepa- rate existence at all. Well then, Who or what was raised up? The books furnish unmistakable evidence that Mr. Rus- sell holds that a particular class of the saved, called the “little flock”, will share with Jesus in the possession of the Divine nature. This notion is taught with caution and reserve, but hints of it are met with here and there in the volumes. One can easily guess who constitute this favored company. On meeting with it one is instantly reminded of the lie of Satan, “Ye shall be as God” (Gen. 3:5). 6 . The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ took place in October, 1874 . (Vol. II, 187, 199; 234-245). This startling announcement is reached by a process of chronologi- cal and mathematical reasoning founded partly on the Hebrew Jubilee years. Of the results of his calculations Mr. Russell entertains no misgiving. He is persuaded, or affirms that
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