In Lessons 76 through 80 we identified the following factors as having contributed to EWB changing his dispensational position.

Transcription

1 1 Sunday, July 5, 2015 Grace Life Schl f Thelgy Grace Histry Prject Supplemental Lessn #3: Bullinger, Welch, Cles, and the Acts 28:28 Dispensatinal Frntier Intrductin In the riginal Grace Histry Prject (GHP), five lessns were devted t discussing Rightly Dividing E.W. Bullinger: The Emergence f Acts 28ism (Lessns 76 thrugh 80). The gal f these lessns was t chrnicle E.W. Bullinger s (EWB) jurney frm an Acts 13 dispensatinal psitin in the 1890 s (see The Mystery: Secret Truth Revealed frm 1895 and The Church Epistles frm 1902) t the Acts 28 dispensatinal psitin tward the end f his life (1907 thrugh 1913). Since Lessns 76 thrugh 80, I als wrte an article fr The Jurnal f Grace Thelgy titled Rightly Dividing E.W. Bullinger: The Mst Intriguing Stry Never Tld In Lessns 76 thrugh 80 we identified the fllwing factrs as having cntributed t EWB changing his dispensatinal psitin the publicatin f Sir Rbert Andersn s (SRA) The Silence f Gd. Sir Rbert makes reference t what he calls the Pentecstal Dispensatin, i.e., he viewed the Acts perid as its wn dispensatin. This is ne f the hallmarks f the Acts 28 psitin, the idea that Israel culd have repented fr their part in the death f Christ all the way up until Acts 28. While this is subtle in The Silence f Gd, it intrduces int the dispensatinal cnversatin the ntin that the bk f Acts is its wn dispensatin and that the dispensatinal bundary shuld be drawn in Acts 28:28. (See Lessn 76 fr mre details.) 1907 EWB writes Hw t Enjy the Bible and carries frward many f the ideas first expressed by SRA in The Silence f Gd ten years earlier. The dispensatinalism presented in Hw t Enjy the Bible (1907) shares the fllwing key pints with The Silence f Gd (1897): The bk f Acts cmprises its wn transitinal dispensatin. In ther wrds, n new dispensatin begins during the Acts chrnlgy. Israel is able t repent accrding t Acts 3:19-20 at any pint within the Acts perid until Acts 28. When Paul qutes Isaiah 6:9-10 t the Jewish leadership in Rme in Acts 28, Israel is here rendered in unbelief and it is here that the dispensatinal bundary shuld be drawn. As f 1907, Acts 28 dispensatinalism was in an embrynic state. Many f the ingredients were present but they had nt yet fully germinated. Neither Dr. Bullinger nr Pastr Bryan Rss

2 2 Sir Rbert Andersn, as f 1907, had frmally suggested that Paul s epistles need t be divided int tw distinct grups. (See Lessn 77 fr mre details.) 1908 accrding t Charles Welch s Autbigraphy (see pages 92-93) it was during a cnversatin in late 1908 between EWB and Mr. Charles Welch (CHW), that the embry f Acts 28ism was fully fertilized by Welch s suggestin that Paul s epistles need t be divided between thse written befre and after Acts 28. Tward the end f 1908 I felt mved t write t Dr. Bullinger. I had seen a cpy f Things t Cme while still acting as Secretary t the Bible Training Cllege, and althugh I had been warned against the Dctr s heretical teaching, much that I read struck a familiar chrd. After an interval, I again saw an issue f Things t Cme and was amazed t see an article which I culd have duplicated frm my wn ntes. Evidently, I thught, whever wrte that article had mved alng similar lines t myself, and s, with sme trepidatin I plucked up curage t write t the Dctr, asking him fr an pprtunity t see him and talk ver ne r tw imprtant pints in which I felt bund t differ frm his findings... After sme delay, the Dctr granted me an interview at the ffices f the Trinitarian Bible Sciety, Bury Street, Lndn, and that hur s interview prved t be the mst critical turning pint in my life and ministry. The Dctr invited me t say what was trubling me, and I feared that, after all, he wuld smile indulgently, pat me n the shulder and tell me t g hme and frget all abut it. Again I plucked up curage and here is a transcript f ur cnversatin. Welch Frm yur writings Dctr, I believe I am right in saying that yu d nt believe The Church began at Pentecst, but rather, that the Dispensatinal Bundary must be drawn at Acts 28? Bullinger That is s. I have made that quite clear. Welch Well, what seems t me t stultify the psitin yu have taken regarding Acts 28 is that yu nevertheless treat the whle f Paul s epistles as ne grup, starting with Rmans, ending with Thessalnians, with Ephesians smewhere in the centre. T my amazement and jy, the Dctr lked at me fr a mment, then slapping his thigh with his hand said: Bullinger That scraps half the bks I have written. But we want the Truth, and the Truth is there in what yu have said. I felt that here was indeed grace. Dr. Bullinger was a man f wrld repute, a schlar and an elder. I was a yung man f twenty-eight years and unknwn. We Pastr Bryan Rss

3 3 spent the remainder f ur brief interview in cnsidering the dispensatinal implicatins that arise frm bserving the relatin f Paul s epistles t the bundary line f Acts 28 thus: Epistles Befre Acts 28 Epistles After Galatians Ephesians Ephesians Philippians 1 Thessalnians Clssians 2 Thessalnians Dispensatinal Bundary Philemn Hebrews 1 Timthy 1 Crinthians Titus 2 Crinthians 2 Timthy (Welch, 93) Rmans In summatin f this 1908 cnversatin between EWB and CHW, I stated the fllwing in Nvember 2012 when I taught lessn 78: Befre prceeding further with this cnversatin it is imprtant t ntice the fllwing pints: first, Bullinger acknwledges that Welch had understd him prperly that the dispensatinal bundary shuld be drawn in Acts 28; secnd, prir t this exchange, Bullinger had nt cnsidered dividing Paul s Epistles written befre Acts 28 with thse written after. The Grace Histry Prject believes that at this exact mment the Acts 28 psitin is brn. What makes Acts 28ism is its divisin f Paul s epistles int tw different grups... The Grace Histry Prject believes that at this pint EWB made a critical mistake. Bullinger went alng with Welch s divisin f the Epistles rather than chse t rethink and redraw his dispensatinal bundary line. All Bullinger wuld have had t d is retreat back t his earlier dispensatinal teachings in The Mystery: Secret Truth Revealed (1895) r The Church Epistles (1898). By embracing Welch s suggested divisin f Paul s Epistles, mre prblems were created than slved. Being the elder statesmen in this case, Bullinger shuld have exercised mre cautin. It seems that Bullinger may have been verwhelmed in trying t juggle The Cmpanin Bible, Things t Cme, his secretary duties fr the Trinitarian Bible Sciety, and his dmestic respnsibilities. In essence, what EWB did is turn ver his editr duties fr Things t Cme t a man he hardly knew. (See Lessn 78 fr mre details.) That Welch s accunt, presented in his Autbigraphy has been widely accepted as the truth with respect t the rigin f the Acts 28 dispensatinal psitin is evidenced by Juanita S. Carey s reprductin f it in her bk length wrk E.W. Bullinger: A Bigraphy (see pages 179 thrugh 182) published in In additin, the Wikipedia entry n Charles H. Welch cntains a sectin titled Meeting With Dr. E.W. Bullinger in which Welch s telling f the events is put frth in an uncritical manner. Pastr Bryan Rss

4 4 Like mst f his bk length wrks CHW s Autbigraphy (1960) riginally appeared in The Berean Expsitr in serial frm. The prtin cntaining CHW s accunt f the 1908 cnversatin with EWB first ccurred in the Nvember 1949 issue f the The Berean Expsitr sme 41 years after the fact (see pages 103 t 104 f the link prvided abve). J.J.B. Cles and the Acts 28:28 Dispensatinal Frntier (Feb., 1907) In February 1907, mre than a year befre the cnversatin between EWB and CHW in late 1908, Things t Cme published an article titled The Acts f the Apstles Cnsidered Histrically and Dispensatinally by Jhn Jefferis Bartlett (J.J.B.) Cles. Accrding t Otis Q. Sellers, Cles was a Baptist minister wh first marked a dispensatinal bundary line in Acts 28:28. Sellers, wh came t accept the Acts 28 psitin in 1934, gives Cles, nt EWB r CHW, the credit fr being the first t suggest that Acts 28 served as a significant dispensatinal frntier. Sellers even claims, that Mrs. Cles wrte him letters f cmmendatin and encuragement frm very early n his ministry fr taking up the psitin. (Sellers, 36-37) In his articles frm February 1907, Cles states the fllwing regarding the nature f the Acts perid. Just as Christ was ffered t Israel and was deliberately refused, being a stne f stumbling t bth the huses f Israel, s t, was the ffer made by the Hly Spirit thrugh St. Peter, that if there was a natinal repentance n the part f the Jews in Judea and Israel in Dispersin, thse times f refreshing wuld cme, and GOD wuld send back the Lrd Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21)... The sentence f Natinal blindness, fretld in Isaiah 6, seven hundred years befre this critical pint in Israelitish histry, was impending ver the favred natin....when at Rme, as recrded in Acts 28, he (Paul) addressed the Jews fr the last time as a crprate bdy at the clse f his ministry, as far as ging t them in their synaggues was cncerned; he quted that ne wrd that dreadful sentence f blindness which nw fr nearly tw thusand years has darkened the eyes and hardened the hearts f the still rebellius and unbelieving Peple. (Cles in Things t Cme, 16) Cles als makes a distinctin between the Pauline epistles written befre and after Acts 28. Cles teaches that the revelatin f the mystery was nt made t Paul until after Acts after he (Paul) had prnunced the sentence f blindness f Isaiah 6, he was sustained in his prisn at Rme; and he was sn afterward inspired t write the mst prfund f all the sacred writings the Epistles t the Ephesians, the Philippians and Clssians, racles f GOD which cntain far deeper truth cncerning Christ and the Church, the Mystery hidden during and frm the age-times, t which there is n allusin in the Acts f the Apstles... And we must als bear in mind that the revelatin f the mystery hid in GOD was nt set frth until the age-times were ver, and the Pastr Bryan Rss

5 5 perid cvered by the Acts frmed the clsing epch f thse age-times befre the present interval f grace began Christ, the hpe f glry. This mystery amng the Gentiles cntains a deeper and fuller revelatin f the Gspel f the glry than is revealed in the chapters f the Acts... Again, this recgnitin f the peculiar and unique f the thirty-three year histry recrded in the Acts leads t a very imprtant questin as t the Dispensatin teaching f the Chrnlgical rder f the Pauline Epistles. (Cles, in Things t Cme, 16-17) Cles clearly suggests that I and II Thessalnians and I Crinthians were written befre the clse f the Acts perid and therefre are speaking abut the return f Christ t establish his kingdm n earth. The earlier Epistles, especially I and II Thessalnians and I Crinthians, were written befre the clse f the histrical perid cvered by the Acts, when the Parusia, r return f the Kingdm f Christ, was still being ffered t Israel and the natins... S as lng as the ffer was being made within thse thirty years cvered by the Acts f the pssible immediate return f Christ, it is nt natural t suppse that thse early Epistles f Paul, written befre that ffer was definitely and hpelessly refused by Israel (bth in Judea and in the Dispersin), and which cntain special allusins t the Parusia, wuld be, in their scpe, in accrdance with the then distinct ffer and dispensatinal dealing f Gd? (Cles, in Things t Cme, 17) Cles makes a distinctin between the cming f Christ mentined in I and II Thessalnians and I Crinthians and the translatin f the Church mentined in Philippians 3. Such a distinctin is ne f the hallmark dctrines f the Acts 28 dispensatinal psitin. It is remarkable that it is nly in these earlier Epistles, written befre his imprisnment at Rme, and during the curse f thse thirty-three years cvered by the Acts, that the Parusia is mentined. The wrd Parusia des nt nce ccur in Ephesians and Clssians, and the translatin referred t in Philippians 3 is in cnnectin with the On-High Calling and the Prize which was cnnected with the great mystery f Christ and the Church, and which mystery, r secret purpse f GOD, was nt fully declared when the Parusia, which wuld mre immediately precede the kingdm, was the gal then ffered t faith. T his faithful and belved servant when in prisn in Rme, GOD wuld yet mre fully reveal this wndrus glry f Christ as the future head f the Universe, with the Church as His fullness (plerma); which, deeper and mre exalted truth, fllwed that rejectin f the Parusia and the Kingdm f I Thessalnians 4, which was nw pstpned indefinitely; and pssibly t be taken up again as a distinct ffer nly when the Mystery, hid in GOD, (t which there is n allusin in Thessalnians) shuld have been cnsummated, r received up in glry. (Cles, in Things t Cme, 17) Pastr Bryan Rss

6 6 In a ftnte, Cles even makes use f the Rmans 16:25-27 Pstscript Thery, later ppularized by EWB in Fundatins f Dispensatinal Truth t explain away Paul s having knwn the mystery during the Acts perid when he wrte Rmans. The Epistle t the Rmans was written in A.D. 58, but the pstscript (Cp. 16:25-27) in which the Mystery is mentined was written later. Cmpare this pstscript with the very similar wrds in Ephesians 3: This pstscript has lng puzzled transcribers and textual critics; and, nt being understd, has led t the putting ut f verse 24, as in the R.V. (Cles, in Things t Cme, 16-17) The fllwing facts are clear frm Cles February 1907 article in Things t Cme: 1) Cles taught that Acts 28:28 served as the dispensatinal bundary, 2) Paul s epistles written befre Acts 28:28 shuld be separated frm thse written after his imprisnment in Rme, 3) Cles did nt view the catching up described in I Thessalnians 4 as pertaining t the church f this dispensatin and therefre makes a distinctin between the Parusia and ut calling r calling n high f Philippians 3, and 4) Cles uses the Pstscript thery t blster his argument that Paul did nt knw the mystery during the Acts perid. Dr. Bullinger Fully Endrses and Expands Upn Cles Article (April, 1907) In the April 1907 issue f Things t Cme, tw mnths after Cles frm February 1907, and still well ver a year befre the cnversatin spken f by Welch, EWB wrte an article titled, The Pauline Epistles: The Dispensatinal Teaching f Their Chrnlgical Order. In this article, nt nly des EWB supprt the dispensatinal finding f Cles, but he als presents fr the first time a chart dividing Paul s epistles int tw different grups with respect t Acts 28 being the dispensatin bundary. In fact, it wuld nt be an understatement t view the February article by Cles as the impetus fr the April article by EWB. Regarding the chrnlgical rder f Paul s epistles (EWB had already previusly written extensively n their cannical rder) Dr. Bullinger stated the fllwing: And here we must refer ur readers t the articles by a belved brther in the February Number f Things t Cme (1907), n The Acts f the Apstles: Cnsidered Histrically and Dispensatinally. The truth flwing frm this is s imprtant that, if it shuld cmpel us t revise ur wn views in sme particulars, r even t re-write certain matters, let us tgether thank Gd fr the light that reveals further truth, and fr the grace which enables us t receive, believe, and use it. (EWB in Things t Cme, 38) Pastr Bryan Rss

7 7 EWB fully embraced Cles ntin that Acts 28:28 was the dispensatinal bundary. But we cannt say that it was fulfilled and put int frce until Acts 28:25-26, when Paul fr the third and last time, prnunced it nce mre, as the special muthpiece f the Hly Ghst, changing the future wrds f the prphecy int a present declaratin f its fulfillment: Well spake the Hly Ghst by Isaiah the prphet unt yur fathers, saying G unt this peple and say, (qutes Isaiah 6). This declaratin as t Israel was immediately fllwed by the prclamatin Be it knwn, therefre, that the salvatin f Gd is sent unt the Gentiles, and they will hear it (v. 28). (EWB in Things t Cme, 39) After having fully embraced Cles psitin, EWB set frth the fllwing chart dividing Paul s epistles int tw grups with respect t Acts 28. Nw we cme t the Dispensatinal lessns frm the Chrnlgical rder f the Pauline Epistles. Up t the great demarcatin f time in Acts 28:25-26, we have them thus, chrnlgically, accrding t the generally received dates: I Thess., A.D. 52, frm Crinth. II Thess., A.D. 53, frm Crinth. I Cr., A.D. 57, frm Ephesus (Spring). II Cr., A.D. 57, frm Ephesus (Autumn). Gal., A.D. 57, frm Crinth (Winter, r Early Spring, 58) Rm., A.D. 58, frm Crinth (Spring) Acts 28:25-26 A.D Eph., A.D. 62 frm Prisn in Rme (Spring). Cl., A.D. 62 frm Prisn in Rme (Spring). Phil. AD. 62 frm Prisn in Rme (Autumn). I Tim. A.D. 67, frm Crinth. Titus, A.D. 67 frm Crinth. II Tim. A.D. 68, frm Prisn in Rme. (EWB in Things t Cme, 39) Regarding this breakdwn, EWB puts frth fr the first time the ntin that the church f the Acts perid was a different church than the ne spken f in the prisn Epistles. We have the imprtant epch and date in the center: the pivt n which the whle turns. There are six Epistles n either side f it. It will be nted that after the Epistle t the Rmans in A.D. 58 we have a gap f fur r five years f silence, in which n Epistles were written. Then, ut f the silence came the final qutatin f Isa. 6, and the frmal prnuncement f the sentence f judicial blindness n the natin f Israel. Pastr Bryan Rss

8 8 These churches, frmed befre Acts 28, were cmpsed, as we have said, chiefly f the elect remnant, the heavenly calling with sme Gentiles. And we may ask, may nt these believing Hebrews be the church f the firstbrn nes mentined in the next chapter (Heb. 12:23)? If they were nt, then we may ask: Where are we t lk fr the Church? It is nt that they had a different standing t the Church f Gd in ur wn day. They were the firstbrn nes, and we are the later-brn. T the later-brn a precius secret was unflded, which culd nt have been revealed t thse wh were earlier brn. Fr, as lng as the ffer f the Kingdm t the earthly prtin f Israel was pen, the mystery culd nt be made knwn. Nt until the sentence f judicial blindness has been finally prnunced, and the prphecy f Isaiah 6 fulfilled, culd Paul be cmmissined t reveal the great secret and publish it abrad. It had dubtless been already previusly revealed t Paul himself; but he had nt yet received authrity t make it knwn by prphetic writings fr the bedience f faith. Hw was Paul t have knwn that the natin wuld nt repent and turn t the Lrd, and that Gd wuld nt send Jesus Christ and fulfill all the Old Testament prphecies? Hw was Paul t knw that he wuld nt actually himself be amng thse wh wuld be alive and remain unt the cming f the Lrd? This is the blessed hpe revealed in the very first Epistle (I Thess. 4:15), t the electin f grace. But the natin did nt repent, and that blessed hpe, and mre, is nw urs, fr it is still in abeyance. We have all that, and we have the wndrus secret f the Mystery besides. It is nt that, befre Acts 28, the Church f Gd had ne standing and hpe, and that we have anther; but that they had great things and we have greater. (EWB in Things t Cme, 39-40) In rder t buttress these claims, EWB states the fllwing regarding the mystery in the Acts perid epistles. This will be evident if we remember the fact that there was nt a wrd abut the Mystery in Thessalnians, r in the six earlier Epistles. There was nthing in Gd s dealing in grace with the elect remnant that wuld be incmpatible with Gd s then Dispensatinal dealings with Israel as a natin. (EWB in Things t Cme, 40) In rder t defend this assertin, EWB then resrts t the Pstscript Thery t explain away the mentin f the mystery in Rmans 16 during the Acts perid (see pages 40 and 41). Meanwhile, just as in Fundatins f Dispensatinal Truth, the ccurrence f the wrd mystery in Pastr Bryan Rss

9 9 I Crinthians 2:7 is cmpletely ignred ther than t say that Paul did nt make it knwn at that time. Much mre culd be said abut the dispensatinal teachings set frth by Dr. Bullinger in his April 1907 article but fr the purpses f this lessn we have seen enugh. It is beynd histrical dubt that nthing CHW presented in his late 1908 cnversatin with EWB was new t the gd Dctr. Bullinger had already embraced the psitin first articulated by Cles nt Welch and written abut in Things t Cme well ver a year befre Bullinger even knew wh Welch was. Evaluating the Optins Given the clearly dcumentable nature f these facts, it seems t me that there are nly tw ptins regarding hw ne shuld view this situatin. Optin 1: EWB was disingenuus with Welch regarding the nvelty f the ideas Welch presented. Optin 2: Welch fabricated the stry years later t blster the perceptin that he was the funder f the Acts 28 psitin. Optin 1 Regarding ptin 1, R.B. Withers, a lng time antagnist f CHW s, stated the fllwing: If s, it is difficult t avid the cnclusin that it was hardly ethical fr the Dctr t greet with enthusiasm a "discvery" by Mr. Welch which he himself had published less than tw years befre, even thugh with the laudable intentin f encuraging a yung man. We can nly wnder what srt f receptin Mr. Welch wuld have had, if instead, he had pinted ut the many defects in the diagram. (Withers Dispensatinal Truth) This was nt clear t me, s I asked Mr. Welch fr an elucidatin. He wrte: "If yu will read again the accunt f the interview with Dr. Bullinger it was nt that the Dr. had nt endrsed Acts 28 as a bundary, but that he was illgical, in still persisting that the Cannical rder als was binding. My attitude was that the Cannical rder was uninspired, and t end up with Thessalnian epistles after admitting Acts 28 stultified the whle cncept. "All this seems clear enugh but fr the circumstances that, well ver a year befre, in "Things t Cme" fr April, 1907, p. 39, Dr. Bullinger had published a similar table t the ne quted abve, in an article unsigned and separate frm the sectin "Cntributed Articles." Why, then, did he pretend t Mr. Welch that all this was a fresh idea t him? Why was he s enthusiastic ver being tld smething that he had himself set ut in his wn magazine lng befre? (Withers, The Differentiatr. Vl. 21 New Series April, 1959 N. 2) Pastr Bryan Rss

10 10 In cnclusin, I wuld emphasize that I am nt attacking Dr. Bullinger in any way. All I am cncerned here t pint ut is that Mr. Welch's assertins exhibit Dr. Bullinger in a very curius light. As t whether these assertins are r are nt true, I have n means at all f frming an pinin. I am simply drawing attentin t such dcumentary evidence as is available t me. It is very regrettable that Dr. Bullinger shuld have been led astray in his ministry by the false dctrine started by Mr. Cles; but apart frm that, his memry is still revered by me and will cntinue t be. (Withers, The Differentiatr. Vl. 21 New Series April, 1959 N. 2) Acts 28 prpnent Otis Q. Sellers, in the January 1958 issue f The Wrd f Truth, acknwledges that J.J.B. Cles was the first t suggest that Acts 28:28 was a dispensatinal bundary line. Sellers views CHW as carrying frward the findings f Cles. In the end, Sellers des nt view CHW as the riginatr f the psitin. (Sellers, 36-37) Optin 1 is nt a very charitable view f EWB. Optin 2 This ptin suggests that CHW deliberately misrepresented the facts sme 41 years later t blster the perceptin that he was the pint f rigin f the Acts 28 dispensatinal psitin and that he was the ne wh cnvinced EWB t embrace the psitin. Why did Welch wait until 1949 t give an accunt f smething that happened in 1908? One reasn might be that by 1949 anyne wh might have knwn differently had passed away r was infirmed thereby leaving n ne t challenge his stry. Mr. & Mrs. Cles (Sellers claims t have received letters f cmmendatin and encuragement frm Mrs. Cles after he embraced the Acts 28 psitin in It is reasnable t assume that 15 years later in 1949 Mrs. Cles had passed away.) Elizabeth Ddsn (EWB s niece) Bullinger s niece, Elizabeth Ddsn, wh had refused t turn ver editrship f the Cmpanin Bible t CHW after the death f her uncle, was eighty-five years ld and a semi-invalid by 1949, accrding t EWB s chief bigrapher, Juanita S. Carey. Ddsn died n December 27, 1950 at the age f eighty-six, a little mre than a year after CHW wrte his Nvember 1949 article recunting is 1908 cnversatin with EWB. In 1956, CHW wrte a bk titled The Grapes f Eschl. Twice in this bk CHW mentins a series f articles written by Cles in Things t Cme in 1907 and 1908 n Israel s experience at Kadesh Barnea. Pastr Bryan Rss

11 11 In 1907 and 1908, J. J. B. Cles wrte a series f articles in Things t Cme under the Editrship f Dr. E. W. Bullinger entitled KADESH BARNEA... (Welch, The Grapes f Eschl, 4) The questin is (says J.J.B. Cles in his pening article in Things t Cme, March 1907), (Welch, The Grapes f Eschl, 4) Nt nly des CHW knw that Cles wrte fr Things t Cme in 1907 and 1908 but he even references Cles article frm March March 1907 is the mnth between February 1907 when Cles article n the Acts 28 dispensatinal bundary first appeared and EWB s full endrsement f Cles wrk in April It is beynd my ability t cmprehend that smene as familiar with the articles cntained in Things t Cme during 1907 and 1908 as CHW wuld nt have knwn abut the articles by Cles and EWB frm that same year. Making matters wrse fr CHW is EWB s wn testimny f when he first knew/wrte abut the Acts 28 dispensatinal bundary and its chrnlgical effect upn Paul s Epistles written during the Acts perid. The last series f articles that EWB wrte fr Things t Cme was titled The Lrd Hath Spken. After his death this series f articles was cllated and published as a standalne vlume, The Fundatins f Dispensatinal Truth. EWB s editrial frm the January 1913 issue f Things t Cme, titled The Lrd Hath Spken IV, was a cntinuatin frm Vlume XVIII, p In the third paragraph we read the fllwing: The reasn fr these tw different rders (difference between the chrnlgical and cannical rder f Paul s epistles) has already been explained; s that we need nt say mre abut it nw. Attached t this statement is the fllwing ftnte, See Vl. XIII., April, What did Dr. Bullinger write in April 1907 but an article which endrses Cles suppsitins and a diagram dividing Paul s epistles int tw grups with respect t Acts 28 (see ntes abve). (EWB in Things t Cme Vl. XIX, 1) Making matters wrse fr CHW is the fllwing citatin fund at the end f EWB s January 1913 article: Under Things New and Old (p. 7), we re-insert an article frm Vl. XIII. (1907). An examinatin f the Things New and Old sectin n page 7 reveals the reprinting f an article titled The Acts f the Apstles Cnsidered Histrically and Dispensatinally (Reprinted frm Vl. XIII., Feb., 1907). Wh was the authr f this article frm February 1907? N ther than J.J.B. Cles. Wh was the editr f Things t Cme in 1913 but CHW. S nt nly des CHW knw f Cles 1907 article in 1913 but when he reprints it in Things New and Old he fails t give Cles credit fr the article. (EWB in Things t Cme Vl. XIX, 4 & 7-9) This explains why the entire cntents f Cles 1907 article fund its way int the psthumus publicatin f EWB s The Fundatins f Dispensatinal Truth withut a single citatin nting Cles as the authr. It was n accunt f CHW s pr editrship f the January 1913 issue f Things t Cme that Cles was never given credit fr his wrk. Pastr Bryan Rss

12 12 By failing t nte that Cles was the authr, later editrs seeking t cmpile all the stand alne articles in The Lrd Hath Spken series int a single vlume mistk the material as belnging t the pen f EWB instead f Cles, the rightful authr. In February 1913, EWB cntinued his The Lrd Hath Spken series in which he states, As lng ag as 1907 (nw nearly six years) we wrte n this very subject, s that this is n new subject belnging t Once again, Dr. Bullinger fr a secnd time identifies 1907 as the time frame in which he came t understand and write abut the Acts 28 dispensatinal bundary and its affect n the chrnlgical rder f Paul s epistles. (EWB in Things t Cme Vl. XIX, 13-16) Cnclusin CHW s claims frm 1949 are at dds with statements riginating frm EWB s ne pen. It seems t me that the mst lgical explanatin fr all f this is that CHW cnccted the stry years after the fact in an attempt t blster his wn standing as the perceived father f the Acts 28 dispensatinal psitin. CHW knew enugh f Cles 1907 article t reprint it withut giving him credit as the authr and making it seem that it had been written by EWB. He then cnceivably waited 41 years, t tell his stry until anyne wh might have knwn better had either passed ff the scene r was t infirmed t challenge his stry. Wrks Cited Bullinger, E.W. The Pauline Epistles: The Dispensatinal Teaching f Their Chrnlgical Order: in Things t Cme Vl. XIII, Bullinger, E.W. The Lrd Hath Spken in Things t Cme Vl. XIX, 1-4 & 7-9. Bullinger, E.W. The Lrd Hath Spken in Things t Cme Vl. XIX, Cles, J.J.B. The Acts f the Apstles Cnsidered Histrically and Dispensatinally in Things t Cme Vl. XIII, Rss, Bryan. Grace Histry Prject. Lessns 76 thrugh 80. Sellers, Otis. Q. The Present Administratin in The Wrd f Truth Vl. 15 N. 2 January, Welch, Charles H. Less Than the Least r Treasure in Earthen Vessels in The Berean Expsitr Nvember, Welch, Charles H. The Grapes f Eschl Welch, Charles H. Autbigraphy Pastr Bryan Rss

13 13 Withers R.B. Dispensatinal Truth. Withers R.B. The Differentiatr. Vl. 21 New Series April, 1959 N. 2. Pastr Bryan Rss