WHO ARE WE?
The Restitution Bible Students are non-denominational students of the Bible that hold to the basic teachings of Charles Taze Russell as outlined in the six volumes of Studies in The Scriptures. We are NOT part of the Jehovah’s Witness organization.
WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
1- That Jesus Christ gave his life as a “ransom for all” 1 Timothy 2:6. That through his obedience to the Heavenly Father all of mankind will receive the opportunity for eternal life in the 1,000 year millennial age mentioned in Revelation the 20th chapter and in Isaiah the 35th chapter of the Holy Bible.
2- That Jesus Christ is just who he said he was, the SON of God. He was the first creation of the Heavenly Father, “the beginning of the creation of God.” Revelation 3:14
3- That there are two distinct salvations as taught in the Bible. One for the general world of mankind during the “times of restitution of all things” described in Acts 3:21. Those found worthy of life during the 1,000 year day of judgment, will be permitted to live forever on a perfect earth (Isaiah 35th chapter) that will be restored to the paradise conditions of the Garden of Eden. The other salvation described in the Bible is the heavenly reward given to the “little flock,” the true saints of God. This “144,000” are mentioned in Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power.” These members of the bride of Christ will become immortal partakers of the “divine nature” 2 Peter 1:4. These will partake in the judging of the world during the 1,000 year day of judgment. 1st Corinthians 6:2.
4- That the nation of Israel and the ancient worthies of the Old Testament have a unique relationship with God. Jerusalem will serve as the capital of the world in the earthly kingdom of God. (Jeremiah 32:6-11), (Revelation 21:10), (Micah 4:1-8). The re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948, after being desolate for over 1,800 years, is a fulfillment of prophecy and is a sign of the soon to be established Kingdom of God.
5- That the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Death is an unconscious state in which there are no works or device (Ecclesiastes 8:5-10). The doctrine of eternal torture advocated by most Christian sects is a grievous error and comes as a result of confusing symbolic scriptures with literal scriptures. “The soul that sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20)
6- That the earth is not going to be destroyed with fire like so many Christians wrongly believe. According to the Bible “the earth abides forever.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4)
7- That God does not sanction earthly organizations. His call is to individual Christians, and not religious denominations.
8- That the “Antichrist” mentioned in the Bible is not an individual man, but the office of the Pope, the self-proclaimed “head” of the Universal Christian Church. The system of false religion, doctrines inspired by Paganism, and the resulting religious genocides that have been brought about by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages clearly identifies it as the “Mystery – Babylon the Great” in Revelation 17:5. In no way is this an attack on well meaning individual Catholics of today.
9- That Jesus Christ will reign during the earthly phase of the Kingdom until he has destroyed all of his enemies. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26) Following this he will hand all things back to the Father. At this point even he will be subjected to the Father. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
TO US THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY TEACH
• The Church is the “temple of the living God,” whose construction has been the main purpose throughout the Gospel age. When this priesthood is complete, Jesus Christ and his church will begin the blessing of Israel
• and all the other families of the earth.
• The character development of the Church—consecrated believers in Christ’s atonement for sin—must continue until the last member has been fully trained and faithful. Developing character is least pleasant but most rewarding.
• The hope for both the church and the world is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself and thereby “tasted death for every man.” Jesus is “a ransom for all,” of whom the world will learn well in the king dom of Christ.
• The hope of the church is to be like her Lord, to be “a partaker of the divine nature,” with “a celestial body.”
• The perfecting of the saints is not for an eternal retirement, but for the great work benefitting the whole rest of the world in the kingdom of Christ on earth. (In preparation, the world’s Jews are already being brought back to Israel, to the land God had promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and then to Jacob.)
• The hope for the whole world of mankind lies in the resurrection in Christ’s thousand year kingdom, in their retraining into righteousness and human perfection. Thereafter, Satan will be no more; God, Jesus Christ, and his church, the rest of the heavenly host, and the whole world of mankind will be in complete harmony through out all the perfect ages of eternity.
The priest hood has two functions: 1) sacrifice, and 2) teaching and blessing. Leviticus 9 shows us that sacrifice comes first, and the blessings afterwards. That was the sequence for the Levitical priesthood, and it is to be also for the priesthood of Christ and the church.
Jesus Christ alone could offer an accept able sacrifice for the sin of Adam, under which we are all born. “As through one trespass condemnation cometh unto all men; even so through one act of righteousness justification of life cometh unto all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous” (Romans 5:18,19, RVIC; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22).
But the sacrifice would be vain unless the priesthood afterward will bless the people. Every Christian must therefore learn now to have love even for his enemies, if he is later to join with Christ in that priesthood for the blessing of the whole world in the ages to come.
