Ezekiel 38 & 39- Russia & Palestine

A WORD TO THE STUDENT 

The position taken in this study regarding the rehabilitation of Palestine is in harmony with Elder R. F. Cottrell’s new book, “The Dawn of a New Day,” published by the Pacific Press, Mountain View, California. I had not read his book until after I had completed this study, and have not quoted from it, but I heartily recommend it as splendidly written and up-to-date in fresh new thoughts. 

The book I have quoted largely from is entitled “Through Turmoil to Peace,” by my son in the truth, Elder A. W. Anderson, published at Warburton, Victoria, Australia. 

The positions are also fully supported by an illustrated article in the April, 1934, number of “Geographic Magazine,” entitled “Changing Palestine,” by Major Edward Keith-Roach, O.B.E., District Commissioner, Northern Palestine. It will reward every reader to look this article up and read it, and study its many illustrations and unqualified statements. The compiler does not hold the S.D.A. denomination or anyone else, responsible for the applications he makes of some of the symbols in Ezekiel thirty- eight. The student can decide for himself as to their correctness. 

G.B.S 

RUSSIA AND PALESTINE
A PROPHETIC SETTING FOR ARMAGEDDON 

Ezekiel thirty-eight presents a prediction against “Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,” of the “uttermost parts of the north.” This introduction of the proper name “Rosh,” the only instance of the naming of a modern nation found in the Old Testament and locating it in the far north (Ezekiel 38:1-6, A.R.V.), easily identifies Russia with this prophecy. 

Dean Stanley says: “Some ancient historians inform us that the Russians were called by the Greeks ‘Ros,’ and that they ‘derived their name from Ros, a valiant man, who delivered his nation from the yoke of their tyrants.’ From ‘Ros’ we get Russia, and from ‘Meshech,’ Moscow, and from ‘Tubal,’ Tobolsk. 

“The early Biblical notice of a so great an empire is doubly interesting from its being a solitary instance. No other name of any modern nation occurs in the Scriptures.’一’Dictionary of the Bible’ by W. Smith, D.C.L., LL. D., Vol. III, page 1061.—“Through Turmoil to Peace,” p. 341. 

“Rosh,” the “chief prince of Meschech and Tubal,” is to command the combined forces that are to attack Palestine and the people dwelling peacefully there and the nation defending it. We note the marginal reading of Ezekiel 38:7: 

“Be thou prepared, yea, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy companies that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard until them.” 

The margin of this verse seven gives the word “commander” instead of “guard” as is the text in both the authorized and revised versions. Thus, the prophetic word of God places “Rosh” (Russia) in command of all the forces of the East and directs her to lead these “companies that are assembled” unto her into Palestine. 

Then the prophet further identifies Russia by stating that she shall “come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: and thou shalt come up against My people of Isreal, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against My land, that the heathen may know Me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” Ezekiel 38:15, 16. 

The living God has a long account to settle with Russia. Her rejection of the gospel in past centuries, her persecution of His messengers and His people, and last in her denial of the existence of any God, and at the present moment teaching her millions of children and people to deny the living God, not only teaching her own nation her atheistical Bolshevism but extending her propaganda into every nation and people upon the earth; for this denial of God, she is bringing upon herself and all who follow her teaching the long withheld judgements of God. 

PALESTINE REHABILITATED 

“For ages Palestine has been a poverty-stricken land, a barren, desolate waste, with ruined cities, and little else but historic memories to attract anybody to risk the dangers which are always present in an ill-governed country. But by the religious zeal and fervor of the Jewish colonists, coupled with the financial help of their co-religionists in all parts of the world, to restore their ancient land to its former glory, and assisted by the efficient administration of Great Britian, a mighty transformation is being wrought. 

“Jewish scientists are discovering untold wealth in the Dead Sea, and if the estimates are correct, Palestine is destined to become fabulously wealthy. From a statistical report issued by the British Government, the Dead Sea has ‘a content of potash accounting to 1,300 million tons, valued at £14,000,000,000; bromine, 853 million tons, valued at £52,000,000,000; salt, 11,900 million tons, valued at £9,500,000,000; gypsum, 81 million tons, worth £24,000,000; and magnesium chloride, 22 billion tons, worth £165,000,000,000.’ 

“Commenting on this report, the American Watchman says: ‘The value of these mineral resources of the Dead Sea has been placed at about $1,190,000,000,000. The wealth of the United States is estimated at $420,000,000,000. The wealth of this republic surpasses that of the five other richest nations on earth. Yet the potential wealth of the Dead Sea is more than two and four-fifths times greater than all the immense riches of fortunate America. A great British syndicate has obtained a concession for the reclaiming of these mineral resources of the Dead Sea, and the exploitation of its wealth. This means that Palestine is destined to see the most stupendous development ever heard of. It means the making of Palestine. It will make this land the base of the biggest commercial enterprise ever undertaken by any nation. Such a development is bound to make Palestine a more coveted international prize than any other land in the world.’ 

“Such material development, however, will stir up the cupidity and covetousness of other nations, and will certainly not tend to maintain the peace of the world very long. Selfishness, the most prevalent sin of the age, will assert itself and set in motion forces which will bring about an unprecedented clash of arms at Armageddon.”—“Through Turmoil to Peace,” pp. 311, 312. 

Quoting further from the book, “Through Turmoil to Peace,” Pastor A. W. Anderson comments as follows upon the predictions of Ezekiel and their evident fulfillment, pages 317, 319: 

Writing of the distant future, the prophet Ezekiel, twenty-five centuries ago, described the last of earth’s battles, which he declares is to take place in the land of Israel.’ See Ezekiel 38:18-22. The Apostle John, nearly nineteen centuries ago, also described the same universal battle in which ‘the kings of the earth and of the whole world’ will be gathered together, ‘to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.’ The scene of this last battle, John says, is ‘Armageddon,’ which is in northern Palestine. See Revelation 16:13-16. The prophet Joel also writes of this same battle in which all nations will be involved. See Joel 3:1, 2, 9-14. According to these prophecies, this last battle will take place at the second advent of Christ. It is evident, therefore, that the popular notion that Christ’s second advent will be ushered in by a time of universal peace is quite contrary to Scripture. As a matter of fact, the prophecies of the Bible inform us that He will come at a time of universal war.” Revelation 11:15-19. 

THE HOUR OF GOD’S JUDGEMENT HAS COME 

“But when that attack on Palestine is made, then the prophet tells us ‘God’s fury will come up in his face. Ezekiel 38:18. Then we are told: ‘All the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places (margin, “towers”) shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ Ezekiel 38:20.”—Id., p. 319. 

“For many years Bible students have been anticipating the fulfilment of the Babylonian captivity twenty-five centuries ago. As far back as 1848, Dr. Thomas, commenting upon Ezekiel 38:8- 11, said in his book entitled ‘Elpis Israel’: ‘I believe there will be a pre-adventual, limited colonization of the country by the Jews… and that the prosperity of this colony… will be the cause of the country’s invasion by the Russian clay styled “Gog” by Ezekiel. It will be the sign of the “time of the end” indicated by the speedy return of Christ. The pre-adventual colonization of Palestine will be on purely political principles, and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus, and the truth as it is in Him. They will emigrate thither as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth, but more immediately of getting rich in silver and gold by commerce with India, and in cattle and goods by their industry at home under the efficient protection of the British power… Now any persons acquainted with the present insecure condition of Palestine under the Ottoman dominion must be satisfied from the testimony, that some other power friendly to Israel must then have become paramount over the land, which is able to guarantee protection to them, and to put the surrounding tribes in fear… 

“But to what part of the world shall we look for a power whose interests will make it willing, as it is able, to plant the ensign of civilization upon the mountains of Israel?… I know not whether the men, who at present contrive the foreign policy of Britain, entertain the idea of assuming the sovereignty of the Holy Land, and of promoting its colonization by Jews; their present intentions, however, are of no importance one way or the other; because they will be compelled by events soon to happen, to do what, under existing circumstances, heaven and earth combined could not move them to attempt… The finger of God has indicated a course to be pursued by Britain, which cannot be evaded, and which her counsellors will not only be willing, but eager to adopt when the crisis comes upon them.’-‘Elpis Israel,’ pages 441, 442. 

“Dr. Thomas did not live to see the fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, for he was laid to rest in 1871. But were he living now, he would not need to alter a word of the above quotation. How true are the prophecies of the Bible when they are correctly applied! Verily the word of our God standeth for ever; and as we see these marvelous fulfilments of the prophetic utterances of the Hebrew prophets, we should become more firmly established in our belief in the more sure Word of prophecy.’ 

“There is now going on a limited colonization of Palestine by the Jews, who are ’emigrating thither as agriculturists and traders… under the efficient protection of the British power’; and while it was true a few years ago that the foreign policy of Britain was quite contrary to the idea of facilitating the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, yet circumstances did arise in 1917 which led her leading statesmen not only to be willing, but eager, to adopt such a proposal which before the Great War was unthinkable. Prior to the Great War, Britain had protected the Ottoman Empire against its enemies, but when the Turks united with the Central Powers against Britain, they signed their empire’s death warrant.’一 Id., pp. 327-329. 

LIONS-“PROPHETIC SYMBOLS OF BRITAIN” 

“The forces which are to come against Palestine after it has been ‘brought back from the sword,’ and its desolate wastes are re- peopled with inhabitants who have been ‘brought forth out of the nations,’ will be opposed by a combination of peoples who are referred to as ‘Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof.’ Ezekiel 38:13. Who constitutes this political combination? Sheba and Dedan are territories in the peninsula of Arabia, which are now under British power. 

“Obviously, it is clear, therefore, that Sheba and Dedan can be applied to Great Britain. The Arabs are the natural defenders of Palestine, being very determined to defend the holy places, which they venerate most highly, against any attack by a power whose religion is foreign to the Mohammedan religion. Britian has pledged herself to protect those holy places, and at the time of entry of the British forces into Jerusalem, the first thing Lord Allenby did was to throw a cordon of Indian Moslem troops around the holy places sacred to Mohammedans. 

“Next let us inquire, who are ‘the merchants of Tarshish’? Tarshish was the ancient name of the Phoenician colony in the south of Spain, on the river Tartessus, now called the Guadalquivir. According to Smith’s ‘Dictionary of the Bible,’ ‘Tartessus was used by poets to express the extreme west where the sun set.’ 

“Some authorities affirm that there was another Tarshish in the Orient, which was a celebrated trading port of the ancient world, to which Soloman sent his ‘navy of Tarshish’ from ‘Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea.’ It is believed that this Tarshish was India because Soloman procured from that country ‘gold, silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.’ See 1 Kings 9:26, 27 and 1 Kings 10:22. As peacocks are native birds of India and the East Indies, it is obvious that these ‘ships of Tarshish’ traded with India. 

“Other authorities hold that the phrase ‘ships of Tarshish’ does not necessarily infer that these boats traded only to and from Tarshish, but that the ‘expression became a general designation for large seagoing vessels to any quarter.’—‘The International Standard Bible Dictionary,’ Vol. IV, page 2775. 

“The Hon. Edward I. B. Twisleton, M.A., of Oxford, expressed the opinion that the expression ‘ships of Tarshish’ originally ‘meant ships destined to go to Tarshish,’ but that ‘although this was the original meaning, the words had come to signify large Phoenician ships, of a particular size and description, destined for long voyages, just as in England “East Indiamen” was a general name given to vessels, some of which were not intended to go to India at all.’ This authority says further that this interpretation of the phrase ‘has been adopted by the acutest Biblical critics of our own time, such as De Wetti, Winer, Gesenius, and Ewald.’ 

“Whether we prefer to accept the eastern Tarshish (India), or the western Tarshish (Southern Spain), the name applies equally well to Britain, for both India and the great fortress Gibraltar (in Southern Spain) form part of the British Empire. 

“Moreover, iron, tin, and lead were the products which ancient western Tarshish traded with Tyre (Ezekiel 27:12), and some of the ancient historians declare that the Oriental nations obtained their supplies of these minerals from Britain. Furthermore, the phrase ‘merchants of Tarshish’ cannot be made to apply with equal force to any other modern nation, in view of the fact that the expression ‘ships of Tarshish’ were regarded by the ‘ancients as a general designation for large seagoing vessels trading to any quarter in the world.’ To no other nation could this term apply as well as to Britain, for Britain owns or controls more ocean-going liners than all the other nations combined. In fact, Britain may be said to control almost the entire merchant shipping of the world. Her mercantile fleets are found in every ocean, and all the most strategic points of sea-borne commerce are held by her. Hence the appellation, ‘merchants of Tarshish,’ unmistakably designates Britain. 

“But that is not the only point of identity. The political combination which is to raise its voice against the Russian attack on Palestine consists not only of a mercantile shipping power, which territories of Arabia (Sheba and Dedan) are under the protection of Great Britain, but it comprises also a company of nations symbolized by ‘young lions.’ Such a combination of political power can refer to one empire only, the British—symbolized by the British lion and her cubs, as cartoonists are found of depicting the far-flung empire which has been built up by the ‘nation of shopkeepers.’ 

“For centuries the Arabs have regarded Britain as their traditional friend; therefore it was comparatively easy for Colonel Lawrence to induce the Arabs to revolt against the Turks, and to fight on the side of Britain in the Great War. It is obvious, therefore that the power symbolized by the Arabs, mercantile shippers, and young lions, which is to protect Palestine against Russian aggression in the last days, must be Britain. And is not that exactly the political situation which has been brought about in these last days by the Great War? The Turks were driven out of Palestine by Britain in 1917, and the country is now under the protection of the greatest mercantile shipping nation of the world, and ‘all the young lions thereof.’ Mark carefully those words: ‘the young lions thereof.’ These ‘young lions’ are not nations who have become affiliated with the ‘merchants of Tarshish,’ but they have sprung from them. As like produces like, therefore these young lions must necessarily be the progeny of an old lion; and as the language indicates that these young lions have sprung from ‘the merchants of Tarshish,’ therefore the modern power alluded to by that phrase must be an empire which is also symbolized by a lion. Ferrar Fenton’s translation of this passage reads this: ‘Sheba, and Dedan, and merchants of Tarshish, and all her young lions.’ “—Id., pp. 329-333. 

While living in Australia, eighteen years from 1891 to 1909, the writer had the privilege of seeing England pictured exactly as here described. The former King of England, George V, then Duke of York, visited Australia, and during a most spectacular parade through the streets of Melbourne, one of the sights greeting the Duke’s eyes and those of all the beholders, was a mammoth, illuminated painting of a fine lion, crouching upon an island, from which he was viewing a picturesque globe representing the world. About this noble lion, five three-quarter grown young lions were pictured surrounding the old lion and ready with him to attack the whole world, or at least to unite in protecting their island from all the attacks of the world. Thus the prophetic symbol, presented by inspiration to the prophet Ezekiel is interpreted by the artist as applying to the British lion and her colonies, the young lions. 

“THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF PALESTINE” 

“Recognizing the strategic value of Palestine to Britain, it will be but natural for Russia to make an attack upon that important link in the sea and air transportation systems of the British Empire. Writers who deal with the military policies of the Empire have not hesitated to point out the strategic value of the possession of Palestine in the defense of the Suez Canal. Philip Graves, Constantinople correspondent of The Times, London, for many years, both before and after the war, and who was later appointed special correspondent in Palestine says:— 

“ ‘We may have yet to face a threat against the canal, which is the spinal cord of our empire, and the troops who will guard the most vital point on our line of communications with our Eastern Empire and our Australasian fellow-citizens of the British Commonwealth, will need to have behind them, not a sandhill. We cannot allow any potentially hostile power to establish itself in Palestine within easy air distance of the Suez Canal. Palestine is necessary to us until the League of Nations represents America and all Europe, until it has acquired the moral support of Islamic Asia and can guarantee, as far as it is humanly possible to guarantee, that there will be no more war in the Near East.’—‘The Land of Three Faiths,’ page 246.”—“Through Turmoil to Peace,” p. 392. 

Elder A. W. Anderson says: In 1930, “while visiting Palestine I learned from leading Moslems that they believed the time would come when Russia would assert the right to have a voice in directing the affairs of Palestine. I also learned that throughout the whole country Bolshevik propaganda translated into Arabic was being circulated. To such an extent was this literature being circulated at the time of my recent visit to the Holy Land, that the Falastin, an Arabic newspaper published at Jaffa, declared that ‘there is more Bolshevik propaganda circulated in Palestine than anywhere else outside Russia.’ “—Id., p. 393. 

“PALESTINE A CENTRE FOR RELIGIONS” 

“Apart from its strategic position, which naturally makes Palestine a coveted spot in the eyes of all nations who seek world power, there is another reason which doubtless actuates the Bolsheviks to attack the Holy Land. Palestine is the centre of the three great religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism. It is the country of the Old and New Testaments, and the Koran, the books upon which these three world religions are based. To men who are actuated by the desire to uproot all religion and to overthrow the very idea of God in the world, what is more natural than for them to plan to attack the very centre from which the religious influences of these three religions emanate?”—Id., pp. 393, 394. 

“… To the Moslems, therefore, Palestine is a country of the most sacred memories; and the reverence which they pay to their sacred places is wonderful. 

“By Christians, Palestine is revered as the birthplace of Christ and Christianity. From that ‘green hill far outside a city wall, where the dear Lord was crucified,’ has gone forth into all the world the story of the love of God for men, which has revolutionized human thought and transformed human character. The story of the cross of Calvary is the greatest civilizating factor in the world; and wherever that story has been told by devoted Christian missionaries, their fear, hatred, superstition, and savagery have been supplanted by love, joy, and peace, and the other fruits of the Spirit. 

“What more natural thing would be likely to arise in the minds of men who have formed a plan to overthrow all religion, I repeat, than for them to strike a blow at the world’s centre of religion? In fact, it is made plain in Holy Writ that the final battle of this world’s history will be ‘the battle of that great day of God Almighty.’ Revelation 16:14. Armageddon is a battle in which the united forces of the world ‘shall make war with the Lamb.’ Revelation 17:14. In the nineteenth chapter of the Apocalypse this final world battle is depicted in striking symbolic language. Christ is portrayed as coming out of heaven, riding upon a white horse, followed by the armies of heaven. An angel is described as inviting the birds of heaven to come to ‘the supper of the great God,’ to ‘eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.’ Revelation 19:17, 18. These mighty armies, the Revelator tells us were ‘gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.’ Revelation 19:19. Hence we have no hesitation in declaring that the battle of Armageddon will be a battle against God Almighty.”—Id., pp. 395, 399. 

RUSSIA AND HER COHORTS CALLED TO THE SAME SUPPER 

Ezekiel, chapter thirty-nine, continues the clear predictions against atheistic “Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” (“prince of Rosh,” A.R.V.). It states in the clearest possible language that “Rosh” shall be brought “from the uttermost parts of the north” to the “mountains of Israel” where he is to “fall” and all “the peoples” with him. There the Lord says He will give them to the “ravenous birds” and “beasts” to be “devoured.” There he is to “fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.” Verses 1- 5, A.R.V. 

Thus the nation is to be dealt with that publishes to the world that there is no God. Thus the Lord Jehovah, the living God purposes to vindicate His holy name. Here follows the prediction: 

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let them pollute My holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” Ezekiel 39:1-7. 

“The vanity of this project and the inevitable defeat awaits all who embark upon it, is set forth in the second Psalm:— 

“ ‘Why do the heathen rage (tumultuously assemble, margin), and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.’ “— “Through Turmoil to Peace.” P. 399. 

THE FINAL APPEAL 

Here in this second Psalm is the final appeal to all the kings and rulers and judges of earth, from the Creator and King of the universe, the Most High that “ruleth” among the kingdoms “of men.” Daniel 4:25 

“Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world’s great empires,—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with the nations of less power, history has repeated itself. Each has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed. 

“While nations have rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection have wrought their own ruin, yet a divine, overruling purpose has manifestly been at work throughout the ages. It was this that the prophet Ezekiel saw in the wonderful representation given him during his exile in the land of the Chaldeans, when before his astonished gaze were portrayed the symbols that revealed an overruling Power that has to do with the affairs of earthly rulers.”—“Prophets and Kings,” p. 535. 

AN INSPIRED COMMENT

“The history of nations speaks to us today. To every nation and to every individual God has assigned a place in His great plan. Today men and nations are being tested by the plummet in the hand of Him who makes no mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the accomplishment of His purpose. 

“The prophecies which the great I AM has given in His word, uniting link after link in the chain of events, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tell us where we are today in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come. All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order.”—“Prophets and Kings,” p. 536. 

The study of this leaflet is to stir minds to a new, live study of the prophecies. Read “Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,” pp. 112-119. Read Ezekiel 12:21-28. 

George Burt Starr 

George B Starr (an evangelist and sanitarium chaplain) was a contemporary of Ellen White-

“The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for the first time.—Letter 103, June 3, 1903, to Elder and Mrs. George B. Starr, workers of large experience associated with Ellen G. White in the United States and Australia. {TDG 163.6}

“In New York, our brethren had located a large tent on a vacant lot in a populous district, and Elders S. N. Haskell, E. W. Farnsworth, G. B. Starr, C. L. Edwards, and C. S. Longacre, and Dr. D. H. Kress united with the ministers of the Greater New York Conference in conducting general meetings” {RH November 25, 1909, par. 16}

“At three O’clock Sabbath afternoon, May 29, 1915, Elder G. B. Starr visited Sister White. Elder Starr found her in her reclining chair, in the bay window of her room, looking out upon the trees and hills about her place. He remarked how glad he was to find her amid such pleasant surroundings, and stated that she looked much better than when he saw her the Tuesday before.” {RH July 1, 1915, par. 1}- (This visit was about six weeks before her passing)