From:-
TORCH TRUST FOR THE BLIND, Torch House, Torch Way, Northampton Road, Market
Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HL, U.K.
Telephone: (01858) 438260, Fax: (01858) 438275, email: info@torchtrust.org
Charity Number 1095904.
Happy Birthday to “The Torch”!
The kind of Saviour Jesus isn’t
Studies in the Book of Revelation
At Torch House, we like any excuse to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary. So far this year, we’ve had a big gathering for John and Sue Oldham’s retirement (after thirty-one years’ service with us) . . . a birthday celebration for a lady who has attended Torch houseparties for years and who just “happened” to be visiting us . . . a 40th (ruby) anniversary for a couple who have helped us in many ways . . . The list goes on.
But one anniversary we are particularly pleased to celebrate is 75 years of The Torch magazine. Yes, it is 75 years old this month! You can read in the article, Happy Birthday to “The Torch” how Ron and Stella Heath, co-founders of Torch Trust, became involved with The Torch.
When the magazine started, it was produced in braille and sent to around 60 readers. By the time Ron and Stella Heath took over 28 years later, it had increased to around 700 people from various parts of the world. Gradually, audio and giant print versions were added. Now, we send out The Torch on cassette, in braille and in giant print to around 9500 readers in 97 countries. We think it’s the largest circulation of a magazine for blind people in the whole world!
So, Happy Birthday, Torch! We pray that God will continue to use this little magazine to bless many more people all around the world.
Sheila and the Editorial Team
by Mum Heath (co-founder of Torch Trust)
In 1959 Dad Heath and I made contact with visually impaired young people training at the newly opened centre for young people at Hethersett, Reigate. The students came to our house regularly and some of them put their trust in the Lord Jesus. But we had a problem. We encouraged them to read the scriptures, but they found the Authorised version of the Bible difficult, as it had special religious contractions which they had not learned. It was then that we found a small magazine called The Torch.
Away in Cumbria Miss Ada Trench was also having a problem. Twenty-eight years earlier, her sister, Miss Eva, wanted to help her coachman who had lost his sight. So she learned braille, and taught him to read. Then in May 1931 she started a little magazine in braille and called it The Torch. Gradually more people were added to the original circle of 60 to receive the magazine. But Miss Eva died, and Miss Ada found it difficult to keep the little magazine going. She did not know braille herself, so all letters from readers had to be sent away to be transcribed. By this time she was in her eighties and was feeling she should give it up. She was friendly with a missionary aunt of mine, who suggested she wrote to us.
When Miss Trench’s letter came asking us if we would take over the editorship, we both said, “If it was developed, it could help our young people to understand the scriptures; we could fit it in with the other things we are doing!” Famous last words! For, of course, we did take on the magazine, widening its scope by bringing in items of interest and help to our young contacts. Very soon we realised that there was a great lack of Christian literature in braille. Gradually the work took over.
There were under 700 readers at that time, and the braille was printed on zinc plates using a home-made electric frame which embossed one dot at a time! A small team of devoted ladies painstakingly worked at those early copies. We soon had to move on to more professional ways of producing the braille in quantity.
Right from the beginning, we had regular weekly meetings for the visually impaired people from Hethersett. Gradually others joined us for fellowship. With the personal work and literature to back it up, we began to see souls brought to Christ. Those were thrilling days.
We still sent the magazine to people on Miss Trench’s list. One copy went to a Pastor who was put in prison in China. Even though people suggested it would not be wise, we felt we could continue to send the magazine to him as there was no indication on its cover of its Christian content. The magazines did reach him. Years later we had a letter from his son: “My Father has just passed away. Thank you for sending the magazine; it was a great comfort and strength to him in his cell.” Yes, he evidently received every copy!
And still today, seventy-five years from its beginning, though many more sophisticated ways are available to produce it, the little magazine soldiers on with the Good News which can bring true release to every captive who believes in Christ Jesus.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
by Gordon Temple
The Gospels tell us about Jesus. Matthew’s gospel introduces him to us with the words of the angel spoken to Joseph: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus means “saviour”. So his name is the first big clue to what Jesus is – to what he came for. He came as our Saviour.
Often we give Jesus a double name – “Jesus Christ” – almost as if we are giving him a family name. Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah – which means “anointed one”. For the religious people who watched Jesus so closely, the big question was, “Is he the Christ – the long promised Messiah – God’s anointed one come to save Israel?” They struggled with this all-important question. Why? Because he was not the sort of saviour they expected.
Before he started his three-year ministry, just after he was baptised, Jesus went through a desert experience. Forty days he spent in the wilderness, desperately hungry and vulnerable to the devil’s temptation.
The other English word used in our Bible for the temptation of Jesus is “testing”. We can test something to find out if it’s working as we might expect – to find out what it is like. Jesus is called “saviour” but what sort of saviour is he?
The temptation or testing shows us something of what Jesus is like. It’s almost a scientific experiment. Jesus is isolated from people (and food) in desert conditions. He has no distractions and no support. The way Jesus responds when temptations are introduced one at a time gives us insight to the sort of saviour he is – or perhaps more accurately: the sort of saviour Jesus isn’t!
First the starving Jesus is tempted to make bread from a stone. Turning mineral into vegetable is clearly ridiculous but Jesus did exactly that, later on, when he turned water into wine. We can see it would have been possible – and very desirable – for him to create bread from stones.
In a subsistence-farming world that many of our African readers will understand so much better than the European ones, feeding ourselves is a big deal. It takes much time and energy. It’s also a risky business. If the rains fail, or come too heavily as in parts of Malawi recently, the crop is lost. If Jesus had undertaken to reliably feed the people, releasing them from the labour and the uncertainties of feeding themselves, then he would have been popularly recognised as a saviour. After all, feeding the 5000 out of next to nothing made him very popular for a while!
All would-be political leaders assure us that we will be well looked after, and more prosperous under their leadership. It’s often said that the way to a person’s heart is through their belly! But Jesus declined. This is the sort of saviour that Jesus isn’t. He quotes from the books of Moses, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
It’s a reminder that life is much more than animal survival. At the heart of us is a soul that needs feeding. Job was also the victim of a sort of experiment to see if he would be true to God when everything was stripped away, “I have treasured the words of his [God’s] mouth more than my daily bread.” (Job 23:12).
In the second test Jesus is invited to pull off a stunt: to throw himself off the top of the temple buildings and survive. The central building of Herod’s great temple housing the Holy of Holies was an ancient skyscraper. It stood 15 storeys tall! This must have had the biggest sheer drop in the world Jesus inhabited. Jesus was being tempted to perform like Superman, the comic book hero.
The devil quotes scripture on this one – from Psalm 91. Actually to me this passage seems not to be about the Messiah; the devil is being manipulative. He is, after all, the “father of lies” so what else should we expect?
So what’s the temptation for Jesus? Simply this: to jump off a 15-storey building and survive would demonstrate he was no ordinary man. He would have proved himself invulnerable and immortal. Doing it in a public place would have made him an instant celebrity. Doing it in a religious centre would have been positive proof he was from God – exactly who he said he was. For those who looked for this sort of a saviour, his death on a cross was all the proof they needed that he wasn’t God’s promised Messiah.
As in each instance, Jesus parries the temptation with “the sword” of Scripture.
Finally the devil tempts Jesus with a fast track to the top, to become world ruler.
The interesting thing here is that the prophets did tell of the Messiah as the coming supreme king. It did seem as though this could be the genuine fulfilment of Scripture. Many prophecies refer to events in three time periods: “now” (or in circumstances of the days in which it was given), “later” and “much later”. Those referring to the Messiah tend to mix “later” and “much later” together.
Jesus came once as the baby of Bethlehem. He died on the cross, but rose again and returned to heaven. Just as surely, he is coming back. And when he comes again “the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6).
The devil presents a way to go straight to the final scene in history when Jesus will be “king of kings”. Miss out the three years of ministry among the poor of the land, skip all the abuse from the petty-minded, self-important religious leaders of the day and bypass the cross and the grave. Instead just assume his rightful position as world ruler, and do it right now.
This was exactly the sort of saviour that the Jewish nation sought. God’s people under the thumb of a secular empire, the Promised Land occupied by a Roman garrison – it was a wrong needing to be righted.
But Jesus is not this sort of saviour. He was never going to fit into the world’s corrupt power structures. The kingdom that he will one day establish is to be run on totally different principles. When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven he set out a radical vision. Power-play is replaced with servanthood, and just about everything is upside-down when compared to earthly politics.
Without the cross there would have been no demonstration of God’s love, no restoration of a relationship between us and God. Jesus chooses to take up his cross, chooses to win the hearts of people for God.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry the religious leadership of Israel watches, trying to make up its mind: “Could this be the Messiah?” they wonder. Blinkered by their prejudiced expectations, they struggle to recognise him. “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” (Mark 14:61) they ask at his sham trial, but they are still not ready to believe the answer.
Once Jesus engaged his disciples in an opinion poll: “Who do men say that I am?” he asked. They reported all sorts of strange ideas – all of them falling wide of the mark. Then, to those who knew him best, he makes it personal: “Who do you say I am?” Peter cracks right in: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”. (Matthew 16:13-16)
What sort of saviour is Jesus? He’s the one that came bringing “good news to the poor . . . captive . . . blind . . . oppressed.” (Luke 4:18). He’s the saviour who comes to each of us, looking for that spark of recognition.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Here is someone who would like to correspond with others:
MARTIN HARRIGAN – Flat 4, 104 Finaghy Road South, Belfast, BT9.
Aged 37, Martin would love to correspond, by tape, with someone who lives near the sea, as he loves all the sounds and anything to do with the sea. He also enjoys classical music, especially Haydn, and walking.
If you would like to correspond (by tape) with Martin, introduce yourself by giving your name, your correct postal address, your age, and some information about yourself, your family and your country.
Anybody reading this who would like us to include their name and information in our next bulletin, send in your full name, postal address, age, and tell us about the things you enjoy doing. The aim of having a penfriend is to develop a friendship and exchange information and ideas.
[Cecil and Irenee Bingham are the Torch co-ordinators for Northern Ireland.]
Being the first of seven children I had the task of “looking after” several of my five brothers and one little sister who was nine years younger than me. I’d hoped for a sister/soul-mate!
But I was always fond of children and would dream of being a nurse – maybe children’s? But dreams seldom come true and I ended up taking the advice of someone who suggested I should take a shorthand/typing/book-keeping course and do easier work – in an office! My first job was in NI Education Offices – School Meals Department.
I met Cecil when I was 15. Five years later we married on 22nd September 1967. We both knew that we were meant for each other – though neither of us knew the Lord Jesus then.
We had no interest in “being saved” as we had the mistaken idea that to be a Christian meant being dull, boring, old fashioned and chained to a set of rules and regulations. Being free was what we were already – or so we thought!
Our marriage was blessed with three lovely children! In my mid-twenties I rolled around the floor with them, joining in a pre-school NITV programme called “Romper Room”. We really enjoyed those times together.
Although I didn’t know it, my special aunt was praying for me and my family. Years later, I learned she’d prayed for me since my birth. Music played a big part in our lives and home, so she gave us a wonderful LP. The beautiful music, voices and message was used by God to soften my hardened heart.
Later, my sister took me to a YP Mission. I heard a clear message on “God’s Love”. Afterwards I stayed and feebly prayed. But I didn’t know any Christians back in my own church! So I kept silent and had no joy in my salvation. But I continued to pray.
A year later we moved to Ballyclare and, a Christian couple moved in next door! Shortly after, I re-dedicated my life to Christ and began to witness. My life was turned around!
Yet another link in the chain of my “encouragers” was a retired missionary, living 50 miles away! She heard of my “witness” and began writing encouraging letters each week – sending little tear-off devotionals from Christian block calendars. I treasured these, kept them in my Bible and looked forward excitedly to reading (gulping) more of this good food!
Now, I was really free – deep inside. I prayed for my husband and children and I am glad to say that, since then, our children trusted God for their salvation, though we do value prayer for our son who has gone away from the Lord just now.
Wonderfully, Cecil trusted the Lord 11 years later and was finally baptised on Brighton beach during the Torch 2005 Activity Holiday!
As you may know we have been serving God together for over 5 years now as N Ireland Co‑ordinators.
Now that is a dream come true! So, whoever you are, hold onto God in prayer.
He will answer – perfectly! (Psalm 18:30)
by Norman Hillyer
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably (that is, comfortingly) to Jerusalem that . . . her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2)
This passage is made familiar by Handel’s Messiah. The latter words appear to mean “double punishment”. But that is hardly “comfort” (verse 1), let alone just: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)
The “double” refers to the custom whereby a hopeless debtor could seize his last chance of solvency. He nailed up the creditor’s final demand in some public place. He hoped that some philanthropist would fold the note “double” and endorse it. The signature was as good as a modern cheque.
The practice sheds an indirect light on Jesus’ settlement of our unpayable debt of sin.
by Mike Townsend
We’ve made it! All the anguish, terrors, judgments and death are over. God “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev. 21:4).
What brings about this wonderful change? It is the presence of God himself. “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’” (verse 3).
Chapter 20 ended on the theme of the second death, which is eternal separation from God. Heaven is all about life, and in these two chapters we have “the book of life”, “the tree of life” and “river of life”. This life is “new”. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (verse 1). “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (verse 5). Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” God is preparing the perfect place for his people, his new creations.
But what will this new heaven be like? It will be a huge city, stretching in size from London to Athens, with 250 foot walls, massive gates, slippery golden streets, with no sea or sun. It doesn’t seem quite the place for a holiday, let alone eternity.
I remember Adrian Plass, a well-known speaker in the UK, describing a family service. The kids were running around screaming. The vicar was eating a flower, and a lady said to Adrian, “Oh, heaven must be like this.” He said to himself, “Lord, if heaven is like this, please don’t let me go there!” John, as always, struggles with words, trying to describe the glorious things of eternity in human terms. My wife Edith struggles when she tries to describe gooey desserts to me. I say, “Don’t worry. You know what I like. You choose.” That is how I feel about heaven. God, in a much more wonderful way, knows what is perfect for us. So I leave it safely in his hands. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”.
“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.” And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.” (verses 9-12). “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb.” (verse 14).
The city, new Jerusalem, represents the church, the bride of Christ, dwelling with God forever. We see the whole universal church secured in the new Jerusalem. The gates carry the names of the Old Testament tribes of Israel, and the foundations are inscribed with the names of the apostles representing our current church era. Notice the beauty of the New Jerusalem. It is a clean, crystal beauty; a complete contrast to gaudy Babylon. It is a very secure place, with great walls and gates. Even though the gates will never be shut, the security is guaranteed because “the throne of God and of the lamb will be in the city.” (Rev. 22:3).
“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the lamb is its lamp.” (verse 23). We spend eternity with Jesus, the light of the world!
Gardens are places of tranquility. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life.” (Rev. 22:1-2). This heavenly garden reminds us of the first garden which God had prepared for Adam and Eve. There is the tree of life and a river. Eden had a river and the tree of life. Notice one significant absence in the new garden. There is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eden was the place where humans sinned and lost their wonderful fellowship with God. In this new garden, there isn’t even the possibility of sinning and losing God’s presence. “No longer will there be any curse.” (verse 3). The tree of life is very accessible. Notice that it grows on both sides of the river. This is such a contrast to the time after the fall when a guard was placed around it. “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24.)
When will all this take place? Jesus told us, “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.” (Matthew 24:36). But he says, “behold, I am coming soon!” (verse 7). But what does “soon” mean? It appears that in Thessalonica some people gave up work thinking Jesus would return any minute (See 2 Thess. 2). Although we should be ready for Jesus’ return at any time, “soon” seems to mean that this event is the next thing in God’s timetable. Some of us may be alive at Jesus’ glorious appearing, but most Christians will experience it after death.
John has carried out his responsibility. “Then he told me, ‘do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.’” (verse 10) He has not kept the prophesy to himself. We have read it. Now “blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood. (Rev. 14 and 15). Heaven is for those who would like it; those who choose God’s way.
We eagerly await Jesus’ return like the approaching dawn. “‘I am the bright morning star.’ The spirit and the bride say, ‘come!’ and let him who hears say, ‘come!’”
We close our studies with chapter 22 verse 20: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”