Bits and Pieces – 202nd Edition – August 4, 2024

It is with a heavy heart that we record the death of Dr. John Douglas on July 30.  John was Dr. Paisley’s first convert on the Ravenhill Road in 1946.  He was 91 when the Lord called him home.

     John was one of the first Free Presbyterian ministers, his first church being Moneyslane which he loved dearly.  His later years were spent as loving pastor in the Lisburn church.  He actively preached in many places until the spring of this year.

     Dr. Douglas served as Clerk of Presbytery for many years, and as Principal of the Whitefield College.  He also lectured the student ministers and missionaries in English Bible.  His departure will create a major void in the Free Presbyterian family.  His godly wisdom, and counsel will be missed.

     John was my senior minister in Tandragee and we developed a close friendship.  In 1970 we toured Israel together and he asked me, a first-year student, to baptise him in the Sea of Galilee. For me this was a humbling and unforgettable experience.  He visited Toronto several times, and our people enjoyed his deep spiritual preaching.

     John was a great lover of the language of the Old Testament – Hebrew. He said it was the language of heaven.  If that is the case he will be well fitted to converse in his new home in glory.  He is survived by his wife Eunice and several grown children.  To them we extend our heartfelt sympathy and prayer.

“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel” [2 Samuel 3:38]

     It was in 1970 that I joined Dr. John Douglas, his wife Eunice, David Herron and wife Madge for a visit to Israel.  This was some years before the popular tours of the Holy Land.  We decided to go with the tour to authentic sites, but would go on our own to some special places.

     John told us of the rocky fortress, Masada, where almost a thousand Jews committed suicide in the first century rather than submit to Roman rule.

     We hired a taxi and the first thing the driver did was place a loaded revolver on the transmission tunnel.  He said we were going through a dangerous area!

     Masada lies about 450 feet above the Judean desert on the western side.  We climbed up the ramp made by the Romans 2000 years earlier.  It was hot – about 45 degrees C.   But it was most interesting to see Herod’s palaces.  Today, every young Israeli soldier takes a vow, “Masada will not fall again.”

     John wanted to visit Bethel where Jacob pillowed his head [Genesis 28].  The taxi driver would not take us close – too dangerous, he said, so John and I  walked the rest.  It was great to see Bethel, and to look across a gentle valley to Ai where Israel had trouble over Achan’s sin. [Joshua 7].

     John and I went down Hezekiah’s tunnel [2 Chron. 32:4], an engineering masterpiece.  It was made to bring the water from the well Gihon outside, to the pool of Siloam, inside the city. With flashlights in hand we waded down the 500 yard tunnel.  I remember John, a non-swimmer, being apprehensive when the water was up to our waists!

     The highlight of our trip was our visit to mount Calvary.  Today, it is fenced in as a Muslim cemetery, but the day we were there the gate was open. It was also a Jordanian gun post in the Six Day’s War, three years earlier.

     We found a spot under a big tree, near where we thought the cross of Jesus would have been raised.  We held a prayer meeting, but we could hardly speak for the emotional lump in every throat.  Then we heard nearby “The old rugged cross” being sung.  It turned out a Spanish missionary and his friends also had gained access to the site and were singing.  We felt we were very near the spot where Jesus died.  It was an emotional moment. John has now gone from the earthly Jerusalem to the heavenly city above.  [Hebrews 11:10].