Dr. Hitchcock, in "Religion and Geology," says on 2 Pet. 3:7-13:—
"The natural and most obvious meaning of this passage surely is, that the future residence of the righteous will be this present terraqueous globe, after its entire organized and combustible matter shall have been destroyed, and its whole mass reduced by heat to a liquid state, and then a new economy reared up on its surface, not adapted to sinful, but to sinless, beings; and therefore quite different from its present condition—probably more perfect, but still the same earth and surrounding heavens."
"The common opinion is, that entire combustion actually destroys or annihilates matter, because it is thereby dissipated. But the chemist knows that not one particle of matter has ever been thus deprived of existence; that fire only changes the form of matter, but never annihilates it."
Dr. Tholuck, a German Professor, said:—
"The glorification of the visible creation is more definitely declared in Rev. 21:1, although it must be borne in mind that a prophetic vision is there described. Still more definitely do we find the belief of a transformation of the material world declared in 2 Pet. 3:7-12. The idea that the perfected kingdom of Christ is to transferred to Heaven, is properly a modern notion. According to Paul and the Revelation of John, the kingdom of God is placed upon earth, in so far as the earth has part in the universal transformation. This exposition has been adopted and defended by most of the oldest commentators: e. g., Chrysostom, Theodoret, Augustine, Luther, Knox, and others. Luther says, in a lively way, ‘God will make not the earth only, but the heavens also, much more beautiful than they are at present. At present, we see the world in its working clothes; but hereafter, it will be arrayed in its Easter and Whitsuntide robes.’"
Dr. Griffin said:—
"It is scarcely credible that God should annihilate any of his work, much less so many and so glorious works. It ought not to be believed without the most decisive proof. On the other hand, it is a most animating thought that this visible creation, which sin has marred,—which the polluted breath of men and devils has defiled—and which, by sin, will be reduced to utter ruin,—will be restored by our Jesus,—will arise from its ruins in tenfold splendor, and shine with more illustrious glory than before it was defaced by sin.
"After a laborious and anxious search for light on this interesting subject, I must pronounce the latter to be my decided opinion. And the same, I find, has been the more common opinion of the Christian fathers, of the divines of the Reformation, and of the critics and annotators who have since flourished. I could produce on this side a catalogue of names which would convince you that this has certainly been the common opinion of the Christian church in every age, as it was also of the Jewish."
Dr. J. Pye Smith said:—
"If it be the purpose of God that the earth shall be subjected to total conflagration, we perfectly well know that the instruments of such an event lie close at hand, and wait only the divine volition to burst out in a moment. But that would not be a destruction; it would be a mere change of form, and no doubt, would be subservient to the most glorious results. ‘We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’"
Dr. John Cummings says:—
"In the very heart of the chaos, there begins a Genesis of order, beauty, and peace. The old earth shall put off its ashen robes, and array itself in its bridal garments. The world, we are told, shall close as the world began—with Eden. An Eastern morn of beauty shall dawn upon the earth. Nature groans and travails in pain, waiting to be delivered. ‘Natura,’ or nature, about to bring to the birth, shall bring forth a new world. This is the hope of each new year. This is the joyous anticipation of the people of God. ‘We look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.’" He adds:—
"I know that some have tried to establish the conclusion that the new heavens and new earth is merely a descriptive metaphor of blessedness and joy which shall be realized by all the people of God. If there were scriptural texts to prove that it really is thus to be construed, I should be the last to demur to such an interpretation. But when I see the language and the whole tenor of Scripture clearly and unequivocally indicating that the earth we now inhabit is to be restored, that the air we breathe is about to be regenerated, and that nothing is to be consumed in the last flame but that which the devil has introduced, and which man has accepted,—in short, that this world, which God made and pronounced good and beautiful at its first creation, is to be re-made and reconstituted at least as good and beautiful again,—I must adhere to the literal interpretation now so generally adopted. It appears to be most natural, and most readily to present itself to an unprejudiced reader. The apostle Paul evidently anticipated such a creation as this when he said, ‘For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, of which we speak.’ That expression, ‘the world to come,’ is literally the age or dispensation that is to come; and be assured that dispensation which is to come is to be upon the earth we now inhabit and under the air which we now breathe."
John Wesley said:—
"Thus said the Creator and the Governor of the universe: ‘Behold I make all things new!’ all which are included in that expression of the apostle, ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ This is the introduction to a far nobler state of things such as it has not yet entered into the heart of man to conceive,—the universal restoration. For ‘we look,’ says the apostle, ‘for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.’"
Dr. Keith said:—
The Messiah "finally, when the present course of the world shall have ended, will abolish even the outward consequences of the fall, the evil which sin has occasioned, and, after the utter extinction of the kingdom of darkness, glorify his kingdom on the renovated earth."
Dr. Knapp, in his "Theology," said:—
"It cannot be thought that what is here said [in 2 Peter, 3d chapter,] respecting the burning of the world is to be understood figuratively, as Wettstein supposes; because the fire is here too directly opposed to the literal water of the flood to be so understood. It is the object of Peter to refute the boasts of scoffers, that all things had remained unchanged from the beginning, and that, therefore, no day of Judgment and no end of the world could be expected. And so he says that originally, at the time of the creation, the whole earth was covered and overflowed with water (Gen. 1), and that from hence the dry land appeared; and the same was true at the time of Noah's flood. But there is yet to come a great fire revolution. The heavens and the earth (the earth with its atmosphere) are reserved, or kept in store, for the fire, until the day of Judgment (verse 10). At that time, the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be destroyed by fervent heat, and everything upon the earth will be burnt up. The same thing is taught in verse 12. But in verse 13, Peter gives the design of this revolution. It will not be annihilation, but we expect a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; that is, an entirely new, altered, and beautiful abode for man, to be built from the ruins of his former dwelling place, as the future habitation of the pious. (Rev. 21:1.) This will be very much in the same way as a more perfect and immortal body will be reared from the body which we now possess."
Calvin said:—
"I expect, with Paul, a reparation of all the evils caused by sin, for which he represents the creation as groaning and travailing."
The late Dr. Chalmers of Scotland, in beautiful and eloquent words, says:—
"Man, at the first, had for his place this world, and, at the same time, his privilege, an unclouded fellowship with God, and for his prospect, an immortality, which death was neither to intercept nor put an end to. He was terrestrial in respect to condition, and yet celestial both in respect to character and enjoyments."
"The common imagination that we have of paradise on the other side of death, is that of a lofty, aerial region, where the inmates float in ether, or are mysteriously suspended upon nothing; where all the warm and sensible accompaniments, which give such an expression of strength, and life, and coloring, to our present habitation, are attenuated into a sort of spiritual element, that is meager and imperceptible, and utterly uninviting to the eye of mortals here below; where every vestige of materialism is done away, and nothing left but certain unhealthy scenes, that have no power of allurement, and certain unhealthy ecstasies, with which it is felt impossible to sympathize. The holders of this imagination forget all the while that there is no necessary connection between materialism and sin; that the world which we now inhabit had all the solidity and amplitude of its present materialism before sin entered into it; that God, so far on that account from looking slightly upon it, after it had received the last touch of his creating hand, reviewed the earth, and the waters, and the firma137ment, and all the green herbage, with the living creatures, and the man whom he had raised in dominion over them, and he saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was all very good."
"They forget that, on the birth of materialism, when it stood out in the freshness of those glories which the great Architect of nature had impressed upon it, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. They forget the appeals that are everywhere made in the Bible to his material workmanship, and how, from the face of these visible heavens, and the garniture of this earth which we tread upon, the greatness and goodness of God are reflected on the view of his worshipers. No, my brethren, the object of the administration we sit under is to extirpate sin, but not to sweep away materialism. By the convulsions of the last day, it may be shaken and broken down from its present arrangement, and thrown into such fitful agitations as that the whole of its existing framework shall fall to pieces; and with a heat so fervent as to melt the most solid elements, may it utterly be dissolved. And thus may the earth again become without form and void, but without one particle of its substance going into annihilation. Out of the ruins of this sacred chaos may another heaven and another earth be made to arise, and a new materialism, with other aspects of magnificence and beauty, emerge from the wreck of this mighty transformation, and the world be peopled, as before, with the varieties of material loveliness, and space be again lighted up into a firmament of material splendor."
GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CITY.
By Daniel T. Taylor
FAR, far away, amid realms of light,
Hid deep in the azure beyond our sight,
Stands a beautiful city so high and bright,
Where is known no sorrow, nor death, nor night.
Beautiful city!
O blest abode! O home of God!
Whose streets by the feet of the sinless are trod.
They roam through the gardens of endless spring;
They crowd all thy portals on rushing wing;
While the echoing domes of the palace ring
With the hymns of the angels that shout and sing.
Beautiful city!
Hark! hark, again! the angelic strain,
As gleams through the crystal that burnished train.
There the life-fires brighten, and burn, and roll
Over diamonds that sparkle, o'er sands of gold;
Where to breathe the sweet air yields a bliss untold,
And the dwellers immortal shall never grow old.
Beautiful city!
We pierce the skies with longing eyes,
And yearn to inherit the golden prize.
It is said that the King, in his power sublime,
When the last sands drop from the glass of time,
And our world shall be robed in her Eden prime,
Will bring down that city to gladden earth's clime.
Beautiful city!
Bright capital where saints will dwell,
And reign on the throne with Immanuel.
As jewels flash on the brow of a queen,
As the jasper and ruby in crowns are seen,
God's city, wrapped in its silver sheen,
Will be set like a gem in the new earth's green.
Beautiful city!
City of flowers and peaceful bowers!
Come down and illumine this dark world of ours!
I have heard in that city they wait for me;
That its gates stand open wide and free;
That the ransomed the King in his beauty may see,
And live in his presence eternally.
Beautiful city!
In royal state blest mansions wait,
And beckon us on through the pearly gate.
I shall go where the summers will always bloom;
I shall walk no more amid trial and gloom;
I shall bid farewell to the withering tomb;
I shall deck my brow with the conqueror's plume.
Beautiful city!
Let us enter in, a crown to win!
Our words but half tell of the glory within.
—D. T. Taylor.
The Sabbath School.
By W. J. Bostwick, State Sec.
SABBATH-SCHOOL WORK IN CALIFORNIA.
Cheering reports come to us from various parts of the State in regard to the healthy progress of the Sabbath-school work. We greatly rejoice in this, as we were fearful that the inclemency of the weather the past winter, together with the almost impassable roads in some localities, would throw somewhat of a damper on the work. But this, we are happy to see, has not been the case.
It is evident that the superintendents and teachers have adopted as their motto the adage of a certain sage, "When the work goes hard push." And indeed it is a work which requires continual pushing. The hill "difficulty" is always before us, and in order to surmount it the united efforts of officers and teachers are required, not only this week, but next, and at all times. May the good work go on until the Lord comes to crown the faithful workers.
One superintendent writes: "The interest in our school among the children has increased within the last month, and we are laying plans to make the school still more interesting." Another writes: "Our school has increased gradually ever since it was organized." Another: "The interest of our school has increased very much within the past year." We might give other quotations if necessary, but this is enough to show the spirit in which the work is being carried on.
We find that in order to have an interesting Sabbath-school several things are necessary, among which are,—
1. A teachers' meeting, at which officers and teachers can consult together as to the best means of promoting the interest of the school. This may be held once a week, or once in two weeks, as the circumstances will admit.
2. Maps and map exercises. No school is complete without a set of maps upon which to point out the places referred to from time to time in the lesson. The interest which this exercise creates among the pupils is remarkable. Besides, when the object—the city, village, mountain, or river—is definitely pointed out to the pupil, its history and location will be so indelibly stamped upon the mind that time will not easily eradicate it.
3. Good music. Aim to have good singing. This beautiful feature adds to the school that which nothing else can. It has a gathering influence, and makes the school attractive to the children; besides it begets a spirit of harmony among the pupils, smoothing out the wrinkled tempers, and dispelling the fog of discord which is sometimes brought in. At least twenty minutes could be profitably devoted to this exercise before the appointed hour for the school to begin.
These are some of the leading features in the most successful schools in the country, and superintendents would do well to give them attention and adopt them.
It is nearly time to make out the quarterly report; soon blanks will be sent to each secretary, and we hope to have a prompt and full report from all. And by the way, do not forget the tithe this time. We are in need of funds to pay general expenses.
"To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." This text is often quoted in proof of the immortality of the soul; but, like all other texts used to support that theory, it is greatly perverted from its true meaning. We shall see by a close examination with other passages of Scripture that the opposite theory is sustained by it.
The kingdoms of this world belong to Satan. Luke 4:5-7. He is the god of this world. 2 Cor. 4:4. To be a friend of the world is to be the enemy of God, and a friend to Satan. James 4:4. The church belongs to Jesus Christ. A man committing such deeds as are spoken of by the apostle in this chapter is not worthy to belong to the church of Christ; therefore the church takes action in this case and casts him out into the world, which is delivering him unto Satan. Here he must remain till the flesh is destroyed.
The flesh, in the text, means the carnal mind. Rom. 8:5-9. The fleshly or carnal minded man will do the works of the flesh, and such will never enter the kingdom of God. Gal. 5:19-21. The spiritual minded man has crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts, and brings forth the fruits of the Spirit. There will be no law to condemn this class in the Judgment, hence they will be saved. Gal. 5:22-24.
Now the individual delivered unto Satan will know that as long as he is in that condition there is no hope in his case, and he must be finally lost. But he wishes to be saved, so he turns from his wicked course, overcomes the flesh or carnal mind (which is thus destroyed), regains the favor of God, and his spirit is saved, not at death, but in the day of the Lord Jesus. But, should the flesh or carnal mind never be destroyed, would his spirit or he then be saved? Many passages of Scripture would answer, "No." "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. 6:7, 8.
I. D. VAN HORN.
THE FORM OF BAPTISM.
By B. F. Merritt
It seems to me that a child who has been taught how to learn a lesson, would readily find the required form of baptism given in the New Testament, if its mind had not been biased by hearing false teaching and seeing it administered according to man's plan.
1. There was much water used. John baptized in the river Jordan. Matt. 3:6. He also baptized "in Aenon near to Salem, because there was much water there." John 3:23. Then much water was needed. Was ever any baptized without much water? There is no record where any one was.
2. They went down into it, and came up out of it. Jesus went up out of the water. Matt. 3:16. He must, therefore, have been down in it. We read of Philip and the eunuch, that "they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip." Acts 8:38, 39.
Was any one ever baptized without going down into the water and coming up out of it? There is no record of it. Then much water was used, and they went down into it and came up out of it. Now what was done while down in the water? Rom. 6:4, says, "We are buried with him by baptism into death." Therefore,
3. They were buried. "Buried with him in baptism, ye are risen with him," Col. 2:12. We have such words as "planted," "risen," and "born," to denote with reference to the form of baptism, and they imply an immersion and coming forth—a burial and resurrection.
Was any one ever baptized without being buried? There is no account of it. Then to be baptized we must go where there is much water. We must go down into it. We must be buried. We must be raised. We must come up out of the water to walk in newness of life. This form shows the burial and resurrection of our Lord.
B. F. MERRITT.
ANTIQUITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
By Dr. Upson
FEW of us ever stop to think how old the Bible is. Yet "the Scriptures are believed by candid critics to contain the most ancient forms of truth now known to men." With the aid of chronological tables, any one may easily make profitable comparisons between the antiquity of these books and that of other writings and events. The Scriptures contain the only authentic history of the world before the flood. We find in the Pentateuch one or two stanzas of poetry composed in the antediluvian period. The Hebrew statutes were enacted a thousand years before Justinian reformed the Roman jurisprudence. In the Bible we have the record of chartered rights secured to the people more than two thousand years before the Magna Charta. What a sensation would be produced if the first chapter of Genesis should appear for the first time in one of the newspapers to-morrow! Yet there can be no doubt that that chapter contains the oldest writing—twenty-five hundred years before the invention of printing. Xenophon's record of the conversations of Socrates, in his Memorabilia, seems an old book to us, yet similar topics were discussed in Ecclesiastes six hundred years before. The works of Tacitus, Plutarch, and Quintillian are not modern; yet the books of the New Testament are older than they. As to the book of Job, its age is beyond conjecture. Those who make it as modern as they can are compelled to place its origin at least one thousand years before Homer. When Priam was king of Troy, Job was of remote antiquity. The name of Alexander has no modern sound for us, yet when Alexander invaded Syria, the book of Job might have been read before him as the work of an author more time-honored then than the name of Alexander is now. The writings of Confucius are modern when compared with most of the Bible; and the most that the Hindoos can justly claim for their sacred books, the Vedas, is that they were written five hundred years after the death of Moses. The Koran is a book fresh from the press compared with the Scriptures.—Dr. Upson.
SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOOKS.
BISHOP SIMPSON, in one of his lectures on "Preaching," thus sets forth the duty of the minister in relation to the Sunday-school:—
"The supervision of the minister should extend particularly to the selection of books for the library that is to be placed in the hands of the teachers and children of the school. It is but seldom that superintendents and teachers, engrossed with the busy cares of life, have full time to examine the multitudinous issues of the press, which are sought to be placed in these libraries. Each publisher has a list of his own books, and wishes to sell them. He exchanges with other publishers, and thus may have a very large variety. He is so occupied with the financial affairs of his establishment, that he may not know the precise character of the teachings of the book which he publishes. Without intent to do wrong, he recommends works which ought not to find their way into Sunday-schools. A committee is oftentimes appointed to purchase a library. It is frequently composed of men who are good and earnest and pious; but they are not extensively acquainted with religious literature, and they purchase such works as have pretty titles, are well printed, are recommended by publishers, and, above all, which are of a low price. In this way, books of doubtful or erroneous doctrinal teaching, or which sanction unchristian conduct, or works of fiction, with nothing to recommend them, are placed in the library; and they vitiate, rather than improve, the taste. The books introduced into the Sunday-school should contain such doctrinal or practical teaching as may be in harmony with the church; otherwise, the influence of the Sunday-school may not only be of little service, but may even become a positive injury to the interests of the congregation. In this day of light and loose skeptical publications, no duty is more imperative on the minister than to exercise a watchful supervision over the literature which is purchased by the church, and is placed in the Sunday-school library, for the use of its children; for the young have a right to regard the teaching of such works as sanctioned by the church."
FULL ANSWERS.
Commenting on the prevalent form of question and answer in catechetical instruction for little children, a recent critic pronounces it wrong, and says it should proceed thus:—
Question. Who built the ark?
Answer. Noah.
Not,—Who built the ark?
Noah built the ark.
Just here the critic needs criticism, and those who do as he says need correction. "Noah" is as good an answer to forty other questions as to the one he cites. Every answer which is committed to memory should contain within itself a complete proposition. By the accumulation of such answers facts are stored in the mind, and whole histories are built up. A class of children had once been packed for an examination. Their answers were on the principle the critic commends. The first boy, when asked by the examiner, "Who made you?" confidently replied, "Adam." To this answer he stuck, until told he ought to answer, "God made me;" when he explained that "the little boy God made got sick and went home."
—Baptist Teacher.
The Abuse of Truth
By Baptist Teacher
THE abuse or misapplication of truth is as blameworthy as the invention of falsehood.
THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.
By U. S.
WE have queries from several correspondents respecting what constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost. We believe that during our connection with the religious press, more questions have come in upon this subject than upon any other single question. And perhaps there is no subject upon which the enemy seems more ready to tempt and harass exceedingly conscientious souls than upon this.
To bring no railing accusation against the prince of darkness, we may say, at least, that he is destitute of every vestige of candor, and every species of honor; and if he cannot succeed in lulling the consciences of men to sleep, and causing them to live in a state of carelessness and indifference, he will then take advantage of their awakened and watchful conscientiousness, and endeavor to drive them to despair over the supposition that they have committed the unpardonable sin, and therefore cannot be saved. If any are now tempted in this direction, we invite them to look carefully at a few facts connected with this subject.
The circumstances under which mention is first made of the sin against the Holy Ghost, furnish a key to the meaning of that expression. These are recorded in Matt. 12:22–32. Christ had wrought a notable miracle. One was brought unto him possessed with a devil; and so terribly malignant was the influence of the evil one upon the unfortunate person, that he was rendered both blind and dumb. Christ cast out the devil, and the individual was healed so that he both spake and saw. All the people were amazed, and began to give expression to their conviction that Christ was indeed the Messiah, by the question, “Is not this the Son of David?” For the impression prevailed that when the Messiah should come, he would cast out devils, and that none but he could do such a work. Christ’s works testified of him, and there was enough in them to convince the most obstinate of the truthfulness of his claims.
But the Pharisees, a class, we are sorry to say, not yet extinct, ever standing around watching with envious and jealous eyes the movements of Christ, despising him in his humility, grieved and maddened that the people should be inclined to accept him, and determined at all hazards to resist and overthrow his work, now found themselves in a very critical position. The devil had been cast out, and the dumb and blind both spake and saw. None could deny that. Christ had done this good work by the power of his word. This was equally evident.
Now what were these Pharisees to do? If they admitted that Christ had wrought this work by the Spirit of God, they would admit that he was what he professed to be, and then all their opposition to him would recoil disastrously upon their own heads. Their insane hatred against Christ and his work would not permit them to acknowledge the truth. There was but one other course open to them; and that was to attribute the wonderful work which Christ had wrought, not to the power of the Spirit of God, but to that terrible embodiment of evil, the prince of darkness; and rather than acknowledge the truth, they hazarded that bold venture, and said contemptuously, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.”
Their claim was as foolish as it was blasphemous. This Christ showed by referring to the obvious principle that a kingdom, city, or house, divided against itself, cannot stand, and that if Satan cast out Satan, he was divided against himself, and would work his own destruction.
Then comes the announcement respecting the sin against the Holy Ghost. These Pharisees had committed this sin; which was, attributing to the devil the performance of a work which, in its very nature, gave ample evidence of having been done by the Holy Ghost; and doing this to avoid an acknowledgment of the truth. This it was that called forth the denunciation of Christ, and this, then, is what constitutes that sin.
Reader, have you ever, for the sake of denying the truth, which you would otherwise be obliged to confess, attributed any work to the devil, which gave evidence of being the work of the Spirit of God? If you have, you have reason to fear that you have committed this sin. But if you have become so hardened as that, you will not have fears of anything of the kind. The Pharisees were not alarmed about themselves at all. Their consciences were utterly hardened and at ease. So will be that of every one who has committed this sin. If your sin is a burden to you, that is in itself evidence that you have not committed the sin that is unpardonable. U. S.
AN ADVANCE MOVEMENT.
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
Our brethren have done nobly in the past in taking clubs of the SIGNS, and remailing them to individuals in different parts of the world. There are believers at the present time in every portion of the civilized world rejoicing in the truth, as the result of the method so generally adopted by our vigilant missionary societies, of taking the SIGNS in clubs and remailing them. The final result of this labor will only be revealed when Christ, the Captain of our salvation, places on the heads of the patient, sacrificing laborers crowns bedecked with stars, representing souls saved for his kingdom.
A faithful record has been kept of the prayers for the blessing of God to attend the SIGNS, as they have been carried by the mail to different portions of the globe, accompanied with letters which breathed the spirit of true devotion to the work. God has bottled the tears shed by some, because they could do no more in this direction. He has accepted their feeble efforts put forth for the salvation of precious souls.
FRUIT OF THE LABOR.
One year ago last January, the SIGNS commenced with a list of about 8,000 subscribers. Upon a careful examination near the close of the volume, it was found that the permanent subscribers were increasing at the rate of nearly 1,000 per year. These subscribers were from every civilized nation on the globe. Even Japan and China were represented on the list. But this was not all. Many of our vigilant societies who were taking from one to two hundred copies at the commencement of 1879 added during the year to their number from 50 to 100 more. New vigilant missionary societies were organized, and additional clubs taken, until at the close of the year an edition of 10,000 was printed and sent to our friends everywhere.
Those becoming permanent subscribers were mostly persons who had received the paper from some missionary worker, and instead of responding to them had sent their address with their subscription price direct to the SIGNS Office. In view of these facts, and the beneficial results of this kind of labor upon those engaged in it, a preamble and resolution was passed at the time of the General Conference, by the General Tract and Missionary Society, recommending the same course to be pursued with the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, until some other pioneer sheet should be prepared to take its place.
In view of the above the present issue is "For the S. D. A. Tract and Missionary Societies" throughout this country and the world wherever the English language is spoken. No pains will be spared by its publishers to make it just the paper that is needed by the missionary workers. The neat heading of the paper, the variety of the matter, the different departments, including the Home Circle, General News, Miscellany, etc., can not fail to interest any who would be interested in the truths it contains. It will also give a general idea of the work we are trying to carry forward.
It has been proposed to issue a sixteen and an eight-page edition of the SIGNS the size of the Review. But to this there are serious objections. 1. With the sixteen-page nothing whatever, not even a small four-page tract, or the weekly Instructor, or College Record could be remailed with it for one cent, and this at times is very desirable. 2. The eight-page edition is too small for a good missionary paper, and cannot contain that amount and variety of matter which should be found in a missionary paper. Therefore, feeling assured our brethren would want a larger paper than the eight-page, we adopt the twelve-page edition. With it can be mailed a copy of the weekly Instructor, the College Record, or a sixteen-page tract, without increasing the postage above one cent. The only difficulty we have to meet is the expense. A twelve-page paper costs more in proportion to its size than an eight-page, on account of the stitching and trimming. It therefore cannot be afforded with its present number of subscribers at less than $1.50 per year.139Notwithstanding this, and in order that nothing may stand in the way of all adopting the best paper, the Publishing Association now makes the following
VERY LIBERAL OFFER.
Those Societies and individuals who are taking clubs of the eight-page edition, who wish to change to the twelve-page edition, can do so by adding to what they have paid or agreed to pay, one-half of the additional cost for the remainder of their subscription. The Association will give the other half.
Thus, if the Madison V. M. Society has paid for twelve copies till Jan. 1881, the extra expense from April 1st (9 months) would be thirty-seven and one-half cents per copy or $4.50 on the club. The Association will give half of this so that the change will cost the Society but $2.25.
Those individuals who have taken the eight-page paper at $1.25 can change to the larger edition by paying at the rate of fifty cents a year additional.
The Association also makes the following offer, to stand for a few months, hoping to increase its circulation to 20,000 which will pay expenses at the above figures, providing it can have in addition to the above a list of 3,000 full-paying subscribers.
To new clubs of ten copies to one address, at $1.50 per copy, we will give two copies extra; if they subscribe for twenty copies at $1.50 each, four copies extra will be sent as a premium, and in the same ratio. For every additional ten copies, two extra. For one hundred copies they will receive twenty extra. This will give our missionary workers the privilege of taking the twelve-page edition at a very low price.
But we shall trust to our Tract Societies to help the Association in this matter. As many as are able should subscribe for one copy for themselves at $2.00. The clubs should be increased wherever it is consistent, and wherever they are not already organized, organize them. The SIGNS Office needs the patronage of the friends of the cause, and our tract societies need the paper. It will contain that matter which is adapted to the missionary work. We hope the interest taken in this pioneer sheet will be greater than ever before, and instead of an edition of 10,000, we expect ere the close of the present volume that it will be 20,000.
We cannot afford to slacken our hand now. We are too near the Judgment. It is not an untried experiment to remail the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Every mission in Europe except Switzerland was commenced in this manner. It should, with the Good Health, be placed in every respectable reading-room in the country, and on board of hundreds of steamers which traverse our rivers and lakes, and thus be read by hundreds of thousands of people during the present year.
S. N. HASKELL,
President Gen. S. D. A. Missionary Society.
THE NATURE OF AN UNQUENCHABLE FIRE.
By John Nevins Andrews
The action of fire is not to preserve, but to destroy. It lives upon that which is cast into it, or upon which it preys. It dissolves substances into their original elements, and changes them mainly into gaseous matter. The great and terrible conflagration of the last day will differ from every other in this grand fact, that, in consequence of such chemical changes as the Creator will make, even the water shall burn as pitch, and the dust as brimstone. That fire shall devour every element, and then cease to burn for lack of fuel. It is not the property of fire to annihilate matter, but to dissolve it, and change its form of existence. The fire of the great day shall do this to the whole substance of our globe.
But if it be an unquenchable fire, must it not burn to all eternity? One thing is very certain in that case, viz., that if the fire never ceases to burn, there must be an eternal creation going on; for the fire is continually devouring, and however vast the pile of fuel, unless it be absolutely unlimited and infinite, it must at last be all devoured. Indeed, this is precisely the work of an unquenchable fire. It is to burn till it has utterly consumed all the fuel. Take the following as an illustration. God told the people of Jerusalem, when that city was threatened by Nebuchadnezzar, that if they would keep the Sabbath, their city should stand forever; but if they would not, in this, hearken to his voice, he testifies thus: "Then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. 17:27.
The people of Jerusalem would not heed this gracious warning. They put the Lord to the test to show whether he was in earnest. The last chapter of Jeremiah gives us the fulfillment of this warning. For we are told that Nebuzaradan, the servant of Nebuchadnezzar, came to Jerusalem, "and burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire." Jer. 52:13.
Thus we see that this unquenchable fire did utterly devour every thing that could burn. But that fire is not in process of action. It did its work. It could not be arrested. But when that work was done, the fire ceased. Such is the nature and the work of an unquenchable fire.