THERE are many who will say that they believe the prophecies of Scripture, who do not recognize the fulfillment of those which have been fulfilled in the most obvious manner. Such faith can be of no practical use. But there are those who can point out the fulfillment of the great lines of prophecy which describe the great kingdoms of the earth in their order of succession, from the reign of ancient Babylon down to the divided state of the Roman Empire. Those profess faith, not only a vague faith in the truth of prophecy, but a definite faith in its fulfillment.
To this class I address the question, What use do you make of the prophecies of Rev. 13:11-18 and 14:9-12? As these are prophecies which evidently relate to the very close of our world's history, and the coming of Christ, no others are of greater importance. Here the last persecution of the church is described; and also the last warning, by heeding of which we may stand in this last persecution and escape the unmingled wrath of God which is to follow. All ought to understand these prophecies. What use do you make of them?
You have learned from the prophecies of Daniel and of Revelation that a beast is a symbol of some great earthly dominion. Hence the beast with two horns like a lamb represents some remarkable Government of earth existing in the last days, and which is to act a conspicuous part in the closing scene of the earth's drama. You believe we are near the close of time. Believing the fulfillment of these lines of consecutive prophecy, you cannot doubt it. What Government, then, is described under the symbol of the two-horned beast?
There is to be a conflict on earth which has not yet been seen. An image of the Papal beast will demand that all shall worship that beast, or suffer deprivation of common rights, and even death itself. On the other hand, we are forewarned of God, by a special proclamation, that if we do yield to the demands of the image, by worshiping the beast and his image, and receiving his mark, we shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God without mixture. This test has never come upon men in any age of the world; but the prophecy being sure, it must come. And it will come just before the coming of Christ, as symbolized by one like the Son of man upon the white cloud, with a sickle in his hand to reap the harvest of the earth. You believe that the coming of Christ is at the door. By the prophecies and promised signs fulfilled, you know it is so. But what will you do with these predictions of the word of God? Will earth's history close, and the grand consummating event come, and they have no fulfillment? Will the "loud voice" of the last message not be heard at all? Impossible! The last warning will be heard by those who have ears to hear. And who knows that it is not already in the world? There are those who believe that it is. They are found in almost, if not quite, every State and Territory in our Union. There are some in the British Isles, in almost every country of Europe, in Egypt, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific. They are distinguished by the characteristics given in the prophecy, namely,
"Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." In patience and expectation they are waiting for the return of the Lord, while they acknowledge their obligation to keep every commandment of the moral law of God, and every precept taught by Jesus Christ as obedience to the gospel.
The worship and mark of the beast are, in the prophecy, put in contrast with the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Hence we know that this worship and mark are directly opposed to these commandments and faith; and therefore those who keep these, will not worship the beast nor receive his mark.
The present work, which is believed to be the fulfillment of the promised message, from a small beginning over thirty years ago, is now spreading over the whole earth. Besides being proclaimed by word of mouth, it is being published by the press from six or seven different points, and in nine or ten different languages. My brother, my sister, is not this the message promised in the word of God? If not, we shall be obliged to wait for another. If this is not genuine, how shall we know the genuine, when it shall come?
R. F. COTTRELL.
ROME RULE IN NEW YORK.
By Editor
THE following from the New York Mail and Express, of November 7, presents the power of Rome in the metropolis of our country, and it is not a greatly overdrawn picture of many other cities:—
The Roman Catholics have taken the city.
Their hand was in the sale of the Coogan party to Hugh J. Grant.
They already have every member of the board of tax commissioners.
They have for years had, and still have, the control of the board of aldermen.
They have the mayor, the sheriff, the comptroller, the counsel to the corporation, the whole board of tax assessors, the commissioner of public works, the superintendent of the street cleaning department, the clerk to the board of aldermen, the superintendent of the bureau of elections, several of the justices of the Supreme, Superior, and Common Pleas Courts, the control of the board of estimate and apportionment, the majority in many of the ward boards of school trustees, a large portion of the board of education, the control of the department of charities and correction, the majority in the police force, the control of the fire department, of the board of street openings, the whole of the armory board, the register of deeds, the commissioner of jurors, one-half of the commissioners of accounts, supervisor of the city record, the collector of the port, the subtreasury, majority of the commissioners of the sinking fund, the majority of the delegation in Congress and in the State Senate and Assembly.
The Church of Rome is nothing if not political. It is the dominant party in this city. The majority of voters in this city belong to that party. The head and leader of this party is Archbishop Corrigan.
No Trifles in Life
By John Lascelles
THERE are no trifles in the lives
Of men, for seeming trifles oft are powers
That act with potent force for weal or woe;
And what is great or small we know not now,
Or what shall lead to weal or what to woe.
But in our blindness this we surely know:
The happiest one is he who, doing right,
With child-like faith goes on, and, well content,
Leaves all the future in the hands of God.
—John Lascelles.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
By Christian at Work
It is to be feared that the charge made against Goldsmith, might be repeated truly enough against many a Christian, viz.: "He wrote like an angel, and talked like poor Poll." . . . Now would it not be well for the church to revive this lost art of inspiring conversation—directing it at the same time upon divine truths and seasoning it with the salt of divine grace? Here is one of the grandest and most fruitful fields for improvement, and it lies open to every follower of the Master. There is deep significance in the record that while the two disciples talked together on their journey to Emmaus concerning Jesus—his crucifixion, resurrection, and the like—they were joined by another, whose words caused their hearts to burn within them, and their eyes to be unsealed to the discovery of the presence of Christ himself as the risen Redeemer and Conqueror of death.
And again, when, on another occasion, the eleven were discoursing of him, he suddenly appeared among them, though the doors were shut. It is as sweet as it is true to think that wherever any two or more are earnestly engaged in conversing upon the interests of the heavenly kingdom, there the invisible Head and Lord of that kingdom is certain to come with his own elevating and revealing influence. As the fire flies from the flint under an iron hammer, so many of the loftiest purposes and far-reaching plans have been struck from Christian hearts under the friction of noble words made energetic and mighty by the indefinable force of personal power. Progress lies through the gateway of speech not less than through the cultivation of solitary thought. It is the Heaven-appointed agency for stirring up the gift within us, for interchanging our best sentiments, for disseminating truth, for reaching with transforming influence the springs of character and of action for proclaiming God. "Go home to thy friends," said our Saviour to the restored demoniac, "and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee."
To tell others about himself, his grace, his willingness to save, his good tidings, is exactly what the Master wishes each one of us to do, and in the doing of which he has promised great reward. Words fitly spoken act as an inspiration and guide long after the speaker forgets them. A college president once let fall a few sentences, in a casual way, about the wants of his institution, and lo! these sentences proved the seed-corn that ripened into a legacy of $50,000 in the hearer's will for the benefit of education. The tongue is the mightiest instrument within the power of man. It scatters blessings or curses, according to the disposition wielding it. Guard it well, O Christian, that it be not a flaming dart "set on fire of hell," but rather a source of light to illumine the pathway to Heaven.—Christian at Work.
THE PENALTY ETERNAL.
By Editor
IN a letter recently received, a clergyman in Nebraska intimates that he has objections to the doctrine that "the penalty of the transgression of the moral law is not eternal," seeming to have the idea that we hold to that view. We are happy to say that we do not believe any such doctrine; and we hope he never will believe that the penalty for sin—the transgression of the moral law—is not eternal. If he now believes that the penalty is eternal, he is correct, but he may be in error as to what that penalty is. However, the Bible is very plain on that point, as a few texts will show. First we quote the Saviour's words in Matt. 25:46:—
"And these [the wicked] shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal."
This is plain. The word "everlasting" is from the same Greek word as "eternal," in the same verse, and the statement shows that the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous will be of equal duration. Now read what this punishment of the wicked is to be. The apostle Paul says that—
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.
These two texts are sufficient to decide the matter. In addition we quote the words of Paul: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23. The penalty for the transgression of the law is death, and that death, when once inflicted, will be as lasting as the Government of God. This follows from the fact that the day of grace will then have passed. There will be no more pardon for sin, and so of course those upon whom the death penalty is inflicted, must rest under it forever.
The popular error concerning the punishment of the wicked lies in the supposition that it consists solely of torment. But that is a mistake. The wicked are likened to "the chaff which the wind driveth away" (Ps. 1:4), and we are told that Christ will "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 3:12.
It is not in the nature of man to exist eternally in the midst of fire; but the wicked are to be cast into a lake of fire. Rev. 21:8. The psalmist says of the Lord: "A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about." Ps. 97:3. And again: "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Ps. 37:20. The prophet Nahum also says of the wicked: "For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry." Nahum 1:10.
That there will be torment and anguish in connection with the punishment of the wicked would naturally follow from the fact that fire is to be the agent of their destruction. Not only so, but the apostle Paul expressly declares that God will render "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil." Rom. 2:8, 9. But this tribulation and anguish is not the sum of the punishment of the wicked, for the same apostle declares, as already quoted, that it is to be everlasting destruction. When the penalty is death, a man may suffer greatly in dying, but it cannot be said that he has received his punishment until death ensues. And when death shall have taken place in the case of the finally impenitent, it will be everlasting. "They shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is The Lord of hosts." Jer. 51:57. "They shall be as though they had not been." Obadiah 16.
THERE are some words and expressions which, by their very frequency of occurrence, make but little impression upon us. We are so familiar with them that we read them and speak them as a matter of course, scarcely thinking that they have any meaning. One such expression is that which begins the epistle to the Romans, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." Two other of Paul's epistles, the one to the Philippians, and the one to Titus, as also Peter's second letter and the epistles of James and Jude, begin in the same way, and in other places the apostles style themselves, or are styled, the servants of God and of Christ. The prophets, also, and Old Testament worthies, as Moses, Joshua, etc., are called servants of God. That this is more than a catch phrase, and that it is of the deepest significance, will be apparent as we study it.
The Greek word which is translated "servant" in these instances is doulos, and is defined by Liddell and Scott as "properly a born bondsman, or slave." It was the regular Greek word for a slave, and was often used of the Persians and other nations subject to a despot. The Revised Version has "bond servant" in the margin of Rom. 1:1, as the equivalent of the word rendered "servant."
We may accept the word "slave," therefore, as the one which the apostle uses to show the completeness of his subjection to Christ. We have, therefore, only to study the condition of a slave, to know not only how Paul regarded himself, but how all who really serve God must hold themselves.
A slave is one who is the entire property of another. He cannot dispose of his time nor his actions as he will, but only as his master directs. Neither can he hold property in his own right. His strength is his master's; and if he earns anything, that which he receives belongs to his master. In the days of American slavery, negroes were often hired out to men who were not their masters, and often they earned large wages, but not a cent of it could they call their own. When their master bought them, they brought no property of their own, and all that they could expect for their service was enough to sustain life. Their time and strength were as absolutely their master's as were those of the horses with which they worked.
Now compare this with what we find set forth in the Scriptures as the proper condition of Christians, who are servants of Christ. Says the apostle Paul: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. Notice the completeness of the subjection. We are not our own, and therefore we cannot have a word to say as to what we shall do. The will of God, and his glory, is to direct us in everything. So the apostle says: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31.
But there is another thought suggested by the word "slave," as applied to Christians, and that is that they have been reduced to servitude from a previous condition of rebellion. Although, as the Lexicon says, the Greek word for "slave" signifies "a born bondsman," it is a fact that by natural birth no person is a servant of God. By nature we are all the children of wrath. Paul classes himself with us when he says: "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." Titus 3:3. And in another place he thus contrasts the different kinds of servitude in which men may live:—
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." Rom. 6:16-18.
Before any man becomes the born bondsman of Christ, he has to be born again. But this new birth implies a previous death, and that death is by crucifixion. See Gal. 2:20. Now crucifixion was a form of punishment inflicted on only the worst class of men, and its use as applied to those who thereby become Christ's, shows a previous condition of rebellion. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7. The words of the Lord to Isaiah, concerning the people of Israel, describe the condition of all men by nature:—
"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord." Isa. 30:8, 9.
From this rebellious state we are brought into the condition of servants. As it has aptly been expressed, we capitulate, and accept the terms of peace. We become subject to God. The word "subject" or "subjection" carries with it also the relation which we should sustain to God. It comes from two Latin words meaning "under the yoke," and is derived from the Roman custom of erecting a yoke and causing those whom they had conquered in battle to pass under it, as a token of their complete surrender. This ancient custom also explains the act of David, in putting the men of Rabbah "under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron," and making them pass through the brick kiln. 2 Sam. 12:31. It was the same as making them pass under the yoke, as a token of their being his servants. So Christ calls to us, "Take my yoke upon you." Taking the yoke of Christ upon us is to yield ourselves completely to him, for him henceforth to rule7every act and every thought. As Paul expresses it, it is "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5.
Right here it should be noticed that true service to Christ is willing service. We are his bond-servants, brought into captivity to him, but it was love that bought us, so that we gladly submit. As Olshausen says of Paul: "He had been overcome by the Redeemer, conquered and subdued by his higher power. But as one not merely outwardly conquered, and still disposed to resist, but inwardly subdued, Paul had at the same time become a willing instrument for executing the purposes of the Lord as an apostle."
Moreover, although the word rendered "servant" signifies one subject to a despot, that only indicates the completeness of the control which God has over those who are truly his servants, but does not carry with it any idea of degradation. It makes a vast amount of difference to whom one is a servant. The servant of a poor, ignorant, coarse man would be a most abject creature. The slave of such a monarch as Nebuchadnezzar might be a high officer of State. So to be a servant of the Most High God is the highest honor that any creature can have in the universe. Angels in Heaven, that excel in strength, do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word, and are glad to declare themselves only fellow-servants with those who on earth are wholly devoted to Christ. Rev. 22:9.
Again, the slave of Christ is the only free man in the world. Paul says: "He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman; likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." 1 Cor. 7:22, 23. David says: "O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid; thou hast loosed my bonds." Ps. 116:16. Here we have bondage and freedom. The man out of Christ is an abject slave; he is "holden with the cords of his sins." But the moment he yields himself unconditionally to Christ to be his servant, the body of sin is destroyed, and henceforth, if he continues to be the Lord's servant, sin has no more dominion over him. He is free to do right. His bondage is the bondage of love, and he finds the yoke easy.
The Lord will not accept divided service. He will not go into partnership with the devil, each having an equal share in a servant. A man must be wholly the Lord's, or he is not the Lord's at all. Says Christ: "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt. 6:24. If, then, we have given ourselves to the Lord as his servants, and then seek in anything to please ourselves only, we rob him of service which is his due. Our strength, both of mind and body, belongs to the Lord, for he says:—
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." Luke 10:27, with verse 28.
Now suppose a man indulges a habit which destroys his strength of body and vigor of mind; he is not then the Lord's slave; he is the slave of sinful indulgence. One man eats more than is good for him, more than he needs. He does so, simply because the food tastes good. That extra quantity of food, instead of increasing his strength, is a tax upon it. Strength that he should have to devote to the Lord is perverted to the service of appetite. Now it matters not what that man's profession may be, he is not the bond-servant of Christ. If he were, he would glorify God in eating and drinking, as well as in every other act of life.
Here is a test by which we may settle every question as to the lawfulness or unlawfulness of an act: Will it glorify God? If it will, it is not only lawful but necessary. The man who is honest with himself before God in this question can settle which things are unlawful for him, and how far he may go in things that are necessary, as in eating and drinking.
"But what a hardship," says one, "to be obliged to rein ourselves up to such a test." Well, that depends on whether or not we are really the slaves of Christ; whether or not we have willingly, gladly capitulated, accepting his terms, and yielding to his service. If we have, then it is not a task to inquire what will be to his glory, and to do it. We have yielded to him because in his infinite love and mercy he has enabled us to see that there is more to be desired in his service than in our own; and we have made his will our own. He has made us new creatures, giving us a new heart, and new purposes, so that when we do his will we are simply doing our own, for his will is ours, and our will is his.
"But suppose our will is his, and we have only one longing, supreme desire, namely, to do his will and glorify him, how can we always do it?" That is answered in the very fact that we are his, wholly his. We are not our own, but have resigned ourselves into his hands as simple instruments of his will. We have no power in ourselves, but he has all power, and can make us what he wishes. And here comes in the encouragement of the thought that we serve a mighty Master, one against whom all the powers of earth and hell combined can do nothing. So when the fierce temptation arises, when the infirmity of the flesh would cause us to fall, we, having the mind of our Master, to hate sin, flee to him for strength, and his strength does what our weakness cannot.
What comfort in the thought that the whole thing is comprised in simple submission to God. "Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Rom. 6:13. God wants us to live holy lives; he has shown the strength of his desire for us to be delivered from evil, by giving his Son to die for us. And since God has such an infinite longing for us to be free from sin, and has such infinite power to accomplish his desires, what can hinder the accomplishment of those desires, if we but yield ourselves to him? No matter how fully we may have been the servants of sin, we now, having become servants to God, are made free from sin, having our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Rom. 6:22.
No wonder that Paul was able to accomplish such wonderful things. He was the Lord's slave, wholly and without reserve, and the Lord simply worked through him. Even while the most conscious of his own weakness, he could say: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
God is not partial; he is no respecter of persons. He is as ready to strengthen us with all might, according to his glorious power, as he was the apostle Paul. And so no matter what our inherited or acquired weakness, we may be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation; and when that salvation is revealed, we may be sealed as his servants, to see his face, and stand before his throne, serving him day and night in his temple. Glorious service! Who would not prefer that to the poor, miserable service of self?
W.
PRAISE YE THE LORD.
It is recorded but once that the apostle Paul sang. And that instance was not such an one as would naturally inspire song. It was not after a pleasant, happy, unmolested meeting, or at the social board, or to while away weary hours; it was in the dark, damp, cold prison cell, with back ridged and raw from lashes, and feet fast in the stocks—a position most intolerable. The feet must be elevated to be put in the stocks, and the only easy position is to lie down. But Paul and Silas were deprived of any rest even in this way; for their backs were sore from the beating. But prayer brought a greater victory than was wrought by Samson's strength; faith claimed the promise, and the wearied prisoners "sang praises unto God." The grace and peace of God swallowed up all the pain and unpleasant surroundings.
Paul's great Prototype, for whom he suffered joyfully, is recorded as having sung but once. And when was that? on the mount of transfiguration? or after his resurrection? No; it was just before his betrayal, just before the agony of Gethsemane, just before the darkness of the cross. And Jesus knew that these sufferings were before him; yet with faith in that Father who was too wise to err, too good to prove unkind, he could sing: "Praise ye the Lord." "The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation." "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; because his mercy endureth forever,"—expressions found in Psalms 113 to 118, which were sung on paschal occasions. If there was more praise to "Him from whom all blessings flow," there would be greater blessings. "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me," saith the Lord. Truly "it is good to sing praises unto our God."
1. Matt. 3:9: "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."
The scripture is very plain of itself. The Jews thought that their salvation, greatness, and glory were assured, because they were the literal descendants of Abraham. John taught them that it was just as necessary for them to repent as for others. Jesus rebuked them in a similar way in John 8:33-44. They were sinners by nature even as others. Rom. 3:9. Their only hope of salvation was genuine repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. They could flatter themselves that they were the seed of Abraham, but it would do them no good. God was not dependent upon them for the fulfillment of his promises to Abraham. He who had originally created man out of the dust of the earth could raise up from stones children unto Abraham. The lesson we should learn from the text is, that privileges of birth, pious parents, good reputation, or external circumstances, will not save us. Personal holiness, through Christ, will alone avail. Eze. 14:20; Heb. 12:14.
2. Matt. 16:18, 19; 18:18. The first reads as follows: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." The second reads: "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."
"Peter" comes from the Greek word petros, meaning "a stone." Liddell and Scott say of this word, "a stone and thus distinguished from petra." The word "rock" comes from this latter word, petra. Of this the same standard authority says, "There is no example, in good authors, of petra in the sense of petros a stone." The reason for using these two distinctive words is evident. The one signifies a rock, the other a stone.
Now "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not . . . by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:20, 21. Therefore, to understand a prophecy, we must compare it with other scriptures. The same Spirit inspired all. We will learn the meaning of this scripture by comparing it with parallel and related passages.
What then was the foundation upon which the church of Christ was built? Paul furnishes the reply: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 3:11. Again he says of Christians, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone," or "corner foundation." Eph. 2:20. Christ is the rock upon which the temple stands, he being the one who spoke through both apostles and prophets. John 14:26; 1 Pet. 1:10, 11. Isaiah bears testimony to the same (chapter 28:16): "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation." Again, the psalmist says, "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner." Ps. 118:22. Peter himself applies this to Christ in Acts 4:11, as he also does Isa. 28:16 in his first epistle, chapter 2.
The term "stone" is, it is true, applied to Christ in Isaiah, Acts, Psalms, 1 Peter, and other scriptures; but it comes not from petros, the word applied to Peter, but from lithos, a word used of stones in general, and also of Christ and his children. When the vital relation of one to the other is intended, the same word, lithos, is used; but when the distinction is to be made between the foundation and that8builded on the foundation, two words of different meaning are used, namely, petra (rock), and petros (stone). Christ is the foundation stone or rock (Matt. 7:24, 25), Peter one of the many stones built into a spiritual temple on that foundation. So the apostle himself, who heard Christ's words, testifies: "To whom coming, as unto a living stone [Christ], disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively [living] stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." And then the apostle proceeds to quote Isa. 28:16 in proof of his statement. 1 Pet. 2:5, 6.
The Saviour therefore declares to Peter in Matt. 16:18, "Thou art a stone which will be built up in that great spiritual temple, which will be founded upon me, the Rock of whom the prophets have spoken, and whom you have just confessed."
The gates, or powers (for gate is a symbol of power and authority), of hell (hades, the grave) shall not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ. It may seem to do so. The grave may close its portals over sleeping saints, yea, over the Head of the church, but divine power will triumph over all. 1 Cor. 15:51-57.
The giving of the keys to Peter may have had reference to his being chosen as the first, after the resurrection, to present to both Jews and Gentiles the conditions on which men could have a part in the church of Christ. The day of Pentecost he preached Jesus to the Jews. He afterward formally opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Acts 15:7, 14. The binding and loosing did not have reference to any arbitrary power existing in Peter as an individual, but had reference to the conditions of acceptance by Christ, and the consequence of rejecting these conditions. Peter's message which he should bear to the world was not to be indefinite or uncertain. It was to be a savor of life or death. If men accepted of it with all their heart, they would be loosed from sin (John 8:32, 36), and bound, or united, to Christ. John 15:1-8. If men rejected this message they were left in the bonds of sin and condemnation. John 8:34; Rom. 6:16; John 3:18. It was in this way that Jeremiah was set "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." Jer. 1:10, compared with 18:7-10.
The same principle will apply to Matt. 18:18, where reference is made to the whole church. And we may further add, that when the church, united to her divine Head, walking in the light, acting in harmony with the word of God, deals with its members, such action, whether it be to bind or loose, to acquit or condemn, will be ratified by Heaven. It means no more than this. A church acting contrary to God's word is apostate or backslidden, and is herself a subject of condemnation. And such most emphatically is the Church of Rome, which arrogantly and presumptuously claims the power to bind or loose at will. The Lord designates that church as "the mystery of iniquity." 2 Thess. 2:7.
3. Matt. 21:44: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
By referring to the forty-second verse, and comparing with Ps. 118:22 and Acts 4:11, it will be seen that the stone refers to Christ. The grinding to powder is easily understood. Christ is brought to view in Dan. 2 as the stone "cut out of the mountain without hands," which broke in pieces the various metals composing the image, symbolizing the nations of earth, and they "became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them." This breaking and grinding is "the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:16) against those who have rejected every overture of mercy, despised "the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering," and have treasured up wrath against "the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Rom. 2:4, 5.
Falling on the stone and being broken signifies an opposite work—a work of mercy and reconciliation. Falling is voluntary on the part of the sinner. It is the gracious privilege which a gracious God gives to all. Being broken has reference to the repentance, contrition, and sorrow for sin which is manifested in every believer in Jesus Christ. It is a breaking away from the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. 1 John 2:16. It is the broken and contrite heart which is not despised of God. Ps. 51:17. It is the "contrite and humble spirit" which God will revive. Isa. 57:15. It is the heart that mourns, the poor in spirit, who shall be comforted and shall see God. Matt. 5:3, 4. Such will become united to the Foundation Stone by his healing power, and will be a living stone in the great spiritual temple of God. 1 Pet. 2.
4. Matt. 22:31, 32: "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
The question at issue was the resurrection. One great sect of the Jews had been confounded by Jesus (verses 15-22), and now the Sadducees attempt to confound him. They do not believe in the resurrection. The only scriptures which they hold as of divine authority are the books of Moses; and they do not believe that Moses taught the resurrection. And so from a case based on the law of Moses, they endeavor to confound our Saviour by an argument against the resurrection. Bear in mind that it is not the intermediate state that is in question, or that our Saviour must prove, or be confounded. It is as to whether the dead rise. First, he shows that his questioners do not know the scriptures nor the power of God. The same social relations need not to exist in the resurrection life. The elect number will be complete, and, as all will live forever, they do not need to multiply more. Secondly, he shows that the dead do rise by an appeal to the writings of Moses. Why, God is not the God of the dead or those who are not; he is the God of the living. This was a truth accepted by all. But God says that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; now how can this be if they are dead? They are dead, but they are sleeping in faith. Therefore they are not, in the wisdom and power of God, counted as dead, for in his purpose they will live. It is thus that God "calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17), because they exist in his purpose. While the dead do not live unto themselves, they "all live unto him" (Luke 20:38); for in his purpose all will be surely raised to life. The multitude were astonished at his wisdom, and the learned scribes perceived that he had answered well. The Sadducees were confounded at the wisdom of the lowly Nazarene, "who spake as never man spake." M. C. W.
NARCOTIZED BY SIN.
By Editor
In discussing the fact of the non-church attendance of the masses the Occident says:—
"The masses on this coast do not attend church because fear is not awakened in them. It is in them as sure as conscience is in them, but it is not aroused. It is narcotized by long sinning and insidious unbelief."
This is the exact truth, and is only giving in other words the reason which we assigned a week or two ago, namely, that people do not attend church because of a lack of interest in spiritual things. The Occident says, too, that the consciences of the people are becoming more stupid, but that they "can be aroused." No doubt they could be aroused, but the question is, Will they be? There is small ground for hoping that such will be the case. Nothing can arouse consciences narcotized by sin except the plain, cutting truths of the word of God, and as the time has come when men will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears are heaping to themselves teachers after their own lusts, the probability of there being any general arousing does not seem very great.