Earlier text: THIS SAME JESUSEVOLUTION AND GEOLOGY
By George McCready Price
PLAIN FACTS ABOUT EVOLUTION AND GEOLOGY.
“Some drill and bore
The solid earth, and from the strata there
Extract a register, by which we learn
That He who made it, and revealed its date
To Moses, was mistaken in its age.”
Cowper, “The Task,” III. On awakening to consciousness, man finds himself in a world of puzzles and inconsistencies—love and hatred, happiness and misery, life and death. Whence came this mass of contradictions? Did the world, the race, have a beginning? Whence is he himself? Whither is he bound? Does death end existence? If not, does character determine destiny? And is character the result of the will or of environment? Or does it involve relationship with the divine Author of the universe? Down through all the centuries these questions have continued to force themselves on thoughtful minds; and on the answers to them have been built all the great systems of man-made religions, from those of Assyria and Chaldea down to the Theosophy and the so-called “New Thought” of our day. It is a mistake to think that the religions of Greece and Rome, of Egypt and Babylon, any more than those of modern India and China, consisted merely of forms and ceremonies and idol worship. This, both the ancient and modern systems may have been or may be to a large class of their unthinking devotees. But in their beginnings and to all their more intelligent followers, they were much more than this. Rather may we say that all of them were philosophical systems for explaining the phenomena of nature, the origin of things, and man's relation to the universe. The forms and ceremonies of worship came in only incidentally. Each of these systems of man-made religion took those degenerate relics of more ancient and purer forms of faith which were nearest at hand, and, after changing and adapting them to suit its theories of cosmogony and philosophy, incorporated and assimilated them, and they thus grew and developed into the systems of religion as we know them. During the last half century we moderns have seen the birth and marvelous development of another great system of religion,—I can call it nothing else,—that of Evolution. It is scarcely too much to say that its main ideas have become so much the very warp and woof of modern scholastic thought that many almost forget they were not always taught and believed. And, like the other systems of religious philosophy previously mentioned, it deals primarily with man's origin and his relationship to the universe. We may also add that, after standing aloof from one another for a generation, we have, during the last decade or so, witnessed the almost complete blending of Evolution as a philosophy, and orthodox Protestantism as a religion; resulting in the “Theistic Evolution,” “New Geology,” etc., now so universally taught in the universities, seminaries, and colleges, and from the pulpits of the land. Most Important Questions.
Hence, I say that of more importance than any other question of Old or New Testament teaching that can be mentioned, are those questions of origins and relationships which lie back of them all, and upon which all others depend. What was man's origin? How did the universe originate, and what is man's relationship to the Unseen Power at its head? What, first of all, is to be our authority in deciding these momentous questions? Shall Christianity and the revelation it has inherited be our guide and be followed implicitly; or shall we depend upon what scientific philosophy is supposed to have discovered and reasoned out within the last fifty years? I do not hesitate to say that every Gospel worker should regard these as the first questions of the hour, the first to be settled for himself individually, and the very first to become thoroughly familiar with if he expects to teach others in any capacity whatever. Perhaps the first thing to do in investigating these problems is to arrive at some knowledge of the history and teachings of Evolution. A more complete history of the doctrine and presentation of its teaching will be given in a subsequent paper, but here a brief outline seems to be necessary in order to understand its bearings upon religion. Outline of the Evolution Theory.
Modern Evolution is older than Darwinism. It can easily be traced back to the eighteenth century, perhaps further; for, back of Darwin and his “natural selection,” lie Geology and the Nebular Hypothesis. With the latter we have nothing to do in this connection, tho we may remark that it is a crude and by no means universally-accepted theory of how the solar system condensed from a great mass of matter scattered through space—condensed into the sun and its planets, including the earth. But back of even this lies Geology, which, by such men as Leibnitz (1646–1716), Buffon (1707–1788), Cuvier (1769–1832), and William Smith (1769–1839), was gradually gaining the confidence of many educated men in asserting that the world had been peopled for untold ages by successive assemblages of plants and animals, until, at a comparatively “modern” date, man was created and placed upon it. The next stage in the development of the theory came when Lyell, about 1830, began teaching that all the successive geological changes could be explained as the result of causes now in existence and in every-day operation about us. Here, then, was the whole skeleton or outline of the Evolution theory, needing only something to articulate together its several parts. This was supplied by the works of Charles Darwin, who published his “Origin of Species” in 1859. His theory was only an elaboration in more detail of the general thought that each successive stage of the geological series was not a new creation of plants and animals, but that each of these new sets, appearing so suddenly and mysteriously, probably grew naturally out of the preceding. For scores of years those scientists who believed in these successive “ages” of geology had felt the necessity of some such explanation of this mysterious phenomenon, but had hitherto failed to find any plausible theory to explain it. But now, Darwin's theory of “natural selection” supplied the long-felt want; and, assisted by the brilliant pleading of such men as Huxley, Spencer, Haeckel, and Tyndall, the world declared the chain of evidence complete. The result has been this marvelous phenomenon of practically the whole educated class receiving this flimsy tissue of guesses as the proved facts of science; and either abandoning all their religious hopes and teachings, or else changing and adapting them in such a way as to harmonize with this idea. This, then, is our problem. It will be an easy matter to show hereafter that this theory of evolution contradicts the most fundamental teachings of Christianity as taught by Moody, Wesley, Luther, Paul, or Christ Himself. Which are we to follow? Are these teachings of science sufficiently certain and reliable to risk our eternal destiny upon them? NO! a thousand times NO! These supposed teachings of science were never anything but a series of guesses, each depending for its value upon the supposed truth of the previous guesses. And, as we shall have occasion to show, the investigations of recent years have long since removed the very foundation stones of the system; so that, left without any actual support in real science, it only holds together because it has become incorporated into modern thought, and men are slow to give up their self-pleasing delusions. Surely it is time that the message calling attention to the Creator be sounded through the length and breadth of our world, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; . . . and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14:7. HEAR, HEAR, O EARTH!
By Uriah Smith
[By the late Uriah Smith.] "O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord." Jer. 22:29. O EARTH, earth, earth, how sunk in sin and sorrow!
Tears are the birthright of thy dying men;
All hearts are aching for that happy morrow
When righteousness and peace shall reign again.
That day will come; for He who rules in heaven,
Whose word created, and whose power upholds,
Has not His work to utter ruin given,
But still His creatures with His love enfolds. But sin must perish in devouring fire;
The elements must melt with fervent heat;
Evil may not to endless life aspire,
Nor curse tread God's domain with fouling feet;
The judgment scene is thrust athwart the path
Ere pilgrims, glad, their heavenly country win—
An outburst of Jehovah's fiercest wrath
Against that traitor in His kingdom—Sin! Heaven sounds a trumpet-call to sons of men;
Sky, land, and sea, lift up their voices now;
And this the thrilling note of their refrain:
Soon hosts of heaven yon parting sky will bow.
Six thousand years their course foretold have run,
All working, steadfast, to the crowning day,
When the wild contest, Right and Wrong, is done,
And from the great white throne earth flees away. One Name alone reveals a door of hope;
One lingering moment for escape remains.
O Earth, no longer in thy darkness grope!
O sinner, break the bondage of thy chains!
The great Refiner's fire, who may abide?
Before His lightning presence, who may stand?
And yet His name's a tower in which to hide,
And righteousness beams from His pierced hand. O earth, earth, hear the summons of thy Lord!
The crisis for eternity is near;
'Tis God that speaks; and ne'er canst thou afford
The hopeless fate of those who will not hear—
Who insult God, His tender call who spurn,
Till break from heaven the words, in thunder tone,
"'Tis done!" Ah, then all faces black will turn—
A guilty, speechless world before the throne! Every Christian should seek to cultivate in his daily life a buoyant, joyous, appreciative sense of the vast multitude of the crowded kindnesses of God.—Alexander Maclaren. WHAT CHRIST’S COMING MEANS TO MEN.
By Francis M. Wilcox
In nature, seed-time and harvest are the seasons of rejoicing. One is the time of springing hope; the other of glad fruition. With joyful anticipation the husbandman sows the seed. The seed springs forth,—first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. During this period of evolution and progress, the seed-sower watches with eager anxiety the development of each stage, to see if the harvest will repay the work of toil. If the seed sown is good, if it has been cared for, refreshed by dew and rain, and warmed by the sun, an abundant harvest is the result. The harvest brings the day of reward for the seed-sowing and labor. In nature, as a man sows, so shall he reap. The husbandman who plants good seed will reap the good as a harvest. If he sows wheat, wheat will be garnered. If he sows tares, the baneful results of their influence will be seen in the time of the harvest gathering. As this is true in nature, so it is just as true in the spiritual world. Day by day, year by year, through all the ages of the past, men have been sowing seed, good or ill, as the case may be, according to the life and influence of each. God will reward every man “according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer. 17:10. “He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” The mercy of Christ the Lord in so long bearing patiently with sinful men has been taken by them as evidence of His indifference to the heinous character of their evil doings. But such is not the case. Says the wise man, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Says the Lord through David, “These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.” The delay of God is but an evidence of His love. Unwilling that any should perish, but desirous that all should come to repentance, He delays the execution of His righteous judgments, multiplying to every soul the opportunities for receiving His grace. The Coming of the Harvest.
But in God’s great purpose, and in His own time, there will come the awakening. As in the end of the year there comes the harvest in the realm of nature, so in the end of this earth’s history will come the harvest of the world. The grain will become ready for the sickle, the clusters of grapes for the press, the tares and chaff for the burning. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” Says our Saviour in Matt. 13:39. “The harvest is the end of the world.” Christ is the sower of the seed: “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man.” Matt. 13:37. In the end of the world Christ comes as the reaper. “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14:14–16. The cloud upon which the Son of Man is represented as sitting is doubtless made up of the angelic host. These heavenly messengers, in the parable of our Lord, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, are likewise termed the reapers: “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.” They are thus called because of their association with Christ and His gathering work. The Separation of Classes.
In the day of harvest, the two classes who have grown together, represented by the tares and the wheat, whose every-day associations perhaps have been closely intermingled, will be separated. The wicked shall be given to the burning flame and destroyed. Says our Lord: “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” But the destruction of sin and sinners is the contemplation of the dark side of the picture. There is a brighter view, a purer scene, and a more entrancing vision. While the Reaper comes to gather out of His kingdom “all things that offend, and them which do iniquity,” He comes likewise to gather the wheat into His garner. His promise to His waiting church is, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself,” and, true to His promise, He comes to take His children home. When the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, then it is that the “righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matt. 13:43. When the Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heaven and the earth shall shake, then shall the Lord be the hope of His people, and the strength of His children Israel. Joel 3:16. “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth.” With faces lit up with His glory, with hearts full to bursting with His love, and with tongues tremulous with emotion, they shall say in that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” The great harvest day hastens on apace. Soon He who shall come will come, and will not tarry. Soon to every man will be given according to his works. Dear reader, to which class will you belong at the coming of the Reaper? Will you be numbered with the tares, or garnered with the wheat? Now, in the day of salvation, while the Spirit still appeals, and while mercy still lingers, your decision should be made. “To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart.” “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” In the harvest-time it will be too late to sow. From the decision of that hour there will be no appeal. Here in this world an adverse decision in a lower court may be repealed by a higher. Now, in these days, when truth is fallen in the street, and justice standeth afar off, the judge may be bought or the jury may be bribed; but not so in the day of the final settlement of all accounts. Says the prophet, “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath.” Wealth will not avail; worldly position will not influence; power will not intimidate. One thing and one only will furnish a passport into the heavenly kingdom, and that is the righteousness of Christ the Lord. Robed in His spotless purity, possessing His perfect character, the recipient will be enabled to pass the grand review, and enter unabashed into the presence of the Holy One. The Judge, beholding him, will see but a reproduction of His own dear Son. The possession of God’s righteousness places salvation within the reach of every soul. Had God made the condition of salvation the possession of worldly power, or of riches, or of education, how few would have been enabled to avail themselves of the proffered grace! But God has made the condition so simple that every soul may accept of the proffered salvation. “Whosoever will” may come and “take the water of life freely;” and the simple condition of coming is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The same exercise of faith by the king on his throne, and the peasant in the field; by the man of poverty or the man of wealth; by the learned or the illiterate; by the black or the white, will bring the salvation of God. But this faith in the Lord Jesus is not a mere sentiment, nor a mental assent to the fact that He died for the human family. It is an inwrought principle of the life, a faith that makes a personal application of His sacrifice to the individual heart and life. It is a faith which works “effectually in them that believe,” that manifests itself in love, purifying the heart and life. May you, dear reader, experience the transforming power of this faith in your life, so that the coming of the Reaper shall be welcomed by you with glad acclaim. May you sow the good seed, which will bear a harvest unto everlasting life. We may sow in tears, but if we sow in love and faith, we shall reap with joy. May ours be the wise sowing, the joyful reaping, and the glad gathering in the great day of harvest. How They Became Convinced
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.] A native of Denmark, nursed in the creed and instructed by the State Church as prescribed by the code of that country, I crossed the Atlantic to America, at the age of sixteen, flattering myself with the pleasing thought that in the New World I might better myself in most every way, especially money-making; yet in my religion I felt sure there could be found no flaw. But, surprised at the changes here in politics and preaching, and the multitude of irreconcilable creeds and Christians in the churches, and my faith not fastened to the Scriptures, I found myself erelong a secret skeptic. And as the world seemed to widen before me, I went deeper into sin, until, at the age of twenty-one, I left my home—such only in name—to gain some means and make a home for myself. But God, who is great in mercy, sent a man, a farmer and layman, to give some Bible readings in our little town in western Iowa. He pointed to the prophecies of Holy Writ, uttered more than two thousand years ago, then to history and what was going on in the world around us. Then I thought, God is true; His word has come to pass, in part at least, and the rest of it surely is true, also. God had foretold the things that troubled me and fed my doubts, and now their presence helped me to believe. I studied; then there was a fierce struggle; it was the crisis of my life. God was true; His law was love; but men had lied in His name, and I had allowed myself to be deceived. But the Word of God, so strong in itself, offered a footing, and promised me strength. I took my stand, and was free. God did it. I prayed and believed. I saw my sins; I saw the law of God, saw my Saviour, and accepted Him. He took me up, and He holds me now. With the sweetest of peace my heart is hushed, bless His holy name. A. C. ANDERSON. In 1860, while attending a meeting conducted by the Missionary Baptists, I was happily converted, was baptized, and received into the membership of that church. I continued an uncompromising Baptist nearly forty years. In the year 1898 some Seventh-day Adventists residing in our vicinity kindly loaned me some of their literature. I read rather cautiously at first, not so much from prejudice, I think, as the fear of being led into error. I first took up the nature and destiny of man, and it soon appeared to me that theirs was the consistent, reasonable theory, and correct from a Bible standpoint. Then I began to investigate the subject of the Sabbath, and searched the Scriptures and prayed for wisdom and understanding as I never had before. Well, I soon had to admit the Seventh-day Adventists had valid reasons for keeping the Bible Sabbath, yet I was rather undecided what course to take. In time, Mrs. Henry’s “How the Sabbath Came to Me” was placed in my hands, and on reading this booklet I saw that I was left without excuse. Light had come to me, and it was my privilege and duty to act according to the light. So I resolved, the Lord assisting me, to keep the next Sabbath day, and I have endeavored to keep all the commandments of God ever since, in the face of all opposition. J. H. FIELDS. THE scripture says of Christ that He was “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. In the very beginning of the practical working of the plan of salvation the Lord put enmity between Satan and the woman, together with her offspring. Gen. 3:15. This enmity, coupled with the light bestowed upon the race, was sufficient to lead every one to salvation who would cultivate the enmity, and walk in the light. If men would act on this principle, the light on their pathway would brighten day by day, and their hatred of evil would continually become stronger. What God requires of us is that we walk in the light. By so doing “we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. But if we do not improve the gifts we receive from God, He takes away that which we have. So we are taught by the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Again, if we do not walk in the light of God’s Word, it will not shine on our way, or within our hearts. Then, says the Master, “If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!” It is true that God does not require any more of a person than is shown to him by the light of truth. But many take advantage of this fact, and say, Then it is better not to have any more light, because it only increases our obligation. On this theory they argue that it is folly to enlighten the heathen any more, as they are walking in all the light they have. But that style of argument is perversive of truth. The heathen are walking in darkness; they have no light. They have thrown away their light by worshiping false gods. Light does not lead them that way. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Rom. 1:21. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” Verse 28. But those who love light will not only walk in the light, but they will always rejoice in more light. If one does not gladly accept additional light on God’s Word, it is because he does not appreciate the measure of light he has, and is not walking in it. The Jews had been the recipients of great light, but when He who was Light itself—He who was the Light of the world—came to them, they rejected Him. Had they been walking in the light of the Scriptures which they professed to believe, they would have rejoiced in the increase of light. Their father Abraham saw Christ’s day by faith, “and was glad.” John 8:56. But at the time of His personal advent, it is said, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4, 5. When we admit that men who have died in faith while observing Sunday as a sabbath will be saved, some people take advantage of the admission, and say, Then why should any one change? If one may be saved while observing Sunday, why may not another? This reply is a mere subterfuge to ward off the light on the Sabbath question. It does not come of a desire for further light on the Word of God, but of a disposition to evade the obligation to obey the letter and spirit of the law of God, of which Jesus said not one jot or one tittle should pass away. Light is increasing as we approach the “perfect day,” when men, in order to be accepted of Christ, must stand without blemish before that law whose transgression is sin. 1 John 3:4; Rom. 7:7. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Ps. 19:7), and the character, to whose righteousness it is to witness in the day of judgment, must be in harmony with its provisions, through faith in the Law-giver. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Prov. 4:18. Therefore there is greater responsibility as we come nearer and nearer to the perfect mark, as we see the day of the Lord approaching. But, as it was at the first advent, so now, “this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth [is really walking in the light that he has known] cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:19-21. If there is any mistake that he has been making in honest endeavor to serve God, he wants to know it, that he may be set right. Such an one, tho he may have been out of harmony with the law in practise, rejoices in the light that enables him to straighten his course. As David says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105. “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” Verse 34. The earnest desire of the true Christian is to know the will of God, that he may do it, no matter what the cross may be. See Ps. 40:7, 8; Acts 9:6. “THEIR ROCK IS NOT AS OUR ROCK.”
EVEN the enemies of the Scriptures of truth, or those who have no regard for them, often bear unconscious witness to the truthfulness and supreme judgment of the Bible. For instance, Prof. Edgar L. Larkin, of Mt. Lowe Observatory, writing from the St. Louis Exposition on “The Jumble of the Races of the Earth,” remarks on the “babel of confusion,” and says: “But the question arises, What is the entire earth and all its inhabitants good for, anyway? Millions come, look upon the sun and stars a few days, and go. To repeat, what is the entire world here for? There is no word that describes the earth exactly, but one has been found that nearly fits the case, and that is the word nothing.” And, looking upon their real worth, or rather lack of it, the Infinite One thus spoke more than twenty-five centuries ago: “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. . . . Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. . . . All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity.” Isa. 40:6-17. This is God’s estimate of man at man’s actual worth apart from God. Yet in His infinite mercy and goodness God looked down upon this poor, lost race in whose minds He had planted such heavenly aspirations, such glorious ambitions, perverted now by sin, and paid the infinite price of giving His only-begotten Son to save them, and through that Son to make them of infinite worth. Man apart from God is worthless. Connected with God, he may become of infinite value. Separate from God, he dies eternally. United with God, he lives in the light of the divine Presence forever. Outside of God’s plans, all man’s hopes and aspirations end in defeat, debasement, and despair. Within God’s plan, there is righteousness, joy, and peace forevermore. Great and learned men may diagnose the condition of poor, sick mankind; but they can not furnish the cure; all their panaceas prove a thing of naught. They have no healing balm for the bruise; no life for the dead. But the great Physician not only diagnoses the case correctly when He tells us that of ourselves we are wholly sick and corrupt, without strength, having no hope; but He also brings infinite healing to each soul of the multitude of nations. He offers the cup of life, and bids us quaff. He holds out with open hand the bread of life, and bids us eat and live. “Their rock is not as our Rock.” Longing for Christ’s Return
By A. O. T.
THE individual who has learned to know Christ as his Saviour from his sins will be longingly desiring the return of this same Jesus.—A. O. T. PETER AND HIS “SUCCESSOR.”
According to a recognized Catholic authority, the pope’s full title is “Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, and Sovereign of the Temporal Dominions of the Holy Roman Church.” And in addition to these titles he has numerous other offices. By the title, “Successor of the Prince of the Apostles,” is meant that he is the successor of St. Peter. When we look for Peter’s title, we find that he styled himself, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” As to his ever being ranked as “prince of the apostles,” the Lord emphatically forbade any such assumption on the part of any of the twelve. “And He said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.” Luke 22: 25, 26. The meaning of an apostle of Jesus Christ is a pioneer missionary. Such were the twelve apostles. Matt. 10: 1-15; 28: 18-20. Peter engaged in this kind of work, as the book of Acts abundantly proves. He was also sent by other apostles and brethren. Acts 8:14. From Peter’s first epistle we learn that his missionary journeyings took him at least as far as Babylon. So Peter did not sit down in one place and play prisoner in royal luxury, as his pretended successors do. He was a veritable prisoner in Jerusalem on one occasion, but was miraculously released and told to go to the temple and continue his preaching. On another occasion he was imprisoned in the same city, with the intent that he should be put to death; but he was again set at liberty by an angel of God, and went away on another missionary tour. The commission to Christ’s apostles is still in force, for it was to continue till the end. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” There is a wide departure from the work of Peter on the part of his professed successor in office. 1681.—Day of Atonement in 1844. When did the Day of Atonement occur in 1844? The author of The Universal Standard Calendar, H. H. Perry, has furnished the following: The Day of Atonement, or the tenth day of the seventh month, Jewish time in 1844: Elder James White, in “Life of William Miller,” says, “On that year, following the reckoning of the Caraite (Karaite) Jews, it fell on the 22nd day of October.” The Karaites are a sect of the Jews principally living in Southern Russia, Armenia, Turkey, and vicinity of Jerusalem, who reject the modern Rabbinical calendar and follow more strictly the earlier usage of the Jews as to the time of the observance of their various feasts and holy days and the arrangement of their calendar. Most Jews in the United States have adopted the Rabbinical calendar, which places the beginning of their year and all their feasts or fasts a month earlier in the season, compared with our calendar, than did the Jews of the time of Christ, or do the Karaites of to-day. So in 1844, according to one of the best lunar tables computed by astronomers, published by Dr. Guinness, of London, England, the moon was new October 12, 1:48 A.M., Jerusalem civil time; therefore the evening following and next day, the 13th, would be New Year’s day, and therefore October 22 was the 10th, or Atonement day. For this year, 1904, we do not have a calendar of the Karaite Jews, but, by the same tables, the new moon occurred at Jerusalem October 9, 7:21 A.M.; the evening following and next day, October 10, would be New Year’s day, and October 19 the Day of Atonement.