Earlier text: THOUGHTS ON BAPTISMA DREADFUL OCCURRENCE IN THE EAST.—DESTRUCTION OF AN ENTIRE PROVINCE.
By H. P. Ribton
In the Debarya, an Eastern publication, the following intelligence is announced:— In the far distant kingdom of Shamaym there was a fair province, most delightfully situated and enriched with nature's choicest gifts. Many years ago the king of the country had made his son prince of this province; and being desirous that after a certain time he should assume the government of it, he sent messengers announcing that his son would shortly arrive, in order that his subjects might give him a joyful reception. The inhabitants of this province, however, had always been of a perverse and rebellious spirit, and the more favors they received from their king, who had always been most indulgent toward them, the more unworthy of his kindness they showed themselves. They maintained intimate relations with the king of a neighboring country, who was a deadly enemy to their sovereign; and when the messengers of the latter arrived, they ill treated them and sent them away, declaring plainly that they would not have the prince for their governor. In the East kings are absolute monarchs. One would have thought, therefore, that this king would have inflicted a severe punishment upon the rebellious province; but quite the contrary; the rebels were lightly punished, and he then treated these perverse subjects with more favor than before, hoping by such unusual kindness to gain their affection. All was in vain; other messengers sent at a later period returned in a worse condition than the former ones; the inhabitants, not only flatly refused to obey their prince, but the greater part of them openly declared themselves subjects of the hostile king. The king was now really angry, and would have sent an army to destroy all the rebels. But the prince, pleading the cause of his subjects, whom he loved notwithstanding all, succeeded in staying the destruction which his father might justly have brought upon them. This good prince resolved to make a last endeavor to win the affection of this ungrateful people. There had always been among them some faithful subjects, who kept up a constant correspondence with him, although for doing so they were despised and persecuted by their countrymen. The prince determined to go himself to his province in disguise, making himself known first of all, only to his faithful friends. Then he hoped, by his gentleness and by many acts of benevolence, to gain the hearts of the others in such a manner that on his finally declaring himself their prince they would receive him with acclamation. The design was put into execution. Dressed in the plainest attire he came into the midst of his people. His few true subjects recognized him and gave him a hearty welcome. All with whom he spoke were attracted by his gracious manner. He went personally to visit the sick, to console the afflicted. After a time it began to transpire that he was something more than he seemed. He was proficient in the science of medicine, and had brought from his father's palace some medicaments known only to himself; he had administered some of these to many of the sick whom he visited, and they immediately recovered. It was said, moreover, that in one day five thousand hungry people had been succored by him. Who was this beneficent stranger? they asked; and where had he acquired such science, such riches? At length the time arrived at which he had determined to declare himself to his people in his true character. Accompanied by a band of his faithful adherents, he entered the chief city of his province and announced himself as their prince. As the fame of his beneficence had been diffused everywhere abroad, it might be thought that they would have received him joyfully. Nothing of the kind; the hatred of this most depraved people was not in the least diminished by all he had done for them. Then a horrible crime was committed. The pasha of the province had given his allegiance to the hostile king already mentioned. He saw that if the prince received the kingdom he would be deposed, with all his adherents. The danger was imminent. They resolved to have the prince killed. One evening after having supped with his friends, while he was walking with them in a garden, a band of assassins came, seized him, and having borne him to a place outside the walls of the city, they beat him, wounded him cruelly, and left him, to all appearance, dead. The joy of the people was very great. Their sovereign had ever been so lenient that they did not think, even then, that he would punish them. Providence so ordained it that the design of these atrocious murderers proved a failure. When the friends of the prince came to seek his body they could not find it. He had revived, although his enemies believed him dead. He remained in concealment for a short time, in order to have a few secret interviews with his friends. He then took leave of them, promising that he would return with a great army and destroy the rebels. Then he returned to his father's palace. Not even then was the patience of the prince exhausted. Instead of returning immediately and inflicting the punishment this people so well deserved, he entreated his father (who vowed to exterminate them) to delay the execution of it for a time, hoping that at least some of them would return to their duty. He sent other messengers to them. It was time lost. His friends exhorted their countrymen, declaring that if they did not submit a fearful vengeance would be taken. They laughed at these warnings. When his subjects knew that the time of their prince's return was at hand, they redoubled their entreaties. A few accepted the warning, but the rest persisted in their ridicule; and some even went so far as to say that, never having seen this king of theirs, they did not believe in his existence. At length the day of retribution came. When this hardened people least expected it, an immense, overwhelming army appeared. The terror of all was extreme. Many ran to conceal themselves, but they failed to obtain a hiding-place. Others entreated that their lives might be spared. But the punishment had been committed to stern, inflexible agents, who had orders to spare none. Then a terrible scene ensued. Old and young, men and women, alike fell beneath the inexorable sword. When the slaughter was over, the province presented a horrible appearance. The whole country was covered with dead bodies. The prince had given those who remained faithful to him a private token to wear, so that they should not be touched in the midst of the slaughter. They, and they only, were spared. It was necessary to purify the country. The corpses of the rebels, and all that had belonged to them, were burned with fire. While this was being done, the faithful survivors were received in the king's capital, where they were loaded with honor and favors; and it was promised them that when the purification of their province should be completed, they, with their prince, should return to their country to receive the well-merited reward of their faithfulness. Dear reader, this is a true narrative of a terrible drama, the last act of which is now about to be accomplished. The account comes from the East. The kingdom of Shamaym is the kingdom of Heaven, the Debarya the word of God, and the fair province our earth. All the above-mentioned facts have taken place except the last; and the signs given to us in that word show that this final destruction is now speedily coming upon the world. Our beautiful world was made for man, and in it he might have enjoyed perfect happiness had he loved and obeyed his Sovereign who created it, the Eternal God. The law which was given him to observe was not a difficult one; he was to love his God and love his neighbor. Instead of that, man became a lover of himself, covetous, proud. He spoke falsely, he slandered, he cheated, he robbed, he hated his neighbor. He sacrificed the principles of justice, he stifled the natural feelings of fraternal affection to gratify the most base desires,—avarice, gluttony, drunkenness, fornication. In fact, he yielded obedience to Satan, God's enemy, and trampled under foot the law of his Creator. Had not God been patient and merciful, he would have destroyed man from off the face of the earth, and well would man have deserved it. But he had pity; he was not willing to destroy the work of his hands. He sent prophets many times, exhorting to repentance. Men laughed at them, they killed many of them. At last he sent them their own Prince, his only Son. He came, preaching likewise to men to repent from all these wicked works. He proclaimed God's pardon to all who, confessing and leaving their wickedness, should come to him, accepting him as their mediator with his Father whom they had so offended, and undertaking to observe his commandments. In vain! No sooner had he announced himself as their King in the midst of the few faithful ones who believed in him, than the multitude cried: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” They insulted the Son of God, they killed him, exclaiming, “His blood be upon us and upon our children”! God raised his Son; for it was not possible that he should remain in the grave. He appeared to his faithful ones. He told them that he was going away, but that on a future day he would return with a great army to reign upon the earth, when the wrath of God would fall upon and destroy all men who refused to receive him and walk in his commandments. Then he returned to the throne of his Father. More than eighteen hundred years have passed, during which our Prince has mercifully delayed his return, not wishing that men should be destroyed, but desiring that they should repent and be saved. He has sent among them many prophets, preaching repentance and the remission of sins. Alas! men for the greater part have persisted every one in his wicked ways; they have not ceased to lie, to slander, to covet, to oppress the poor, to cheat, to commit fornication, to blaspheme the name of their God. The Prince gave his faithful people certain signs by which they should know when his coming would be at hand. “When ye see these things come to pass,” he said, “know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand:” “and take heed to yourselves; . . . for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:31, 34, 35. Those who give no thought to the things of God do not perceive them, but the faithful recognize them. The cry to men to repent before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, has gone forth over the earth. Some have taken the warning; but many, very many, persist in walking in indifference or in unbelief, sealing their own destruction ere long. If in the year 78, some one had cried to the thoughtless inhabitants of Herculaneum and Pompeii: Make ready; for within a year you will be destroyed with fire and ashes within your cities, they would have treated him as though he were a madman. And yet when they least expected it they were destroyed. If in the year 1755, some one had proclaimed to the inhabitants of Lisbon: Save yourselves, for next month the earth will be convulsed, and you will perish within your houses, they would have railed upon him as a prophet of ill omen. And yet in a moment the ruin came. Now, when an infinitely greater cataclysm is coming, that will fall with appalling destruction, not upon a city or a province, but upon the whole earth, the voice of alarm has gone forth from West to East, from those who are watching the signs of the coming of our Lord; and few are those that heed it. “For, as the days of Noah were,” said our Lord, “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,” “and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” The events that are at present taking place in the East, following after other remarkable signs that have been already observed, are clearly pointed out in the word of God as precursory to the almost immediate coming of Christ upon the earth. We are not informed of the precise day in which he will come; but he said, among his last words, “When ye shall see all these things, know that the Son of man is at the door. Watch, therefore, and be ye ready; ‘for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’” Our Lord has told us that when he comes he will destroy all the wicked from off the face of the earth. The word of God has also told us how it will be done: “I will judge the nations with pestilence and with blood; every man's sword shall be against his brother.” God's word has told us that it is to be in the latter days, when a great army shall have come down from the north quarters, approaching the ancient country of Israel. A great army has come from the north. It has conquered its way in Asia Minor, a country close by the ancient land of Israel. The slaughter and the pestilence have already commenced in some countries. In other countries the same calamities are threatening. A religious war is expected, a war of fanaticism, of extermination, not in one but in many countries, East and West. Then the sword of every man will be turned against his brother; and in the midst of the destruction of the nations, the earth and the heavens will be torn with earthquake and thunder, and the Son of man will appear. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it. And this is even now coming upon us. In that day the just alone shall escape, those who have loved God, walked in his ways, and desired the coming of his Son. Every man shall be judged according to his works. Paul has described the works which will condemn us, making the following contrast: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft [spiritualism], hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” Gal. 5:19–24. Brethren, we have all sinned, but we can all be saved. Christ is now our Priest, Mediator, Confessor; and there is none other from whom salvation can be obtained. He has invited us all to come directly to him in repentance and prayer, and he will save us. The sacrifice which he made by dying for us will cleanse us from all sin and will give us everlasting life, provided we forsake iniquity and walk as he has told us to do. Let us examine, then, every one his own transgressions, let us confess them to him. He is present with us in Spirit, he sees us, he hears us; let us love him and deal every one justly with his neighbor. Then we shall be able to say with David: “God is our refuge and strength, therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” Brethren, search the word of God, and you will find in it all these things. GUARD US, PRECIOUS JESUS.
Guard us, precious Jesus,
Through life's weary way;
Lead us, guide us, keep us,
Lest we go astray.
What we know not, teach us;
Make our pathway clear;
Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Be thou always near. In the darkest hour
Let us see thy light,
By thy mighty power,
Making all things bright.
Lord, we know that never
We'll forgotten be,
But would trust thee ever,
If we cannot see. —Sel. L. E., Flint, Mich.: You will find a full explanation of the rich man and Lazarus in the Review, Nos. 18, 19 and 20 of last volume. J. Hackett: Verse 45 of Dan. 11, carries us to the end of the history of the king of the North. There is, therefore, a little variance from strict consecutive order in the events mentioned in this verse, and the first verse of chap. 12. The time of trouble culminates in the seven last plagues of Rev. 16; but Michael stands up before these plagues begin to fall, as they are judgments poured out when there is no mediator between God and man. Michael, therefore, stands up, or commences his reign, before the plagues begin to fall; but the great river Euphrates, which symbolizes the Turkish power, is not dried up until the sixth plague. S. Simons: For a discussion of the question, What was in the ark when it was brought into the temple of Solomon, and the harmony between Heb. 9: 4 and 1 Kings 8: 9, see the late work on the Sanctuary, published at this Office, pages 150 and 151. Do you consider it wrong to wear useful articles of gold, for instance a gold watch and chain, if they are not worn for show? I have no doubt of the sinfulness of wearing gold ear-drops, finger rings, shirt studs, etc., which are worn wholly for display. Does not the apostle recognize the difference when he speaks of “costly array,” and “adorn themselves”? 1 Tim. 2: 9. Adorn, says Webster, is to deck; to embellish; to decorate. E. R. J. Ans. Undoubtedly the apostle in warning us so explicitly against the wearing of gold, &c., has reference to the use of these articles for display; but we have never been able to see why a gold watch and chain would not come under the same head. If the movements in the watch are just as good and serviceable in a silver case as in a gold one, why take the gold one at so much greater expense, unless it is simply for its appearance, or in other words, for the show and display of the matter? Will you please explain Amos 6: 5, with its connections, including the last part of the fifth verse of 1 Chron., chap. 23, and harmonize them with the uses of organs and other instruments in the service of the Lord? G. K. G. Ans. The subject of Amos 6, is the wantonness of Israel. The prophet speaks of self-gratification, and their giving themselves up to the pleasures of this life. It is the use of instruments of music for this purpose that is condemned in Amos 6. But using them as David did, with reverence and adoration, to praise the Lord, was a different thing altogether, as different as the exercises of religious worship are from the displays of the theater or the orgies of the dance-house. A. P. Jones: In reference to John 3: 13, see “Answer to Correspondents” in Review, No. 5, present volume. Ella B.: According to the record there was an earthquake at the crucifixion, and another at the resurrection, of Christ. We think the saints who came out of their graves after Christ’s resurrection, ascended with him to Heaven. See Eph. 4: 8, margin. A subscriber from Tennessee, asks this question:— Please explain Prov. 16: 4. If God makes the wicked for the day of evil, are they responsible for their wickedness? Ans. In reply we give the following on this passage from Dr. Clarke: “ ‘Even the wicked for the day of evil,] vegam rasha leyom raah.’ The whole verse is translated by the Chaldee thus: ‘All the works of the Lord are for those who obey him; and the wicked is reserved for the evil day.’ “If we take the words as they stand in our present version, they mean no more than what is expressed by the Chaldee and Syriac: and as far as we can learn from their present confused state, by the Septuagint and Arabic, that the wicked are reserved for the day of punishment. Coverdale has given, as he generally does, a good sense: ‘The Lord doth all things for his own sake; yea, and when he keepeth the ungodly for the day of wrath.’ He does not make the wicked or ungodly man; but when man has made himself such, even then God bears with him. But if he repent not, when the measure of his iniquity is filled up, he shall fall under the wrath of God, his Maker.” Which is correct, the text of Heb. 10: 2, as it stands in our version, or the marginal reading? E. F. D. The sense is the same in both. As it stands in the text, it is a question “Would they not have ceased to be offered?” the interrogative form being used to strengthen the assertion that they would have ceased to be offered, as expressed in the margin. Mrs. M. Brown: If the crucifixion of Christ took place on Thursday, Friday was the day employed in preparing the spices and ointments to embalm him, after which the holy women “rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” The nine texts quoted to prove eternal misery are all examined in the work on Man’s Nature and Destiny. Hebrews 4 speaks of the “rest” ordained of God, and promised to those who would not give way to unbelief. Although Joshua led Israel into Canaan, he did not give the people that promised rest. Verse 8. It is yet future. The word Jesus is unfortunately used in the text, because the Greek Iesous, which we translate, Jesus, is the same form used to express the Hebrew, Joshua, the later name for Joshua. M. E. Kinne: P. Z. Kinne’s address is Kirkville, Onondaga Co., N. Y. The address of D. W. Emerson we do not know. Answered by Letter. J. M. Adams, James Walker, D. House, A. Butler, J. P. Henderson. WANTED—A LANGUAGE THAT MEANS SOMETHING.
We rise from the perusal of those works which are written to prove the eternal conscious suffering of the wicked, with a lively sense of the lack that still exists in the English language, and in all others, if their reasoning is correct. For it appears, if we admit their claims, that there are certain conceivable ideas in regard to the future condition of the wicked, which language, so far as at present written or spoken, has no terms to express. For instance, it can be conceived that the wicked might, after a limited period in the future, have no further life, that they might cease to exist, have no organization, no powers of body or mind, and nothing to constitute individuality or consciousness, any more than if they had never been created. The only terms which we have to express such ideas are to die, be destroyed, perish, be consumed, burnt up, devoured, cut off, rooted out of the land of the living, turned into ashes, be as though they had not been, &c. These terms are all used in reference to the wicked; yet we are gravely told that on such a subject they don’t convey any such ideas as above suggested, but, rather, that the wicked will live forever in the very midst of the most destructive agents known in the laboratory of nature. We have just been reading a little pamphlet by A. Campbell on Life and Death, which suggests the heading prefixed to these remarks. He admits that the terms, death, destruction, perdition, damnation, everlasting destruction, to be destroyed, to perish, &c., are all applied to the future condition of the wicked. Yet he coolly and deliberately goes to work to prove that all these words have in these cases the signification of continued existence, or, at least, that they sustain the idea of eternal conscious suffering. Now we would sincerely ask any writer of that school to tell us what terms God should have employed if he had really intended to convey the idea that the wicked would suffer an absolute extinction of personal being. Every term known to the English language, which could be used to express or imply such an idea, is applied in the Scriptures to the wicked. Yet Mr. Campbell takes them through all these, and brings them out alive and well; yes, so intensely alive, and with such tremendous powers of being, that they can endure hell’s hottest flames to all eternity. They have died; but lo! they are still alive. They have been burnt up root and branch; but that hasn’t effected anything; they are still all there. They have perished; but they still exist. They have consumed away into smoke; yet there they are, personal beings, as full in form and weight as before. They have been devoured; but the devourer has been thwarted, and they are still unchanged. They have “become as though they had not been”; but lo! they still have being as much as ever they had. The first part of all these propositions the Bible affirms; the last part theologians affirm. And this being the condition of this question, either the Bible or theology must back down, or we are still in want of a language that means something. The manner in which Mr. Campbell endeavors to defend his use of the terms perish, destroy, die, &c., strikes us as peculiarly unworthy a logician and a religious teacher. Concisely stated it is this: He takes one of these terms and says, “Let us see if it always and invariably has the sense of extinction of being. If it does not, then it does not mean that when applied to the future condition of the wicked.” Then finding a passage in which the word is used in a limited or figurative sense, he claims his point as established. Should this principle be adopted generally in the treatment of language, it would destroy all the utility of language; for it would be impossible for men to communicate their ideas intelligibly one to another. For instance, we hear that a friend is dead; but we find him only suffering severely (for to die, theologically, only means to be unhappy, to suffer); another took passage on the steamer, and was lost; but we find he only encountered a few storms, and had some unpleasant experiences on the journey; others we hear were caught in a prairie snow storm, lost their way and perished; but we find them all alive, only a little frost-bitten. Thus we never should know what to depend upon, nor what to understand from what was written. Why treat the word of God in this dishonorable manner? That there is a figurative use, not a figurative meaning, of these words, we know; but this must be determined by their literal use and by their fixed and determinate meaning. What idea could possibly be gathered from the expressions “dead to sin,” and “dead in trespasses and sins,” unless the word, dead, had a determinate meaning, and signified some fixed condition, from which, as a basis, a figurative use of the word could be derived. Whether a word is used figuratively or literally must be determined by the subject and the context. But there is nothing in God’s threatenings against sin and evil-doers to show that his language is to be taken in any other than its literal sense. Then let the believers in eternal misery tell us what terms should have been employed to express it, if the utter destruction of the wicked as personal conscious beings had been intended, before they longer contend that such a condition is not described by the terms already given us. MANY CALLED, FEW CHOSEN.
By E. F. Cottrell
God has taken special care to make himself known to mankind in different ages of the world; but our fallen race have not desired “to retain God in their knowledge,” and therefore the mass have been given over to a reprobate mind. The antediluvians might have had the knowledge of God, but they chose the way of corruption, violence, and sin, and therefore God gave them, and all future generations, the proof of his existence, his power, and justice, and of the hatefulness of sin and surety of retribution. Again we find the world given to idolatry, and Abraham and his posterity were singled out, not because of God’s partiality to them as a whole (for most of them proved unbelieving and rebellious), but to keep alive the knowledge of God in the earth; so that all, Jews or Gentiles, might choose the service of God and eternal life, if they would. And when for their sins Jerusalem was destroyed and the people carried captive into Babylon, the Lord made it a special occasion to make himself known in all the earth. By being brought in contact with Daniel and his companions, Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was humbled, so that he proclaimed the name and wonders of the Most High, the “King of Heaven,” to “all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth” (Dan. 3 and 4); and after this Darius the Median made a decree that in “every dominion” men should “tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,” declaring to all nations that “he is the living God,” who “worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth.” Dan. 6. It is reasonable to suppose that some were benefited and prepared for salvation by these means; but still the mass of men were willing to ignore God and cleave to their sins and follies, and go on in the broad road to perdition. Many were called, but few chosen. At length the promised Messiah came, of whom the devout among mankind were in expectation, Gentiles as well as Jews; for the Scriptures containing the promises and appointing the time, had, by God’s providence, been translated into the Greek; and by this means the “wise men from the East” were on the lookout, being “in expectation,” as well as devout Jews, “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” And then the mighty miracles of Christ and his tragic death, in which Roman governors as well as Jews took a part, were soon made known in all the earth. Thus the proclamation went to the multitudes far and near, calling them to repent and believe the glad tidings. Many were called, and, thank God, a few of them were chosen. But soon those nations which had enjoyed the light of the gospel relapsed into darkness and idolatry, while others more remote were illuminated with its rising rays. The whole world might now have been in the light, if the light had been cherished; but the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not willing to retain the knowledge of his ways and requirements. And now in the closing of the gospel age the light of God, through his word and providence, is illuminating the world as never before. Prophecies fulfilled and fulfilling clearly point to the present time, as the day of God’s preparation. Messages from Heaven, clearly foretold 1800 years ago, are now being proclaimed to “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Many are being called; but, as it has been before, many will reject the glad tidings, while the few, faithful and obedient, will receive, hold fast, and endure, and thus be saved. And not all who professedly accept the last message of the gospel will be saved. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these will fail to walk in the light; and for this reason will not endure the fiery trials that lie before us. Even now they shrink from bearing the cross before an evil and rebellious generation, yielding to fashionable folly, rather than to stand boldly for the truth and the right. Many who have for years been connected with the people of God under this message will only be like the chaff—a needful support to the grain while it is53 ripening—and of no further use. Can it be so? O my soul! Yes, dreadful as the thought may be! But you and I, my brother, my sister, may be saved, if we will. We may be reckoned with the chosen few. God only asks for entire consecration of all that we have and are to serve the interests of his cause. This we can give. We can now give a whole sacrifice of ourselves and all we possess, live out the faith that we profess, and lay hold on eternal life. Will we do it? While in the providence of God the world is being aroused by the last call of mercy, will we sacrifice all to have a part in the work? Remember that to the saved it will be said, “Well done!” not well said, well believed, nor even well prayed; for “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” See Matt. 7: 21-23. Many, the Lord Jesus assures us, will hear the word, Depart! But still it is our privilege so to believe and do that we may hear instead, Come, ye blessed of my Father. May God bless these thoughts to the salvation of some! E. F. Cottrell. In the World’s Crisis of Jan. 9, 1878, appeared the following:— “It will be remembered by many of our readers, that Eld. M. E. Cornell has been one of the leading men in the Seventh-day Sabbath movement among those who have their headquarters at Battle Creek, Mich. Eld. James White, husband of Mrs. Ellen G. White, used to call Eld. Cornell his ‘Great Battle Ax.’ One who knows, when speaking of Eld. Cornell, says, ‘He has left off keeping the seventh day.’ “The writer has had three discussions with Eld. Cornell on the Seventh-day Sabbath questions. There must be quite a change in his mind, and no doubt for good reasons. He has contended long and earnestly that Christians should keep Saturday as their rest-day. He was most thoroughly posted in all that could be said in its favor. We are glad to learn that the light has at last dispelled the darkness. In a few days we received the following from one who does know, in reference to this matter:— “EDITOR REVIEW: I have seen the statement of Miles Grant in the Crisis, that I had given up the Sabbath, &c., and I wish to say that it is utterly without foundation in fact. I have not ‘left off keeping the seventh day,’ neither do I ever expect to, except from week to week. I only leave off keeping it on Saturday night at sunset, and take it up again the next Friday night at sunset. “The impression conveyed in the Crisis is most unqualifiedly false, and I conclude that ‘the wish was father of the thought.’ I would assure Eld. Miles Grant, and all others, that, should occasion require, I could just as zealously and conscientiously defend the Sabbath of the Lord against their attacks as ever I did in the past. “No! it is well understood by all who reside in this vicinity that I do religiously observe the Bible Sabbath for Bible reasons. Whatever may come, I expect to continue its observance to the end. I have known some to give up the Sabbath through discouragements, but never one for what he supposed to be Bible reasons. I have never for one moment entertained a doubt as to the obligation of the seventh-day Sabbath since I began to observe it twenty-six years ago. Respectfully, Thinking that the paper which had made the misstatement was the one that could most effectually correct it, and that it ought, in fairness, to make the correction, we sent the foregoing letter to the Crisis, requesting for it an early insertion. And while we think that justice demanded that the letter should be given in full, the following did appear in the Crisis of Feb. 6, 1878, which is more than we could have hoped from the Crisis under its former management:— “We published in a recent issue of the Crisis a note from Bro. Grant, in which he says of Eld. M. E. Cornell: ‘One who knows says, he has left off keeping the seventh day.’ We have received a note from Eld. Cornell, in which he says of this report, ‘I wish to say that it is utterly without foundation.’ We are happy to make the correction, for we would not knowingly misrepresent any person in our paper.—Ed.”