Earlier text: God Cares! Do We?Life Only in Christ
By W. A. S.
Man’s Nature and His State in Death
A wide-open door for Spiritualism is afforded by the teaching that man has life in himself,—immortality by nature,—and that death is not really death, but another form of life. The Scriptures close this door of peril, teaching us that man is mortal, that death is really death, and that immortality is the gift of God through Christ by the resurrection from the dead. Clearly and definitely the Bible teaches that God only has immortality:— “The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality.” 1 Tim. 6: 15, 16.
This scripture disposes of every idea that man is immortal by nature, and opens the way for a consideration of the Scripture teaching concerning man’s nature, his state in death, and the promise of life and immortality in Christ. The word “mortal” as used in that ancient question by Eliphaz describes man’s nature:— “Shall mortal man be more just than God?” Job 4: 17.
In the creation, life was conditional upon the creature’s relation to Christ the Creator, in whom all things consist:— “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life.” John 1: 3, 4.
He was, as the psalmist says, “the fountain of life.” Cut off from vital connection with him, there could be no continuance of life. The Lord warned Adam that his life was conditional upon obedience. “In the day that thou eatest thereof,” he said of the forbidden tree, “thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2: 17. It was a declaration that man was not immortal, but was dependent for life upon God. When man rejected God by unbelief and sin, the sentence must have been executed—death eternal—had not the plan of salvation intervened. But as the stroke of divine justice was falling upon the sinner, the Son of God interposed himself and received the blow. “He was bruised for our iniquities.” In the divine plan, the great sacrifice for man was as sure then as later on at Calvary. Christ was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” And there, Adam, the sinner, with fallen human nature now, was granted an extension of life, every moment of which, for him and for his posterity, was the purchase of Christ by his own death, in order that in this time of probation man might find the forgiveness of sin and assurance of life to come. Originally Adam was placed on probation, and had he continued faithful, the gift of immortality must have been given him; for, as the original plan is carried out through Christ, “the Second Adam,” the gift of immortality is bestowed upon all who pass the test of the judgment and are found in Christ, in whom alone is life. Having fallen, Adam, possessed of a sinful nature, must die. “The wages of sin is death.” It was impossible that sin should be immortalized in God’s universe. So, inasmuch as the tree of life in Eden had been made the channel of continuance of life to man, the Lord said:— “Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.” Gen. 3: 22, 23.
This negatives the idea that there could ever be an immortal sinner marring God’s creation forever. Sin works out nothing but death. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1: 15. Fallen himself, Adam could bequeath to his posterity only a fallen, mortal nature. So began the sad history summed up in the text:— “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5: 12.
Mortality is written upon all creation. Ages ago the wise man wrote, “There is one event unto all: . . . after that they go to the dead.” Eccl. 9: 3. Human hearts everywhere and in all time have cried out against the remorselessness of the great enemy. “Do people die with you?” was the question met by Livingstone in the untraveled wilds of Africa. “Have you no charm against death?” The Greek as well as the barbarian confessed the helplessness of man before the great enemy. Centuries before Christ, Sophocles, the Athenian, wrote: “Wonders are many! and none is there
greater than man, who
Steers his ship over the sea, driven on
by the south wind,
Cleaving the threatening swell of the
waters around him.
“He captures the gay-hearted birds; he
entangles adroitly
Creatures that live on the land and the
brood of the ocean,
Spreading his well-woven nets. Man
full of devices!
“Speech and swift thought free as wind,
the building of cities;
Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain,
and to temper
Sharp-biting frost—all these hath he
taught himself. Surely
Stratagem hath he for all that comes!
Never the future
Finds him resourceless! Deftly he
combats grievous diseases,
Oft from their grip doth he free himself.
Death alone vainly—
Vainly he seeks to escape; ’gainst death
he is helpless.”
—Chorus from Antigone.6
What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity’s helplessness before death, the great enemy. But when Adam went out of Eden, it was with the assurance of life from the dead, if faithful, through the promised Seed. It is the message of the one gospel for all time—life, everlasting life in Christ Jesus:— “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16.
As there is none other name under heaven by which men can be saved, so there is no other way of everlasting life or immortality, save in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2. When Life and Immortality are to be Bestowed.
Christ said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11: 25. He has turned death—that would have been eternal—into a little time of sleep, from which he will awaken the believer to immortality. It is in the resurrection of the last day that immortality is bestowed:— “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15: 52-54.
Not until the resurrection, “at the last trump,” is immortality conferred upon the redeemed. Note that it is not something immortal putting on immortality; but “this mortal” puts on immortality. Mortal man, raised to life, is given the overcomer’s reward—everlasting life. Mark this: there is no life after death save by the resurrection. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, . . . then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Cor. 15: 13-18.
This resurrection, as stated by the apostle Paul, is not at death, but in the last day, when Christ shall come and all his children that are in their graves shall hear his voice. Jesus says,— “This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6: 40.
That is why the coming of Christ has been the “blessed hope” of all the ages. Between death and the resurrection, the dead sleep. Jesus declares that death is a sleep. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” John 11: 11. It is the language of inspiration throughout. The patriarch Job said:— “Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [as the heavens are rolled back as a scroll at Christ’s coming], they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Job 14: 10-12.
This was no indistinct hope to the believer in God’s promises. The patriarch continued:— “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” Verses 14, 15.
He tells us of the place of his waiting for the Life-giver’s call: “If I wait, the grave is mine house.” Job 17: 13. There is where Christ will call for his own when he comes. “The hour is coming,” he said, “in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” John 5: 28, 29. Death is an unconscious sleep. It must of necessity be so; for death is the opposite of life. Therefore there is no consciousness of the passing of time to those who sleep in death. It is as if the eyes closed in death one instant, and the next instant, to the believer’s consciousness, is the awakening of the last day, the glorious voice of Jesus calling to glad immortality, the angels catching up the loved ones to meet Jesus in the air. A few scriptures, out of many, suffice to show that man is not conscious in death:— “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146: 4.
“The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything. . . . Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Eccl. 9: 5, 6.
Death is a sleep until the resurrection. Then the Lord will bring forth from the dust the same person who was laid away in death. Some have said that this Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead until the resurrection is a gloomy one. Popular tradition thinks of the blessed dead as going at once to heaven, which, say some, is a beautiful thought. But they forget that the same teaching consigns their unbelieving friends to immediate torment—and that, too, while awaiting the judgment of the last day. No; the Bible teaching is the cheering doctrine, the “blessed hope.” All the faithful of all the ages are going into the kingdom together. This blessed truth appeals to the spirit that loves to wait and share joys and good things with loved ones. Of the faithful of past ages, the apostle says:— “These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Heb. 11: 39, 40.
They are waiting, that all together the saved may enter in. David was a man of God, but the apostle Peter, speaking by the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, declared to the people of the city of David: “He is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. . . . For David is not ascended into the heavens.” Acts 2: 29-34. They without us have not been made perfect. They are all awaiting that glad day toward which the apostle Paul turned the last look of mortal vision:— “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me in that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8.
What joy in that day to march in through the gates into the eternal city, with Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, and Paul, and all the faithful, and the loved ones of our own home circles, and dear comrades in service, every one clothed with immortality, the gift of God in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. In a word, the Scripture teaches that God alone hath immortality, that man is mortal, that death is a sleep, that life after death comes only by the resurrection of the last day, that the righteous then are given immortality. Further, the Scriptures teach that later there will be a resurrection of the unjust, not unto life, but unto death, the second death, from which there is no release. Every doctrine of Scripture and of the gospel is in accord with this Bible teaching as to man’s nature and his state in death. But the traditional view of the natural immortality of the soul and of life in death, nullifies the Bible doctrines of life only in Christ, and the resurrection, and the judgment, and the giving of the rewards at Christ’s coming, and the final judgment upon the wicked and its execution. A Few Questions Briefly Considered
“But,” says one, “did not the Lord put into man an immortal soul?”—No; the Scripture says:— “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Gen. 2: 7.
The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving breath was breathed into his nostrils, the man himself became a living soul, a living being. The ordinary version (King James) gives “a living soul” in the margin of Gen. 1: 30, as showing the same expression used of all the animal creation in the inspired Hebrew text. The famous Methodist commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, “living soul:” “A general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations.”
2. Are “Soul” and “Spirit” Deathless?
“But are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?” questions another. No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words “soul” and “spirit:”— “The Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated, occur in the Bible, as we have seen, seventeen hundred times. Surely, once at least in that long list we shall be told that the soul is immortal, if this is its high prerogative. Seventeen hundred times we inquire if the soul is once said to be immortal, or the spirit deathless. And the invariable and overwhelming response we meet is, Not once!”—“Here and Hereafter,” by U. Smith, p. 65.
On the contrary, the Lord declares, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18: 20. It means that the person that sins shall die; for soul, mind, heart, spirit, are used to express life or the seat of the affections or of the intellect. One may commend his soul to God, or his spirit to God (really his life to the keeping of God), until the great day of the resurrection. The word “soul” is used for all animal life in New Testament usage as well as in the Old; as, “And every living soul died in the sea.” Rev. 16: 3. 3. The Thief on the Cross.
But did not Christ promise the thief on the cross that he would be with him that day in Paradise?—No; for Paradise is where God’s throne is, and the tree of life, and the city of God, the capital of Christ’s kingdom; and three days later Christ had not yet ascended to the Father. “Touch me not,” he said to Mary after his resurrection; “for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” John 20: 17. The dying thief, therefore, was not with him in Paradise three days before. Nor did the thief’s question suggest such a thought. His faith grasped Christ’s resurrection, the resurrection of his children, and the coming kingdom; and that day on the cross, in the moment of the deepest humiliation of the Son of God, the repentant sinner cried, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” And the Saviour replied, “Verily I say unto thee today”—this day, when the world scoffs and the darkness presses upon me, this day I say it—“shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23: 42, 43. The punctuation that makes it read, “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” is not a part of the sacred text, and puts the Saviour’s promise in contradiction with the facts of the whole narrative and the teaching of Scripture. 4. The Rich Man and Lazarus.
“Then there is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,” one says, “where Lazarus and Dives are talking, though dead—Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom and the rich man in torment.” But that is a parable; and no one can set the figures of a parable against the facts of positive Scripture. In parables, lessons are often taught by figurative language and imaginary scenes which could never be real, though the lesson is emphasized the more forcefully. In the parable of Judges 9, the trees are represented as holding a council and talking with one another. No one mistakes the lesson of the parable or supposes that the trees actually talked. So in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the lesson is taught that uprightness in this life, even though with deepest poverty, will be rewarded in the future life; while uncharitable selfishness will surely bring one to ruin and destruction. In the face of the Bible teaching, no one can turn this parable into actual narrative, representing that the saved in glory are now looking over the battlements of heaven and talking with the lost amid the flames. This is not the picture that the Scriptures give us of heaven, nor of the state of the dead, nor of the time and circumstances of the final rewards or punishments. “He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile,” The Dark Day of 1780
By L. L. C.
Signs of Christ’s Coming—No. 2
THE time of the dark day which was to be a sign of Christ’s coming is given by Matthew as “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” A description of those days of persecution and their shortening for the elect’s sake, had been given in the preceding verses, in these words:— “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matt. 24: 21, 22. We are then to look for the occurrence of a dark day soon after the influence of the German Reformation and the French Revolution had wrought such religious and civil changes throughout Europe that the power of the Papacy to persecute heretics in any country was practically gone. The prophet Isaiah, in his description of this same sign, pointed out the time of day when the darkening was to occur:— “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” Isa. 13: 9, 10. The fulfilment corresponded with remarkable exactness to the prophecy. We quote from memoirs written and published within five years of the event:— “The time of the extraordinary darkness was May 19, 1780. It came on between the hours of 10 and 11 A. M., and continued until the middle of the next night, but with different appearance at different places. As to the manner of its approach it seemed to appear first of all in the southwest. The wind came from that quarter, and the darkness appeared to come on with the clouds that came in that direction. The degree to which the darkness arose was different in different places. In most parts of the country it was so great that people were unable to read common print, determine the time of the day by their clocks or watches, dine, or manage their domestic business, without the light of candles. In some places the darkness was so great that persons could not see to read common print in the open air, for several hours together; but I believe this was not generally the case. The extent of this darkness was remarkable. Our intelligence in this respect is not so particular as I could wish; but from the accounts that have been received it seems to have extended all over the New England States. It was observed as far east as Falmouth. To the westward we hear of its reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To the southward it was observed all along the seacoasts, and to the north as far as our settlements extend. It is probable it extended much beyond these limits in some directions, but the exact boundaries cannot be ascertained by any observations that I have been able to conduct. With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at least fourteen hours; but it is probable this was not exactly the same in different parts of the country. The appearance and effects were such as tended to make the prospect extremely dull and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the birds, having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; the fowls retired to roost: the cocks were crowing all around, as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night.”—Mem-oirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: to the End of the Year 1783, Vol. I, pp. 234, 235. Boston: printed by Adams and Nourse, in Court Street, 1785. The account given in a history of the United States, published only two decades after the event, is of interest, as it tells in more detail of the darkening of the moon on the following night:— “This day [May 19, 1780] has been rendered very remarkable by an extraordinary phenomenon, which demands a particular relation. An unusual darkness came on between the hours of ten and eleven in the morning, and continued to increase. Your friend, having been accustomed to dark days in London, and frequently observed from his study the bright shining sun gradually, and at length totally, eclipsed as it descended8 behind the thick vapor which hung over the city, regarded it with no special attention till called to do it by his neighbors who were much alarmed. He dined by candlelight about one. After that it grew much lighter, and he walked about five o’clock to a tavern, a mile distant, on the road to Boston, to meet a select committee of Roxbury, on special business. When they had finished, about eight at night, he set out for home, not suspecting but that, being fully acquainted with every foot of the road, he should easily return, notwithstanding its being extremely dark. “There were houses all the way, though at a considerable distance from each other. He marked the candlelight of one, and with that in his eye, went forward till he got up to it; but remarked that the appearance of the place was so different from what was usual that he could not believe it to be what it was, had it not been from his certain knowledge of its situation. He caught the light of a second house, which he also reached; and thus on. At length, the light being removed from the last he had gained sight of, ere he was up with it, he found himself in such profound darkness as to be incapable of proceeding, and therefore returned to the house he had passed, and procured a lantern. Several of the company, having farther to go, were on horseback. The horses could not see to direct themselves; and by the manner in which they took up and put down their feet on plain ground, appeared to be involved in total darkness, and to be afraid lest the next step should plunge them into an abyss. The gentlemen soon stopped at another tavern, and waited for the benefit of the moon; but after a while, finding that the air received no accession of light from it, when they were certain it was risen they had recourse to candles to assist them in getting home. In some instances horses felt the forcible operation of the darkness so strongly that they could not be compelled by their masters to quit the stable at night, when wanted for a particular service. The shifting of the wind put an end to it, and at midnight it was succeeded by a bright moon and starlight.”—The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the United States of America, by William Gordon, D. D., 3 vols., Vol. III, pp. 56, 57. New York, 1801. As we see that these signs have already been fulfilled, let us rejoice, remembering the words of Luke 21: 28:— “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Every additional sign that we shall find has been fulfilled should but make our joy the greater as it shows the day of Christ’s coming to be even still nearer. Marriage with Unbelievers
By Ellen G. White
(A Personal Letter to a Young Sister) DEAR SISTER: I have heard of your contemplated marriage with one who is not united with you in religious faith, and I fear that you have not carefully weighed this important matter. Before taking a step which is to exert an influence upon all your future life, I urge you to give the subject careful and prayerful deliberation. Will this new relationship prove a source of true happiness? Will it be a help to you in the Christian life? Will it be pleasing to God? Will your example be a safe one for others to follow? Before giving her hand in marriage, every woman should inquire whether he with whom she is about to unite her destiny is worthy. What has been his past record? Is his life pure? Is the love which he expresses of a noble, elevated character, or is it a mere emotional fondness? Has he the traits of character that will make her happy? Can she find true peace and joy in his affection? Will she be allowed to preserve her individuality, or must her judgment and conscience be surrendered to the control of her husband? As a disciple of Christ, she is not her own; she has been bought with a price. Can she honor the Saviour’s claims as supreme? Will body and soul, thoughts and purposes, be preserved pure and holy? These questions have a vital bearing upon the well-being of every woman who enters the marriage relation. Religion is needed in the home. Only this can prevent the grievous wrongs which so often embitter married life. Only where Christ reigns, can there be deep, true, unselfish love. Then soul will be knit with soul, and the two lives will blend in harmony. Angels of God will be guests in the home, and their holy vigils will hallow the marriage chamber. Debasing sensuality will be banished. Upward to God will the thoughts be directed; to him will the heart’s devotion ascend. The heart yearns for human love, but this love is not strong enough or pure enough or precious enough to supply the place of the love of Jesus. Only in her Saviour can the wife find wisdom, strength, and grace to meet the cares, responsibilities, and sorrows of life. She should make him her strength and her guide. Let woman give herself to Christ before giving herself to any earthly friend, and enter into no relation which shall conflict with this. Those who would find true happiness, must have the blessing of heaven upon all that they possess, and all that they do. It is disobedience to God that fills so many hearts and homes with misery. My sister, unless you would have a home where the shadows are never lifted, do not unite yourself with one who is an enemy of God. As one who expects to meet these words in the judgment, I entreat you to ponder the step you contemplate taking. Ask yourself, “Will not an unbelieving husband lead my thoughts away from Jesus? He is a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God; will he not lead me to enjoy the things that he enjoys?” The path to eternal life is steep and rugged. Take no additional weights to retard your progress. You have too little spiritual strength, and you need help instead of hindrance. The Lord commanded ancient Israel not to intermarry with the idolatrous nations around them: “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy9 son.” The reason is given. Infinite Wisdom, foreseeing the result of such unions, declares: “For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.” “For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.” In the New Testament are similar prohibitions concerning the marriage of Christians with the ungodly. The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, declares: “The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.” Again, in his second epistle, he writes: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” My sister, dare you disregard these plain and positive directions? As a child of God, a subject of Christ’s kingdom, the purchase of his blood, how can you connect yourself with one who does not acknowledge his claims, who is not controlled by his Spirit? The commands I have quoted are not the word of man, but of God. Though the companion of your choice were in all other respects worthy (which he is not), yet he has not accepted the truth for this time; he is an unbeliever, and you are forbidden of Heaven to unite yourself with him. You cannot, without peril to your soul, disregard this divine injunction. I would warn you of your danger before it shall be too late. You listen to smooth, pleasant words, and are led to believe that all will be well; but you do not read the motives that prompt these fair speeches. You cannot see the depths of wickedness hidden in the heart. You cannot look behind the scenes, and discern the snares that Satan is laying for your soul. He would lead you to pursue such a course that he can obtain easy access to aim his shafts of temptation against you. Do not give him the least advantage. While God moves upon the minds of his servants, Satan works through the children of disobedience. There is no concord between Christ and Belial. The two cannot harmonize. To connect with an unbeliever is to place yourself on Satan’s ground. You grieve the Spirit of God and forfeit his protection. Can you afford to have such terrible odds against you in fighting the battle for everlasting life? You may say, “But I have given my promise, and shall I now retract it?” I answer, If you have made a promise contrary to the Scriptures, by all means retract it without delay, and in humility before God repent of the infatuation that led you to make so rash a pledge. Far better take back such a promise, in the fear of God, than keep it, and thereby dishonor your Maker. Remember, you have a heaven to gain, an open path to perdition to shun. God means what he says. When he prohibited our first parents from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their disobedience opened the floodgates of woe to the whole world. If we walk contrary to God, he will walk contrary to us. Our only safe course is to render obedience to all his requirements, at whatever cost. All are founded in infinite love and wisdom.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. V, pp. 361-365. Christians of Depth
By John R. Mott
WE need in these days more Christians of depth who have sunk shafts into God's unexploited truths. It takes time to have a realizing sense of sin as well as a realizing sense of God. Solitude is as essential for meditation as society for knowledge of men.—John R. Mott. What is Jesus to Me?
By MRS. MARY H. WILLIAMS
O WORLD'S Redeemer, Priest, and King!
O Lamb of Calvary!
All Christendom thy praises sing;
But what are thou to me? Art thou my Saviour, Friend, and Guide,
The Bread of Life to me?
Are all my wants in thee supplied?
Do I abide in thee? Do I with patient heart endure
The straitness of the way?
Ah, flowery paths so oft allure,
And tempt my feet to stray! But oh, amid life's storms, in fear
Of ills that compass me,
Thou, Lord, my strong high tower, art
near;
For refuge there I flee! How sweet to know, in heaven, where
Our great high priest thou art,
Still, like an ephod, thou dost bear
Our names upon thy heart! Before God's throne plead thou our
cause,
And in the soul's distress
Replace the guilt of broken laws
With thine own righteousness. My soul's refiner! cleanse thou me,
Enduring grace impart,
Till thine own image thou canst see
Reflected in my heart. Would I for rarest gift of earth
Exchange this hope in thee?
Ah! now I know thy priceless worth,
Thou'rt everything to me. “The Nations Were Angry”
By B. G. WILKINSON
The general testimony of great writers and thinkers today is that the present war in Europe is the most colossal exhibition of clashing nations the world has ever seen. President Wilson says: “It seems as if great blind material forces had been released which had for long been held in leash and restrained. . . . You will see that it is only in such general terms that one can speak in the midst of a confused world, because, as I have already said, no man has the key to this confusion.”—Speech to Methodist Conference, April 8, 1915. Despite President Wilson’s opinion, there is a key to this situation, and it is found in the Word of God. The Bible is a reliable forecaster. It alone can tell history in advance. James J. Hill, the great empire builder of the Northwest, about a month ago declared that the present world situation is the worst that the earth has ever seen. Kipling, England’s great poet, writes that he sees nothing ahead but universal ruin. James R. Mann, Republican floor leader of the House of Representatives, said, Oct. 2, 1914, in a carefully prepared speech: “I have no doubt that it is as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow, that a conflict will come between the Far East and the Far West, across the Pacific Ocean.” What are these speakers saying?—Simply what the apostolic preacher wrote two millenniums ago. “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets.” Rev. 11:18. Though these eminent writers, while speaking of the angry nations, say nothing about the judgment of the dead, the outpouring of God’s wrath in the seven last plagues, and the final reward of the saints; yet these also are soon going to be talked about. The colossal significance of the European war is not the war itself, but the great events which cluster around it. “The nations were angry.” What makes them angry? Rev. 12:12 reads, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Many writers, describing the battles of this war, have said, “The men fought like demons.” The fiend spirit of Satan, then, has to do with war. Man sinned and suffered death; the devil sinned, but did not taste death. His day, however, is coming. Less than God, greater than man, this archdeceiver, who has power to transform himself into an angel of light, must soon face utter extinction. If he comes down “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time,” then the conclusion is sure that the shorter his time, the greater his wrath. To him could always be traced the wrath of the nations; and now this most terrible clash of races tells of Satan’s final efforts, for his end is drawing near. That this passion of the nations is the work of Satan, we can read again: “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs. . . . They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Rev. 16:13, 14. Man is praised for brilliant war organizations, yet Satan himself is the instigator of war. He plans wars to hinder the gospel. He organized the gigantic enterprise of building the tower of Babel, that an all-embracing reign of evil men might crush the coming Seed of the woman, promised in Eden. The greatness of the catastrophe involved in the anger of the nations may be seen by a statement in Rev. 16:12: “The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.” There may be a lull, perhaps a short period of peace, after the present war; but this conflict will be as nothing in comparison to the gigantic struggle that will follow. “Just exactly what the present war is about is susceptible of a dozen answers. But in the conflict of the future—the conflict that will begin around the peace-making council board, and that may end with new alliances on the battle field—there will be no difficulty in arriving at the explanation. That will be a war of races and of civilizations; the East against the West; the Asiatic against the European ideal.”—Washington Times, Sept. 2, 1914. Then will the promise of the last verses in the Bible be fulfilled: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.”