THE word “church,” in the New Testament, is always from ekklesia, which is defined, “an assembly.” Heb. 2:12—“in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee,”—is quoted from Ps. 22:22, where congregation is used. The original in the Hebrew is kah-hal, which also is defined “an assembly.” But Gesenius says it is used “mostly for religious purposes.” That is, kah-hal generally refers to an assembly or a congregation of the saints.
And the same is true of ekklesia in the New Testament. It is used 115 times, and of these it refers to the assembly of God’s people, or the church, 112 times, and is so rendered. The three exceptional cases are found in Acts 19:32, 39, 41, where it is rendered assembly, and does not refer to the church.
Of the word ekklesia Pickering’s Lexicon says: “A meeting or regular assembly of the people, distinguished into ranks and orders, in contradistinction from agora, a mixed and promiscuous assemblage.”
This is truth, which any one can verify by reading the New Testament. The church is a “regular assembly;” not an irregular, occasional, or promiscuous assembly. That it has ranks and orders, shows that it is an organized body, meeting from time to time by regular appointment. Thus, there was a church in Corinth, in Ephesus, in Galatia, etc. And that they were regular assemblies or organized bodies is shown in that they were bodies of continuance, with permanent officers set apart to certain duties. When Paul and Barnabas went to the work to which the Lord called them, they “ordained elders in every church.” Acts 14:23.
The churches also had a regular membership; each member being known as such to the officers and to the fellow-members. This is evident—it is necessarily so; for there cannot exist a regular assembly, an organized body, with permanent officers, without a regular membership. It is also shown by the directions given. They were to withdraw themselves from every one that walked disorderly. 2 Thess. 3:6. Of certain ones it was ordered: “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” 1 Cor. 5:13. “A man that is an heretic [schismatic], after the first and second admonition, reject.” Titus 3:10.
And this shows that, as an organized body, the church has a certain authority over its own membership; that is, it has the power of discipline. Thus, the Saviour himself said, in case of offenses:—
“If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a publican.” Matt. 18:15–17.
This is the original of Paul’s injunction to withdraw yourselves from, or put away from among you, the disorderly and the wicked. To neglect or refuse to hear the church is a grievous offense, because the church is composed of God’s own children, who bear responsibilities, and are granted exalted privileges, from the throne of Heaven; it “is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground [stay or support] of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:15.
And all this shows that the church is not only clothed with the power of discipline, but upon it is laid the duty of discipline. This is a most sacred duty, to be discharged with great care and humility. Discipline is necessary. The word of God is given for reproof and for correction, as well as for doctrine; without correction there will be no real instruction in righteousness. 2 Tim. 3:16. Human nature is refractory and self-willed. And not all are converted who profess the faith. The church is a household (Gal. 6:10; Eph. 2:19); the members need training, instruction, and help, as children. And inasmuch as it has officers, the order is given, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor.” 1 Tim. 5:17; and to the ruler it is said: “He that ruleth [let him do it], with diligence.” Rom. 12:8.
Although there are officers and rulers in the church, the final decision of cases of discipline is left with the body. “If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” The officers themselves are selected by the body. Acts 6:3–5. The authority is in the body; but it must be remembered that the officers are of the body, and if they are qualified for their position their judgment should be respected; indeed, the very idea of their being officers, and even rulers, shows that they should be respected because of their position. Paul admonishes the church “to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” 1 Thess. 5:12, 13.
There are several officers which belong to a local church: First, Elders, who may also be known by other titles, according to the work which their talents or circumstances will enable them to do. He should “rule well,” and he may be a “teacher” or “help,” and he may do the work of a “pastor.” All these are “set in the church,” and to some extent the elder must discharge the duty implied in all these titles, for it must be evident to every reader of the New Testament that the elder is not always spoken of by the same title.
Secondly, Deacons, to whom is assigned a specific work as a “help,” but mostly in secular or temporal matters. These are ordained officers.
Thirdly, Clerks; of these there is no mention made in the Scriptures. But as the deacons were appointed when they became necessary, so these are appointed of necessity. Every church must keep account of its own members, and should keep a record of its doings, and specially of its exercise of discipline. This can best be done by an appointed clerk; indeed, it cannot be done without a clerk. Therefore we must consider that they are a necessity.
There are other officers which do not belong to local churches, such as apostles, prophets, and evangelists. Of these we do not speak at present.
Fate of the Wicked.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
LESSON FROM THE JEWISH SACRIFICES.
THE prophet David had in his lifetime an experience similar to that of many others. That to which we refer is recorded in the seventy-third psalm. He thought things were very unequally and unjustly divided. He saw that the wicked were as a rule in better circumstances than the righteous; and in contemplating this, he came very near making shipwreck of his faith. Said he: “As for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death; but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. . . . Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. . . . And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” Verses 2–12.
As he contrasted his condition with theirs, he concluded that the service of the Lord didn’t pay. His words were: “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.” Verses 13, 14. How many people we have heard reason in the same way. “If God is just,” they say, “why does he allow Mr. A, who is a humble, devoted Christian, to suffer so much of poverty and sickness, while Mr. B, his blasphemous neighbor, has an abundance of everything, with nothing to trouble him?” It is shortsighted reasoning, as David himself found out, although not from his own reasoning as to what God ought to do. He continues: “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.” Verses 16–20.
In these verses we find a striking confirmation of the texts which have before been quoted as proving the final utter extinction of the wicked. Their present security is only apparent, not real; they are in slippery places, and are to be cast down to destruction. As in a moment they are to be brought into desolation. More than this, when the Lord arises to take vengeance on his adversaries, they are to be as a dream when one awakes from sleep—vanished into nothingness. As elsewhere expressed, they are to be “as the early dew that passeth away.”
All this the psalmist found out when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord. Let us, then, go in with him, and see for ourselves what is there taught concerning the fate of the wicked. It is evident that we must consider that part of the sanctuary service which has to do with sin, if we are to learn anything concerning the end of the wicked. This service is given somewhat at length in the fourth chapter of Leviticus. We will quote enough of the chapter to bring the matter directly before us:—
“And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the9place of the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto the Lord; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.” Lev. 4 : 27-31.
With some modifications, of a minor character, this was the ceremony to be performed when sin had been committed. The victim to be offered might be a bullock, a goat, a lamb, or a pigeon, according to the rank or wealth of the sinner, the poor not being required to bring so costly an offering as the wealthy. But in all the principle was the same, and that principle is so simple that a child can easily grasp it. The sinner, by laying his hands upon the head of the offering, transferred, in figure, his sins to the victim, which represented Christ, “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2 : 24. The offering having thus, in figure, received the sins of the transgressor, was slain, thus prefiguring Christ, who was “delivered for our offenses,” and who “died for the ungodly.” When this was done and the blood or flesh of the victim had been carried into the sanctuary, the man’s sins were forgiven him. If he remained penitent until the day of atonement, his sins were blotted out entirely when the sanctuary was cleansed. Lev. 17. In all this reference was had to Christ, who “appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
As the victim, when it had in figure received the sins of the transgressor, was slain, so Christ, when the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all, “poured out his soul unto death.” He died for us, “the just for the unjust;” thus showing what would be man’s fate had the offering not been made, or should he not accept it. And so, in the figure, the penitent Jew, as the victim bearing his sin was slain before his eyes, was reminded that “the wages of sin is death.” The victim was then burned to ashes, thus showing both the instrument and the completeness of the sinner’s destruction; and so the penitent was taught in a manner that he could not misunderstand nor forget, that “the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.”
Now no one can deny that these sacrifices typified Christ’s sacrifice, nor that Christ himself did really die for sinners, unless he denies the truth of the Bible. Then the conclusion is unavoidable that if Christ had not died all men must have died, for all men are sinners; and further, since “he was manifested to take away our sin,” thus saving us from death because he saves us from sin, it is just as evident that those who do not wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, will in the end perish. Their fate will be the same as though no sacrifice had been made. This is what David learned when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord, and this made him content with his hard lot.
One text more must suffice for the direct testimony concerning the destruction of the wicked. We give it because the contrast between the righteous and the wicked is so marked. It is Ps. 37 : 37, 38: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.” Note the contrast: The end of the upright is peace, but the end of the wicked shall be cut off. Dr. Barnes says that the word rendered “end” means properly “the last or extreme part; then, the end or issue of anything, that which comes after it; then, the after time, the future, the hereafter. Isa. 2 : 2; Micah 4 : 1; Gen. 49 : 1; Dan. 10 : 14. It may, therefore, refer to anything future; and would be well expressed by the word hereafter.” The Septuagint has engkataleimma, the meaning of which is, according to Liddell and Scott, “a remainder.” Substituting this meaning in the place of the word as translated, we get the full force of the text. Thus: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the remainder of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the remainder of the wicked shall be cut off.” And this agrees with what the psalmist says in the earlier part of this, and in the seventy-third psalm. The righteous, although they may be plagued and afflicted in this earth, will, in the new earth, “delight themselves in the abundance of peace” all the remainder of their lives, which will last to all eternity. But the remainder of the wicked, who now have all that they desire, shall be cut off. Nothing could more clearly express their utter extinction. “The end [remainder or hereafter] of the wicked shall be cut off;” i. e., there shall be no remainder to their lives. E. J. W.
The Holy Sabbath
By Editor
In a sermon before the Plenary Council, on “The Holy Sabbath,” Bishop Ryan uttered some things that Protestants would do well to consider. Among other things, he said, referring to the Catholic Church: “The authority that has transferred to the Sunday its binding obligation, is unquestionably the most and best qualified to determine the nature, condition, and extent of the obligations imposed.” True enough; and therefore before our “National Reform” friends proceed to extreme measures in enforcing Sunday observance, they should send a deputation to the pope—the “head of the church”—to get a definite statement as to how the Sunday should be kept. The Lord has said how his day should be observed; let the pope tell how his day is to be observed.
The Lord’s Supper and the Laying On of Hands.
By Editor
THE following earnest letter of inquiry to the editor was recently received from a reader of the SIGNS, in Iowa:—
“To-night I have finished the second reading of your work, ‘Thoughts on Baptism,’ particularly that part relating to trine immersion. I bitterly opposed the Adventists here in Iowa, for nearly two years, but now I inquire of them. Baptism has been the hardest point to yield, so far. (I was a trine immersionist.) I have been looking up your references as far as I am able, and so far I have found them correct. I have compared yours and J. H. Moore’s tract, and as the light comes in, I believe more and more in single immersion. I believe your tract [pamphlet] will settle the difficulty with me. But there are other things that I do not yet understand.
“Why do not the Adventists observe the Lord’s Supper? as it is evident the Lord with his apostles partook of a full meal. John 13:4. And in 1 Cor. 11:20, Paul speaks of the Lord’s Supper, and if a hint of it, as Paul gives, shows that such a thing did exist, why are not the Dunkards right in partaking of a full meal? They (the Dunkards) also lay hands on the baptized, that they may receive the Holy Ghost. Acts 8:17. Why do not the Adventists do so?
“I write this verily for information and explanations of the scriptures referred to. Please don’t delay. I desire to be in harmony with Christ and his people before probation closes. Yours fraternally, in hope. J. J. E.”
THE LORD’S SUPPER.
Our brother is mistaken in supposing that Adventists do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We judge, however, that he does not regard the ceremony which we observe as being really the Lord’s Supper, because it is not an ordinary, regular meal. That the Lord’s Supper, as celebrated by Adventists, and Christian churches generally, is identical in form with that instituted by our Lord, and that to make it an ordinary meal is a perversion of the ordinance, can be easily demonstrated by the Bible, to the satisfaction, we think, of our inquiring brother.
1. It is true that Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, does speak of a full meal in connection with the Lord’s Supper, but only to condemn the practice. In this first epistle the apostle corrects many errors of the Corinthian church. After rebuking certain other unseemly practices, he takes up their manner of celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and says (1 Cor. 11:20, 21): “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry and another is drunken.” That is to say, “Although you profess to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, you do not do it in fact, because you eat and drink to satisfy the demands of appetite.” No stronger evidence than these two verses is needed to show that those who partake of a full meal under the impression that they are celebrating the Lord’s Supper, are grievously mistaken. In astonishment at their obtuseness, the apostle continues: “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the house of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.”
2. Although the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was instituted on the night of the last Passover, it was entirely distinct from that meal. This is apparent from an examination of the records of the evangelists. Matthew says: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Chap. 26:26-28. Mark’s words are almost the same. Luke says (chap. 22:19, 20): “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
From these texts we learn (1) That it is only the bread and the wine that commemorate our Lord’s death; and (2) That these emblems were partaken of “after supper,” i. e., after the Passover meal. Both these points are very clearly made by Paul in 1 Cor. 11:23-26, after he had shown the Corinthians what the Lord’s Supper is not. We quote: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, also he took the cup, when he had supped [literally, “after the eating of the evening meal”], saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord’s death till he come.”10This is too plain to be misunderstood. Paul did not depend upon hearsay for his evidence, but received it directly from the Lord himself. All that they were to do in remembrance of Christ, as showing forth his death till he should come, was to break and eat bread, and drink of the cup; and this memorial was instituted after the supper was over, and was entirely distinct from it. The Lord’s Supper consists simply in partaking of the bread and the wine, emblems of the broken body and spilled blood of Christ; whatever more is added is a perversion of the ordinance. Since the institution of the memorial was entirely distinct from the Passover Supper, and had no reference to it, there is no more reason for having the celebration of the Lord’s Supper preceded by a full, ordinary meal, than there would be for introducing it by the performance of some other act of Christ on that day.
More proof might be given on this subject, but it would seem that these Bible statements of what the Lord’s Supper is, and the declaration by Paul that the eating of a meal is not the Lord’s Supper, should be sufficient to settle the matter.
LAYING ON OF HANDS.
To the question why the Adventists do not lay hands on baptized persons, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, it would be sufficient reply to say that no such act is commanded. The gospel commission (Matt. 28:19, 20) says nothing of the laying on of hands, in addition to baptism; consequently we have no authority for such a custom.
More than this, we find that the Holy Ghost was not given in a fixed, arbitrary manner, even in the apostles’ time. In the case cited, and in Acts 19:6, we learn that the apostles laid hands on baptized persons, who then received the Holy Ghost; but in Acts 10:44, 45 we have an instance where the Holy Ghost fell on a room full of people who had not been baptized, and without the imposition of human hands; and in the case of the conversion and baptism of the eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), which is related with great minuteness, we have no intimation concerning any act of laying on of hands. When the apostles laid hands on those whom they baptized, it seems to have been in view of an especial work which they were to perform.
With these facts before us, and others that might be cited, we think that Adventists would be acting in a very presumptuous and unwarranted manner, if, in partial imitation of the apostles, they should lay hands on people in order that they might receive the Holy Ghost. E. J. W.
The Missionary.
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
Australian Mission.
It is about twenty years since circumstances took place that first gave rise to an interest concerning missionary labor in Australia. It will be remembered that in the war between the North and the South, General Lyon was killed in Missouri, and was taken to Eastford, Connecticut, where he was buried. Many came from all that section of the country to attend the funeral. Hannah More, a missionary from Africa, then in this country on a visit, came to Eastford for that purpose. It so happened that the writer was then holding meetings at that place, which she attended on Sunday. Here for the first time she heard the peculiar features of our faith presented. At the close of the meeting we repaired to the same home, where we spent the night, and had much conversation on these themes. She also procured publications, which she took with her to Africa. After a time, while in charge of the Mendi Mission in that country, she embraced the Sabbath, in consequence of which she was removed from her position. She then visited the other missions on the coast, taking with her the publications which she had received from her friends in America.
A man by the name of Dickinson, from Australia, who was laboring in one of the missions, at his own expense, also embraced the Sabbath and was excluded from the mission on that account. At that time I had correspondence with him respecting the publishing of some books which he had written. Finally he left Africa and went to Australia, and I lost all trace of him. For more than ten years I sought in every possible way to learn where he was, and about four years ago we found him in San Francisco. While in Australia he spent quite a sum of money in publishing and distributing Sabbath literature, but meeting with but little success and having no encouragement from friends abroad, he finally gave up the Sabbath and accepted Swedenborgian views.
My correspondence with the various editors, and different persons in every city, in fact in all parts of that country, served to increase my interest in the people. According to the action of the General Conference, the time has now come when the truth should be planted in a permanent manner in this country, containing three million inhabitants, a large proportion of whom speak the English language. This should be a cause of great rejoicing to every lover of present truth. In order that the mission shall be established on a permanent basis, and accomplish the design of God in its existence, the various agencies which he is using to carry forward and perfect his work should be incorporated into it at its commencement. When the church is deprived of a portion of her gifts, she is deprived of so much of her power. As the human body is imperfect without all of its members, so the church cannot sustain a healthy, prosperous condition without the various gifts which God placed in it for its perfection. The more these various gifts are brought to act in harmony, in entering any new field, the more successful will be the effort put forth.
Had this course been pursued when Elder Andrews went to Europe, we have reason to believe that the cause there would to-day have been further advanced, and that his life might have been spared. Never in the history of God's work in the past has there been an instance where the establishing and carrying forward of any important enterprise or work has been committed to any one man. Christ chose twelve apostles of different temperaments to go into all the world and carry the gospel, and afterward added to their number the great apostle to the Gentiles. And it should never be forgotten that the Apostle Paul was accompanied by a number of his brethren on his missionary tours. In the Great Reformation, with Luther God raised up a Melanethon and others who co-operated with him. This is true, in principle, of the reformation in Switzerland, France, and other portions of Europe. By this arrangement the work of God is made to bear more of the impress of the divine, and less of the human.
It is for these reasons that we want ministers, canvassers, and colporters to at once enter the Australian mission, also a select corps of volunteers,—men of means who feel that God has made them stewards of a few thousand dollars to use in his cause, and who have it on the altar ready to be consumed as the providence of God may indicate.
We want those who will devote their ability to manage in financial matters of the mission, and give of their means to support it; yes, more, those who are willing to become poor for Christ's sake. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." We want a few families who possess a competency of this world's goods, persons who will act as fathers and mothers to the cause in Australia. There will be room for a number of such families in the mission, and we believe that there are those who would esteem it a privilege to thus connect with this enterprise.
The establishing of a mission in Australia presents an opportunity for investing means and ability in a manner not only to tell directly on the salvation of souls, but to immortalize the deed in the kingdom of God. We have reached the time when we expect to see a fulfillment of Acts 2:45; 4:36, 37. The gospel is no less powerful now in the nineteenth century than it was in its earlier history. Also there are men and women at the present time who have as true hearts, and who feel as great a desire to consecrate not only themselves to God and his cause, but also their substance, as in the early days of Christianity. Incidentally the consuming of the sacrifice upon the altar was an evidence that God accepted it.
One object of this article is to call the attention of our friends to the subject. We now expect to leave next May, according to the recommendation of the Conference. A steamer leaves San Francisco for Australia every month. Those who think of going should be those whom their brethren can recommend. I should be glad to correspond with any such. My post-office address will be South Lancaster, Mass.
S. N. HASKELL.
Meetings in Humboldt County, Cal.
By John Norton Loughborough
THE general meeting for Humboldt County was held according to appointment, Dec. 5-14, with the church at Ferndale. Brethren and sisters came in from Eureka, Arcata, and Petrolia, so that we had quite a full representation of the Sabbath-keepers in the county. After the first evening our meetings continued day and evening for the whole ten days. During the time there were seventeen discourses given, and six Bible-readings held. Besides this, there were six social meetings and three missionary meetings. In the latter much instruction was given with reference to the best mode of doing missionary work.
On the last Sunday of our meeting fourteen persons were baptized in Salt River by Elder McClure. Besides these, four others were received into the church by vote, having been previously baptized.
During this general meeting there were weekly pledges made for the local missionary work of the county. These pledges amount to $245.70 per year. There was also raised for the Healdsburg College $320, and for city missions, $117.85. It was voted by the society to put up five distributors in Eureka. A club11of twenty-five Signs, five Good Health, five Advent Tidendes, and five Stimme der Wahrheit were subscribed for to be placed in these distributors. Our people in Humboldt County are not rich, but they seem to be willing to do according to their ability to advance the cause of present truth.
When we consider that two years ago there were not more than six Sabbath-keepers in the county, and that now there are seventy-five, it speaks well for the efforts made, in preaching, and otherwise, during the last eighteen months, to introduce present truth into the county. Brother McClure is now in the midst of a series of meetings in a new place with a fair prospect of several more additions to the ranks.
The church at Ferndale has a neat, substantial house of worship 30x50 ft. In this our general meeting was held. All our people expressed themselves as much encouraged, instructed, and strengthened by this series of meetings. There was a good attendance from the outside. On the last evening of the meeting every seat was filled, both in the gallery and below. Extra seats were brought in, and many stood up during the entire service, for lack of seats.
The brethren are quite anxious that a camp-meeting be held in Humboldt County about the last of July or first of August of next year. They think such a meeting, well advertised, and managed on the Seventh-day Adventist plan, will be very largely attended.
With this meeting ends our present association together in general meetings. We thank God for his blessings enjoyed, and for victories gained at every meeting. At some points Satan has sought to hinder the work, but, earnestly seeking God, we have found him a present help in every emergency. We now go to Oakland, and from there to take hold of the work in different fields, where the providence of God may indicate. But we look back with thankfulness to God for his blessings vouchsafed to us during these two months of general meetings.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
M. C. ISRAEL.
"LET no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."
"This text," says a recent number of an "Age-to-Come" paper, "will ever stand as an insurmountable objection to the observance of the seventh day, by the disciples of Christ, in the present dispensation."
Nothing could better illustrate the lack of discrimination, and the utter confusion of ideas, which some men who stand high in their own conceit as religious teachers, bring to the investigation of the word of God.
Take, for instance, the following parallel to the foregoing statement: "Bunker Hill monument will ever stand as an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the construction of a railroad from New York City to Buffalo."
Such a statement would no more than match the remark quoted above respecting the relation of Col. 2:16, to the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. Yet if any one should make such a statement, it would be very evident that he knew nothing about geography, and had no coherent idea of the situation, and relation to each other, of the objects named.
Exactly so with the man who thus speaks of the Sabbath in connection with Col. 2:16. That text has no reference whatever to the weekly Sabbath. The Sabbath is separated from the objects there named by a space of more than twenty-five hundred years. The Sabbath was instituted at creation, before man sinned, and consequently before a type could have been introduced. The meats, drinks, feast days, and yearly sabbaths of the Mosaic system of which Paul speaks in the text under notice, had their origin twenty-five hundred years later, in the typical system which had been introduced on account of sin. The weekly Sabbath would have existed just the same if no sin had ever come into this world, and no typical system had ever been devised. The ceremonial sabbaths, of which there were seven in the course of the year, see Lev. 23, owed their existence to the typical system. That Paul refers to these we know, because he says, "Sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
The seventh-day Sabbath antedates all shadows, and never was and never could be, under any circumstances, a type of anything connected with the redeeming work of Christ. We sincerely pity the man whose mental vision has become so clouded that he cannot discern a distinction which is so plain, and who is in consequence betrayed into the foolish statement that Col. 2:16 will ever stand as an insurmountable objection to the observance of the seventh day.
U. S.
North Dakota.
By G. C. Tenney
Our first general meeting was held in Fargo, Dec. 5-8, and though small in numbers, its success was assured by the blessing of God manifested, and the steps we were led to take for the permanent establishment of the work in this field. The ministers present were O. A. Olsen, M. M. Olsen, and the writer. But few came from a distance, and it is to be regretted that any should miss so good an opportunity, especially since this was the first one presented in this new field. But the low price of wheat has brought stringent times for money, so that most of our people could hardly afford the expense of the journey.
The organization of a church and tract society with headquarters at Fargo, was effected. Seventeen persons united with the church, and others will do so soon. A resolution was adopted inviting all Seventh-day Adventists in northern Dakota, in good standing, to unite with this church. All that is necessary in order to become a member is to send a letter of commendation from the church to which one now belongs, to the clerk of this church, Mrs. M. C. Wise, Fargo, D. T. Sister Wise is also treasurer, and tithes should be paid to her.
The T. and M. Society started with twenty members, each of whom paid the membership fee, one dollar. The secretary is Mrs. Elsie L. Tenney, Fargo, to whom correspondence should be addressed. Quite a full stock of our books and tracts is kept on hand, and orders are received for the different periodicals.
This branch of the work is specially commended to all who feel an interest in the cause of God. Here is a grand field for the distribution of our publications, and we shall be glad to welcome all into our society, and to receive the names of interested readers in any language. We will supply your friends with reading matter if you cannot yourself supply them.
We have labored in this field less than four months, and thus far the outlook is quite encouraging. There are about seventy-five Sabbath-keepers in this mission, over twenty of whom have embraced the faith since September. In many places there are openings for labor. Opportunities are not wanting; we only lack help and means; and as we go forward, God will supply these. The Scandinavian field is particularly favorable. It might not be too much to say that there is no more favorable field for labor in this language. Brother M. M. Olsen is laboring faithfully in this branch of the cause.