Not a month passed by last year that did not see missionaries departing from America, Europe, or the colonies, for the mission fields of the regions beyond.
That means that practically every week of 1912 found some messengers sailing the high seas to carry the advent warning to the uttermost coasts of the earth.
The list is doubtless incomplete, as regards departures from the further colonial fields, but so far as reported to date, it stands as follows:—
January
G. W. Pettit and wife, to India.
J. M. Comer and family, to India.
Miss Rachel Jones, to India.
C. N. Woodward and family, to China.
Walter S. Mead and wife, to India.
T. M. French (returning) and wife, to West Africa.
E. N. Shepherd and family, to St. Thomas, Dutch West Indies.
February
Charles Degering and wife, to Panama.
Miss Bessie M. Young (at own charges), to the Hawaiian Islands.
N. H. Pool and family, to Trinidad.
H. E. Carr and wife, of Australia, to the New Hebrides.
E. E. Thorpe and family, of Australia, to the Tonga Islands.
C. H. Parker and wife, of Australia, to the New Hebrides.
March
Dr. E. W. Myers and wife, to West Africa.
F. A. Spearing and wife, of England, to British East Africa.
April
C. L. Bowen and family, to South Africa.
A. Boekhout and wife, of Cape Town, to Barotseland, South Africa.
G. M. Brown and family, to Cuba.
May
H. A. Oberg (returning) and wife, to Korea.
Miss E. E. B. Gordon, of Australia, to New Guinea.
June
R. T. E. Colthurst (for the summer season only, in book work), to Cuba.
Henry S. Brown (for the summer season only, in book work), to Cuba.
W. H. Spicer, to Cuba.
A. L. Shidler, to Cuba.
Milton Mattison and wife, to India.
Dr. E. W. Ingle and wife, to Edinburgh, Scotland, preparatory to going to South Africa.
Mrs. C. H. Hayton and children, to England.
July
Miss Alma Gregory, to Spain.
Fred DeVinney, to Japan.
August
B. P. Hoffman and wife, to Japan.
H. U. Stevens and wife, to Argentina, South America.
F. H. Raley, to Jamaica.
E. J. Hills and wife (at own charges), to China.
Miss Enie V. Martin, to Mexico.
Dr. W. C. Dunscombe and family, of Scotland, to South Africa.
S. G. White and wife, to China.
W. Seiler and wife, of Europe, to German East Africa.
H. Palin, of Europe, to German East Africa.
E. B. Phillips, of England, to British East Africa.
September
Mrs. A. Ruoff (at own charges), to Burma.
G. A. Hamilton and family, to Burma.
M. D. Wood and family, to India.
V. E. Peugh and wife, to India.
L. O. Machlan, to the Bermuda Islands.
Mrs. A. L. Shidler, to Cuba.
E. J. Giblett and wife, of Australia, to the Cook Islands.
October
A. F. Prieger and wife, to Haiti, West Indies.
M. D. Smith, to Mexico.
Isaac Baker and wife, to Central America.
H. Steiner and family, of Europe, to Italian East Africa.
Mrs. E. M. Myers, of Australia, to the Fiji Islands.
Miss Magdo Skogs, of Europe, to Jerusalem, Syria.
November
F. A. Detamore, to the East Indies.
Frank F. Mills, to Korea.
A. R. Sherman and family, to Argentina, South America.
Kenneth H. Wood and wife, to China.8
December
William Kirstein and family, to Argentina, South America.
J. E. Brown and family, to Brazil, South America.
Miss Frankie Stout, to Uruguay, South America.
Miss Audrey Murphy, to Uruguay, South America.
Byron A. Meeker and wife, to China.
Miss Ruth Workes, to India.
This list, not counting the children or workers returning after furlough, totals ninety-seven,—nearly a hundred. During the year 1911, the number of outgoing workers was sixty-five.
It is the pressure of need in the expanding work that has thrust the workers forth. And in a wonderful way the Lord of the harvest has kept calling forth the resources of means in his treasury—the hands of his believing people—to sustain the missionary advance.
It will be seen that Europe and Australasia join strongly in sending out new recruits. Australasia has the burden of the island fields of the South Pacific, while Europe has all eastern and northern Africa, and northern and western Asia within its mission boundaries.
Yet again the list of additions during a year just past lays upon believers in all the churches an added burden to still pray and give for missions more earnestly than ever. Those who go are partners in the work with those who hold the ropes at home; and the work is being finished by this carrying of the witness to all nations.
W. A. S.
The New Year
By Editor
THE editors of the REVIEW AND HERALD earnestly desire for each of its readers a happy and profitable new year. The Lord, in his infinite mercy, has brought us to this new period of time. We face many new and perplexing problems. We know not what strange experiences await us. But we may be assured of this: If we commit our way to the guidance of our Heavenly Father, he will see to it that we are given strength to meet every demand.
The last year has brought to each reader a variety of experiences. As we look back, we are cheered by the joys that came to us; we are filled with regret for the mistakes and failures. Wherein we have given place to sin, let us acknowledge our wrong-doing, and resolve that in God's strength we will rise above our weaknesses in the year to come. Let us not spend time in useless repining over the past; it is gone forever; we can not recall it. It is proper, however, that we should learn lessons from its experiences.
The times in which we live, the cause of truth and work of God, will make upon us large demands for the future. We shall need heavenly wisdom, strong faith, broadened vision, and large hearts in order to meet these increasing responsibilities. In the year to come, let us study the Word of God faithfully; let us pray much; and as we pray, let us believe, accepting God's promises and acting as if they were so. This simple faith will make them so in our lives.
"Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
The Coming of Christ
By Editor
WE are on the eve of great and important events in the history of this world. Startling changes will take place in this our day. This is indicated by9conditions which exist on every side; by signs in the physical, social, commercial, political, and religious worlds; and it is not alone the denomination represented by this journal that believes this. The idea has taken possession of many minds; thinking men and women everywhere feel that just ahead are striking and marked developments.
But few have a clear idea as to what lies in the future. Without a knowledge of the prophecies relating to this time, they could not, of course, discern the meaning of the events taking place. Many ministers in other churches believe that we have reached the closing days of earth's history. They believe that the coming of the Lord draws near. As to just what is involved in that coming, as to the precise manner in which he will make his second advent, their ideas are more or less hazy.
Recently in Denver, Colo., considerable discussion was drawn out among the clergymen of that city over this question. The Rocky Mountain News of October 7 presents in brief form the views of more than a dozen of the pastors of that city regarding the days in which we are living. For the benefit of our readers we present herewith a symposium of their statements:—
The Early Church Right
The Rev. Joshua Gravett, pastor of Galilee Baptist Church, believes that Christ's coming is near, and that he will transform the spiritual natures of men and women. His subject yesterday was "The Millennium and Evolution." He said, in part:—
"Before Constantine, the church generally held that the Lord would return and reign in harmony with their literal interpretation of the Jewish prophets. To them Jesus was a rejected King, and they, pilgrims and strangers on earth, waiting for his return to take them home.
"We grant that they may have misread some of the signs, but we are confident that they were right in looking toward heaven for their Deliverer.
"'So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.'"
The Testimony of the Apostles
In his sermon on "The Blessed Hope," the Rev. George W. Arms, pastor of the North Presbyterian Church, bitterly assailed the clergymen who have ventured publicly to deny the literal second coming of the Christ and the approaching end of the world. In part, he said:—
"There is not a single writer of the New Testament but tells of the second coming of Christ. That this was the hope of the early church is a fact that even the higher critics admit; for it is simply a matter of history. Scoffers may deny the fact of the coming, but they can not deny the fact that in the New Testament it is there painted as the hope of the church.
"But whether we are as mockers who say, 'My Lord delayeth his coming,' the fact remains that it is the hope of the New Testament church.
"Those who have been the greatest blessing to the church of Christ are those who have been filled with this hope.
"You may be indifferent to this hope. But remember so was the world to the first coming of Jesus. You may call it 'rubbish,' but Paul did not call it rubbish, nor did Peter, nor James, nor John. They called it 'the blessed hope.'"
The Pole-Star of the Church
"The Practical Value of the Doctrine of the Premillennial Return of Our Lord" was the angle from which the Rev. M. A. Stone, pastor of the Corona Presbyterian Church, discussed Christ's second arrival and the millennium. He declared the return of Christ to be the only satisfactory interpretation to the whole scheme of Scripture. In part, he said:—
"This doctrine has been 'the pole-star of the church.' There have been two great events in the history of the world,—the creation and Calvary. And there is another great event yet future, Christ's coming.
"I believe in the personal and premillennial return of Jesus Christ to earth to set up a temporal kingdom on the throne of David. And the event that precedes that is the time (described in 1 Thess. 4:13-17, and elsewhere) when those asleep in Christ shall be raised, and all believers on Christ who are still alive shall be translated, and together shall be caught up to be with him."
Not a New Doctrine
The signs of the times, such as political unrest, wars, rumors of wars, great disasters by sea and by land, and the presence of false prophets, were some of the signs alluded to yesterday by the Rev. E. Shupe, pastor of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as fulfilment of the old prophecies and foretelling the second approach of the Christ and the end of the world. He said, in part:—
"The second coming of Christ is not a new doctrine. To the close student of the Bible and of events happening in the social and the political world, there is but one conclusion to reach, and that is: There must be a halt sooner or later. The world can not go on very much longer as at present.
"Men's hearts are failing them for fear, looking after those things that are coming upon the earth.
"The conditions pictured by the apostle James are everywhere manifest. Riches are corrupted. Your gold and silver is cankered.
"There must be made manifest a higher power than that of man, in order that justice may reign supreme.
"The Scriptures plainly teach that Christ shall come and take up his abode on earth. The righteous are to be made kings and priests, and reign on the earth a thousand years.
"The land of Palestine was promised by the Lord to Abraham and his posterity for an everlasting inheritance. That promise is yet to be made good.
"Yes, Christ will come in bodily form, to gather his saints and reign with them on earth."
A Twofold Purpose
The signs of the times, the apparent approach of the great apostasy, and the increased unrest were declared to indicate the imminent end of the world and the coming of the Christ, by the Rev. F. W. Evans, who spoke at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian church last night on "The Return of Our Lord."
He quoted passages from the Bible to show that Christ would return to the earth.
"There are some who say that he has come back," he declared. "Have they seen him returning? The Word declares that every eye shall see him. These glorified clouds in which he and his saints will return, will be beyond description. Ah, we shall know he is back from glory when we see him and his saints and the encircling glory.
"His coming has no fixed time. The only light we have upon his return is in certain things which are to antedate it. The gospel must be proclaimed throughout the world so that the Lord's body, the church, may be completed. That which now restrains evil, the Holy Spirit, must be taken out of the world. The man of sin, the lawless one, must be revealed and give himself up to unrestrained activity. The falling away, the great apostasy, must take place. As to when these things may be said to be fulfilled no man knows, although the signs of the times in which we live make their fulfilment seem imminent.
"The purpose of our Lord's return is twofold,—to get his bride, the church, and to consummate his kingdom."
The Premillennial Reign
Christ must come to earth to fulfil the promises made in the Bible, which can not be doubted, declared the Rev. Ralph C. Byers, from the pulpit of the North Congregational church. It is his belief that the second coming of the Saviour is not far distant. His sermon follows, in part:—
"The word millennium, while not in Scripture, is rightly used to express this reign of Christ. Premillenniumists teach that Christ must necessarily come to earth before he can reign upon earth. Postmillenniumists teach that there will be a reign of peace of a thousand years before he comes. They ignore the prevalence of sin, and point to the attempts being put forth to evangelize and reform the world. The fact is that even in this day of great missionary effort the unbelieving population of the world is increasing more rapidly than converts to Christianity are being secured.
"Since part of the disciples' prophecy was literally fulfilled, there is no sane law of interpretation which can deny the literal fulfilment of what remains. Then Christ must yet save his people, and reign, on David's throne, over the nations of the earth. Isa. 9:7 says he will do so.
"Paul says in many places that he will come.
"'But of that day and hour knoweth no man.' Matt. 24:36. 'What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.' Mark 13:37."
Energizing and Regenerating
The Rev. A. J. Finch, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, prophesied glorious salvation in Christ's coming. "The one thing needed to-day to energize and regenerate a decadent church is a living faith in a living, coming Lord," he said.
"To doubt the second coming of Jesus Christ is to call in question the validity of the inspiration of the Scriptures.
"All that has to do with the Christian life revolves around this great central truth.10
"Unfortunately, it is a doctrine that in the past has been seized upon by fanatics, and thus brought into disrepute. But taken by itself, it becomes a mighty spiritual force. In considering this, look at it from three points:—
"1. As to its influence upon the life of the church. In primitive Christianity it was the one all-absorbing theme. In these pages of history you may read the stories of the most sublime heroism, of the purest faith, and of the greatest self-abasement. With the loss of their hope vanished their power. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' The one thing needed to-day to energize and regenerate a decadent church is a living, coming Lord.
"2. As to its influence upon the life of the individual. Christianity is individualistic. Whatever social message it may have for the world, the individual is never lost sight of. As the individual, therefore, studies his relation to God and the divine kingdom, he recognizes the importance of personality. The culmination of this purpose of God is found in the second advent of our Lord.
"3. As to the place of the second advent in the plan of redemption. Jesus Christ is the architect of the ages. Not only all things were made by him, but all the dispensations were planned and predestined by him. 'Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.'"
The Second Advent As Sure As the First
Dean H. Martyn Hart told his congregation at St. John's cathedral yesterday morning that while Christ's coming was sure, he was convinced that it would not take place within the present generation.
"If we knew the exact date of his coming," he said, "we should lose the incentive to keep ourselves in a condition of humility, and be tempted to walk in the pride of our hearts."
In part, Dean Hart said:—
"Although the fact that the King will come again to reign in righteousness is so often declared in the only book of revelations we possess, still there are numbers of our profession—Christians—who hesitate to believe in so astonishing a happening as the arrival in the empty sky above us of such a display of tremendous life—as must be conceived—when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all his holy angels with him.
"The second advent is as sure as the first. It is impossible to conceive that all the wrong and suffering, the sin and destruction, the tears and woe, which mar the fairness of this beautiful creation, can be according to the will of a bountiful and beneficent Creator, who is powerless to prevent it. Impossible!
"The Word of Revelation asserts over and over again that 'a King shall reign in righteousness:' that 'the day of the Lord will come,' when tears shall be wiped off all faces, and there shall be no more crying, for the former things shall pass away, the earth shall once more blossom as the garden of God the Lord, and we shall be the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty."
The Cry of the World
The Rev. M. M. Nelson, pastor of the Highlands Christian Church, in his sermon yesterday illustrated the universal call of the world for redemption by the story of the woman of Samaria whom Christ met at Jacob's well.
"The cry of this woman is the cry of the world," he said. "It is the call in the soul of every man. He may try to put it forever away from him. He may try to drown it in the satisfying of the lusts of the flesh and the sins of the world, but it is still there."
Multiplied Signs
The throwing off of the old order, the increase of crimes, wickedness, and unrest of all kinds, were pointed out as fulfilments of the old prophecies pointing to the second coming of Christ and the setting up of his kingdom upon the earth within the coming generation, by the Rev. Perry V. Jenness, at the Twenty-third Avenue Presbyterian church last night. The subject of his sermon was, "Increasing Indications of Our Lord's Return to Earth." He said, in part:—
"Why should it be thought unreasonable that Christ should come again? Grant that he is the Son of God, born of a virgin, and the miracle of his human birth is harder to understand than any second appearing will be.
"Our reasons for believing that the time is approaching are many and varied, but chiefly because the New Testament gives a clear picture of conditions which will exist in the age just before his appearing.
"Some of these are: Denial on the part of professed followers that he will ever come; the last days characterized by great disturbance of nations. All former world movements have been local, while the present transformation includes in its sweep practically every nation and every continent; unrest everywhere; changes so rapid that only a close student can keep pace with them.
"A most significant sign is the universal demand of the masses for power. Lawlessness is also a characteristic of the days before the Master shall come again. One needs only to look around with an eye half open to observe that the oldest laws of the race are being defied as never before. The Sabbath and marriage laws have come to us from Eden, yet men are throwing off their restraint everywhere. Nothing is sacred or venerated. Judges have forfeited our respect, and courts have become the tools of rich and powerful interests. Christ alone can establish righteousness.
"Commercial signs, political signs, social signs, and above all, spiritual signs, all conform to those conditions which we are told shall precede the Lord's return. We do not know how long he will tarry. We fix no date for his coming. We only say, 'Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.'"
The Meaning of His Coming
That a thorough reading of the Bible, with an open mind on the part of the reader, is almost certain to produce a conviction that Christ will soon return to the earth, was the opinion expressed by the Rev. F. W. Starring, of the Judson Memorial Baptist Church. He said, in part:—
"What will Christ's return mean to the world? It will mean, first of all, that when he descends from heaven with a shout, every true believer in the world will be instantly taken up to meet him in the clouds. Homes will be rent in twain, husbands robbed of godly wives (of whom they have been unworthy), parents separated from their children, where the one or the other has not previously been converted to Christ.
"At the same time those who have died in the faith will be raised, and be caught up together with the living to be with Jesus.
"But his coming will mean more than this to the world. For after the righteous are taken out by the Saviour and before he descends to the earth itself for the establishment of his glorious kingdom, terrible disasters in quick succession will deplete the ranks of men, overturn great governments, strike terror to the hearts of rich and poor, peasants and kings, and pave the way for the final purging which must take place when Jesus takes up the sceptre."
The Hope of the Church
The Rev. S. T. McKinney, pastor of the Ohio Avenue Congregational Church, yesterday declared the belief in the second advent of Christ to be the great purifying doctrine of the church. In part, he said:—
"'If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.' 'This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.'
"One could go on for hours quoting passages from both Old and New Testaments that refer to a coming again of Christ. Turn to the Old Testament and we find that the larger part of the passages that refer to a coming of Christ have not yet been fulfilled. If Isaiah 53, which speaks of his suffering on the cross, was literally fulfilled, shall we not expect that Zechariah 14, which speaks of his coming to reign, shall be as literally fulfilled?
"When we turn to the New Testament, we find references to this second coming everywhere. A student has said that it is mentioned three hundred eighty times in the New Testament; that one verse in twenty-five has reference to his coming again; that whereas Paul speaks thirteen times of baptism, he speaks fifty times of the Lord's coming again. This coming is not the end of the world, and must not be confused with that, but is a personal, definite coming of the Lord.
"The question is, 'How?' And the answer is: 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven,' etc., and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. He shall come, and those who have died believing in him, together with the living believers, shall be caught up to meet him in the air.
"When shall this be? The answer is (Mark 13:32): 'Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not even the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.' No one can set a day for his coming. The belief that Christ will come again is the great comforting doctrine of the church."
All the Denver clergymen, however, do not believe the coming of the Lord to be imminent. The News, in its issue of October 5, quotes some of the leading ministers of that city as characterizing the belief in the near advent as "rubbish,"11"ridiculous sensation," etc., and expressing the conviction that the preaching of this doctrine "discredits Christianity," and gives to religion a "bad standing."
The world is ripe for the third angel's message. The hearts of men and women are being stirred. Inquiry has been awakened in nearly every quarter. We should see in these openings opportunities for labor. It is to be deplored that many who believe the Lord's coming near should be so greatly confused as to the nature and time of the event. To us is afforded the blessed privilege of placing before them, and before all who will listen, the light which shines from the prophetic word. Let us be faithful to our commission. F. M. W.
The Same Yesterday and To-Day and Forever
By C. M. S.
THERE is a beautiful and comforting thought in the assurance given the disciples of Jesus at the time of his ascension, which is often lost sight of in the hurry and worry of life.
The disciples had learned to know Jesus, and to love him for what he was to them personally as a friend and a teacher, as well as for what he had promised to do for them in the kingdom which he was going away to receive at the hands of his Father. They had seen him at work among the afflicted, straightening and correcting bodily deformities; restoring the sick to health, no matter what the ailment from which they were suffering; comforting the hearts of the mourners, no matter how deep their grief; releasing those possessed of demons from the bondage in which they suffered; feeding the multitudes that hungered for food; and bringing back to life those who had passed under the power of death.
This was the man now being received up in a cloud and disappearing before their wondering eyes, as they continued to look “steadfastly into heaven.” Notwithstanding the promise of the Comforter, there is no doubt that a feeling of unutterable loneliness and sadness came over the disciples while the One who had been so much to them was fading away in the blue dome of the sky. It meant to them that never again in this life would they see his face.
But right at this time while their eyes were fixed upon the sky that seemed to be swallowing up the object of their great love and adoration, two others “in white apparel” joined their company. Now came the assurance which meant so much to the bereaved disciples: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” There was to them a world of meaning in those words, “this same Jesus.” It meant to them what it could not mean to those who had not known him as they had. To them it meant that he was coming as the same object of love to fill the same place in their hearts that he had filled during the years they had been with him. Of course, he was coming as king, as Saviour; but he was coming, too, as “this same Jesus.” Often relatives or friends go away, and are gone for years; we remember them as they were when they went away; we love them with the memory of them in mind; but when they return changed in looks, changed in disposition, changed in their likes and dislikes, with new ambitions and ideas at variance with what we had known of them, while we love them still, yet there seems to be something lost out of our lives; and while we are glad to see them, that gladness is mingled with a feeling of sadness and disappointment. It almost seems as if the past had entombed the subtle something that had been cherished through the years.
But this will not be the case with the return of our blessed Lord. He will be “this same Jesus.” Job, in declaring his belief that he would see God, says, “Whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, and mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.” We shall know him by the very perfection of his character. He will not be a stranger there to those who have yielded their hearts to him here, and have had his abiding presence with them through the varied experiences of life.
While upon this earth, he healed the sick of all manner of diseases; but still were they subject to death. But when the redeemed of earth stand before the throne of God, they are also in the presence of that tree of life whose leaves are “for the healing of the nations.” Blessed healing from which there is no return to the jurisdiction of disease!
Blessed healing that closes the healing work of Jesus begun on earth on behalf of his people! Thus do they know him as “this same Jesus.”
On earth, Jesus was the comforting and consoling brother. In heaven, “the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.” On earth, Jesus broke the bands of the tomb on more than one occasion, and set free its captives. When he comes, it is to usher in the culmination of that work, send the thrill of life through bodies long held in the prison-house of death, and start the grand chorus from the throats of redeemed men and women and children, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
On earth, Jesus fed the hungry multitudes on the bread of physical sustenance, as well as on the bread of life. When the reign of the tomb king is past, the tree of life in the garden of God holds out its twelve manner of fruits, and Jesus himself comes forth, the great and beloved Host of the reunited family, and serves them with the fruits of paradise restored. On earth, Jesus found many occasions to cast the emissaries of Satan out of the bodies of men and women who had been tormented by them. What a prophecy of the time when Satan and all his angels shall be cast into the lake of their final destruction, and the universe shall be forever rid of sin and all its dire consequences!
It is this same Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth, the victor of the wilderness, the teacher in the temple, the healer of the sick, the stiller of the storm, the feeder of the multitude, the silent prisoner of the railing mob, the thorn-crowned “king of the Jews,” the nail-pierced sacrifice upon the cross, the death-bound occupant of Joseph’s new tomb, the risen and ascended Christ, the anointed of God,—this is he whom those disciples will see, and for whom we look, so soon to appear in the clouds of heaven. They who have known and loved him here will still know him and still love him, and will not fear to meet him. It is a blessed assurance, a blessed comfort, a blessed hope. With its fruition, they who have been lovingly looking for him can say: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
C. M. S.
Denominational Finance
By W. T. Knox
Tithes and Offerings
A correct system of finance for the work of God must of necessity be founded upon the teachings of his Word. Any financial system for the maintenance of the gospel work resting upon other foundation, must be imperfect, unsatisfactory, and unacceptable to God. On the other hand, the Lord's method as revealed in his Word must always prove sufficient for every demand made upon it by the needs of his work, and at all times will be adaptable to every variable condition that may arise by changing circumstances.
The foundation upon which this system is built, is the tithes and offerings of his people. Back of that lies the recognition of God's ownership. To the departure from these simple principles may be attributed all the financial embarrassments and difficulties that at any time have been experienced by his people, both collectively and individually. "Will a man rob God?" the prophet Malachi asks. "Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 3: 8-12.
We are told in 2 Chron. 31: 5-12 that after Hezekiah in his work of reformation restored the system of tithes and offerings, there was abundance for the work of the sanctuary, and great treasure in reserve upon which the priests could draw for increasing necessities. The same was also true in the days of Nehemiah, after his work of reformation. But when this, God's system, was departed from, then his work languished, and the temple service was deserted by the priests and despised by the people.
The original instruction to man for the rendering to God of tithes and offerings is not found in his Word. This, like other services rendered, such as the observance of the Sabbath, and the making of sacrifices, is first spoken of as a service already established, well recognized, and observed. The first offerings mentioned are those of Cain and Abel, rendered apparently in harmony with established usage, evidently in harmony with God's instruction, "in the process of time," or "at the end of days," as the margin of Gen. 4: 3 gives it.
The first mention of tithing is found in Gen. 14: 20, where Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, the priest of God. This was on the occasion of Abraham's battle with the kings. The account shows that Abraham in defeating the kings took from them a large amount of booty, a considerable portion of which, at least, had been taken by the kings from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. While Abraham in his generosity declined to enrich himself by the substance thus acquired, and returned it to the original owners, yet before exercising his privilege of doing what he pleased with that which had become his own by virtue of conquest, it first was necessary that he should recognize the Lord's claim before he could exercise generosity to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. So the record tells us that to Melchizedek he gave tithes of all.
This is not spoken of in the account as something strange, nor as the establishing of some new practise, but rather as the recognition of a service already established. So also in the account of Jacob's attitude to the paying of tithe. We find him in Gen. 28: 20-22 covenanting with the Lord as follows: "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."
Jacob was not asking for great substance, but only for sufficient to eat and wear. Whatever should be the outcome of his sojourn in a strange country, whether he acquire great substance or only sufficient for life, he recognized that it would be the gift of God, and of it he covenanted to return the tenth, or tithe, to the Lord.
These cases are the only instances in patriarchal times where the tithe is mentioned, but they very clearly establish the fact that from the beginning this was a service required of man by his Creator, and served, among other things, to teach him God's ownership in all things. They also show that the tithe pertains to all that we possess, whether it is much or little; whether it is the spoil of an army, or the mere necessities of life.
Later on, when after their long bondage in Egypt God gathered out the descendants of Jacob, and delivered them from the hand of their oppressors, and established them in the land promised to their father Abraham, and gave them, through Moses, detailed instruction concerning the service of the sanctuary, in this service he required of them that they should return to him a tithe of all the increase of their flocks and fields. It is very evident from the foregoing that this system of tithes and offerings is not a requirement that at that time was new and peculiarly Israelitish, but rather that that plan which God had from the beginning devised for the good of all men, and for the support of his work in the earth, of necessity was incorporated into the sanctuary service of his people when they, the children of Abraham and Jacob, were delivered from their oppressors and became a nation themselves. The differing conditions between the times of the children and those of their forefathers Abraham and Jacob, made no difference in God's plan. His requirements were in both periods identical.
W. T. KNOX.
Roman Church Uses Moving Pictures
The methods by which the Roman Church seeks to advance her interests and carry forward her work are myriad. She passes by no opportunity by which she can bring herself into the limelight of public vision, and focus upon herself the gaze of the multitude. The Christian Standard of Oct. 26, 1912, tells how Rome is using moving-picture shows for this purpose. One film represents a poor widow about to be evicted from her mortgaged home. Appeal is made to the village priest, who, at the last moment, hurriedly enters and pays off the mortgage. Other pictures equally as effective in enlisting admiration for the benefactions of the Roman Church are exhibited. Verily she becomes "all things to all men" in the promotion of her cause in the earth.
What the Lord Requires
“He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Shanghai, China
By Mrs. B. Miller
MRS. B. MILLER
I CAN testify that it is indeed a blessed thing to be a colaborer with God. I have had some precious experiences in working for the women of China.
One woman who had always been a most devoted idol-worshiper came to my Bible studies and was converted. She threw away her idols and cast aside their worship, and has accepted every ray of light, I believe, so far as she has seen it. She is now one of my Bible women.
There are about sixteen to whom I have been presenting the truth for some time. A number of them are almost ready for baptism.
Not long ago I had an interesting experience with one woman who had been a subject of my earnest labor and prayer for two months. I had had great hopes of her, as she seemed to be hungering for the word. As I was studying with her one day, in came her servant with an armful of incense for the gods. I continued my study. When I got through, I talked earnestly with her, and pleaded the Father's love for her. The Spirit of the Lord came in, and she said she would ask her husband to give me the idol. During the first three weeks I studied with her, she would bring out her ancestors' name book of one hundred generations of idol-worshipers. It seems to be this ancestor-worship to which the people hold the longest.
I am so happy in this work of soul-saving. I pray for deliverance from all sin, that I may be a useful instrument in God's hands.