Earlier text: JACK SPROUT'S CONVERSIONEVERLASTING FIRE.
By M. H. BROWN
The language of the Saviour in Matt. 25:41 is frequently quoted to prove eternal torment, and although quoted with great confidence, we think that those who compare scripture with scripture will see that it comes far short of teaching an endless hell for the finally lost. We shall take no issue with the advocates of endless misery in regard to the definition of everlasting and eternal in Matt. 25; for with them we agree that these words here mean never-ending. This admission in no way helps our opponents, as we shall presently see. An element or action may produce results which are everlasting or eternal, and yet the element or action itself may be of short duration. Paul, in Heb. 5:9, speaks of eternal salvation. Will the process of saving men always be going on, and never be accomplished? Certainly not; but the results secured by the great plan of salvation will be eternal. Again, in Heb. 6:2, Paul speaks of eternal judgment. Will the work of judgment be endless in duration? If it is, then the punishment of the wicked will never come; for men are not punished till after they are judged. The idea expressed simply is, that the results of the Judgment are eternal; that is, the decisions rendered are final and irreversible, and from them there is no appeal. In Heb. 9:12, Paul speaks also of eternal redemption, not that Christ will never complete that work, but that the results secured will be endless; for those who share in that redemption will never again be brought under the cruel power of death or the curse and stain of sin. Will God be engaged in judging men throughout the endless ages of eternity, and never get them judged? Will he always be engaged in redeeming men, and never secure their redemption? Then he may carry on the process of burning the wicked, and never get them burned; but the Scriptures say they shall be burned up, root and branch. Mal. 4:1. Therefore we cannot avoid the conclusion that the everlasting fire under consideration is not eternal in its duration, but the results of the fire are eternal, because the judgment pronounced and the penalty executed are eternal, irrevocable, and final. No resurrection morn will ever greet the eyes of those who are cast into that lake of fire which produces the second death; but, the blackness of darkness forever will enshroud them, as they sink into that long night of oblivion which knows no waking. The Lord has shown us, in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, what results eternal fire will produce. Jude says that those cities, in suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, are set forth as an example. Jude 7. Peter tells us the result of that conflagration; they were turned into ashes, 2 Peter 2:6. And what is to hinder such a result in the cases of the wicked? Do we ever find them compared in the Scriptures to enduring and imperishable substances? Never. On the contrary, they are always likened to the most perishable and inflammable substances, such as chaff, dried branches, thorns, briers, and stubble. Why has Inspiration used such comparisons? Is it to mislead the mind, and darken the subject? We believe not. We believe they teach the complete destruction of the wicked as plainly and forcibly as language can express it. When the wicked become ashes under the feet of the righteous, as Malachi declares in his prophecy (4:3), no one will doubt that the results of the everlasting fire into which the wicked are cast, were clearly seen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were set forth as an example to those that after should live ungodly. 2 Pet. 2:6. M. H. BROWN. A “PERFECTLY trustworthy” London correspondent in a letter to the Hartford Courant describes an interview with Thomas Carlyle, now in his eighty-first year, and occupying a small sunny house in that city. The old man's head is massive and grand, covered with abundant gray hair. His eye lights up his long face, and almost transfigures his whole countenance. His conversation is full of soul, sometimes of fiery energy and eloquence. The correspondent gives the following as a specimen:— “About thirty years ago, a book was published here called the ‘Vestiges of Creation.’ It ran quietly through five editions: men read it with bated breath, in silence, and marveled at its audacity. It was like a pinch of snuff, and now whole wagon loads of it are thrown down in the public highways, and atheistic sneezing has become the fashion. So-called literary and scientific classes in England now proudly give themselves to protoplasm, origin of species, and the like, to prove that God did not build the universe. I have known three generations of the Darwins—grandfather, father, and son—atheists all. The brother of the present famous naturalist, a quiet man who lives not far from here, told me that among his grandfather’s effects he found a seal engraved with this motto, ‘omnia ex conchis,’ everything from a clam shell! I saw the naturalist not many months ago; told him that I had read his ‘Origin of the Species’ and other books; that he had by no means satisfied me that men were descended from monkeys, but had done much toward persuading me that he and his so-called scientific brethren had brought the present generation of Englishmen very near to monkeys.” “A good sort of a man is this Darwin, and well-meaning, but with very little intellect. Ah, it is a sad and terrible thing to see nearly a whole generation of men and women professing to be cultivated, looking around in a purblind fashion, and finding no God in this universe. I suppose it is a reaction from the reign of cant and hollow pretence, professing to believe what in fact they do not believe. And this is what we have got to: all things from frog spawn; the gospel of dirt the order of the day. The older I grow—and I now stand upon the brink of eternity—the more comes back to me the sentence in the catechism, which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes,—‘What is the great end of man?’ ‘To glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’ No gospel of dirt, teaching that men have descended from frogs through monkeys, can ever set that aside.” THE SABBATH.
By J. S. Thorp
Sweet is the Sabbath of the Lord
To those who in his law delight,
By whom transgression is abhorred,
And loved and honored is the right. It speaks of Him whose wondrous might
The heavens and earth from nothing made,
Who formed the glorious orbs of light,
And the deep sea’s foundations laid. This holy day Jehovah blest,
Ere sorrow, pain, or death was born,
And set apart for man a rest,
In the creation’s sinless morn. Its sacred hours, O Lord, to thee
Thy saints would ever holy keep,
Till they thy face in glory see,
Or in their Saviour fall asleep. The suit against Richard B. Connolly, to recover seven or eight million dollars stolen from New York city, came to an unexpected end last week, the chief consenting, through his counsel, to a verdict and judgment for the whole sum. So this famous public plunderer gets off free, as regards personal liberty, and consents to let the authorities get out of his estate, as it is now, what they can! Judge Davis, in rendering the verdict, offered, for the public good, the following eminently just reflections:— “The worst feature of all is that the whole body of these conspirators go substantially unwhipped of justice. Some of them walk our streets to-day, unpunished, and come presenting themselves for examination, turning State’s evidence against themselves—having failed to do it for any useful purpose against others—to disclose and even boast of their own villainy before tribunals organized for some unknown purpose, unless it be to lay the foundation of escape even from the petty punishment of imprisonment or debt. To my mind, this presents a spectacle so abhorrent to my notions of justice, that, in disposing of the last of these cases—as I suppose this to be—I cannot help taking advantage of the opportunity to condemn it as a parody of public justice. It is a great public wrong that these men should have escaped from all substantial punishment for their crimes. The Court most emphatically desires to be understood that in the rendition of the verdict nothing is to be inferred, supposed, or imagined in the nature or character of an exculpation from his crime on the part of this tribunal, nor as a certificate of character upon which he can seek his new place.” What Judge Davis says of these astonishingly brazen-faced plunderers, and the shiftless, thriftless way in which the authorities have dealt with them, would apply equally well to the several “batches” of whisky-conspirators in Chicago, especially the “Jake” J. Rehm, who has just been awarded complete immunity by the courts. —The Advance. Going a Mile with Satan
By Worthington
MANY have yielded to go a mile with Satan, who never intended to go with him twain; but, when once on the way with him, have been inveigled further and further, until they know not how to leave him. Thus he leads poor creatures down into the depths of sin, by winding stairs, and they see not the end of that to which they are going.—Worthington. The Bible as Defense Against Infidelity
MANY worthy people are often sorely distressed at the assaults of infidel science and philosophy upon the revealed word of God. They have no need to be disturbed. God has provided a sure defense for his precious revelation. As Professor Taylor Lewis has finely said: “The Bible itself must be brought out as the best defense against infidelity—the Bible itself, not only as the great standing miracle of history, but as containing unearthly ideas for which no philosophy, no theory of development, can account.” DID THE ANGEL SWEAR TO A LIE?
There are still some people in whose minds the great disappointment experienced by the Adventists of 1844, stands as an objection against their regarding that movement as a fulfillment of prophecy. Those engaged in giving that message were disappointed. They proclaimed that that was coming to pass, which was not to come to pass, and did not come to pass. Now can we say that their work was symbolized by an angel flying through heaven with the everlasting gospel, Rev. 14: 6, 7, or by an angel lifting up his hands to heaven and solemnly testifying that time shall be no more, Rev. 10: 6, without involving the angel in the dilemma of testifying to a falsehood? This is a question worthy of careful consideration. An important branch of the subject we do not propose here to discuss; namely, the evidence that the advent movement of 1840 to 1844, was manifestly a fulfillment of prophecy. But this has an important bearing on the issue, and should be taken into account and satisfactorily disposed of before deciding against that movement. There are prophecies which can be applied nowhere else and to no other work. They are prophecies plain and unequivocal. They locate the time of their fulfillment, and describe the nature of their work; and if we look upon the past advent movement as a genuine work, the application of these prophecies to that work, seems so consistent and natural that they are the easiest prophecies to apply in all the Bible. But if we deny their application to that movement, there they stand, mysterious, unexplainable; yea, more, palpable failures; for the time is past when the fulfillment should have appeared. All that we deem it necessary here to do, is to inquire whether or not it can be established as a correct principle that persons may fulfill prophecy, and yet in some respects misunderstand and misapply the prophecies they are fulfilling. If this should appear to be a correct principle, the subject is freed from all difficulty. Let us now look at some of the prophecies which are applied to the advent movement, and see how far that movement was in accordance with those prophecies, and what the points of difference were. They believed, 1st, That the coming of Christ was near; 2dly, That the signs given to indicate that coming had been fulfilled; 3dly, That his coming was to be literal, personal, and visible, in the clouds of heaven; 4thly, That the prophetic periods would terminate in 1844; 5thly, That the hour of God's Judgment would come at the end of those periods; 6thly, That then the sanctuary would be cleansed. And in all these points they were correct. What did the prophecies warrant them to proclaim? They warranted them to proclaim that time, prophetic, should be no more, or that the prophetic periods would there end; and they proclaimed it: that then the sanctuary should be cleansed; and they proclaimed it: that the hour of God's Judgment was then to commence; and they heralded that: that the coming of the Lord was near; and they gave the proclamation. And what was the difference between the views of Adventists in 1844, and the prophecies? Simply this: Adventists placed the coming of the Lord a little sooner than they had a right to, owing to a misunderstanding of the sanctuary and the nature of the Judgment. Further light has revealed that all that the prophecies declared was fulfilled to the letter. The only failure was in the inferences drawn by men outside of the Bible and the expectations based upon them. But for these, as we have shown, the prophecies were in no wise responsible. The case of the disciples is referred to, to illustrate this subject, very uniformly and very properly. And if the circumstances of that case are fully considered, it leaves little room, as it seems to us, for further questioning. A prophecy had been given commanding the daughter of Zion to rejoice and shout because her King was coming unto her, having salvation; and the sign was to be that he would appear in a lowly condition, riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Zech. 9: 9. And when Jesus, as recorded in Matt. 21, and other scriptures, directed his disciples where they would find a colt whereon never man had sat, and told them to bring that colt to him, and if any man questioned their proceedings, to say, “The Lord hath need of him,” they recognized the sign, and entered at once into the spirit of the occasion, proclaiming with joyful shouts and loud hosannas the coming of their King. That they misunderstood the prophecy we positively know; for after his crucifixion they said sadly, “We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.” Luke 24: 21. Had they known or supposed that Christ was going to a cross instead of a throne, as was indeed the case, wails of sorrow, rather than shouts of joy, would have issued from their lips. And we have no reason whatever to suppose that in that vast throng, amid the rejoicing occasioned by their expectation of the redemption of Israel, and the interchange of thought, the answers to inquiries, and the communication one with another, as the “whole city” was moved on the occasion—we have no reason to suppose that they did not advocate the temporal reign of Christ, then and there, and urge it from the records of the prophecy. We must suppose that they did do this; for, knowing that that was what they expected, to conclude that they said nothing about it, would be a very unnatural conclusion. It would be to conclude that the whole multitude suddenly became deprived of one of the most prominent traits of humanity. But, nevertheless, did they not fulfill the prophecy? So the sacred writer declares. They gave a proclamation according to the terms of the prophecy, and under the circumstances specified therein; and in that they fulfilled it. But they misunderstood the prophecy, drew wrong inferences and raised false expectations from the prophecy itself; yet that did not invalidate their work as a fulfillment of what the prophet had written. Christ was indeed their King, but was not to manifest himself as such then. They supposed he was to have a temporal kingdom; but he was not. They supposed the time had come for that to be set up; but it had not. They were correct only in the person of the One who was before them. In all else they were wrong in their conclusions. In two points out of three they failed. But the Adventists of 1844, in six points out of seven were correct. Yet of the disciples it is said, “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” And we verily believe if the same pen of inspiration should speak of the past great advent movement, it would be to say, “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by John, saying, ‘I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.’” BRO. T. H. STARBUCK, of Oregon, writes: “I am told that Acts 3:19 should be rendered thus: ‘Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.’ Will the Greek sustain such a rendering?” Ans. That rendering is more strictly in accordance with the original. But critics are not agreed as to the sense in which the Greek words ὅπως ἂν should be taken; that is, whether they bear the sense of “when,” as in our version, or “in order that.” So far as the use we make of the passage is concerned, it matters not which meaning we may give them. The best expositors are generally agreed that the following words, “And he shall send Jesus Christ,” refer to Christ’s second advent; and all we wish to prove is that there is a special time of blotting out of sins in connection with a refreshing, or outpouring of the Spirit, and the second coming of Christ, as is so clearly shown by the subject of the sanctuary. And this appears equally in either case. If we say, “when the times of refreshing shall come,” it shows that such a time is coming at some definite point in the future, though we may not know the time, and that sins are to be blotted out when that time shall come. If we say, “in order that the times of refreshing may come,” &c., it shows no less that there is a time of blotting out of sin, in connection with a time of refreshing, only that the coming of that time is dependent upon the progress of this work of repentance and conversion among men. And we see no objection to this idea. Peter seems to speak as though the coming of the day of the Lord is affected somewhat by the course the church may take: 2 Pet. 3:12; “Looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.” The margin reads, “Hasting the coming.” If it has been ordained that a certain work must be done on earth, for instance, that a certain number must be converted and made righteous, before the Lord can come, the sooner that work is accomplished, the sooner the Lord will come. And if this is a work in which the church is to be largely instrumental, the faster they work and the more they accomplish, the sooner the Lord will come. But some one may perhaps say, There are certain events to take place, or prophecies to be fulfilled, with which the action of the church has nothing to do. But might we not suppose in reply, that Providence would keep pace with the church in the accomplishment of its work, and cause contemporaneous events to be fulfilled with a slow or accelerated movement, as circumstances might demand. With this view the exhortation of Acts 3:19 would be regarded as an exhortation given to all the world, to repent and be converted, fill up the ranks of the righteous, complete the destined number to be redeemed, that your sins may be blotted out, that the times of refreshing may come, and that Jesus Christ may be sent. That is, Complete the work of the gospel, that the plan of salvation may the sooner be worked out, and the time of reward and deliverance come. This blotting out of sin and the coming of the times of refreshment, we cannot apply to individual cases as fast as they repent, unless we have the coming of Christ and the restitution of all things take place there also; for these are all inseparably connected together. The work of repentance and conversion among all men is first accomplished, then comes the blotting out of sin, and the times of refreshing, and the coming of Christ, and the restitution of all things. This is the order of events given in Acts 3:19–21; and it beautifully harmonizes with the subject of the sanctuary and with the testimony of other scriptures. “THOUGHT IT NOT ROBBERY.”
Paul, in Phil. 2:6, thus writes concerning Christ: “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Taking these words alone, the force of the expression, “Thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” is not easy to be seen. But if we take them with the context, the matter is rendered still worse: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation,” &c. According to our version, the mind which was in Christ was, being in the form of God, not to think it any robbery to be equal with God. Man, also, we are told, is made in the image of God, and shall we have the same mind, and think it no robbery to be equal with God? Here is the apparent difficulty with the text. But if we give to the word rendered robbery another meaning which is given to it in the lexicons, it relieves the difficulty and brings out the beautiful idea of the passage. That word is defined to mean, also, something to be earnestly desired, coveted, or sought after, like the spoil which is so earnestly desired as to be obtained by robbery. With this idea let us read the text: “Who being in the form of God, thought it not something to be pre-eminently desired to be, or still to appear, equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,” &c. That is to say, though he was in the form of God, having exaltation and glory with him before the world was, being the express image of his person, and the brightness of his glory, he did not think it so desirable to still retain this position, and to continue to appear before the exalted intelligences of Heaven the equal of God, as it was to do something else. And what was this other thing that was more desirable? It was to come down and redeem man. Therefore he made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross. With this idea, the force and beauty of the passage is seen. See Dr. Clarke. Now, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in so exalted and glorious a position, thought it not desirable to continue in it if he could rescue perishing man. He might have retained his place in Heaven and left man to perish. But he laid aside his glory, for a while put off his equality with God, and came down in the form of a servant to rescue us. If we have the same mind we also shall not cling to those things which minister to self, even as Christ served not himself, but shall go forth to succor and rescue those whom we can reach by any possible sacrifice and labor of love. A more notable instance of men seeking to enrich themselves at the expense and suffering of others, rarely occurs, than the one described in the following paragraph. Fifty thousand men at this season and in these times thrown out of employment, means want, suffering, starvation, or crime. Yet this is coolly and deliberately done by a few moneyed monopolists, that they may fill their coffers with gold. From Lock Haven, Pa., Jan. 8, the following announcement is telegraphed:— “Fifty thousand men thrown out of work, that the price of coal may be raised. In accordance with arrangements made at the meeting at Philadelphia, last week, an order was issued yesterday by Gowan, president of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron company, to all colliery superintendents in the Schuylkill coal regions to suspend operations. This movement has thrown between 25,000 and 30,000 miners and laborers out of employment. As the individual operators have also announced their intention of shutting down to-day to curtail production, between 15,000 and 20,000 more colliery operatives will be added to the number already idle. The operators in the Shamokin region likewise intend to stop running, and from present indications it is not in the least improbable that every mine in the region will be closed by this evening.” When the love of money will transform men into such fiends, it is not without reason that Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evil, and that they who “will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, . . . which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1 Tim. 6:9, 10. From the testimony of James it appears that in the last days especially men will seek to grow rich through oppression of the poor. Their possession of capital gives them an advantage which they are not slow to use to grind down others in their necessity and poverty, and enrich themselves. Besides the fifty thousand men thrown out of employment, hundreds of thousands all over the country will be thrown into suffering by the contemplated advance in the price of fuel. And while they are so heartless in regard to this, it accords with all our instincts of justice when we read from the apostle that such persons are to enjoy their ill-gotten gains but a little while; for they are heaping up treasures for the last days; and that the cries of those whose wages are kept back by fraud are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. James 5:1-4. They are preparing for a time when they will find too much coal on their hands for their own comfort. In the Detroit Evening News, of Jan. 10, we find this further allusion to the subject. “The Pennsylvania coal kings, whom a benign country has, during twenty years, protected into opulence, are not satisfied with the interference with the natural laws of trade through the tariff, but propose to raise the price of fuel still more, by the arbitrary suspension of its production. They have, through the monopoly the tariff gave them, filled Pennsylvania with pauper labor, which they have ground down to starvation wages and reduced almost to savagery by long years of brutal tyranny and oppression. They have now added to the infamy of their system the sudden discharge of 50,000 men, for no other purpose than to reduce the supply of coal and raise the price. In other words, they will starve 50,000 poor families in Pennsylvania for the purpose of robbing all the poor families of the country who are compelled to use their fuel. These men are public enemies, and the people should insist that the government at Washington be no longer a partner in their crimes against the people. Let the duty on coal be abolished once for all, or reduced to a strictly revenue basis, and we shall no longer be compelled to pay tribute to them. The coal industries of the country would then adjust themselves to natural conditions, and there would be no complaints of overproduction.” HAVE GOD'S COMMANDMENTS BEEN ABOLISHED?
By Roswell F. Cottrell
When God came down upon Mount Sinai, and gave the ten commandments with his own voice, it is said that he gave to the people, “right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments.” Neh. 9:13. These commandments, laws, or judgments were given as a rule of righteousness, or right doing. They are primary laws, showing what is right and wrong; and obedience to them is what constitutes righteousness, or a right moral character. Said Moses concerning these laws, “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” Deut. 6:25. Jesus was affirming the perpetuity of these commandments to all then future generations when he said, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” See Matt. 5:17-20. The apostles also teach that “all unrighteousness is sin,” and that “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 5:17; and 3:4; Rom. 4:15. If all unrighteousness is transgression of the law, it follows that all righteousness is obedience to the law. In harmony with this is the declaration: “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Since these commandments are the rule of righteousness, Inspiration, by a common figure, has affirmed that they are righteousness. “My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119:172. To abolish these laws would be to abolish righteousness. And what is affirmed of one is affirmed of all—all of them are righteousness. There is no evading the truth that this refers to the ten commandments—those known in the days of David as God’s commandments. The abolition of any one of them would be the abolition of righteousness. Has God done that? Will he ever do it? Let us hear his own testimony on this point: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isa. 51:6, 7. How similar to this testimony are the words of Jesus: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” Matt. 5:18. In the face of divine testimonies like these, is it not astonishing that any professing godliness should teach that this righteous law has been abolished, or changed in a jot or tittle? To every intelligent believer in God as revealed in the Bible, as an all-wise and unchangeable being, the presumptive evidence is all in favor of the perpetuity and immutability of his law. God has said this law of ten commandments is the truth, and is perfect; and that all these commandments are truth and righteousness; and that every one of these righteous judgments endures forever. Ps. 19:7; 119:142, 151, 160, 172. He promised in prophecy that his law should not be abolished, and that the Messiah should magnify it. Isa. 51:6; 42:21. Accordingly Jesus bore testimony to its perpetuity to all generations then future, and to its unchangeability till heaven and earth pass. Matt. 5:17-20. The apostles taught the same doctrine, and that God will judge all men by this law in the day of Jesus Christ. Rom. 3:31; Jas. 2:8-12; Rom. 2:12-16. To me there is only one reason imaginable why good men, Christians, believers in the Bible, should ever entertain the thought for a moment that this law has been abolished or changed in the least iota, by divine authority. That one reason is the influence of the great apostasy, foretold by Daniel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles. Dan. 7:20-26; Matt. 24:11, 12, 37-39; 2 Thess. 2:3-8; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 4:3, 4. In consequence of the great apostasy which resulted in the establishment of the papacy, that power that was to “think to change times and laws,”—the times and laws of God,—most Christians find themselves out of harmony with the law of God as recorded in the Bible, and it being more natural for men to search for an excuse than to correct their customs received by tradition, some have taken the position that the Sabbath law has been changed, others that it has been abolished, and others still that the whole decalogue has been done away. The change of the Sabbath being untenable from the Scriptures, men have claimed that the Sabbath was a Jewish institution, and was nailed to the cross, and failing to make it appear that one commandment of the moral law has been singled out and abolished while the rest stand good, they have gone to the extreme of claiming that the whole law, given by Jehovah in person, has been swept away; and this by Him whom God sent into the world to die for men’s transgressions of that law, that sinful man might find pardon, and become reconciled to God! The only way out of this confusion of absurdity and error, is to return to the law of God as originally given. And this Christians are doing all over our land and in almost every nation of Europe. This is because God has sent his last warning to the world; Rev. 14:9-12; and they are heeding his voice. Let all renounce false tradition and return to the truth. ALSTRUP, DENMARK.
By JOHN G. MATTESON
The copy of ADVENT TIDENDE which was sent to Bergen, Norway, from Chicago, has interested many. We have received letters from five persons who have read the paper and other works which we have sent to them. They are much interested in the truths which pertain to our time, and long to hear the message of the second coming of Christ proclaimed among them. There is more religious awakening in Norway than in Denmark, and the temperance cause has made better progress there than here; but there are also souls here who must be won over to the Lord’s side and be prepared for his coming. One brother writes: “I have begun to think somewhat about the Sabbath question and the prophecies of the second coming of Christ; but, like the eunuch, I need a Philip to explain these things to me. But as it may be too much to ask of you to answer the Macedonian cry, ‘Come over and help us,’ the truth-seeking souls here will patiently wait for the time when the Lord will send out more laborers into his vineyard. Send us, however, as many of your publications as you can spare. I believe the Lord has many honest souls in this city.” The other brethren in that place also write good letters. I send them both books and papers. Yesterday our new meeting-house in Alstrup was dedicated. It can seat about two hundred persons. We held two meetings, and had a full house each time. A brother from Sulsted, who has kept the Sabbath eleven years, was present. He attended our little meeting on the Sabbath, the first Sabbath meeting he ever attended in his life. There were also some other friends present from several distant cities. We have now a good meeting-house in which to hold our meetings, and we intend to make good use of it. The friends in the vicinity have hired it for five years, for this purpose. May the Lord bless these efforts so that many souls here may be converted to God and his precious truth. Above the meeting-house is a little room, 10x 12 feet, which we occupy as our home. There are many other places where the people long to hear the word of God. May the Lord send out more laborers into the harvest. Dec. 17. JOHN G. MATTESON. NEW ENGLAND TRACT QUARTERLY MEETING.
By S. N. Haskell
No doubt all our New England friends have seen the appointment and notice of the New England quarterly meeting, the third Sabbath and first-day in January. This will be a meeting of unusual interest to every tract worker in the Conference. It was about ten years ago that Eld. Canright was in New England, and found it the hardest field he ever labored in. After one year of the most untiring labor he left, with less than twenty-five keeping the Sabbath as the result of his year's effort. Seven years ago last November the tract society was organized. Not less than ten thousand dollars have been expended in placing books in libraries, scattering our publications, placing the VOICE OF TRUTH, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, and HEALTH REFORMER in more than twenty thousand families. Over thirty thousand Health Annuals have been placed before the people, and yet no marked result was seen until within the last two years. The Judgment alone will reveal how much the spirit of sacrifice in the giving of means, and in labor put forth in the tract work, had to do with the most successful camp-meeting ever held by Seventh-day Adventists, so far as the attendance of those not in the truth is concerned, one year ago last summer. And our successful camp-meeting last season also cannot soon be forgotten. But the numbers who have actually embraced the Sabbath during the last six months, under the faithful labors of Eld. Canright, are truly wonderful. An interest has been awakened in so many places that five laborers could not fill the calls, and Eld. G. now reports that New England is the easiest field of labor that he has ever found. Probably there will be present at this quarterly meeting more than one hundred and fifty who have embraced the Sabbath the past season. Who among those that have had an interest in the tract work in this hard field, during the past seven years, will not be interested in this meeting? Not one. Let there be a general rally of the workers. These new friends will want to join the missionary army, and commence the field drill. Librarians should be appointed in Danvers, Newburyport, and other places where tract societies are formed, and a supply of our tracts should be left with each company. The assistant secretary will be at the meeting and present a summary of what has been done during the past quarter. Let there be a general rally of the friends of the cause in New England. God has commenced to fulfill his word to the East by sending men in the power of his Spirit, and in leading many to embrace the truth, thus showing what he is willing to do when we give our hearts to him. May God bless the quarterly meeting at Danvers, and encourage the hearts of all his people. S. N. HASKELL, Pres. N. E. T. and M. S. Can a Sabbath-keeper rent his farm to a person who does not keep the Sabbath? ANS. We think there would be no objection, if the conditions and circumstances were such as not to interfere with his observance of the Sabbath. If our Saviour died on preparation day (Friday) where are the three nights that the Son of man should be in the heart of the earth? ANS. We think the crucifixion may perhaps be put back in the week as far as Thursday, which would give us, according to present names of days, Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night, before the resurrection Sunday morning. W. I. GIBSON: We should regard the delivery of milk upon the Sabbath as a part of the weekly business, which should be suspended on that day. What kind of weakness, sickness, and death are referred to in 1 Cor. 11:30? Spiritual or physical? E. A. F. ANS. Probably physical. Paul's writing seems to imply that irregularities had become so great in the Corinthian church as to call down the manifest judgments of God upon them. F. KINGSLEY: That which is called a “figure” in Heb. 9:9, is the earthly sanctuary built by the children of Israel, as described in the verses before. The word rendered “figure” is parabole, which Robinson says has the same meaning as tupos, type. It was a type for the time then present—a type of the sanctuary in Heaven. A. G. WILBUR: We see no objection to performing the ordinances, all of them, on the Sabbath; nor do we know of anything confining them to the evening. They were instituted in the evening, and once celebrated in the evening, Acts 20:7; but there is probably nothing in these circumstances to determine the time of their celebration. ANSWERED BY LETTER. C. H. Howe, J. H. Waggoner, W. A. Hall.