Earlier text: Significant Developments in TurkeyThe Epistle Written by Christ Himself
By Eugene Leland
It Should Be Highly Prized — Even Though So Valuable, It Is Obtainable There is nothing, perhaps, that affords more pleasure than to receive a letter from an absent relative or friend. This is especially true when the letter comes from one whom we love, and in whose counsel we have confidence. The writers of the New Testament seem to have understood this; for of the twenty-seven books of which it is composed, twenty-one are letters. And the book of Revelation also may be considered as a letter, for the apostle was directed to write it and “send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.” Knowing the pleasure derived from the reception of a letter, some may have been led to wonder why our Saviour did not write one or more epistles either to the church or to the world. An epistle from Him, it would seem, would be regarded with the utmost esteem, if not with reverence, by all His followers, and its admonitions and counsels would be carefully studied and implicitly obeyed. CHRIST HAS WRITTEN AN EPISTLE
Ah, but He has written an epistle to the world, and written it twice over! To be sure, it is brief, yet it is so comprehensive that it covers “the whole duty of man.” But instead of treating this “epistle of Christ” with reverence or even with respect, instead of heeding its counsels and obeying its precepts, the vast majority of the human family do not even know that such an epistle ever was written; and those who do know it, or who ought at least to know it, disregard its requirements with impunity, and observe them only to the extent that public opinion or personal interest demands. A letter is written for the purpose of having it read. It would be a waste of time to write a letter if no one was ever expected to read it. The apostle Paul wrote to the brethren concerning his first epistle to the Thessalonians, “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.” 1 Thess. 5:27. Of course it should be read. That is what it was written for. The same thing is true of the “epistle of Christ.” It was written to be read. But in order to read an epistle intelligently, we must be able to comprehend what is written. What is this “epistle of Christ”? It surely must be of more importance than any one of the twenty-one epistles the apostles wrote, coming as it did from Christ Himself. What is this “epistle of Christ”? Listen: “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of182 the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” 2 Cor. 3:3. What, then, is the “epistle of Christ”?—It is the law of God, the Ten Commandments, written first upon tables of stone, and the second time upon fleshy tables of the heart. What significance could there be in mentioning the tables of stone in this connection, unless the same thing that is written upon them is that which is written upon the fleshy tables of the heart? In fact, this is directly stated in Jer. 31:33: “After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” The tables of stone are lost to the world; but the “epistle of Christ” has not been lost, for it has been rewritten upon more enduring monuments. Not one jot or tittle of this “epistle of Christ” has been lost or changed in the rewritten form. And as in the tables of stone, so in the fleshy tables of the heart, the “epistle of Christ” is written to be read. Every time one meets a true follower of Christ, he will be able to read at a glance, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” “Thou shalt not covet,” and all the rest of the “epistle of Christ,” between these two. That is what the followers of Christ are in the world for. The commission given to the disciples, to go “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” is only another way of telling them to give to all the world an opportunity to read the “epistle of Christ.” In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. Rom. 1:17. God’s righteousness is His obedience to the law, for it is witnessed by the law. Rom. 3:21. And God’s righteousness, His obedience to the law, is manifested in us. Rom. 8:3, 4. Hence preaching the gospel is simply exhibiting to the world God’s obedience to the law in us, which is the “epistle of Christ.” Surely it is a most exalted privilege to be in possession of so valuable a writing, and to be the means of presenting it to the world for them to read. Ancient manuscripts of the New Testament epistles are regarded as very valuable, and they are preserved with the greatest care. Autograph letters by distinguished men are kept under lock and key, and not permitted to be handled, or even to be seen except under glass. In how much higher esteem, then, should an autograph copy of the “epistle of Christ” be held! Almost fabulous sums have been paid for autograph manuscripts of distinguished authors; but an autograph copy of the “epistle of Christ,” the most priceless of all ancient manuscripts, may be obtained by the poorest and the humblest without money and without price. Yea, the poorest and the humblest may himself be an autograph copy of the “epistle of Christ”; and as such, he will be known and read of all men. Who will surrender himself to be such an epistle? A Lion in the Streets of London
By Frank A. Coffin
Remains of Many Other Animals Found About Him—Why Were These Uncongenial Creatures Brought Together?—The Bible Explains the Scoffers of Science A LION has been found in the middle of Fleet Street, London, according to a dispatch sent out by the Associated Press recently. The find is made more interesting because it is a prehistoric lion. These fossil remains were discovered about thirty feet beneath the present surface of the ground while excavations were in progress for the new Daily Chronicle building. Besides the lion’s bones, were found the wrist bone and hip bone of a mammoth. This animal is said to have been almost identical with the African elephant of to-day. Mammoth, Reindeer, Horse, and Ox Together
Workmen were excavating in 1903 only ninety feet from this spot, to make room for new machines for Lloyd’s Weekly News. While digging with pick and shovel, the skull of a woolly rhinoceros was turned up. It was well preserved. Then further remains of the rhinoceros were found. One of these bones was a “beautiful complete skull of a young individual, in which the milk teeth were still in use” at the time it died, “and the back molars, or wisdom teeth, not yet cut.” Bones of a mammoth, a reindeer, a horse, and a great extinct ox also were found. F. E. Beddard, a fellow of the Royal Society, in writing upon the subject, is quoted by the Associated Press as asking the question, “What was a Siberian rhinoceros doing on this island?” He answers his own question with the statement, “During the period of the earth’s history which saw these great beasts grazing on the plains of northern Europe and Asia, this island was not yet divorced from the continent.” Afraid of Each Other, Yet in Company
He might have asked the further question, “What was the reindeer from the frigid zone doing in company with an elephant of the tropics?” and: “What was the horse, which is known to be afraid of elephants, doing in their company? Why all these bones within a few feet of each other?” Modern scientists who hold to the evolution theory offer no explanation of the mystery, but the word of God informs us that “this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” 2 Peter 3:5, 6. This erroneous evolution theory which now is taught so widely in our popular colleges by well-known scientific men, is one of the signs that we are living in the very last days of this earth’s history. Peter says so in connection with the statement we have just quoted. “Knowing this first,” he says, “that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4. He then speaks of the willful ignorance of these men concerning the Flood. What, except some great cataclysm, could have brought together all these animals, which naturally are uncongenial? But when the true statements of the Bible are candidly accepted, what a flood of light is thrown upon mysteries which otherwise cannot be explained! What a picture is flashed upon the mind as one reads, in the seventh and eighth chapters of Genesis, the wonderful narrative of the awful Flood, which covered the entire earth, leaving not a foot of standing room for man or beast! Deluged from Beneath and Above
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life,” says the record, “in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. . . . “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. . . . And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.” Gen. 7:11, 12, 19, 21-24. Visited Because of Wickedness
That awful Flood was sent by God. It came upon the earth because man’s wickedness was great, and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Gen. 6:5. “As it was in the days of Noe,” said Jesus, “so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Luke 17:26. Here is another evidence that the end of all things is right upon us, for wickedness was never more brazen and widespread than to-day. The newspapers remind us daily that crime is abroad, that men continually are imagining evil, and suiting the act to the thought. God has promised never to bring another flood of water upon the earth. But He has not promised that He will not punish the wicked for their iniquity. “The day cometh, that shall burn as an oven,” is the warning of the word of God; “and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 4:1. It was by the word of God, Peter says, that the heavens and the earth were created in the beginning, and by which the mighty waters surged forth from the fountains of the great deep. “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:5-7. Ungodly men are not now burning; but this same earth which once was overflowed by water, is kept in store until the day of Judgment, “reserved unto fire.”7 Jesus Christ, God’s Son, whose great love for mankind led Him to the cruel cross—“even this same Jesus,” soon will return to earth in clouds of glory to receive His children. He promised to return, and “is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Verse 9. To those who refuse to believe the Bible record, or to heed its warnings, “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” Verses 10-14. “Scoffers, walking after their own lusts,” are one of the signs that we are even now living in the very last days of this world’s history. Not only fossil remains, but material evidences on every hand, point to the truthfulness of God’s word. It behooves those who would be “accounted worthy to escape all these things” which are yet to come upon the world, to make peace with their God, and to accept without question the precepts and admonitions of His word, serving Him in sincerity and truth. A Thousand Years of Rest
By L. D. SANTEE
“And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4. FOR the Saviour their lives were given.
They said, “Let His will be done.”
They were true to the One in heaven.
They have fought with the “beast,” and won.
And then, in the realm of gladness,
That country where all are blest,
They will doff their robes of sadness,
For a thousand years of rest. They were loyal to Him who called them,
They gave their lives for His word;
And soon, where no ills befall them,
They will reign with their risen Lord.
To Him was their worship given,
To Him were their sins confessed;
And they enter the joys of heaven,
For a thousand years of rest. In the beauty of life immortal,
Where death cannot reach them more,
They pass through the pearly portal,
To their home on the shining shore,
Where garlands of peace are twining,
And no heart is with woe oppressed.
Heaven’s radiant light is shining,
On a thousand years of rest. There’s a joy and a light in their faces,
That the world has never known,
As they enter the holy places,
And worship before the throne.
In the fair eternal weather,
Sound the anthems of the blest.
They shall enter home together,
For a thousand years of rest. They will reign with Christ together,
While a thousand years shall roll.
After that, a glad forever
Fills with joy the raptured soul.
They shall wear their robes of gladness,
In that land where all are blest.
No more cares and no more sadness,
But a thousand years of rest. They dwell with Christ in His beauty,
In a region all free from pain.
Their lives have been true to duty,
And they’ll never die again.
Friends will meet no more to sever,
And their joy naught can molest,
While is ushered in forever
The glad thousand years of rest. Yes, a thousand years of glory,
Where the saints shall reign on high!
Angels tell the wondrous story
Of that home beyond the sky.
The redeemed, with untold gladness,
Will lean on Jesus’ breast.
Ne’er a note of grief or sadness,
In the thousand years of rest! Their lives to the Lord are given,
They have triumphed in His dear name.
And high in the courts of heaven,
As conquerors they reign.
They refused the “beast” and his “image,”
And every sin was confessed.
They reign with Christ in His beauty,
For a thousand years of rest. WHEN we have accepted Christ as our Saviour-Friend, we never can get away from His love. He said to His disciples before He left them to ascend in His bodily presence to heaven, “I am with you always.” This promise was for every one who loves Christ. There is no place where we may be that He is not. One wrote to a friend: “Somehow I feel that Christ is not with me any more. I call Him, but He does not answer me. I seek Him, but I cannot find Him.” Yet this one was mistaken. Jesus had not left her. When she called Him, He was closer to her than the air she breathed. When she was seeking Him, He was right beside her. The unavoidable Christ! We remember what happened the morning of the resurrection. Mary of Magdala was eager to find His body. She did not dream of finding Him, the loving Friend, alive; but she wanted to find His body, that she might anoint it. She found His grave open, the loved body gone; and her grief was very great. Even the presence of angels within the tomb did not meet her need; and when, turning back, she saw some one standing near, she supposed it was the gardener, and she implored Him to tell her where He had taken her Friend. The answer was, “Mary,” in tones she knew well. She thought she had lost Him; and lo, He was close beside her! The unavoidable Christ! We never can be where He is not. We have it in the old psalm: “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there:
If I make my bed in sheol, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall Thy hand lead me,
And Thy right hand shall hold me.” How strange it is that some people think of the divine presence always as something to dread, something to be afraid of! They quote the words, “Thou God seest me,” and are startled and alarmed by the thought of the divine eye. That is not the way that the thought of the ever watchful presence of Christ should affect us. Perhaps we do not remember the whole of the Old Testament story in which we find those words “Thou God seest me.” A wronged woman is driven out into the wilderness, and is in despair as she thinks of her desolated condition. An angel comes and gives her a message of hope for the future. She will be the mother of a nation. And so she calls the name of the God who had come to her in her loneliness and distress, “Thou art a God that seeth.” Instead of being a word to cause terror in our hearts, this is a word that brings hope and joy. “Thou God seest me.” O, how glad we should be that God does see us! We never can be in any trouble in which He does not see us. And for Him to see us is, if we yield to Him, for us to be safe. Nothing can ever go really wrong with us in the obeyed presence of our Lord and Master. But let us look at this truth of the unavoidable Christ in another way. The word “unavoidable” suggests also that there are some who would like to avoid Him. When He was on the earth, there were many who did not care for Him, did not believe on Him, did not love Him, did not want to take Him as their Master. They tried to avoid Him. Some even hated. There were many that day who cried “Crucify Him!” Well, did it make any real difference? What right had Jesus to claim men's affection, trust, and loyalty? Why is it so necessary that people shall love Christ and follow Him? He is the Son of God. He is the Messiah — King of men. Every one owes Him allegiance. Not to accept Him as King and Lord is to be disloyal to God. Not to take Him as our Saviour is to miss eternal life. He is the Way — no one cometh unto the Father but by Him. To avoid Christ is to withhold one's self from life. A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH
It is not therefore merely a matter of opinion, of taste, of preference — it is a matter of life or death whether we are on Christ's side or not. A good many are letting the feeling creep over them that it really does not matter whether they love and follow Christ or not. They admire Him, in a way. They like His teachings, approve them intellectually, but they do not feel any great necessity of obeying them. They are coming to think of Christ as a Saviour in a broad, general sense, the uplifter of all men, the Redeemer of the world in that He is making the world better, reforming it, introducing184 better conditions, bringing in better civilizations, better education. But is it not true that the thought of individual salvation only through personal acceptance of Christ is fading out of men's consciousness? O, it does matter what we do with Christ! We may not avoid Him as we would avoid a system of philosophy. To avoid Christ is to perish. There is no other name, if we reject this name. The unavoidable Christ! We cannot leave Christ out of our life. We must meet Him. We must accept Him or reject Him. He offers Himself to us as our Saviour; we must answer the question whether we will accept Him as our Saviour or not. He comes to be our Lord and Master; we must answer whether we will bow down to Him in surrender, whether we will serve Him or not. He comes to be our Friend, to enter into all our experiences, to answer all our longings, to guide us in the path of life, to strengthen us for duty, to answer our heart hungers. We must decide whether we will have Him for our Friend or not. But not one of us can avoid Him. No one who has ever heard the gospel, can go to the bar of God and say, “Jesus Christ never came to me with an offer of salvation, of blessedness.” Certainly He comes to every one who lives where we live, in the blaze of gospel light. Certainly no reader of these words can ever say, “Christ never came to me.” We cannot say: “He never called me by name. He never showed me a possible noble future and asked me to accept it. He never painted for me a dream of life, of glory, of immortality, and said He would lead me to its attainment.” He is before each one's door. “I stand at the door and knock.” See Him there, standing, knocking, waiting. He says, “If any man open.” He will not force the door. You must lift the latch. The unavoidable Christ! Can any one really want to avoid Christ, and enter eternity without Him? O, let us open to Him! Let us give Him our heart. Yea, we must have Christ; so that when everything else fails and fades, we shall find ourselves forever at home in the everlasting arms.—Sunday School Times The Saloon’s Record of Tears and Blood
“Bob” BURDETTE: “Search through the history of this hateful thing, and read one page over which some mother can bow her grateful head and thank God for all the saloon did for her boy. There is no such record. All its history is written in tears and blood, with smears of shame and stains of crime and dark blots of disgrace.” Insurance Men on Alcohol
By W. H. Spicer
Russia's War Loss Reaped Through Abstinence A RECENT publication of the Association of Life Insurance Presidents gives some very striking facts regarding alcohol as a cause of high mortality in the following words: “Nothing has been more conclusively proved than that a steady free use of alcoholic beverages, or occasional excesses, are detrimental to the individual. In my judgment, it has been proved beyond peradventure of doubt that total abstinence from alcohol is of value to humanity; it is certain that abstainers live longer than persons who use alcoholic beverages.” The writer goes on to say that dividing alcoholics in ordinary occupations into two classes,—(a) men who took two glasses of beer, or a glass of whisky, or their equivalent, a day; (b) men who took more than the foregoing amount, but were not considered by the companies to drink to excess,— the mortality in the second group was found to be fully fifty per cent greater than in the first. This difference is probably partly explained by the fact that many of those who had reached the stage of indulging more freely, later entered the class of immoderate users. “Part of the hazard from alcoholic beverages lies in the user losing the power to limit himself to a moderate consumption.” The investigating committee that made these observations, found, on comparison with statistics for total abstainers furnished by various companies, that during the working years of life, those who have never used alcoholic drinks have a mortality of about one half that among those who use alcohol to the extent of at least two glasses of whisky a day. “In view of this,” the report continues, “if the government of Russia carry out their present intention to abolish permanently all forms of alcoholic beverages, the saving of human life will be enormous. It is not too much to say that the loss of 500,000 men as the result of the present warfare could be made good in less than ten years through complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages by all the inhabitants of Russia.” This is in addition to the great benefit that would come to the living who might in any case survive. In this connection, a quotation from a former member of the Duma, M. D. Tehelisheff, is cited. He states that already, as the result of the abstinence of the peasants from vodka, “they are beginning to look like a different race.” Their manner of living has also been greatly improved. W. H. Spicer. Christ the Foundation Stone
By H. W. COTTRELL
Peter Is Not the Rock on Which the Church Is Founded The foundation of the church of God and of Christ Jesus the Lord stands sure. Christ is that spiritual foundation. “Ye [Christians] are God’s building.” 1 Cor. 3:9. God’s building is His church. The foundation of this building, which He will by His grace make perfect, is Christ the divine Lord—not Peter, nor his confession of faith in Christ. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Verse 11. WOULD LAY ANOTHER FOUNDATION
He who declares Peter to be the foundation of the church of God, lays another foundation; he who lays for a foundation Peter’s divinely inspired confession of faith in Christ, builds on another foundation. The spiritual church of Christ has been six thousand years under process of erection, and it will one day be completed and decked with heavenly glory and spotless purity; thus it will be without “wrinkle, or any such thing.” Had the church under process of construction been founded either upon Peter or upon his confession, it would have fallen when he lost his anchorage—denied the Lord. Christ is the spiritual foundation of the church, and “the foundation of God standeth sure.” Queried the Master, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The reply was, “John the Baptist,” “Elias,” “Jeremias,” or “one of the prophets.” Opinions of men varied, and none were correct. In answer to another query, Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God;” Jesus then informed Peter that his vision of Him [Christ] was a heaven-revealed message, even though men may not believe it, or believing, should later deny it. Of Peter Jesus said: “Blessed art thou: . . . for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 16:13-17. Peter was blessed, as is every soul who acquaints himself with and accepts the divine Christ as his personal Saviour. Again, “I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter”—a small stone—a mere man. The Master then turned the trend of thought of the disciples back to the question under consideration, as to who He was, and said of Himself, “the Son of the living God.” “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Verse 18. Surely Christ is an enduring foundation upon which each individual may rest, and thus will rest the church. The sleeping saint cannot be so securely barred in the tomb but that the church of Jesus Christ will triumph. The word of God is the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Surely then, Peter, and as verily every true Christian, can go forth, and upon the authority of the word of God, give assurance to those who would enter into favor with Christ, that such decision is “bound” both in heaven and on earth; and may also give equal assurance to the incorrigible that without repentance their doom is settled both in heaven and on earth. “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.” Isa. 28:16. “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:4. What a Labor Leader Says About Alcohol
TERENCE V. POWDERLY, of Knights of Labor: “I know that I am right; I know that in refusing to even touch a drop of strong drink, I was and am right. In refusing to treat another to that which I do not believe to be good for myself to drink, I know I am right. In refusing to associate with men who get drunk, I know I am right. In not allowing a rum seller to gain admittance into the Order of Knights of Labor, I know that I was right. In advising our assemblies not to rent halls or meeting rooms over drinking places, I know that I was right. I have done this from the day my voice was first heard in the council halls of our order.” He Was Famished
By J. H. H.
WRITING of Christ's temptation in the desert, Matthew says, “He was afterward an hungred.” Other languages give this, “He was at last hungering.” In other words, while He was without food for forty days, at the end thereof He was at last famished. “An hungred” does not mean simply “hungry.” It is the past participle of the verb “to hunger.” This would more nearly resemble our word “famished” than simply “hungry.” J. H. H.