The Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the earth.
“This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14.
Knowledge of all kinds will increase.
“Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Dan. 12:4.
There will be means of rapid locomotion from place to place.
“The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of His preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways; they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightning.” See Nahum 2:3–6.
The sun shall be darkened.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.” Matt. 24:29.
The moon turned to blood.
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Acts 2:20.
The stars shall fall.
“And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” Rev. 6:13.
The nations will be perplexed.
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity.” Luke 21:25.
The nations will be angry.
“And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Rev. 11:18.
Violence will fill the earth.
“Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs; neither shall there be wailing for them.” “The land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” Eze. 7:11, 23.
“The voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Wo is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.” Jer. 4:31.
Justice will not be done.
“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter.” Isa. 59:14.
Perilous times will come.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” 2 Tim. 3:1.
Sin will be manifest among those with whom a form of godliness prevails.
“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” Verses 2–5.
Some of the watchmen will cease to watch.
“His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they can not bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that can not understand; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.” Isa. 56:10–12, R.V.
And they will teach for hire.
“The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.” Micah 3:11.
They will cry, “Peace and safety.”
“When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thess. 5:3.
When there is no peace.
“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jer. 6:14.
They will proclaim the law abolished.
“Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.” “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that can not profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?” Jer. 7:4, 8–10.
When it never will be abolished.
“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.” Isa. 51:6.
“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth.” Ps. 119:142.
The sea and the waves will roar, and men will fear.
“The sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:25, 26.
Stormy winds will fulfil His Word.
“Fire, and hail; snow, and vapors; stormy wind fulfilling His word.” Ps. 148:8.
Men will give heed to seducing spirits.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Tim. 4:1.
They will go to the dead for knowledge.
“They shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?” Isa. 8:19.
The spirits of devils will work miracles.
“For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Rev. 16:14.
For the purpose of deceiving.
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” Rev. 13:14.
And resisting the truth.
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” 2 Tim. 3:8.
Earthquakes, pestilences, and famines will be prevalent.
“There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matt. 24:7.
Satan will work with “all deceivableness of unrighteousness.”
“After the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” 2 Thess. 2:9, 10.
Men will pile up treasure in the last days.
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” James 5:1–3.
And live in pleasure.
“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” Verse 5.5
The poor will be defrauded.
“Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.” Verse 4.
Men will riot in pleasure.
“Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” Verse 6.
The righteous will be patient, and not go on a strike.
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” Verses 7, 8.
The judgment will begin.
“The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” 1 Peter 4:17.
And will be announced by a special message.
“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” Rev. 14:6, 7.
The message will be rejected, and Babylon will fall.
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Verse 8.
Another message, warning against the worship of the beast and his image, will follow.
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Verses 9–11.
And a people keeping all God’s commandments will be developed.
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Verse 12.
Persecution will be waged by the beast and his image against them.
“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” “Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:12, 14–17.
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17.
Then Jesus will come.
“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” Rev. 14:14.
Dear reader, study the above scriptures, and tell us which one has not been fulfilled, or is not being fulfilled at the present time. Everything proclaims the end near. We are commanded to watch, and discern the signs of the times. Matt. 24:42; 16:1–3. “When ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:33, margin.
G. B. THOMPSON.
Newburg; W. Va.
PART OF THE PLAN.
By F. D. Starr
Is the Scripture teaching concerning the second coming of Christ a matter separate from, and in addition to, the plan of salvation designed of God for the final restoration of believers in the Gospel; or is it, rather, a part of that plan? That there was a well-defined plan projected by which this salvation should be secured, no one will question for a moment.
Our Saviour was always using illustrations, parables, in His teachings. “Without a parable spake He not unto them.” Matt. 13:34. One of his noted parables was that of the sower, or farmer. Every prudent farmer has a distinct plan laid out in his mind before he begins to raise his crop. He first clears his ground, fences it, gets it in preparation to break up, then plows it, harrows it, sows the seed, watches the crop to see that it is not destroyed, irrigates and cultivates it if necessary, and gives it his unremitting attention till the golden grain waves to the gentle breeze, and indicates that the time of reaping is come. But is his work now done, and his object secured?—No, indeed. If his work were to cease now, all his past labor would be lost. At no stage in this process could he cease operations, and derive any profit from his efforts. The clearing, fencing, plowing, tilling, and fitting of the land, and the sowing of the grain, irrigating, and caring for the crop, are all performed in reference to an event yet to take place. All this time his mind looks forward to that all-important season, the time of the harvest. He speaks of it when making his calculations with reference to the payment of future obligations, and when anticipating his reward for his labor. “I will pay you when harvest comes,” he often says to his employees and to others. “Immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Mark 4:29. Should this not be done, the entire plan would be a failure. The grain must be harvested and gathered in.
Now the application of this illustration. In the plan of salvation, it was determined that Christ should be born, an infant, in this world. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Isa. 9:6. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11. Jesus was born a Saviour. Because He was born a Saviour, was salvation then accomplished? His birth must be followed by a life of obedience, as our substitute and example. “By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” “We shall be saved by His life.” Rom. 5:19, 10. Without this life of obedience, our salvation could not be secured. But is that enough to secure it?
Ah, here we come to the great central fact in the infinite design for human salvation,—“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3); “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” Heb. 9:22. “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people.” John 11:50. Calvary rises to view as the pinnacle from which faith beholds in the future the complete success of the whole Gospel plan.
But is anything more necessary to accomplish our salvation? Had Jesus remained in Joseph’s new sepulcher, our hope would have been lost. “He must rise again from the dead.” John 20:9. “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” 1 Cor. 15:17.
Did His resurrection, without any further act, insure our salvation, so that the work was complete? Said He, “It is expedient for you that I go away.” John 16:7. “We have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” Heb. 4:14. “Such an high priest became us.” “He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:26, 25. “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1. It is just as necessary that we have an infinite High Priest to offer the infinite sacrifice, as it is that we have that sacrifice.
What further act, if any, is necessary in order to complete the plan? The ardent desire of our Lord, as expressed in His memorable prayer to His Father, was that His people might be with Him. “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me.” John 17:24. This was the object of His soul-labor. Nothing else would satisfy Him.
By what means is this to be brought about? How shall His people be gathered to Himself?—In just one way: “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.” John 14:3. As stated in 1 Thess. 4:15-17, “the Lord Himself shall descend,” we shall be caught up to meet Him, and taken to heaven, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This will be the harvest, the ingathering; for our Saviour said, “The harvest is the end of the world.” Matt. 13:39. Is the harvest an important part of the farmer’s work? How much more important must the Gospel harvest be in the plan of salvation! Is the farmer’s labor without the harvest a lost labor? and shall the celestial seeding have no harvest? That can not be. The harvest must take place and the wheat be gathered in.
So it is plain that the second coming of Christ is not a mere non-essential adjunct of the plan of salvation. It is an indispensable part of that plan. “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:28. Both parts in the great plan must take place, or there will be no salvation. The sacrifice was brought at His first coming; the completed salvation will crown His second coming. F. D. STARR.
What It Means to Wait on the Lord
By Bible Reader
THE command to wait on the Lord does not mean that God wants us to indulge Him. God never asks us to make allowances for Him; He is too busy making allowances for us.—Bible Reader.
“EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS.”
By T.
THE apostle John had been banished to Patmos, and, while alone on that little island, the Lord had spread all the future history of both the church and the world before him. In his vision he saw the clashing armies of the great generals; he saw the intrigues and crimes; he saw the apostasy of the church; he saw the persecutions and tortures of the martyrs; and over beyond all this unpleasant scene he beheld the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.
John had seen Jesus in person. He had walked and talked with Him; he had leaned on the Master’s breast; he had been completely won by the love and goodness of the Lamb of God. And when on that barren island the panorama of the world is brought before the apostle and prophet, he eagerly looks beyond the scenes of strife and crime and misery and sorrow, and the intense prayer of his soul is, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Of all the suffering and wo that the whole history of this world presents, the most terrible perils and dangers are in the last days. Abundant testimony in the Word of God records this important fact. Satan concentrates his efforts here for his last desperate struggle against truth and righteousness. Every element of corruption, crime, misery, distressing trouble and anguish that the great adversary has ever been able to use with success in the past, he will use with increased hate and rage in the closing days of time. Every reader of the Bible knows that this is so.
The masterful hand of Satan may now be plainly seen everywhere in the outbreaking of his nefarious deeds. What means this constantly-increasing host of drunkards and the ever-increasing drunkenness against which good men and women have worked and crusaded and preached and prayed?—It is the evidence that Satan is driven into his last trenches and is making his final stand against the peace and life of mankind. What means this great array of murders and suicides that is filling our world with horror and wo?—It is the evidence that he who was the murderer from the beginning is making his most supreme effort to destroy. What means all the robbery and embezzlement and licentiousness and anarchy and all the other evils that so darken and imperil this time?—It is the marked fulfilment of the prophecy, “Wo to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev. 12:12.
Mark the significance of the words: “The devil is come down unto you having great wrath,because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Satan’s wrath is manifested in malicious destruction. He seeks to destroy character, and health, and happiness, and property, and even life itself. And the troubles that every one can see coming on the world are only in their beginning. And in just a little while this whole world of ours will be a scene of horrors and terrors. The inspired description of the times upon which this world has entered is, “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Luke 21:25, 26.
Trouble in anticipation is often greater than the reality. Not so with the times just ahead of us. There will be “distress of nations with perplexity,” and “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Any one must be convinced that the Lord has faithfully portrayed the conditions that lie before us in this world. And we see all about us the frightful premonitions of what is about to break forth as a scourge of every form of evil that has ever been concocted in the council chamber of demons. And since the Lord has so faithfully given the warning, we are wholly at fault if we do not escape the danger.
But what a consoling thought it is that immediately after telling of the perplexing and troublous scenes of these last days, there comes the radiant promise, “Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:27. The “coming of the Son of man” is the one bright hope before us; and, with John, may we ever pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” T.
DOES GOD HEAL BY FAITH?
If we believe the Word of God, we will say at least that He once healed by faith. Repeatedly the sick came to Jesus; repeatedly He said, “According to thy faith be it unto thee,” or words of similar import; and the invariable result was that the petitioner was made whole. (See Matt. 9: 2, 22, 29; 15: 28; Mark 5: 34; 10: 52; Luke 18: 8; Acts 3: 16.) Jesus healed the sick, opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, made the dumb to speak; the lame man leaped as an hart; the dead were raised. After His ascension His apostles carried on the same work. And it was all wrought through faith.
If then, why not now? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” “I am the Lord; I change not.” He declared, as He sent out His apostles with the Gospel commission: “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” These were manifest in the early part of the Christian dispensation; why not now?
Moreover, among the gifts which the Lord has “set” in the church, in addition to apostles, prophets, teachers, etc., are “miracles,” and “gifts of healing.” 1 Cor. 12: 28. If God has set them in His church, they are there now, covered, buried, hidden, mayhap, by rubbish of superstition and unbelief; but they are there awaiting the eyes and hands of faith. Still further, God has given direction to His people: “Is any among you suffering? let him pray. . . . Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.” James 5: 13–15, R.V. “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” Ps. 103: 3.
Why, then, may not the child of God believe now in the healing power of the Lord as applicable to His body?
We take the following from a noted conservative Christian paper of the East; it is a paper which we have greatly admired in the past for its staunch Protestant principles, and its faithfulness in holding to the Word as against the destructive higher criticism. The following quotation from one of its leading editorial writers will serve to illustrate how far from simple primitive Gospel faith the best among the churches have wandered. We refer to it not for controversy, but to better teach the truth. Altho quoted by the editor, it is with hearty approval:—
Faith in the efficacy of mysterious and miraculous means for curing diseases is the legacy of centuries of superstition, of mistaken religious teachings, fostered in later days by the pretensions of ignorant or designing persons, by the half-implied sanction of some religious bodies, and by the teachings, as well as the manners, of many physicians of the age just preceding ours. . . .
The doctrine of the faith healers, or those who employ the prayer cure, seems to be based upon a misconception of the meaning of certain isolated passages of Scripture regarding the efficacy of prayer. Now the intelligent religious world believes in prayer, its necessity for the good of the subject, its efficacy in the manner appointed by God, but it does not believe that fervent prayer, with faith, without any other effort, can, or ever does, or ever has since the time of the apostles, changed the fixed and wise laws of nature, solely to please and possibly to benefit any individual. If it be admitted that these great laws may be changed, that the order of nature may be reversed in a single case, then it is fair to assume that the laws were and are defective, or that personal solicitation may accomplish what God is unwilling to do for the race, either proposition being abhorrent to any orthodox Christian man. The egotism and assumption of those who promise cures by this means is simply appalling. . . .
Carried to its logical conclusion, faith cure would prevent any such thing as death, and similarly if men set about it, the laws of gravitation, of light and heat, could be changed. The whole economy of nature was not set in motion to minister to the personal wish or comfort of any individual or set of individuals, not even men of great faith. The life or the health of any human being can not be said to be of greater consequence in the universe than the fulfilment of the great purposes of creation for which laws are perfected, among which are the laws of disease and the inevitability of death. . . . The claim of faith healers that Christ came into the world to save both the body as well as the soul, is nowhere warranted by the Scriptures. The Scriptures teach that He hallowed our sufferings and took away the sting of death, but not death itself.
The above assumes: (1) That all the laws of nature, including those of sickness and disease, are fixed, wise, and unchangeable; that they are “perfected” laws in “the fulfilment of the great purposes of creation;” (2) that these laws are not defective; (3) that God does not set in motion the economy of nature to minister to any individual or set of individuals; (4) that the Bible does not warrant the claim that Christ came to save both body and soul; (5) that Christ “took away the sting of death, but not death itself.”
1. The laws of nature as we see them are not in every respect the normal laws of God. God is love and light and life. He is the living7God. His law is a living law. It was ordained for life. Rom. 7: 10. “In the way of righteousness is life.” Prov. 12: 28. And God’s law in its original, normal giving is “the law of the Spirit of life.” “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Sin is the cause of every perversion of good and life and truth and health, and “when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Continued transgression will inevitably bring death to the transgressor, not life to His people, as God designed.
2. These perverted laws are, therefore, defective; and the man who yields to them or is subject to them is also defective. He becomes subject to death, because defective.
3. It is God’s wish and will to give life and health. Disease and death are no part of God’s purpose. He could have carried out His purpose without disease and misery and death; but these having entered through sin, He will carry out His purpose in spite of them. He will use death to destroy death and give life. Heb. 2: 14. Jesus Christ in His own flesh by righteousness, not only took away the sting of death, but “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” It was not His will that any should die. It is His will that, tho they die in consequence of original sin, or their own, all shall be saved. Eze. 33: 11; 1 Tim. 2: 4. Yet free men may resist God’s will and die. It is God’s will that His people be sanctified (1 Thess. 4: 3), yet men may refuse to be. It is also His desire that they may prosper and be in health, even as the soul prospers (3 John 2)—for “God is no respecter of persons”—but men will not yield to God’s wish. He desires to quicken our mortal flesh by His indwelling Spirit until man’s work for Him is done (Rom. 8: 11; 2 Cor. 4: 10, 11); but men take the sickness as a dispensation from the healing Father.
If men will not learn the lessons God wishes to teach them, He will let affliction teach them. Sometimes He sees that the heart is such that men can glorify Him in feebleness better than in health, and He permits the feebleness; yet all the time He prefers the health.
4. Now remembering that God’s law, which He ordained to life, perverted by sin becomes death (Rom. 7: 10–13), and that Christ died to restore us to that law in its normal working, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” is it not reasonable that when faith lifts the soul above the realm where perverted law is operative, into that realm where God’s life flows free through an unperverted law,—is it not reasonable that the inflowing life of God will give power over sin, and healing to body and soul? It is not the faith which does the work; it is the power of the Spirit of God. Faith forms the channel through which the unperverted life-current flows from God into the diseased soul and body. It is the trolley which connects the helpless human car with the live wire overhead.
To deny this, it seems to us, is to deny the regeneration of soul by the miraculous power of God. But if God heals and restores the soul, because faith puts that soul in the channel of God’s working, then God will heal and restore the body if faith will put that body in the great life-current of God. The great Physician of soul and body will, therefore, change, or set aside, or work above and over and through, the whole perverted economy of nature to save a single soul or heal a single body; for working in this way is the normal operation of His laws of life; and life is greater than death. It is only in the operation of life forces, regenerating, building up, healing, that we can read “the great purposes of creation.” Of sin and disease and death it may truly be said, “An enemy hath done this.”
5. Christ came to save both soul and body. He saves the soul, and when character is finally developed, and His elect number made up, He will forever save the body. So it is in a sense true that faith eventually saves from death, tho in the wisdom of God it does not prevent it, yet there have been such instances. In the case of Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus, God showed His transcendent power over sin; and in human wisdom, contrary to the law of gravitation, all ascended to heaven. But in all these cases there was not so much the setting aside of God’s law as there was the manifestation of the greater power of God’s perfect law of life through Christ over and above the perverted laws of sinful earth.
We know not how better to close this article than by a quotation credited to the late S. Irenaeus Prime, for a long time one of the editors of the New York Observer: “Then let us pray. Whatsoever we want, let us pray for it. Health, life, eternal life, salvation for our friends, whatsoever things we have need of, let us go with our desires to God, who giveth liberally. His will ought to be our will, and asking in submission to it, we have whatever we ask.” O child of sin and sorrow and death, Jesus Christ forgives, and changes, and regenerates, and saves, and heals! Let faith lay hold of His power. It awaits you.
