Earlier text: FOR A PERPETUAL COVENANTEXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.
I AM the mother of eight living children, all grown to manhood and womanhood, and only my husband and I are left. God has given us a small, comfortable home. My husband is sixty-four years of age, and I am sixty, but we have good health. We have lived on grains, fruit, and vegetables for forty years. My husband is able to work every day, and I do my own work, and have strength to care for some of the sick in our neighborhood. We are isolated, but have no time to be lonely. I wish to work for my dear Saviour, but I am sometimes at a loss to know what to do. I am trying to improve every opportunity, and faithfully to perform all the small duties that come in my pathway. I am trying to let my life tell that I have Christ formed within, and to be a living witness in my home to the power of Jesus to save from sin. Dear sisters, it is possible for us to make our homes a mission for good to every member of the family. May the Lord help us to be faithful there, and to suffer long and be kind for Jesus' sake. Early last spring your letter came with healing in its leaves. My name was sent in with the request that I be prayed for. God has heard the prayers of the mothers in Israel, and it is to thank God in your hearing for the prayer of faith that I now write. I took the letter referred to, and after reading, knelt before God; and although not experiencing any particular feeling, thanked him for his goodness, and asked to be led by his gentle Spirit. He has done it. Now I have a brother, yes, two of them, who are without the fold. Will you all pray for them, as you have for me? Why doesn't somebody make linen picture books for the little ones on the life of the Good Shepherd and the creation week? In our family, Mother Goose, Cock Robin, Puss in Boots, and their kind, are quickly shelved; while Bible stories, birds, flowers, animals, strange countries and peoples, and missionaries and missions, never grow stale. Bread is better than froth; and little ones must have books of their very own. There is a gap here that really ought to be filled. The linen-book brigade is receiving lasting impressions from trash,—Mother Goose and newspaper cartoons. I have spoken with other mothers, and they have felt the same lack. We hold our woman's meetings every Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock, at which time one of the sisters reads a lesson, while the others sew. We have made several comforts, and sent them to missions. We have also collected a barrel of clothes, which we sent to the Chicago Mission, and are now making comforts and children's clothes for the Sunshine Home in Omaha. We held a meeting with one of our neighbors a short time ago, and she said that she was glad to be with the people of God, and invited us to come again. The Lord has blessed us in our work. We can surely see that the Lord has a work for the women which no one else can do; and we wish to do our part. My whole heart is in this work. Last night when I reached home and saw the notice of Sister Henry's death, I thought, “Some one must take up the work. Some one must labor on till the Master comes.” I will write a little of my experience, thinking it may be a help to others. We live on a small farm, but I try to canvass when I can get a day or two away from home. Since January I have canvassed seven days, and have taken eighteen orders for “Bible Readings,” ten for “Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing,” twelve for “Gospel Primer,” and have sold six Bibles. God blesses every effort. When I find any sick, I ask the privilege of praying for them; and I have seen them get well so quick that they have declared, “I know it is the Lord's work.” I was once a nervous wreck, but six years ago the Lord healed me. I have been spared by a miracle, and this gives me faith to ask the same blessing for others. I have walked over sixty miles in securing the orders mentioned above. I am very much interested in Woman's Gospel work, and read with interest everything in that department of our precious paper. I live in the country, and my work is now mostly at home, caring for the aged and afflicted, but I find some time to talk with my neighbors. At present I am especially interested in one woman who lives near me. She is a good woman, a church-member, but seems to be much discouraged. She says she can not live a Christian life because her husband is a wicked man, and if she tries to influence her children for good, his evil influence will counteract it all. I talk with her, and pray for her, and I desire your prayers and the prayers of the other sisters for her, that God will guide her mind and heart into a full knowledge of his goodness, love, and mercy, and that she may fully trust in his saving power. She says she believes that the Lord is soon coming, and that the seventh day is the Sabbath. . . . Our family is the only one to hold up the light of present truth in this neighborhood. Pray for us. I have great confidence in God and prayer. I have so many to pray and work for that I need the help of my brethren and sisters. I will tell you about our family. In the first place, none are Adventists but myself. My sister died three years ago this month, leaving the care of a little boy four years old. Over a year ago my oldest sister, through sickness, lost her mind. She had four children, and all four of them came to me. One of these children, a girl fifteen years old, is now losing her sight. My mother died long ago, leaving five little ones, and I have tried, by the help of the Lord, to raise my brothers and sisters. I felt that I could hardly take the care of so many more, but it seemed to be the will of God, and I am sure I wish to do his will. My brother-in-law, the father of the little boy, has lately taken to following bad habits. Do pray, and ask others to pray, that God will change his way. Also ask all who have faith to pray that the little girl's eyes may receive their sight, and my sister's mind be given back to her. Oh, God will surely help! He knows I am trying to do his will. I am not complaining of the work or of the hardness of the way, nor asking to be given another place; but only that you will help me by your prayers. In a recent issue of the REVIEW I read a request for prayer for two sisters who desired to be healed. The request keeps forcing itself into my mind, and I feel impressed to say a few words to them, and can do it only through your kindness. Over five months ago I was taken violently sick, and felt that there was no help for me if I remained in my home. I went to one of our sanitariums, thinking that a little surgical work was all I needed; but the doctor told me that I was completely worn out. In less than two weeks from that time the fact was made plain to me that, humanly speaking, there was no hope for me. When I became aware of this, and realized that I was even then by the gate of death, I shrank from death as from an enemy,—a foe that would rob my husband and my growing boys and my aged mother of one whom they all needed. I felt their need so intensely, and had such a desire to be a light for the truth until the Lord should come, that I was bold to claim Christ's promise in Mark 11:24. I had no doubt as to his power to stay my disease and give me new life. I may have talked with the Lord three hours, and then, claiming by faith the desire of my heart, I told the doctors that all pain had left me. From that day onward I was as a little child resting in the arms of parent love. I came steadily out of my extreme weakness, kept by the power of God through the long days and nights, so that what would have been a wearisome convalescence was a bethel of rest and joy in the Lord. And when I was taken to the surgical ward nearly three months afterward, at my request, as the doctors thought I was not strong enough, I went in the strength of the Lord, telling my nurse that I had given all the pain of the operations to the Lord, and that he would bear it all for me. This he did in such a wonderful way that I had no sense of the severe work that had been done. I had the blessed assurance that the Lord was my shield. I rested by faith, and in six weeks from the time of the operation I was brought to my dear home almost without weariness, although too weak to walk alone. It is now about six weeks since I came home, and I am gaining rapidly. I still hold on to the arm of the Lord, and shall till he comes for me. In all my experiences I can say, Praise the Lord. Dear sister, urge the people of God to believe—to take God at his word, and rest in him by faith. A Story of Sacrifice and Service
By S. M. I. H.
THE following poem tells very sweetly a story of sacrifice and service which should commend itself to us as women with one exception,—that by a true faith and consecration we avoid the overmuch. Excess even in so-called Christian service is intemperance, and displeasing to God, because it is not consistent with true faith.
S. M. I. H. Her home was a vine-clambered cot,
Her way unobtrusive and meek,
Affliction had sorrowed her lot,
And grief left its trace on her cheek;
But life, with its needs and demands,
Forbade her to parley with fate,
When poverty’s pitiful hands
Were stretched for a crust at the gate. Not she to elude or evade,
To falter, demean, or decry;
The hovel, and hut to invade,
Was dear to her pitying eye;
And swift were the hurrying feet
On missions of mercy and truth,
And kinship was fragrant and sweet,
Willing-winged on the pinions of truth. To charm from the sufferer’s bed
Its weight of despair and alarm,
Its load of foreboding and dread,
Its cloud of misgiving and harm,
To plead with the wayward and weak,
The fallen and lost to reclaim,
The weal of the lowly to seek,
And all in humanity’s name. Lone vigils she loved overmuch,—
The pain of the patient to share,
A benison breathed at her touch,
Her face was a shrine and a prayer;
Mute orisons perfumed the night,
Sweet service anointed the day,
And hope was an aureole bright,
O’erarching the sisterly way. She turned to the reverent page,
Its lessons and precepts to seek,
The fear of the soul to assuage,
To strengthen the erring and weak;
And this was her task, glory-wreathed,
Till laid ’neath the flower-strewn sod,
Her treasure, devised and bequeathed,
In trust, to the cause of her God.
— Lisette. Open the door, let in the air;
The winds are sweet, and the flowers are fair;
Joy is abroad in the world to-day;
If our door is wide, it may come this way—
Open the door! Open the door, let in the sun;
He hath a smile for every one;
He hath made of the raindrops gold and gems,
He may change our tears to diadems—
Open the door! Open the door of the soul; let in
Strong, pure thoughts which shall banish sin;
They will grow and bloom with a grace divine,
And their fruit shall be sweeter than that of the
vine—
Open the door! Open the door of the heart; let in
Sympathy sweet for stranger and kin;
It will make the halls of the heart so fair
That angels may enter unaware—
Open the door! HOME DEPARTMENT.
By H. E. S. Hopkins
ALTHOUGH there are many hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist women, is it possible that we fail to do our part in keeping the columns of the Home department well filled with interesting items, and thus compel our editors to remind us occasionally of neglected duty? Take up any secular paper where this privilege is given the women, and you always find the department brimful of their own productions. What is the trouble that the editors are obliged to tell us that they will have to go outside and hunt up matter that is inferior, because we fail to supply the department with good material? It certainly is not for lack of talent among us. It must be owing to indifference and carelessness, or else our time is so absorbed in the duties of life that we think we have no time to devote to this duty. Perhaps if there were less of self and more of Christ in our hearts, we should be found as sentinels, faithful at our post in this respect. Perhaps we mean to attend to it when we finish a piece of work for ourselves, then comes another, and another, thus we defer the matter, and finally forget. If this department has been given to us, is it not as much our duty to keep it filled as it is the editors' duty to fill their part of the paper? If we stand on the verge of an eternal world, why defer for the morrow what we should do to-day? Have we not followed long enough in this haphazard way of working for the Master? He calls for greater activity and earnestness that we may, by our experience, words of good cheer, and knowledge, help one another to make the pathway of life brighter, and that we may be more successful in the salvation of those around our fireside, as well as elsewhere. If we choose to follow the bent of our own mind, and neglect to do all the good we can in as many ways as we can, the Home department for 1900 may fail to come up to the credit it received in 1899. We can not afford this: no, it must be better than ever. Shall we not seek God for wisdom, and do our best to have its columns filled with good material of our own production? HINDERING CHILDREN FROM TRUTH-TELLING.
A SMALL boy, not yet five years old, was one day visiting two little playmates, both somewhat older than he. The child came home the happy possessor of five new marbles, which he exhibited to mamma and other members of the family. Some one began to question him, saying that perhaps the little friend had not intended to give him the marbles “to keep,” and that they ought to be taken back. Our Harry’s veracity was at stake; if he had actually been accused of stealing, he could not have been more distressed. And, too, he evidently began within himself to be harassed by doubts. “Harry, where did you get your marbles?” “To keep? He didn’t intend you to bring them home,—did he?” “How did he give them to you—what did he say?” “He laid them on the ground.” “He laid them on the ground! And you picked them up! What did he say?” “He said, ‘There, Harry.’” “Well, you must take them back. I’m afraid Sammy wants them.” A storm followed. More questions, and answers more confused. The sensitive child shrank from taking back the marbles, as much from embarrassment as from desire to keep them. Then it was that some one sprang to the rescue, and said that the donor should be interviewed, to see if he understood the transaction in the same way that Harry did. This was done, and to Harry’s complete vindication; for the little playmate said that he had intended Harry to have the marbles. This incident has made the writer consider how easy it is to confuse and distress the little ones by our manner, and often to hinder our getting at the exact truth. It is certainly right for us to inquire into our children’s doings, to prevent their taking advantage of others, but247 there is a delicate way of finding out, which does not make every question an accusation, and does not imply that the child has done wrong before it is proved. Of two children that I know, one could stand any amount of cross-examination and still adhere to the main facts. Of a self-reliant nature, open, honest, accurate, that child early developed a clear and discriminating mind, and had a confidence in its own ability to state facts as they were. The other little one, younger, timid, and thinking that the older ones must be right, could be confused and made to doubt his own original statements by the suggestion of other probabilities. He would think it must be so, and assent in pitiful helplessness and bewildered submission. If you wish to find out the exact truth in any occurrence with the little folks, the better way is to patiently listen to what they have to say themselves. Ten to one you will gather the truth. Next to children’s giving wrong impressions through confusion come the out-and-out falsehoods induced by fear, without time for reflection, without time to gather moral strength and to determine to tell the truth and meet the consequences. Of course, children ought to have their “moral strength” on hand always, but we must take them as we find them, and not put temptation in their way. We pray ourselves, “Lead us not into temptation.” Do not descend like an avalanche upon the trembling child, with an awful “Who did that?” “Did you do that, John Peter Smith?” If you already know that he did it, you had better assume the fact and punish him, rather than give him an opportunity to add to his sins by an untruth. MORE OXYGEN AND LESS DRUGS.
THE use of eight thousand five hundred gallons of oxygen in saving the life of a pneumonia patient in New York the other day is an incident worthy of more than passing notice, considering the great and apparently increasing mortality from this disease. That doctors are less successful in coping with this disease than with almost any other ailment, save cancer and consumption, is evidenced by abundant statistics. During the seven days of last week there were one hundred and fifty-nine deaths from pneumonia in Chicago, while in other cities the mortality from this cause is proportionately large. It seems to be generally recognized by physicians and laymen that, when a sufferer from pneumonia reaches a certain crisis in the development of the malady, he is beyond medical aid, and all hope is abandoned. He simply suffocates while medical science stands by in helpless impotence. It is very clear, even to the layman, that medicine will not reach the inflamed lung tissue, and that pouring medicine into the stomach of a pneumonia patient simply impairs vitality, and retards the recuperative efforts of nature. Pure, life-giving oxygen is needed, not drugs. Aside from the mild medication necessary to reduce fever and stimulate heart action, the need of the patient is for a process that will impart oxygen to the blood, and enable nature to heal the inflamed tissues of the respiratory organs. The restorative efficacy of oxygen in the treatment of pneumonia has been demonstrated by physicians in such numberless instances that a failure to resort to it may be characterized as almost criminal. It is true that it has not always saved life, but how many physicians have used eight thousand five hundred gallons of oxygen in the treatment of one patient? In the New York case the number of cylinders of oxygen used each day increased rapidly as the disease developed. On the day when the crisis was reached and passed, twenty-two cylinders, each containing one hundred gallons of the gas, were used. In all, eighty-five cylinders of gas, costing four hundred and twenty-five dollars, were used, and the patient is now recovering. Is a life worth eight thousand five hundred gallons of oxygen? The earth is full of it; there is no limit to the supply. The New York experiment suggests the use of much greater quantities of it in each particular case than was ever before attempted by physicians. “God is love,” is written upon every opening bud, upon the petals of every flower, and upon every spire of grass. Though the curse of sin has caused the earth to bring forth thorns and thistles, there are flowers upon the thistles, and the thorns are hidden by roses.” “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.” Prov. 12:1. God has plainly said that the schools established in different localities should be built upon the same principles as were the schools of the prophets. So it is safe for us to follow their example: and the same advice will do for the home; for in the days of the prophets “the home and the school were one.” This quotation is from an article by Sister White, on “The Schools of the Ancient Hebrews,” in the Signs of the Times of Aug. 13, 1885. Among many other excellent thoughts in this article are the following:— The art of sacred melody was diligently cultivated. No frivolous waltz was heard, nor flippant song that should extol man and divert the attention from God; but sacred, solemn psalms of praise to the Creator, exalting his name and recounting his wondrous works. Thus music was made to serve, a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which is pure and noble and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God. . . . Another spirit must be in our schools, to animate and sanctify every branch of education. Divine co-operation must be fervently sought. And we shall not seek in vain. The promises of God’s word are ours. We may expect the presence of the heavenly Teacher. We may see the Spirit of the Lord diffused as in the schools of the prophets, and every object partake of a divine consecration. Science will then be, as she was to Daniel, the handmaid of religion; and every effort, from first to last, will tend to the salvation of man,—soul, body, and spirit,—and the glory of God through Christ. PROGRESS OF THE READING CIRCLE WORK.
A BUSY secretary in one of the Southern States says:— My work is of such a character that I do not have much time to spend in the interests of the Circle work. I do not know the exact number of our members who are taking this work, but I think that a majority of them are doing so. The REVIEW is taken in most of our families in the State, and “Thoughts on Daniel” is in many homes. We have quite a number, too, who read the Missionary Magazine, and are interested in the study of the field. The notes in the Instructor on both the studies are of real help. We believe that this Circle work is a move in the right direction; and it has been blessed of the Lord. We hope that it may be used by him to stir up the hearts of his people to a more earnest and consecrated effort to reach souls. We must be laborers together with God, and every effort must be put forth to arouse our people, and to prepare them to work in his vineyard; for this is the eleventh hour. NEARLY fifty years ago Longfellow visited the Ojibway tribe of Indians, in the land of Hiawatha, on the shores of Lake Superior, and was the guest of the chief, Bukwujimene. Last month Wabunosa, the grandson of the chief, and Kabaoosa, his nephew, visited the home of Longfellow, in Cambridge, Mass., and were the guests of the poet’s daughters, Mrs. Dana, Mrs. Thorp, and Miss Longfellow. Kabaoosa sang two Indian songs for his hostesses, one a love song and the other a war song, which his grandfather had composed after the victory which his tribe, as allies of the British, gained over another tribe allied with the colonists at the battle of Queenstown Heights in the War of 1812. This is a translation of an invitation which they extended to their hostesses:— “Ladies: We loved your father. The memory of our people will never die as long as your father’s song lives, and that will live forever.
“Will you and your husbands and Miss Longfellow come and see us and stay in our royal wigwams on an island in Hiawatha’s playground, in the land of the Ojibways? The friend who came with us, whose address you have, will make all the arrangements. We want you to see us live over again the life of Hiawatha in his own country.
“Boston (Onahbannegises), the Month of Crusts on the Snow.”—N. Y. Tribune.
An oculist gives the following directions for cleaning spectacles: Use tissue paper, rather than cloth, to wipe them. The use of chamois skin is also recommended. Alcohol is a better cleansing agent than water. If alcohol is not at hand, soap and soft water will answer. A few drops of ammonia added to the water will make them very bright and clear. Spectacles should, if worn constantly, be cleaned several times a day. ARE YOUR CHILDREN FINDING MORE ATTRACTIVE PLACES THAN HOME?
By David Paulson
Recently I received a letter from a sister in a far-distant State, containing these words, “For God's and humanity's sake, do look up my daughter in Chicago.” Fortunately, I found that she was earning an honest living in a Christian family; and upon further investigation, I found that it was the same heartrending story over again—a home among strangers actually more congenial than the parental roof. The truth once held merely as a theory had long ago lost its fragrance. Is it possible for the Lord to help us fill our homes with such a sweet aroma that whatever the devil may hold out will seem tame and flat because it lacks this heavenly quality, which the devil has not the power to instate? Some offer as an excuse for their children's drifting away from them that nowadays the devil gets up so many attractions that it is next to impossible to keep the children at home. That is virtually admitting that the devil's counterfeit of one of God's institutions is more winning than the real thing; but that is impossible. The home of every Christian family will become, prior to translation, such a sample of heaven on earth that every one who enters it can decide instantly whether he would feel at home in such an atmosphere through all eternity. In such a home, Mary's box of costly ointment is broken daily, and the house will constantly be filled with its fragrance. The same gospel that will make a heaven by and by, can give us a foretaste of it now. While Christ is making those wonderful mansions for us over yonder, he is equally anxious to let such a degree of his peace hover over our earthly homes that they may become the most wonderful objects of admiration in this sin-cursed world. Ho! Comrades, Heavenward-Faring
Ho! COMRADES, heavenward-faring,
Let's sing in cheerful strain
A song to lighten labor,
And soothe the heart of pain,—
A song of God's own gladness,
So full of help and cheer
That weary, wayside pilgrims
Will gain new strength to hear.
— Selected. APRIL STUDY OF THE FIELD: PART IV.
“Among the Maroons;” “The Past Year in Honolulu;” “Progress in Fiji;” “Progress in Brazil.” - (Text-book, April Magazine.)*
1. STATE some of the peculiarities of the Maroons of Jamaica. 2. HOW did they receive Brother and Sister Hall? 3. BRIEFLY sketch the last year's work in Honolulu. 4. WHAT dreadful disease has entered that city? How are the authorities trying to stamp it out? 5. WHY do you think the truth is advancing in Fiji? 6. AMONG what nationality have our brethren chiefly labored in Brazil? 7. TELL of Brother Spies's efforts among the native Brazilians. 8. WHAT thought is brought out by the conversation related, with reference to the religious condition of the common people in that republic? This lesson brings to view events of the future; namely, the driving of the Turk from Europe, and the establishment of his capital at Jerusalem. It is a significant fact that the Turks themselves look for this very thing. They also expect that the nations will come even there to war against them, and that then the end of the world will come. Another has well said of this: “When the word of God three times declares it, and when the Turks themselves, as well as all other powers concerned, are expecting and dreading it, is it not high time that all the people should believe it? May the Lord in his mercy help all to hear it, to believe it, and then to proclaim it to earth’s remotest limits, that the world may be prepared and fully ready for those fearful events which, according to every evidence, are ready to burst in fury upon it.” 1. What significant comment on verse 44, made by Dr. Adam Clarke in 1825, has since been fulfilled? 2. What does verse 45, yet unfulfilled, declare shall come to pass? 3. What possessions has Turkey in Asia? 4. By what aid has Turkey maintained possessions in Europe since 1798? 5. Give the substance of a few quotations that indicate what public opinion is with reference to the Eastern question. 6. What are the evident intentions of Russia toward Turkey? 7. Describe the Armenian massacres. What has been the effect of these upon public opinion? 8. In the light of the prophecy, what may we expect as to the future of Turkey? Suggestions for Review Meeting.
1. Conduct a short map study, locating the Turkish possessions in Europe and Asia, and pointing out the commercial advantages of the territory. 2. Explain the attitude of the various European powers toward Turkey. What is meant by the “balance of power”? How is this at present maintained? 3. Summarize the evidences that show we are approaching the fulfillment of Dan. 11:45. 4. Discuss ways and means of interesting neighbors and friends in the Eastern question from a Bible standpoint. THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE.
It is essential to know the elements that enter into the “falling away,” out of which came the “man of sin,” “the son of perdition,” “the mystery of iniquity,” “that Wicked,” “the Beast;” because it was by these elements that the power was gained which made the Beast, and which has been, and is to be, wielded by the Beast in his terrible career. For of him it is written that “an host was given him . . . by reason of transgression.” Dan. 8:12. Now, since all transgression is sin, because “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), this statement in Daniel is, in itself, the original suggestion from which Paul wrote the expression “the man of sin.” It was by sin; by reason of transgression; by courting the elements of sin and playing into the hands of transgressors, that the man of sin gathered to himself the “host” which gave to him the power that characterizes him as the Beast. This process is described in Paul's words to the elders of the church at Ephesus, who met him at Miletus, in Acts 20:30: “Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” This, in itself, tells of the self-exaltation of men to the place of Christ. They drew disciples to themselves, instead of to Christ; it was their design to draw disciples to themselves, instead of to Christ; and, in carrying out this design, they spoke perverse things. This they did deliberately: they did it TO draw away disciples after them. Note further: It was not simply to draw disciples to themselves; but to draw AWAY disciples after them. These were men professing to be Christians, speaking to people who were, likewise, professed Christians—some of them, indeed, in good faith. But these self-exalted ones, not content that men should be the disciples of Christ, perverted the truth of Christ, while still professing it; and this they did to draw AWAY from Christ and his truth disciples unto themselves and their errors. All this was, in itself, to court the elements of sin, and to play into the hands of the transgressors. And this all for power. For, for what but power could any man want disciples drawn to himself? And what kind of power could it be that was gained by this means?—It could be nothing else than the power of iniquity. And while it was true that great numbers, even “an host,” could by this means be gained, yet it was a host gained only by means of transgression. And this host being gathered from the elements of iniquity, only by means of iniquity, could never, in any of its workings, be anything but the working of iniquity, even as described; it would be “the man of sin,” “the mystery of iniquity.” Even while the apostles yet lived, the mystery of iniquity had already begun to work, though not to open observation. But no sooner were the apostles all removed from the stage of action, no sooner was their watchful attention gone and their apostolic authority removed, than it developed into vigorous activity. In order to make easier the “conversion” of the heathen; to multiply disciples to themselves; and, by this, establish their own influence and authority, would-be leaders and self-exalted men began to adopt heathen customs and forms, mingling them with the Christian forms, and adapting the Christian forms to the heathen rites. Of all the ceremonies of the heathen, the mysteries were the most sacred and most universally practiced. And to gain the favor of the heathen, these perverse teachers gave it out that they also had mysteries. And to make good the representation, they gave to baptism and the Lord's Supper the name of “the mysteries,” in the very terms of the pagan mysteries; and this they followed up by gradually incorporating from the heathen practices the very rites that were designated by the terms expressive of the heathen mysteries. The mysteries were directly related to the worship of the sun; for “the most holy and perfect rite in the Eleusinian mysteries was to show an ear of corn mowed down in silence, and this was a symbol of the Phrygian Atys.” And the Phrygian Atys was simply the incarnation of the sun. The character of the rites performed in the celebration of the mysteries is suggested in Eph. 5:11, 12: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” This evil was spread over both the East and the West of the Roman Empire before the apostle John had been dead forty years. So swiftly proceeded the fulfillment of the prophecy that “an host” would be “given him . . . by reason of transgression.” Another step: It was a universal custom of the heathen to worship with their faces toward the east; because the sun was the great object of their worship, and there first he displayed his bright beams. This practice of the heathen was also adopted by the perverse teachers who would draw disciples to themselves, and who would gain an host by reason of transgression. Yet another step in the apostasy was the adoption of the heathen day of the sun—Sunday—as a festival day. So general did this become that, even before A. D. 200, one of the apostasy—even now one of the “church Fathers”—has reported that “others suppose that the sun is the God of the Christians, because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity.”—Tertullian. And so much like the heathen worship was that of these of the apostasy, that the heathen themselves charged those so-called Christians with being worshipers of the sun. And the only defense that was offered by those of the apostasy was: “What then? Do you do less than this? Do not many among you, with an affectation of sometimes worshiping the heavenly bodies, likewise move your lips in the direction of the sunrise? It is you, at all events, who have admitted the sun into the calendar of the week; and you have selected its day, in preference to the preceding day.”—Id. While this was the only defense they made, it is true that they did, in fulfillment of the words of Paul, speak perverse things—perverted the word of the Lord—to justify it. In the Scriptures it is written: “The Lord God is a sun and shield.” Ps. 84:11. And again: “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” Mal. 4:2. These beautiful passages were perverted, to justify the honoring of the sun, and especially at his rising. They claimed that in so honoring the sun they were honoring God, who is a sun, and who, as the Sun of righteousness, would “arise.” Another step in promoting the honor of the sun was taken, especially under the leadership of the church at Rome. The early Christians celebrated the Passover, in remembrance of the death of Christ, the true Passover. Accordingly, they celebrated it on the fourteenth day of the first month. Rome, however, and from her all the west, adopted Sunday as the day of this celebration. According to the original and the Eastern custom this celebration, being on the fourteenth day of the month, would, of course, fall upon different days of the week, as the years revolved. But the rule of Rome was that the celebration must always be on a Sunday—the Sunday nearest to the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish year. And if that fourteenth day of the month were itself a Sunday, then the celebration was not to be held on that day; but upon the next Sunday. And this is why it is that, to this day, Easter, even though celebrated always on Sunday, is so very variable in its recurrence,—sometimes in March, sometimes early in April, sometimes late in April,—but always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the twentieth of March, or the spring equinox. Indeed, this very item of Easter itself illustrated this gathering of a host to the man of sin, by reason of transgression. The word “Easter” is peculiar to the English language, and to the British Isles. “It is derived from Eostre, or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the fourth month, answering to our April—thence called Eostur-month—was dedicated.” The heathen in Britain were celebrating in early spring this festival of their goddess Eostre, when the agents of Rome first entered Britain; and by them this name of the heathen goddess was adopted, with the festival in her honor; and the whole ceremony thus adopted was carried on as the celebration of the so-called Christian Passover. And, says the Venerable Bede: “The old festival was observed with the gladness of a new solemnity.” The word “Easter” in Acts 12:4 is not a translation, but a sheer insertion by the translators; as the Greek is pascha, meaning “passover.” Another item worth noticing, in this connection, is that this Eostre, or Ostara, of the ancient Britons, is identical with the Ishtar, or Astarte, of Babylon and Nineveh, and the Ashtaroth of the Phoenicians. She was the female of Bel in Babylon and Nineveh, and of Baal in Phoenicia; and represented the female element in sun worship.