THAT the way of the transgressor is hard is well illustrated in the case of Jonah.
The Lord requested Jonah to go and proclaim to the people of Nineveh that their wickedness had become so great that He could not allow them to remain longer on the earth—that in forty days He would destroy them. But to Jonah the task was an unpleasant one, so he began to cast about in his mind for some excuse for not going. He reasoned: I know He is a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of the evil that He threatens to bring upon the people. Therefore He will not destroy the Ninevites, even tho I do go and proclaim it. In the eyes of the people I will appear to be a false prophet. I can not stand the humiliation of such an experience; I would better run away from the Lord until His anger is past and He changes His mind about destroying them.
So he went to Joppa, and found a ship that was about to sail for Tarshish. He paid the price of the passage, and went on board. Evidently feeling satisfied that he had so cleverly escaped the undesirable mission, he went below, laid down, and went to sleep. But not long was he left to the enjoyment of his wrong course of action. The Lord was watching him, and sent a mighty tempest, that tossed the ship about until it was in great danger of sinking. The sailors were very much alarmed, and “cried every one unto his god.” The cargo was thrown overboard to lighten the ship, but neither prayers nor efforts availed anything. The storm increased in fury, and it appeared as if the ship must soon be broken in pieces, and all would find a watery grave.
In this dilemma Jonah was called up; a consultation was held; there seemed to be an impression that the storm was upon them because of somebody’s wrong-doing, so lots were cast to discover the guilty party. It proved to be Jonah.
All eyes were immediately fixed upon him, and he was plied with questions: “What is thine occupation, and whence comest thou? What is thy country, and of what people art thou?” Jonah’s answer not only startled but greatly alarmed those idolatrous boatmen. “I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” With blanched cheeks and trembling voices, the momentous question was asked, “What shall we do with thee, that we may escape this awful and imminent peril?”
What agony of soul poor Jonah must have experienced as those fatal words were forced from his lips, “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea.” Very reluctantly, and only after a strong effort to battle against the angry billows, and a beseeching cry to the Lord who made the sea not to lay that sin to their charge, did the sailors at last take up poor Jonah, and consign him to the briny deep.
While musing upon the experience of poor Jonah, this text came to mind: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11. Then there must be some things in this story for us, for we are certainly living very near the end of this world in its present condition. Let us see if we can find some of them.
We can not hide from the Lord. “Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3), but signally failed. The psalmist says: “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 hell, 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.” Ps. 139:7-10.
Jonah, by refusing to obey the Lord, not only got himself into trouble, but he also brought trouble upon others, causing the loss of the ship’s cargo. It is rarely, if ever, that a person travels the downward road of sin and transgression alone; many actually endeavor to draw others with them. Some even devote their time, money, and talents to the awful work of leading people away from God.
The Lord can overrule the opposition of rebellious man to the furtherance of His cause. He can make even the wrath of man to praise Him. Ps. 76:10. Those sailors were idolators. When the storm came on, it is said “they cried every man unto his god.” Jonah 1:5. The confession of Jonah, “I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which made the sea and the dry land” (verse 9), brought the knowledge of the true God to their benighted minds. They had also witnessed the mighty power of Jonah’s God over that storm-lashed sea. The blessed result was, they forsook the gods they had been worshiping, “feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” Verse 16. Thus6the Lord used Jonah’s transgression to bring about the conversion of these men.
Just how the Lord spoke to Jonah when He told him to go and warn Nineveh we are not informed; but He speaks to us through His written Word. We learn from the study of it what He requires of us. For instance, Christ says, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. We may, like Jonah, reason ourselves into a carnal security; we may succeed in quieting our conscience, and may go down in the hold of the ship and go to sleep; but, “be sure your sin will find you out.” Num. 32:23. That false peace will be broken; there will be a sudden and terrible awakening; and when we examine the lots that have been cast, we will see only the yawning abyss of eternal destruction staring us in the face.
As Jonah sank beneath the turbid waters, he undoubtedly thought he was going to his death, the result of his disobedience to his God. He not only acknowledged the justice of his punishment, but had himself named the penalty for his crime—“Cast me forth into the sea.” Jonah 1:12. Thus every one who is finally lost will acknowledge the justice of his punishment. “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Rom. 14:11.
But God’s mercy was still extended to Jonah, and after passing through a wonderful experience, he found himself again safe on land, undoubtedly a very penitent and thankful man. The Lord still had the work for Jonah to do. There were thousands of precious souls in Nineveh that must be warned of their impending doom, and given a chance to repent.
At the present time the Lord is sending another message, not to the people of one city only, but a world-wide message, “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Rev. 14:6. A solemn message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.” Verse 7. “The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7. Many years this message has been sounding. It is rapidly drawing to a close. The end is near. Soon the decree will go forth to all the world. “He which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous let him be righteous still.” Rev. 22:11.
Dear reader, do you not think that the grief-stricken, sin-laden, and self-condemned Jonah, as he went over the side of that ship and sank beneath those storm-lashed billows, deeply regretted the course he had taken, and acknowledged from his inmost soul that “the way of transgressors is hard”? Prov. 13:15. Remember that “God is no respecter of persons.” Acts 10:34. If we refuse to obey Him, He will as surely mete out judgment to us as He did to Jonah. Let us be wise, and follow the example of David, who said, “I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.” Ps. 119:60.
How They Became Convincd
By Editor
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the Signs of the Times has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.]
CXXXVIII.
I BELIEVE in and keep the seventh-day Sabbath, because God commanded it (Deut. 4:13; Ex. 20:8-11). The Ten Commandments were spoken by Christ (1 Cor. 10:1-4; Neh. 9:6-14), and the fourth, as well as all the rest, is unchangeable and perpetual (Isa. 56:2-7; 66:23). The law of the Lord represents His character, and the seventh-day Sabbath is His memorial, because all things were created by Him and for Him (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:1, 2). The Father and the Son rested on the seventh day, and blessed and sanctified it (Gen. 2:2, 3) for the benefit of man (Mark 2:27, 28). King David, the prophets, and apostles all declared the law of commandments holy, right, true, loving, perfect, and immutable (Ps. 19:7; 119:142, 172; Rom. 7:12; Mal. 2:6; Luke 10:25-38; James 1:25). It is written that the Son of Man is Lord "even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27, 28; Ex. 31:16, 17; Eze. 20:19, 20; Rev. 1:10). Christ also shows that the law is immutable (Matt. 5:17-19; Luke 16:17). The only way to know the Father and Son is to keep His commandments (1 John 2:1-5; Matt. 7:21; James 2:10, 11.) I have faith to believe that the world was created in six days, by the word of God (Gen. 1:1-31; Heb. 11:3); and therefore that God rested on the seventh day, and we should do likewise, according to His example and commandment (Ex. 20:8-11). I believe the Lord has given us a sure and safe weapon with which it is possible to meet every temptation of Satan, and that the Scriptures of truth are given by inspiration of God (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Rom. 15:4). The Bible is the best of all books; it is an attractive, charming, and soul-satisfying book (Deut. 27:8; Hab. 2:2, 3; 1 Cor. 2:2, 4, 14). I believe what is written; I rely on God's Word. I have been accused of having strayed from the beaten path; but I praise and thank God, our Father, because I am not straying any more; for I have found it (Isa. 56:1, 2; 58:12-14; Eccl. 12:13, 14).
CONRAD FREDERIC HAESELER.
CXXXIX.
My wife's mother lay sick on her death-bed, and Sister Andrews would come to help with the work sometimes. One day (knowing, I suppose, that I was very much opposed to Seventh-day Adventist doctrines) she suggested that my wife ask me to attend a course of meetings to be held by Brother Geo. I. Butler, in the public square in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. I was then very busy as a contractor, and had men working for me, with more work than I could do. I was turning off work almost every day. So when my wife spoke to me, I said, "Yes, if I have nothing at all to do, I will attend the meetings," never thinking of such a thing as getting caught. But the Lord knew that my word was good, so the very day the meetings commenced, I ran clear out of work. Of course I went to meeting. Brother Butler gave us the privilege of handing in questions; so I said to myself, "I will make it hot for you; if I have to attend your meetings I will give you questions that will stall you and defeat all your preaching, Saturday Sabbath, etc." But now we all know how easily he could answer them all.
One evening I met my brother and asked him to go along and hear the Adventist tell about the devil, where he came from, and where he will go.
My brother said, "Yes, I would like to hear that;" and we both attended the meetings. But every night, as we were going home, one of us would ask, "Well, what do you think of that?" Then we would discuss the question.
One night, however, neither one of us said anything until we got almost to my house; then my brother said, "Well, what do you think of that?" I said, "Well, I think I have broken my last Sabbath;" and he said, "That is just my idea."
Friday evening Brother Butler came to my house to talk and pray with me. He asked me what I thought of these things, and I told him that I expected to keep the Sabbath and live out the truth.
As soon as I had accepted the truth at Mount Pleasant I had plenty of work again.
W. F. NICKEL.
BABYLON IS FALLEN.
IN Rev. 14:8 are these words: "And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
It has been abundantly shown in this journal in the past that the term "Babylon" signifies confusion (Gen. 11:9), and in its prophetic sense fittingly applies to divided and distracted Christendom, with its numerous and contradictory creeds, its false and perverted standards, its departure from the Word of the living God.
Since the Reformation times, departing from the true principles of reform, this condition has grown more and more manifest. But it did not begin there. It began in the Christian era, when in the very church itself men arose speaking corrupt things to draw away disciples after themselves (Acts 20:29, 30); when the mystery of iniquity began to displace the mystery of godliness, the man of sin to reign instead of the Man of righteousness (2 Thess. 2:3-8). It culminated first in the Papacy and the Dark Ages.
Out of that division of fallen Babylon God called His people by the Reformation, but few indeed of the reformed churches got back to the pure Word of God alone as the standard; and the multitudinous creeds made Christendom Babylon still.
The first angel's message of Rev. 14:6, 7—"Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters"—was sent to the world in the great advent message of 1840-44 to heal Babylon. God loved her despite her errors and sins and human creeds. "We would have healed Babylon," He declares through the prophet Jeremiah (51:9); and He placed His Spirit upon men to preach again the healing message of the everlasting Gospel (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 14:6, 7). If the professed Protestant churches had heeded that message, it would have healed all division, all confusion. It would have brought them back to the one God, the one Saviour, the one Book, the one Gospel, the one Standard; and before these every human creed would go down in the dust. But the Babylonian churches would not accept the healing message, and the prophet mournfully adds, "But she is not healed: forsake her."
The physician may make perfect diagnosis of a case, he may prescribe the perfect remedy, but unless the afflicted one will follow the physician's instruction, she will surely die. The health of the daughter of Jerusalem has suffered from the miasmas of Babylon, and God sends the healing balm of Gilead to restore her. Why then is her health not recovered? The only reason is that the remedy has not been applied.
But when God's people reject the means which would restore unity, what is bound to follow?—A moral fall. And thus it has been in the great Protestant denominations, acknowledged by the best among them all worse than ever now, they are justifying the Babylonian condition, justifying creeds of men, yielding more and more to human leadership and man-worship, and through higher criticism and unbelief, cutting themselves off from the only means which would save them.
Yet there are honest hearts in this Babylon of creeds and practises. There are hearts longing for the old-time religion, the old-time power to make men honest, the old-time love of the Bible. God is calling to these. If you can not find His truth, His rest, His Word, His power, His Gospel, His law as exemplified in Christ Jesus, then heed His message: "Come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:1-4.
It is God's purpose to save all He can. If we will choose or retain that which is contrary to His purpose and saving truth, we shall die. But if we will let all that is of man crumble in the dust, and choose God's way, we shall live.
THE TRIUMPH OF GOD'S LAW.
Ours has come to be a lawless generation. The lawless element is on the increase. It has been increasing more rapidly since a great portion of the church has been proclaiming the abolition of the law of God.
With the law of God dethroned in the hearts of men, it is not to be supposed that human law would be given a place of great reverence. In fact, we have heard, within recent months, of lawmakers themselves framing laws designed to relieve influential lawbreakers from the penalties of just laws. It is a notorious fact, also, that the execution of human laws is repeatedly interfered with by those who appoint the lawmaking body. There was a time when it was sufficient for a majority of the people to know that such and such things were "against the law." Now the man with influence or power or wealth who desires to do that which is against law, either sets himself deliberately at work to change the law, or defies the law, and depends upon his power or influence or wealth to enable him to avoid its penalties. And from the example thus set the common people, consciously or unconsciously, are taking their cue, and learning the lesson of disregarding law—all law, human and divine.
All this is out of harmony with the teaching and the purpose of the Messiah, who declared His design in these words:—
"Then said I, Lo, I am come;
In the roll of the Book it is written of Me:
I delight to do Thy will, O My God;
Yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:7, 8.
His very sacrifice on Calvary showed the immutability of the law of God. Man's transgression of God's law made necessary the sacrifice of the Son of God in order that man might not be required to bear in his own life the penalty of his transgression of that law, which would have been eternal death. Had not Christ stepped in between that broken law and the lawbreaking man, the penalty of eternal death would have fallen upon the transgressor. He did step in with His own life, laid it down as man's substitute, vindicated the law, and gave man hope.
Then what a perversion of God's truth and purpose to assert that in this work (performed for the purpose of vindicating the law and also saving man from its penalty) Christ abolished the law of God, and took it away from its place in the government and throne of God! Christ declares of Himself that He came to do the will of God (expressed in the law), and that that law is within His heart. Men would make Him oppose Himself and deny Himself by declaring that He came for the purpose of abolishing that same law. Truly, the enemy has found quarters within the household.
But this work in opposition to the purpose of God and the law of God was long ago predicted. The prophet Daniel tells us (Dan. 7:25) of a power that would rise up against the work and people of God, and would "think to change the times and the law." This could not refer to the times and law of men; for they are always changing. It refers to the law of God against which that power had arrayed its forces.
Paul is referring to the work of that same power when he speaks of the "lawless one" (2 Thess. 2:8, A. R. V.), whose work was made manifest in the early church, and is denominated "the mystery of lawlessness," or "the mystery of iniquity." That spirit of lawlessness was but another name for the "falling away" from the first principles of the Gospel. With that falling away there began to be more fully and directly revealed "the man of sin," "the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God." 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.
This is the same work that the prophet Daniel reveals in the text quoted. It is a God-dishonoring power doing a law-nullifying work. That power was and is the Papacy, and the law which it has sought to nullify is the law of God. That power7was established during the "falling away." It was the "falling away" that made its establishment possible, that opened the door for it to come in and do its work. The church—the very early church—was faithfully warned of the work which that power would do. See 2 Thess. 2:5.
That power arose and did the work predicted. It made alterations in the written law of God, and put the first day in the place of the seventh day, in which work it exalted itself above God. It opposed His work by causing to be put to death the most faithful and conscientious Christians that were then in the world, so that the inspired writer could say of it that it should "wear out the saints of the Most High."
It is a disappointing fact that a large part of the professed Protestant world is to-day assisting in that very "lawless" work by proclaiming the abolition of the law of God, and by yielding obedience to that "lawless" power in observing as a Sabbath the day which it has set up in opposition to that commanded in the law of God. It will be disappointing also to those who have taken part in it; for one of the things to be accomplished by the second coming of Christ is the destruction of that law-opposing power. "And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of His coming." 2 Thess. 2:8. Of those who are redeemed at that time it is said, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
There are the two classes, the lawless and the law-keeping. The one has been working against God and His law, even while professing His name; the other has professed His name, honored His law, and kept His word. The one is destroyed; the other immortalized. It is of the utmost importance that we know what our true position is in this matter so weighty with eternal possibilities.
The law of God, vindicated in the sacrifice of Christ, will triumph in the persons of His victorious redeemed people. The law and the people who have honored it have been trampled and will be trampled under the feet of that "lawless" power and its supporters; but in the destruction of the "lawless one" and all he stands for there will be seen the triumph of the law of God and all it stands for.
The Mysteries of Grace
By L. A. Williams
THE love of God is the light and life of all spiritual existence. Just as there can be no life in the natural world without the light and heat of the sun, so there can be no spiritual life without the light and heat of divine love. The manifestation of this love through the mediation of Jesus Christ is the great Gospel mystery. God Himself has been the mystery of all ages. The incarnation of the Son of God is the wonder of the whole earth. We believe without question the mysteries of nature; so let us by faith accept the mysteries of grace.—Rev. L. A. Williams.
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE RECORD.
“Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” 2 Sam. 12:14. This was the charge brought by the prophet Nathan against King David on account of his conduct toward Uriah the Hittite. And it is true to this day, that when men are importuned to give their hearts to God, they will sneeringly point to David as “a man after God’s own heart,” recall some of his heinous offenses, and claim for themselves a better life than David’s. So every one who, professing to serve God, departs from His commandments, gives occasion to the enemies of His cause to denounce it; and many of them are not slow to take advantage of such occasions. For this reason we are cautioned to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thess. 5:22.
Besides this evil result, many who profess discipleship presume upon the scriptures that speak of David’s perfect heart (1 Kings 11:4, 33, 34, 38, etc.), and make excuse of them for repeating some of David’s errors. Now “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4), not that we should learn to imitate all the faults recorded in the Scriptures, even of the best men, but rather that we should learn to avoid them. It is the part of wisdom to be admonished by the sad consequences that came to many of the servants of God because of their departures from the right way.
Sinners ought to be encouraged by the fact that it has been made possible for men guilty of the crimes for which they condemn David, and because of which they slight the mercy of God, to find peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is free from sin, no matter how great that sin. They ought to rejoice that a merciful God was willing to pay such a price in order to make such a consummation possible. The things written aforetime for our learning were not written to give men an excuse for continuing in sin, but “that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” David was counted righteous because of his repentance of sin, and his faith in the atoning blood of Christ. When a man has made peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is free from sin, no matter how great that sin. He stands, not in his own righteousness, which is as filthy rags, but in the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed unto him because of his faith.
Sinners should take courage from the record of David’s life; not from the fact that he was a sinner, but that, in spite of that fact, his repentance and faith gained for him a name among those who pleased God. Sinners should be encouraged to know that the blood of Christ can cleanse them from all sin (1 John 1:7); that He is able to “save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him” (Heb. 7:25); and that He is able to keep them from falling, and to present them “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). Of all this possibility the record of David’s experience is the divine, infallible testimony.
PROFESSED PROTESTANTS CONDEMNING PROTESTANTISM.
By Editor
WHEN professed Protestants so far depart from Protestantism as to clasp hands with Roman Catholicism, and to recognize the church of Rome as a "branch of the Christian church," it is time to remind them that in so doing they rule out their own claims. If the Roman system is Christian, if there is any true foundation for her claims as a Christian church, then Protestantism has no such claim, and no Protestant can be saved. Here is an extract from Rome's instruction on this point:—
Every one is obliged, under pain of eternal damnation, to become a member of the Catholic Church, to believe her doctrine, to use her means of grace, and to submit to her authority. . . . Hence the Catholic Church is justly called the only saving church. To despise her is the same as to despise Christ; namely, His doctrine, His means of grace, and His powers; to separate from her is the same as to separate from Christ, and to forfeit eternal salvation. Therefore St. Augustine and the other bishops of Africa pronounced, A. D. 412, at the council of Zirta, this decision: "Whosoever is separated from the Catholic Church, however commendable in his own opinion his life may be, he shall for this very reason, that he is at the same time separated from the unity of Christ, not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
If such teaching is in any sense Christian, then Protestantism is not, and Protestants are therefore out of the ark of safety. But if Protestantism is Christian, then Catholicism is not; then Protestants can not affiliate with Catholicism for any purpose whatever. This is not to say that they may not affiliate with Catholics in the ordinary walks of life as with other men. The Lord has children in their ranks, even as in the rest of the world, who are there because the light of the truth has not reached them yet. When it does reach them, they will, as many of them have already done, obey the divine exhortation, "Come out of her, My people."
THE ONLY EQUAL LAW.
THAT is a true saying of the Examiner (Baptist) that, “It is a just principle of jurisprudence that all laws relating to the rights and liberties of the citizen shall apply equally to all members of the community.” The principle applied would rule out a great mass of so-called civil law. It would do away with all manner of human laws for the establishment of religion. On that principle, no law commanding the observance of Sunday, or any other religious institution, could find place on any statute-book.
There is one law, however, that is based on the principle enunciated by the Examiner, and that is the law of God. It is a “holy” law, and “just, and good.” Rom. 7: 12. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19: 7. No human power can devise a perfectly equal and just law that will “apply equally to all members of the community.” Everything that man does is imperfect; therefore he is incompetent to make laws for the regulation of matters pertaining to the conscience.
It is only because men refuse to obey the law of God that human law finds any legitimate place at all. During the rule of sin in this probationary period, even imperfect law regulating temporal affairs is better than chaos; hence, for the time being, civil government is ordained of God. But the line of jurisdiction is drawn at the realm of conscience. No imperfect legislation must be tolerated there. And all of man’s efforts to invade the forbidden realm with his imperfect rule have proven disastrous to liberty, to equality, to justice, and to righteousness. God’s ways are equal, man’s ways are unequal.
We may endure the imperfect rule of man for a time in temporal matters, but God says, “Son, give Me thine heart.” There man can not rule; either the love of sin or the love of God is supreme. In the natural mind sin has dominion, and man is powerless to prescribe a remedy. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Ps. 146: 3. “Come unto Me,” says Christ, “all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11: 28. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Ch. 22: 37); and in the heart that is fully yielded to God He writes His law (Jer. 31: 33).
Question Corner
By Editor
1482.—Prophetic Time.
Why, in applying a day for a year in prophecy, do you give the Jewish year as 360 days? F. L. C.
(1) The application of a day for a year in prophecy is authorized by Num. 14:34, and Eze. 4:4-6. (2) A Bible month is shown to be thirty days by Gen. 7:11; 8:4, in comparison with Gen. 7:24. The first passage places the beginning of the Deluge on the second month and 17th day; the second passage tells us the ark rested on the seventh month the 17th day; and the third passage shows this period to be just 150 days, a period of five months at thirty days to the months. Twelve of such months would constitute a year of 360 days. The twelve-month year is indicated in 1 Kings 4:7; 1 Chron. 27:1-15. (3) There is one prophetic period mentioned seven times in the Bible, as follows: "time and times and half a time" (Dan. 7:25); "a time, times, and a half" (Dan. 12:7); "forty and two months" (Rev. 11:2; 13:5); "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev. 11:3; 12:6); "a time, and times, and half a time" (12:14). If forty-two months are identical with 1,260 days, there are thirty days to the month; and if the forty-two months constitute three and one-half times, or years, there are twelve months to the year, of thirty days each. This is conclusive as to prophetic time. In the later Jewish calendars a short month, Ve-adar, was added occasionally to correct the calendar, which, of course, would make correct the average Jewish year. See Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. "month."
Who is it that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, as stated in Matt. 10:28. H.
That Being "who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" is the only One we are to fear. That is the great Creator (Rev. 14:7), "the living God" (Heb. 10:31), "the Lawgiver and Judge, even He who is able to save and to destroy" (James 4:12). God is said to "destroy," and kill (Luke 12:5), because He pronounces sentence of death upon the sinner. The word "hell" in the last text come from Gehenna, the final place of punishment.
Is there good authority for the statement that the negroes are the descendants of Ham? If so, is it probable that it was the result of the curse pronounced upon Canaan by Noah? It does not seem possible that God would allow what seems so unjust a thing. Especially when Canaan had nothing to do with it, and it was the result of Noah's drunkenness? E. A. B.
Yes, the negroes are descendants of Ham, as you will learn by tracing the ethnological branches of the Hamitic branch of Noah's family. See Gen. 10:6-20. They spread abroad to the south, and inhabited Africa. God's curse upon Canaan was not an arbitrary one; it was the simple declaration of what would come upon Ham's descendants as the result of the father's weakness of character. Noah's drunkenness was doubtless accidental, through ignorance; but Ham's sin was a revelation of low character, which, transmitted to his children, would make them the weakest branch of his family. Yet from that curse there always has been and is redemption in Christ Jesus.
THE CARNIVAL OF CRIME.
By Editor
WE know of no term more fitting to describe the condition of many of our cities and systems at the present time. Men seem to revel in crime; to count it as a very part of necessary conditions of life; and if not participators in the crime or its spoils and grafts, to condone its commission and treat lightly its unbounded license. Something more than ordinarily notorious in a community occasionally stirs up the mad mob spirit to commit a worse crime; but the love of truth and righteousness and honesty and justice and goodness is in no way nourished or strengthened or deepened.
It may be well to note a few of the manifestations of the prevailing iniquity which in the last few months have come to light.
1. On the Part of the Trusts.—We need but to recall the recent developments in the Ship Building Trust, in which some of the greatest financiers of the country were involved. Fraud, falsehood, dishonesty, swindling, were spelled out upon every page of its black record. The great steel combine of the country has demonstrated that it belonged to the same class. One needs but to read the clear, calm articles of Miss Tarbell in the McClure's Magazine to learn that greed and fraud and robbery have been interwoven with the career and success of the Standard Oil Company from the first. And courts seem well-nigh powerless against these monstrous growths of abnormal commercialism.
2. In the Government.—Standing out in bold relief are the evidences of stupendous fraud, chicanery, graft, and dishonesty in the postal department and in public land matters. No one seems to know how far-reaching in official life the ramification of these cancers of corruption extend.
3. In the Labor World.—Crimes of violence, which a generation ago would have staggered a nation, are now considered as scarcely worthy of note. Men are killed in cold blood for moving their own goods contrary to the dictates of a union, and for exercising the right of a free man to labor when he will, where he will, and for whom he will. Even the solemn rites of the burial of the dead have not been respected. Moreover, the labor trusts are uniting with the capitalistic trusts, and between the two the consumer, the middle and poorest classes, suffer, ground between the upper and nether millstones.
4. Corruption in Municipalities.—How the nation was appalled at the revelations of the Tweed ring made about 1870! The corruptions were a byword and a stench in the nostrils of all, the wide land through. But New York is as much under the influence of graft and boodle to-day as in the palmiest days of Tweed. But the metropolitan city does not stand alone. The revelations of corruption in Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburg, the "City of Brotherly Love," and others clearly indicate that the disease has permeated the bodies municipal of the republic. Spasms of reform occur, the ugly sore is for a while hidden, the rogues lie low for a time, and then corruption comes forth to the fray, rested, more resourceful, more crafty, more vigorous, than before. And the people curse or cry or smile, according to their mood, while the tide rolls on to night.
5. Violent Crime.—Notwithstanding the "era of prosperity" through which we are passing, which, if it be a fact, ought to bring peace and contentment, it seems as tho a perfect carnival of crime were upon us. Here are some headlines from a prominent daily in a city whose administration has been fostered and favored by the journal in question:—
One Hundred and Fourteen Homicides, no One Hanged; Capital Punishment in Abeyance for Five Years and a Half in San Francisco.
One Robbery for Every Day; Record of Crimes of Violence for Two Weeks in San Francisco.
Record of Violence for a Single Day; Itemized History of Twenty-four Hours Makes a Bad Showing for a Civilized Community.
And following the first double heading, a list of 114 known capital crimes are given, from Oct. 14, 1898, to Jan. 1, 1904. This does not include the not infrequent homicides among the Chinese. Of the 114 there have been forty-seven murders committed, for which no one has been arrested.
Following the second heading above, is a list of fifteen known robberies in thirteen days, from February 22 to March 5.
Following the third double head above, we have the record of accident and crime, for a single day, March 5, consisting of four attempts at suicide; one attempted jail break; one robbery; one attempted burglary; one burglary; one holdup; a man shot after a game of cards; one murder. And all this in one city in one day. Does San Francisco stand alone in such a record? We opine not. In quiet, peaceful Oakland crimes are of almost daily occurrence; and in some districts of the city organized gangs of hoodlums terrorize the people and the authorities seem powerless.
6. The Mob Spirit.—How it has come in of late years, not alone in the South, but in the North! Men are lynched on mere suspicion, and in many cases, where it was certain that due process of law would have meted out the proper punishment. This very morning, March 8, we read of a mob of 2,000 Ohioans, in Springfield, who take a colored man from jail, shoot him, hang him, and then take delight in shooting at the dead carcass. The despatches say that the "crowd was jovial. Frequently an arm would fly up convulsively when a muscle was struck, and the mob went nearly wild with delight. Throughout it all perfect good humor and good order was maintained, and every one seemed in the best of spirits, joking with his nearest neighbor, while reloading his revolver." And all this by Twentieth Century "Christians" and "republicans"!
All this, and much more might be told in truth of this time in which we live. Yet God foretold it all, and we may read it, if we will, in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 59, concerning the last days, and in other scriptures. The reason of it all is that men have separated from God, turned their ears from the hearing of His law, and joined themselves to their sins. In the days of Noah "the earth was filled with violence" (Gen. 6:11), and when Christ comes it will be "as were the days of Noah" (Matt. 24:37). How long will it be at the present rate, ere we shall reach that climax? Christ's coming draweth nigh.