p. 14 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 12. (3/23/1904)

THE SABBATH SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL SERIES — THE SABBATH SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL SERIES

LESSON I.—THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

(Study for Sabbath, April 2.)

Note.—These lessons are not to be a book study, but an outline study of the leading prophecies in the book. They will be but a survey of a book which we have been especially exhorted to study earnestly and prayerfully, in order that we may understand the past history of the people of God, and the closing work under the Third Angel's Message of the fourteenth chapter, which gives the special burden and key-note of the Gospel message for our time.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the inspired title of this book? Who is the Author of this revelation? For what purpose was it given? How was it brought to men? Rev. 1: 1.

2. Of what did John bear testimony? Verse 2.

3. What had it cost John to bear witness for Christ? Verse 9. Note .

4. Need one despised or persecuted by earthly princes be ashamed of the Christian calling? What has it cost Jesus to bring the revelation of His saving power? Verses 5, 6.

5. What special blessing may we claim as we take up studies in this book? Verse 3. Note .

6. Round what grand event does all the revelation center? Verse 7.

7. When were the scenes of this book opened to John? Verse 10. What day is this? Mark 2:28; Isa. 58:13.

8. To whom was this revelation sent? Rev. 1:11. Note .

9. What did John see as he turned to learn from whence the voice came that spake to him? Verses 12, 13.

10. Describe His appearance. Verses 14-16.

11. Who does this One declare Himself to be? Verses 11 (first part), 18.

12. What did He hold in His right hand? Verse 16.

13. What do the seven stars and the seven candlesticks represent? Verse 20.

14. Need we fear to deal with this all-glorious One? Verses 17, 5, last part.

15. With what purpose is He ministering in the heavenly courts and overruling in the affairs of earth? John 14:1-3.

16. What help may we claim in a faithful study of God's revelations? Deut. 29:29.

NOTES.

1. "On account of the desolate character of this island, it was used, under the Roman Empire, as a place of banishment, which accounts for the exile of John thither. The banishment of this apostle took place about the year 94, as is generally supposed, under the Emperor Domitian; and from this fact the date assigned to the writing of the Revelation is A.D. 95 or 96."—Thoughts on Revelation.

2. The blessing promised to those who read and hear comes only as the third condition is fulfilled, by the keeping of the things written. We are not studying merely to learn interesting facts regarding the past fulfillment of prophecy. These are all essential in the proper understanding of the book, but the study will be of lasting value only as we seek God for grace to learn how to keep in our own lives the lessons of the past and the warnings and counsels, all written for us. The "sayings of the prophecy of this book" are things to be daily kept by those who would be prepared for the coming of Christ. Rev. 22:7.

3. "The seven churches." Under the names of the seven churches in Asia, the Holy Spirit has delineated seven different stages of the Christian church, which appear in succession, extending from the apostolic days to the coming of the Lord and the consummation of all things. In other words, these messages to the seven churches constitute a connected prophecy of the church of Christ on earth, during seven periods of time, covering the entire history of the church from the first to the second advent. The messages to all the churches therefore come to us who live in the last days.

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Scripture References

A 32-page tract containing in compact form, studies on many subjects of interest to Bible Students. These are under such headings as, The Second Advent, The Millennium, The Law of God, The Sabbath, Immortality, Spiritualism, Destiny of the Wicked, etc. B. S. L. No. 10.

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Have Faith in God, A. G. L. 22

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The New Birth, A. G. L. 16

Shows the necessity of a new birth, tells how the change comes about, and the results that follow. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 70 cents.

The Sure Promises of God, A. G. L. 5

The object of this tract is to show that God's promises will be fulfilled, though sometimes delayed that we may more fully realize our need. Price, ½ cent; per hundred, 35 cents.

The Riches of His Grace, A. G. L. 23

This tract endeavors to show the great prize we have in Christ Jesus, that His grace is always sufficient, that He is rich in everything that we need. Price, ½ cent; per hundred, 35 cents.

The Christian Life, A. G. L. 19

God's claims on each of us are made known, the source of the believer's power revealed, and the conditions of Christian growth set forth. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 70 cents.

Looking Unto Jesus, A. G. L. 1

An exhortation to look to Jesus to find whom He is, what He has done, what He gives, what He requires, in His teachings our instruction, in His promises our stay. Price, ½ cent; per hundred, 35 cents.

Prayer, A. G. L. 52

Prayer is the secret of imparted power from God. It is the hand upon the pole of a celestial battery that gives new power to walk with God. The tract gives examples of wonderful things received and achieved through prayer in modern times. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 70 cents.

The Name, A. G. L. 72

This is a peculiarly interesting, touching, and almost fascinating story of an old heathen man, besotted and diseased through the use of strong drink, yet saved through the name of Jesus. The simple story carries with it a power in uplifting those seeking deliverance from any evil habit, and will work a transformation in many lives, if read. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 70 cents.

The Way to Christ, B. S. L. 105

A few simple, comforting directions to the soul seeking for righteousness. Written by Mrs. E. G. White. Price, 1 cent each; 70 cents per hundred.

Is Man Immortal? B. S. L. 51

Thirty-six questions and answers on immortality, embracing almost every phase of the subject. The clearest and most direct treatment of the question published. Price, ½ cent each; 35 cents per hundred.

Is Sunday the Sabbath? A. G. L. 76

This is an examination of Bible texts that speak of the first day of the week or Sunday, to see if it is called the Sabbath. Price, ½ cent; per hundred, 30 cents.

Which Day Do You Keep and Why? A. G. L. 75

This tract contains first, Bible facts about the Sabbath with Scripture references, followed by facts about the first day of the week. Price, ½ cent; per hundred, 35 cents.

The Day of the Sabbath, A. G. L. 50

Answers the questions: Is it any day? or is it a particular day? and if a particular day, what day is it? Eighty-two propositions are considered for the thoughtful and candid reader. 1 cent; per hundred, 70c.

The New Testament Sabbath, B. S. L. 137

An illustrated tract considering all the texts in the New Testament that speak of the first day of the week. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 70 cents.

Who Changed the Sabbath? B. S. L. 107

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Elihu on the Sabbath, B. S. L. 42

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The Sabbath in Prophecy, B. S. L. 148

It will be a surprise to many to learn that the Sabbath is mentioned in prophecy. The writer of this tract produces seven inspired predictions of Sabbath reform to take place in our day. Price, 2 cents; per hundred, $1.40.

Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast, B. S. L. 130

An illustrated tract, showing the Sabbath commandment to contain the seal of God, and on the other hand that Sunday is the seal or the sign of authority of a false power. Price, 2 cents; per hundred, $1.40.

The Seal of God and Its Counterfeit, B. S. L. 157

A tract of like nature to the foregoing, but by a different writer. While the arguments and the general matter coincide in the main, it will be interesting to read and compare the two. Price, 2 cents; per hundred, $1.40.

Scripture References, B. S. L. 10

This little tract contains Scripture references and comments on twenty-six different subjects, some of which are: The Scriptures, The Prophecies, The Second Advent, The Resurrection, The Millennium, The Sanctuary, The Sabbath, Immortality, Spiritualism, Nature of Man, The Two Covenants, etc. Price, 2 cents; per hundred, $1.40.

Modern Mysteries—Their Moral Aspect, B. S. L. 83

This new number of the Bible Students' Library is attracting attention everywhere. It takes up the questions of Clairvoyance, Mind Reading, Hypnotism, Theosophy, New Thought, and Pantheism in a way that will interest and instruct. Price, 15 cents.

The Seven Seals and the Seven Churches, B. S. L. 184

The above is the title of a help you will need in the study of this quarter's lessons. By the aid of a four-color illustration of his own devising, the author, Elder M. C. Wilcox, sets forth these two great questions in a way that will be understood by all. Price, 10 cents.

Manner of Christ's Coming, B. S. L. 124

This seems to be a perplexing question to many, but is fully settled in this tract. The writer takes up the various passages that speak of the coming of the Lord, and gives the original meaning. His coming as a thief, coming to judgment, and second personal coming, are clearly distinguished. Price, 1 cent; per hundred, 72 cents.

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Ominous Signs of the Times

By Editor

The year 1904 has opened ominously. First came the awful horror of the Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago. Following this, fire has licked up with ravenous tongues millions in Baltimore and Rochester, N. Y.; a prairie fire swept parts of fertile Oklahoma, leaving a thousand homeless, and causing the loss of several lives, while small conflagrations in various places have kept up the regular account. Notable among these was the $800,000 fire in the state capitol of Wisconsin, at Madison. Earthquakes, especially in Peru, have well-nigh ruined the city of Lima, and surrounding towns. Strikes of various sorts, paralysis of business on account of labor troubles, continue unabated; and crime, foul and red-handed, terrorizes our cities. Cold weather and floods have been prevalent, and the horrible red cloud of war is rising in the Eastern horizon, threatening to envelop the world. No one knows what a day may bring forth. "It is 'distress of nations, with perplexity.'" And yet our Lord, who foretold this, assures us that the very conditions we now see are omens of His coming again, as "King of kings and Lord of lords."

Capital and Labor.

By Editor

As commodities both capital and labor are necessary to the world's need, and there should be no antagonism between them. "Useless each without the other," in a general sense they are. But between capitalists and laborers there has ever been an irrepressible conflict. This has ever waged more fiercely when both parties to the struggle have been organized, as at the present. In the matter of organization one class has the same right as the other, and no more. If an individual manufacturer wishes to sink his individuality in a combination of manufacturers,—in a capitalist trust,—he can do so; and if a working man wishes to sink his individuality in a trade-union,—a labor trust,—he can do that. But when the trust wishes to compel or coerce the small manufacturer to enter the trust or be "frozen out" of business, the trust becomes a tyrant. It is equally true that when the union seeks to coerce or compel the non-union men to join the union or starve, unionism becomes a tyranny. And God sanctions tyranny nowhere; and He has told us that in our dealings with both poor and rich, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor." Lev. 19:15. See Ex. 23:3. "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all." The soul of the rich man is as precious in the sight of God as that of a poor man, and the reverse is also true. As men we long for the salvation of them both; but we have no sympathy with the oppression of trust or union. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that these two tyrannies in more than one case combine together to destroy and crush the poorer consumers and the non-union laborers. In both cases prosperity seems for a time to follow, but sooner or later the collapse comes. "Business" men have argued for trusts, and pointed to the great "prosperity" of the country, but it is prosperity for a class, not the whole, and the inflated values sooner or later collapse and burst, and thousands are ruined.

Likewise some of the trades-union have demanded and secured abnormal wages; this has created unnatural conditions, fomented disorder in other trades, unbalanced manufactures, especially in building trades, increased strikes, boycotts, and lockouts, and driven the employees and consumers to counter organizations. And there the country stands to-day, with some lines of trade, in various localities, paralyzed. The writer spoke to a well-known local contractor the other day as to the building trade. He said that he had placed bids on a $100,000-worth of work recently, but not a job of it could be done. The people will not build unless the builder will contract to finish by a certain time, and the contractor will not agree to do this without a strike proviso. His work may be stopped in a half dozen ways through no fault of his. Men are idle, families are destitute, and the combinations on both sides to cure moral evils are at fault. The Golden Rule would cure it all; but neither party to the strife knows it in spirit. We pity them one and both and all. But we can indorse neither trust. Both are non-Christian, with purely selfish bases. For the men we have great longing; for the systems we have no sympathy whatsoever. We could not have, and retain our Christianity. There is a better way, but the natural heart does not love it; it is the way of the cross. Nevertheless, at the end of that way lies the everlasting life and glory.

Are You a Teacher?

By Editor

Are You a Teacher?—We know this, that if we were teaching a Christian school, or were a Christian school-teacher, we should want the Advocate of Christian Education. It is a bright, helpful, suggestive monthly, published at Berrien Springs, Mich., at 50 cents a year; single copies, 5 cents.

The Reign of King Jesus

By Editor

The Series of articles on "History of Government," by Alonzo T. Jones, closes with this issue. We hope they have received the attention their importance demands. There is every kind of government offered to man in these days. Satan holds out to man as he did to the Son of Man, "all the kingdoms of the world," and promises man all this authority (Luke 4:5, 6), but their acceptance meant bondage then, and it no less means bondage now to all who look to them as the hope of the world. The only hope of the world is the reign of King Jesus; first of all in each individual heart, and then universally.

Regulate the Conscience by God's Law

A man in a forest traveled south, believing that he was going north, denying even the compass. The result was that he got lost and suffered greatly. His sincere belief that he was right and the compass wrong did not help him or keep him from getting lost. Neither will it you, reader, if you set your fancy, belief, or conscience against God's immutable Word. The Word will stand. You will suffer. It is better to regulate the conscience by the law of God. "If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8: 20.

The Folly of Man-Worship

This is not meant as a reflection on the President; but that minister who felt that it was a "supreme honor" to shake the President's hand, and who wants that "splendid grip" to be a part of his "resurrection life," it may be safe to say, was never in the audience chamber of the Most High. Theodore Roosevelt is doubtless an honorable man, a fine gentleman, an esteemed scholar, and all that, and it is doubtless an honor to know him, but to talk about a hand-shake from him as a "supreme honor," and to say, "I do not think I have washed that hand with soap since," is fulsome adulation and man-worship unworthy of a man, to say nothing of a Christian minister.

"SEVEN CHURCHES AND SEVEN SEALS."

By Editor

This is the name of a new pamphlet on these two great lines of prophecy in the Revelation. It is especially timely just now, as the Sabbath-school lessons are on the book of the Revelation for the next quarter. The pamphlet is nicely printed, and contains specially-prepared and originally-devised diagrams in four colors on both the seven churches and the seven seals. These subjects will mean much more to you after reading this pamphlet. Price, only 10 cents. Address, Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.

That Is What Mormons Have Done

That Is What Mormons Have Done.—Dr. C. H. Parkhurst is reported as saying in a recent sermon, in which he discussed the authority of the Old and New Testaments:—

What we need is the latest thing from God. We want His last word, and were He to give us still another Testament we should want to take our direction from that, and not from any of the Bible, old or new, that we have now.

Yes, we want the latest thing from God, but we want to compare it with that immutable law and perfect example. There may be prophets nowadays; therefore "despise not prophesyings," but "prove all things," and only "hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:20, 21. "To take our direction" from new revelations is to follow not God's teachings, but our judgment of what is true. That is what Mormons and Catholics, and many other sects are doing. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8:20. Does the voice seem to you like God's?—Compare it with His voice in His law.

Radium and the Foundations of Civilization

Radium has for the time at least seemingly upset two of the foundation stones of modern science, namely, the conservation of energy, and the transmutation of one element into another. In speaking of the possibility of the latter, the London Spectator says:—

If it became possible simply and expeditiously to transmute lead and iron into gold or silver, the basis of our civilization would disappear. Wealth in kind would become the only form of riches. The stores of bullion at the banks would become simply heaps of scrap-iron. The great financial centers of the world, which owe their importance to their gold reserves, would lose the basis of their pre-eminence. Banking would come to an end; reserves of capital would cease to have any practical meaning; all forms of investment would cease; the gold-producing countries, like the Transvaal and West Australia, would be bankrupted; and the elaborate system of commerce which mankind has built up during a thousand years would crumble about our ears, for there would be no standard, no little rod, by which to measure prices.

But ought not a civilization to disappear which is founded on so sordid a basis?

The Life Boat Prisoners' Number

By Editor

"The Life Boat" for April will be a special Prisoners' Number. It will be filled full of good things for those who are specially needy. It only costs 2 cents a number. You may be able to use a few or a large number among those of the prison-house of sin. Address, 28 33d Place, Chicago, Ill.

Popular Science Monthly for March

By Editor

The Popular Science Monthly for March has a good review article on "Aerial Navigation," by O. Chanute. "The Metric System," and whether it shall be made compulsory in the United States, is also discussed by Prof. W. LeConte Stevens. There are other articles of interest.