“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor; yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better; nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” Phil. 1: 21–24.
What did Paul mean by departing? It is fair to answer it by his words to Timothy: “The time of my departure is at hand.” 2 Tim. 4: 6. It was his death. Could he be with Christ by dying? That depends upon the place to which the dead go. Where do the dead go? To sheol or hades, the one of these names being the Hebrew and the other the Greek term to designate the place of the dead.
How do you know that the dead go to sheol or hades? The psalmist asks what man there is that can deliver his soul from death and sheol. Ps. 89: 48. Jacob, at death, entered sheol. Gen. 38: 35; 43: 38; 44: 29, 31. Korah and his company went down into sheol. Num. 16: 30, 33. Job was to be hid in sheol, and wait there till the resurrection. Job 14: 13; 17: 13. All the wicked go into sheol. Ps. 9: 17; 31: 17; 49: 14. All mankind go there. Ps. 89: 48; Eccl. 9: 10. (N. B. These words in our English version are sometimes translated grave, and sometimes hell.) Have you any other proof that the dead are in hades? Yes. When the resurrection occurs, all the righteous, being rescued from death and the place of the dead, triumph over both in the most exultant language. 1 Cor. 15: 51–55. And at the second resurrection, both death and hades give up the wicked dead. Rev. 20: 11–15. Paul did, therefore, enter hades by departing this life.
Did Paul find Christ in hades? No; indeed, Christ had been there before Paul, but was not there when Paul entered the silent abode of the dead. We have express statements on this point. Peter says that David spoke of Christ’s resurrection when he said, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.” (Greek, hades.) And he informs us that at the resurrection of Christ “his soul was not left in hell,” or hades. Observe this is not spoken of his death, that his soul was not left in hades; for then it might be evaded as meaning that his soul should not be suffered to enter hades at all. But it is spoken of his resurrection, that his soul was not left there. And this proves, beyond dispute, that his soul did enter this abode of the dead, but remained there only till the morning of the third day. Compare Acts 2: 25–31; Ps. 16: 8–11.
But was not Paul grievously disappointed on entering the place of the dead not to meet Jesus there? There is no reason to believe that he expected to meet him in hades. In fact, there is excellent testimony to show that he looked to a very different occasion for the meeting with Christ. But there was no sadness, gloom, nor disappointment, to Paul in hades. It is a place where there is no knowledge. Eccl. 9: 10. Those who enter there have no thoughts. Ps. 146: 4. All is silence, darkness, sleep, rest. The wicked therein are silent in death. Ps. 31: 17. The righteous in sheol do not praise God, and do not even remember Him whom they have given their lives to honor. Ps. 6: 5; Isa. 38: 10–19; Ps. 115: 17.
To the living the grave may be dark and cold, and the period of waiting may seem long and tedious. But not so to the silent sleeper in its quiet rest. There is no lapse of time to those whose thoughts have perished. There is no gloom to those who “know not anything.” Eccl. 9: 5. There can be nothing tedious or distressing or unpleasant to those in hades. In fact, there can be no time to them at all. It is simply a blank. Rather it is an atom of time, as the twinkling of an eye. This is proved by facts of frequent occurrence. Men receive blows upon the brain which destroy the power of thought. They remain in this condition sometimes for months. When consciousness is restored, thought begins at the very point where it was suspended.
An officer wounded in battle, and remaining months without a thought, when relieved by surgical operation, has arisen in bed and finished the order he was giving when struck down. This shows that, to those who have no power of thought, time is annihilated. To Stephen, who fell asleep while gazing upon the glory of Heaven, it will ever be the same as though, without one moment’s delay, he had entered it. Acts 7: 55–60. And so of many Christians who have had rapturous views of Heaven in the hour of their death. It will never seem to them as though Heaven had even disappeared from their view. In winking, we cease to gaze upon that which is before us. It disappears from our view, yet we do not even notice the disappearance of the object. Such is the sleep of death. To the sleeper it is an imperceptible atom of time, of which he can take no account.
Have you any evidence that Paul did not expect to be with Christ till the resurrection? Judge for yourself in the light of such words as the following: “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, IF THE DEAD RISE NOT? let us eat and drink; for TO-MORROW WE DIE.” 1 Cor. 15: 32. If Paul entered Heaven by dying, and by that event was taken to be with Christ, where there is fullness of joy, was not this of some advantage to him? Suppose there never should be a resurrection, would not Paul’s immortal soul (if he had one) in the felicity of Heaven find something to compensate his cross-bearing life? Indeed he would, were he to enter Christ’s presence at death, even though there were no resurrection. But he plainly indicates that if there was to be no resurrection there would be no reward; a decisive proof that he knew nothing of the entrance into the heavenly city by the gate of death. In fact, had he entertained such an idea, instead of speaking of immediate death as a sad thing if there were no resurrection beyond it, he would have said, “Courage, brethren; to-morrow we die, and that shall usher us into our Lord’s presence.” His words convey, in every respect, the opposite idea.
But was there not some point of time to which Paul looked for deliverance and reward? And was this the day of death, or of the coming of Jesus? There is a certain day which he has emphasized very remarkably. It bears the designation in his epistles of “THAT DAY.” It is thus presented:—
1 Thess. 5: 2, 4: “For yourselves know perfectly that THE DAY OF THE LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. . . . But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that THAT DAY should overtake you as a thief.”
2 Thess. 1: 10: When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in “THAT DAY.”
2 Tim. 1: 12: “For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against THAT DAY.”
2 Tim. 1: 18: “The Lord grant unto him [Onesiphorus] that he may find mercy of the Lord in THAT DAY; and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.”
2 Tim. 4: 6–8: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at THAT DAY; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
These scriptures do plainly teach the fact that the advent of Jesus was the time to which Paul looked for the deliverance of the saints, for the gathering of himself and all the others to Christ’s presence, and for the placing of the crown upon his own head, and upon the heads of all that really love the appearing of Jesus. He refers to the time of this great reward as “THAT DAY.” But he marks it over and over in such a manner that we cannot mistake the point of time. It is not the day of his death, but it is the day of the Lord Jesus.
But can you give a text from Paul’s writings in which both the time and the manner of the taking of the saints to be with Christ is presented? The following text is exactly to the point:—
1 Thess. 4: 16, 17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and SO shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The word “so” [Greek οὕτω] signifies “in this manner,” or “thus.” This text shows with distinctness the time and the manner of meeting the Lord, and being received into his presence. It is indeed a testimony of the same character as that in 2 Thess. 2: 1, where the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is made the point for the gathering together of Paul and his brethren to him. There can be no doubt that this was Paul’s hope, but can you confirm it by the words of the Lord Jesus? If a direct statement of the Saviour will answer, here it is:—
John 14: 2, 3: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.”
Now observe, 1. Jesus was going away personally. 2. While absent he was to prepare a place for his people. 3. Then he was to come back and receive them. 4. That thus they might be where he was. Then it follows that they cannot be with him till he comes after them. He will not come after them till he has completed the preparation of the place for them. And observe this fact, if they could go to him before he comes after them, they would find the place unprepared for their reception. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Our Lord has fixed the time and the manner of the saints being received to be with Christ. It is at his glorious advent. Then how do you reconcile all these testimonies with the language of Paul, quoted at the head of this article, in which he says, “Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”?
The reconciliation is not a matter of difficulty. The departure is by death; the being with Christ is by the resurrection. These are two events, and not one and the same thing. “To depart, AND to be with Christ; which is far better.” We may illustrate this by a supposition. We will say that Paul, when at Miletus, being very anxious to see the brethren in Jerusalem, and to find rest from the severe labors of the field he had, in the face of bitter opposition, so long cultivated, used this language: “Having a desire to depart, and to be with James at Jerusalem.” No one would misunderstand that language. The departing was one thing; the being with James another thing at some distance in the future. Can you illustrate this out of Paul’s language relative to death and the appearing of Jesus? I can give an illustration that meets the point exactly, and that uses one of the very terms of the disputed text. Here is the passage:—
2 Tim. 4: 6, 8: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. . . . Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Paul’s “departure” was at hand. This was his violent death by the axe of the executioner. But his reward was laid up for him till the day of Christ’s appearing. The word “henceforth” covers the period between his departure and his being with Christ. But might not Paul be with Christ before the appearing of Jesus, though he received not his crown till that time? No. Paul could not be with Christ, if that is any advantage, without a resurrection from the dead, unless there was some advantage to reward his labor, even though the dead rise not. 1 Cor. 15: 32. He could not be with Christ, on his own showing, as we have seen, until Christ comes back after him. “So shall we ever be with the Lord.” Besides, this text relative to the crown must not be set aside too summarily. A crown implies a throne, a kingdom, and a reign. Paul will not have these withheld after entering his Lord’s presence. But the time to reward the saints, small and great, does not come till after the sounding of the seventh angel. Rev. 11: 15, 18. We say, therefore, that 2 Tim. 4: 6–8, is a good illustration of Phil. 1: 23.
But why should Paul speak of these two events, death, and the entrance into Christ’s presence, in so closely connected a manner if they are really separated by a long space of time?
1. The Scriptures often speak of events widely separated in such a manner that the careless reader would suppose them one and the same thing; or at least that they were both to transpire at the same point, or very near to each other. Rev. 2: 10: “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” James 1: 12: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” But we do know from plain testimony that the crown is not given as soon as man falls in death, but when he arises in the resurrection of the just. 2 Tim. 4: 8; 1 Pet. 5: 4. As a further illustration of the fact that there is need of care in reading the Bible that we may give everything its proper place, take this text:—
Luke 2: 39: “And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.” Now who would suppose that between this performance of all things required by the law when our Lord was forty days of age [see verse 22], and their return into Nazareth, occurred the flight into Egypt? Yet such was the case. Matt. 2. It appears that they returned unto Bethlehem, and were there found of the wise men. Then, at the warning of God, Joseph fled into Egypt, and stayed till Herod’s death, then, returning out of Egypt, he was afraid to stop in Bethlehem, and so retired to his old home in Nazareth. But all these things Luke passes over.
2. A second reason for Paul’s manner of expression is found in the fact that his death would close his probation, and make it certain that he should be with Christ when Christ comes after his saints.
3. A third reason is, that to him it would be the same thing as though death did usher him into Christ’s presence. For there would not be even a moment to him between departing and being with Christ.
Paul was in a strait betwixt two. He was now an aged man, and a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He had borne the burden in the heat of the day. Being bowed to the earth with burdens, cares, toils, labors, and sufferings, he felt that for himself it was better to die; but when he saw the flock of God contending with Satan, and wrestling for life, he felt that it was needful that he should live yet for a season for their furtherance and joy of faith.
Paul rests in the silence of hades. He is not yet with Christ. But Christ has been in hades, and when he left it took away the key. Acts 2: 31; Rev. 1: 18. If the dead should not rise, Paul would have no advantage from all his labor. But Christ shall call, and Paul shall answer. He shall stand up an immortal being. He shall ascend to meet the Lord in the air. The crown shall be placed on his head. And “so” shall he “ever be with the Lord.” J. N. A.
Volume Forty-Four.
By C. S.
We enter this week upon another volume of the REVIEW. Never did a volume of this paper open under more favorable auspices, and more encouraging omens. The good news from the camp-meetings thus far is soul-cheering, and the stirring words of those who are laboring in the cause, found in this number of the REVIEW, with those which were given last week, will cause every heart to beat with a stronger and quicker pulse in the good work.
God is speaking unto his people that they go forward. The precious hope of the church so long and sacredly cherished is soon to be fulfilled. That for which we have prayed and waited, the going forth of the last threefold message of warning in might and power, our eyes are soon to behold. Then shall we feel like Simeon of old, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; . . . for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” And lo, we shall depart, caught up by the angels that are sent to the four winds of Heaven, to gather the elect, according to God’s word.
Why may we not expect the great work of this message soon to be seen? Our cause has in it every element of permanency and strength. The history of our doctrines is not a record of shifting views, a position adopted to-day, and found untenable to-morrow, and changed for something else the next day. But the positions we hold now are the same as at first, only illuminated with greater light, and established in tenfold strength. They have been subjected to every kind of opposition, fair and unfair, strong and weak, honorable and mean; and they stand through it all. Nothing can overthrow them. It is the Lord’s truth; and this cause is his work.
These are times of thrilling interest. None can afford to be idle now. This is the favorable time for every man, woman, and child, in all the ranks to gird on the armor and come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. C. S.
The Coming of Christ:
By Uriah Smith
IS IT PAST OR FUTURE?
To avoid the conclusion that the second coming of Christ is now at the door, many Christians (shall we call them so?) resort to the desperate position that all the declarations given by Christ and the apostles as recorded in the New Testament, respecting the coming of Christ and the end of all things, had their fulfillment in that generation.
If this is so, the New Testament writers all stand convicted of using the wildest, most false and extravagant language to describe the ordinary events of history, which are all that have transpired since these declarations were made. Then the Bible stands out as the one book that does not mean what it says, and is not to be taken as it reads. Then has the scoffer good ground for all his jeers at sacred things; for every system of religion based on such a book is a groundless farce.
And yet there is in some minds something of a difficulty in the expressions which the evangelists and apostles use, for they frequently speak of the events referred to, in the present tense, and as if the people of their own day were the ones to participate therein; while in other places they throw in cautions against looking for the coming of the Lord, for many centuries after their time. Do these declarations contradict each other? or is there a consistent system of interpretation, in accordance with which they can all be shown to be in harmony? Let us look at some of the representative texts of each class.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
Let no man deceive you, says Paul to the Thessalonians, and cause you to think the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is to take place in your day; for the apostasy must first take place, and the man of sin be revealed, and run his appointed career. This man of sin is generally understood by Protestants to mean the papacy; and this is, beyond question, correct. Paul's caution, then, covers the whole period of time from his day onward through the long ages of papal rule, bringing us down as late in the gospel age, at least, as 1798, when papal supremacy received its death blow at the hands of the French. Not till this point was passed, could any one, according to the instruction of Paul's, look for the coming of the Lord as an event immediately to occur.
How, then, shall those other declarations be understood, which seem to represent the event as one which was at the very door when Paul wrote? Do they mean that it was to be looked for in that age? If so, then is our beloved Bible involved in a hopeless contradiction. But we think we can show that all the trouble with these passages arises from overlooking one simple fact, and ignoring one rule of interpretation, which is as beautiful in itself as it is of frequent application in the inspired writings. It is that in prophetic language the present and past tenses are frequently used for the future; and writers sometimes apparently speak of themselves, when they mean persons who are to live far in the future. God, to whom a past and future eternity are one eternal now, “calleth those things that be not as though they were.” Rom. 4: 17. And Paul uses this language to explain the promise God made to Abraham, saying, “I have made thee a father of many nations,” when as yet he was not even the father of a single child.
Goodell Brown's “Grammar of English Grammars,” than which there is probably no better authority in the English language, on page 343, thus speaks on this point:—
“In the language of prophecy we find the past tense very often substituted for the future, especially when the prediction is remarkably clear and specific. Man is a creature of present knowledge only; but it is certain that He who sees the end from the beginning has sometimes revealed to him, and by him, things deep in futurity. Thus the sacred seer who is esteemed the most eloquent of the ancient prophets, more than seven hundred years before the events occurred, spoke of the vicarious sufferings of Christ, as of things already past, and even then described them in the phraseology of historical facts: ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.’ Isa. 53: 4, 5. Multiplied instances of a similar application of the past tenses to future events occur in the Bible, especially in the writings of the prophets.”
The same prophet, Isaiah, uses the present tense for the future. Chapter 9: 6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Yet this language refers to Christ, who was not born till more than seven hundred years afterward. David also says, Ps. 16: 10: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.” Here he seems to speak of himself; yet he does not refer to himself at all, but to Christ, in whom the language was fulfilled more than a thousand years afterward, as explained by Peter in Acts 2: 31.
Exactly so with Christ and his apostles when they speak of the future second coming of Christ as though immediately to take place. They carry the mind right forward to the last generation, and then speak of the event from that standpoint, as at the very doors. Our Lord in Matt. 24, announces the signs that should herald his coming. He addresses the generation that should witness them: “When ye shall see all these things.” Then he says, “This generation [the one certainly that witnesses the signs] shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. The present generation has witnessed the signs, and hence shall also witness the consummation.
Paul, more frequently perhaps than other New Testament writers, uses this figure of anticipation, if we may so call it. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,” he says to the Corinthians, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” In the first part of this same chapter he speaks of above five hundred disciples who saw the Lord after his resurrection, and says that the greater part remained at that time, but some were fallen asleep. By falling asleep, then, he means falling in death. “We shall not all sleep,” shall not all die. Was this true of Paul or any of his companions? Did the last trump sound in his day? Were the dead raised incorruptible? Were the Christians then living exempted from death, and changed in a moment? Did this corruptible and mortal then put on incorruption and immortality? Was death then swallowed up in victory? Was this all accomplished in Paul's day? Certainly no man in his right mind can so believe. What then? Paul simply goes forward to the last generation of Christians, and speaks as if personally among them. How beautifully does this manner of speech link together the whole Christian family! He does not look over into the future and say, they, but, we, as though he stood in the midst of them. The first and last meet together; and we are recognized as belonging to the same family, and standing in the same company, with Paul.
So in 1 Thess. 4: 15, he says, “We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord,” &c. Other like expressions might be named, which on the hypothesis we have named are clearly explainable, but on no other. This simple rule frees all these passages of every vestige of difficulty, and preserves intact and inviolate the teachings of Christ and the apostles.
Eschatology, or the “science of last things,” occupies a very prominent place in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The coming of the Lord, and the coming of the Son of man, stands out prominently upon the prophetic page. We have reached the time to which these predictions pertain; and we would that men might now live as if conscious that the grand epiphany of deity is soon to open to their vision. U. S.
Charging Along the Whole Line.
By George I. Butler
Oftentimes when a battle is raging after long and serious fighting, the general commands a movement along the whole line, hoping to overwhelm the enemy, and sweep the field. It is self-evident that in every important contest, those who are fighting for principle should use their utmost efforts to advance the cause of truth and righteousness. Life is short and uncertain. Time must be drawing to a close. The great day of God hastens apace. What we do must be done quickly. We have but a short time to work. We have a mighty work to do. Our manifest duty is, then, to work to our utmost. Work while it is called to-day. The night approaches when no man can work. Precious souls are to be saved to all eternity or lost forever. The truth is most plain, and the people anxious to hear it. The fields are white for harvest.
There is a feeling of dissatisfaction in the minds of many people with the popular religion of the day. They seem to want something better, and are pleading earnestly for help and for light and truth, beseeching us to come to their assistance, many times without avail. Satan’s work seems to be making rapid advancement. Mediums of the devil are multiplying on every hand, luring souls to darkness and ruin. Publications advocating fatal errors are scattered broadcast over the land. A formal church is talking of the millennium, and taking rapid steps to bring about a virtual union of church and State, which will bring those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord into close places.
Never was there a more favorable time to make converts to the truth than now. There is no bloody war in progress among the civilized nations to distract the attention of the people. A spirit of inquiry is among them. How could there be a more favorable time? Our publications contain the truth plainly brought out in just that form which is adapted to the wants of the people. It is doubtful if they can be improved very much. There are no very great questions to be solved which stand in the way of the progress of the truth. It is clear and plain. The great thing needed among us is devotion to the truth, and a spirit of earnest sacrifice in its propagation. Why are we so dilatory, so slow in moving forward, when everything is favorable for a general movement upon the enemy’s works? Many of our ministers seem to be far more asleep than awake. Their movements are faint and lifeless. They act as though they had a very long age to work in and as if they need not hurry. Some of our Conferences are doing nothing really, though there are men in their midst who might do much good in the work. In short, we are not doing one-twentieth of what we might do in advancing the truth. There are scores of young men, in various Conferences who ought to be rapidly preparing themselves for usefulness, attending school, disciplining their minds, learning other languages, and acting as though the truth was a living reality. Some of them are waiting till they get everything in readiness to their hands so that they can go out without much sacrifice. But while they wait, souls may perish. Many of our people seem to be asleep.
Now we have a favorable time to bring the truth before the people. We never can have one more favorable. What a terrible thing it would be to fail to improve it. It cannot be said, Well done, to those who neglect their duty. We ought to be looking in all directions for openings.
Our tents are starting out the present season, and we hope the laborers will go out full of the life and power of the truth. They should avail themselves of every opportunity to bring the truth before the people. If they act as if their work was unimportant they will be sure to make the people think so, too. It is impossible to accomplish much without earnestness. When tents go into any community the laborers should act just as if their work was an all-important theme. Teachers of error convince thousands that they are right if they are earnest. How much more important with those who have the truth, and such a truth as this.
If our preachers act as if they were ashamed of the doctrines they teach, how can they expect to convince others that they are true. When a man is fully convinced himself of his being right, and acts accordingly, there is a power goes with him which reaches hearts almost like the electric spark, which carries conviction to the hearts of the hearers as nothing else can. This is one of the reasons why young men who commence to preach the truth, are often so successful. They lack experience and many other valuable qualifications which older ministers possess, and yet they are oftentimes more successful. Why is this? Because they throw themselves into the work with ardor, and make the people believe they mean what they say, because they believe what they preach themselves.
Let us look to the Source of light and strength, and make up our minds to quit looking at darkness and weakness and infirmity, looking with suspicion and faultfinding toward others; but gird up our loins like men of war and march upon the enemy. Let us thunder the truth upon the people in no uncertain tones. And if we die, let us die for God and his truth, die doing our utmost to advance it. Where is there a better cause to die for than the cause of God? It is said to be sweet to die for one’s country, to pour out one’s blood for liberty and home. But the man who labors in the cause of God, to save his fellow-men for all eternity, and wear out doing so, dies for an object as much higher than the other as eternity is more important than time. He dies for God and humanity. His death bears a resemblance to that of the Saviour himself. For such a man endless joys are held in reserve. Why should he repine? Can he find a better cause in which to wear out?
Away, then, forever with repining, and grumbling, and talking of discouragements. What good does it do us or others to talk discouragement? Let us die at our posts if necessary, rather than go halting along. Let us make a general advance upon Satan’s works, and gather souls from his dark domains to life and glory forever. Then we shall not have lived in vain.
GEO. I. BUTLER.
Newton, Iowa, June 10, 1874.
Absurdities of the No-law Position.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
1. It assumes that the law did not exist till Moses; hence there was no law against idolatry, profanity, murder, &c., till that time.
2. It assumes that the Gentiles never had any law given to them, that God never made any claims upon them.
3. It gives no reason why God singled out the ten commandments and gave them in so conspicuous a manner as he did.
4. It teaches that the ten commandments were all abolished at the cross and nine of the ten re-enacted at the same instant.
5. This was done simply to get rid of the Sabbath as the law would have been all right but for that.
6. Or, as some claim, the law was abolished at the cross and re-enacted at Pentecost, which leaves an interregnum of fifty days without any law.
7. God came from Heaven to give his law, then sent his Son to abolish it.
8. Christ came to die for the law and in the very acts of dying for it killed the law itself.
9. Christ could not die for two laws at the same time; hence, if he died for the old law, he did not die for the new law; and vice versa. Therefore, either those under the old law, or those under the new law, have no Saviour and must be lost.
10. Christ died for his own law before that law existed or any one had broken it; thus making provision for sin.
11. It impeaches God's wisdom as a lawgiver, showing that his moral laws need altering, amending, changing, &c.
12. It makes Christ the law-giver and leaves the Father out entirely; and so we need an advocate with Christ.
13. It makes Christ an advocate between us and his own law.
14. The world was in rebellion against the law of the Father. God sent his Son to reconcile them to himself; but Christ abolished his Father's law and set up one of his own, thus becoming the greatest rebel of them all.
15. Men cannot be judged by an abolished law; hence all those before the cross will go free in the Judgment having no law to condemn them.
An abolished law is annihilated. “The general principle relied upon, independent of some statutory rule, is not controverted, that when a statute is repealed it must be considered as if it never existed, except with reference to such parts as are saved by the repealing statute. And equally well settled is the doctrine that, though a party may have instituted his suit, and the same be pending at the time of the repeal, the jurisdiction is gone, without some saving clause.” Decision of the Supreme Court of Iowa, 1862.—Iowa Reports, Vol. 12, p. 311.
16. It assumes that a new law has been given, but can produce no record as to when it was given, where it was given, how many precepts it has, which is the first or the last commandment, who gave it, what its penalty is, to whom it was given, wherein it differs from the old law, &c.
When a new law is to be given to the people it must always be done in the most public and definite manner possible. Take as an example the New Constitution of Iowa. Art. 12, Sect. 13 reads: “We, the people of Iowa,” &c. “This Constitution shall be submitted to the electors of the State at the August election in the year 1857.” Then it provides how the voting shall be done. “And if it shall appear that a majority of all the votes cast at such election for and against this Constitution, are in favor of the same, the governor shall immediately issue his proclamation stating that fact, and such Constitution shall be the Constitution of the State of Iowa, and shall take effect from and after the publication of said proclamation.”
Are God's laws of less importance than men's? Is God less particular than men? Those who claim a new law ought to produce it in as plain a record as the above. But no such record exists, hence there is no such new law as is claimed. What would the people think of the man who would claim a new law of his State, but could produce no record of it?
17. When an attempt is made to find a new law, some of its precepts are found enacted during the life of Christ and before it is claimed that the old law was abolished, thus having two moral laws in operation at the same time.
18. Then other commandments are found for the first time in the epistles of the apostles not given till 30 year after the decalogue was abolished, thus leaving 30 years without any commandments against various sins.
19. This makes the apostles, instead of God, our lawgivers.
20. It assumes that the decalogue has been abolished when no record of its repeal can be found. Notice how carefully the record is made when even human laws are abolished.
Law repealed. “Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, That section 2498 of the Revision of 1860, be and the same is hereby repealed.” Approved Feb. 7, 1870.—Session Laws of the Thirteenth General Assembly of Iowa p. 112.
Let our opponents bring something like this for the repeal of God's law, and we will believe them.
21. Finally, upon the most important and vital of all subjects, the giving of the law of Jehovah by which the eternal destiny of the human race is to be decided, it leaves us to mere inference and guess-work.
A theory which involves so many and so great absurdities must be a very bad one.