Earlier text: SAVED BY FAMILIES“WHEREFORE then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” By each particular clause of this verse, considered by itself alone, we have found that the law of God—the ten commandments in written form, as given at Sinai, and as in the Bible—is the law that is pre-eminently meant, and is the only one that meets all the requirements of all the specifications so far considered. What now of this one—“till the seed should come to whom the promise was made”? There are two laws referred to in Galatians. That is settled. They were both added; and they were both added because of transgressions. But which is pre-eminently the law referred to in this place, and its connection? That is the question here. There are also two comings of the seed, which is Christ; and it is proper and fair to ask, Which is the coming referred to here? Why should any one settle and firmly fix as the coming of this passage, a coming that requires that a law shall also be settled and fixed as the law of the passage, which will not meet the requirements of the passage in its connection? That is what has been done; and it has been the great defect in the usual consideration of this passage of Scripture. Those who are the enemies of the law of God in any form, and who would be glad to have it abolished in every form, but who do not know that that law could not by any possibility be abolished, have always wrung this verse in to do service in that terribly mistaken cause. These eagerly seize upon and settle it that the coming of the Seed here referred to is the first coming of Christ. They never look beyond the single clause: it is not to their interest to do so; because the only use they have for this scripture is that they may support their determination that the law of God is abolished. Thus the enemies of the law of God. On the other hand, the friends of the law of God know that it is true that there was a law abolished at the first coming of Christ. And since here is a law that was added “till the seed should come,” these friends of the law of God allow, and even settle upon, the claim of the enemies of the law of God, that the first coming of Christ is the coming that is here meant: THEN, and CONSEQUENTLY, the law that was abolished is decided to be the law here referred to. But it must be confessed that this is a weak way of getting at the thing. It bears on its face more the aspect of the begging of the question than of a real study and discovery of the truth as it is in the Word, for the truth’s sake. As a matter of fact, there is nothing in the passage, nor anywhere in its whole connection, that suggests the abolition of any law. The subject is, Wherefore serveth the law? What is the purpose, the object, the aim, of the law? But there are two comings of the Seed. There is another, the second coming of Christ as well as there was the first. Is it impossible that this second coming of the Seed should be the coming referred to in this passage? There are other similar expressions in the Scripture. For instance, Eze. 21:27. Speaking of the removing of the diadem and crown of the king of Judah, it says: “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until HE COME whose right it is; and I will give it him.” What coming is this? The answer to this question can be given only by a consideration of the facts in the case. He came; but instead of receiving that crown, he received a crown of thorns; instead of being seated upon that throne, he was nailed to the169 cross. So we know that that was not the coming referred to in the text, but that it is his second coming—seated upon the throne of his father David, and having on his head many crowns. Then it is that the kingdom of this world becomes “the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15, R. V. And that is the coming of him whose right it is, that is referred to in the text; and then it will be given him. Again: it is written that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. That Seed CAME, and did not bruise the serpent’s head; but himself was bruised instead. Isa. 53:5. And after he had come, and had thus been bruised, even to death; had risen again from the dead; and had ascended to heaven,—even thirty years after these things,—it was written: “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” Rom. 16:20. In Daniel 2 it is written: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44. We all know that it is generally held by the ministers of the day that this was done at the first coming of Christ; that there the stone was cut out without hands, and is to roll on, and on, and on, until it fills the whole earth. But WE know that when he was here, he said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and “not from hence.” John 18:36. And so we know that this scripture is fulfilled at his second coming. Now, why should it be thought impossible that Gal. 3:19 should refer to his second coming? Look at the situation as it is in the text, with its context: “Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” What promise?—The promise of the inheritance, unquestionably; as it is written: “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” Thus it is fixed by the Word itself that the promise referred to is the promise of the inheritance. And whatever law it is that is here referred to, it is given, added, till He comes to whom the promise of the inheritance was made. Now, at his first coming did he receive any of the inheritance?—No; no more than did Abraham, to whom, with him, the promise was made. He “had not where to lay his head.” And of him it was equally true, as with Abraham, that he received “none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.” Notice, too, particularly, that the clause says, “Till the seed should come to whom,”—not concerning whom, but TO WHOM—“the promise was made.” That is, the promise referred to was made to HIM, personally; and not simply to somebody, concerning him. But it is fixed by the text that the promise is the promise of the inheritance. This promise was made to Abraham and to his seed, which is Christ; and this was done when the promise was made to Abraham. But, further, it was also done TO the seed himself in person, which is Christ. Read it in the second psalm: “The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Verses 7, 8. Here is the promise of the inheritance made direct to the seed, which is Christ. Now, when is this promise fulfilled? And when something should be done, made, or instituted, “till the seed should come TO whom” that promise was made, then which coming would be the true and the only logical one that could be considered?—Plainly, the coming that would be at the receiving of the inheritance REFERRED TO IN THE PROMISE; and with which alone the promise is concerned. Therefore, considering what the promise is plainly in the scriptures declared to be,—the promise of the inheritance,—and considering that this promise relates and pertains particularly, and above all, to his second coming, it is evident that the second coming of Christ, rather than his first, is the one referred to in the clause “till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” And since, by every other clause of the verse, we have found that the law of God, as given on tables of stone at Sinai, and in the Bible, is the one pre-eminently referred to, and the only one that will meet all the specifications of all the clauses; and since the coming referred to in this clause is the coming in connection with the inheritance and the receiving of it, this settles it beyond all possibility of controversy that the law of God, the ten commandments, as given on the tables of stone and in the Bible, must remain in full force and obligation UNTIL THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST and the end of the world. And we all know that it will not be abolished then. It is always true that those scriptures that Satan fixes upon and uses most tenaciously to prove the abolition of the law of God are the very ones which, when truly grasped, are seen to most conclusively and most beautifully show its everlasting integrity and obligation. Look at the subject further. The inheritance is the thing referred to in the promise. But with what is the inheritance connected?—Plainly, and only, with God’s covenant with Abraham—the everlasting covenant. Notice in the context that “the covenant [that is, the covenant with Abraham, the everlasting covenant] that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, can not disannul, that it should make the promise [the promise of the inheritance of that covenant] of none effect.” Gal. 3:17. As we have seen in a former study, the inheritance is the great thing in the covenant with Abraham, the everlasting covenant. Indeed, the covenant with Abraham was made by God in pledge to Abraham that he should inherit that which God had promised. For after God had promised it to him, Abraham said, “Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” And, in answer, God made with him, and entered into with him, that blood covenant, in which he pledged his life that the promise of the inheritance should never fail. Gen. 15:8, 18. And as we also found in the former studies, all that ever came in after that covenant was made, was, in blessing to men, to enable them to attain to the fullness of that covenant, and to the inheritance of which that everlasting covenant is the pledge. And this was exactly the object of the giving of the law of God on tables of stone on Mount Sinai, and in the Bible. For if men had kept that covenant, “they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone.” The object of that law, thus written and given to men, bringing transgressions to a head, making sins abound, was and is that men might find the grace of Christ much more abounding,—that through him they might attain to the fullness of that everlasting covenant with Abraham, and so to the inheritance of which that covenant was and is the pledge. And to allow the coming of the seed to whom the promise of the inheritance was made, to be the second coming of Christ, and not his first,—this gives opportunity for the law of God, in its written form, to fulfill its grand object, which is the bringing of men, through faith in Christ, to the fullness of that everlasting covenant. The fullness of that everlasting covenant is the righteousness of God—the keeping of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” And men must be brought to the fullness of that everlasting covenant in order that they may receive the inheritance, of which that everlasting covenant is the pledge. That this view is the correct one, and is the truth of the matter, is emphasized by the fact that the everlasting covenant is not met in its fullness, in believers, until the second coming of Christ; that is, till the seed really comes to whom the promise of the inheritance was made. One provision of that everlasting covenant is, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” And that provision will not be accomplished in its fullness until, by the Third Angel’s Message, men are brought to the actual keeping of “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;” so that the Lord, looking down from heaven upon them, can say, in perfect truth: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Another provision of that covenant is, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” Heb. 8:11. Although we are now living in the times of the new covenant as really as was Abraham, yet neither the world nor we have attained to that point where it is not necessary any more for any man to teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, Know the Lord. And this part of the everlasting covenant will not be met in its fullness until, through the blessing and power of God in the Third Angel’s Message, the mystery of God shall have been finished. Col. 1:26, 27; Rev. 10:7. It is not necessary here to take up all the clauses of the new covenant, one by one. These are enough to illustrate the truth that the everlasting covenant, the covenant with Abraham, which is the pledge of the inheritance that is promised to the Seed, is not met in its fullness in those who accept it, till the second coming of Christ. And if this be not plain enough by the scriptures presented, or is not convincing enough, then read the following sentences from the testimony of Jesus, which is the Spirit of Prophecy:— It was at midnight that God chose to deliver his people. As the wicked were mocking around them, suddenly the sun appeared, shining in his strength, and the moon stood still. The wicked looked upon the scene with amazement, while the saints beheld with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Signs and wonders followed in quick succession. Everything seemed turned out of its natural course. The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the Third Angel’s Message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept his law. The sky opened and shut, and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spoke the day and the hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivered the EVERLASTING COVENANT to his people, he spoke one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth. The Israel of God stood with their eyes fixed upward, listening to the words as they came from the mouth of Jehovah, and rolled through the earth like peals of loudest thunder. . . . The wicked could not look upon them [the saints] for the glory. And when the never-ending blessing was pronounced on those who had honored God in keeping his Sabbath holy, there was a mighty shout of victory over the beast and over his image.—Early Writings, pp. 145, 146. The following quotation also, though containing in substance what is in the foregoing quotation, contains statements that make it worth printing in this connection:— With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God’s covenant, and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness. . . . In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying, “It is done.” That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great.” . . . Graves are opened, and “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth” “awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” All who have died in the faith of the Third Angel’s Message come forth from the tomb, glorified, to hear God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept his law. . . . The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to his people. . . . Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man’s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour, and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of THE COVENANT.—“Great Controversy,” pages 635–641.10 And when the saints of God have thus attained to the fullness of the everlasting covenant, the covenant with Abraham; when the object of the giving of the law from Sinai, and in the Bible, has thus been accomplished, the law will not then be abolished, but will be kept in mind, in heart, in soul, just as it was by Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, when as yet there was “no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai, or written on the tables of stone.” Instead of being then abolished, it will be observed and lived more fully and more perfectly than ever before by men. And this is “Wherefore then serveth the law?” And this is why it is that “it was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise [of the inheritance] was made; and it was ordained by [the disposition, the grand array of] angels in the hand of a mediator.” We are thoroughly convinced that more genuine study, and far more profitable study, can be put upon Galatians 3:19, and the rest of the chapter, and the whole book, by Seventh-day Adventists, than has ever yet been put upon it by us or anybody else. SEE THAT YE REFUSE NOT.
By Uriah Smith
“But ye are come, . . . to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Heb. 12:22-24. This is a part of the language of the apostle to the Hebrews, in which he is setting forth the great superiority of the privileges that Christians enjoy, over even those who were permitted to behold the wonderful display of God’s power at the giving of his law from Sinai. “That speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Than what of Abel?—The blood of sprinkling. The apostle is speaking of mediation, and of the blood of sprinkling connected therewith. Abel, in his service of faith, had such blood. This can hardly refer to the blood of Abel’s body, poured out by the murderous act of Cain, which cried out of the ground to God for vengeance, as some seem disposed to apply it; whereas, obviously, it applies rather to the sacrifice that Abel offered of the firstlings of his flocks, by which he showed faith in a Redeemer to come, on which account he is said to have offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, God being well pleased therewith, and granting to him the witness that he was righteous. What is this blood of sprinkling, so pre-eminent, to which we come?—The precious blood of Christ, sprinkled by him in our behalf before the Father, in the sanctuary in heaven. But if the blood that Abel offered typified the blood of Christ, and was an acceptable evidence of faith in him, why did not Abel, and all the faithful from his time on, have just as good service to offer to God in this respect as we have now?—We have that “better hope” mentioned by the apostle, in Heb. 7:19, in these words: “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” The law here spoken of, which made nothing perfect, is the same as the commandment of the previous verse, which he says had verily been disannulled for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. And it was the ceremonial law that was thus described as weak and unprofitable; that is, it was inefficient, as the meaning of the word is; for it could not accomplish that which was necessary to be done. It made nothing perfect; it did not finish the work; it did not remove sin from the record and the heart; but it was the introduction to, or that which prepared the way for, the bringing in of a better hope; or, as the margin reads, it was the bringing in of a better hope. And by this hope we draw nigh to God. All this has reference to Christ, by whose ministry and mediation we come directly to God, without the intervening offering of the blood of beasts, or the ministry of an earthly priesthood. The sinner, to be sure, obtained, under that system, the pardon of his sins; but it was indirectly, through sacrifices, which were the means by which he took hold of the world’s one great Sacrifice that was to come. But the Christian dispensation has advantages over this, some of which the apostle points out in the texts already referred to. “For ye are not come,” he says, “to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire,” etc. Then, in Heb. 12:22-24, he says, “But ye are come, . . . to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” The blood that Abel had to use has been already described. How is the blood under the new covenant better than that?—It is the blood that really takes away sin; and we are permitted to plead this blood, directly, and in reality, and not as something that was only a figure of this. But in its blessed purpose, the Levitical law was a figure for the time then present, and an introduction to, and a preparation for, the “better hope,” the bringing in of which was to make something perfect, which all that had gone before could not do. On this interesting point of the bringing of a better hope, A. D. Huntington, D. D., says: “Here stands the anxious conscience, troubled, discouraged, looking up at the blazing standard, the commandment, and then looking back at its disorganized and miserable self; no way of bringing the two together. It needs a reconciler who shall not lower the law, but keep it, honor it, magnify it, and at the same time, lift up, forgive, reinvigorate man, and breathe into him a new life of the Holy Spirit. This is the bringing in of a better hope.” All this was foreshadowed in the law, to be fulfilled in Christ, whose priesthood God had established by an oath. The Levitical priests, being mortal, could continue only for a limited time as individuals. And when one died, his successor, according to the law of descent, took his place; and thus there was a long succession of them. This is why a complete round of service was performed in the earthly sanctuary every year. It was in order that the same high priest might officiate through it all, and thus be a more fitting type of Christ, the world’s great high priest, who continues through the entire round of the unbroken service of the sanctuary in heaven. So the apostle can give us the comforting assurance that Christ ever lives to make intercession for us, and that he has an unchangeable priesthood, that can not pass to another. His ministration is not therefore broken up into limited periods, but he performs his momentous work of mediation in one continuous service once for all. He does not complete one round of service for one particular period, and for one special class or race of men, and then have another period of service and another probation for another class who did not have an opportunity in the first. No; he offers to all an opportunity now; and he is the judge of the amount of responsibility incurred by each one in regard to it, and to what extent he improves, or needlessly slights, the opportunity that is given him. So comprehensive is his work, and so complete is his power, that “he is also able to save them to the uttermost,” or, as the Greek reads, always, or for all time, “that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Having thus set forth the wonderful provisions of the gospel, and the gracious invitations sent forth to win men to them, the apostle, very naturally, and in the most tender, earnest, and searching language, throws his whole heart into the following words of entreaty: “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.” “O,” says the careless, indifferent friend of the world, “I will not refuse him; I will interpose no obstacles in his way; I will offer no hindrance to his work; but I simply do not care to have anything to do with him; I would not actively refuse or reject him.” Ah, friend, that is just what you are doing by the course you propose to follow. To neglect him is to reject him. To lie still on your oars is to go down stream. “Simple neglect” is called, in verse 25, turning away from him that speaketh from heaven. There is no neutral, indifferent ground. Our great Captain himself says, “He that is not with me, is against me.” He that is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. There are but two standards— that of Prince Immanuel, and that of the Prince of this world. Under the one or the other, we are all marching along and doing our military exercises. Under which are we? Many are wearing the uniform of the one army; but all that they do is in the interest of the other. Mere profession counts for nothing. That does not change character, which is the all-essential thing to be changed; for without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The Lord knoweth them that are his. Many profess themselves to be the friends of Christ, whom he could not recognize. They have not received his words, nor followed his counsel. They have refused “him that speaketh from heaven,” notwithstanding the apostle tells them to be careful to see that they do not do so. They are those spoken of in Matt. 7:23, concerning whom Christ says, though they profess to be his, “Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.” “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.” How could words throw us more intently and earnestly upon watchfulness and carefulness in reference to our real attitude to Christ our Saviour? See that you do not refuse him. Let it be your great and first care that you do not refuse him that speaketh from heaven. Study to know how much this includes, and how it can be obeyed. The apostle then enforces his exhortation by an appeal to the other phase of the subject. The principle of wrath and retribution is the same under the gospel that it was in the ages before Christ. “In the recovery of men to God,” says an eminent writer, “this is one of the things most needed.” “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,” says Paul, “we persuade men.” If God should permit the world, for one brief moment, to hear the weeping and wailing of the hosts of the lost, as they meet at last their doom; to hear the universal groan, which Pollok so vividly describes, it would arouse the student from his books, chain to the floor the feet of the dancer at the ball, paralyze the arm of every soldier in the very height of the wild and insane strife of the battle field, rouse a slumbering world from their beds, bend the most stubborn knees, and extort from every lip the earnest cry, Lord, save! or I perish. Still it is the love of God, and not his terror, that constitutes his marvelous power. To such as answer his heavenly call, God shows himself only as a loving Father, who would be loved by them, and love them forever. But to them who answer not to it, and, far more, who dare to abuse it, to all such he is still a consuming fire. How “much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven”? Puerto Rico is a possession of the United States; and so is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States
By Editor
For more than a year the United States, by her officials, has governed the people of Puerto Rico. Those people are therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The Constitution of the United States says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction are citizens of the United States.” Just now Congress and the national administration are, and for about two weeks have been, earnestly discussing the proposition, and the House has already decided, that, though the Puerto Ricans are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, they are not citizens of the United States, because the Constitution does not extend to Puerto Rico. In order to maintain this proposition, it is held that the term “United States” is restricted to, and is declared to mean, only the States; that it does not include the Territories at all; and that, therefore, the people of the Territories and of the island possessions are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress, and can never have any of the benefits of the Constitution as of the Constitution, nor at all unless Congress chooses to extend to them said benefits. This procedure, if confirmed by the Senate, at once inaugurates, as a principle of the United States government, the principle of government without the Constitution. It at once sets Congress above the Constitution; and so makes Congress absolute everywhere except in the States.171 The President of the United States admits that “if the Constitution of itself extends to every possession over which the flag flies,” “it would be necessary to give up the Philippines,” and that “if the Supreme Court [by a decision] compels us to take the archipelago within the Constitution,” he “will advocate abandonment of the islands.” Thus it is admitted on the highest authority that the new career entered upon by the United States can not be followed under the Constitution; but must be followed without the Constitution, or not at all. This is precisely what we have said from the beginning. Every step that has so far been taken in this course, we have called attention to, and shown that it was in principle the abandonment of the Constitution. Now the matter has come to a crisis, and it is not only admitted but declared by the highest possible national authority. The whole country is awake. Congress is all astir. The Senate is now deliberating upon this mighty question in its crisis at the final parting of the ways. Will the nation now consciously abandon its Constitution for empire and absolutism? With intense interest we await the answer which in a few days will be made by the event of national action. For when this nation shall “repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government,” this national apostasy means speedy national ruin. THE WISDOM OF BABYLON CAN NOT SAVE FROM DEATH.
By William W. Prescott
We now come to the first of the three experiences in which the God of heaven revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and through him to all the people of his realm. The faithfulness to principle on the part of Daniel and his companions, and their “skill in all learning and wisdom,” as set forth in the first chapter, have prepared them to act their part in preaching the gospel of the kingdom in Babylon. “And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O king, live forever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” Only a short time after the Hebrew captives had completed their course of training at the court of the king, an opportunity was offered, in the providence of the Lord, to put to a practical test the value of such wisdom as was imparted in the Babylonish system of education as compared with the wisdom that God gives to those who are true to the principles of his kingdom. “Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams.” It is evident that he had the same experience more than once,—that the same dream was repeated, so that he was deeply impressed with it,—and then he could dream no more because “his sleep brake from him.” Unable to recall the dream, and yet impressed with the idea that it had a meaning of deep import to him, the king called for his wise men, those who professed to be trained in the methods of finding out secret things that were hidden from others. But their claims were now to be subjected to such a test as they had not had before. The God of heaven was directing affairs in such a way as to bring out clearly the wide contrast between the false and the true system of education, and to make himself known as the only source of genuine wisdom. The dream, which had been taken from the king, was also hidden from them, and they were compelled to ask that the dream be told them. “The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.” “They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.” “The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.” These professed wise men had been able to maintain their position as the sole channels of superior knowledge because no one had come forward to seriously question their claims, and no circumstances had arisen that had made the demand upon them for a real revelation of secret things. For the first time in their experience they were really required to make good their profession, and they themselves must now stand or fall with their system. But the wisdom and knowledge that were imparted by the Babylonish system of education would not stand such a test as this. Their wisdom was foolishness, and their system of education a fraud, and their only hope of success in maintaining confidence in their supposed revelations was that there should be no fair opportunity to test them. And so they asked that the king should show them before they show him; that he should furnish them with the key with which to unlock his difficulties. But the king could not help them, even had he desired to do so, and thus they were left to reveal the utter folly of their vaunted wisdom. (This study concluded next week.)