*Central New England ........ $ 2,635.61
Chesapeake .................... 519.04
Eastern Pennsylvania .......... 1,888.18
Greater New York .............. 495.33
Maine .......................... 563.78
New Jersey ..................... 552.63
New York ...................... 1,626.50
*Southern New England ......... 1,158.50
Vermont ....................... 1,190.71
Virginia ......................... 468.58
West Pennsylvania ............. 1,377.84
West Virginia .................... 381.51
Western New York .............. 1,675.50
East Michigan .................. 2,439.01
*Indiana ....................... 5,177.27
North Michigan ................... 693.74
*Northern Illinois ............. 2,778.31
Ohio .......................... 4,952.50
Southern Illinois .............. 1,136.29
West Michigan .................. 4,706.15
Wisconsin ...................... 3,667.47
Total ........................ 25,550.74
North Pacific Union Conference
Conference not specified ......... 429.66
British Columbia .................. 122.80
Montana .......................... 497.63
Upper Columbia .................. 2,286.53
Western Washington .............. 1,914.78
Idaho ............................ 889.90
Western Oregon ................. 2,129.94
Total ........................ 8,271.24
Northern Union Conference
Alberta .......................... 200.80
Manitoba .......................... 305.30
Saskatchewan Mission Field ........ 47.60
Minnesota ....................... 5,283.50
*South Dakota ................... 2,645.47
*North Dakota ................... 1,949.13
Conference not specified ........... 73.82
*Algeria ........................ 13.33
Australia ....................... 163.84
Bermuda .......................... 36.00
China ............................ 31.60
South Africa .................... 278.16
Jamaica .......................... 13.41
Yukon Territory .................. 20.00
England ........................ 263.06
West Africa ...................... 14.06
Mexico ............................ 2.00
Costa Rica ........................ 6.25
India ........................... 122.34
South America .................... 41.80
Switzerland ....................... 9.69
Panama ........................... 19.00
Nicaragua .......................... 4.00
Central American Mission ......... 26.00
Trinidad ......................... 28.69
Norway ........................... 25.00
Japan ............................ 12.50
Hayti ............................. 5.00
*Egypt ........................... 51.55
Palestine .......................... 2.00
Tobago, W. I. ..................... 1.22
Cuba ............................... 8.00
Hungary ............................ 3.00
Tahiti ............................ 11.88
France ............................. 6.80
Philippine Islands ................. 1.00
Samoa .............................. 8.00
Barbados ........................... 5.00
Portugal ........................... 1.00
Straits Settlement ................. 10.08
Total ........................ $ 1,245.26
Grand Total ................... $98,919.13
I. H. EVANS, Treasurer.
G. B. THOMPSON
By G. B. Thompson
Prayer—No. 4
G. B. THOMPSON
CONCERNING prayer the Lord has given us this promise: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matt. 21:22. This is indeed a wonderful promise. The Bible apparently contains no greater, for it seems there could be no greater. Think of it! “All things . . . ye shall ask . . . ye shall receive.” He who made and owns the universe, and has all power in heaven and on the earth, says, All things are freely yours; ask and receive. There is no reason why we should lack anything, or be spiritually lean.
But observe there is a condition. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Ah, this means much. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” James 1:5-7.
Prayer without faith is an empty form; it is even worse than this, it is mockery. Believing is receiving. Every request from an honest and true heart, uttered in faith, the Lord answers. It9is true that sometimes, like parents who will answer the requests of their children, because of his love, God answers No. But no is as much of an answer as yes, and indicates just as much love. If we believe, there is no doubt concerning the certainty of an answer. “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matt. 17:19, 20. Think of it, “Nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
On this same occasion, in response to the words of the man who had brought his lunatic son to be healed, who pleadingly said, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us,” we read, “And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:22, 23, A. R. V. What stronger words could the Lord use to give us assurance to come to him in prayer? We can think of none. Truly the possibilities of believing prayer are infinite. How true, “Ye have not, because ye ask not.”
But let us not forget that sin hinders prayer. In Isa. 1:15, we read, “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear.” Why is this? Has not the Lord promised to hear in heaven his dwelling-place?—Most assuredly. But the conditions have not been complied with. The trouble is, the hands outstretched to God are stained with sin. In another chapter we are told why so many prayers are not answered. Listen to this terrible indictment: “Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither his ear heavy, that it can not hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttered wickedness.” Isa. 59:1-3, A. R. V. The psalmist says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Ps. 66:18. It is useless to pray, expecting the Lord to answer, and at the same time cling to things which the Holy Spirit has shown us are sinful. Before we can receive from the Lord the great blessings promised, we must first give up our sins. “The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.” James 5:16.
Another thing that hinders our prayers, and explains why many ask and receive not, is an unforgiving spirit. “That word unforgiving! What a group of relatives it has, near and far! Jealousy, envy, bitterness, the cutting word, the polished shaft of sarcasm with the poisoned tip, the green eye, the acid saliva—what kinfolk these!”—Gordon.
After giving us the Lord’s prayer, the Saviour said, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father who will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Mark it; those who carry hatred in the heart against any individual in this world, and refuse to forgive, have upon the ledger of heaven a record of sin which the blood of Christ will never wash away so long as those feelings are cherished in the heart. It is useless to pray, asking the Lord to forgive our sins, while at the same time we refuse to forgive those who trespass against us. There are many cold hearts into which the light of God would shine if they would only forgive the hundred pence while asking the Lord to forgive the ten thousand talents.
Takoma Park, D. C.
My Saviour at Last
By B. E. Beddoe
B. E. BEDDOE
O, to me the earth is drear
When my Saviour is not near !
Earth to me can but impart
Trouble, sin, and aching heart;
Joy doth fade, and I'm alone;
Blasted hopes do make me moan.
Life is sweet if Thou art near,
Struggles I no longer fear,
Storms may sweep and tempests
roar,
Battles come as ne'er before;
Yet, my Lord, if thou art near,
Tempests I no more shall fear.
Lord, for thee our spirits yearn,
Hoping for thy soon return.
Soon we'll see thee, bright and fair,
Come from heaven to take us there.
Where thou art we then shall be,
Saved and blest, at home with thee.
Genoa, Nev.
A Message to Teachers
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
A MESSAGE has been given me for the teachers in all our schools. Those who accept the sacred responsibility resting upon teachers need to be constantly advancing in their experience. They should not be content to remain upon the lowlands, but should ever be climbing heavenward. With the Word of God in their hands, and the love of souls pointing them to diligence, they should advance step by step in efficiency.
A deep Christian experience will be combined with the work of true education. Our schools are to advance steadily in Christian development; and in order to do this, the words and example of the teacher should be a constant help. “Ye also, as lively stones,” the apostle declares, “are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” It would be well for every teacher and student to study carefully these words, asking himself the question, Am I, through the abundant grace given, obtaining the very experience that as a child of God I must have in order to advance constantly step by step to the higher grade?
In every line of instruction, teachers are to seek to impart light from the Word of God, and to show the importance of obedience to a “Thus saith the Lord.” The education should be such that the students will make right principles the guide of every action: this is the education that will abide through the eternal ages.
I am given words of caution to the teachers in all our established schools. The work of our schools must bear a different stamp than that borne by some of our most popular schools. The mere study of the ordinary text-book is not sufficient; and many of the books that are used are unnecessary for those schools that are established to prepare students for the school above. As a result, the students in these schools are not receiving the most perfect Christian education. The very points of study are neglected that are most needed to prepare the students to stand the last great examination, and to fit them for missionary work in home and foreign fields. The education that is needed now is one that will qualify the students for practical missionary work, by teaching them to bring every faculty under the control of the Spirit of God. The study book which is of the highest value is that which contains the instruction of Christ, the Teacher of teachers.
The Lord expects our teachers to expel from our schools those books that teach sentiments which are not in accordance with his Word, and to give place to those books that are of the highest value. The Lord designs that the teachers in our schools shall excel in wisdom the wisdom of the world, because they study his wisdom. God will be honored when the teachers in our schools, from the highest grades to the lowest, show to the world that a more than human wisdom is theirs, because the Master Teacher is standing at their head.
Our teachers need to be constant learners. All reformers need to place themselves under discipline to God. Their own lives need to be reformed, their own hearts subdued by the grace of Christ. Every worldly habit and idea that is not in harmony with the mind of God should be renounced.
When Nicodemus, a learned teacher in Israel, came to Jesus to inquire of him, Christ laid before him the first principles. Nicodemus, though holding an honorable position in Israel, had not a true conception of what a teacher in Israel should be. He needed instruction in the very first principles of the divine life, for he had not learned the alphabet of true Christian experience.
In response to Christ’s instruction Nicodemus said, “How can these things be?” Christ answered, “Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” The same question might be asked of many who are holding responsible positions as teachers, physicians, and ministers of the gospel, but who have neglected the most essential part of their education, that which would fit them to deal in a Christlike manner with human minds.
In the instruction that Christ gave to his disciples, and to the people of all classes who came to hear his words, there was that which lifted them to a high plane of thought and action. If the words of Christ, instead of the words of men, were given to the learner to-day, we would see evidences of higher intelligence, a clearer comprehension of heavenly things, a deeper knowledge of God, a purer and more vigorous Christian life.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Christ said, “he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.”
“When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
We are slow to understand how much we need to study the words of Christ and his methods of labor. If his teachings were better understood, much of the instruction that is now given in our schools would be valued at its true worth. It would be seen that much that is now taught does not develop the simplicity of godliness in the life of the student. Then finite wisdom would receive less honor, and the Word of God would have a more honored place.
When our teachers are truly converted, they will experience a soul hunger for the knowledge of God, and as humble learners in the school of Christ, they will study to know his righteousness. Righteous principles will rule the life, and will be taught as the principles that rule in the education of heaven. When teachers seek with all their heart to bring true principles into the work of education, angels of God will be present to make impressions upon the heart and mind.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
By John Norton Loughborough
Things That Differ—No. 2
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
In a former article we found that in establishing and maintaining the apostolic churches, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, strict order was observed, and responsibility was placed upon men to care tenderly for the flock. Even the apostle Paul, on whom rested a care for all the churches, said, “Ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children.” 1 Thess. 2:11.
In Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians we read: “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition [teaching] which he received of us.” 2 Thess. 3:6. To the Philippians Paul said, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.” Phil. 3:17.
The apostle saw that it was needful to have order in the church, and that responsibilities for the care of the church be laid upon such as had demonstrated ability in governing the household, and so he gave instruction regarding the same to Timothy, and also to Titus, to whom he gave a special commission to “set in order the things that are wanting.” If this was needful in apostolic days, how much more important in these last days, when the world is filled with iniquity, love of pleasure, false teachings, and apostasies.
In the instruction which was given in early days to Seventh-day Adventists we read: “Gospel order has been too much feared and neglected. Formality should be shunned; but, in so doing, order should not be neglected. There is order in heaven. There was order in the church when Christ was upon earth, and after his departure, order was strictly observed among his apostles. And now in these last days, while God is bringing his children into the unity of the faith, there is more real need of order than ever before; for, as God unites his children, Satan and his evil angels are very busy to prevent this unity and to destroy it.”—“Supplement to Experience and Views,” page 12.
In a foot-note on the same page we read: “After the time passed [1844], there was great confusion, and the majority were strongly opposed to any organization, holding that it was inconsistent with the perfect liberty of the gospel.”
One of the principal claims made by those who warred against organization when introduced among Seventh-day Adventists was that it “abridged their liberty and independence, and that if one stood clear before the Lord, that was all the organization needed.” Upon this point, when church order was contested, this statement was made, “Satan well knows that success can only attend order and harmonious action. He well knows that everything connected with heaven is in perfect order, that subjection and thorough discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. . . . He deceives even the professed people of God, and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality; that the only safety for them is to let each pursue his own course. . . . All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I, page 650.
When those who, earlier in this work, witnessed the battle to establish church order, now hear persons uttering almost the identical words then used by those opposing order, it need not be wondered that we fear the result of such utterances. I mention in this connection the following, made by one who was pleading for individual liberty, and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit alone: “Perfect unity means absolute independence, each one knowing for himself. Why, we could not have outward disorganization if we all believed in the Lord. . . . The question of organization is a simple thing. All there is to it is for each individual to give himself to the Lord, and then the Lord will do with him just what he wants to, and that all the time. Our only safety, under God, is to go back to the place where God is able to take a multitude of people and make them one, without parliamentary rules, without committee work, without legislation of any kind.” Such a statement is also in harmony with one which I recently read to the effect that every one was to get his instruction directly from the Holy Ghost, and that “no one had a right to say to him what he should do.”
Superficially considered, that might appear to be a blessed state, a heaven indeed. It is not, however, in exact harmony with the experience of the wise man, who said, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Prov. 11:14. Nor is it in accord with the following instruction given to this people: “The God of heaven is a God of order, and he requires of his followers to have rules and regulations to preserve order.” And again: “One point will have to be guarded, and that is individual independence. As soldiers in Christ’s army,10there should be concert of action in the various departments of the work. . . . Followers of Christ will not act independently of one another.”—Ibid., No. 32, page 30; No. 33, pages 62, 63.
In 1894, in “Special Testimony,” No. 3, page 19, the following instruction was given to those contending for individual liberty: “The less of the meekness and lowliness of Christ the human agent has in his spirit and character, the more he sees perfection in his own methods, and imperfection in the methods of others. Our only safety is to watch unto prayer, and to counsel together, believing that God will keep our brethren as well as ourselves, for there is no respect of persons with him.”
In a communication, dated Jan. 14, 1894, we are thus counseled: “Why not keep steadily at work in the lines that God has given us? Why not walk in the clear lines he has revealed, and in place of tearing to pieces that which God has built up, work on the side of Jesus Christ? . . . We want to hold the lines evenly, that there shall be no breaking down of the system of regulation and order. In this way license shall not be given to disorderly elements to control the work at this time.”
Again we read: “As we near the close of time, Satan comes down with great power, knowing that his time is short. Especially will his power be exercised upon the remnant. He will war against them, and seek to divide and scatter them, that they may grow weak and be overthrown. . . . Order must be observed, and there must be union in maintaining order, or Satan will take advantage.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I, page 210.
While some are now teaching that all the order needed is in each individual church, and that each member is to look to the Lord alone for guidance, we find quite different the instruction the Lord gives his people respecting it, and also respecting the order established among Seventh-day Adventists. Of this we read in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, pages 236, 237: “Every member of the church has a voice in choosing officers of the church. The church chooses the officers of the State conference. Delegates chosen by the state conferences choose the officers of the union conferences; and delegates chosen by the union conferences choose the officers of the General Conference. By this arrangement, every conference, every institution, every church, and every individual, either directly or through representatives, has a voice in the election of the men who bear the chief responsibilities in the General Conference.”
In “Christian Education,” page 136, we are told that “the Lord wrought in the organization which has been perfected.” In this matter, as in all others where there is a difference, may the Lord give wisdom to prove “the things that differ,” that we may be found in harmony with the instruction of his Word, and the special instruction for these last days.
Healdsburg, Cal.
More Workers
By WM. COVERT
WM. COVERT
Since the message we are giving is for the whole world to hear and consider in this generation, it behooves us to quicken our pace in the work. The situation that confronts us demands that we make greater haste. As we are actually to give these wonderful things to this sin-polluted world during the short time which remains for us to work, we must arouse every latent energy, and put into the harness every unused force, in order to accomplish the work within the allotted time.
We may flatter ourselves that much has been accomplished, but this is done only when we measure ourselves among ourselves, and compare ourselves by ourselves. The facts are that ten times more could be done than we are now doing, if our churches were fully organized for work, and fully aroused to the importance of the whole situation.
Think what was done by the church of Christ after the day of Pentecost was fully come. Think of the thousands who were converted in a day, and of the numbers that were added day by day, when the whole church worked for souls and were filled with the Holy Spirit.
What was done then will be done again, but not without an awakening on the part of the people, and careful planning on the part of the leaders who direct the work.
When the master of the vineyard asked some unemployed men at the eleventh hour why they had been standing in the market-place idle all day, they quickly responded by saying, “Because no man hath hired us.” Matt. 20: 6, 7. They had been standing all the day idle because no one had offered them the kind of work they could do. They had been watching for employment all the day, but not an offer of work was made by a man of business until the eleventh hour.
Does not this parable of the vineyard and its need of more workers illustrate the conditions that have marked the history of the message in its progressive working? Early in its history one class of laborers—preachers—was called into the vineyard, and for a time bore the burden of the work. Then were added medical workers, and after them Bible workers and canvassers. Then came a great demand for teachers and for foreign missionaries; and so at each advancing stage, the numbers employed in the vineyard have been greatly increased, because a greater variety of talent could be utilized.
The publishing interest has served the cause in all its stages, and it has been compelled to take on greater proportions every time a new interest, a new department, or another language has been added, or another nation has been included in the rapidly advancing work.
But the most careful and most prayerful management has all the time been necessary in order to have supplies sufficient to meet the demand. And, too, as facilities have multiplied and new departments have been added, the extent of our operations has widened, and the demands made upon us have greatly increased. Therefore, at each hour as the day advances, we find individuals ready to go into the Lord’s vineyard to labor; and what is now of vital interest is to have wise leaders connected with the various departments, who have such clear understanding of the times and persons that they will know how to give those in the market their proper place in the vineyard. Besides the regular lines of labor referred to in what has been said, there are the home missionary and colporteur work that have as yet scarcely been touched with the tips of our fingers. And the possibilities for accomplishing good in these things almost equal that which is being done in all other lines. Certainly the number of our members who are not at work in the cause greatly exceeds the number employed in all the departments of the work. It is the latent ability of all this unemployed host that is needed at the eleventh hour to finish the work in the Lord’s vineyard before the day closes. Let the faithful and wise servants who now give out the work and guide in the cause, place the idle ones who are standing in the market, at some proper post of duty in the vineyard. This is being done in some of the European fields more than we are doing it in America, and the result is that these fields double their numbers of believers in half the time that it requires us to double our numbers here. The per capita circulation of their periodicals there is more than ten times as much as ours in America. Is not the result attained because a far greater per cent of the church-membership have taken up this work than do so here?
The plan outlined by our Saviour was to give “to every man his work.” The method announced by him is to be in operation when he returns. “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” It is not enough for the ministers alone to watch, for all are commanded to watch. And watching and working are inseparably joined in one character.
Our whole people must be aroused; all must pray, all must labor, all must have some definite plans to follow in bringing the third angel’s message to a finished condition. The time to save souls is rapidly drawing to a close, and what is done must be accomplished soon.
Chicago, Ill.
Knowing the Lord’s Will
NINE tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what his will is. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, he will do it according to the Scriptures, and never contrary to them.—George Müller.
The Commencement of the 70 Weeks and of the 2300 Days
[A reader of the REVIEW asks: “Why do the 2300 days begin B. C. 457 and not B. C. 536 or 519? Did not the commandment go forth at these other dates as really as in 457?” The following extracts will serve as an answer to this inquirer, and may prove helpful to many others.—ED.]
THE prophecy of the 70 weeks defined much more closely the period of the coming of the Messiah, of which the two visions of the four empires had already given an outline. . . . The date, whence those 490 years began, is described, not absolutely laid down. But it is described in words which leave no large or uncertain margin, “from the going forth of a commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince.” Above three thousand years had flowed by before; above two thousand years have flowed away since. The event, which was to change and regenerate millions upon millions, was fixed beforehand, within some surplus upon 490 years. The choice of the form of prophecy was itself prophetic. Greek and Latin philosophers too (probably from some real mysterious connection of the numbers with the development of man’s frame), have known of “weeks of years.” To the Hebrews, the seven times seven spoke of the recurring jubilee year, when all debts were released, slavery was ended, every one was restored to all the inheritance which had, during the half century, been forfeited; slight, joyous, ever-recurring picture of the restoration, for which all creation yearned and groaned. There could not be any ambiguity to the people’s mind. The period could not be “70 weeks of days,” that is, a year and about four months. The events are too full for it. Seven weeks (to go no farther) was no period in which to rebuild the city. It remained then to understand it, according to a key which God had given [Eze. 4: 5, 6], of a sevenfold period of years.
The decree spoken of was doubtless meant of a decree of God, but to be made known through his instrument, man, who was to effectuate it. The commandment went forth from God, like that, at which, Gabriel had just said, using the same idiom, he himself came forth to Daniel. But as the one was fulfilled through Gabriel, so the other remained to be fulfilled through the Persian monarch, in whose hands God had left, for the time, the outward disposal of his people. In themselves, the will and decrees of God are in all eternity; but his immutable decree seems then to go forth, when he, in whose hands are all things, so disposes men’s wills that it comes into effect. But, since there was no decree at all in favor of the Jews before Cyrus, B. C. 536, it might be startling enough to one who does not yet believe in prophecy, that, even from Cyrus, the 490 years come within forty-six years of our Lord’s birth; and that, although there were four different edicts, from which the 490 years might begin, these, too, admit of no vague coincidence. They do but yield four definite dates. There is a distance of 90 years from the first of Cyrus to the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, but the dates within those 90 years, from which the prophecy could seem to be fulfilled, are only four. Those dates are (1) the first year of Cyrus, B. C. 536; (2) the third year of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 518, when he removed the hindrances to the rebuilding of the temple, interposed by Pseudo-Smerdis; (3) the commission to Ezra in the seventh of Artaxerxes Longimanus, B. C. 457; (4) that of Nehemiah, in the twentieth year of the same Artaxerxes, B. C. 444. . . .
But further, of these four, two only are principal and leading decrees; that of Cyrus, and that in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus. For that of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes is but an enlargement and renewal of his first decree; as the decree of Darius confirmed that of Cyrus. The decrees of Cyrus and Darius relate to the rebuilding of the temple; those of Artaxerxes to the condition of Judah and Jerusalem.
But the decree of Darius was no characteristic decree. It did but support them in doing what they were already doing without it.
The decree of Artaxerxes was of a different character. The temple was now built. So the decree contains no grant for its building, like those of Cyrus and Darius. Ezra thanks God that “he had put it into the king’s heart to beautify [not, to build] the house of the Lord at Jerusalem.” On the other hand, the special commission of Ezra was “to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand,” and to “set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river.” These magistrates had power of life and death, banishment, confiscation, imprisonment, conferred upon them. It looks as if the people were in a state of disorganization. Ezra had full power to settle it according to the law of his God, having absolute authority in ecclesiastical and civil matters. The little colony which he took with him of 1,683 males (with women and children, some 8,400 souls) was itself a considerable addition to those who had before returned, and involved a rebuilding of Jerusalem. This rebuilding of the city and reorganization of the polity, begun by Ezra and carried on and perfected by Nehemiah, corresponds with the words of Daniel, “from the going forth of a commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.”
The term also corresponds. “Unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” that is, the first 483 years of the period, the last seven being parted off. But 483 years from the beginning of B. C. 457 were completed at the beginning of 27 A. D., which (since the nativity was four years earlier than our era) would coincide with his baptism, being “about thirty years of age,” when the descent of the Holy Ghost upon him manifested him to be the Anointed with the Holy Ghost, the Christ.—“Lectures on Daniel the Prophet,” by E. B. Pusey, D. D., London, 1869, pages 165-172.
The Seventh of Artaxerxes
[The following foot-note in Dr. E. B. Pusey's “Lectures on Daniel the Prophet” may prove to be of some value in determining in what year the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus fell according to our modern chronology.—Ed.]
I HAVE adhered to the authoritative chronology of the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Diodorus (XI. 69) says that Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus, after reigning more than twenty years, when Lysitheus was Archon at Athens. Ol. 78. 4. B. C. 465. [“Ol.” is the abbreviation for “Olympiad,” which was “the period of four years between any two celebrations of the Olympic games,” and the reference should be read, “the fourth year of the seventy-eighth Olympiad, or B. C. 465.” The Olympiads were designated by number, the first being reckoned from the victory of Corebus in the foot-race, B. C. 776.—Ed.] “According to the Canon [of Ptolemy], he died N. E. 283, that is, after Dec. 17, B. C. 466, and before Dec. 17, B. C. 465, which coincides with the year of Lysitheus.”—Clinton. [Fast. Hell. B. C. 465.] Eusebius agrees with this. Manetho also assigns the same length to the reign of Xerxes, 21 years (quoted by Africanus ap. Syncell. p. 75, D. Clinton, F. H. c. 18. II 380, note). This length of reign corresponds with the dates assigned to his father Darius, and to Artaxerxes, to whom forty-one years are given by Manetho (Ib.), forty by Diodorus (Ib. and XI, 69), which agrees with Thucydides (IV, 50), who mentions his death in the Archonship of Stratocles B. C. 425-424. (Clinton, p. 380.) The accession of Artaxerxes after the seven months of the assassin Artabanus would fall in the middle of 464 B. C. [If Artaxerxes ascended the throne B. C. 464, it is plain that “the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king” (Ezra 7: 7) would be B. C. 457.—Ed.]
Sir Isaac Newton on the Prophecies of Daniel
THERE were but two returns from captivity—Zerubbabel’s and Ezra’s; in Zerubbabel’s they had only commission to build the temple; in Ezra’s they first became a polity, or city, by a government of their own. Now, the years of this Artaxerxes began about two or three months after the summer solstice, and his seventh fell in with the third year of the eighteenth Olympiad; and the latter part thereof, wherein Ezra went up to Jerusalem, was in the year of the Julian period, 4257 [that is, B. C. 457].—Sir Isaac Newton on the Prophecies of Daniel.