Earlier text: SOME . . . ; BUT WE . .THE GOSPEL OF HEALTH IN THE OLD DISPENSATION.
By David Paulson, M.D.
“FOR unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them.” Heb. 4:2. This verily included that portion of the Gospel which related to physical health. Think of the tremendous amount of history that is concentrated in the first thirty-one verses of the Bible; yet one of the largest of these is set aside to a consideration of man’s diet, altho now looked upon as an unimportant subject, at least from a spiritual standpoint. When the Lord undertook the apparently hopeless task of weaning the children of Israel from the false and artificial habits of life which they had acquired from several generations of actual contact with those who habitually walked in darkness, He began this work by teaching them the spiritual Gospel in the plainest manner possible, viz., by object lessons. The great and grand lessons of faith, trust, and forgiveness were all taught in that wonderful ceremonial system. The physical gospel was, however, taught in an equally effective manner by what now seems to us, in some instances, to be an almost useless repetition of various cleansings from various defilements. The readiness whereby a person could be considered unclean must have served as a powerful daily lesson to impress upon these people that the human body was not to be trifled with. These elementary lessons were calculated to elevate the children of Israel from that low physical and spiritual plane upon which they had been living in Egypt, and to lead them to the point where they would be able to transfer the great thought of Christ’s dwelling in the sanctuary which they had erected, to the fact that He actually dwelt in that temple not built with hands,—the human body,—and that the same sacred regard which they had learned to have for the earthly temple, should be had for the human body, which was, after all, God’s real temple on earth. The full significance of this is brought to view in the words of Paul: “What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” It was a terrible sin to trifle with anything connected with the earthly sanctuary; but how much greater must be the sin of trifling with or marring in any degree that which is more sacred than the temple,—the human body. The earthly sanctuary was an object lesson to the people as to how to regard this dwelling-place of God on earth; for Christ is “all and in all;” and He has promised that if we will cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, He will dwell in us, and walk in us. 2 Cor. 7:1; 6:16. If we will allow God to teach us the full significance of what it means to have Christ dwell in this earthly temple, He will so eliminate the dross from our minds that we will get a clear view of that true temple in the heavens; for the only way we can get in there is through the “new and living way,” through the vail, which, after all, is His flesh. Heb. 10:20. From this text we catch a glimpse of the fact that even over in the next world “God in man” is the greatest of all temples. The Gospel that was preached to the children of Israel did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. Let us, therefore (we who are living down in the full blaze of these truths), fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. During the Dark Ages the truth of God dwelling in human flesh was lost sight of, and a mythical conception of an immortal soul was substituted for the great truth of God’s divine presence in the body; and, consequently, the idea grew that the more the body was mistreated and abused, the sooner the immortal soul could be driven out of it, so that the real man could go to his long home. Whether or not this same error still tinctures, to a certain extent, the minds of the people, and is responsible for the terrible disregard of the human body, it is difficult to fully comprehend. But this thing is certainly true, the time has come to “cleanse the temple,” else God will soon come and destroy it forever, as He did the earthly temple when it became entirely perverted from its original use. HUMAN WISDOM VERSUS DIVINE REVELATION.
By J. S. Miller
IN all cases where a question has to be decided there must be some standard to which appeal can be made before a decision can be reached. It is at this point that the Christian and the unbeliever find themselves at variance. The Christian accepts the Bible as a divinely inspired Book, and whatever he finds therein is not to be disputed. With the unbeliever, human wisdom is the standard, and before he accepts a statement of the Bible he appeals to his intellect. Hence between these two classes there always has been and always will be a war of ideas. The skeptic’s chief objection to the Bible is that it must be taken at second hand. He reasons that if God had anything to reveal to any one on earth He would communicate with each individual, thus shutting off all imposters, and leaving no room for doubt. When we take into account the fact that there are several books extant, differing widely from each other, and yet all claiming to be divinely inspired, there is certainly some ground for such a position. But what can be done to help the skeptic? It can easily be seen that it is useless to attempt to argue with him, for he will not accept the Bible as a standard, neither can the Christian accept human wisdom as the standard, for to do so would be to deny the necessity of a revelation. What, then, can the Christian do?—Simply let him rest until he gets just what he asks for, viz., a divine revelation to himself personally. But will he get it?—He certainly will receive a revelation from God just as soon as he is prepared to receive it. This Christ has promised shall be given him. “When He [the Holy Spirit] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on Me.” John 16:8, 9. This convicting of the sin of unbelief is nothing less than a personal revelation from the Spirit of God. And God can use the Christian as the medium through whom He will send such a revelation, and thus throw a responsibility upon the Christian. But how?—The apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 1:21 tells us: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” But what is preaching?—It is not necessarily standing up in the desk and delivering an oration. This may be preaching, and it may not. Preaching is to tell to the world what Christ has done for us. And this may be done as effectually by the humblest Christian as by the most talented preacher. The person who announces to the world that he is a follower of Christ has to that extent become a preacher. The man who works at his secular employment six days in the week, and on the Sabbath goes to his place of worship, is by all these acts preaching the truth to the world. The person whose every act is molded by the influence of God’s Spirit is continually preaching to all with whom he comes in contact. The man who in all his dealings with his fellow-men manifests a desire to do exactly right at all times, is a living epistle, “known and read of all men.” And it is through this channel that God has chosen to send conviction to the hearts of unbelievers. The one called of God to labor in word and doctrine will see his labor blessed if that labor is performed in God’s appointed way; and the same is true of every layman. The trouble with the skeptic is that he wishes to dictate in what way God shall reveal Himself to him. But God has His own way, and in that way the revelation will come. This will probably humble the pride of the skeptic, but that is just what is needed. So Paul’s charge to Timothy to “preach the Word,” applies to every true follower of Christ. And wherever this charge is carried out in the life of the Christian, God will reveal Himself to the unbeliever. One more thought about dealing with unbelievers, and I am done. I fear that much harm has been done by would-be reformers by their hostile attitude. We all know how believers in the truth have often been misrepresented by those claiming to be preachers of the Gospel. This has sometimes been done through ignorance and sometimes through wilful misrepresentation. Skeptics have to some extent been treated in the same way. A single instance will illustrate what I mean. I have many times heard it asserted that Thomas Paine denied the existence of a Supreme Being. The first sentence in his “Age of Reason” shows the charge to be false. It reads: “I believe in one God, and no more, and I hope for happiness beyond this life.” I do not propose to champion Thomas Paine or any other of his class, but I do insist that those who criticize them should first read what they have written, or leave the criticizing to some one who has. Better still to leave them alone altogether, and obey the commission to preach the Gospel. J. S. MILLER. To love mercy is what God requires of man. He is not merely to exercise mercy; he is to love it so that he can not help exercising it. The meaning of “mercy” is that quality of disposition which would lead one to treat an offender better than he deserves; it includes tenderness, kindness, gentleness, beneficence. It is not natural for sinful man to have a merciful disposition. There are those who, moving along the lines of least resistance, are kind, tender, gentle, having no particular enmity toward any one. We sometimes hear these spoken of as “natural Christians.” There are no such. To be Christ’s one must be “born again,” “born from above.” Quality, good or ill, is developed by trial. Of many self-righteous, world-exalted souls it could be truly said, adapting the language of Andrew Rykeman’s prayer— “Frailest when they seem the best;
Only strong for lack of test.” We only know that we possess mercy when we have been tested and mercy has not been found wanting. And the real test comes when some one has really, or in our imagination, without provocation cruelly wronged us. He may have wounded our reputation, cheated us in deal, taken advantage of our ignorance, humiliated us in the presence of prized friends, stolen our goods, or injured our person. Under any or all these trials have we the disposition to love to treat those who did the wrongs better than they deserve? If we have not, we do not love mercy. But carnal, unregenerate man can not forgive and forget. The wrong, imaginary or real, dwells in his heart continually. It may seem to die, but let some similar wrong refresh the mind, and he finds the old evil rankling there as before. How may such an one be merciful? Nay, more, how may he love mercy? There are those who “work themselves up” through fear to that place where they can say they forgive. They read: “Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven;” “if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses;” “ye shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy;” and so, for fear they themselves will not be forgiven, they grudgingly forgive—or think they do. God requires more than this, even to love mercy, to be ready to forgive before the offender asks it; nay, to have forgiven him already when he asks; for thus saith the Lord, “Whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any;” and we are to “pray without ceasing.” How may we thus forgive? The secret is expressed in the beautiful verse:— “But hearken, my tongue shall the riddle unseal,
And mind shall be partner with heart,
If but to thyself thou let conscience reveal,
And show thee how evil thou art;
Remember thy follies, thy sins, and thy crimes.
How vast is that infinite debt:
Yet Mercy hath seven by seventy times
Been swift to forgive and forget.” “God is your Creator and Redeemer. Every good thing you have ever seen or will see, known or will know, is from Him. But how have you abused them all! You have carelessly, wilfully broken His commandments; you have trampled underneath your feet His blessings; you have used the riches of His grace to consume upon your lusts; His very air you breathe you have employed to blaspheme His name or blacken the reputation of His children; you have slighted His mercies; you have broken your promises to Him, times without number; and you deserve to die.” So Infinite Justice could truly speak to us; and we would stand silent, with no excuse. But, while we are told this, it is not that we may be condemned or discouraged. God wishes to have mercy upon us. He condemns us by His law, that He may in mercy justify us by His grace. He reveals the wounds of sin, that He may heal us. He has counted us in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon us. He “is merciful [full of mercy] and gracious.” “As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.” “He delighteth in mercy.” He has purchased it for us, “with all spiritual blessings,” in Christ Jesus; and upon every sinner who will turn to Him, He will have mercy, “and abundantly pardon.” Such is our God. So is His mercy toward us—infinite, full, free. Read Eph. 2: 1–5; Titus 3: 1–6. All through the precious Word run God’s golden threads of mercy, intertwined about the eternal throne, and strong enough to save the greatest sinner who grasps them. O, that we might conceive of that mercy, and so appreciate it! Only so will it flow through us to others. At one time Jesus said: “Take heed to yourselves; if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Peter thought that this was the limit of human forgiveness as regards time (many are not so generous as Peter); for on another occasion he said: “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven”—an unlimited number of times. And then Jesus illustrates the forgiveness which God exercises, and which His children ought to exercise, with human conception and practice. A certain lord’s servant owed him twelve million dollars, could not pay it; and, therefore, plead for mercy, and his lord freely forgave him. This forgiven servant goes out, meets a fellow-servant who owes him seventeen dollars, takes him by the throat, and demands payment. The debtor acknowledges the debt, and asks for mercy in the same words his creditor used to his lord; but the ungrateful man, forgetting his own sin, refuses forgiveness, and delivers his fellow-servant to prison. He can not forgive less than one seventy-thousandth part of what he had been forgiven. “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. So shall also,” says our Lord, “My heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your heart.” Forgiving from the heart is loving mercy and delighting in it. There is a divine and blessed philosophy in it all which can be known only by practising the forgiveness. Exercising mercy opens our heart to the divine Guest, and we are blessed more than he upon whom we bestowed it. We are to do it in love to Him who bestowed on us His infinite mercy. We are to see in the soul who has wronged us, a brother lost as we were, one needing forgiveness as we did, and one before whom opens, perhaps in the very mercy we extend, eternal possibilities, even as before us. How can we, in view of these things, withhold mercy? Neither can we retain God’s mercy and refuse to forgive. God’s mercy is not in segments or fragments, broken from their Source. It is a stream full and free from the Eternal Fount. It must flow on through the receiver to others, in kindness to all, in forgiveness to offenders; and he who refuses to permit it to bless others through him, closes his heart against it and poisons that which he has received. God forbid that one who has tasted of God’s mercy in Christ should do this. Do you have no love for mercy, yet desire it? Confess your sins, seek God with all your heart for His Spirit; and the love of God will be shed abroad in your heart by that Spirit; and you, like God, will delight in mercy, because you love it. DEMANDING TEMPORAL, CIVIL POWER.
By Editor
IT is frequently said by American Roman Catholics that the Papacy is not seeking a restoration of temporal power; that Roman Catholics do not believe in a union of Church and State; and hence Roman Catholics are not working to secure any political favors. All who understand the real nature of the Papacy have known all along that the claim to the civil power had in no sense changed, and the Papacy still assumed to be rightful ruler of both Church and State. If any doubt it, let them read the following, from the Osservatore Romano, the official organ of the Vatican. The article from which these propositions are taken was headed, “La Sovranità Civile del Papa” (“The Civil Authority of the Pope”). The number containing the article was suppressed as treasonable by the Italian Government, the whole edition being confiscated, the first time for eleven years that such a thing has been done. We give a part of these propositions and claims of the church, quoting from the Literary Digest of Jan. 13, 1900:— 1. The church is a completed organization, established as such by God upon earth, the invisible head of which is Christ, the visible head of which is the pope in Rome. 2. The church is a religious organization, with the purpose of serving mankind in securing eternal salvation. 3. But the church is at the same time the kingdom of God here upon earth, and, therefore, can not be of this world, as it does not originate in the world. 4. Since the kingdom of Jesus Christ comes from heaven, it has also been created for heaven, and has there both its origin and its consummation. 5. The divine Founder, Jesus Christ, is intrusted with both the highest priesthood and the highest kingly power; He rules and governs the religio-spiritual7 body that constitutes His kingdom and is the kingdom of God. 6. In the church, therefore, the idea of a kingly power and of a priesthood is intimately and indissolubly connected, and as the church upon earth has been established upon Peter, and Peter is upon earth its head in the place of Jesus Christ, its heavenly Head, thus, too, everything that is in Christ and in the church can also be claimed for Peter. 7. Accordingly, like Christ, Peter is both a priest and a king. 8. The priesthood embraces the authority of the magistracy; the royal power includes the power to govern, as the church is a real and perfect society. 9. Every society of necessity has a fundamental law and a permanent government. Without the former there would be no moral unity, and without the latter, no social unity. 10. The pope is accordingly the master [maestro] of the law and the head of the government of the society and the kingdom of Jesus Christ, being invested and delegated for this purpose by Christ Himself. 11. Accordingly, both as a teacher and as the head of a government, the pope has no one over him except Jesus Christ. 12. The pope can accordingly be dependent upon no one except the power and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. 13. Then the pope has no equal upon earth nor any superior [in tutto e daper tutto]. 14. It is a logical conclusion that the pope of a necessity in every particular in which the spiritual association of Jesus Christ comes into relation to human society, must be the sovereign. 15. The pope is accordingly the sovereign in the church and also in the world, in the divine and in human society, over against men and nations, over against princes and potentates. 16. As the church is universal, it includes each and every other society; as it is the kingdom of God, it serves also all other kingdoms; as the pope is the sovereign of the church, i. e., of the kingdom and the society of Jesus Christ, he is also the sovereign in every other society and in every other kingdom. 17. The sovereignty of Christ, which is the same as the sovereignty of God, is the basis of every other authority; every other authority is founded upon this, whether it be human or divine, civil or political, private or public authority. 18. Therefore the religious and the spiritual sovereignty of the pope includes also the civil and the political authority throughout the world. In support of this, still further argument follows:— 1. No word of the Bible contradicts the doctrine of the authority of the pope in all civil affairs. 2. Jesus Christ has established His church as a free institution, and has given it the right to make use of all human means for its purposes in order to protect this freedom. 3. The civil authority of the pope is helpful to the church and harms nobody. 4. The pope can not be the subject of anybody, hence must be an absolute sovereign. 5. The pope was never the subject of any earthly prince or power. 6. The pope has at all times been sovereign, even in the period of the catacombs, when he had independent territory and an organized society, which he controlled as a real and effective sovereign. 7. In the time when the Christians lived in the catacombs, marriages were celebrated, baptisms administered, and all the affairs of this world were administered under the auspices and direction of the bishop of Rome. 8. As soon as the pope emerged from the catacombs, the emperor left Rome. Thus the history shows that the pope has never been the subject of any human authority. The discussion closes with the following conclusions:— 1. Jesus Christ has made His church free. 2. He has thereby made it sovereign. 3. The church, and, accordingly, the pope also, must be free and sovereign. 4. The pope is free, and must be free, not only in religious and spiritual but also in temporal and materia. respects. 5. The pope can, accordingly neither in spiritual nor in temporal respects be a subject; he must be a sovereign and a ruler. 6. When, therefore, the pope declares that he must be absolutely free and a ruler in temporal respect also, it is contrary to the faith, contrary to reason, and contrary to history, to maintain that this is not correct. In the light of these utterances, who will not say that not only does the Roman Catholic Church have to do with politics and the State, but that it is one of her chief objects to bear rule over all civil governments? And that is her object as regards this government. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
By Editor
WHEN a young man turns out bad we are prone to ask, Who is responsible? Generally and correctly the blame is laid at the door of those who have brought him up and trained him from his infancy. If a nation goes wrong, the student of history will ask, Who or what is responsible? Under whose evil influence was the wrong character formed? As the result of what evil seed sowing is the nation reaping its crop of ruin? In the case of the young man, his parents may have been evil, his education manifestly defective, his moral training worthless, his environments bad. No one is surprised at his untoward end. Sometimes the parents have been of Puritanic strictness in education, in morals, in surroundings, and yet the young man becomes recklessly wild and profligate. His after course is a recoil from the tyrannical restraint put upon him by his parents. They are largely responsible. The November New Century Review has an article by Cardinal Vaughan, which the editor calls "a splendid vindication of the [Catholic] church." The cardinal replies to a writer, "Verax," who asserts that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for the backward condition of Ireland, Spain, and Italy, and has "always been inimical to the highest civilizations." In reply to this the cardinal says:— But we are referred to France as further proof against the character of the Catholic Church. Has it been forgotten that the church in France was drowned in a sea of blood a hundred years ago; that religion, revelation, and God Himself were publicly proscribed; that the church is not free to this day in France; that her bishops may nowhere meet in synod; that her religious orders are under a ban; and that whatever education the church gives is under distress and disadvantages? Again, we are referred to Spain; but during the century Spain also has been swept by the evil principles of the French Revolution, her religious orders have been again and again suppressed, her seminaries closed, her property confiscated, and for years her episcopate was actually extinguished. The church in Spain has had to fight with more than one hand tied behind her. But let it be remembered that previous to the French Revolution for a thousand years France had been Roman Catholic. Her education in general, her government, her polity, her religious instruction, were in the hands of the Catholic Church. At the behest of that church other religions were proscribed, other religionists banished. The Catholic Church ruled, and the revolution was but the revolt of an unregenerate people against a burdensome religion. A religion based on superstition, ignorance, and fear—prominent elements in the natural heart of man—will enthrall a nation for ages under ordinary circumstances; but let a crisis arise, and the hearts unregenerated by a worldly religion rebel, or take the path of least resistance, and the revolution is accomplished. The responsible party is the religious teacher. The responsibility of the French Revolution must be placed to the account of that church at whose feet France for centuries received her tutelage. And the same is true of Spain. For four hundred years Spain has been under the control of Catholicism. If the Catholic Church is all she professes to be, what a nation Spain should have been now! But, behold, a wreck! Who is responsible but she at whose golden cup Spain has drunk for four centuries? Would to God the other nations quaffing at the same cup, could see its effects! The Three Days and Three Nights
By Editor
991. Matt. 12:40. W. B. K. asks: "What is its real meaning? How are we to find the harmony between this and Christ's burial?"—"To answer the last question first, we must read, study, meditate, pray. 'Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things,' is the apostolic injunction. Now what did Jesus say?—'For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' For other scriptures see John 2:19 ("in three days"); Mark 8:31 ("after three days"); Matt. 16:21; Mark 9:31; Luke 18:33; and others ("the third day"); and near the close of the day upon which Jesus rose, in Luke 24:21 ("to-day is the third day since these things were done"). From a consideration of all the passages and from other scriptures we conclude that parts of days were counted as days. Parts of two days and the whole of one were counted as three days. So Jonah may have been a part of each of two days and one whole day in the sea monster. They would be counted three days and nights, a term used for a day. Compare Esther 4:16 with 5:1 and Dan. 8:14 with margin. "the heart of the earth" occurs alone. It may include the powers of earth, and the time reach from Christ's apprehension, when He said, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness!" "now is the judgment of this world." That was Thursday night, or the beginning of the sixth day; He was in the sepulcher on the seventh; and in the close of the first day the disciples said, "To-day is the third day since these things were done." Study, meditate, pray. 992. J. A. C. William Miller.—(1) When was William Miller born? (2) What are the best books on his writings, and how obtainable? (3) Were his views correct on the 1843-44 movement? (4) To what branch of Baptists did he formerly belong? (5) What is the best book on S. D. Adventism, and where found? (6) Where can I obtain the book or pamphlet entitled "Smith's Reply to Elder Canright"? (7) Where is J. N. Andrews stationed? (8) What is the right application of Rev. 14:6, 7? (9) What is meant by Babylon, in Rev. 14:8? 1. He was born in Pittsfield, Mass., Feb. 5, 1782; died in Low Hampton, N. Y., Dec. 20, 1849.
2. "Memoirs of William Miller," by Sylvester Bliss, Boston, 1853; and "Life of William Miller," by James White, Battle Creek, Mich. The latter may be obtained from the Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal. The price, we believe, is one dollar.
3. His views as regards the ending of the time in 1844 were correct, but he was wrong as to the event that was to occur at that time. See last-named work.
4. The Regular Baptists, we believe.
5. The Bible; it may be obtained anywhere. This is the best, by all odds. Good helps to its understanding are numerous, and will be found in catalog sent.
6. Write Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.
7. John Nevins Andrews died in Basel, Switzerland, Oct. 21, 1883.
8 and 9. See "Daniel and the Revelation," or the little tract, "The Great Threefold Message," No. 49 Apples of Gold Library, p. 43 in catalog. 993. U. G. A. Satan during Flood.—"Where were Satan and his angels during the flood?" Satan is the prince of the power of the air. We would naturally suppose that he was trembling in the disturbed elements, hoping that Noah would be destroyed, fearing that himself would. When the Lord shut Noah in, we may readily believe He shut the devil out. 994. M. J. H. Revelation 12.—This department is too limited to give a just explanation of Revelation 12. In brief, the woman is the church; the sun, Christ and His righteousness, the glory of the dispensation of the Spirit; the moon, under her feet, the past, typical age; the twelve stars, the twelve tribes and twelve apostles; the dragon, Satan; the male child, Jesus Christ; the flood, persecution; the days, so many years of papal persecution, A.D. 538 to 1798; the earth helped the woman, by opening an asylum in the Western continent, and staying the tide of persecution. There will be articles on this wonderful chapter in the SIGNS during this year, the Lord willing. 995. W. F. F. Rom. 14:5.—It means just what it says. The decision regarding all days, sacred or otherwise, must be left to the individual man. The lesson of the two chapters is that man is not to sit in judgment upon his fellows, respecting the things which lie between him and God. With it civil powers have naught to do.