Earlier text: A PRAYER FOR HOPEObject of the Harvest Ingathering
By I. H. Evans
The plan and real object of this Harvest Ingathering is not alone the distribution of a large number of the special REVIEW, containing an outline of the missionary operations carried on by our people, but also the ingathering of a large donation for the support of foreign mission work. Last year many orders for the REVIEW were received which did not bring direct financial returns to the treasury of the Mission Board. We are not criticizing any one in this matter, for we believe every one did the best he knew. It is not an easy matter to go out and solicit funds for missionary operations carried on by a people whose doctrines are so peculiar as some that we hold; however, we believe there are many honest, conscientious people who will be glad to make an offering to the foreign mission work carried on by our denomination. The endeavor made last year was the first in the history of our denomination in behalf of soliciting funds from those not of this faith for the purpose of carrying forward the mission work. A large sum of money was received last year. We believe, however, that with a clearly defined policy the funds can be greatly increased over what was received last year. The copies of the REVIEW that are distributed, but for which there are no receipts, do not help the mission treasury. They may do good in disseminating knowledge concerning the work carried on by our people, but we must not lose sight of the specific object of this Harvest Ingathering; namely, the gathering of funds. The special number of the REVIEW has not been written with the view of interesting people not of our faith in the doctrines of this denomination. The object of this number is to give to the world a knowledge of the missionary enterprises that are being carried forward by this church, and to enlist financial aid and sympathy in the support of these missionary endeavors. The churches when ordering the special number of the REVIEW should not be governed by the number they feel they will be able to give away, but should carefully plan their work so the largest possible returns to the Mission Board will be realized. There ought to be not less than one hundred thousand dollars gathered into the treasury for mission work from this Harvest Ingathering. In ordering the REVIEW, the general plan and object of the missionary campaign should be kept in view, so there will not be a large expense incurred without at least an earnest effort to bring funds to the mission treasury. We earnestly hope our churches everywhere will do their best in making this week of ingathering the most successful in the history of our work. I. H. EVANS. An Important Fact, With Its Attendant Responsibilities
By George I. Butler
This glorious message, which arose in obscurity, great weakness, and from small beginnings, has now reached a stage of influence and numbers which surprises multitudes, and leading newspapers give it respectable notice. Its missionary stations are established in all the important nations. The regular per cent of annual increase in membership has been greater than that of any other religious denomination. These are facts which can not truthfully be denied. How Were These Results Reached? Were Any Difficulties Overcome?
Perhaps there never was an important movement which encountered greater difficulties. It commenced its work immediately after the passing of the time in 1844, when the very name of Adventism was looked upon with contempt; when its believers were hooted at in the streets; when that miserable falsehood about “ascension robes” was commonly believed; when all sorts of fantastic, fanatical stories were invented and heaped upon the poor, despondent, disappointed believers; when thousands, yea, tens of thousands, of those who had professed strong belief in the soon coming of their Lord renounced their faith in it, and joined with the jeering crowd of advent haters in maligning the comparatively few stanch, firm believers who clung to the precious advent doctrine. Great poverty was the lot of many who first became believers in this movement. Their means had been largely used up in proclaiming the first message. To commence a movement with such a cloud hanging over it, and such difficulties confronting it, might seem to ordinary people as preposterous, and such would have been the legitimate conclusion, but for one striking fact: the Lord our God was with his humble, despised believers in the grand truth, The Lord is soon coming. In all this world's history we can recall but one parallel of a people beginning under such discouraging circumstances,—the little band of perhaps one hundred twenty poor, heart-broken disciples, who had just witnessed the crucifixion of their blessed Lord when they had fondly supposed he was about to occupy the throne of his father David, drive out the Roman oppressor, and establish his kingdom. Him they saw seized by cruel hands, buffeted with fists and lashed with stripes, hissed at, derided, spit upon, hung up between heaven and earth, spiked to the cross like the vilest criminal between two thieves, till death came as a relief. All their fond hopes had been dashed to the ground. Yet in spite of all this, after the Spirit of God had illumined their minds, they went forth in their poverty, and triumphed over death and hell in the grandest movement this earth has ever seen. That triumph was in the heaven-born message of the Saviour's first coming. God was back of it and in it. It triumphed in the cross. This message has thus far succeeded and triumphed in the cross of ridicule, poverty, disappointment, hatred of the respectable worldly professor; and in spite of all difficulties is still onward. A great truth lies couched in both of these experiences. God's work is one of self-humiliation, weakness made strong through faith in the Infinite. Our “God can take a worm and thrash a mountain.” One man with God is a majority. His power transcends all creation. Was the Message This People Gave a Popular One?
It was anything but that. It was the same blessed gospel God has ever had for man, with the cross of Christ in it—downtrodden truth, hated by pagan and papist alike. It was summed up beautifully by the revelator in these words: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12),—the solemn truths of the Old and New Testaments both, obedience to God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Among the commandments of God is the seventh-day Sabbath, the creation Sabbath, the only weekly Sabbath ever mentioned in all the Bible, hated by all idolaters. False gods could never create anything but sin. It was hated by the Papacy, the very power which led the people away from the true Sabbath in order to set up a man-made sabbath in its place. That change is the highest evidence the Papacy can bring of its right to rule. When Protestants keep the Catholic Sunday-sabbath, they in that very act practically acknowledge the power and authority of the Papacy. This last message of warning to a fallen world will be nowhere popular with a world-loving church. How Has This Message Been Enabled to Make Such a Wonderful Growth?
Here is the real kernel of the whole matter. This unpopular message never could have made the growth it has unless a power greater than that of humanity had attended it. From its first inception it has given marked evidences of divine power. God has been with it all the way along. We boast not of what we as men and women have done. We are conscious that far more could and should have been done had we as a people been always as whole-hearted and faithful and devoted as we should have been. We must confess that we could have accomplished more had our faith been stronger, our spirit of sacrifice greater, our love to God and man more unswerving. But it is not wrong to rejoice at what has been accomplished. It is right to feel happy in the knowledge that at least one hundred thousand souls are now rejoicing in God's message for the last days. What loyal believer can fail to be happy when he realizes that the blessed banner of light and truth is waving in all the great nations of the earth to-day? Who can but rejoice that in the darkest heathen lands on earth, in the strongholds of the Papacy itself—Spain, Portugal, Italy, in the states of South America—the third angel's message is being proclaimed to-day, and hundreds upon hundreds of honest Catholics are embracing it? Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, that in the dark strongholds of heathenism many are coming to believe in the true God. Something must be wrong with the hearts of those cold, critical ones who feel indifferent to these precious facts. The Duties of the Present and Near Future
It was a blessed privilege to be at the recent General Conference, and to hear the reports from the great field, to look into the faces of faithful men of God from Russia, China, Japan, Korea, India, laborers in dark Africa, South America, and the isles of the ocean, yea, from all parts of the world. Praise God for men, and noble women, too, who have braved the perils of those hard fields for the sake of perishing souls for whom Christ died. The hearts of all present were ablaze with warm emotions, and longings to see the work go forward with still greater rapidity and power. As a denomination we have no8 thought of being content with what we are already doing. It is expected that before another General Conference, forty families, at least, will have entered China and become established in the various divisions of that great empire; and that these centers of light will begin to radiate in the dense darkness of heathenism. Medical missions will be established to relieve the sick and suffering as well as to point those in moral and religious darkness to the Light of the world. We speak of China, because it is the leading heathen nation of the world. A forward movement will at the same time be going on in various other countries, as the last message is everywhere presented. The truth is for all the world, and our work is a work for the whole world. Of course the responsibilities resting upon us as a people will be greatly enlarged. Our obligations as a people to sacrifice of our means and thus assist in bringing the light of truth to the whole world will be vastly greater as the work goes on. As time grows shorter, the hold of the true believer on this world's riches should grow less and less. Here is a vast field for thought. Love and Hope
By L. D. SANTEE
The losing and the leaving
Will soon for aye be past,
The sorrow and the grieving
Forgotten be at last.
In place of disappointment,
Is heaven’s dearest boon;
Eternal life awaits us,
The Lord is coming soon. Hours spent in useless fretting
Increase our ills the more,
Our fainting hearts forgetting
That heaven is just before;
We’ll bid adieu to sadness,
To weariness and gloom,
And sing with untold gladness,
“The Lord is coming soon.” Cheer up, O heavy-hearted!
Thy King shall come for thee;
Dear ones from whom you’ve parted,
In glory you shall see.
The desert is behind you,
And flowers of life shall bloom;
Not long will earth-ties bind you,
The Lord is coming soon. Statesmen and the Turkish Question
By Percy T. Magan
In a previous number of the REVIEW I showed that the sixth plague is the great sign plague,—the only one of the seven last plagues which can be seen shaping up,—the one which gives warning of the coming of all the plagues, and of the close of probation. In the last issue of this paper it was made clear that the opening scene in the drama of this scourge is laid by the waters of “the great river, the river Euphrates,” which expression was shown to refer to the nation having for its domain the territory adjacent to this stream—the Ottoman empire. Then from these premises it was established that when the “water” of “the great river, the river Euphrates,” is “dried up,” i. e., when the passing of the Turk comes, this is the signal for a tremendous movement on the part of “the kings that come from the sunrising,” viz., the Oriental powers, who join in battle with “the kings of the whole world” at a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. Thus the settlement of the “Turkish question” is, according to the Scripture, the pivot around which the universal war program revolves. It is, as indicated by the Word of God, the flash-point of the situation. Such is the prophecy of Sacred Writ, penned, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, two thousand years ago. And now it may properly be asked, Do the statesmen indorse the position of the Scripture? Do kings and prime ministers, chancellors and chief secretaries for foreign affairs, agree with the Bible writers that the Turkish question is the flash-point? To state that they do seems almost unnecessary; for all the world, to say nothing of statesmen, is talking about the Eastern question, and has been talking about it for nearly two centuries. Any man who has paid any attention at all to the international history of the last two hundred years knows that this is so. Any living man of ordinary information and intelligence knows that the “Eastern question” in our day has proved itself almost perennial. The “Turkish” is, and has been for years, the one great international “question.” There is no British question, or German question, or French or United States question, but there is a Turkish question, and so much so that the expression has become a household phrase the world over. And in proof of all the above, if proof be needed, let me introduce the language of a great student and statesman—a noted figure in near-Eastern politics:— “The Eastern question, which began with Constantine and Theodosius, stretches through the centuries. It is ever old and ever new, like a figure in mythology, or a siren who exercises a mysterious and irresistible attraction and destroys the victim she draws into her clutches. In vain it seems from time to time extinct like a volcano, or stifled by stratagem or brute force. After a rest, sometimes long and sometimes short, it comes to life again, often with greater vigor than before. Thereupon every one looks anxiously to the East; for the interests at stake are so important and complicated that Europe and Asia, and even America, can not stand by as unconcerned spectators of the struggle which recurs century after century for the possession of the Bosporus, the Hellespont, and the Ægean Sea. The East has been the goal of every ambition of the Christian and barbarian powers alike. The Eastern question gave the spur to the politics of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, as much as to those of the fifteenth, sixteenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth, and bids fair to provide plenty of material for the diplomatists of the twentieth century. . . . “Frederick Barbarossa and Baudoin, Stefan Dochan and Mohomet, Soliman and Charles V. John Sobieski and Peter the Great, Joseph II and the Empress Catherine, Napoleon and Alexander I, Lord Palmerston, Napoleon III, and the Czar Nicholas, Prince Gortschakof and Lord Beaconsfield, each tried in his own way to find a solution for this dangerous problem, and, what is still more significant, each one failed, each one sacrificed in vain some of the best years of his life, and most of them the blood of valiant soldiers. When they thought they were on the point of reaching their goal, they fell on the way, and their work did not survive the influence of their political genius. Could there be more instructive lessons than these for the politicians of to-day if only they would allow themselves to be guided by the precedents of history?”—Mil. R. Ivanovitch Art. “The Future of the Balkans,” in London Fortnightly Review, June, 1909. And there is a reason, a mighty reason, why the Eastern question is, like the poor, ever present with us. Not without reason is it “ever old and ever new.” Not without purpose is it a fact that “in vain it seems from time to time extinct like a volcano, or stifled by stratagem or brute force.” There can be no question over the statement that “after a rest, sometimes long and sometimes short, it comes to life again, often with greater vigor than before.” Magnificently has Ivanovitch stated the truth when he tells how the greatest statesmen of Europe, from Frederick Barbarossa at one end of the line through John Sobieski and Peter the Great to the Earl of Beaconsfield at the other, have “each tried in his own way to find a solution for this dangerous problem, and, what is still more significant, each one failed.” Why, then, is the Eastern question, among all the great international complications, which from time to time have risen into prominence, the only one which, like the brook that turns the mill, goes on forever? It is because God has set it for the great sign of the close of human probation and of the end of the world. He tells all mankind that it is the sign that the cases of all men living are soon to be decided, and their everlasting destiny sealed for weal or for woe. God desires to warn all the world of this fact. He uses this sign to reveal to every man and woman on the earth where we are in the stream of time. He longs to save the children of men, and so he sets up and displays mighty, gigantic, and world-shaking events as signs, that men may know that now or never must they prepare to meet their God. And this is why the Eastern question will not down. For years God has kept it ever before us. He has done this that by reading the Scriptures and watching the lining up of all the world powers around the Eastern question, which is the vortex of the whirlpool, we may know and realize that the unmixed wrath of heaven is about to fall; for when the Eastern question comes up for final settlement, events most vital to each individual soul will have been forever settled. But hear the historical authorities and the statesmen further:— “During the war between Russia and Turkey in 1828-29 the Russian General Diebitsch marched his troops across the Balkans and proceeded straight to Adrianople. Here he was only one hundred twenty-five miles from Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. At the same time Paskerditch, another Russian commander, took Erzerum, in Asia; and a great authority says that “the two generals would doubtless have joined hands in Constantinople, but for the efforts of diplomacy, and the fear of a general conflagration.”—Historian’s History of the World, Vol. XVII, pages 544-545. Prince Bismarck, chancellor of the German empire, speaking in the Reichstag in 1888, declared that it was only the9 Congress of Berlin that prevented the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 “from putting the whole of Europe in a blaze.” In 1895, during the dark days of the Armenian massacres, the Emperor Franz Josef of Austria exclaimed, when a certain move was proposed: “No, that would set fire to the powder.” On Nov. 9, 1895, the late Marquis of Salisbury, then prime minister of England, made a remarkable speech at the Mansion House in London. These Mansion House speeches by British prime ministers are always intended to give to the world the policy of the British government relative to questions of universal interest. The world had been on the tiptoe of expectancy for several days, watching eagerly for the summing up of the Eastern situation, and in the following remarkable language did the chief minister describe it:— “Turkey is in that remarkable condition that it has now stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman empire should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman empire fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the territories of which that empire consists, but that the fire there lighted would spread to other nations, and would involve all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was a danger which was present to the minds of our fathers when they resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which has not passed away.”—Published by the Armenian Information Bureau, London, 1895. From all the above it is clear that statesmen of our own day realize very fully that the Turkish question is the flash-point. Their view of the situation tallies with the prophecy of the Scripture. And more than this, the emperor of Germany has publicly stated that when the Turk goes, it will be the signal for the Oriental nations to make their mighty move to try out conclusions at arms with the Western powers. Space will not permit of this quotation in this paper. Suffice to say that at least one European potentate sees in the destruction of the Turk the making ready of “the way of the kings that come from the sunrising.” And more than this, the statesmen know that all the moves which have been made to stay off the evil day of settlement of the eternal Turkish question are altogether temporary and artificial. This was made very clear by Lord Salisbury in a conversation with Chedo Mijatovich, one of Servia’s greatest statesmen. On this point he expressed the following opinion:— “The Berlin treaty is altogether artificial. It created artificial conditions which probably, as you say, can not last very long. But what human work, and more especially what diplomatic work, is not artificial? Not only diplomacy, but history also creates artificial conditions. The Berlin Congress had to deal principally with Turkey in Europe,—not only an artificial, but an unnatural creation in itself,—complicated with the temporary results of the last war, and with the more permanent international jealousies. If you wish to know my personal opinion, I will tell you that the only natural, logical, and healthy Balkan policy for Great Britain would be that one formulated by Mr. Gladstone: ‘The Turks ought to be driven out of Europe with all their bag and baggage.’ Unfortunately, the Eastern question is so complicated, and the European system so artificial, that I as Her Majesty’s principal secretary of foreign affairs, can not apply the policy which I consider the only true and natural one.”—Chedo Mijatovich, in the Fortnightly Review, December, 1907. A great prime minister of Medo-Persia,—Daniel, the author of that book in the Bible which bears his name,—five hundred years before the birth of Christ, had written of the time of the passing of the Turk: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Dan. 12:1. And John, the seer of Patmos, told how the passing of the Turk would be the signal for the long-looked-for coming of the kings from the rising of the sun to do battle with the kings of the earth and of the whole world. Almost indeed do the words of Chancellor Bismarck of Germany; Emperor Franz Josef of Austria; and the Marquis of Salisbury, premier of Great Britain, seem to be but the answering echo of the prophetic utterance of the Hebrew Daniel, the chancellor of that empire of the elder day. The one said that when that time came, there would be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation on the earth. The others said it would start the conflagration, set Europe in a blaze, set fire to the powder, and that the fire that is lighted by the demolition of the Turkish empire would spread to other nations, and involve all that is most powerful and most civilized in a dangerous and calamitous contest. Show Mercy
By Albert Weeks
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Ps. 85:10. This text was fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. It likewise must have a fulfilment in the hearts of the children of God, to give them characters that can be made immortal. All hardness of heart must be supplanted by love. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him,” but I John 3:15. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I John 4:20. Here is a test of our love to God. Our brother is one of God’s creatures. We can see him. If we love God, we shall love him, and do all we can for him. More than that, our love must include all mankind, even those who treat us badly. Says the Saviour, “Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:44, 45, A. R. V. How tenderly, then, should we treat those who are united with us in the bonds of Christian fellowship. Mercy should be blended with justice in all that sacred relationship. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” applies with full force here. Says Paul: “If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself.” Phil. 2:1-3. As we can know all about our own lives, if we have true humility we can easily count our brethren better than ourselves, for we know little of their lives. There is no place for self-exaltation in the gospel of Christ. Defending the Truth
By G. B. Thompson
We sometimes speak of defending the truth. We have no special criticism to offer concerning this expression; yet we should not forget that the truth needs no defender. It is its own defense. It is well able to take care of itself. It has survived centuries of warfare. “Truth crushed to earth shall rise again, The eternal years of God are hers.” A lion may be caged, but he is the “king of beasts” still. Only slip the bars and let him free, and he will defend himself. So with truth. It has in itself an inherent power. It may be bound about with environment, and seemingly crushed, but when the crucial moment comes, it will arouse, and like a giant, scatter and defeat the legions of error. Truth is light, and light has more power than darkness. It is considered greater than locks and bars. When I was a boy, I can well remember that stores, shops, banks, etc., when the business of the day was finished, would put up strong shutters, turn out the light, and leave all the goods, money, etc., in total darkness. This was pleasing to the burglar. With his improved implements of mischief, he worked in the dark to advantage, and took from the safe the money it contained. In walking the10 streets of a large, modern city recently, I was impressed with the different method now in use. Instead of shutters of metal and darkness, as a safeguard they have turned on the light. The blinds are off, and the electric light is left burning all night. Over a safety vault a strong light made everything as open as the day. I thought, Light without locks is better than darkness with locks. And so it is in spiritual matters. God’s Word is truth, and it is light. John 17:17; Ps. 119:130. Light is stronger than darkness. It can dispel the darkness. You enter a large room; all is dark, you strike a match, or turn an electric button, and the darkness is gone. Before God’s people are periods of darkness and great tribulation. A time of trouble such as mortals have never seen draws near. Darkness will cover the earth, and gross darkness the people. Earthquake and storm, flame and flood, and cataclysm of nature are increasing on every side. Soon the seven last plagues of God’s wrath will fall as the earth sinks into a millennium of darkness, the result of the curse of sin. But through it all the Israel of God will be safe. The truth will be their shield and buckler. Instead of Israel defending the truth, the truth will defend them. Let us be thankful for the truth. In Such an Hour as Ye Think Not
By T. E. Bowen
THE entire passage of Scripture from which the above is taken reads as follows: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matt. 24: 42-44. In Mark we find the same statement recorded in these words: “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37. These words are addressed, it must be remembered, to the followers of Christ; for Jesus was talking privately with his disciples upon the mount of Olives. He was answering their most earnest questions, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Hence, these words are addressed to those who are watching for the return of the Master at the time when these signs predicted shall take place. But will Jesus come unheralded, “suddenly,” upon his own people? Will he come as a thief upon them? Will everything continue in its regular course up to the very hour when, as the lightning shining out of the east, by its sudden flash lights up the west, the Son of man in power and great glory bursts forth upon a surprised and waiting people, including a lost world?—Such a construction of these passages of Scripture does violence to other portions of the Word, upon which shines clear light. Speaking of the second appearing of Christ, Paul wrote: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess. 5: 1-4. To come at once to the point under consideration, let us view these texts first cited as having their fulfilment in that most important of all events, which comes unheralded to saint and sinner alike—when Jesus ceases his work of ministration as high priest in heaven, and throws down his golden censer to exclaim, “It is finished;” “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Here is an event that marks the climax in the plan of redemption—an event second to none. The destiny of every human soul is here sealed for eternity. Really, in these solemn words the real end of the world is reached. True, there follow other important events in quick succession; for following these words above quoted, Jesus says, “And, behold, I come quickly.” But these following events are but the outworking, the after-results, as it were, of that other solemn hour when the destiny of every living soul is forever fixed. The passing of this hour is marked by no event on earth. The sun rises and sets as usual on that day. It is as the approach of the muffled tread of the thief in the night, bent on the spoils of the house while its occupants are entirely unconscious of his presence. Jesus makes this point clear by saying, “If the goodman of the house had known in what watch [time] the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” But he did not know. Neither will the church know the passing of this terrible hour of crisis to the world. Hence, the importance of heeding Jesus’ command to “watch,” and be “ready,” and let not this hour find us asleep spiritually. Further evidence is given us that the above application in the Saviour’s instruction to the church from Mount Olivet applies to the time when probation closes, rather than to his second personal appearing on the cloud, in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. II, pages 190, 191. Here we find these words: “Jesus has left us word, ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.’” We are waiting and watching for the return of the Master, who is to bring the morning, lest coming suddenly he find us sleeping. What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No; but to his return from his ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when he lays off his priestly attire, and clothes himself with garments of vengeance, and when the mandate goes forth, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; . . . and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” “When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with his servants. To those who have neglected the preparation of purity and holiness, which fits them to be waiting ones to welcome their Lord, the sun sets in gloom and darkness, and rises not again. Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth, are found sleeping. They became weary of waiting and watching; they became indifferent in regard to the coming of their Master. They longed not for his appearing, and thought there was no need of such continued, persevering watching. They had been disappointed in their expectations, and might be again. They concluded that there was time enough yet to arouse. They would be sure not to lose the opportunity of securing an earthly treasure. It would be safe to get all of this world they could. And in securing this object, they lost all anxiety and interest in the appearing of the Master. They became indifferent and careless, as though his coming were yet in the distance. But while their interest was buried up in their worldly gains, the work closed in the heavenly sanctuary, and they were unprepared. “If such had only known that the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary would close so soon, how differently would they have conducted themselves! how earnestly would they have watched! The Master, anticipating all this, gives them timely warning in the command to watch. He distinctly states the suddenness of his coming. He does not measure the time, lest we shall neglect a momentary preparation, and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think he will come, and defer the preparation.” More might be quoted, but this is sufficient to make clear that this passage in the wonderful prophetic discourse of Christ given on Mount Olivet, which speaks of the suddenness of his coming, applies to that time when he ceases his work of intercession for sinners, and not to his personal second coming in power and great glory. Upon this point it is very important that we should not become confused. A Deplorable Custom
By Maggie G. Richardson
We boast of living in a land of enlightenment and progress, and often speak in pitying terms of the heathen and their foolish customs, but at the same time follow some of the most absurd practises ourselves; and not only absurd, but those which destroy one’s self-respect and lower the regard for others. Not long ago in a letter from one of our workers in China, the native marriage ceremony was described. After the ceremony the different members of the family gather about the young people, she in the women’s apartment and he in the men’s, and find great delight in teasing them, each about the other. This is kept up for days, until gradually all become accustomed to the new situation, and finally settle down to the ordinary ways of life. In our enlightened country there is the still more ridiculous custom of teasing young unmarried men and women about each other; and in some families even boys and girls not yet in their teens are made the objects of sport in this way. Not young people alone are found indulging in this foolish habit, but parents, who should mold the character of their children by directing their conversation into profitable channels. The mind of a child when given into the care of the parents, is a blank, but easily molded and impressible. Fathers and mothers, can you afford to have written upon the pure, innocent pages of your child’s mind foolish and degrading thoughts by your careless conduct and idle words? Your own words and actions, if your influence is what it is your privilege to make it, will have a greater impression upon your children than those of any one else. The apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. . . . Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking nor jesting.” To the Philippians he writes: “Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ;” and to the Colossians he says: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Peter says: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;” and, “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God?” Can we who are looking for that day afford to engage in light and trifling conversation in the presence of young people and children? Our Saviour says: “Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Cake Without Chemicals
By Mrs. W. W. Wheeler
THE teachings of the Testimonies and of science agree in their statements that it is not well for us to prepare our food with chemicals. Must we, then, dispense with cake?—Not necessarily. Here is a recipe for one that will be found excellent in the proving (eating), and it is one that can be eaten with a clear conscience as far as chemicals are concerned. Neither can it be classed with rich and therefore unhealthful cakes:— In the morning before kneading out your bread save out one large cupful of the thin sponge. Break three eggs into a bowl. If you wish, save either one white or one yolk to use afterward in the filling. Beat the eggs light, and then add slowly one cup of sugar, continuing the beating. Add five tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Now with a spoon stir in the cup of bread sponge. Carefully fold in two-thirds cup of sifted flour. Oil three pie-plates, and divide the dough equally into each. Let stand for two or three hours where it will not be too warm. It may appear to rise but little, but it will come out all right; the standing is necessary. Bake in an oven of even heat, the same as for any cake. The reserved white makes a good filling when beaten stiff, with one table spoonful of sugar and two of thick, sweet cream added to it. Beat very little after adding the cream. Flavor to your taste. If you saved the yolk, make a cream sauce for the filling. You will have better success if you use magic or compressed yeast.