WHEN sin entered the world, God's glory was withdrawn, and a dark pall of gloom was spread over it; God no more talked with man. We have only a few fading flowers, a few bright spots to remind us of the departed glory. Even the angels have but seldom been seen by mortals. The most lovely objects that we behold are marred with deformity, and tarnished with decay. Hence men ordinarily have but slight conceptions of the surpassing loveliness and glory of the heavenly beings. A few times a rift has been made in the clouds through which some privileged ones have been permitted to behold a few rays of the glory of Heaven. And then these have been so overwhelmed by it as to fear that they should die. Thus the prophet Isaiah, upon having a view of Heaven, exclaims, "Woe is me! for I am undone. For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:5. As Moses came down from the mount where he had been with the Lord for forty days, his face so shone with the reflected glory of God that the Israelites in fear ran from him. Ex. 34.
How bright and glorious, then, must be the angels who dwell in the immediate presence of the Almighty! Some of the rays of this light and glory encircle them as they visit this world. Thus, when the angel came to Peter in the prison, it is said, "And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison." Acts 12:7. Of the angel who appeared at the tomb of our Saviour, it is said, "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." Matt. 28:3. And Daniel thus describes the appearance of an angel who came to him: "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz. His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." Chap. 10:5, 6.
Let the reader consider a moment what majesty and glory are here described. The most gorgeously appareled monarch would appear mean in comparison! No wonder that Daniel says of the men who were with him that "a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves." Verse 7. So exceedingly glorious was the sight of the Angel who came to John upon Patmos, that the apostle fell down to worship him, supposing that it must be God himself. Rev. 22:8. From these facts we can form some conception of the exalted nature of the holy angels.
Of the might and power of the angels the Bible also speaks in the strongest terms. John says, "A mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill stone and cast it into the sea." Rev. 18:21. The Psalmist speaks of certain ones as "angels that excel in strength." Ps. 103:20. When the angel came to raise up Christ, he made the earth to quake, and the soldiers fell like dead men before him. Matt. 28:1-4.
Notice another interesting instance where their power was exhibited. In 2 Kings 19, we learn that Sennacherib, a mighty king of Assyria, came against Hezekiah, king of Judah, with a powerful army, to capture Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a good man. Not being able to defend himself, he trusted in the God of Israel to deliver him. Sennacherib ridiculed this idea, and boasted that the God of Israel was not able to deliver Jerusalem out of his hands. The Lord heard this blasphemy, and determined to vindicate his authority. The Jews, being only a handful, seemingly would become an easy prey to the vast hosts of Sennacherib, numbering hundreds of thousands. But "it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred, fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Verse 35. Here a single angel, commissioned from the court of Heaven, slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers, defeated this mighty host, and saved Jerusalem! Compare the deeds of the "heroes of earth" with this, and how puny they look!
The angels have also the control over the elements. Thus, when the king caused the furnace to be heated intensely hot, and the three Hebrews to be cast into it, the angel of the Lord came and stood and walked unharmed in the midst of the fire! Not only so, but he protected those men of God so that their garments were not even scorched! Dan. 3:19-27. The angels can also control the disposition of even the wild beasts. This we see in the case where Daniel was cast into the lions' den. Those ferocious beasts became as harmless as lambs. The angel of the Lord was there. Dan. 6:22. Again, heavy manacles fall off the bolted door, and the massive iron gate flies open at the command of an angel, when a child of God is to be delivered. Acts 12. Thus we see that all the elements of nature, as well as the minds of men and the dispositions of animals, are subject to the control of angels.
THE DIFFERENT ORDERS OF ANGELS.
Wherever the handiwork of God is seen, we behold the most perfect order and harmony. From the smallest blade of grass to the largest planet in the starry heavens, the most complete order is manifest. God is emphatically a God of order. It is an old and true proverb, that "Order is Heaven's first law." It is only where sin has left its foot-prints, where the trail of the old serpent is seen, and where wicked men rule, that we find disorder, confusion, and insubordination. That "Union is strength," is a self-evident truth, as well as an established maxim. This can only be secured by law and order. Then do not nature and reason teach us that the angels must be subject to law and order, and that there must be different orders among them, as there are in every society of men, in the army, &c.? That this is the case the Bible seems to teach. Speaking of the coming of Christ, it says, "And the Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses." Rev. 19:14. Here we see that Jesus, the great archangel (Jude 9), the Son of God, who stands at the head, is the commander-in-chief of the angelic armies. The same fact is again expressed in Rev. 12:7: "And there was war in Heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels." God has given to Michael (Christ) the command of all his armies. Thus Paul says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2:9-11.
Now, if the angels are marshaled in armies (plural number, Rev. 19:14), and are subject to the orders of a chief commander, it is necessarily implied that there are also subordinate commanders, and captains of smaller divisions. We often read in the Bible, of cherubim, Eze. 10:1, of seraphim, Isa. 6:1-6, of dominions, of principalities, of powers, &c., Col. 1:16; all of whom we conclude, are different orders of angels. When the soldiers came to take Jesus, he said to Peter, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" Matt. 26:53. A legion was the division of an army, numbering three or four thousand. Jesus said that his Father would send him more than twelve legions of angels if he desired it. This indicates that angels are divided into companies. We may further suppose that each company is subject to its commander, and he to one higher, and the latter to one still higher, and so on, till we reach the commander-in-chief, the Son of God. Thus all things go on in union and order, and the entire universe of God, except the region of Satan's rebellion, is preserved in the most perfect harmony.
THE ANGELS ARE MINISTERING SPIRITS TO THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
An angel signifies a messenger. Judges 2:1, margin. "Angel. The original word, both in Hebrew and Greek, means messenger, and is so translated. Matt. 11:10." Union Bible Dic. We learn from the Scriptures, that it is the office of the angels to oversee the works of God, especially the cause of God in this earth, to watch over his children, administer to their wants, and defend them from their adversary, the devil. As there is an "innumerable company of angels," some of them are always before the throne of God to go at his command. Says John, "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels around about the throne." Says David, "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul." Ps. 103:19-22. Here it is declared that God has his throne prepared in the heavens. The angels are represented as standing before him, ready to go at his pleasure as messengers to all parts of his dominion.
We have here represented a scene similar to that which we would behold in the court of an earthly monarch. The king sits upon his throne, with his officers and servants around him. Messages are constantly being received by him from his subjects in the different parts of his kingdom. When he learns what is needing to be done, he dispatches a trusty messenger to perform it in his name. He also has officers in different parts of his kingdom who faithfully report to him the state of things in their several districts. Thus the king is able to attend to the wants of his subjects, and to oversee their actions, in all parts of the dominion, however large it may be. Somewhat so I understand it is that the Lord employs his servants, the angels. He always works by means, or agents. The angels are his officers, or messengers, whom he has appointed to have charge of the affairs of this earth. They watch over God's people, and administer to their wants. They bear the prayers of the saints up before the Lord, and come again to answer them according to his direction.
The proof of this is abundant. Thus Paul says, "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:13, 14.
This is a direct statement of the position above taken. Upon this subject David says, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7. This grand truth is beautifully illustrated in Jacob's dream. As he was traveling alone in the wilderness, he lay down upon the ground at night to sleep. "And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven; and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it." Gen. 28:12. This dream was given to teach Jacob that the angels are constantly passing backward and forward between Heaven and earth. This fact is just as true now as it was then.
We have another illustration of this truth in the history of Daniel. He was mourning over the sad state of his people who were captives under the king of Persia. For three whole weeks he fasted, and prayed to God to open the way for his people to return to their own land. At the end of this time an angel came to Daniel and said, "Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia." Chap. 10:12, 13. As soon as Daniel begins to pray, God sends an angel to perform his request. The angel goes to the Persian court and seeks to influence the king to let Israel return to their own land. The king was so opposed to this that the angel was not able to prevail with him. At last another mighty angel joins the first one and then they succeed. No one in the Persian court saw those angels. The king himself was not aware of their presence or their influence upon him; yet they brought him to do just what he did not mean to do.
This is the way in which the angels co-operate with God's children in their efforts for the conversion of souls. Our hearts are moved to pray for a son, a companion, or a friend. God sends an angel to impress the heart and trouble the mind. Or, we are in distress. We cry for help, and God sends an angel to deliver us. Nor are they slow in coming. See an instance of this in Dan. 9:21-23. "Whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee."
When the prophet began his prayer, Gabriel was in Heaven; but before he ceased he was at his side! Quicker than lightning, then, the messengers can speed on their errands. Ezekiel, describing the rapidity of their movements, says they "ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Chap. 1:14.
So when God hears the cries of his children, he immediately sends an angel right from his throne to answer their prayers and relieve their wants. This is very comforting to the child of God. We find a very remarkable instance of this recorded in Acts 12: "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church. And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleaven bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. "And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. And he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him, and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were passed the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. And they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews." Verses 1-11.
Here all the power of the king was arrayed against a few helpless Christians. James, they had already killed. Peter was strictly guarded in prison, awaiting his execution. To make escape or rescue impossible, he was bound with chains, between two soldiers, several others being placed to assist them. He was put into an inner prison, from which it was impossible to escape except by passing these guards and breaking open an iron gate! What did Peter's friends do? Bribe the guard? overpower the soldiers? or break into the prison? No; but they went to God in earnest prayer. "But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." God heard their prayers, granted their request, and sent an angel to deliver Peter. Simply by his touch the chains fell from Peter's hands, the guards became senseless, the iron gate gives way, and the child of God is saved! Cannot Christians trust in such a God as this? Are not his angels ready and able to deliver them from all their foes when it is necessary? It is truly as the Psalmist says, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.
Many other instances are recorded in the Bible, where God has sent his angels to minister to his children. They are so numerous that we can barely refer the reader to a few of the most interesting of them. Does Abraham send his servant on an important mission? He says to him, The Lord "shall send his angel before thee." Gen. 24:7. Does Jacob bless his children at his death? He says, "The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Gen. 48:16. Does the Lord direct the Jews to go into Canaan? He says to them, "Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared." Ex. 23:20. Is Elijah about to perish in the wilderness? "Then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head." 1 Kings 19:5, 6. Is Daniel delivered out of the lions' den? He says, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." Dan. 6:22. Is the gospel to be opened to the Gentiles? An angel is sent to Cornelius. Acts 10. Is Paul's life in danger? An angel of God stands by his side to assure him of safety. Acts 27:23.
What more shall we say? Time would fail us to mention a tithe of such instances where the angels of God are directly mentioned as having acted an important part in the affairs of men. Add to these the innumerable instances where, though not directly mentioned, yet evidently the angels were present, and we begin to have some conception of the prominent part which they have to act in God's work upon earth. If this was so in Bible times, is it not so now? Why not?
THE ANGELS EXECUTE GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON THE WICKED.
But while the angels are thus messengers of mercy to those who do good, they are also messengers of wrath to those who do evil. Thus the Lord commissioned angels to go and destroy Sodom. The angel said to Lot, "We will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it." Gen. 19:13. When Balaam went to prophesy against Israel, the Lord sent his angel to slay him. Num. 22:22. So when David had sinned, the Lord sent his angel to destroy Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 21:14-30. When the Assyrians had blasphemed God, "The Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria." 2 Chron. 32:21. When Herod was exalted in himself, and received praise as a god, "immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." Acts 12:23.
Indeed, we have reason to believe that the sudden judgments which frequently overtake evil-doers, are executed upon them by the angels of God. When the gospel is closed, all the wicked are to be gathered by the angels and cast into the lake of fire. Thus Jesus says, "The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire." Matt. 13:39-42.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
San Jose, Cal.
Taking Hold of the Strength of the Lord.
“LET him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Isa. 27 : 5.
“I think,” says one, “I can convey the meaning of this passage, so that every one may understand it, by what took place in my own family within these few days. One of my little children had committed a fault, for which I thought it my duty to chastise him. I called him to me, explained to him the evil of what he had done, and told him how grieved I was that I must punish him for it. He heard me in silence, and then rushed into my arms, and burst into tears. I could sooner have cut off my arm than have then struck him for his fault; he had taken hold of my strength, also he had made peace with me.” What encouragement has the offending yet repenting believer to take hold upon the strength of his Lord and his God!
Colored Methodist Episcopal Church Statistics
THE Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, has four Bishops, fifteen annual conferences, 907 traveling preachers, 74,799 members, 535 Sunday schools, 1,102 teachers, 49,956 scholars, and is endeavoring to establish a school for the enducation of its young ministers.
A Dish of Fables.
By Merritt E. Cornell
In the following brief extract we find at least seven direct antiscriptural statements. It is a good illustration of the blindness of those (even great men) who are led by tradition instead of the plain teachings of the word of God.
Henry Ward Beecher says :—
"How blessed is the truth which comes to us, that we are not as the beasts that die; that we are as the gods that live! That for which we were made is immortality; and our journey is rough, straight, burdensome, with many tears. Our journey is not to the grave. I am not growing into old age to be blind, and to be deaf, and to be rheumatic, and to shrink a miserable cripple into the corner, shaking and tottering and forgetting all that I ever knew. The best part of me is untouched. I sit enshrined within the me. The soul, the reason, the moral sense, the power to think, the power to will, the power to love, and the power to admire purity, and to reach out after it—that is not touched by time, though its instrument and means of outer demonstration be corroded and failing.
"This body is but a chrysalis, and when we break through, we rise on wings by the attraction of God, and by the propulsion of our inevitable desire and need, and are forever with the Lord."—[Extract of sermon.]
Now let these statements be arraigned before the tribunal of God's word, and see if they will stand the test.
Bible. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. Eccl. 3 : 19.
Beecher. "We are not as the beasts that die."
Bible. "They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust." Job 17 : 16. "For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning." Gen. 37 : 35.
Beecher. "Our journey is not to the grave."
Bible. "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people." Gen. 25 : 8.
Beecher. "I am not growing into old age."
Bible. "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished." Eccl. 9 : 5, 6. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146 : 4.
Beecher. In describing what is not affected by the ravages of time and death, he mentions, "the power to think, the power to love," &c.
Bible. "Thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2 : 17. Old Serpent. "Ye shall not surely die." "Ye shall be as gods." Gen. 3 : 4, 5.
Beecher. "We are not as the beasts that die." "We are the gods that live."
Mr. Beecher seems to side with Satan in the great controversy, just as squarely giving God the lie, as language can do it. O foolish man! Better for thee to come over on the Lord's side, for Satan was a liar from the beginning. M. E. CORNELL.
Profit from Wants and Infirmities
BLESSED is he who learns to profit by his wants and infirmities, and who, in all the privations he endures, is still submissive to the will of God.
Answer to Prayer.
By John Scotford
We copy the following remarkable case from the Bible Banner :—
"The case I refer to transpired in 1831 or '32, in Oakland county, Michigan. The parties were schoolmates of the writer, and he was living in the neighborhood at the time, and can vouch for the truth of the statement. The following are the facts in the case : Mr. Chester Goodrich had married a Miss Rhoda Mathews. She had made a profession of religion, but he had not. After their marriage she became cold and back-slidden. While in this state she was taken very ill. The best medical help seemed to do no good, and she became so low and weak that she could not lift her head to her head and could only speak in a whisper. Her physician gave her up, and told her sorrowing husband that he could do no more, and that she must die. This was after a council of physicians had sat on her case and pronounced it hopeless. The husband felt that there was no hope but in God, and was powerfully impressed that he must carry her case to him in prayer. Accordingly, retiring to the woods back of his house in a secluded place, he knelt, and tried to pray. It was the first time that he had ever offered a prayer. As soon as he began to plead for the life of his wife, a deep conviction of his own lost and sinful condition began to roll on to his mind, and he was led to make confession of his own sins, and his bad influence on his wife, and to plead for pardon for himself and her restoration to both spiritual and bodily health. While he was thus agonizing for divine help and mercy, a divine peace was given him with the assurance that his prayer was heard in behalf of his wife; so that his prayers and tears were turned into thanksgiving and praises; and with that feeling he returned to his house to find her dressed and sitting up in the rocking chair, healed, but weak. While he was thus praying, and at the moment of his own deliverance, a power came over her, and she suddenly sprang up in bed, clapped her hands and praised God, saying he had healed her soul and body, called to her nurse for her dress, put it on, arose and seated herself in the rocking chair, as noted above. She recovered strength rapidly and was the mother of several children. The husband passed away some years since, but she was alive and well the last I heard from her, and living with a son at Howard, Livingston county, Michigan. This is but one of a thousand of such cases occurring from time to time, and is proof conclusive that God hears and answers prayer, and that Christ is still the Great Healer of both the souls and the bodies of men.
Rev. John Scotford.
Burlingame, Kan., April 15, 1874.
No Compromise.
By James Waddel Alexander
As I grow older as a parent, my views are changing fast as to the degree of conformity to the world which we should allow to our children. I am horror-struck to count up the profligate children of pious persons and even ministers. The door at which those influences enter, which countervail parental instruction and example, I am persuaded, is yielding to the ways of good society; by dress, books, and amusements, an atmosphere is formed which is not that of Christianity. More than ever do I feel that our families must stand in a kind but determined opposition to the fashions of the world, breasting the waves like the Eddystone lighthouse. And I have found nothing yet which requires more courage and independence than to rise, even a little, but decidedly, above the par of the religious world around us. Surely, the way in which we commonly go on is not that way of self-denial, and sacrifice, and cross-bearing which the New Testament talks of.—Rev. J. W. Alexander, D. D.
Omens.
By Guide to Holiness
Is not He whose right it is to reign, preparing his people for some great crisis which is to precede his coming to claim the kingdoms of this world? So we are disposed to think. The signs of the times are portentous. Let us, beloved, keep our lamps trimmed and brightly burning—looking for, and hastening unto, the coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus, our absent Lord, has told us that he would come again. He has been away nearly two thousand years. Nearly six thousand years has he stood forth before a fallen, redeemed race, as the Lamb newly slain. The jubilee of Heaven and earth—the grand Sabbatic year—is about to break upon us. By the foreshadowings of Scripture, we seem to see that there will be a short, sharp conflict with the man of sin. But though we may be called to pass through seas of blood, it will but quicken our heart-longing cry, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"—Guide to Holiness.
The Present Truth.
By Editor
TWENTY-FIVE years ago the past month we issued the first number of a little paper entitled The Present Truth. On that very month, July 1849, our second son, James Edson White, who has charge of The Signs of the Times in our absence, was born. As indicated by the title of the sheet we started a quarter of a century ago, we then held, and still hold, that certain great doctrines of the Bible are applicable to our time in an especial sense.
The second coming of Christ is the crowning event of the stupendous plan of redemption, and has been a truth of the greatest importance to fallen man since the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ was first opened to the representative of the fallen race. Hence holy Enoch, the seventh from Adam, looking forward to this glorious event as the consummation of the hope of all the just, prophesied, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15.
But the doctrine of the second appearing of Jesus Christ becomes present truth in our day, from the fact that the generation is reached when the event may be scripturally expected, and in which the world is to be warned of its coming doom. We trace the several lines of the prophecy of Daniel over the four monarchies of Babylon, Persia, Grecia and Rome, and they bring us to our time as the grand epoch of utter distruction of all earthly dominions, the establishment of the immortal kingdom, and the eternal reign of the righteous. And if we follow the several prophetic lines of the book of the Revelation down over the fourth empire, Rome, we are brought to the same conclusion, that the last generation of men is reached, and that we stand before the naked glare of eternal scenes.
And when we consider the signs in the heavens above, in the earth beneath, and among the nations, of which Christ spake when a teacher of the people at his first advent, as he pointed forward to his second appearing, we feel the force of his application of the parable of the fig tree when he says, "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Matt. 24 : 33.
The Sabbath of the Bible is as old as the world. It is no more a truth to-day that the Creator rested on the last day of the first week, that he blessed the day of his rest, and that he set it apart for the sacred observance of man, than when Adam entered upon the second week of time. These facts underlie the Sabbatic institution, which exists in all dispensations, and running into the eternal age, parallel with the existence of the facts. When it ceases to be a fact that Jehovah rested on the last day of the first week of time, that he put his blessing on that day, and set that day apart for man, then the Sabbath of the Lord will cease. Sabbath signifies rest. The seventh, and no other day of the week, is the Rest [Sabbath] of the Lord, for the reason that the Lord our God rested on the seventh, and on no other day of the week.
The prophets of God, Christ and his apostles, honored the Sabbath. The Jews at the time of the first advent of the Son of God supposed the institution theirs alone. But their bigoted narrowness stands rebuked by these emphatic words of our Lord, "The Sabbath was made for man." He identifies himself with the Sabbath in declaring that "the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath," and thus he hands the creation Sabbath down to the Christian church.
The measurement of time by weeks originated with what God did on the first seven days of time. Years are marked by the revolution of the earth around the sun. Scriptural months by the phases of the moon, and days by the revolution of the earth upon its axis. But there is nothing on earth, in Heaven, or in the physical or spiritual nature and wants of the race, to mark the measurement of time into sevens of days. This custom, as old as our world, is traceable only to what God did on the first seven days. Hence the reason for this institution is given in the law which regulates the Sabbath in these words: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
The Sabbath, however, becomes present truth to us in the light of those prophetic declarations which teach its restoration. "And they that shall be of thee," says the prophet Isaiah, "shall build the old waste places. Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations. And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words." Chap. 58 : 12, 13.
And when we come down to our time, to the message of the third angel which ripens the harvest of the earth, just prior to the appearing of the Son of man on the great white cloud, Rev. 14, the declaration, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God," has the ring of present truth in it. If the first message of this chapter is fulfilled in the great second advent movement of the near past and the present, and if the second message applies in a special sense to all corrupted Christianity of our time, then the words "Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus," apply to the Sabbath reform now progressing among those Christians who are looking for the second coming of Christ and the judgment, in a most clear and forcible manner. Most certainly, men in all past time should have kept the commandments of God. They should keep them at the present time. And as certainly as the words "Here are they that keep the commandments of God," apply to a particular period, and especially to our time, the passage does present before us the great Sabbath reformation in the sense of present truth.
It was as true six thousand years ago, when repenting Adam bowed his head to the decree of death for his transgression, and bedewed his pathway with tears as he in sorrow passed out the gate of Paradise, that immortality is the gift of God, and that the future life depends upon the resurrection of the dead, as it is true to-day. And yet this doctrine is the only shield against the seductions of modern spiritualism, which ism God permits to take millions of the present generation within its hellish folds, the doctrine of immortality through Christ alone becomes present truth.
And now that the great work is fairly begun, and is extending to the nations, and is rapidly increasing in strength, it becomes those whose duty it may be to lead out in the general directing and managing the several branches of the work, to act in the fear of God with wisdom. We have spoken freely in the Review of broader plans in the execution of the great work before us. And in the same articles we have suggested that branch offices of publication should be established on the Atlantic, and on the Pacific.
By broader plans we do not mean that capital should be drawn from all parts of the wide field to build up unwieldy institutions at any given point to the neglect of others. We need a good school in Michigan. We need another on the Pacific coast, and another on the Atlantic, and still others, one in Western New York, and another between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Michigan must own their own school located at Battle Creek, by refunding to help build up schools in other localities what she has received from other States.
We plead for the Pacific coast. We shall call the attention of the General Conference to the importance of school advantages of the right sort in California at the present time. We shall ask that body to sanction a furlough to Bro. U. Smith to spend three or four months in that good State. And if the California Conference can furnish him a class of fifty, he can, before his return, give a full course of Biblical Lectures. Our attention has been forcibly called to this subject by the case of two young men in Oakland who have been struggling with poverty, while studying for the ministry. They were about ready to enter the University at Oakland. We were happy to hear them both speak freely in a public meeting a few days since, at which time they fully committed themselves to this. There are forty-eight others, more or less, on the Pacific who should immediately have a thorough drilling on the fundamental principles of present truth. And no man among us needs a trip to the Pacific more, or can do that kind of work better, than our brother Smith.
Broader plans, does not mean to keep a man of Bro. Smith's powers shut up to one office, and to one school, in one little city of seven thousand people. We must have men and women educated on the Pacific, for editors, preachers, and missionary laborers. The General Conference will ask the friends in California to give Bro. Smith a full class, to care for him while he is in the State, and to send him home with a "God bless you." The Conference will do the rest. Here will be a good chance for the editor of the Yolo Democrat to fit for a work vastly broader and more important than to serve a party in one county. From these suggestions, and more of the like we have to make, the reader can gain some clue to what we mean by "broader plans."
Eastern friends have shown their confidence in the cause of present truth, and also in those who have been connected with it from the first, by their liberal pledges for the establishment of the press on the Pacific coast. But let it be understood, that not one dollar of the money so kindly and liberally offered for this purpose by the devoted friends of the cause east of the Plains, should be sunk in publishing west of the Plains. Let the One Hundred Dollar men east of the Plains furnish the steam press and materials complete, to be kept complete in value; and then let the friends on the Pacific coast support the Signs of the Times.