Yes, says our opponents, we agree that these events—the Judgment, the second advent of Christ, the resurrection, and the end of the world—will come sometime, but as to when they will come, we know nothing. Christ may come to-night, or next week, or it may be a thousand years before he comes; we cannot tell. If we are only prepared to die, that is all that it need concern us, let it come when it will.
No doubt the objector thinks that this is sound reasoning, and according to Scripture; but look a little further. We often hear these men who declare that the Lord may come to-night, declare that the world must be converted, and that there must be a millennium of a thousand years before Christ comes. Then they go on to argue that the Jews must be converted and return to Palestine, first; that this, that, and the other prophecy has not yet been fulfilled; and still the Lord may come to-night! How they can have the world converted, and a thousand years' millennium, in one night, and the Lord come after that time, we never could see. And yet they stoutly argue both. The Jews must be converted and return to Palestine before the Lord comes, and yet he may come to-night! Many other prophecies have not been fulfilled and yet the Lord may come to-night! They certainly cannot believe both positions. And further: In saying this, they assume that the coming of the Lord will take place without any signs being given to mark his coming—without any warning to the world, and without his people knowing anything concerning it. They virtually assume that everything will go right on just as it always has, without any sign or warning, and the first that any one knows, either saint or sinner, the trumpet will sound like a peal of thunder out of a clear sky at noonday. To show the unsoundness of this, we will make a second proposition:
II. There will be signs given preceding these events, to mark their coming.
I might give scores of texts on this point, naming the different signs which shall transpire shortly before the advent. I will content myself with quoting two or three which directly assert that there shall be signs. “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. 24: 3. The disciples inquire directly, What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? If there were to be no signs, Christ would have simply said, Children, do not trouble yourselves on that point; there will be no signs given of these events. But instead of answering them thus, he does proceed to give them a whole chapter of signs upon the very point they had asked. Luke briefly sums up his answer thus: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21: 25–28. Here Jesus says that there shall be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, in the earth, &c. So in verse 11, he says, “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights
who will blow the trumpet and sound the alarm. All the powers of darkness cannot prevent it. And great signs shall there be from heaven.” And thus Joel says: “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Acts 2: 19, 20. We take it that these texts settle the fact that the Lord will give signs to mark his second coming.
God has said that, at the proper time, he will hang out signs in very conspicuous places indeed, viz., in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, and upon the earth. And when God shall do this, what will it be for? Will it not be to call the attention of his people and the world to the very event which these signs indicate? Most certainly. This fact alone shows that God will have men know something with regard to it, else why give the signs? And when God shall do this, will it be immaterial whether men heed these signs, or disregard them? whether they believe them, or scoff at them? whether they note them, or pass them by as not worthy of their attention? whether they accept them as the fulfillment of God's word, or deny them to be such? Think of this point a moment. Did not Christ rebuke the men of his time for not discerning the signs of the times? “O ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt. 16: 3. And if men should pay no more attention to the signs of the times now than they did then, will they not receive just as severe a rebuke from the Lord as they did then? Certainly, they will. Be careful, my friend, there may be more importance to this subject than you have thought.
To show the importance of this, we will make a third proposition:
III. A warning message will be given to the world, immediately preceding the coming of Christ.
This is an important proposition, and, if it be true, it shows the importance of engaging in such a proclamation. Here, again, we might give a great many texts to the point, but have room for only a few. Let us first reason a moment. God is merciful, long-suffering, not willing that any should perish; hence he always warns the wicked of coming judgments in sufficient time for them to repent and escape them if they will. He loves his people, and does nothing without revealing it to them. Did God warn the world in the days of Noah? So, then, he will here. Christ says, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24: 37. Did God warn the Sodomites? Did he warn the men of Nineveh? Did John the Baptist give a warning message before the first advent? Did Jesus warn them of the fall of Jerusalem? How much more reasonable, then, that there should be a warning here. Did the righteous know when the flood was to come? when Sodom was to fall? when the Jews were to come out of Egypt? when Nineveh was to be overthrown? when Christ was to come the first time? Then will they know in regard to his second advent. Nothing is more reasonable and just than this conclusion. But let us hear the word of the Lord:
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2: 1. What is the day of the Lord? It is when the Lord comes, as will be seen by the following texts: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Pet. 3: 10. This shows that the day of the Lord is when all things shall end. This is the time of which the prophet speaks:
“For the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand.” This fact is further confirmed by the language of verses 10, 11: “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
Having shown what the subject is, now look at the prophecy: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion.” This was always done to warn the people of some important event. “Sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.” This shows that it is some awful event that is just pending. What is it? When is this warning to be given, this alarm to be sounded? “For the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Then when the day of the Lord is drawing near, is even nigh at hand, then is the time that this prophecy must be fulfilled. Will not God see that it is fulfilled? He certainly will, if he has to raise up men from the very stones to do it; and when it is thus fulfilled, what will the world hear? They will hear the blowing of the trumpet and sounding of the alarm here predicted.
Compare this with Isaiah 40: 3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Here was a prophecy given 700 years before Christ. Age after age rolled on, and no one came up to fulfill it. By-and-by, in the wilderness of Judea, is heard the voice of a humble man proclaiming this very message. The proper time had come. God, who very jealously guards the fulfillment of his word, raised up a man to accomplish it. So it must be with regard to this prophecy relating to the end. When the day of the Lord is nigh at hand, God will lay the burden of his work upon those
D. M. CARRIGHT.
(To be Continued.)
The Second Advent.
By James White
WHAT IS MEANT BY “THIS GENERATION.”
The time of Christ’s coming is near. The signs of his second advent in the sun, moon and stars, have been fulfilled. He is near, even at the doors. The Coming One has said, Matt. 24:34, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled.” Those who suppose that our Lord here speaks of the generation then living, who listened to his teachings, should consider the following facts:—
1. It is certainly true that what is embraced in the phrase, “all these things,” was not fulfilled in that generation. The darkening of the sun and the moon, and the falling of the stars, mentioned by our Lord, did not occur in that generation.
2. It could not be the generation living in the days of his flesh, for he said to them (Luke 11:29), “There shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” It is evident that our Lord refers to the generation who were to see the signs fulfilled, and who were to be instructed by the parable of the fig-tree. In this prophetic discourse, he leads the minds of his disciples down over the events of the Christian age, mentions the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which were to appear in the last generation, and then declares that this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. In like manner, Paul carries his brethren forward to the resurrection, when he says, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” 1 Cor. 15:51, 52. Or, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thess. 4:17. The things here mentioned by the apostle did not take place in his day. They have not yet taken place. He speaks of them, however, as though they would take place in his day, and he have a part in them.
Also in like manner is the mind carried backward in Ps. 95:10: “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation.” The generation here spoken of provoked the Lord in the wilderness long before David lived. He goes back and speaks of it as though it were present. In this manner our Lord goes forward, and speaks of the last generation as though it were present.
We do not believe that the phrase, “this generation,” marks any definite number of years. Some suppose that our Lord designed to teach that some who were witnesses of the dark day in 1780 would live to witness the second coming of the Saviour. But it is our opinion that the Lord designed to teach that the people who should live at the time of the fulfilment of the last sign (the falling stars of 1833), and should hear the proclamation of the coming of Christ, based partly upon the fulfilled signs, should witness the scenes connected with his coming.
The proclamation of the coming and kingdom of Christ is given to the last generation. God did not send Noah to preach to the next to the last generation before the flood, but to the last. The very generation which was destroyed by the waters of the flood, saw Noah build the ark, and heard his warning voice. So God has raised up men to give the solemn warning to the world at the right time to give force to the warning. And the very generation of men that live after the three great signs are fulfilled, and who hear and reject the warning message from Heaven, will drink the cup of the unmingled wrath of God. For such, the seven last plagues are reserved. And those of this very generation who receive the message, suffer disappointments, and endure the trials of the waiting position, will witness the coming of Christ, and exclaim, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.” Isa. 25:9.
With what emphasis our Lord gave utterance to this sentiment. It is a rebuke upon our unbelief. As we read it, God help us to believe it: “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”
And as though this were not enough to lead us to unwavering faith, he adds these forcible words: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
Then follows, in the same chapter, the usual earnest exhortation of Christ, when speaking of his second coming, to watchfulness and a readiness for the event. “Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and 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.”
One of the fatal consequences of not watching is distinctly stated in Rev. 3:3: “If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” The consequence of not watching will be ignorance of the time. And the natural inference is unavoidable that the result of watching will be a knowledge of the time. In answer to the agonizing prayer of the Son of God, “Father, glorify thy name.” there came a voice from Heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The disciples understood these words from Heaven, while the people that stood by said it thundered. John 12:27–29. So will the waiting, watching disciples of Christ understand the voice of God when he shall speak from on high. But the unbelieving world will not understand this voice. “The wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:10.
J. W.
How to Do It.
By William C. White
The question has long stood unsolved: How can we, as publishers, favor those who read the SIGNS but through carelessness or lack of ready cash have fallen behind in their subscription, without doing injustice to ourselves and to another class of subscribers who expect the paper only for the time subscribed, and feel offended if it is sent longer, thus bringing them in debt to us!
If we cut off delinquents without notice, some will be justly offended, and where so large a proportion of our subscribers are furnished by Tract Societies we cannot send out a publisher's notice without offending many who have received the SIGNS from friends, and therefore do not feel responsible to the publishers. We therefore adopt the following plan:
We ask all our Tract and Missionary Societies to act as agents for the SIGNS, not only in getting new subscribers but in soliciting renewals, and in stopping papers not wanted. If the societies will act with us in this matter we will furnish, at the first of each month, a complete list of all whose subscriptions end during that month. These lists will be sent to the State Secretary, who should at once put them into the hands of the officer in whose district the person may reside. In the case of scattered individuals, out of reach of personal visits from members, the Secretary, or other officers as he may appoint, should send them a card or letter.
In many cases where the SIGNS has been received, and a partial interest aroused in its truths, a friendly letter from a missionary member, or a personal call if it is possible, would turn the scale and bring the readers into connection with the society, and under the influence of our religious publications, which might result, as it has with hundreds of others, in their conversion. On the other hand, an unceremonious discontinuance of the paper or a publisher's notice at this time, might break off all connection, and thus the previous work of the society would be lost. Care should be exercised that these visits create kindly relations, and that the letters encourage friendly correspondence. Here may be the missionary's harvest.
We shall ask the Tract Society to take the responsibility of saying who shall have and who shall not have the SIGNS continued after the expiration of subscriptions. If worthy persons want the paper, can pay for it, but not at present, and the society will be responsible for them, we will put them on a credit list. This credit list we will send to the State Secretaries once in three months for revision.
We shall throw no debt for delinquents upon the societies, only as it may assume the responsibility of sending papers on credit. We have not suggested the above plan to save ourselves from labor, but because it opens a door for missionary work which has in some States, and must wherever tried, result in much good.
Try it brethren, if necessary, as Bro. Van Horn has done. With a large and widely scattered list, he sent a card to all whom he could not visit. In return, some sharp rebuffs were received, some wrote indifferently, while a few others confessed an interest in the truth awakened by reading the SIGNS, which interest had deepened into conviction and conversion. Try it brethren, and see how it will work.
W. C. WHITE.
Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER II.—CONTINUED.
VERSES 31–35. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Nebuchadnezzar, according to the Chaldean religion, was an idolater. An image was an object which would at once command his attention and respect. Moreover, earthly kingdoms, which, as we shall hereafter see, were represented by this image, were objects of esteem and value in his eyes. With a mind unenlightened by the light of revelation, he was unprepared to put a true estimate upon earthly wealth and glory, and to look upon earthly governments in their true light. Hence the striking harmony between the estimate which he puts upon these things, and the object by which they were symbolized before him. To him they were presented under the form of a great image, an object in his eyes of respect and admiration. With Daniel the case was far different; and to him these same earthly kingdoms were afterward shown under the form of cruel and ravenous wild beasts.
But how admirably adapted was this representation to convey a great and needful truth to the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. Besides delineating the progress of events through the whole course of time, for the benefit of his people, God would show Nebuchadnezzar the utter emptiness and worthlessness of earthly pomp and glory; and how could this be more impressively done than by an image commencing with the most precious of metals, and continually descending to the base, till we finally have the coarsest and crudest of metals, iron, mingled with the miry clay; then dashed to pieces, and made like the empty chaff, no good thing in it, but altogether lighter than vanity; and finally blown away where no place could be found for it; after which something durable and of heavenly worth occupies its place. So would God show to the children of men, that earthly kingdoms were to pass away, and earthly greatness and glory, like a gaudy bubble, would break and vanish; and the kingdom of God, in the place so long usurped by these, should be set up to have no end, and all who had an interest therein, should rest under the shadow of its peaceful wings forever and ever. But this is anticipating.
VERSES 36–38. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Now opens one of the sublimest chapters of human history. Eight short verses of the inspired record tell the whole story; yet that story embraces the history of this world’s pomp and power. A few moments will suffice to commit it to memory, yet the period which it covers, dating from twenty-four centuries in the past, reaches on down past the rise and fall of kingdoms, past the setting up and overthrow of empires, past cycles and ages, past our own day over into the eternal state. It is so comprehensive that it embraces all this; yet it is so minute that it gives us all the great outlines of earthly kingdoms from that time to this. Human wisdom never devised so brief a record which embraced so much. Human language never set forth, in fewer words, a greater volume of historical truth. The finger of God is here. Let us heed the lesson well.
With what interest, as well as astonishment, must the king have listened to the words of the prophet, as he informed him that he, or rather his kingdom, the king being put for his kingdom, was the golden head of the great and terrible image which he had seen. Ancient kings were grateful for success; and in cases of prosperity, the tutelar deity to whom they attributed their success, was to them the adorable object upon which they would lavish their richest treasures, and bestow their best devotions. Daniel indirectly informs the king that in his case all these are due to the God of Heaven, since he is the one who has given him his kingdom, and made him ruler over all. This would restrain him from the pride of thinking that he had attained his position by his own power and wisdom, and would enlist the gratitude of his heart toward the true God.
The Babylonish Empire, this head of gold, was founded by Belesis, the Baladan of Scripture, B. C. 747. It arose from the ancient Assyrian Empire, founded by Nimrod, Gen. 10: 9, 10, which had governed Asia for about thirteen hundred years. It reached the summit of its glory under Nebuchadnezzar, who added to his original dominions the provinces of Asia Minor, Phoenicia, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. These, with the empire of Babylon proper, embraced all the then known world of any national influence or power, which constituted this the first universal empire. In 667, B. C., it became connected with the people of God by the capture of Manasseh, king of Judah, and is at this point introduced into prophecy.
The character of this empire is indicated by that portion of the image by which it was symbolized—the head of gold. It was the golden kingdom of a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, towered far above all its later rivals. Situated in the garden of the East, laid out in a perfect square sixty miles in circumference, fifteen miles on each side, surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic capacity with the walls, divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, each eighteen furlongs in circumference, by its fifty streets, each one hundred and fifty feet in width, crossing each other at right angles, twenty-five each way, every one straight and level, and fifteen miles in length; its two hundred and twenty-five square miles of enclosed surface, divided as just described, and laid out in luxuriant pleasure grounds and gardens, interspersed with magnificent dwellings—this city, with its sixty miles of moat, its sixty miles of outer wall, its thirty miles of river wall through its center, its hundred and fifty gates of solid brass, its hanging gardens, rising terrace above terrace, till they equaled in height the walls themselves, its temple of Belus, three miles in circumference, its two kingly palaces, one three and a half, and the other eight miles in circumference, with its subterranean tunnel under the river Euphrates connecting these two palaces, its perfect arrangements for convenience, ornament, and defense, and its unlimited resources—this city containing in itself many things which were themselves wonders of the world, was itself another and still mightier wonder. Never before saw the earth a city like that; never since has it seen its equal. And there, with the whole earth prostrate at his feet, it sat, a queen in peerless grandeur, “the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” fit capital of that kingdom which constituted the golden head of this great historic image.
Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, youthful, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne, when Daniel entered its impregnable walls to serve a captive for seventy years in its gorgeous palaces. There, the children of the Lord, oppressed more than cheered by the glory and prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps on the willows of the sparkling Euphrates, and wept when they remembered Zion. And there commenced the captive state of the church in a still broader sense; for, ever since that time, the people of God have been in subjection to, and more or less oppressed by, earthly powers. And so they will be, till earthly powers shall give way to Him whose right it is to reign. And lo! the day of deliverance draws on apace. Into another city, not only Daniel, but all the children of God, from least to greatest, from first to last, are soon to enter; a city not merely sixty miles in circumference, but fifteen hundred miles; a city whose walls are not brick and bitumen, but precious stones and jasper; whose streets are not the stone-paved streets of Babylon, smooth and handsome as they were, but transparent gold; whose river is not the mournful waters of the Euphrates, but the river of life; whose music is not the sighs and laments of the broken-hearted captives, but the thrilling paeans of victory61over death and the grave, which ransomed multitudes shall raise; whose light is not the intermittent light of earth, but the unceasing and ineffable glory of God and the Lamb. Into this city they shall enter, not as captives entering a foreign land, but as exiles returning to their father’s house; not as to a place where the chilling words of bondage, servitude, and oppression, shall weigh down their spirits, but where the sweet words, home, freedom, peace, purity, unutterable bliss, and unending life, shall thrill their bosoms with delight forever and ever. Yea, our mouths shall be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, when the Lord turns again the captivity of Zion. Ps. 126: 1, 2. U. S.
(To be Continued.)
Faith, and the Oppositions of Science.
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
PAUL exhorted Timothy to avoid “oppositions of science falsely so called.” 1 Tim. 6:20. The word here rendered science is that which is generally rendered knowledge in the New Testament. By this we understand that some will oppose the truth of God’s Word under pretence of possessing knowledge superior to that which may be obtained from the Holy Scriptures. Perhaps in no age has this been fulfilled to a greater extent than at the present. The Greeks or Gentiles counted the preaching of Christ and him crucified, foolishness, and so they rejected the gospel. But infidelity has taken another stand in these last days. Under the guise of “science” it has taken the Bible into its own hands for safe keeping, and arrogates the right to give the real meaning of its truths as explained, modified, or corrected, by the opinions of scientific men, and if, as is frequently the case, a conflict arises between the Word of God and human deductions, the Bible is set aside to make room for false “philosophy and vain deceit.” All philosophy is found to be false and vain which contradicts the plain statements of the Holy Scriptures.
And learned men in the church, professing great reverence for the Scriptures, have so far bowed the knee to this scientific Baal as to adopt a system of interpretation called that of “accommodation,” in which it is assumed that the Bible speaks of things, not as they are, but, as they appear to be, while science shows them as they actually are; and then they suppose they have relieved the matter of all difficulty, and rescued the Scriptures from the reproach of science, by admitting the claims of scientific opposers and showing how the Scriptures may be made to harmonize with their deductions. But they have cut the knot instead of untying it. They have not rescued the Scriptures at all, but have really placed the plain word of the Bible at the mercy of every scientific pretender.
The true ground of difference between faith and scientific deduction was well stated by Sylvester Bliss, in his “Review of Prof. Bush on the Resurrection”:—
“Prof. Bush contends that “The results to which reason is brought in its researches, in many of the departments of science, may be regarded as certain”—as “demonstrated truths;” and refers to the sciences of astronomy and geology, and the discoveries therein, as evidence. We are not disposed to controvert the proposition thus laid down. But the question is, whether this is a subject purely scientific. It was long since asked, ‘If a man die shall he live again?’ and all the philosophy in the world could furnish no answer. It was acknowledged that there is ‘hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again;’ but man’s resurrection could only be known by faith in the Word of God. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body is unaffected by this proposition, unless an event, dependent only upon the fiat of the Almighty, is to be determined by the deductions of science.
“But as One, who sees the end from the beginning, controls every minute particular in view of any desired result which He may wish to produce, we have no cause to fear that any obstacles will chance to arise to thwart his purposes. There will, therefore, be no natural, physical, or philosophical reasons to oppose what inspiration has affirmed. Consequently, if the Scriptures assure us that the man who dies will live again, it will be even so—true philosophy and true faith will alike receive it.
“Before we leave the argument from reason, we trust we shall be pardoned in making a few observations on the nature of faith. It is believing what the Scriptures assert, because they assert it. It is not hope; nor is it knowledge. That which can be demonstrated and seen, is no longer a subject of faith. Therefore, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Our faith is tested when a plain Scriptural statement is presented for our belief. If we can believe it because it is there recorded, we exercise true faith in God’s Word. But if we believe it because it is in accordance with the deductions of science, then we do not believe it because the Bible asserts it. How do we believe “that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”? It must be by faith in God’s Word, or by the deductions of philosophy. Is there anything in the whole circle of the sciences to teach the creation of the world? No, nothing. Then it is by faith alone that we understand it. We believe it because the Bible teaches it. The same is true of the flood.—There is nothing in philosophy to explain how the waters could cover the tops of the highest mountains. Looking to philosophy alone, the most profound philosopher would decide to the contrary. How then can we believe it? By faith in the Word of God. But if Professor Bush should subject those and kindred events to the same rule by which he judges of the resurrection of the dead, he would reject them as ‘unintelligible ideas.’ Now if we could not believe what the Bible asserts because the Bible asserts it, and must first submit our faith to the test of philosophy, and then if philosophy indicated that obstacles might arise, be obliged to modify our faith to square with our philosophy, we should accuse no one of doing us injustice who should intimate that we had more confidence in the deductions of science than in the Word of God. We cannot therefore refrain from asking whether Noah would have prepared an ark for the saving of his house, whether Abraham would have ‘hoped against hope,’ or whether Moses would have ventured across the Red Sea at the parting of the waters, if they had been schooled in Professor Bush’s philosophy? And we would most respectfully inquire of Professor Bush, whether, with his views, had he been called as either of those were, he would not have seen ‘difficulties’ ‘absolutely insuperable’ against the fulfillment of those predictions, so that his ‘Philosophy’ would ‘be slow to receive them;’
“All the miracles recorded in the Scriptures might be disproved by such rules of interpretation. And those who have carried them out have argued, that Abraham only dreamed he must offer up Isaac; that when Jacob’s sinew shrank, it was the result of rheumatism; that the thunderings and lightnings on Mount Sinai at the giving of the “law,” were only the result of an accidental thunder-storm; that when Christ walked on the water, he waded as far as he could, and then swam; that the out-pouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was an accidental gust of wind that struck the house and electrified the disciples; that on Peter’s reproof, Ananias only fell down by fright, and was carried out and buried alive, or as Heinrichs says, that Peter stabbed him, &c., &c.
Now these are not merely suppositions, but they are the actual interpretations given of those texts, by such men as Eichhorn, Ammon, Thiess, and other German advocates of scriptural ‘Accommodation,’ and who would be astonished at the bigotry of any who should question their Christianity, or reverence for the Scriptures.
Now if we can believe nothing but what is intelligible, we shall be constrained to believe that those who reject what they cannot reconcile with philosophy, have more regard for philosophy than for the declarations of inspiration.
And yet such may honestly believe that they ‘yield to no man living in sentiments of profound reverence for the oracles of Scripture.’ ”
All believers in the “literal interpretation” of the Bible must agree with William Bliss that that which may be demonstrated is not a matter of faith. As “hope that is seen is not hope,” even so, faith that is seen or demonstrated is not faith. And we are inclined to think that those learned men, who, out of regard for the safety of the Bible, have tried to accommodate its history to the claims of geology, have done more to undermine faith in it as a book of authority than have any other class. All their efforts are in mistaken kindness. Neither Christ nor his apostles thought it becoming to yield to the claims of professed science, but left all with “the Scriptures and the power of God.” “By faith”—not by scientific data—“we understand that God made the world.”