When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the Holy Place, (whoso readeth, let him understand): then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. Verses 15–20.
The Saviour here reverts to the destruction of Jerusalem and instructs the disciples what to do in that event. The “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel, refers to the Roman armies that “encompassed” the city at the siege by Titus, A. D. 70, which resulted in its downfall. Luke 21:20–24. Nothing could be more distasteful or disgusting to the Jewish people than the desecration of the temple and its holy precincts, by pagan, Roman soldiery, and the planting there of their standards—symbols of idolatry—and so an abomination unto the Lord, also in what was to them the most sacred part of the Holy City. The condition and practices of the doomed people, as described by Josephus, is a horrible fulfilment of the intensified suffering suggested in verse 19.
Jesus’ Care for the Sabbath.
But observe how mindful Jesus was of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment; first, that the Father’s commandments might not be broken, and second, that His followers through fear of the violation might be tempted to remain and so miss an opportunity for escape. Verse 20. See, too, the tender care the Master has for those He loves, as manifested by His warning to shun the great suffering incident to a forced flight in winter, which is very severe in the mountains.
“For then shall be
Great Tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And, except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Verses 21, 22. It is evident that verse 19 refers to the suffering during the siege by the Romans, as does Luke 21:23 and the first clause of verse 24, the last clause reading, “And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Jerusalem is still being “trodden down of the Gentiles,” the times of the Gentiles are not fulfilled nor will they be until the last sinner is saved for the kingdom. Again, Luke, in verse 26, refers to the troubles of the last days, including the seven last plagues. Matt. 24:21, 22 not only refers to the pagan and papal persecutions (whose continuance was shortened for the elect’s sake), but the words, “nor ever shall be” indicates an ultra degree and time of suffering, and one’s natural conception of the seven last plagues—judging from the scriptures describing them—is that they would bring in a time of suffering and horror far in excess of anything that occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem, or even during the 1260 years of papal dominancy. See Revelation 16 and Dan. 12:1. The Saviour’s recent reference to Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 9:27) and the almost identical language to Dan. 12:1, in Matt. 24:21 makes this more apparent.
Thus in terse and direct language, tho grouping the several events differently, Jesus, the prophets, and apostles warn us of the various epochs of distress and suffering that mankind was to experience till Christ came to deliver His own.
False Christs a Sign of the End.
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Verses 23, 24. Here our Saviour brings to view another epoch of false christs and false prophets, following the period of papal persecution.
A peculiar and significant characteristic of this influx of deceivers is their power of5showing “great signs and wonders.” Preceding imposters, tho they deceived many thousands and some millions, and caused their destruction, performed no miracles.
Now in the earth’s last generation come christs and prophets, able to deceive by the miracles which they have power to perform. These are here: one Sweinfurth, of Illinois, claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ, and deceived many. And one, Schlatter, of Colorado, claimed to be the Christ. This latter performed many cures. But it is not our purpose to describe these imposters and their work in detail at this time, but to call attention to them, for they are well known.
Modern theology teaches that Christ comes every time a Christian dies. And by every rule of analogy, if this be true (and it is not), then the devil comes every time a sinner dies. In spiritistic manifestations Satan appears as Christ in the secret chambers. But the “elect” are not deceived, for the Master says, “Believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Verse 27. Vivid, brilliant, flashing, glorious brightness, the lightnings of the heavens are an apt illustration of the “brightness of His coming.” 2 Thess. 2:8. “For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” Verse 28. Where will this be? ask the disciples. Luke 17:37. The Saviour’s answer indicates that it is a world-wide event. Job says, “Where the slain are there is she” (the eagle), and the Lord in that day invites all the fowls that fly in the air to feast themselves upon the slain of the Lord. Eze. 39:17–20; Rev. 19:17, 18; Jer. 25:31–33.
The second coming of Christ is the culmination of all these things. And the fowls of the air are invited to the “supper of the great God.” Thus Jesus made the last great gathering of the nations to war one of the last signs which immediately precede His “standing at the door.”
Signs in Sun, Moon, and Stars.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Verse 29. Here Jesus, after detailing various events reaching from the time of the papal persecution down to His second coming, turns back again to the time that persecution ended, 1778, and takes up another series that were to mark time down to His coming.
There are so many authentic historical records of the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars that I will not give them here; but I will give a chain of traditional testimony which I believe to be true because I believe the veracity of my parents and grandparents as conscientious servants of God, whom I expect to meet at His appearing.
I have listened to many stories, anecdotes, and details—as observed and understood in those times—of the darkening of the sun in “his going forth” (Isa. 13:10), on the morning of May 19, 1780, followed in the evening of the same day by darkness so dense that both man and beast feared to move. As one said, it “seemed as if all the lights in the universe were put out” (Eze. 32:7, 8; Joel 3:15), and this was “immediately [about two years] after the tribulation of those days” (Matt. 24:29), for the period of persecution noted here ended in 1778. My parents, born in 1808 and married in 1832, were eye-witnesses of the phenomenon of the falling stars of 1833. My father was a newly ordained Baptist minister at that time, and gave the strength and energy of his young manhood to the cause of Christ. They often recited the story of the glorious and awe-inspiring circumstances of that event.
No Peace Till Christ Shall Come.
We note here that the next event recorded by Matthew is the shaking of the “powers of the heavens,” which is yet in the very near future. However, Luke fills in the time between the falling of the stars (see also Rev. 6:12, 13) and the shaking of the powers of the heavens, with—“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.” Luke 21:25, 26.
Comment on these words is unnecessary for the close observer of events that are occurring daily. But for the careless and indifferent we call attention to the distrust and very evident mistrust, and ill-concealed hatred existing among the nations, which is fast drawing them to that “last great battle” and the “feast of the fowls.” Peace has forever taken her flight from this earth, and never again will she know peace or freedom from the evils that now beset her till the “Prince of Peace” shall come to reign.
History does not record for all time previous a tithe of the fearful disasters that have taken place in the last generation, and are now of hourly occurrence. And these comprise the whole category of famines, pestilences, earthquakes, cyclones, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, epidemics of disease, and scourge of plagues, disaster on land and sea, wonderful and fearful things in the heavens and in the earth, and greater evils yet to follow. Revelation 16. Who, then, can abide His fierce anger? Nahum 1:6. The Lord will be the “hope of His people.” Joel 3:16. All these are landmarks along the world’s highway warning us of the nearness of that great cataclysm of destruction that soon shall overspread the earth, even while the cry of “peace and safety” is still going forth.
The Sign of the Son of Man.
When the “powers of the heavens” are shaken the “heavens shall be rolled back like a scroll,” and the earth moved out of her place. The kings of the earth and the mighty men shall mourn and seek safety where there is none. Isa. 13:13; 34:4; Rev. 6:14. “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:30. The sign of the Son of Man is a cloud, evidently, from the language used here and in other scriptures. It will be seen by all the earth at a great distance and for a sufficient length of time, for “all the tribes of the earth to mourn” because of His coming. Then as the cloud nears the earth, it is seen to be clouds and the Son of Man with them. The clouds with which He comes are the angels of heaven. Acts 1:9–11; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Matt. 25:31.
This fact is more apparent when we consider the language of verse 31: “And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 1 Thess. 4:14–18; Mark 13:27. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see these things, know that it [margin He] is near, even at the doors.” Verses 32, 33. In verse 36 He tells us that neither man nor angels know the day or hour, but here He gives us plain, unmistakable data of His very near approach—“even at the doors.” And He says, “Watch, therefore.” Why?—Because if we knew exactly the hour we could get ready on schedule time and would not have need to watch.
The Last Generation.
In verses 42–44 this is made so plain that no one can have excuse for being unprepared. Then to emphasize all that He has just said, He says: “Verily [most surely] I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall NOT PASS AWAY.” Verse 34. “This generation” undoubtedly means the generation which would witness the last series of events that were to come upon the earth just prior to His coming.
So everything in the prophecy and everything in the record of its fulfilment points to the fact that the generation that began with the falling of the stars will witness the full consummation of the Saviour’s words. Having led His disciples by this line of study down to the actual time of His coming, and emphatically witnessing to the unfailing surety of His words, He tells them of additional conditions that would obtain in the last days. In verses 37–39 He likens our time unto Noah’s, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Verses 40, 41.
In this language the Lord brings to our view the work of the investigative judgment, incidentally showing that however intimate and close the relationship, or bond of common interests or affection, the separation means eternal life to the one and eternal destruction to the other. Some quibblers contend that this scripture does not apply to our time because there are no “women grinding at the mill” nowadays.
The fact is, that upon our own continent of America are women grinding at the same primitive mills in use at our Saviour’s time, and, further, the same primitive methods of work are in use to-day in different parts of our earth that were in vogue four thousand years ago. So, bearing the moral aspect, if you please, the literal, material conditions of Noah’s time exist in our day. In verses 45–47 He tells us of the faithful and wise servant and his rewards for giving “meat in due season,” and this giving of meat in “due season” must mean the giving of a faithful warning to this generation, to which the Lord is coming, and teaching them how to prepare for His coming, and to escape the awful punishments that are soon coming upon the earth—aye, that are now already being seen in the earth.
In verses 48 and 49 He tells us of the wicked servant who says in his heart, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” We have heard verbatim the following: “The Lord is a long time coming;” “I don’t believe He will ever come;” and, “The world has stood millions of years, and will stand millions of years longer,” etc.—Ad lib. See 2 Tim. 3:1–5; 2 Peter 3:3–14. In verse 49 Jesus gives us a view of the condition of worldliness into which the popular teachers of a worldly church have fallen, and tho this servant speaks no word of his faithless creed, his acts proclaim that in his “heart” he says, “My Lord delayeth His coming.”
Only Two Classes.
Verses 50 and 51 give final warning to all of the sudden, unexpected coming of the Lord—to those who are not watching for His coming—and the punishments that will surely be meted out to those who reject God’s truth, that6 (134)they may indulge in the world’s hypocrisies.
The end is gloriously near for some and dangerously near for others. The heavens and the earth are full of signs that unerringly point to the coming of the Lord. The present silence of the nations is ominous as an indication of the awful strain upon the leash that now holds them in restraint. We will very soon witness the breaking of the comity of nations; then will the end come rapidly. But the students of God’s Word, in faith believing the warnings given by God’s holy prophets, look forward to the soon coming of Jesus, our Lord, with joy, and by His life within them they are prepared to stand in that time of trial when old earth herself shall be broken and desolate because her inhabitants have broken God’s laws. Isa. 24:1–6. They shall not fear, for “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.” Ps. 91:1, 2. Are you one of these?
J. B. COGSWELL.
Minneapolis, Minn.
AN OBJECT LESSON.
By G.
WHEN Moses was born he was confronted with a decree demanding his death. The king had issued a mandate that all the male children born to the Hebrews should be put to death at the birth. But Moses was saved through faith. The record says: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.” Heb. 11:23. So the faith of the parents served for the child while it was not sufficiently mature to exercise faith for itself. And Moses was saved by means of an ark of bulrushes. It was a frail little thing, but its construction and use was an act of faith. By this work “was faith made perfect,” as when Abraham offered his son Isaac. James 2:21, 22.(135)
Now this preservation of Moses is an illustration of the Gospel of Christ. We are all born into condemnation, under sentence of death. By one man came sin into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men. Rom. 5:12. And as Moses was preserved by the grace of God through faith, by means of an ark, so we are saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8), and Jesus Christ is our ark of safety.
G.
PROPHECY AND THE SABBATH.
SATAN has plotted shrewdly in the theological and religious world. He could not check the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but he divided its forces. Still, faith in the Bible as the book of God held. Then he brought in evolution, and later, higher criticism. By the former the creative power of God becomes a matter of slow growth, the development of millions of ages; and by the latter the Bible is a compilation of myths, allegories, legends, traditions, and superstitions, containing good instruction morally, but better fitted for a less enlightened age. Thus we are told.
Under these influences the Sabbath as a divine supply for man's moral, social, and religious need is not recognized. Its divine origin is set aside as mythical legend. Its divine spiritual rest is utterly lost sight of. It has come to mean an arbitrary day of man's decision, and as Sunday is kept by the vast majority, that is the day for all regardless of the teaching of the Bible. The disciples of evolution and higher criticism would make it a social, non-work, semi-religious day, supported by church sentiment, and, having in itself no moral worth, amply supported by civil law.
There are still honest hearts in the various churches who believe in a Sabbath with Bible sanction. They believe in a vague sort of way that Sunday has this, and that in view of its “desecration” it ought to be enforced by civil law. But this class is dependent upon the “scientific” religionists to secure and enforce laws, and hence compromise their faith to that end.
To forestall all this God gave His prophetic word, His “more sure word of prophecy,” “declaring the end from the beginning,” revealing the apostasy to come which would endeavor to wrest the Sabbath from the Decalogue, and would seem to accomplish its purpose. That Word clearly points out the subtle evils which would destroy faith in God and His Book; and, to leave men without excuse, it predicted from eighteen to twenty-six hundred years ago that in these days there would be reform on God’s law respecting the Sabbath. One of these predictions is found in the following passage from the great Gospel prophet:—
“Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.”
“Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.” Isa. 8:16–18.
Taking occasion from the confederacy by which Israel hoped to withstand the king of Assyria, the Lord gives the prophet a view of the last days of the Christian dispensation. The same principles which were applicable then are applicable now. That was spoken to Ahaz and Israel then, but it is written for us who live now. The Spirit of God also applies it to this dispensation. Verse 13 of the above is quoted in 1 Peter 3:15; verses 14, 15 are referred to in Luke 2:34; Rom. 9:33; and 1 Peter 2:8, and elsewhere, and applied to Christ Jesus; “My disciples” in verse 16 has direct reference to the followers of the divine-human Jesus; verse 18 is quoted in Heb. 2:13; and verse 17 has especial reference to the second coming of our Lord when His people will be waiting and watching for Him. 1 Thess. 1:10.
Association in Wrong.
How applicable it is now as applied to men's attitude toward God's law. Many, conscientiously, no doubt, believe in the substitute which apostasy has foisted upon the church, the pagan-papal sun's day, “the wild, solar holiday of all pagan times,” in the place of the Sabbath of the Lord, aye, of the Lord Jesus Christ. To enforce it legislation is demanded. To induce legislation all denominations are confederating, Catholic and Protestant, Unitarian and Orthodox, Episcopal and Congregational, with wholly secular organizations. All this to uphold a man-made institution. It will not work. No association is strong against God. His disciples, the few and weak, are more mighty through Him than all the earth beside. And therefore God appeals to His people not to confederate, not to walk in the way of those who were thus doing.
There is but one way to do God's work. Human law and force will not accomplish it. We appreciate the effort that many are putting forth to suppress drunkenness, gambling, rioting, the effort and legislation for which largely centers around the Sunday question. The power of a backslidden church will not check the tide of evil, and they know it; but they do not see that form without the life is mockery.
The Reform Needed.
The Lord presents the only source of help, the only true basis of reform. The source of help is Jehovah of hosts. Sanctify, set apart, Him; not in secular statute, not in man-made substitutes, but in your heart. Let Him be your fear. Let the wrath which comes from transgressed law be your dread. Make Him supreme in heart and church. Let all else sink out of sight. And then from all coming ills “He shall be a sanctuary,” a hiding-place, a holy refuge. He will also be a stumbling-stone, but only to the transgressor. The first house stumbled at Him because they kept the right Sabbath in the wrong way. John 5:10–16, et al. The second house of Israel—the present people of God—are stumbling at Him because they keep the wrong Sabbath instead of the right. And because of it many will be snared with the last-day delusions, and be taken captive of the enemy.
That this is evident the following verse shows: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law [not among unbelievers, not among the Jews as such, but] among My [Christ’s] disciples.” The testimony, God’s witness against sin, the Decalogue (Ex. 32:15), has been unbound among God’s people; they have lost regard for its holy character, as set forth in the life of Christ Jesus, and they have done this in respect to that very precept which points out who the Creator is, and hence the only One who can redeem, namely, the Fourth Commandment. (See the article on “The Seal of the Living God,” page 3.) To this God’s people are called in this time of waiting; and those who will allow that work to be wrought in their hearts, who will let the Spirit of God write the whole law upon their hearts, including the sign between Himself and His people (Eze. 20:12, 20), those who will thus sanctify the Lord of hosts will find no call, no desire, for religious legislation. The power of God’s living Word will be all-sufficient.
CHANGED BY BEHOLDING.
By Edison Driver
WHAT a grand thought it is that we are changed by the good we see and admire in things and people around us. We can not look with approval on loveliness or nobility of any kind, without some act or expression of ours bearing witness to a wonderful change.
There was once an artist who painted faces so full of sweetness and purity that he easily surpassed his fellows in wealth and fame. They admired his work, studied it, copied it; but the pure, refined expression would not come for them. Why was it? Did they not have the fairest models in all Paris to work from? Were not their colors just as bright and clear as his? Were their hands not trained to an accuracy that was marvelous? Still their pictures were simply common, and the prices they brought discouragingly low.
One evening, as one of these men and the successful artist sat in the latter’s studio, a young girl came in to announce that supper was ready. The evening light, flooding through the windows, fell on her face—a face of singular beauty, and the artist visitor was not slow to note the effect. A look of astonishment crept over his own face. He looked from the child to the great picture on the easel, and there he saw reflected something of that child’s countenance. Instantly the riddle was solved. He had learned the secret. Unconsciously, by beholding and loving that little one, the father’s hand had grown skilled in portraying the love and purity reflected there.
What a beautiful thought! By beholding the lovely we weave golden threads of loveliness into our own work; by looking to the strong and the good, our lives grow in strength and goodness; and last and greatest thought of all, by beholding the glory of the Lord we “are transformed into the same image.”
EDISON DRIVER.
Thoughts as Friends and Enemies
THOUGHTS may be classified as friends and enemies. Charitable, inspiring, uplifting thoughts are our friends; and discordant, malicious, life-destroying thoughts are our enemies.—Success.
A Minister’s Care for All Ages
By Benjamin M. Adams
A MINISTER who gives careful attention to children and young people, the old and the sick, is generally wanted as long as the law will permit him to stay in a place.—Benjamin M. Adams.
CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CHRIST.
By S.
It seems a paradox to speak of Christianity without Christ; but the trend of popular religious belief at the present time has brought that phrase into usage. Of course, such “Christianity” is not Christianity at all. It has a form of Christian faith, a husk, a shell; but in that husk is no ear; in that shell is naught of the vital principle of Christianity. Where that should be money is lavished to hide the deficiency, and from the pulpit where Christ and His salvation should be set forth flow eloquent phrases in exaltation of the achievements of man. Instead of the Gospel we hear of social culture and civilization. Repentance has been politely bowed out of the fashionable church. The reward of the wicked is hidden under smooth-flowing phrases, glossing over the great truth of God’s Word that “the soul that sinneth it shall die.”
General Booth’s fear for the religious condition of this generation was of the prevalence of “religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; salvation without regeneration; heaven without hell.” He saw the drift of popular preaching, and has stated the case pretty nearly as it is. Christ asked, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” He indicated by the very question that faith would be anything but prevalent. One of the characteristics of these times was to be a form of religion lacking the principles and power of the Gospel. See 2 Tim. 3:1-7. That is what we are seeing now. Never were there so many churches, never so many preachers, never so many missionaries in foreign lands; and as for luxurious church furnishings, there has never been anything to compare with the present time. The form of religion and of religious things is with us, but with the vast majority only the form—a tenantless shell, soon to be cast aside when the Judge of all the earth shall place upon every soul the stamp of its true value.
The apostle Paul could say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Rom. 1:16. Even the popular preacher of the present day will admit the lack of power to draw men. But the reason for the lack of power lies in that other lack, the lack of the possession of the “everlasting Gospel.” He who fails to see the necessity of repentance and salvation will also fail to see the necessity of the Gospel message, for they are a part of it; and failing in that there is no possibility of power from God. He has not promised any power to any message except the Gospel message. If we are not giving that, we have no claim whatever on any of God’s promises concerning power—there is no power for us. In its absence something must be substituted to draw, and we see it in high-priced pastors, operatic music, expensive pipe organs, salaried choirs, oyster suppers, military organizations, socials, whistling solos, and theatrical performances. Having lost the power to hold hearts while pointing out sin, and therefore not daring to do it, such pastors are following their world-worshiping congregations where they lead the way. Here is the exhortation of one such, delivered in the First Baptist Church of Bayonne recently:—
“We of the twentieth century should not be governed by what a body of men which existed three hundred years ago did or did not do. We are better Christians than the Puritans of old. If you can go to the dance, theater, or card party with the love of God in your heart, why go, and God bless you. It is a shame for anybody to say the stage is crowded with immoral men and women.”
Such words are doubtless effective advertisements for the theater. They are in reality an encouragement to patronize it and the dance and the card party—Satan’s triple alliance for ensnaring the feet and souls of young and old. In view of all this, how pertinent the Saviour’s question, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” That the earth will not be utterly robbed of that virtue is shown by Rev. 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” That will be but a small company as compared with the rest of the world; but it will be a company that has stood loyal to God and His truth through all the whirlwinds of beliefs and unbelief prevalent in the world when Christ returns. In addition to having the faith of Jesus, they are keepers of God’s commandments. The two are inseparable, and there is no promise to any at that time who do not stand with that company. Their Christianity is of the true pattern, and God seals them as His. S.
Question Corner
1326.—Gabriel and the Holy Spirit.
Are you acquainted with any scripture making it evident that Gabriel and the Holy Spirit are one and the same? C. D. S.
No; but we are acquainted with plenty which show to the contrary. The Holy Spirit is the great all-embracing life of God, carrying everywhere all power, and manifesting in various forms God’s presence and power; existing before angels and all other creatures; God’s potent agency in creation. Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30. Gabriel is one of the servants of God, mighty, because of God’s Spirit, but still a servant, limited in his personality and power. Dan. 8:16; 9:21, 22; 10:11–13; Rev. 19:9, 10; 22:8, 9. So in a lesser sense God’s Spirit uses men.
1327.—Three Days and Three Nights.
On what day was Christ crucified? Does the original throw any light on Matt. 12:40? What was the preparation of the Passover? John 19:14. What made that Sabbath a high day? M. T. C.
(1) From all the evidence of scripture it seems that He was crucified the sixth day of the week. Some contend that it was on the fifth day. It is wholly immaterial. Had it been important to salvation, God would certainly have revealed it. There is no such uncertainty concerning the day of the Sabbath. (2) The original of Matt. 12:40 is fairly well expressed. The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament renders as follows: “For even as was Jonas in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, thus shall be the Son of Man in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” The three days and three nights is an idiomatic expression for three days. Frequently in Bible reckoning parts of days are counted as whole days. Were they not counted this way in Jonah’s case? There is no proof either way. Does “the heart of the earth” mean the grave or the power of the Roman empire, Satan’s agency of control in the earth? It is impossible to say. From the words of Jesus in John 12:27, 28 and Luke 22:53, compared with Mark 10:33, 34 and Luke 24:20, 21 it would seem that the three days included His betrayal, His scourging, and all his sufferings from His apprehension in the garden. The betrayal occurring on Fifth day (Thursday), the First day of the week would be “the third day since these things were done.” (3) The preparation of the Passover with its observance is described in Ex. 12:1–28. (4) That Sabbath was a high day because there fell upon it one of the great days of the Passover feast. See Cadman’s “Christ on the Gospels.”
1328.—In Good Standing.
What is a Seventh-day Adventist Church member supposed to do to be in good standing in that denomination? Also should said denomination give a letter of dismissal to any member that is not in good standing? An Inquirer.
Questions of this kind, relating to church discipline should be sent to the Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich. But briefly (1) to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Here are some comprehensive texts to study: Rev. 14:12; 1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 12:1, 2; John 14:6. (2) Surely no church could give a letter stating that a member was in good standing if to the knowledge of that church the member was not in good standing. Every letter of that sort should tell the truth so far as those who give it know.
1329.—Time of Egyptian Plagues.
Is there any record to show the length of time that passed between the plagues that fell on the Egyptians, as recorded in Exodus? T.
This can be ascertained to some extent by the study of the text together with a knowledge of climatic and crop conditions of Palestine. When the plagues began, the Nile must have been high, as the land was soaked with water; the plague of flies when the waters were abating; of storm and tempest upon the growing, early crops; of locusts upon those which revived from the hail and sprang up later. All the cattle of Egypt which were attacked died; that is, such as were in the field. It is reasonable to suppose that many Egyptians gathered their cattle in. And after this plague it is reasonable to suppose that they took of the Israelite’s cattle. The plagues seem to have lasted nearly or quite a round of the seasons.
