Earlier text: THE SECOND ADVENT: The Manner and Object of the Event ConsideredThe Child Shall Die an Hundred Years Old.
By George I. Butler
The prophecy in Isa. 65, where these words occur, has occasioned much comment. Those who believe in the doctrine called “Age to Come,” rely upon this scripture to prove that after Christ’s personal return to this earth, and he has commenced his reign of one thousand years, death will prevail. We propose briefly to examine this chapter and see if any thing in it contradicts our view. We believe that at the second coming of Christ all the living wicked will be slain and all the righteous made immortal. The righteous will ascend to the New Jerusalem, and there reign with Christ during one thousand years, and then the saints, with Christ and the holy city, shall descend to this earth which has lain desolate. The wicked dead shall be raised, and with Satan shall come up around the holy city, and shall be utterly destroyed by fire rained upon them from heaven; this earth shall then be one vast lake of fire, from which God shall bring a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. A few of the scriptures upon which we rely to prove these positions are as follows: Rev. 19:12-21; 20; 21:1-10; Jer. 25:15-33; 4:19-27; Isa. 24; 34; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; Matt. 5:12; John 13:36, with 14:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:7-13. Is there any thing in Isa. 65:17-25, that disproves these positions? It reads as follows: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart [margin]. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree [the tree of life the Septuagint version reads] are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” All will admit that this scripture is intimately connected throughout. It commences with a prophecy of the new heavens and new earth. It next speaks of Jerusalem. From the expression used, it is evident that it is the same Jerusalem brought to view in the last chapters of Revelation. The voice of weeping and crying is no more to be heard. So the beloved disciple says, “Sorrow and crying” shall be no more. Rev. 21:4. The holy mountain of God is in it; verse 25. So we learn in many other scriptures that Mount Zion is in New Jerusalem. It takes place when the people of God have their “rejoicing.” This can but refer to the time when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the people of God, are safe in that “city which hath foundations,” for which they looked, Heb. 11:10, when the “children” rejoice with their “mother.” Gal. 4:26. The sudden change in the first verse of this prophecy, from the new heavens and earth to the New Jerusalem, is suggestive, and helps us to understand the point of time when it meets its fulfillment. Let us go, then, to another scripture, where the same events are recorded with additional particulars. Rev. 21:1, brings to view the new heavens and earth. But previous to this, in chap. 20:9, the apostle sees the holy city and the saints on the earth, when it is very evident the new heavens and earth had not yet come. They are on the earth in connection with the final punishment of the wicked, after the second resurrection has taken place, at the close of the one thousand years. Verses 5, 8, and 9. The presence of the “beloved city,” in which are the saints of God on the earth during the punishment of the wicked and before the new heavens and earth are ushered in, is made necessary, that many scriptures may be fulfilled. Thus, the3 Saviour says, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:28. Also in that remarkable prophecy in Isa. 33:10, speaking of the time when the Lord shall rise up, he speaks of the wicked being as the burnings of lime, and as thorns cut up which are burned in the fire. That class would utterly perish. But, in the 14th verse, he asks the question, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” and answers immediately, “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.” “His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” “Thine heart shall meditate terror.” To my mind it seems very clear that this scripture meets its fulfillment at the same time of which the Saviour speaks, when the wicked see the reward of the righteous and the righteous see the reward of the wicked. The righteous are in a “place of defense.” From what? From the terrible punishment rained upon the heads of the wicked. When they shall be as “thorns cut up,” which shall be “burned in the fire.” “When the sinners in Zion are afraid” and “fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.” The righteous at this time contemplate two things: “Their eyes see the King in his beauty,” their heart “meditates terror.” In the city, Jesus is in his glory; without, is a world on fire. Oh! my soul, what a contrast. Wicked men are consuming as the fat of lambs. Then are the words of the psalmist fulfilled, “When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Ps. 37:34. How plain, then, that the righteous are on the earth within the holy city at a point of time before the destruction of the wicked, and in immediate connection with it, where they can fully behold it. And it is at this point of time that Isa. 65:20, has its fulfillment. The prophet’s mind is first directed to the glorious fact that there is to be a “new heaven and new earth” created. It is next called to the point of time just previous, when the sinner, even though he may be an “hundred years old, shall be accursed.” When does the curse of God come upon the sinner? Just previous, as we have seen, to the creation of the new heavens and new earth. Peter, in his second epistle, makes this very plain. Chap. 3:7: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition [destruction] of ungodly men.” “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.” “Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Where does Peter find his “promise”? In the very Scripture we have under examination. Isa. 65:17. And it is remarkable how beautifully these two scriptures harmonize and explain each other. Peter gives us an inspired comment upon Isa. 65:17. He tells us plainly that the “perdition of ungodly men” comes just before the new heavens and new earth. That the great burning day results in the new creation; from the ashes of the old creation the new springs forth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The career of the wicked closes with the old creation. We have seen from other scriptures that the righteous are on the earth and see this result during its accomplishment. When, then, does the “child die an hundred years old”? Both the righteous and wicked are on the earth when the curse of God falls on the sinner. “The wages of sin is death.” Here are gathered the sinners of all ages and the saints of all ages. The antediluvians are here. Of those who died natural deaths, who lived the main portion of their lives before the flood, we have left on record in Genesis the ages of nine persons, including Noah. Their ages are respectively, Adam, nine hundred and thirty; Seth, nine hundred and twelve; Enos, nine hundred and five; Cainan, nine hundred and ten; Mahalaleel, eight hundred and ninety-five; Jared, nine hundred and sixty-two; Methuselah, nine hundred and sixty-nine; Lamech, seven hundred and seventy-seven; Noah, nine hundred and fifty. The average of these is almost nine hundred and twelve years. The case of Lamech seems a remarkable exception. He did not live so long as the average into one hundred and thirty-five years. It would seem to show that it was not God’s design that he should live till the flood. We are not informed that this average of life was anything remarkable for that age of the world. In most of these instances there seems to be a remarkable uniformity. All but two of the instances given of the antediluvians, and in fact the only record existing in the world of the age of man before the flood, makes the average of life then, over nine hundred years. What a contrast with the present. Now, the average length of life is not far from thirty years. It is customary to call persons children at the age of five or six years, or even older. In Gen. 21:15, 16, Ishmael is called a child, while it is evident from the circumstances and chronology, he must have been eighteen or twenty years old. The average of human life, then, must have been as high as one hundred and fifty years. By the same rule it would be proper to call one a child at one hundred years of age when the average was upwards of nine hundred years, as it was before the flood. Persons at that age would be morally accountable of course. Therefore their cases would come into the Judgment, and if they died without repentance, they would come up in the second resurrection, and be among the immense throng outside the holy city, and would suffer the pains of the second death, with the sinners upon whom the curse of God then falls. All the circumstances of the case, and the scriptures which speak of the punishment of the wicked at that point of time, clearly prove that antediluvian children of a hundred years old will then and there die. To suppose, as some do, that these deaths occur in the city of God and after the new heavens and earth are created, plainly contradicts, not only other scriptures, but this very one which is supposed to teach it. Verse 19 says, “The voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her; nor the voice of crying.” Will people in the city of God care so little for their children that they will not manifest as much affection at their death after being with them a hundred years, as people do now? It would seem they had lost natural affection. But the Revelator, when speaking of this same city, Rev. 21:4, says that there will be no death nor pain, and the Saviour says they shall be “as the angels,” neither shall they “die any more.” The prophet, in verse 20, plainly speaks of a particular point of time, after which there shall neither be births nor deaths, nor becoming old. “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, or an old man that hath not filled his days.” The word “thence,” means from this point onward. From this point of time, then, there will never be an infant of days. Of course there never could be another birth then. God’s plan of gathering out of all nations “a people for his name,” that the earth may be “inhabited,” is now accomplished, and from this point onward there never is to be “an old man that hath not filled his days,” none who are prematurely old. “They shall not plant, and another eat.” How plain, then, that there will be no death among those who are inside the city of God, for, of course, if there was death among them, those who succeeded would eat of what their predecessor had planted. “For as the days of the tree of life [Septuagint] are the days of my people;” this is the reason why one shall not plant and another eat. Those who are there will live forever. Oh, blessed thought! In the last verse of the prophecy, the reference to the beasts and their diet and habits, shows very plainly that it is the new creation. The nature of these animals has been changed. It would be a natural impossibility that the lion could be made to eat straw like the bullock before he had been created anew. Thus our view of the events taking place in connection with the punishment of the wicked and the new creation, agrees with Isaiah and Peter, and makes a beautiful harmony; and this very scripture which is relied upon to prove the contrary, can only be harmonized by adopting it as it stands written in King James’ version. But taking Pagnini’s version there is not even a seeming contradiction. This is as follows: “There shall not be any more carried out from thence to burial an infant of days, or a youth, or an old man who hath not filled his time; for the man of a hundred years shall be a youth.” How beautifully harmonious is truth. OFTEN ask, Will this glorify God?
THERE is such a glorious future opening, more and more clearly, that I want to say to all earth’s eternity-bound throng, “No time to lose.” One opportunity neglected and you can never be all you might have been had it been improved. Neglect of proffered gifts has crippled and almost beggared many a pilgrim from the City of Destruction to the heavenly land. The gift of perfect love is offered to every child of God; but hesitating to accept now that which, though so costly, is freely offered, many must forever fail to be what they might have been. If in the “sometime,” so vaguely indefinite, that holiness is attained which fits the soul to see the Lord in peace, yet there may be many stars wanting in such a one’s crown that might have been there if the precious gift of Jesus had not been so slighted. How much more of Heaven might have been found below, how much more work might have been done for God, if, instead of striving to grow sin out of the heart, with all its weakening, retarding influences, that heart, with all its inbred defilement, had been placed at once in the hands of Him who alone could wash it whiter than snow. For every one that believingly hears Jesus say, “I will, be thou clean,” there is an endless sphere of activity and growth—not by growth to become more pure, but more mature; not by works, to have anything whereof to boast; but doing because action is the normal state of a soul filled with love. The more love, the more untiring activity, because where selfishness is destroyed, love would see Jesus glorified. Thus believing, loving, and acting, where is the room for retrograde movement? But if faith loses its hold on Christ, then love grows cold, indolence creeps in, and the soul is pinched by want. Precious opportunities pass by unheeded. This misimprovement of opportunities dwarfs the soul more than want of capacity. The one talent in constant use is worth more than ten in the possession of an idler. That life must be barren indeed where opportunity is not found for deeds that shall be richly rewarded by the Master. Without earth’s currency, we may scatter words that shall be like apples of gold in pictures of silver, deeds of love that shall be held in everlasting remembrance. Without the fire of genius, coals from Heaven’s altar may touch our lips and make them eloquent for God. Having the assurance that we are sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, and having fellowship with earth’s noblest souls, we can afford to wait a little while ere we see the King in his beauty, and enter into the joint-inheritance with his well-beloved Son, walking the streets of the New Jerusalem in company with angelic forms, clean-robed, and wearing star-jeweled crowns of gold. Look up! These things which surround us in a moment are gone. The objects of faith beyond the bounds of time are real. You have filled your hands with worthless toys, which, held between you and Christ, have so obscured your vision that you could but dimly see his proffered gifts; and when he called you to let these go, so that you might be able to grasp the richest gems of grace, you have cried out that all was gone! But at that moment Christ comes to give you back so much more than you let go! Not blinding, perishable gifts, but such as will draw your gaze toward the Giver, in order that he may reveal more and more of his own glory to your soul, and also show you your own high calling in Christ Jesus. You have suffered great loss heretofore from letting slip opportunities that seemed to you too small to be worth minding, but now you stop, not to question whether the service Christ demands of you is great or small, but hearing his voice, you go where he bids, nothing doubting. Once you wanted to work in some other way than your opportunities and powers indicated. But now the blessed Spirit is teaching you that your most common and daily toil, done heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, is more pleasing to the Master than the most talented in public places, if they have not learned to cease from their own works; losing sight of self in Christ. You waste time while you stop to envy others. Improve the opportunities that come to you Jesus will trust you with a greater work when he sees he can safely. Surely, our feet should bear us joyfully onward, if it is only to do the slightest errands for our King.—Guide to Holiness. The Captain and the Jew.
By Sel.
A PIOUS sailor went as one of the crew of a passenger steamer down the river to the sea. Over the ocean hung a heavy, threatening fog. They went forward into it. Near the chimney, a youth was shivering, evidently in great anxiety. After a while he asked a sailor: “Do not allow yourself to be anxious, since the Lord knows in what condition we are, and ‘like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.’” With these words he turned away to work. Years passed, and the sailor had become a captain. On one of his voyages, a well-dressed gentleman drew near him with the question, “Shall we have a good voyage, captain?” “That no captain can tell but He who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measures the heaven with a span.” “Thanks, captain; it delights me to hear you come quickly to the main point. You remind me of a sailor who spoke encouragingly to me on my first voyage.” “I was terrified at the rough water, and he told me, ‘Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.’ I was then a Jew, so the text was not unknown to me, but I could not call God my Father. Yet the sailor was, I plainly felt, quiet and happy as a child on his father’s knee. First, I wondered what could give a man such confidence; and then I prayed and sought for it, and am now a Christian, and a missionary to my own people. Let me give you my card.” “How long is it since you were on the high seas?” “Would you know the sailor if you saw him?” “Oh! certainly; I have thought of him so often.” “He stands before you now.” “Impossible, captain. He was a common sailor.” “Is not yours a more remarkable change? You were a Jew, and are now a Christian and a missionary. Why, then, in seventeen years’ time should not a sailor become a captain?”—Sel. The following will refresh the minds of our readers as to the dates of the most important inventions, discoveries, and improvements, the advantages of which we now enjoy:— Spinning wheel invented, 1330. Paper first made of rags, 1417. Muskets invented and first used in England in 1421. Printing invented by Faust, 1441. Engraving on wood invented, 1490. Post-offices established in England, 1464. Almanacs first published, 1441. Printing introduced into England by Caxton, 1474. Roses first planted in England, 1505. Hatchets first made in 1504. Punctuation first used in literature, 1520. Before that time words and sentences were put together like this.—Sel. What Ought to Be Believed.
By C. O. Taylor
[I take the following from a Treatise on Resistance and Non-resistance, by Royal Gage. C. O. TAYLOR.] “I RECOLLECT here the words of a Persian traveler writing from France to his friends at home: ‘Father,’ said I, to the librarian, ‘what are these huge volumes which fill the whole side of the library?’ ‘These,’ said he, ‘are the interpreters of the Scriptures.’ ‘There is a prodigious number of them,’ replied I; ‘the Scriptures must have been very dark formerly, and must be very clear at present. Do there remain still any doubts? Are there now any points contested?’ ‘Are there?’ answered he, with surprise; ‘are there? There are almost as many as there are lines.’ ‘You astonish me,’ said I. ‘What, then, have all these authors been doing?’ ‘These authors,’ returned he, ‘never searched the Scriptures for what ought to be believed, but for what they did believe themselves.’” The Book of Revelation.
By Uriah Smith
IS IT SEALED? OR CAN IT BE UNDERSTOOD?
The last book in the inspired volume is entitled “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Our translators in styling it “The Revelation of St. John, the Divine,” contradict the very first words of the book itself, which declare it to be “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;” and Christ, it is added, “sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” The source from which this revelation comes is thus plainly given. God, the author of all things, makes it known to Jesus Christ; Christ, through the ministry of the heavenly angels, his divine assistants, signifies it to his servant John; and John, evangelist and apostle, and now prophet, acting as amanuensis, makes it known to the church. The book itself has been described to be a “panorama of the glory of Christ.” Certainly whoever reads it with any effort to form a mental conception of the imagery which it introduces, can but be deeply impressed with the grandeur, sublimity, and importance, of the scenes which are made to pass, in fascinating array, before the mind. Themes of thrilling and impressive interest, grand and lofty conceptions, sublime and magnificent description, the whole enhanced by the fact that these take hold upon the issues of the eternal world, are here calculated to awaken in the mind of the reader the most absorbing interest. And the question that will first arise, is, For whose benefit are these scenes described? Can we ascertain our relation to them, or possibly our part in them? Can they be understood? We answer, Yes; or the title of the book is itself a deception: yes; or God has declared his purpose to accomplish a work which he foresaw could never be fulfilled: yes; or he has solemnly pronounced a blessing upon an impossibility. 1. The book is called a revelation. A revelation is something which is revealed or made known. Moses has said, Deut. 29:29, that “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things which are revealed, belong unto us and our children forever.” The very title of the book, then, is a clear refutation of a view which is, alas! too popular at the present day, that this book is a part of the hidden mysteries of God, and cannot be understood. A revealed mystery is a contradiction both of ideas and terms. A revelation is not something hidden and concealed; and if this is the nature of the book, it should have been called, The Mystery, or, The Hidden Book; certainly not, The Revelation. 2. It is declared that God gave this revelation to Christ, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. The expression, “his servants,” is very comprehensive. It includes all the followers of Christ in all time. And wherever and whenever there are any persons who are the servants of Christ, the Revelation is for them, designed to be a lamp unto their feet, and a light unto their path. But how can it show anything to Christ’s followers if it cannot be understood? If, as some contend, it is an unfathomable mystery, dark and incomprehensible, so that all search for its meaning is labor lost, how does it show to the seeker after truth what is coming to pass? It would be worse than useless; for it would only create an anxiety which it would do nothing to relieve. Human tyrants have been known to post their laws so high that the people could not read them, and then punish mercilessly their violation. But God does not act thus. Would he undertake to make known to mankind some important truths, and yet fall into the worse than earthly folly of clothing them in language or in figures which human minds could not comprehend? Would he command a person to behold some distant object, and then erect an impenetrable barrier between him and the object at which he was bidden to look? Would he give his servants a light to guide them through the gloom of night, and then throw over that light a pall so thick and heavy that not a ray of its brightness could be discovered through the obscuring folds? If he has dealt thus with us in the Revelation, then the expressly declared object of the book never can be attained, and he knew it never could be attained, when he solemnly put upon record that it was to show his servants things which must shortly come to pass. He does not thus trifle, either with himself or us. 3. The third verse of the first chapter reads: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.” A blessing pronounced upon the reading of this prophecy, when the time spent upon it would be thrown away? A blessing upon hearing it, when no man can comprehend it? A blessing upon a man who will understand it, when it is impossible that any one can understand it? This would be charging God with folly. Men may assert, as some have asserted, that “the study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a man mad.” This is a specimen of man’s judgment; but the word itself assures us that whoever undertakes the study of this book with a calm and teachable spirit, and with a sincere desire to know the truth, that he may glorify God therewith, will find himself, at length, not mad, but in the rich possession of a heavenly blessing. Yes, the Revelation may be understood. We may drink into the spirit of its soul-stirring themes till our understandings are enlightened to comprehend and appreciate them. We may gaze upon its scenes of glory till our hearts glow with a foretaste of their blessedness. We may listen to the invitation so tenderly given by the Spirit and the bride, when they say to all, Come, till our beings are fired with new zeal and new determinations to be with that enraptured throng that shall make Heaven ring at last with ascriptions of blessing and honor and glory to God and the Lamb. Let us study with new interest the sacred word; and, having laid hold upon the blessed hope which it sets before us, let us be very thorough in the work of purifying our hearts and lives, that this hope may, in due time, “change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.” U. S. Does 2 Cor. 3 teach that the fourth commandment of the decalogue has been done away or abolished, as some contend? No. Those who refer to this chapter in proof of such a position, confound the law with the ministration of the law; the same as if a person should confound the Constitution of the United States with the regulations which govern the executive branch of the government. Paul indeed testifies in that chapter that something has been done away; but what is it? Let us see. Verse 7: “But if the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away.” Verse 11: “For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” Verses 13, 14: “And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished; but their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.” These are all the verses which contain the words, “done away,” or “abolished;” and to what are they applied? In the first verse quoted, we are told definitely that it was a certain “glory” which was to be done away; in the second, it is “that,” unspecified, which is done away; in the third, it is “that,” unspecified, which is abolished; in the fourth, the object is again specified, namely, “the vail” which is done away in Christ. Looking at these verses again, we inquire, What glory does Paul refer to in verse 7, which was to be done away? The preceding sentence states plainly that it was the glory of Moses’ countenance. On what occasion and under what circumstances was this glory manifested? Ex. 34:29–35 answers: When Moses came forth from the immediate presence of Jehovah, from whose hand he had just received the tables of the ten commandments, some of the surpassing glory in which he had been enveloped still lingered upon his countenance; and Aaron and the children of Israel were afraid to approach him because of the shining of his face. Therefore he put a vail over his face while he talked with them. Here are both the glory and the vail which were to be done away. Thus was the Mosaic dispensation established. It was a dispensation or ministration of glory. Paul proves this by the fact that when it was ordained the face of Moses reflected so much of its glory that the children of Israel were unable to look upon it. But this glory was to be done away. Why? and how? Because a new dispensation was to succeed that of Moses, and the glory of this latter dispensation was to overpower and eclipse that of the former, as the light of the rising sun obscures the moon and stars. This was the dispensation of Christ, or the ministration of the gospel. The chapter before us is a vivid contrasting of these two dispensations, the Mosaic and the Christian; and the glory of the former was to be done away by the surpassing glory of the latter. Before the magic of these few facts, the supposed difficulty of this chapter instantly disappears. That which was done away is plainly declared in the first instance, verse 7, to be the glory of that dispensation, as exhibited in the countenance of Moses. But it may be suggested that glory is a supplied word, and hence that the relative, which, may refer to some other antecedent, and may mean the law. We reply, The relation of words to each other is much more clearly shown in the Greek language, in many instances, than in the English. In the case before us, that which our translators have rendered by the sentence, “Which glory was to be done away,” is in the Greek simply the definite article and a participle; and this participle agrees in gender, number, and case, with the word glory which stands before it; and there is no other word in all the verse with which it can agree. This point is thus settled with absolute certainty. Our translators have given it the rendering they have, in a very laudable attempt to approach the definiteness of the Greek. Paul next uses the expression, done away, in verse 11: “If that which is done away was glorious.” Here he evidently refers to the same thing. Then he says, verse 13, that Moses put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not look to the end of that which is abolished. What is abolished? That which was covered by the vail. Was that the law? No. The vail was not thrown over the tables of stone which Moses held in his hands, but over his face, to hide the glory of his countenance. Paul adds in the next verse that this vail is taken away in Christ. The Jew is still looking at the vailed glory of the former dispensation. But when he receives the illuminating Spirit of Christ, and sees the surpassing excellence of the ministration of the Spirit, Moses’ vail and Moses’ glory alike disappear, and he beholds only the exceeding glory of the present. But is not the law called the ministration of death? and has not that given place to the gospel or the ministration of the Spirit? The law is brought in only by allusion, in the language, “written and engraven in stones.” That dispensation is called the ministration of death, because under it the death penalty was visited without mercy upon every open violation of the moral law. And the ministration is said to be written and engraven in stones, because it was a ministration of that which was engraven in stones. Strictly speaking, we know that there was no ministration engraven in the stones; only the ten commandments were there; but connected with those commandments, under the former dispensation, there was a ministration or service ordained by Moses. This is one of those elliptical modes of expression so common in the writings of Paul. For instance, he says of those who partake unworthily of the Lord’s supper, that they eat and drink damnation to themselves. 1 Cor. 11:29. Not that they literally do that, but the sin they commit in so doing will lead to that. Again he says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.” Heb. 13:17. What was to be unprofitable? Not simply to have those who bore rule over them give up their account with grief; but it would be unprofitable for them to take such a course as to cause those who watch for their souls to give up their account of them with grief. So Paul says, elliptically, the ministration written and engraven in stones, instead of the ministration connected with that which was written and engraven in stones. Dr. Bloomfield considers this verse (2 Cor. 3:7) elliptical. In his Greek Testament with English notes, he says on this passage: “I have, in Recens. Synop., shown that the sense of the verse is this: ‘If the ministry or office of promulgating a covenant which, in the letter (when written on tables of stone), brought nothing but death with it, was glorious,’ &c.” The word “ministration” is the same as is rendered “ministry” in the first verse of the following chapter: “Therefore seeing we have received this ministry.” It means the service of a minister. It is certain, therefore, that the language of Paul in verse 7 is elliptical; for there was nothing pertaining to the service of a minister engraved on the tables; but there was a law there in reference to which a minister could perform service; and the ministry connected with it was, under that dispensation, glorious, “so that,” says Paul, “the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold,” what? The tables in Moses’ hands? No; but, “the face of Moses,” the minister who performed the service. In all this we find no abolition of the law. The law is that to which the ministry of both dispensations relates. Under the former dispensation, this law was written on tables of stone, and the ministry then connected with it was a ministration of death. Under the latter, the same law is written in the heart of the believer, Jer. 31:31–33; Heb. 8:10; and the ministration connected with it is one of mercy. Paul, in 2 Cor. 3, contrasts these ministrations. The dispensation of Moses gives place to that of Christ. The glory of the former is done away by the glory of the latter. But God’s great moral rule of right, the constitution of his government then as now, and now as then, goes through all dispensations and all time, unchanged and unchangeable. U. S.