Earlier text: EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCETHE “RETURN OF THE JEWS.”
“I SAY the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Rom. 9:1–5. Now, a pertinent question is, If the Jews are to return, if they are to be gathered because they are Jews, then why should Paul be willing to wish himself accursed from Christ, if only they might be saved? Under any phase of the claim of the return of the Jews, Paul’s heaviness, continual sorrow, and heart’s wish, are altogether an empty and groundless thing. For if the Jews who are alive to-day must be gathered to Palestine, and given such evidences as they can not resist, but must be converted and saved by them, then all the Jews from Paul’s time until now, who have not believed in Christ and been saved, must likewise be gathered with these of to-day. Otherwise God would be a respecter of persons. And if all the Jews from Paul’s day to the end of the world must be gathered again to Palestine, and there be saved by some specially new and wonderful means, then it is perfectly plain that all Paul’s anxiety and longing for their salvation are altogether a mistaken thing. But that is simply not true. What Paul has here written is the truth. He did have great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart, because his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, would not accept the gospel and be saved; and because they persisted in rejecting the gospel in whatever of the many ways it came to them, and so were confirming themselves in everlasting loss. The love of Christ in Paul’s heart caused him, in his longing after them, to be willing, if their salvation could be accomplished by it, to wish himself accursed from Christ, for them. All that is the truth; and it being the truth, it is thereby settled forever that except the Jews believe in Christ, they can not be saved; that whoever will not believe in him is lost; and that, therefore, there simply can not possibly be any such thing as this claimed “return of the Jews.” Though it be true that so many of the Jews, Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh, persisted in rejecting the gospel, and so missing salvation, even all this did not make it “as though the word of God hath taken none effect.” The word of God abideth faithful, and He abideth faithful, even though they believed not (Rom. 3:3); because “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” “Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.” Rom. 9:7, 8, 24–26. “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling-stone; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Verses 30–33. We have before remarked that, by the scriptures quoted from Romans 3, “it is demonstrated by the argument of the plain word of God that faith—faith, the faith of Jesus Christ—is the only way for any return of either Jew or Gentile, and is the one only way for both alike. And this faith is equally within the reach of Jew and Gentile wherever they may be. It can not be had any more certainly in Palestine than in any other country; and for the simple reason that it is not found in a place, but only in a Person—the person of Jesus Christ. And through the blessed administration of the eternal Spirit, this Person is now accessible to all people in all places alike.” And this is the further thought that is brought out in full in the tenth chapter of Romans. Study carefully the truth as it is there stated. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” Rom. 10:1–3. Again: we may ask, Why should Paul have such particular and great anxiety that Israel after the flesh might be saved, if all that Israel is to be saved anyhow? But since they insist upon “going about to establish their own righteousness,” and “have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,” they simply can not be saved; for whoever will not submit himself to the righteousness of God, simply can not be saved. For nothing but the righteousness of God can save any soul, Jew, Gentile, or what not; and the righteousness of God will save every soul who has it, Jew, Gentile, or what not. “For Christ is the end,” the object, the aim, “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” This verse repeats, in different words, the particular thought of the two verses immediately preceding. Verse 21 declares that the law is not against the promises of God, and shows that it is a helper unto the fullness of the promises that are in Christ. Verse 22 declares that “the scripture hath concluded all under sin,” and this for a purpose. And what is the purpose?—“That [in order that, so that] the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Now, “by the law is the knowledge of sin;” and it is the law of God, the ten commandments, by which is the knowledge of sin. Then, since “the scripture hath concluded all under sin,” and “by the law is the knowledge of sin,” the scripture hath concluded all under the law. And it has concluded them all under the law so that “the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Then, that law by which “is the knowledge of sin”—by that law it is that “the scripture hath concluded all under sin.” And since it is by that law that all are concluded under sin, in order that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe; therefore, as stated in the previous verse, the law is not against the promises of God, but is an aid to all men in their attaining to the promise by faith of Jesus Christ. Now the same thought is carried forward in the verse at present under consideration; namely, “Before faith came, we were kept under the law.” Under what law?—Plainly under the law by which alone “the scripture hath concluded all under sin.” Even as it is said in another place: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” This is the condition of every soul upon earth before faith comes to him. But when faith does come to him, when he awakes to the exercise of faith, then “the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, . . . even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Rom. 3: 19–22. Thus it is true, and thus it is, that all are concluded under sin and kept under the law, until faith in Jesus Christ delivers them. However, there is another expression in the verse that is particularly to be noticed; that is, that we were “shut up.” We were “under the law,” “shut up.” We were “kept under the law, shut up.” It was “before faith came” that “we were kept under the law, shut up.” And “before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” How was it that we were shut up?—“Under the law, shut up.” But to be under the law is to be “guilty before God.” Rom. 3: 19. To be “under the law” is to be under the dominion of sin. Rom. 6: 14. And since we were “under the law, shut up,” it was the law that shut us up. And what law is this?—It is the same law as that of the previous verse, by which “the scripture hath concluded all under sin.” And the only law by which anybody can possibly be concluded under sin, is that law by which “is the knowledge of sin,” which is the law of God, the law of ten commandments. The Greek word thus translated “shut up” is the same word that, in the previous verse, is translated “concluded;” and also that in Rom. 11: 32 is translated in the text “concluded,” and in the margin “shut up.” So that the expressions translated alike in the two verses, would be: verse 22, “The scripture hath shut up all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe;” and verse 23, “We were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” This makes it certain that the law by which, in verse 22, “we are shut up under sin,” is the same law by which, in verse 23, “we were kept under the law, shut up.” And by these twin expressions it is plain that to be “under the law” is to be “under sin;” for to be “shut up under sin” is to be “kept under the law, shut up;” to be “shut up under the law” is to be “shut up under sin.” And the only law by which anybody can be shut up under sin, is that law by which alone is the knowledge of sin; and that law is the law of God, the law of ten commandments. Therefore, since all are shut up under sin, in order that the promise of faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe; and since the law of ten commandments is the only one by which anybody can be shut up under sin, it is certain that that law is not against the promises of God, but is the only certain means of attaining to the true faith, and so to the fullness of the promises in Christ. IS THE SEVENTH TRUMPET NOW SOUNDING?
By Uriah Smith
To ANSWER this question in the affirmative, saying, Yes, it is sounding, would be to make a most weighty and solemn announcement; but to answer in the negative, saying, No, it is not sounding, would be to make a statement that should not be made without extreme care and caution, lest we turn away the minds of some, inadvertently, from what the Lord has given to arouse and test his people in the last days. To ascertain a true answer to the question whether or not the seventh trumpet is now sounding, we must inquire what the seven trumpets are; for what purpose they are given; what they indicate; and what has taken place in the past to show that we have reached the seventh, and last, in this series of symbols. We refer to this question now, because the view heretofore held by Seventh-day Adventists, that the seventh trumpet began to sound in the autumn of 1844, is called in question. A letter from a brother in a Western State, just received, states, at some length, what no doubt seems to him a sufficient reason to dissent from the view that the seventh trumpet is now sounding, in place of which he claims that we are to look for that sounding somewhere in the indefinite future. We thus seem to be in something the same position the disciples were in, when, after the resurrection of Christ, the eleven went into Galilee, to meet the Lord, as he had appointed them. Of this interview we read, “And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted.” From our point of view, that would seem to have been a very poor time to doubt; but nevertheless, some of them doubted. And so it has been all the way along, and perhaps will be to the end of time. “Some doubted.” It is said that winds can be, and are, a proper symbol of war and strife, because wind is the instrument by which the destruction is accomplished. On the same ground it is alleged that trumpets can not be a fit symbol of war, because trumpets are not the instruments with which war is waged, and the strife carried on. But this point seems not to be well taken; for certainly it is not necessary that that which is used to symbolize any particular condition of things should be the instrument used to bring about that condition. Even the winds, which are acknowledged to be proper symbols of war and strife, did not themselves literally work the havoc and damage, but represented the raging passions of men which drove them on to their deeds of violence and destruction. So trumpets are symbols of political commotion and war; not that the trumpets are the weapons used as clubs and bludgeons to carry on the strife. In like manner, the work attributed to symbolic wild beasts is not done by literal beasts themselves; but the beasts in their movements represent the doings of governments, and the devastation of their armies. The last three trumpets are called “woe trumpets,” because, under their sounding, woes are to overshadow the world; and a woe signifies any calamity, judgment, or affliction that may in any shape come upon men. War is not therefore a continuously necessary element in the sounding of a trumpet. What good reason is there, therefore, why we should not hold that the seventh trumpet began to sound in 1844? and is sounding still? And what about the dates of the preceding trumpets, 1299, 1449, and 1840? If the application we10 have made of the seventh trumpet is wrong, were they right? One of the most interesting prophecies, and one most remarkable in its fulfillment, was that of the sixth trumpet, or second woe, the period of which expired Aug. 11, 1840. The following declaration of the prophecy then had its application: “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” A little space was to intervene between the time when the second woe ended and the third woe began. This comes in all right, if we allow that, after the ending of the second woe in 1840, the third woe, and the seventh trumpet, began in 1844. Right there in that little space the first message, or the first installment of the great Advent movement of this generation, was fulfilled. The burden of the loud cry of that message was the ending of the twenty-three hundred days, which brought us to the beginning of the work of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which, following the lesson of the type, involved the opening of the temple of God in heaven; and when we come to an examination of the events to take place under the seventh trumpet, lo! that very service receives prominent mention. “The temple of God,” it is said, “was opened in heaven.” The prophet does not name the events of the seventh trumpet in their chronological order, but seems to give them priority of notice according to the force with which they struck his mind. He first speaks of the transfer of the kingdom to Christ and the great anthem of the elders, in which, in joyful chorus, they exclaim, “We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” But this involves the coming of Christ in his kingdom, in power and glory. And after this has come to pass, the other events mentioned in the trumpet can not take place. They must have occurred before this, and hence the events are not arranged chronologically. Then the prophet glances at the anger of the nations, showing the strange attitude of the different governments of the earth toward one another, in the last days, just as it is to-day. Then he speaks of the great judgment work to be accomplished in reference to the wicked, during the thousand years, and finally points to the destruction, at the end of that period, of all those who have been a curse and pollution to the earth. Thus the wicked are all destroyed, and all the débris of man’s rebellion—his sin and the curse—is all cleared up, and the long-promised and waited-for reward to the servants of God, the prophets, and all that fear his name, is bestowed upon them. All this mighty sweep of events, and their blessed results, is covered by the seventh trumpet. There is not lacking, in the sounding of this trumpet, any element of woe to those who are obnoxious thereto. Nor is there anything there, unless it is exceptional, like a little holding of the winds, out of the nature and object of a trumpet. It is the object of a trumpet to arouse and alarm the people in reference to dangers that are impending; and is not this emphatically true of the movements in the scripture under notice? In 1848, only four years after the beginning of the trumpet in 1844, occurred that great political earthquake in Europe, which toppled nearly every throne to the dust,—just a gust that broke loose from the pent-up whirlwind, which is struggling to sweep down upon the earth and the sea. About twenty years later, in 1870, came the great blow to the papacy, which stripped it of the last vestige of temporal power, which is not, from any human standpoint, likely to be restored again, and which Victor Emmanuel declared never is to be restored again. Finally another of these associated events catches the eye of the prophet, an event in which the people of God are more directly and personally concerned than in any of the others; and that is the beginning of the final work, in the court of destiny above; and he covers this at once with the declaration: “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” He briefly states the accompaniments of this opening, ending with the hail of the seventh of the seven last plagues. Considering where the opening of the temple is placed in the prophecy, it is the earliest, and, consequently, the first, event to take place under that trumpet. But this can be nothing else but the beginning of the cleansing of the sanctuary; but that was to take place only at the end of the twenty-three hundred days; and the twenty-three hundred days certainly ended in 1844. Right at that point, therefore, the third woe began, and the seventh trumpet began its sounding. With this view, everything fits into its place most harmoniously. It does not do so with any other plan. One of the most striking features of that system which we call “the present truth,” is that it is all linked and dovetailed together in such beautiful adjustment that you can not take out any part without disjoining and weakening the whole. This is no doubt the reason that “Spiritual Gifts,” Vol. I, page 121, speaking of the messages, said, more than thirty years ago: “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages.” To every great theme of our well-established faith, we believe the same remark would apply, in a general way. Just notice what the result would be of removing this block that we are now discussing: If we say that the seventh trumpet did not begin to sound in 1844, then the temple of God in heaven was not opened at that time; then the sanctuary did not then begin to be cleansed; then the twenty-three hundred days did not then end; then those days were not reckoned from the right starting point. Then what about the seventy weeks, the revelation of Christ as the Messiah, his baptism, and the beginning of his ministry, in A. D. 27, and his crucifixion, in A. D. 31?—These are all thrown out of their place; and the whole prophecy must then be gone over again, and readjusted. And the same may be said with reference to the prophecy of the seven last plagues, which, in times past, some were disposed to throw largely into the past, claiming that we are now living under the sixth plague, because Spiritualism is so prominently brought to view under that plague. Rev. 16:12-14. But the very first plague falls upon the men who have received the mark of the beast; but that is something against which the Third Angel’s Message warns the world. Therefore if the first plague is in the past, the third message is in the past. But the third message follows the first; and the first is a time message, based on the ending of the twenty-three hundred days. And if that message is in the past, then the twenty-three hundred days ended in the past; and the same difficulties and queries arise in regard to the Messiahship of Christ, the seventy weeks, and all the associated dates, which can not be moved. No; none of these schemes will work. We enter our emphatic dissent against bringing the “higher criticism” into the realm of present truth. Don’t lose your adjustments; don’t slip any cogs; don’t throw any necessary pinions out of gear. But see that all parts of the system have their proper bearing on one another, and that all work harmoniously together. But you would not stick to a view simply because it has long been advocated in the past?—Not for that reason alone; but when, in a specially prophetic era, a view gives evidence of having been brought out by the light that the Lord caused to shine upon his word, and by the providence that directed the efforts for its production, we believe it is entitled to respect, and should not be displaced except by something that is clearly and tangibly a better view. But it is said that since 1844 the winds have been held; and how can we have a trumpet sounding, and the winds being held at the same time? The very fact that the winds have to be held, shows that the spirit of war and woe is abroad in the world, which would comport very well with the sounding of a prophetic trumpet; and the winds are held only temporarily, only till a special work of the Lord is done, which could not otherwise well be completed. This certainly can not militate against the general application of the prophecy. A KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOSPEL SECRET MEANS LIFE.
By W. W. P.
Daniel and his companions desired mercies of the God of heaven, and their prayers were not in vain. Communion with the God of heaven was not a new thing to them, and they were not driven to it as a last resort through fear of death. As citizens of the heavenly kingdom, loyal to its principles, they had learned to come boldly to the throne of grace, and to ask with confidence. Of some it is said, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” Not so with these petitioners. The way they lived was the index of the way they prayed. Right living is the true basis of right praying. “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: and he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: he revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast made known unto us the king’s matter.” That which Daniel saw in the night vision was what he had already experienced in his own life, the superiority of the principles of the kingdom of heaven. The Lord now showed him the working out of these principles among the nations of the earth, and their final triumph over all other kingdoms, regardless of their outward glory and power. He sees the long procession of kings who are removed one after the other, and of the kingdoms which succeed one another until “the gospel of the kingdom of God,” has accomplished its work, and “until he come whose right it is.” But “the secret” of all this goes deeper than the mere fact of the succession of kingdoms. It makes clear the means by which the King of heaven will establish an everlasting kingdom, although he has no other source from which to gather his subjects than the very peoples that constitute the earthly kingdoms, which pass away. These are “the deep and secret things” which are beyond the range of human wisdom, and which must be “revealed” if they are ever known by man. The stability of any kingdom depends upon the loyalty of its subjects to the law of the realm; and so it is in the kingdom of heaven. And it is the triumph of the gospel that rebellious, fallen men can be transformed into loyal, obedient subjects of God’s kingdom; but this is accomplished only through that mysterious union of the divine with the human through the gift of the Son of God to the human family. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Heb. 2:14, 15. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:2–4. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.” 1 Tim. 3:16. Daniel’s prayer of thanksgiving shows that203 he had been prepared through his personal experience as a child of the heavenly King to appreciate the nature of the revelation that was made to him, and to recognize in it the wider application of principles already familiar to him. “Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.” The dream of Nebuchadnezzar, as will appear from the record, dealt with the history of the world, the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms. The true interpretation of the dream will therefore furnish the key to the correct understanding of the whole problem of human history as viewed from the standpoint of the kingdom of God. But the philosophy of human history can be understood only as we study the life and teachings of the Son of God, the Son of man, “the Man Christ Jesus.” In his own person is found the interpretation of all history, and he was of the tribe of Judah. So the captain of the king’s guard spoke better than he knew when he said, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.” Everyone who finds “him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth,” will know the interpretation of history, which would otherwise be to him but a confused struggle for the supremacy among the nations. “The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can not the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these: As for thee, O king, thy thought came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.” The wisdom of this world can not make clear the mystery of the kingdom of God. All the education of the schools will not make one a successful exponent of that mystery. “Canst thou by searching find out God?” The ability to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom grows out of a personal revelation, not simply to one, but in one. So it was with the great apostle to the Gentiles: “It pleased God . . . to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.” Thus had Daniel been prepared for the same work. The secret of God’s power among the nations, and the working of that power to set up his everlasting kingdom in the earth, are revealed in the experience of every man who will yield to it as it works in him, “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” And this experience, and the knowledge that comes from this experience, are open to all. “God is no respecter of persons.” “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” This is the knowledge in which a man may justly glory (Jer. 9:24), and, as in the case of Daniel, the glory is all given to God, who “revealeth the deep and secret things.” Nebuchadnezzar was thinking of “what shall come to pass hereafter.” It is evident from what did come to pass later in his own experience that he was thinking of his own kingdom as one likely to endure for an indefinite time, having already a universal dominion, and almost limitless resources for preserving and transmitting its glory unimpaired. Who can overthrow his kingdom, or prevent it from standing forever? Then God gave him a true view of the future history, that he might know “what shall be in the latter days;” and then God caused it all to be written in this book, with the interpretation, in order that all the world might know the same thing. It is certainly worthy of study by those who live “in the latter days.” The whole course of history is but the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God, the revealing of the failure of anything to endure that is not in harmony with the principles of that kingdom. For God to make known future events is simply for him to preach the gospel in advance. And so we read: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal. 3:8. This is the gospel that was proclaimed in the courts of Babylon by Daniel the Hebrew, the descendant of Abraham. The true God was to be made known to the heathen world, and in such a way as to command their attention. Because the people had departed from God and his truth, Jerusalem had been overcome by Babylon, and the professed people of God were in captivity. Not recognizing that the God of heaven had given Jerusalem into his hand, and that for a definite purpose, the king of Babylon was lifted up in pride, and he thought of his kingdom as established forever. But behind the king of Babylon was “the god of this world,” seeking to establish a permanent kingdom in opposition to the kingdom of God, with Babylon as its capital. Had he really triumphed, and was Babylon to endure longer than Jerusalem? “The stupid man never regardeth, nor doth the foolish man understand this,—that when the wicked spring up as the herb, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they may be cut down forever! And thou, Jehovah, art forever exalted!” “Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” These are the lessons to be taught, not simply to the heathen of Nebuchadnezzar’s time, but to the heathen of all time, including the present, and for this purpose the record has been preserved for us. With its help we can look back over the centuries, and read aright their testimony, and are thus prepared to understand the interpretation of the present history. This is the only way by which we may know “what shall be in the latter days.” Refreshment From the Everlasting Fountain
“If we would refresh others, we must ourselves drink of the Fountain that never becomes dry.” ITEMS FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN FIELD.
By H. P. Holser
In my last report I called attention to the vast extent of this field and the scarcity of workers. I now give a few extracts from letters, showing the experience these workers are passing through, and the degree of blessing attending their efforts. Brother H. A. Henderson writes of the work in Greece:— “Evangelistic work is being done in Greece. Its leader proved to be the man to whom I had the letter of introduction. The government has done a great deal against him, nevertheless he has a small church in Athens. He has a few colporteurs at work here and in Crete. One of them was a minister in Piraeus [the port of Athens]. He received his education in America, and speaks Bulgarian, Greek, French, and English. His wife is a German, a Bible worker, and speaks French, English, and Polish. This gentleman became convinced that he should be baptized, and was immersed, for which he was dismissed from his position. He and his wife then moved to a suburb of Nauplia, and began evangelistic work. When I learned of them, and called on them, they received me kindly, and asked me to assist them in their meetings; however, in the second meeting the police came, and ordered the meetings stopped. This was the work of the high priest, because Brother — would not permit him to sprinkle the house with holy water. . . . The brother and his wife have been studying the Bible considerably with me. . . . At present they are eagerly reading on the Sabbath question. Brother — told me that he wishes to be sure it is right, and then he will take a firm stand. God grant that he may see it!” I received a letter a few days ago from the independent Baptist missionary in Syra. He said they were reading the tracts and books that I left with them, and urged me to visit them again. “They are with us on the Lord’s soon coming and many health principles. . . . Many others are interested. The great question I have to meet is the cross: the people worship it as much as any heathen ever worshiped an idol.” Brother J. H. Krum writes from Jaffa, Palestine, as follows:— “I have had opportunity to treat three Germans often of late, with the result that one, a young man, a vegetarian, promised to keep next Sabbath. Since Brother Hörner is here, we are gradually gaining friends among the Germans and the Jews. One of the latter, a poor but very promising, quiet, unassuming man, seems to be genuinely converted. . . . I hope soon to see several interested Jews confess Christ openly. As for the Mohammedans, thus far only five have been baptized. Many believe, but are afraid. A decree has gone forth that every Moslem who visits my house shall be taken as a soldier to serve six years.” One, a sheikh who has been in prison nearly all summer, has been sent to Arabia as a soldier. This means either a return to the Mohammedan faith or death. This is the usual method,—to send converts to Christianity to the interior as soldiers, or on some government errand, and then dispose of them if they do not recant. But the Lord can use this very means to carry the truth to Arabia. The experience of the laborers abundantly justifies the claim that this great field is white for the harvest. Shall we not, like the disciples of old, pray the Lord to send forth more laborers? As in the days of the Master, may these fields so full of perishing souls soon hear the glad tidings of the gospel that the Lord has committed to us! JAMAICA
By F. I. Richardson
Another year has passed into eternity; and as we halt a moment to take a brief review of the past, we are stirred with conflicting emotions. First, by the rapidity with which prophecy is becoming history. The United States is repudiating every principle of Protestantism and republicanism. The nations of Europe are fast becoming the kings of the East. The mighty armies that are being raised, and the vast preparations that are being made for war, show how rapidly they are getting ready for the great battle of Armageddon. All these things are the most conclusive evidence that we are in the last trembling moments of probationary time. Secondly: our hearts have been made sad by the death of some of our prominent laborers, who, it would seem, could not be spared at the present time, yet the Lord knows best. Here in Jamaica, none have been called away, although one came near death's door, so near, indeed, that the friends pronounced him dead, and began preparations for the funeral; but the Lord raised him up, and to-day he is apparently as strong as ever. A few lay members have passed away. Thirdly: we rejoice in the progress of the Third Angel's Message. Here in Jamaica it stands in a new position in the eyes of the people. Until within the last year, the ministers of other denominations have ignored us, or if questioned about us, have said that we would soon leave the island, as some others had done, and our work come to naught. But our work has spread to every parish in the island204 . We have erected eight chapels, and three more are nearing completion, also five class houses, as they are called here. A class house is a building with a thatched roof, and wattled sides. These ministers begin to think we have come to stay, and have begun a strong opposition, such as we are all well acquainted with. Again: we have not been acknowledged as a Christian denomination in the past, one argument used against us being that the government would not grant our ministers a license to perform marriage ceremonies; but the last year has seen that argument done away. During this time, too, the Lord has blessed the efforts of our laborers in giving each of them souls for his hire. Two hundred and twenty-nine persons have been baptized, making a total church-membership of seven hundred and thirteen, with about one hundred more keeping the Sabbath. There are nineteen Sabbath-schools, with a membership of eight hundred. Our twenty-two canvassers have sold over ninety-one hundred dollars' worth of books, retail price. We have two church schools in successful operation, with a present enrollment of seventy pupils. The tithe and offerings for the year amount to $1,470.27. The Sabbath-school offerings to missions was about one hundred and fifty dollars. We give the Lord the praise, and take fresh courage to go forward to the end, which is near at hand.