Earlier text: Review of Wellcome and GoudThoughts on the Book of Daniel.
CHAPTER VIII. (VERSE 14, CONTINUED.)
Having now learned what constitutes the sanctuary the question of its cleansing and how it is accomplished, is soon decided. It has been noticed that whatever constitutes the sanctuary of the Bible, must have some service connected with it which is called its cleansing. There is no account in the Bible of any such work as pertaining to this earth, the land of Canaan, or the church; which is good evidence that neither of these objects constitutes the sanctuary; there is such a service connected with the object which we have shown to be the sanctuary, and which, in reference to both the earthly building, and the heavenly temple, is called its cleansing. Does the reader object to the idea of there being anything in Heaven which is to be cleansed? Is this a barrier in the way of his receiving the view here presented? Then his controversy is with Paul who positively affirms this fact. But before he decides against the apostle, we ask the objector to examine carefully in reference to the nature of this cleansing, as he is here undoubtedly laboring under an entire misapprehension. The following are the plain terms in which Paul affirms the cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the Heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” In the light of foregoing arguments, this may be paraphrased thus: It was therefore necessary that the tabernacle, as erected by Moses, with its sacred vessels, which were patterns of the true sanctuary in Heaven, should be purified, or cleansed, with the blood of calves and goats; but the heavenly things themselves, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, must be cleansed with better sacrifices than calves and goats, even with the blood of Christ. We now inquire, What is the nature of this cleansing, and how is it to be accomplished? According to the language of Paul, just quoted, it is performed by means of blood. The cleansing is not, therefore, a cleansing from physical uncleanness or impurity; for blood is not the agent used in such a work. And this consideration should satisfy the objector’s mind in regard to the cleansing of the heavenly things. The fact that Paul speaks of heavenly things to be cleansed, does not prove that there is any physical impurity in Heaven; for that is not the kind of cleansing of which he speaks. The reason Paul assigns why this cleansing is performed with blood, is because without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Remission, then, that is, the putting away of sin, is the work to be done. The cleansing, therefore, is a spiritual cleansing, a cleansing from sin. But how came these sins attached to the sanctuary, either the earthly or the heavenly? This can easily be ascertained from the ministration connected with the type, to which we now turn. The closing chapters of Exodus give an account of the construction of the earthly sanctuary, and the arrangement of the service connected therewith. Leviticus opens with an account of the ministration, which was there to be performed. All that it is to our purpose to notice here, was one particular branch of the service, which was performed as follows: The person who had committed sin, brought his victim to the door of the tabernacle. Upon the head of this victim, for a moment in solemn silence, he placed his hand. By this expressive act, he signified that he had sinned and was worthy of death, but that in his stead he consecrated his victim, and transferred his guilt to it. With his own hand (and what must have been his emotions?) he then took the life of his victim on account of that guilt. The law demanded the life of the transgressor for his disobedience; the life is in the blood; Lev. 17: 11, 14; hence, without the shedding of blood there is no remission; with the shedding of blood remission is possible; for the law demanded life, and its demand is satisfied. The blood of the victim, representative of a forfeited life, and the vehicle of its guilt, was then taken by the priest and sprinkled before the veil in the sanctuary. The sin of the individual was thus transferred from himself to the sanctuary. Victim after victim was offered by the people; day by day the work went forward; and thus the sanctuary continually became the receptacle of the sins of the congregation. But was this the final disposition of these sins? It was not. This accumulation of guilt was removed by a special service which was called the cleansing of the sanctuary. This service in the type occupied one day in the year; and the tenth day of the seventh month on which it was performed, was called the day of atonement. On this day, while all Israel refrained from work, and afflicted their souls, the priest brought two goats and presented them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. On these goats he cast lots; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scape-goat. The one upon which the Lord’s lot fell, was then slain, and his blood was carried by the priest into the most holy place of the sanctuary, this being the only day on which he was permitted to enter into that apartment, and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat. Coming forth, he was then to lay both his hands upon the head of the scape-goat, confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and thus putting them upon his head, was to send him away by the hand of a fit man into a land not inhabited, a land of separation or forgetfulness; the goat never again to appear in the camp of Israel, and the sins of the people to be remembered against them no more. This service was for the purpose of cleansing the people from their sins, and the sanctuary and its sacred vessels. Lev. 16: 30, 33. By this process sin was removed, but only in figure; for all that work was typical. The reader to whom these views are new, will be ready here to inquire, perhaps with some astonishment, what this strange work could possibly be designed to typify; what there is in this dispensation, which it was designed to prefigure. We answer, A work in the ministration of Christ, as Paul clearly teaches. After stating in Hebrews 8, that Christ is the minister of the true tabernacle, the sanctuary in Heaven, he states that the priests on earth served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. In other words, the work of the earthly priests was a shadow, an example, a correct representation, so far as it could be carried out by mortals, of the ministration of Christ above. These priests ministered in both apartments of the earthly tabernacle; Christ therefore ministers in both apartments of the heavenly temple; for that temple has two apartments, or it was not correctly represented by the earthly, and our Lord officiates in both, or the service of the priests on earth was not a correct shadow of his work. But Paul directly states that he ministers in both apartments; for he says that he has entered into the holy place (Greek, plural, holy places) by his own blood. Heb. 9: 12. There is, therefore, a work performed by Christ in his ministry in the heavenly temple, corresponding to that performed by the priests in both apartments of the earthly building. But the work in the second apartment, or most holy place, was a special work, to close the yearly round of service, and cleanse the sanctuary. Therefore Christ’s ministration in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary must be a work of like nature, and constitute the cleansing of that sanctuary. As through the sacrifices of the former dispensation, the sins of the people were transferred in figure by the priests to the earthly sanctuary, where these priests ministered; so, ever since Christ ascended to be our intercessor in the presence of his Father, the sins of all those who legitimately seek pardon through him, are transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary where he ministers. Whether Christ ministers for us in the heavenly holy places with his own blood literally or only by virtue of its merits, we need not stop to inquire. Suffice it to say, that his blood has been shed, and through that blood we have remission of sins in fact which was obtained only in figure through the blood of calves and goats. But those sacrifices had real virtue in this respect: they signified faith in a real sacrifice to come; and thus those who employed them have an equal interest in the work of Christ, with those who come to him by faith in this dispensation. This continual transfer of sins to the heavenly sanctuary, and if they are not thus transferred, will any one in the light of the types, and in view of the language of Paul, explain the nature of the work of Christ in our behalf;—this continual transfer, we say, of sins to the heavenly sanctuary makes its cleansing necessary on the same ground that a like work was required in the earthly. An important distinction between the two ministrations must here be noticed: In the earthly tabernacle a complete round of service was accomplished every year. For three hundred and sixty-four days the ministration went forward in the first apartment. One day’s work in the most holy, completed the yearly round. The work then commenced again in the holy place, and went forward till another day of atonement completed the year’s work. And so on year by year. This continual repetition of the work was necessary on account of the short lives of mortal priests. But no such necessity exists in the case of our divine Lord, who ever liveth to make intercession for us. See Heb. 7: 23-25. Hence the work of the heavenly sanctuary, instead of being a yearly work, is but once completed. Instead of being repeated year by year, one grand cycle is allotted to it, in which it is carried forward, and completed once for all. One year’s round of service, in the earthly sanctuary, represented the entire work of the sanctuary above. In the type the cleansing of the sanctuary was the brief and closing work of the year’s service. In the antitype the cleansing of the sanctuary must be the closing work of Christ our great high priest, in the tabernacle on high. In the type, to cleanse the sanctuary the high priest entered into the most holy place to minister in the presence of God before the ark of his testament. In the antitype, when the time comes for the cleansing of the sanctuary, our High Priest, in like manner enters into the most holy place to make a final end of his intercessory work in behalf of mankind. We confidently affirm that no other conclusion can be arrived at on this subject, without doing despite to the holy word of God. Reader, do you see the importance of this subject? Do you begin to perceive what an object of interest for all the world is the sanctuary of God? Do you see that the whole work of salvation centers there; and that when the work is done, probation is ended and the cases of the saved and lost are eternally decided? Do you see that the cleansing of the sanctuary is a brief and special work by which the great scheme is forever finished? Do you see that if it can be made known when this work of cleansing commences, it is a solemn announcement to the world, that salvation’s last hour is reached, and is fast hastening to its close? And this is what the prophecy is designed to show. It is to make known the commencement of this momentous work: “Unto two thousand three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” In advance of any argument on the nature and application of these days, the position may be safely taken that they reach to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, for the earthly was to be cleansed each year; and we make the prophet utter nonsense, if we understand him as saying that at the end of 2300 days, over six years, even if we take them literally, an event should take place, which was to occur regularly every year. It is the heavenly sanctuary in which the decision of all cases is to be rendered. The progress of the work there, is what especially concerns mankind to know. If people understood the bearing of these subjects on their eternal interests, with what earnestness and anxiety would they give them their most careful and prayerful study. F. H. MORRISON: We think 1 Cor. 11: 5, 6, has reference to the customs of society at the time the language was written. With the Greeks and Romans in those days it was usual for all women of modest deportment and virtuous characters, to wear a vail. Only those of an opposite character appeared without them. Hence a woman so appearing, dishonored her head, or husband, verse 3. By the law of Moses, a woman suspected of adultery was deprived of her vail. Num. 5: 18. And if a woman refused to wear a vail, let her says Paul, be shorn (of her hair); this being, at that time, a punishment for adultery. If the woman would persist in presenting an immodest appearance, let her wear the badge of infamy by being shaven. “SUBSCRIBER” from Boston, Mass., asks: “When we meet together for worship away from home on the Sabbath, is it right to buy food, having neglected to bring it from home?” We are inclined to answer this question according to a very usual Yankee method, by asking another: Why should the bringing of all necessary food from home be neglected? We think a person should not fail to make provision for all circumstances, so far as they can be foreseen. But if he finds himself unexpectedly without food, and it is not thought advisable to fast, and provision can be procured in no other way, it then becomes a matter of necessity or of mercy to purchase. But if the condition supposed has resulted from carelessness or inexcusable neglect, we should say, let a repetition of it be rendered very improbable by the person’s maintaining a rigid fast. INQUIRER, West Union, Iowa: We think that there can be but little doubt that “who” in Rom. 5: 14, refers to Adam. The construction seems to demand this. Adam is the one of whom Paul is specially speaking, and is the leading subject in the verse. It is most natural, therefore, that the relative, who, should refer back to him as its antecedent. Verses 13–17 inclusive are parenthetical. By reading verse 18 in connection with verse 12, leaving out the parenthesis, it will be seen that Paul’s subject is Adam and Christ, and the contrast between their works. By Adam came death; by Christ comes life. And the expression in verse 14 that death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, seems to be designed to show that we suffer death not for our own transgressions, but in consequence of Adam’s sin. So by the obedience of Christ, and his intervention in behalf of the race, we are to be released from this death, even although we have not been obedient after the similitude of Christ’s righteousness. That which comes upon us unconditionally, as a consequence of Adam’s transgression, is removed unconditionally by Christ. Had Adam never sinned, and had the race continued in uprightness the allotted period of their probation, he would have stood forth at last as the father and head of a righteous people, they having derived their life through him. But Adam having lost this privilege through sin, Christ now comes in to save as many as will avail themselves of his proffered aid. Thus Christ takes the place of Adam in reference to the saved, being their Redeemer, and they deriving their life through him. In this respect he occupies the same position that Adam would have occupied but for sin; hence Adam is taken as a type, figure, or representation, of Christ, who is plainly called by Paul, the second Adam. 1 Cor. 15: 45–49. Bro. Smith: Seventh-day Adventists hold that there will be a law passed prohibiting any one from working on Sunday, and inflicting a penalty for not observing it. That being so, how do you account for the fact that there is a more liberal feeling in regard to the observance of Sunday now than formerly? Men who formerly regarded Sunday as a sacred day, now take the ground that all days are alike. In the city of Boston the feeling in regard to Sunday has so changed that they are about ready to open the public library on Sunday. Is there to be a change in the minds of the people in regard to the observance of Sunday? If so, how is it to be brought about? Ought there to be a law passed against the violation of the Sabbath? Ought there to be a law passed against the violation of any of the moral precepts? These questions are asked us, and we would like the opinion of others. Reply. Human enactments can properly have reference to the protection of life and property, and all the rights and privileges of individuals as members of society. We do not think they can legitimately go beyond this. In regard to the Sunday law, opposition to it is necessary, in order to bring out the sentiment in its favor. There would be no more agitation upon this subject to-day than there was twenty years ago, did it not appear that the very existence of the institution was menaced in certain directions. It is these very things, such as the move to open the public library in Boston, the opening of the theater in California, the agitation of the street railway question in Cincinnati, Baltimore, and other cities, that is going to rouse the friends of Sunday to protect it by stringent laws. And while some may be growing more liberal, many others are growing more stringent. Not a few who a short time since did not believe in any Sunday restriction, now clamor loudly for a Sunday law. The churches can carry the measure, whenever they move unitedly in the matter. Camp-Meetings: Keeping Jesus in Our Company
By Ellen G. White
The last evening we enjoyed upon the Nora campground, the Lord blessed me with unusual freedom in speaking to the people, of the necessity of having Jesus in their company as they returned to their homes. I spoke of the importance of coming to such meetings with a mind to work for their own salvation, and that of others. They should have the object before them of earnestly seeking for a deeper work of grace, and a more thorough knowledge of the truth, that they may “be ready always, to give an answer to every man that asketh, a reason of the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear,” “having a good conscience, that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. And an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” There can be no influence so detrimental to a camp-meeting, or any gathering for religious worship, as much visiting and careless conversation. Frequently men and women assemble in companies, and engage in conversation upon common subjects, which do not relate to the meeting. Some have brought their farms with them, and others their houses, laying their plans for building. Some are dissecting the characters of others, and have no time or disposition to search their own hearts, to discover the defects in their own characters, that they may correct their wrongs, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. If all who profess to be followers of Christ would improve the time out of meeting in conversing upon the truth, and dwelling upon the Christian’s hope, and in searching their own hearts, and in earnest prayer before God, pleading for his blessing, there would be a much greater work accomplished than we have yet seen. Unbelievers, who falsely accuse those who believe the truth, would be convinced, because “of their good conversation in Christ.” The words and actions are the fruit which we bear; “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” God gave direction to the Israelites to assemble before him in the place which he should choose, and observe special days, at set periods, wherein no unnecessary work was to be done; but the time was to be devoted to a consideration of the blessings of God bestowed upon them. At these special seasons they were to bring gifts, free-will offerings, and thank-offerings, unto the Lord, according as the Lord had blessed them. They were directed to rejoice—the man-servant and maid-servant, the stranger, the fatherless and widow—that God had by his own wonderful power brought them from servile bondage to the enjoyment of freedom. And they were commanded not to appear before the Lord empty. They were to bring tokens of their gratitude to God for his continual mercies and blessings bestowed upon them. These offerings were varied, according to the estimate which the donors placed upon the blessings they were privileged to enjoy. Thus the characters of the people were plainly developed. Those who placed a high value upon the blessings God bestowed upon them, brought offerings in accordance with their appreciation of his blessings. Those whose moral powers were stupefied and benumbed by selfishness and idolatrous love of the favors received, rather than of fervent love for their bountiful Benefactor, brought meager offerings. Thus their hearts were revealed. Besides these special religious feast-days of gladness and rejoicing, the yearly passover was to be commemorated by the Jewish nation. The Lord covenanted that if they were faithful in the observance of his requirements, he would bless them in all their increase, and in all the works of their hands. God requires no less of his people in these last days, in sacrifices and offerings, than he did of the Jewish nation. Those whom God has blessed with a competency, also the widow and the fatherless, should not be unmindful of his blessings. Especially should those whom God has prospered render to God the things that are God’s. They should appear before him with a spirit of self-sacrifice, and bring their offerings in accordance with the blessings God has bestowed upon them. But many whom God prospers manifest base ingratitude to him. If his blessings rest upon them, and he increases their substance, they make these bounties as cords to bind them to the love of their possessions, and they allow worldly business to take possession of their affections, and their entire being, and neglect devotion and religious privileges. They cannot afford to leave their business cares, and come before God, even once a year. They turn the blessings of God into a curse. They serve their own temporal interests, at the neglect of God’s requirements. Men, with their thousands, remain at home, year after year, engrossed in their worldly cares and interests, and feel that they cannot afford to make the small sacrifice of attending the yearly gatherings to worship God. He has blessed them in basket and in store, and surrounded them with his benefits on the right hand and on the left, yet they withhold from God the small offerings he has required of them. They love to serve themselves. Their souls will be like the unrefreshed desert without the dew or rain of heaven. The Lord has brought to them the precious blessing of his grace. He has delivered them from the slavery of sin, and the bondage of error, and has opened to their darkened understandings the glorious light of present truth. And shall these evidences of God’s love and mercy call forth no gratitude in return? Will those who profess to believe that the end of all things is at hand be blind to their own spiritual interest, and live for this world, and this life alone? Do they expect their eternal interest will take care of itself? Spiritual strength will not come without an effort on their part. Many who profess to be looking for the appearing of our Lord are anxious, burdened, gain-seekers for this world. They are blind to their eternal interest. They labor for that which satisfies not. They spend their money for that which is not bread. They strive to content themselves with the treasures they have laid up upon the earth, which must perish. And they neglect the preparation for eternity, which should be the first and only real work of their life. Let us all who possibly can, attend these yearly gatherings. All should feel that God requires this of them. If they do not avail themselves of the privileges God has provided for them to become strong in him, and in the power of his grace, they will grow weaker and weaker, and have less and less desire to consecrate all to God. Come, brethren and sisters, to these sacred convocation meetings, to find Jesus. He will come up to the feast. He will be present, and he will54 do for you that which you need most to have done. Your farms should not be considered of greater value than the higher interests of the soul. All the treasures you possess, be they ever so valuable, would not be rich enough to buy you peace and hope, which would be infinite gain, if it cost you all you have, and the toils and sufferings of a life-time. To have a strong, clear sense of eternal things, and a heart of willing obedience to yield all to Christ, are blessings of more value than all the riches, and pleasures, and glories of this world. These camp-meetings are of importance. They cost something. The servants of God are wearing out their lives to help the people, while many of them appear as if they did not want help. For fear of losing a little of this world’s gain, some let these precious privileges come and go, as though they were of but little importance. Let all who profess to believe the truth, respect every privilege that God offers them to obtain clearer views of his truth, and his requirements, and the necessary preparation for his coming. A calm, cheerful and obedient trust in God is what he requires. You need not weary yourselves with busy anxieties and needless cares. Work on for the day, faithfully doing the work which God’s providence assigns you, and he will have a care for you. Jesus will deepen and widen your blessings. You must make efforts if you have salvation at last. Come to these meetings prepared to work. Leave your home cares, and come to find Jesus, and he will be found of you. Come with your offerings as God has blessed you. Show your gratitude to your Creator, the giver of all your benefits, by a free-will offering. Let none who are able come empty-handed. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” ELLEN G. WHITE. Practical Thoughts on Scripture Subjects.
By John Nevins Andrews
We have to experience much pain in this life in parting with our dearest friends, yet duty plainly demands the sacrifice, and we must cheerfully make it for Christ’s sake. But all these seasons of separation are of no account when we consider the events before us. We separate now, hoping to meet again in this life; or if not in this life, then in the kingdom of God. But when the final decision of the Judgment is rendered, then there will be a separation so terrible that no words can express it: some to everlasting life, and some to the pains of the second death. Parents and children and friends must separate to meet no more. How will it be with us in that day? We must confess our sins. Our own good demands this. The honor of God and the interests of his cause do also demand it. But when we confess our sins we must not mix with it the justification of ourselves. Nor should we be so general and indefinite that there shall be no humiliation on our part. We must make clean work of putting away our sins. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us. We must never be satisfied till the Spirit of God witnesses with our spirits. It is better to humble ourselves with genuine repentance than to go on unhumbled to the Judgment. There every knee will bow, but it will be too late. Let us attend to this work while it will be possible for us to put away our sins. Those who use this pernicious weed can desist if they have the heart to do it. Yet many persons are so wedded to this filthy idol that they will not put forth the requisite effort. They seek excuses of every kind, and perhaps resort to concealment as though, if they could hide from men the use of this abomination, they had nothing to fear from God. But their excuses are all of them founded in a lack of disposition to put away the sin. They lack the heart to make the great sacrifice, as they reckon it, of parting with this filthy and poisonous weed. They love its intoxicating power, and must have it. And so many of them, not able to satisfy their own consciences with their excuses, and therefore sensible that they cannot thus satisfy others, try to practice this sin, and yet keep it secret from the people of God. But this is an impossibility. This sin cannot be hid. Such is its offensive character that it will betray the transgressor. It is a sin that will find its authors out. Surely it is bad enough to be guilty of its use without being made a hypocrite in the effort to conceal the sin. The love of tobacco is stronger with many than the love of cleanliness, of purity, and of truth. This grim idol has to be worshiped at the sacrifice of these excellent and noble qualities. It is not different in principle from the worship of old Moloch which men honored with the sacrifice of their dearest objects of love. Such strange infatuation shows how direct is the connection of this evil habit with the power of the devil to lead men to ruin. If men desire eternal life, they must put away this evil thing. J. N. A. To the Absent Members of our Churches in Iowa.
By George I. Butler
THE following resolution was unanimously passed at our recent State Conference near Marion, to which I desire to call the especial attention of all the class in this State, to whom reference is made: “Whereas, The duty of exercising a watchcare over its members is obligatory upon every church; and as this cannot be done in the case of absent members unless they frequently report themselves, therefore Resolved, That this Conference, considers it the duty of all the absent members of our churches to report themselves to their respective churches as often as once in three months. And furthermore, that we consider the persistent neglect of this duty a sufficient ground for church labor; and we advise our churches to judiciously carry this resolution into effect.” This matter of absent membership in our churches is becoming an embarrassing one. In some of them quite a large percentage of the entire membership do not meet with the church at all, or very rarely, not living within convenient distance. Many of them do not report themselves at all, and in some cases churches have known nothing of some of their absent members for years. The thing is getting to be a nuisance, and something must be done. In many instances our absent members have been requested to report; but that seems not to have the desired effect. So this resolution was passed by our State Conference. It means business. And we here inquire, Of what use is a membership in a church to the one possessing it who never has interest enough in its prosperity to report his condition, his feelings, his desires, &c? What good does the church do him? I have always supposed one benefit of church fellowship to consist in association. To communicate with, and exhort each other, to counsel with, and share each other's joys and sorrows, and in this and other ways aid each other in the Christian race. All these particulars require that there should be communication between the church and its absent members. And of what benefit to the church are members who never report themselves, and of whose life the church knows nothing? They are rather a source of weakness; and it is a fact that some of our churches are exceedingly burdened in this way, and their usefulness endangered. Our churches ought to be efficient, full of life and interest for every member. In order that this result may be reached, the members must have an interest in the church. If there is an interest it will most likely be manifested. The Conference has expressed itself upon this point, and made the duty of all absent members plain. We expect then that all who have any real interest in their several churches, will promptly report themselves as often as once in three months. Let your reports come in, directed to the elder or leader of your church, informing your brethren and sisters of your feelings, hopes, and spiritual condition generally. And of course all who really desire to help in the cause of the Lord will see that their s. D. is also sent in just as promptly as though they lived in the vicinity of the church. This resolution embraces all members who are absent from their churches whether they have taken a letter or not. Some get the idea because they have a letter from the church, they have no longer a connection with it. This is a mistake. All the letter is for is to let those with whom you may come in contact know you are a person worthy of their confidence, and that there is nothing standing against you in the church of which you are a member. Our General Conference has expressed itself on this point, that a person retains his original membership until he joins another church. So this resolution means those who have letters, or those who have none. As I said, the resolution means business. Now I do not mean this as a threat, but the idea is this: The thing has gone so far, that for the sake of the cause in some of our churches, something must be done. We hope our brethren and sisters will act cordially and willingly, and do what their own judgment must tell them is reasonable, and not constrain the churches to take other measures. I would say further to those who may see this article, who know themselves to be members of the Mt. Pleasant church (of which I am a member) it especially means you. That church is worse off in this respect than most others. There are members of it whose post office address is not known to us; and we hope they will at once act upon these suggestions. Something must be done and that ere long. Let us all be prompt in doing our whole duty, and thus not stand in the way of the cause and work of God. Adel, Iowa, July 11, 1870. The Minnesota Tent.
By H. F. Phelps
It may be a few words from us will not be out of place. Thinking it was best to follow up the interest that had arisen during the camp-meeting in Wasioja, July 7, the tent was pitched in this place. The congregations have been good from the first. There seemed to be an ear to hear, and interest has rather been on the increase. Some of the ministers have regularly attended, while others have shown opposition of the most effectual kind—keeping away, and working secretly to keep the people over whom they could have any influence, away from the meetings. May the Lord have mercy on all such. A minister from Mantorville was sent for, to preach an opposition sermon on the Sabbath. No particularly-new argument was brought forward. In fact, he admitted that all was binding up to the crucifixion. His admissions and arguments were so much in our favor that the people complained that instead of proving Sunday, he proved the seventh-day Sabbath. Some were convinced by his own discourse that we had the truth. He admitted that the New Testament said nothing for the change of the Sabbath. But as God taught us, both by positive command and by circumstance, the disciples having met so many times on the first day, and Christ meeting with them, proved that the Sunday was the Sabbath. He said the Sabbath was made for all time, and that the law of the Sabbath was made for the whole human family. He said that unless men kept the Sabbath they would go to hell; that a man who broke the Sabbath by fishing or hunting, was just as bad as if he murdered. He also stated that there was physical impossibilities in the way of keeping the Sabbath, on a definite day. So he would send us to hell if we did not keep what we could not keep. He said a seventh part of time was all that was required (of course provided always that seventh part of time came on Sunday). He spoke of traveling east or west 180 degrees, and gaining or losing one-fourth of a day. Should he travel 180 degrees by steam, he would gain or lose one whole day. He said that people who ignored the writings of the Fathers were either bigots or fools, or both; so that Martin Luther, Wesley, and Adam Clarke, would certainly come in for a share, for they looked with suspicion upon the writings of the Fathers, and went to God’s word to see what they were required to believe. But the speaker very highly appreciated the writings of the Fathers. He then quoted from Leo. He did not, however, tell the people he was a pope of Rome. He called to the stand St. Constantine, reading his edict in favor of Sunday, in 321 A. D., which was shown by Bro. Ingraham to have been given while he was a heathen55 emperor, two years before he was converted. Not much saint about that. He also referred to Watson, Smith, Leander, and Moshiem, writers of a recent date, and Watson acknowledging no Bible testimony for Sunday in the very quotation he read. This discourse was reviewed the following evening by Bro. Ingraham, in the tent, before a good congregation of intelligent and thoughtful men and women. Last evening he finished the review, and also brought out some arguments in favor of the Sabbath and its perpetuity. When a vote of the congregation was taken for all who believe that the Bible taught the observance of the Sunday, to rise to their feet, not one in the tent rose. Then a vote was called for all who believed the Bible taught the observance of the seventh day, whether they intended to keep it or not, to rise, when upwards of 30 rose. May God help them to obey. Night before last we were visited by a wind storm, which, in spite of our efforts to take down the tent, took it down for us, breaking stakes, ropes, &c., besides otherwise injuring it. But willing and busy hands readily took hold, and by night all was ready again for operation, we understand the damage through the country was considerable. At Owatonna, west of here, it unroofed and capsized buildings. Brethren, pray for the success of the truth in Minnesota, that, despite of the opposition of the devil, it may bear off the victory. H. F. PHELPS.