REV. J. M. SAVAGE, whose name is not unfamiliar on both sides of the ocean, states conclusions which are but those of multitudes of persons like himself. For more than twenty-five years he has been a close observer and investigator of these phenomena. He says that in forming his opinion he has used no “dark seance” occurrences as evidence; has followed the most rigid scientific method; has kept nothing which was doubtful, and nothing which he has not seen and known and demonstrated to be true. His decision concerning moving objects, such as tables, pianos, a chair (with himself in it), etc., is that they were moved “beyond question or qualification of statement, in a way inexplicable on the theory that only the muscular power of any person present was involved.”
Equally positive and equally representative is the following, taken from the same source:—
There are clairaudience, clairvoyance. There is the visible movement of physical bodies without any visible reason for their moving; there is the playing of musical instruments by no visible fingers or hands; there are visions, there are voices, there are scenes and experiences on death-beds; there are what are called hauntings, wraiths, doubles, phantoms of the dead and of the living. There is no sort of question that there are phantasms of both the dead and the living. That what we call ghosts exist, no unprejudiced student has the slightest doubt.
We might give our own evidence on several of these points, which has led us to the same conclusion, but we prefer to quote from one so widely known. We have had ghosts appear in our own house when there was not, so far as we know, a medium in the town; we know absolutely reliable persons, non-believers in Spiritism, who have seen phantasms of their living friends, to say nothing of others who have seen the apparitions of the dead, and that when no medium whom they were aware of was about.
It is useless to deny these things. And the fact is, they are becoming more astonishing as the years advance.
Equally certain is it, equally well established, that behind these things there is intelligence. As the same author says, “I know that they”—the raps—“indicate intelligence.” It has been demonstrated again and again that this is not due to the “psychics,” for the communications are frequently concerning matters which are demonstrably unknown to the mediums by whose aids the raps or trance speaking occurs. He further states what is simply a fact beyond dispute when he says, “After years of investigation, a large number of the leading thinkers, students, authors, scientists, physical scientists, chemists, mathematicians—great minds—have come to believe that there is no possible way of explaining that which has been over and over again proved to be fact without supposing that they have been in communication with some invisible intelligence. That is at present my own belief. . . . . If somebody can give me an explanation for my facts, I will take it. . . . That they are facts I know. . . . I believe because a fact has come to me and been handled by myself—a fact which I can explain in no other way.”
We do not say that these physical phenomena are supernatural; but the closer they are studied and their extreme subtlety and cunning in many cases observed, the more we are led to the conclusion that conscious human deception does at times run into superhuman manipulation. And this we believe would be the decision of any such ordinary jury as we should with perfect confidence trust as competent to try the evidence in a case involving the death penalty. If these were the days of Moses, when every person having communication with “familiar spirits” was stoned, we have serious doubts whether all the mediums of to-day could convince the hard sense of the old warrior and statesman that they were not deserving of that fate, if not for being in league with the devil, at least for being so devilish in character that they were no longer fit to mix with decent society, a menace to the peace and welfare of the body politic.
Certainly there are tricks galore; and in these days when we carry air in a pail as we would water, and look through a man as through a dirty window-glass, when we talk with each other over a distance of more than two-hundred miles without so much as a wire to carry the message; who would venture to assert that, if we understood the occult forces of nature a little better, we might not manipulate electricity in such a way as to produce ghosts at pleasure without any visible physical agent? Indeed, a well-known and fully accredited medium, with whom I was at one time in correspondence, wrote that “every medium knows how difficult it often is in cloudy weather to get manifestations.” Every school-boy likewise knows the effect of muggy atmosphere upon electric currents, as do also many victims of the electric light, car, and telephone.
It is said of the Greek Lysander that where the lion’s skin fell short, he eked it out with the fox’s. This is much the principle acted upon by spirit mediums; rather than lose the shekels resulting from the admission fees of a good audience, where Mephisto fails they supply the deficiency with magic. This is the written confession to me of the medium before mentioned, after he became a converted man.
It is certain so far as human experiments can determine, that, whether we are willing to believe or not the use of merely natural laws in the production of these physical phenomena, many of them, through whatever agency performed, are supernormal in character, even tho in many cases this may consist chiefly in the bafflingly subtle combination and use of merely natural laws—physical and psychological.
The problem, therefore, becomes this: Given superhuman intelligence, to what sort of being does it belong? Is it of an angel, of a dead man, or of a devil?
Scientifically (without the Bible), we know no more about angelic beings than we do about demons. We must consequently discuss the question from the standpoint of what the manifestations themselves purport to be; and the one ever-persistent claim running through them all, and held without exception by Spiritist propagandists, is that the phenomena are caused by disembodied souls.
We have, then, but two scientific facts to reason from: (1), that there is extrinatural intelligence; (2), that this claims to belong to some dead person.
If this claim can be substantiated, the thing is settled. But a claim is in no sense a demonstration. Hence, how could it be demonstrated? The answer is, By proving that no other hypothesis could explain the facts. But if we ask ourselves whether any other supposition can with equal facility comprehend all of the facts, we find not a single phenomenon which might not be as readily explained on the theory that it was effected by an evil spirit bent on deceiving mankind.
Here science must rest its case if it determines to omit all moral considerations. Any man is of course at liberty to believe whichever of the above interpretations he prefers; but let him forever remember that it is merely preference and not proof.
For emphasis we will say again, that this question can be settled (outside of the Bible) only by a consideration of the moral character of the phenomena themselves.
Then the matter becomes perfectly easy; for we have already seen fraud and deception entering into the whole fabric to such an extent that the main question in the scientific view yet is, whether the entire thing is not the mere production of shameless rascals.
And yet multitudes exalt this stuff into a religion. Be astonished, O ye heavens! It certainly is not to be wondered at that every long-haired freak and mountebank can gain followers, when such vast numbers will stultify every instinct of reason and degrade every moral faculty by enslaving them to a superstition whose very life is drawn from the breast of deceit.
[The consideration of the “Physical Phenomena of Spiritism” will be concluded next week. The Scriptural side will then be considered.]
BEYOND THE BIBLE.
By J. O. Beard
THE first thought that suggests itself on this heading is that above and beyond the Bible is God, the author of it, and the Holy Spirit, by which it was given.
But there is another sense in which the words may be used; that is, to get beyond the use or need of the Bible. Truly speaking, that would be as impossible as for a man to step off into the air above the ladder up which he has climbed.
Last fall a man said to me, “Do you know, I do not read the Bible as much as I used to.” A little questioning brought out the idea that when a man is sanctified and is walking with God, the Holy Spirit will reveal divine things to him independently of the Bible. He thought he did not need the Bible because God talked directly to him. He belongs to a class of sanctificationists who draw this conclusion from John 14:26 and 16:13. They think that knowledge will be revealed to them just as they need it, consequently they do not need to trouble themselves to find out what has already been revealed.
This is one of the most dangerous positions that a man could assume. It at once shuts him off from that which would enable him to properly test his experiences and whatever revelations he may have. God will be consistent with Himself, and what He may reveal in these last days will not contradict what He has revealed in the past. So, if a man believes God has made a special revelation to him, the first test he should apply is whether it is in perfect harmony with God’s past revelations of His will. But in making such a test it will6be necessary to study the Bible very carefully.
It is not the province of a teacher to discover a science nor to compile a text-book, but so to guide the pupil that he may understand, and be able to use the principles already given in the text-book. Therefore the promise of the Holy Spirit as a teacher is not a promise of a new revelation, but a bringing to remembrance of the things already revealed, and so setting them before us that we can understand and apply them.
Further, God will not reveal anew that which He has already revealed and has had recorded for the benefit of the world. For example, the Lord had told through Jeremiah (ch. 29:10) that he would leave the Israelites in Babylonian captivity for seventy years. He did not repeat this to Daniel, but left him to learn it from what Jeremiah had written. See Dan. 9:2. Yet Daniel was “greatly beloved” in heaven, and was God’s chosen prophet to Israel during their captivity.
Add to this the constant reference made to the Scriptures by the inspired writers, and the oft-repeated injunction to study and obey these Scriptures, and it is very plain that God did not plan for us ever to get beyond the need of the Bible while in this world.
The Lord said to Isaiah (30:8): “Write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come.” To Daniel He said (12:4): “Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.”
The psalmist says: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105. And Timothy was instructed so to study that he might have God’s approval by being able rightly to divide the word of truth: for “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. 2:15 and 3:16, 17. Even the Lord Jesus, who was the very embodiment of righteousness, and who daily communed with His Father, repelled the attacks of Satan by quotations from the Scriptures, which he introduced with the words, “It is written.”
From all this, and much more that might be given, it is forcibly and emphatically evident that any spirit which is giving revelations to a man, and at the same time impresses him that he need not read the Bible, or that he may neglect to obey any of its commandments, is not the Spirit of God; and, therefore being a deceiver, must be the spirit of the devil. Then let us bring all matters of faith to the great test, “to the law and to the testimony” (Isa. 8:20), thus proving all things, so that we may hold on to that which is good. 1 Thess. 5:21.
J. O. BEARD.
WAS IT A VISION OR A REALITY?
The Resurrection of Moses.
A CORRESPONDENT feels uncertain concerning the meaning of the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration, recorded in Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36.
1. The event is called a “vision.” Jesus said, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen from the dead” (Matthew, R. V.); He charged them that they should “tell no man what things they had seen” (Mark); and Luke tells us that the disciples “kept it close, and told no man in those days.”
2. The word rendered “vision” is horama, meaning vision, sight, “something gazed at; a spectacle.” In Acts 7:31 it is rendered “sight.” It simply means a “seeing” as in the English, and may be a reality tho supernatural.
3. The record seems to indicate that the things seen and heard were actually there. The mountain, the overshadowing glory, the voice from heaven, the two prophets, the talking with Jesus about His coming decease, were all evidently real. And tho all these were real, the whole scene was not less a vision, a seeing.
4. Of Elijah there can be no question as to his being alive; for he never died physically. He was translated without seeing death. 2 Kings 2:11.
5. Of the other prophet on the mount it is written: “So Moses, the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.” Deut. 34:5. If, therefore, Moses was actually on the Mount of Transfiguration, he must have had a resurrection; for according to the Scriptures, “The dead know not anything; . . . also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Eccl. 9:5, 6. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:4.
6. Did Moses have a resurrection? There are several scriptures which seem clearly to indicate this. These are as follows:—
“Michael the Archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, . . . said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Jude 9.
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise.” I Thess. 4:16.
“Death reigned from Adam to Moses, who is a figure of Him that was to come.” Rom. 5:14.
The name “Michael” means “who is like God.” “Archangel” means chief angel. Michael, the Son of God, before His incarnation was commander of all the heavenly host. See Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1. He is known also as the Angel of Jehovah. Ex. 23:20-23; Isa. 63:9, et al. The only conceivable contention that could take place between the great adversary and the Saviour of man over Moses’ body would be concerning its resurrection. Satan is the prince of death, who sets not his captives free. Christ is the Son of God, who sets free those captured by the enemy and taken to the land of death. See Isa. 49:24, 25; 61:1-3.
True, all of Christ’s conflict was not yet over when He met Satan over the grave of Moses. The struggle in human flesh was to be met. But the Archangel did not meet Satan in His own strength or name, but said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” And we know from Zech. 3:1-4, that “the voice of the Archangel” was triumphant, even as it will be when it calls all the sleepers of God.
While Rom. 5:14 is written primarily as a part of the apostle’s wonderful argument to prove the universality of sin and hence of God’s law, it incidentally clearly shows that the long reign of death over those who had fallen asleep was broken by the power of God through His Son in the raising of Moses.
7. But is it not said that Christ is “the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming”? 1 Cor. 15:23. It is. But “first-fruits” and “first-born” do not necessarily mean priority of time or first in date. These terms are frequently used to denote pre-eminence. To illustrate: Esau was in point of time the firstborn of Isaac, but Jacob was made the firstborn. See Ex. 4:22. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, and to him naturally belonged the priesthood, the rulership, and double portion; but Levi was chosen priest instead, Judah was given the rulership, and Joseph the double portion. 1 Chron. 5:1, 2. Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn, but God made Ephraim the firstborn. Gen. 48:14-18. And tho our blessed Lord was not the earliest among the children of earth who were loyal to God, the Lord declares: “I will make Him My Firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” Ps. 89:27. And so first-fruits is used of that which is pre-eminent. The last company gathered out of this world, translated when Christ comes, are said to be “the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Rev. 14:4. They are pre-eminent ones unto God. “The last shall be first.” So the Stone that the builders rejected became the Head of the corner. Christ is the first-fruits, the one by virtue of whose life all are raised from the dead. So in all probability Moses and Elijah were literally there.
8. The object of the transfiguration was to reveal the kingdom of God, the second coming of Christ. See Mark 9:1; Matt. 16:28. There will then be two classes of saved ones, those raised from the dead, and those translated without seeing death. The raising and manifestation of Moses was an earnest of the future resurrection, even as God gives to Christians His Spirit as the earnest of the eternal spiritual inheritance, even as Elijah was an earnest of those who should at last be translated7without seeing death. And this is the lesson that Peter draws from it in his second epistle. See 2 Pet. 1:16-18. We may call it a mere vision; but it seems to us a blessed reality, as real as the earnest, the pledges, that God is continually giving that all that He has promised will be fulfilled.
STUMBLING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
God notes and approves our best longings and strivings, even tho to our own consciousness we ever fall short of attaining. A loving mother, holding out her hand invitingly to her babe just beginning to toddle, welcomes the little one's effort to respond, notwithstanding its failures in its repeated trials. It is her child's longing to come to her that gladdens the mother's heart. Only a failure to respond to the welcoming hand would be unlike a true child.
God has ever more than a mother's love. His welcome to the little one who stumbles on the way to Him is ever surer than to one who stands firm, or moves erect, in another direction. God judges our actions by what we are striving to do, rather than by our obvious failures, such as others can perceive.—Sunday-school Times.
WHICH DEATH? WHICH LIFE?
“EXCEPT a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,” said the great Teacher, “it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. This is the root secret of Christian life and character.
It is one of the many seeming paradoxes or contradictions of the Bible which express the profoundest truth. In the commerce of Christianity, to give is to obtain; to withhold is to lose. To die is to live; to seek to live is to die.
He who gives himself receives Jesus Christ. He who lays his own life upon the altar, receives the life of God. He who seeks to retain his life “abideth alone,” and so cuts himself off from the eternal Source of life, and is bound to die. He who lives for self, dies forever. He who lives for God and the purchase of the blood of Christ, lives forever.
*Every man must die. The important thing is as to how he should die; for what he should die.*
Every man must die on account of sin; but it makes a vital difference as to what his relation is. Shall he die to sin, or die in sin? Shall he count Christ’s death for the sins of all his death, and so be separated from sin; or shall he hold to his own vain life, and retain the sin? The difference is eternally vital.
Man’s own life is selfish, self-centered. The life of God is beneficent, peripheral. Man’s life is converging; God’s life is radiating. Man’s life gathers to consume and keep; God’s life flows ever outward to give and bless. He who gives his own life in blessing is fed by the Life of the Universe in proportion to his giving. But he who receives of all the gifts of God for self-service, dies in the using.
He whose life is given in blessing, is blessed by all; for “all things work together for good to them that love God.” More than this, as in the Revised Version, “God worketh all things with them for good.” It is no mere fortuitous combination working for man; it is the active working of God in the great channels of righteousness. Surely, who is more blessed than the one who is blessed of all?
Then die to live, like the grain of good wheat. It falls from the seemingly careless hand of the sower or drops from a mouth of the insensate seeder. It seems to be lost forever. The dark soil covers it; the moisture softens it; the sun calls it; from it springs forth the tender shoot, which thrives by wind, and rain, and sunshine. The harvest comes, and, lo, the one lost seed is found a hundred seeds. So God will multiply the life of every one who lays all upon the altar for Him. Keep in mind the harvest.
“THE REST THAT REMAINS.”
IN the fourth chapter of Hebrews is a passage that is generally misunderstood and often perverted. Read carefully verses 1 to 11 from the Revised Version, as follows:—
“Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they; but the word of hearing did not profit them, because they were not united by faith with them that heard. For we which have believed do enter into that rest; even as He hath said, As I swear in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest: altho the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and in this place again, They shall not enter into My rest. Seeing therefore that it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, He again defineth a certain day, saying in David, after so long a time, To-day, as it hath been before said, To-day if ye shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience.”
The rest that is here spoken of is God's rest. When God created the earth for man's abode “He rested from all his works which God had created and made;” “on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.” See Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:17. He did not rest because He needed a physical cessation from work; for “the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary.” Isa. 40:28. His was a spiritual rest, a refreshing of soul, a delight in His perfect work for man. Adam fell, marred the works of God, sought delight in sin, and failed to enter God's rest.
When Noah was born, his parents thought him to be the promised Seed, and named him Noah, or Rest. And God would have given rest then if the Gospel message preached by Noah had been truly and fully accepted.
Again God came to His people when they were slaves in Egypt. He came to give them spiritual rest in a land of rest for an everlasting inheritance. He promised them that their days should be “as the days of heaven upon the earth.” Deut. 11:21. As an earnest of this promise He preserved their clothing and shoes, and the eyes of his faithful ones waxed not dim, nor did their natural force abate, in the many wanderings of forty years. Then and there God would have given rest to His people by Joshua, who led them across Jordan into the land of promise. See Ex. 33:14; Deut. 12:10. But the rest that they received was but temporary, and from physical foes. We are expressly told in Hebrews that “if Joshua [called in Greek, Jesus] had given them rest, He [God] would not have spoken afterward of another day.” This does not mean any weekly day; for that is not what God proposed through Joshua, but it refers to another time. When God's people as a nation refused to enter His rest, He limits, or defines, another day in David (Ps. 95:7). That day is “To-day.”
God will have the inheritance peopled with righteous characters. For these He has called all along the ages specially and generally. Through unbelief (disobedience) men have rejected Him, and entered not. From the time that Israel refused to enter in, no earthly land awaits the people of God; but “the rest remains,” and the time to accept it is “To-day.”
That rest is spiritual rest, rest from sin; rest from the tyranny of the world, the flesh, the devil. It can only come to those who yield up themselves, cease their own efforts as meriting salvation, and accept of the salvation and rest which God alone can give. That implies and involves creative power. Only that soul can enter God's rest who ceases from his own works. He must anew be “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10), His own good works.
The memorial of God's creative power is the seventh day, on which “He rested, and was refreshed.” Ex. 20:8-11; 31:17. The constant living sign of His power to sanctify and save through Christ Jesus is the Sabbath, in which God has placed His double blessing. Eze. 20:12, 20. That man who truly forsakes himself and his own works, who truly yields to Jesus Christ, finds God's rest from sin and sinning, and will, if he but knows it, rejoice in the rest of the Sabbath of the Lord. It will be an oasis of refreshing in a desert of dreariness; a living fountain, sending forth its life-streams in the brook by the way, from which the weary pilgrim may forever drink. It will witness continually of God's creative power to sanctify and keep day by day, and is a constant pledge of the earth made new by the creative power of God, the Sabbath rest which will be sempiternal, into which the redeemed of all ages shall enter, to go out no more forever. “Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience.”
OF WHOM SHALL WE LEARN?
By G.
A Jewish councilor and teacher called upon Jesus of Nazareth one evening for a friendly interview. The visitor’s name was Nicodemus, and he addressed our Lord in the most complimentary terms: “Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.” John 3:2.
Jesus did not indulge in any compliments. He saw His visitor’s need, and at once began to instruct him. According to the record, His response was prompt and direct: “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.” The logic of this one sentence was a complete overturning of the current Jewish theology, of which Nicodemus was the exponent. The Jews held and their teachers taught that they were the people of God and heirs of the coming kingdom by virtue of their natural birth. Therefore Nicodemus did not understand what the “Teacher come from God” meant by “born again.”
Then Jesus explained the matter further: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Then he made a personal application of the truth to Nicodemus himself: “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (margin, “from above”).
It is hard for one to give up the education and prejudices of many years’ inculcation, and it is usually the case that a teacher of any theory or doctrine is more loath to give it up than are others. So Nicodemus hesitated, and answered, “How can these things be?” Then came the Lord’s recognition of His visitor as a teacher. But it was not done in a flattering manner. It came rather as a rebuke: “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?” R. V.
Now we come to the marked contrast between these two teachers, who represent two classes of teachers. Jesus says, “We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.” Jesus taught the Word of God, and used the works of God as illustrations, taking the things around Him as object-lessons. Thus He taught the truth in a positive, tangible manner, adding nothing superfluous or incoherent. And this will be the course of all teachers who have been truly taught of God, who have themselves learned at the feet of Jesus.
On the other hand, here was “the teacher of Israel” that did not know the first principle of citizenship in the kingdom to which he and his people claimed to belong by natural birth. What, then, was he teaching?—He was teaching the wisdom of men. He was teaching traditions which would logically undermine the truth concerning the kingdom of God. He was teaching that which would keep himself and his pupils out of the kingdom. And just so it is with all who get their knowledge and their credentials from the world, or from institutions (whatever their profession) that are based on the traditions of men.
The Word of the Lord exhorts all people to “get wisdom;” for “wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding.” Where are we to get it? The great Text-book used by the greatest of all teachers says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” Again, “The Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” And, “A good understanding have all they that do His commandments.”
The One who is personally connected with our final examination as to fitness for a place in His kingdom has said: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” G.
Question Corner
1221.—Seven Women and One Man.
Please explain briefly the meaning of Isa. 4:1. Does it apply to polygamy? S. B. T.
The text is: “In that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” (1) The text is thought by some to have reference to a time of war when so many men are slain that women are led to make the plea given. (2) To us the language is figurative or symbolical of religious conditions in the last days. Thus the passage reads: “In that day shall seven women take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” A woman is the symbol of a church. Seven is the symbol of completeness, fulness. It would here denote the whole of a professed church. The one Man is Christ Jesus. These churches make a profession. They wish to be called Christian, to be considered as the spouse of Christ, and that is all. They say, “We will eat our own bread [instead of the food God provides, the Bread of Life], we will wear our own apparel [instead of the robe of righteousness furnished by Christ Jesus].” How true it is to-day. How many wish to feed upon the unwholesome viands of their own provision; dress in the mixed garments of their own worldly wearing, depending solely upon profession. Yet there is a true church: “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely, for them that are the escaped of Israel.” Verse 2.
1222. Predestination.
Does not Rom. 8:29, 30 mean that God predestinates? S. B. T.
They do teach predestination, a most precious doctrine indeed, when rightly understood. See Bible Students’ Library, No. 67, entitled, “Bible Election,” price 2 cents.
1223.—Interlinear Bible—King Saffonas. S. B. T.
We know of no Interlinear Bible as a whole. There are several Interlinear New Testaments, in which the Greek is literally translated by English interlined, the best of which we know is that of Hinds and Noble, 4, 5, 13, 14, Cooper Institute, New York City. The same firm have begun an Interlinear Old Testament, with a most beautiful Hebrew Text. The book of Genesis is published. We know of no king by the name of Saffonas.
1224.—Tables of Stone.
Why did the Lord require Moses to hew the second tables instead of preparing them Himself, as He did the first tables? J. S. M.
We do not know unless it was because Moses broke them. He evidently learned valuable lessons in preparing them. So man must yield his own heart to God that the divine finger may engrave thereon the holy law. There are valuable lessons in all those revelations of God in Exodus 32 to 34 inclusive.
The generation which should see the signs of the Lord’s coming in the light of the prophecy, the generation to whom would be given the last message, which would help to give it to the world, this generation should not pass till Christ came. The length of this generation we do not know. It is the generation now upon the earth, and the time is short. God’s people by earnestness and zeal may hasten His coming.
A STRANGE PICTURE.
By C. Castberg
Situated at the end of the magnificent thoroughfare the Champs Elysées, Paris, is the huge Arch of Triumph, one of the four triumphal arches which Napoleon I. intended to erect in commemoration of his victories. Among the groups of sculptures which adorn it is that by Rude, of the Genius of War summoning the nations to arms, sometimes called “The Departure.” This is the picture of the world to-day. The Genius of War is abroad in the land, and money and talent are laid as a votive offering at the feet of the war-god Mars.
The European races lay claim to a sort of monopoly in civilization. Every day brings new achievements in science and new advancements in things that go to make up the comforts of life. But at the same time the nations are unanimous in exerting every energy in their attempt to convert themselves into food for the vultures that hover over the fields of battle.
Every nation has exhausted its resources to the uttermost in preparing for war. It looks as if while they are straining every nerve in their endeavor to better themselves and gain the conveniences of life, all are agreed to go to bed having their doors barricaded, and their bodies protected by coats of mail. This picture would look extremely comical, if it was not so serious in its character.
All are agreed that some day this state of affairs must come to an end. The situation is unbearable, and men and means are equally exhausted. Now and then a voice is heard above the din of drums and the thunder of cannons advocating disarming; but where is the statesman who is able to devise a scheme for a general disarmament? A leader could not be found who would in earnest sanction anything of the kind. We have seen this demonstrated more than once. In the face of all the fair promises exchanged at the Hague conference of nations, wars have not abated one whit, but have increased both in number and in cruelty. This is indeed no triumph for the wisdom of the human race!
It can not be said that the nations are more savage now than formerly, more unreasonable or more unqualified to settle their difficulties by way of diplomacy. Neither are they averse to everything “international.” Affairs of an international character are arranged nearly every day; and as to congresses at which representatives of all the civilized nations are present, there is literally no end of them. Money and energy are expended in the vain hope of creating a security which no one feels, altho it is constantly guaranteed by a superfluity of assurances that all cherish but the most amiable and peaceful intentions.
This is the picture the world presents to-day, and what will be the outcome of the present strained relations among the nations? Our Saviour’s words, “Distress of nations, with perplexity;” “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth,” are surely fulfilling all around us. In the light of prophecy, we see the spirits of devils “go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” The deceiver of the whole world has great wrath, “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Do we realize that the time is short, that what we have to do, we ought to “do quickly”? “Behold, I come as a thief,” Jesus says. “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
