THE study in Romans last week was of the Gospel of Christ and its power to save men from sin. Verses 16, 17. Immediately following the statements of the apostle concerning the nature of the Gospel, he adds:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived thru the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: because that, knowing God, they glorified Him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened." Rom. 1:18-21. A.R.V.
By reading the foregoing verses in connection with the two verses that immediately precede them it will be seen that God gives the Gospel to save men. He has made abundant provision that no one need remain in sin, which is simply the Bible term for all forms of wrong-doing. "All unrighteousness is sin." 1 John 5:17. Then, since the Gospel provides for man's salvation, it follows as a logical conclusion that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness." Or, as another translation gives it, who "hold down" the truth in unrighteousness.
Since the Lord has provided a remedy for sin, and since sin that is not renounced and completely cleansed away by the Gospel always has and always will work misery and distress in the world, then it is only perfectly natural and logical that the "wrath of God" should be "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." And observe that it is not men that God directs His wrath against, but it is the "ungodliness and unrighteousness" of men. Those who yield to the terms of the Gospel permit the Lord to do what He is seeking all the time to do, and that is to separate the man from his sins, that He may direct His wrath against the sin alone and destroy that, and at the same time save the man from his sins. But for those who cling to their sins, it becomes necessary for the Lord in order to strike the sin to strike the sinner also.
There must come a time, then, according to this text, as is abundantly sustained by numerous other scriptures, when the Lord will be required to strike sin with the destroying power of His wrath. But the wrath of God that is thus directed against "all ungodliness" is not the sinful, spiteful, revengeful wrath that is exhibited by mankind. "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Eze. 33:11. Our God finds His pleasure in saving men, and not in destroying them; and so it is that when He finally comes to the necessity of destroying the ungodly He will find no pleasure in it; the destruction of the persistently wicked is the most merciful thing that God can do.
The unrighteous man will not be able to say in the judgment that he did not know any better. Read again these words: "Because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived thru the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity." That which is known of God is "manifest in them." The marvelous creative handiwork shown in the man himself can not help leading the mind to the great fact that such a complete piece of living mechanism could not have come into existence without an intelligent Creator back of it. The benighted heathen who has any thinking faculties worthy of the name must stop to think of himself, of how intricate is his organism, and of how perfectly each part of his body performs its respective duties. The human body thus formed and thus performing all its living, intelligent acts could not have just happened to come about in such a way. It could not thus happen into existence.
So, then, the invisible God is "clearly seen." He is "perceived thru the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity." Then, let it be observed that God does not confine a knowledge of Himself to His written word,—to the Bible. God reveals Himself in the works that He has created as well as in the words that He has written. And the one who will recognize Him in the things that He has made can just as readily recognize Him in the words of His Book. The two corroborate each other so fully that there is no difficulty upon this point.
The apostle then proceeds to draw another important conclusion in the verses quoted at the beginning of this article. He says, "Because that, knowing God, they glorified Him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened." The only thing that can keep any individual from plunging deeper and deeper into the degradations of sin is the power and influence that God is constantly exerting upon him. And it should be clear to any mind that all who resist this influence that the Lord is exerting to lift men upward in righteousness, must inevitably sink lower and lower in vices and sins. This is a spiritual truth that is as clear as any of the laws of physical science.
Having thus deliberately, in the face of the evidence that God has given, chosen to take the downward course by shutting God out of the knowledge, then the "senseless" heart is "darkened," and having thus shut themselves out in the dark the apostle proceeds to tell of their career in the following:
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves: for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due." Rom. 1:22-27. A.R.V.
Every well-informed person knows that there are now, and ever have been since the races of sinful men populated this earth, whole sections of the world where just such debasing vices as are described in the foregoing verses are practised. And not only is this true, but it is also true that where many of these heathenish vices are and have been practised there has been thrown over these shameful iniquities a sort of genteel cloak of so-called civilized respectability. Indeed, such vices as the apostle describes in the foregoing verses are not found among the barbarous tribes of the wild forests of uncivilized lands; but rather have they been found in those times and places where men have departed from God and have still held to an outward veneer that passed in their own minds at least as a high form of civilization and refinement.
There is a very interesting period in the world's history that is one of the most striking examples of this departure from God. It is described in the last verses of chapter one of Romans, but it will have to be left till next week to present the study upon it.
Drunkenness and Crime
By Mrs. E. G. White
(Concluded.)
By Mrs. E. G. White
The man who has a vicious beast and who, knowing its disposition, allows it liberty is by the laws of the land held accountable for the evil the beast may do. In the laws given to Israel the Lord directed that when a beast known to be vicious caused the death of a human being, the life of the owner should pay the price of his carelessness or malignity. On the same principle the government that licenses the liquor-seller should be held responsible for the results of his traffic. And if it is a crime worthy of death to give liberty to a vicious beast, how much greater is the crime of sanctioning the work of the liquor-seller!
The Liquor Traffic in San Francisco.
For a time after the great earthquake along the coast of California, the authorities in San Francisco and in some of the smaller cities and towns ordered the closing of all liquor saloons. So marked were the effects of this strictly-enforced ordinance that the attention of thinking men thruout America, and notably on the Pacific Coast, was directed to the advantages that would result from a permanent closing of all saloons.
During many weeks following the earthquake in San Francisco, very little drunkenness was seen. No intoxicating drinks were sold. The disorganized and unsettled state of affairs gave the city officials reason to expect an abnormal increase of disorder and crime, and they were greatly surprised to find the opposite true. Those from whom was expected much trouble, gave but little. This remarkable freedom from violence and crime was largely traceable to the disuse of intoxicants.
The editors of some of the leading dailies took the position that it would be for the permanent betterment of society and for the upbuilding of the best interests of the city, were the saloons forever to remain closed. But wise counsel was swept aside, and within a few short weeks permission was given the liquor-dealers to reopen their places of business upon the payment into the city treasury of a license-tax considerably higher than had formerly been paid.
In the Outlook of Nov. 3, 1906, the situation is thus described:
"During the two months and a half after April 18, San Francisco was probably the most orderly large city in the United States. Violence and crime were practically unknown. During that time the saloons and liquor-stores of the city were closed tight. About the middle of July the saloons were permitted to open again. This action of the city government was accompanied by the expectation on the part of many citizens of an outbreak of violence and disorder. Clergymen, and it is said even the police, advised men and women to carry firearms for their own protection. For the past three months San Francisco has been living under a reign of terror. In eighty days eighty-three murders, robberies, and assaults were registered on the police records. A despatch to 'Ridgeway's,' a new weekly periodical, reports the sale in San Francisco during one week in October of over six thousand revolvers. The police have been, and are, powerless to preserve order and protect the city—in the opinion of the best citizens of San Francisco because the heads of the force are corrupt and are doing the will of a corrupt government."
In the calamity that befell San Francisco the Lord designed to wipe out the liquor-saloons that have been the cause of so much evil, so much misery and crime. In legalizing the sale of liquor, the guardians of the public welfare proved unfaithful to their trust. Those who were placed in positions of official responsibility were given opportunity to become thoroly familiar with the advantages of the closed saloon, but they deliberately chose to enact laws sanctioning the carrying on of the liquor traffic. Did they not know that in doing this they were virtually licensing the commission of crime?
Every kind of wickedness continues to be practised in San Francisco. What a record of dishonesty and conniving has been brought to light in the investigations of the action of men in official positions! Are we not almost led to inquire, Whom can we trust? Where can we find men of honor?
Thru the liquor traffic Satan is at work to corrupt with his deceiving policies the rulers and the people. As this work is carried on from city to city, the guilt of the whole world will be made manifest, and it will be plainly seen why God permits His judgments to fall on the earth. Because of the pride of the heart, the falsehood, the dishonesty, the profanity that is manifest, the Lord will soon come "out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."
The people of San Francisco must answer at the judgment bar of God for the reopening of the liquor saloons in that city. O that our cities might reform! In places where the judgments of heaven have fallen, God is now proving those whose lives He has spared as to whether they will continue to allow health and reason to be destroyed by the sale of maddening drink. To-day, in many places, men are being tried in courts of justice, because, under the influence of drugged liquor, they have committed all manner of crime. Satan looks on, highly gratified over the persistent determination of men to sell and use these poisonous drinks.
Ignorance.
INEXCUSABLE ignorance will not justify transgression. 2 Sam. 6:6, 7; 1 Chron. 13:7-10. Willing ignorance will not save men in the day of God's wrath. 2 Peter 3:3-5, 17. Now is the day of salvation, now is the time in which we can obtain a saving knowledge of God. Those who know and love God's truth will be saved (2 Thess. 2:10-12; Ps. 91:4, 9), while those who despise His word will be lost (Prov. 1:28-33). Now is the time to seek that knowledge which will make us wise unto salvation; and if we seek aright, we shall surely find. "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path." Prov. 2:3-9.
Is It Good to Be Afflicted?
By D. H. Kress, M.D.
By D. H. Kress, M.D.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES7once said, "One of the necessary requisites for attaining to a good old age is to be rejected for life insurance by a first-class company."
In studying the life history of men who have been blessed with long life, we are led to believe that Dr. Holmes was not far astray. In many instances long life may be attributed to physical illness in early manhood. For instance, Louis Carnaro, the famous centenarian, was given up by his doctors at the age of forty. This, it is said, sobered him, and led him to adopt temperate habits. He became so abstemious in his diet that his friends feared and predicted he would die of starvation, but instead of this he managed to get rid of all his ills, and live to the advanced age of about one hundred years and retained the full possession of all his mental faculties. His power of enjoying life increased with age.
John Wesley, who at eighty-three wrote, "For twelve years I have not known what it is to be weary," at the age of forty was given up as a hopeless invalid. Wesley lived a most temperate life. In 1747, in a letter to a bishop, he said, "Thanks be to God, since I gave up the use of wine and meat I have been delivered from all physical ills." He wrote a treatise against the use of tea, and advised, and, in fact, demanded all his ministers to live in a simple manner.
Horace Fletcher, who has called the attention of the world to the need of thorough mastication of food, owes his present good health to the fact that ten years ago he was rejected by a first-class life insurance company. This led him to study the requirements of the human body and the laws upon which its existence and health depend, and induced him to change his manner of living.
Delicate health in middle life does not preclude the possibility of a long and useful life; on the contrary, it seems to have just the opposite effect, and offers hope for the invalid who is determined to search out and remove the causes of invalidism.
David the psalmist, after his affliction, could say, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes." "Before I was afflicted I went astray." It is the strong and robust, those who imagine they can endure anything and eat anything, and who affirm, "Nothing hurts me," that do not live out half their days. Their vital organs are overcrowded, stimulated, and overworked, as a result they may put on weight, have flushed faces, and have all the appearance of health, but sooner or later the organs which have been urged on by the use of irritants, condiments, and stimulants, become exhausted and can no longer be whipped into activity. The tissues of the body, being filled with impurities or substances which can not be utilized for useful purposes, are degenerate and lacking in vitality. Apoplexy, heart failure, or Bright's disease usually claims such at the age of fifty or sixty. Should those who have robust health at thirty or forty practise the same temperance that those who have weakly constitutions at that age are forced to practise, there is no reason why they might not in many instances enjoy life to the age of one hundred or one hundred and twenty. But as it is, those who at an early age learn obedience thru affliction outlive those whose chances for a long and useful life are much better.
Washington, D. C.
Coercion Versus Love.
By T. Godfrey
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
"And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him." I John 4:8, 16.
IN the beginning when God made man, love was an abiding principle in the heart of man,—man abiding in God and God abiding in man.
But man sinned and came short of the glory of God, his sins caused a separation between him and his Creator, and lust took the place of love. Inspiration speaks thus upon this point: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." Isa. 59:2.
Now to save man from his lost and fallen condition the great plan of salvation was instituted, based upon the eternal and unchangeable principle of love, love to God and love to man. The apostle John says: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:2, 3. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world thru Him might be saved." John 3:16, 17. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live thru Him." 1 John 4:9.
Jesus offered Himself a sacrifice for a fallen world. And the Father accepted Him. Jesus in offering Himself to die in man's stead did not do it because He was compelled to do so, but the offering was a voluntary act of love for lost humanity. The Father in accepting Jesus as the world's Sacrifice gave Him as a gift of His love. It was purely a voluntary gift of His love.
So the service rendered to God must be of the same nature. It must be the voluntary service of love, obedient and willing, as coercion can not enter into the worship of God for it is no part of the plan of salvation. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." I John 4:16.
The conditions of salvation are, "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin. The sinner must be sorry that he has sinned against God; sorry that he has grieved the Holy Spirit. He must have a real desire to be reconciled to God, and to fill the place he was created to fill.
"God is love." Therefore His law is a law of love. The plan of salvation is based upon love. Love to God and love to our fellow creature, for "upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
T. GODFREY.
God’s Creation Marred by Sin.
By Rev. John Cumming, D.D.
In the pages of the Prophets, as truly, if not as fully as in the pages of the Evangelists, such truths as the following are written: “Sin has entered, and death by sin.” The world was not made as we find it; it has undergone some dread and terrible disaster. Ask the philosopher to explain this, and he is dumb! Ask nature herself thru any of her oracles, and she, too, is dumb! Her groans, that have not ceased since creation, are the only replies to your question. But consult the Scriptures; inquire of them, What is at fault? Their reply is, “Sin has entered, and death by sin.”
The earth was created holy and beautiful. God pronounced it good. Man’s sin has unhinged it. Every flower was once fragrance; every sound was once harmony; every sight was beauty; but sin has fallen upon the earth, like a drop of ink on the sensitive blotting-paper, encircling with its poisonous influence the widest sphere, until the whole earth is tainted—stricken, as it were, with paralysis, groaning in travail, waiting for redemption. The intellect is darkened by the exhalations arising from the swamps of sin. The truth is not seen in its beauty; not because it is dimly enunciated, but because the eye of him who looks upon it has become dim. The conscience also has become depraved, diseased, polluted. What a change has passed upon that faculty which was once the echo of the voice of God—the bright daguerreotype reflection of His own holy image! It, too, labors, as if anxious to be emancipated, to regain its lost sovereignty, and govern once more the heart and the affections of the soul.
If we desire to see what man is, let us shut our eyes to the harp of the poet, and visit the Mohammedan wife, the Indian maid, the Hindu widow; let us leave the romantic picture of mankind, and explore the lanes and alleys of London; let us inspect our prisons and penal settlements, Bridewell and Botany Bay. After we have gone the round of these places, let us go home and read the first chapter of the epistle to the Romans, and see if there is one exaggerating touch! That chapter is a terrible but true picture of the lower strata of humanity.
What were the deities in heathen times?—Jupiter was a monster, Mercury a thief, Mars a sort of cannibal who drank the blood of his victims. Such were the gods of the heathen; and like gods, like people. But of man’s corruption we have awful instances in modern times. Men baptized in the name of Christ, professing His religion and under His pretended sanction, have set up Inquisitions for the murder of saints, for the plunder of widows, and then they have built cathedrals with the produce. This Gospel, itself pure, precious, and indicative of its divine origin, has been perverted and made the patron of the buildings, under whose splendid towers are dungeons deep and dismal. So intense is man’s depravity that not only will he worship Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars, but he will take the very stones God has selected and shaped for a temple to Himself, and with these construct a temple vocal with men’s praise, and in which wickedness shall be consecrated.
When the Gospel has been preached as a witness to all, then shall Messiah come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the end shall come—the end of our disputes, quarrels, pride, sectarianism, selfishness, vain-glory; the end of despotism on the part of rulers, and of insubordination in the subjects; the end of the toils of slavery and the sufferings of martyrdom; the end of Popery, Puseyism, Paganism, and Mohammedanism—the Missal, the Breviary, the Shaster, and the Koran.
That great rainbow of the covenant that starts from the cross, vaults into the sky, and sweeps over the throne, shall complete its orbit, and rest again upon the ground, and Christ and Christianity shall be all and in all. Then shall the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. Then the tree of life shall be where the cypress is. Then shall nations sing God’s praise, and Zion recount God’s marvels. Then shall history retrace with new joy God’s footprints. Then shall the glory of Jesus sparkle in the dewdrop, and in the boundless sea; in the minutest atom, and in the greatest star; and this earth, restrung, retuned, shall be one grand Æolian harp, swept by the breath of the Holy Spirit, pouring forth those melodies which began on Calvary, and shall sound thru all generations.—Rev. John Cumming, D.D.
Success.
By Sarah E. Howard
To WORK steadfastly with an upward aim,
To conquer wisely trials met;
With little use for anger or for blame,
The highest good from life to get;
To gather wealth not for its sake alone,
But for the good it helps to do;
To strike each morn a richer mental tone,
And onward press with courage new;
To hold in other hearts a sacred place,
To gladly helping hands extend,
To grow in spirit beauty, spirit grace,
As thru this busy world we wend;
To win the power to lead, to cheer, to bless
Our brother man—this constitutes success.
—Sarah E. Howard in “The Circle.”
God Comes in Judgment
"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Ps. 50:3.
1. What does the Master say in regard to the glory and majesty that shall attend Him when He comes the second time?
"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works." Matt. 16:27.
"When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory." Matt. 25:31.
NOTE.—The texts above say that Christ will be clothed in His Father's glory, that He will come in His own glory, and that He will be attended by "all the holy angels." Then it will be literally true that all the majesty and glory of heaven will be poured out in this great event.
2. What description is given of the majesty and glory of the "Ancient of Days," or God the Father?
"I beheld till thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.
3. How does the psalmist express himself in regard to the view he had of the coming of the Lord?
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Ps. 50:2, 3.
4. What is said of the brightness of Christ when His unveiled glory was presented to the disciples in vision at the transfiguration?
"Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light." Matt. 17:1, 2.
NOTE.—It will be seen from these texts just given that the dazzling splendors of the sun, and the brightness of fire, and even the light itself are all used in conveying to our senses the glorious majesty of God and His Son Jesus Christ. And all this glory is to be manifested in its majestic splendors in the Lord's second coming.
The Effect of the Glory of Angels as They Have Visibly Appeared to Men.
5. What was the appearance of the angel that was seen at the sepulcher at the resurrection of Christ?
"And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men." Matt. 28:2-4.
6. How does the prophet Daniel describe the appearance of the angel that visited him?
"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." Dan. 10:5, 6.
7. What effect did this angel's presence have upon the men who were with Daniel?
"And I Daniel alone saw the vision; for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves." Dan. 10:7.
NOTE.—The foregoing texts give an idea of the wonderful glory that is centered in the person of a single angel. We are assured in Heb. 12:22 that there are "innumerable hosts of angels;" the revelator speaks of the hosts of angels that he saw in vision as "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Ten thousand times ten thousand is a hundred million, or more than the present population of the United States. But this vast number is not adequate, for he immediately adds, "and thousands of thousands." The hundred million is only a part of the company of angels, there are thousands of thousands more. There are "innumerable hosts" of them. They are beyond man's numerical calculation. Then think of the splendor that will be manifested in the second coming of Christ when He shall come in the unapproachable glory of His Father, and this blended with His own glory, and the glory of all His holy angels. How absurd to speak of such a spectacle, as some are doing, as a thing that can take place in such an unobserved "spiritual" manner that no one will know that it has been done.
8. When the Master appears in the clouds of heaven, what will be the effect of His glorious appearing on the wicked?
"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." Rev. 1:7.
"And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.
9. What view did John have of the terrors into which the wicked are thrown by the great day of the Lord?
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:14-17.
The Effect of Christ's Coming on the Sleeping Righteous.
10. What does the apostle Paul assure us will be the happy portion of the righteous dead at the second coming of Christ?
"For 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 first." 1 Thess. 4:16.
11. What other encouraging promise is given upon the same subject?
"Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.
What Christ's Coming Brings to the Living Righteous.
12. What takes place with those who are alive at the second coming of Christ?
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen asleep. For 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 first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:15-17, A.R.V.
13. After giving the foregoing instruction, what admonition does the apostle give us?
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:18.
NOTE.—Carefully observe what the foregoing scriptures say, and thus see how plainly they tell that the resurrection of the righteous takes place at the second coming of Christ, and, furthermore, that the living righteous are made immortal at the same time, and that "together" are they caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and then evermore to be with their chosen Master. With such thrilling and joyous events centering in the second coming of Christ, why should we not all look forward with longing for the time to come? One of the closing verses of Revelation reads: "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 22:20. And may every Christian earnestly join in the prayer.
For Winter Evenings
The World as an Ordinary Neighborhood.
DURING recent weeks the new ocean steam-ship Lusitania has been kept much before the public mind. She has greatly lowered the record of speed in crossing the Atlantic, and enjoys the distinction of being the largest and most luxurious and comfortable palace of the seas. The same company started her sister ship, the Mauretania, on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic from Queenstown, on November 17. Eleven hours after she had sailed she was reported to be 265 miles out to sea, and other despatches from day to day tell her whereabouts in the ocean. This knowledge of her location on the great ocean is made possible by the wireless telegraph apparatus that she carries.
Thus has it come about in these times that not only are all the corners of the earth kept in constant daily, and even hourly, touch with each other by telegraphic facilities, but even the ships at sea are in unbroken communication with the land; thus are the doings of men both by land and sea a matter of daily knowledge. Thus has the whole world been made a single neighborhood in this marvelous age in which we dwell.
There is a wonderful significance in all these things, for the Lord has given the promise in His word that the message of the second coming of Christ shall be heard in all the world. The prophecies all point to the fact that we are now living in the last days, and that the second coming of Christ is imminent. And were there no promises to show it, the fact should be apparent to any one that the Lord would not allow such a great event as this to come upon the world without a warning concerning it being given to every individual in every corner of the globe.
But the Lord has given the clear promise that He will give every person on the whole face of the earth the opportunity to know that the joyous event of the second coming of His Son is soon to be a soul-absorbing reality. And how marvelously complete are the facilities of communication that make it possible for all the dwellers on all the earth to get promptly the latest facts and developments that make it plain that His coming is nigh at hand! Even the sea-faring man that spends most of his life on the billowy deep may know from day to day the tokens that should tell him of the approaching dawn of the eternal day.
T.
God's Presence and Sin.
It is ever the effect of the presence of God to destroy sin, and to save those separated from sin. Christ desires by His Spirit to come into the heart of the sinner at the sinner's invitation, in order that the sin may be destroyed and the sinner be saved. Forcible illustrations of this are given in the Scriptures.
When Israel had confessed their sins and brought their sacrifice before God in token of their faith, that sacrifice represented their sin. They gave up the sin and gave themselves to the Lord. Then the fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, and the people shouted and were glad. Read the account in Leviticus 9. In the next chapter, Nadab and Abihu, priests of God, drunken with wine, offer strange fire before Jehovah, and presume to go into the very presence of the holy shekinah with their sin upon them. Then the fire of God consumes the men who have identified themselves with sin.
Even so it was with Ananias and Sapphira, the account of which is found in Acts 5. They wanted popularity. They wanted to give a part of the price of the land but make others believe they had given all, and so live upon the common fund. And right into the specially manifest presence of God they came with a lie upon their lips, reiterated, and God destroyed them with the lie.
Sinner, all sin must sometime be destroyed, and it will be destroyed by the presence and glory of Christ. But give up the sin. Place your will on the side of God. Let Christ's presence in your heart shine away the darkness, substitute the righteousness of God for the sins of man, and give to the suppliant life instead of death.
Every Eye Shall See Him
“BEHOLD, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Rev. 1:7.
The Lord Shall Descend from Heaven
“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 first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.
Amos.
By George Gilfillan
Amos has had a singular destiny among his fellows. Many herdsmen tended cattle in Tekoa, or gathered fruit from its sycamore trees, but on him alone lighted the spirit of inspiration. It came to him as, like Elisha, he was employed in his peaceful toil; it hurried him to duty and to danger; it made him a power among the moral princes of the land; it gave his name and his prophecy a place in an immortal volume; and from gathering sycamore fruit it promoted him to stand below the "tree of life," to pluck from it, and to distribute to after ages not a few clusters, as fair as they are nutritious, of its celestial fruit. All honor to the bold herdsman of Tekoa!—George Gilfillan.
Behold, I Come Quickly
"BEHOLD, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.