The French Revolution and To-Day.— It has been a number of months since Judge Gary, one of the most influential and powerful business men in the world, is reported to have said:
“There are things being said nowadays which are very similar to things said just before the French Revolution. I tell you the spark may yet make a flame, and that soon, unless rulers, capitalists, corporations, rich men, powerful men themselves, take a leading part in trying to improve the conditions of humanity. Great changes will come, and they will come mighty quickly, and the mob will bring them.”
The things to which Mr. Gary refers that are said in this time, are said more and more, and with greater and still greater bitterness, as the days go by. Only there is this difference between now and the days preceding the French Revolution: The conditions in this time are worse than they were in the days that preceded the great revolution in France. Men everywhere are seeing that this state of things can not continue without bringing on rioting and violence that will go beyond description. Men ought to be able to see that this whole world is coming into its death throes. The just and living God of the Bible can not permit these conditions to continue without striking them with righteous judgments. The history of His dealings with the great iniquity that swept the world just before the Flood, is a warning of what He will surely do in this time. The evidence is abundant if we will only give attention to it. T.
The Spirits with Healing Power.
By T.
We are told of a young woman in London who had already lapsed into unconsciousness from consumption, and was expected to breathe her last any moment. But suddenly she revived, got up from her sick-bed, and went about the house a perfectly well person. It is said further that one peculiarity in connection with the case is that she seems to have gained an unwonted power and vigor of mind in connection with her bodily restoration to health. The story is told also that some wonderful manifestations of spirits attended her remarkable recovery.
Because of this recovery in such a miraculous manner, many have the idea that the angels or spirits that visited her sick chamber were from God, and therefore they were good spirits. But a text of Scripture says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. There are false prophets, and therefore, so the text informs us, we are not to believe every spirit. And no matter if the spirit work a real miracle, that in itself is not positive evidence that the spirit is from God; for we have the following, among other texts of the same import:
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, He is in the inner chambers; believe it not.” Matt. 24:23-26.
This text states plainly that false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and that they will show great signs and wonders. But we are cautioned not to give heed to them, for it is their desire, if possible, to lead astray the very elect of God.
Instead of going into ecstasies over the doings of the spirits in these times, it is well that we give careful heed that we are not deceived by them. The spirits of demons are doing their utmost to keep the people from seeing the strong, clear evidence that the coming of Christ is right at hand. One of their greatest devices is to keep men amused and entertained with the miracles, supposed and real, that they are exhibiting. T.
The Peril of Corruption and Graft
The continued charges of corruption and graft against numerous men in high places are becoming a commonplace in this time. Indeed, there is danger that it is becoming so common, and we are becoming so callous to it, that we will fail to sense its significance and its foreboding danger.
Armageddon Is Just Ahead
By Editor
On August 24, at the Mare Island navy-yards, in San Francisco Bay, the United States government launched what is said to be the largest collier in the world. The Navy Department claims that it was built quicker and for much less money than if it had been let out to some one of the many contracting firms. It was christened “Jupiter,” and is said to be the first of the “Dreadnought” colliers. Another one very much larger is being planned, and, following the idea that has obtained with the battle-ships, this larger one will doubtless be called a “superdreadnought” collier. There are so many men in so many parts of the world making such furious progress in the arts of war, that one could scarcely keep track of it all if he had nothing else whatever to do, and had free access all the time to all parts of the globe. We need to keep in mind the meaning of it. Armageddon is just ahead.
Man's Creation—Mortal or Immortal?
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
THERE is no question that is or has ever been oftener asked by the human heart than this: Does death end all? After a few years more, when this bounding, joyous heart of mine shall be quiet, and this busy, scheming, planning, worrying brain shall be numbed and palsied by the fingers of Death—then what? Is it decreed by a grim and unalterable fate that I must die like the brute? that this splendid body, these delicate nerves, this wondrous human mechanism, shall never live again? that I shall never again meet those whom I so fondly love—never again hold in my arms those dear ones for whom I now live, and who are dearer to me than my own life?
And these busy hands! Must they remain idle—idle, through the ceaseless cycles of eternity? Is the frailest monument that they build, more enduring than the crafty hands which built it? Must this be always thus?
These are questions that have been asked with unutterable longing by anxious, ambitious, life-loving men and women since the world began. Job was interested in the same theme, and asked the same old question, "If a man die, shall he live again?" We have no record that Job ever queried whether his lost property would be restored to him, or whether his friends would ever again treat him with the respect of other years, or even if the horrible boils that gnawed and burrowed into his flesh would ever be healed,—nothing of this kind. The grand old hero only asked the same question thousands of years ago, that is troubling mankind to-day.
Was Man Created with Immortal Soul?
In answering this question, let us journey backward, in our mind, to the Garden of Eden, on the sixth day of creation; because if we can learn something of the nature that God gave our first parents, we shall be able to judge fairly of our own nature. If Adam had any particular substance or essence implanted within him, which could neither die nor be killed or destroyed in any way, then, by birth and inheritance, being children of Adam, so have we. In other words, did God create Adam and Eve immortal? Did He give them some principle of life, some undying essence, incapable of destruction? Did He give them an immortal soul? Was the "dust" surcharged with some indestructible substance?
"O, no," you say, "God breathed into their nostrils, and of course God's breath must have imparted an undying or imperishable nature to them." Let us quote the text: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Query: But has this "breath" of the Almighty always given undying life to those upon whom it has been directed? It would so seem if this "living soul" of Adam became an undying one because of the fact that the breath of God had entered his nostrils. But let us see.
Suppose we get our concordance and sit down. Let us turn to Job 4:9: "By the breath of His nostrils are they consumed,"—speaking of the wicked. Again, Isa. 11:4, "With the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked."
Then it is not true that the breath of God must impart some undying quality or principle to those upon whom that breath is directed. In these instances, at least, it does the exact opposite—it causes them to perish.
Is a Living Soul Immortal?
"But," you say, "man became a living soul; now is not that equivalent to saying that he became an immortal soul?"—There is tremendous difference. Are you willing, my good friend, to accept the legitimate conclusions of this false reasoning? If the term "living soul" means "immortal soul," then it can be clearly proved, by turning to Rev. 16:3, that all the monsters of the deep, sharks and whales and slimy reptiles, have each an "immortal soul;" for the identical term is used. John says, "And it [the sea] became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea." This text proves too much, and consequently proves nothing, except the truth that living souls are capable of dying, and that all kinds of animal life possess a living soul, in common with man.
Again: If God created Adam and Eve immortal to begin with, then pray why was it necessary to drive them from the Garden of Eden?
We are told plainly why God did drive them thence. It was because God did not desire to perpetuate a life of sin; and free access to the Tree of Life, which was in the garden, would do this very thing. "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden."
Why Driven Out if Immortal?
Now was not this a strange procedure for the all-wise God—to "drive" them from the garden, lest they eat of the Tree of Life, and live forever—if He had already given them immortal souls which could not die any way? Then might Satan well say to the Almighty, "You may drive them from the garden, and shut them from the Tree of Life, but it is in vain. You have already defeated Your own plans, for man is not dependent upon the Tree of Life. You have created him with an immortal soul—he can not die!"
Let us not impute folly to the All-wise. But what are the plain facts in the case?—Man was created a responsible and intelligent being,—a probationer. While he obeyed God, life was assured to him, and not all the fiends in hell could take it from him; because while obedient, he had free access to the Tree of Life, the source of life to him. Had he continued to be obedient, it would of course never have been taken from him.
But a pure and holy God could not perpetuate a life of sin eternally. Hence He deprived man of the one thing which made his eternal existence possible; namely, the Tree of Life.
And—O, thank God—it will be given back to him and to his redeemed posterity. It will be a part of the "purchased possession."
"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life."
If in the early morn thy soul is wakened,
Before the burden and the heat of day,
"Thine ears shall hear" a voice — if they but listen —
A still voice say, "I am the living way."
It may be, when thy soul is greatly troubled,
"Thine ears shall hear" a gentle "Peace, be still"—
The voice of Him who calmed the stormy billows.
Then rest thee, troubled one, and do His will.
It may, perchance, be in the hush of evening
He whispers, "I am with thee; do not fear."
Then will thy weary soul have great rejoicing
In His sweet comfort, when "thine ears shall hear."
Oft in the solemn midnight thou shalt hear Him.
In tenderness He bids thee "Watch and pray;"
And yet again — love's sweetest word of mercy —
"I will be with thee, help thee, all the way."
And when thy soul — so weary of sin's bondage —
Cries oft to God for freedom's path of light,
"Thine ears shall hear" again His loving message,
"I'll strengthen thee, and guide thy steps aright."
Love knows each heart that seeks love's path eternal;
Each cry for wisdom and for light is heard;
To every longing heart God speaks His promise.
"Thine ears shall hear" His true and living Word.
And when thou hearest, whatsoe'er the message
That God shall speak, where'er He points the way,
Be swift as light to do His righteous bidding.
Eternal joy is theirs who will obey.
Ten Things for Which No One Has Ever Been Sorry
TEN things for which no one has ever yet been sorry:
Doing good to all.
Being patient toward everybody.
Hearing before judging.
Thinking before speaking.
Holding an angry tongue.
Being kind to the distressed.
Speaking evil of none.
Asking pardon for all wrongs.
Stopping the ears to a talebearer.
Disbelieving most of the ill reports.
— Selected.
— ★ —
— ★ —
"NATURE reveals God's hand, the Bible shows us His mind, and Jesus Christ reveals to us His heart."
The Ten Virgins
By Mrs. E. G. White
By Mrs. E. G. White
SEATED upon the Mount of Olives, which was over against the temple, with His disciples around Him, Jesus seeks to make clear in a prophetic discourse the deeper mysteries of the kingdom of God. Through His favorite medium, by parables, He endeavors to imprint upon their minds the special truths connected with His second coming to our world. The sun has set behind the mountains, and the heavens are curtained with the shades of evening. A dwelling-house is lighted up brilliantly, as if for some festive scene. The lights shine from the open spaces, and an expectant company wait around, indicating that a marriage procession is soon to appear. In many parts of the East, wedding festivities are held in the evening. The bridegroom goes forth to meet his bride and bring her to his home. By torchlight he will bring her along the streets from her father's house to his own, where a supper is prepared for the guests invited to the wedding.
Lingering near the bride's house are ten young women, in attire suitable for the occasion. Ten was the usual number who were chosen as bridesmaids. Each of the bridal attendants has a lamp and a small vessel for oil. Their lamps are lighted, and as hour after hour of waiting goes by, they grow weary of watching, and, one after another, they fall asleep. About midnight the sleepers are awakened with the cry, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh." They exchange their slumbers for life and activity. They spring to their feet. The wedding procession is in sight, with the brilliant torches shining, and they can hear the joyous music as they approach. The ten virgins seize their lamps, and begin to trim them to go forth; but five of the watchers have been wise and five foolish. Five have neglected to fill their vessels with oil. They have not expected the bridegroom to tarry so long, and have not prepared for the emergency. They are in distress, not because they see that their lamps are going out, but because they know that there is nothing in their vessels by which to replenish them. They address a piteous appeal to those who have provided themselves with oil; but they are denied, for the wise virgins have only enough to fill their own lamps, and they are bidden to hasten away and buy oil from the dealer. And while they are away on this errand, the bridegroom comes. The wise virgins, with lamps trimmed and burning, join the procession, and go in to the wedding, and the door is shut.
Too Late
Soon after the door is shut, the foolish virgins come, knocking for admittance to the banquet hall, but they meet with an unexpected answer to their call. The Master of the feast says, "I know you not." There is no evidence given that the foolish virgins did obtain oil, but there is abundant evidence that they did not enter into the marriage feast, but were left standing outside in the empty streets in the blackness of the night.
Jesus used the parable of the ten virgins to represent the condition of the church before His coming; and the question that concerns each one of us is, Are we among the five wise or the five foolish virgins? Without going into the details of the parable, we may ask ourselves, What is our condition before God? Those who were wise went in to the wedding. We shall make it manifest what is our true condition by our conduct and conversation. Jesus has warned us as to what should be our position at this time. He says, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh."
He who relaxes his vigilance because he knows not the day nor the hour when his Lord shall come, who becomes careless, and neglects to have his vessel filled with oil (the grace of Christ), will be found unprepared, and will not go in to the wedding. How solemn is the oft repeated warning that our Lord has given to watch! He says, "Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." If a much loved friend in the last hours of his association with us should give us counsel, warning, or instruction, how carefully would we treasure his words, how faithfully would we follow his instruction and give attention to his cautions! Christ is our best friend, for He has purchased us at infinite cost, and has made us His sons and daughters, and these soul-stirring words have been uttered by Him for our benefit. Shall we not regard His claim upon us, and give Him our service and our sympathy? If we do this, we shall not be neglectful of His warning,
"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you [My disciples] I say unto all, Watch." "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately."
Their Wisdom Made the Difference
Now is the time to look to it that we have on hand an abundant supply of the oil of the grace of Christ. It was the wisdom of the wise virgins in supplying themselves with oil that made the difference between their fate and that of the foolish virgins, who had neglected to keep oil in their vessels with their lamps. In the Scripture, oil is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins are those who have faith and love and patience, whose experience day by day is nourished by the Holy Spirit. They do not conform to the world in careless inattention. They do not put off their daily preparation, but follow Jesus wherever He leads the way. God is not pleased with a flickering faith. It is compared to a lamp that is going out. He is pleased with those whose experience is like that of a lamp that is burning brightly. His followers are to shine as lights in the world. Christ's servants are to keep their lamps trimmed and burning, that they may add their light to the light of others who are following Christ. Those who are not daily desirous of gaining a living, daily experience in the things of God, will not meet His approval, but will be found with those whose lamps are going out, and will not be prepared to go in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. We can not be ready to meet the Lord by waking up at the last minute, when the cry is heard, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh," gathering up our lamps, from which the oil has burned away, and thinking then to have them replenished. Our only hope is daily to love God, to love the truth, not for the sake of its clear arguments, but for truth's sake alone. We must bring the truth into our hearts and minds, and every day be living, shining lights, learning daily more and more of Jesus. Our conversation must be in heaven, whence we look for our Lord Jesus Christ. We should talk much of His coming; then we shall be constantly receiving the grace which comes from above, from the Source of all spiritual power.
The time is far spent. It is too late now to sleep the careless sleep of indifference. It is time now to rejoice greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice. It is time to sing of the marriage supper of the Lamb. The question for us to settle is, Which class shall we be among, the wise or the foolish? God help us to be among the wise. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."
"The watchmen on the mountains
Proclaim the Bridegroom near.
Go meet Him, as He cometh,
With hallelujahs clear.
"The marriage feast is waiting;
The gates wide open stand.
Up, up, ye heirs of glory!
The Bridegroom is at hand."
How broken! And Babylon reigns!
Strange beyond record of tongue or pen!
"As it was in the days of Noah,"
We are told, it shall be again.
Strife, sin, and spiritual darkness
Are to usher the Son of Man;
Disasters more fierce and appalling
Than are known since the world began.
I think of the shortening ages,
And the terrible doom foretold
For those who reject God's commandments
As given to Israel of old,
So sure, so clear, "Remember to keep,"
And never a word nor a sound,
Outside of the mandates of Rome,
To change this one edict profound.
He carved it in stone, on Sinai's mount,
As memento of Godhead and power.
How strange puny, blasphemous man
Should think, for one day or one hour,
That God would step down from creative throne,
And surrender His crown, yield His power!
Evil the heart that wars against man!
What then of those warring with God,
Forcing their creed on millions of men,
And have forced it by torture and blood?
His wrath comes in horrors and plagues
More fierce than destruction by flood.
For the door of mercy then closed,
All pleadings for entrance are spurned.
O, study God's Word, and be warned;
Heed not the oppressions concerned;
For Christ will bring the eternal reward,
And the tables of justice be turned.
A Spiritual Autobiography—V
By J. A. L. Derby
The Law and the Gospel
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15.
It must, of course, be understood that the mental processes through which I finally developed the conclusions given in the preceding numbers of this series, have been much abridged here. I might, indeed, say that only a mere outline has been sketched.
Jesus Christ, the all and in all — that was the golden key which opened to me many a treasure, the light which shed its radiance on the pages I studied. If I were to give my mental biography complete, I should have to show how Jesus Christ has come to mean to me the very center of all history, science, philosophy, and religion. History without Christ has no philosophy; philosophy without Christ has no meaning; science, no explanation; religion, no rational end.
The meaning of the Old Testament is, the broken law of God, and its remedy — Christ — to come. Without sin (transgression of the law) and Christ, the Bible would never have been written, — sin the tragedy of the universe, Christ the triumph of divine love. Man lost, doomed to death, shut off from the life of God through sin; man restored by obedience through Christ come in the flesh, — that is the theme of the New Testament.
Significance of the Kingdom
What, then, is the significance of the kingdom that Jesus preached? Was it only a rhetorical fiction to attract attention, or was it something real? Did He in fact set up a new kingdom? — He did not. The kingdom had existed from eternity. The “kingdom of heaven” was no new thing in the universe. He preached no new kingdom.
The prophet Daniel foretold a time when the “God of heaven” shall “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” Dan. 2:44. But that is at the second coming of Christ. Jesus did not proclaim a new kingdom; He came as King of the old, to make the final revelation of the principles of God’s government, and the most complete revelation the world ever had or will have. He brought the kingdom with Him to earth, and would have set it up then and there over the whole world had the world been willing to accept it.
As it is, Satan is still the “prince of this world.” The kingdom of God is on earth only in the hearts of His subjects scattered here and there. But what was the condition then, and what is the condition now, for entrance into that kingdom? — The same as ever since the fall — repentance of sin. “Repent,” was the exhortation of Christ’s forerunner, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” “Repent,” commanded the Saviour, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Christ’s Attitude Toward the Law
To require repentance for breaking a law, is not to abolish the law. Two or three texts are sufficient to show the attitude of Jesus toward the law. Even before His coming into the world, it was said of Him by one of the prophets, “The Lord is well pleased for His [Christ’s] righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable” (Isa. 42:21); and by Himself, speaking through another, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart” (Ps. 40:7, 8). Again, in His great sermon, known as the “Sermon on the Mount,” recorded in Matthew 5, Jesus announced: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:17-19.
According to the conclusions I had previously reached, these scriptures were exactly what I expected. Fulfilling the ceremonial law ended it; fulfilling the Decalogue established it. And the part that did not cease, shall stand until not one being remains in the universe who is not fulfilling — that is, performing, obeying — that law. To this we shall recur in our next paper.
How to Obey the Law
When I decided to obey the law of my God — which was previous to the time when I had come to understand, so fully as here given, what is involved in that — I had an experience which taught me more clearly my own relation to the law and to my Redeemer, and His relation to the law, than any amount of theorizing could have done. My experience was this: With all my resolving and trying, I found that I could not keep that law — that is, with the spiritual amplitude given it by Jesus. How many young Christians have been grieved and discouraged by this same experience!
For five years I tried and failed. Nor, so far as I recollect, did I learn first from the Bible what was the cause of my failure, tho there it stands written, as plain as words can make it. Let the poor desponding citizen of the heavenly kingdom, who is beginning to despair of ever being fit for the name of subject, if with all his trying he seems to find himself no better, — let him read the seventh and eighth chapters of Romans.
What is the secret? — It is this: The law condemns, shows us our sins and imperfections — a needed work, but it is powerless to justify or to enable us to keep it. Now pray and listen: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh [did], and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law [surely not the law of ceremonies done away] might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:3, 4. Is not this yet plain? Then stop trying to keep the law, and put all that will and effort into trusting the Saviour to cause you to keep it.
Meeting Temptation
Does this mean that when temptation comes, we should just say, “No use; I’ve tried before,” and surrender to the enemy? — No, no. It means we should say, “No use; I’ve tried before,” and surrender to — Jesus Christ. Do not say in temptation, “I will not yield.” Say, “O sinless Christ, let Thy Spirit, matchless in power, save me just now.” Then burst into thanksgiving and songs of praise.
Remember, it was here Israel failed; for “Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. . . . For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [aim] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Rom. 9:31, 32; 10:3, 4.
Israel failed to learn what you and I must not fail to learn, — that “by the deeds of the law [our own mere will or efforts] there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin [not power to keep that law]. But now [by faith — trusting Jesus Christ for power] the righteousness of God without the law [merely human efforts to keep it] is manifested” — how? — “Being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” Rom. 3:20, 21.
How, then, do we know what the righteousness of God is, and when we have it manifested in our lives? — By looking into the law. But only when we “are kept by the power of God unto salvation,” can the law find us measuring up to its requirements.
Fear Thou Not
FEAR thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. — Isaiah.
Making Room for God’s Treasure
“God often would enrich, but finds not where to place His treasure, nor in hand nor heart a vacant space.”
Holy Bible
By T. E. Morgensen
By T. E. Morgensen
Blessed, holy Book of inspiration,
Filled with truth for every age and nation,
Light divine to lead me on my way,
Dark indeed would be my life without thee;
But with thy effulgent rays about me,
Sin's dark midnight is as clear as day.
Thou, the star of hope for trav'lers weary
In this wilderness of sin so dreary,
Beckonest me with vigor to press on
Till this pilgrimage on earth is ended.
By thy light my eager steps are wended
Homeward, where the prize I seek is won.
Lamp eternal, shine in all thy glory,
To illuminate the way before me,
Lest my wayward feet should go astray.
Blessed Word of God, to mortals given,
Fill my heart with light and truth from
heaven,
While I search thy pages day by day.
Impressions and Feelings
By J. W. Lowe
MERE impressions and feelings should not be regarded as safe guides for us to follow.
Always remember there are two sources from which impressions and feelings come.
Very often our impressions and feelings lead us to do directly opposite to what the revealed will of God dictates.
God impresses and imparts feelings, and so does the devil. It is for us to know from which source these impressions and feelings emanate.
We should always base our actions upon certain right principles revealed in the Word of God.
If the impression or feeling is not in harmony with "the law and the testimony," under no circumstances follow it.
J. W. LOWE.
Salvation
By Sunday School Times
SALVATION is too big a thing to be within any man's power. Yet it is within every man's reach on one condition; namely, that he will accept it as a gift, and be true to the Giver. What we can not do, we can have. We can not make a character, but God will make one in us. Our very inability is God's opportunity. If God were not involved, it would be otherwise; we could then work out our own salvation. Only in that case there would be no salvation worth speaking of. The end of it all would be gone. The very ideal of it would dry out and decay. But introduce God, and at once salvation becomes the restoration of the soul to Him, and the only power of salvation becomes His power, who will do for us what we can only attempt to do for ourselves at the cost of increasing God's task in saving us.
Our Bible Reading
The Sabbath a Memorial and Sign
1. What expressions in the fourth commandment show that the Sabbath is a memorial of some great event?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Ex. 20: 8.
"For [because, or for this reason] in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20: 11.
NOTE.—Because the infinite God created this great earth in six days, He gave us the Sabbath, so that on each seventh day we could suitably commemorate the wonderful fact. Hence if all men everywhere had the true idea of the Sabbath in mind, there could be no idolatry. For no one who truly sensed the fact that God is the mighty Creator, could be induced to build a god himself and bow down and worship it. When the Sabbath is really understood, it becomes one of the strongest in morality of the great moral precepts. Some have said that they can not see anything moral about the Sabbath. But that is solely because they do not understand the meaning of the Sabbath, nor what the Sabbath stands for.
2. Is the Sabbath ever called a sign?
"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31: 16, 17.
3. For how long will the Israel of God remain, or endure? and will the Sabbath be perpetually kept?
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith Jehovah." Isa. 66: 22, 23.
4. Had the promise of the "new heavens and the new earth" been fulfilled in the days of Christ and the apostles?
"According to His promise, we [the apostles and the Christian church] look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3: 13.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God: and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away." Rev. 21: 1-4.
NOTE.—Isaiah, in the text quoted in the foregoing, tells of the "new heavens and the new earth" which God "will make," showing that He was giving a promise of the future. And the New Testament texts quoted show that the promise is still in mind, and that this wicked old earth is to pass away, and a "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," will be given in place of it. And do not overlook the fact that the texts show that the Sabbath is to be as enduring as the new heavens and the new earth that our God has promised.
5. For what purpose is the Sabbath given as a sign to the people of God?
"Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth them." "I am Jehovah your God: walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God." Eze. 20: 12, 19, 20.
6. Does the Christian need a sign of creative and sanctifying power?
"Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new." 2 Cor. 5: 17, margin.
"But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." Gal. 6: 14, 15, margin.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them." Eph. 2: 10.
NOTE.—The Sabbath comes with an added power and blessing to the truly converted Christian. For he not only has in it a memorial of his God's great power and handiwork in the creation of the world, but it is to him also a memorial of the power that was exercised in his conversion when he was "created anew in Christ Jesus," when he became the "workmanship" of the One who made him a "new creation."
Christian Science Unscriptural
By Walter K. Williams
IN his article in the State Journal of Nebraska, "Answering the Adventists," Mr. Royal D. Stearns says that "the material body and carnal mind represent a false sense of man, that must be cast out by the knowledge of the absolute truth." Over against this statement of untruth, we affirm that man has a material body and a carnal mind. And it is the Christian Scientist who has a false sense, which prevents him from believing it.
Proofs that man has a material body are: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." Gen. 2:7. "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman." Gen. 2:22. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:19. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Eccl. 12:7. "There is a natural body." 1 Cor. 15:44.
Proof that man has a carnal mind is: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8: 6, 7. God purposes to change the carnal mind of man into the spiritual mind, by conversion, through the incoming and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Mr. Stearns affirms positively that no evil exists. He argues that since God is perfect, all His creation must be and remain perfect. He says, "Perfection does not contain imperfection." As proof of his theory, he quotes the scripture, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." We agree with Mr. Stearns that no evil existed while all "was very good." But man soon brought about a mighty change in the world, and "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Gen. 6:5. "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." Gen. 6:12.
Mr. Stearns, in his futile efforts to prove the non-existence of matter and of evil, says that it is a false sense of man which leads him to believe that he has a material body and the carnal mind; both of which are truths plainly taught in the Word of God. He believes what God saw when all "was very good," but refuses to credit what God saw afterward, when "the wickedness of man was great in the earth."
No one should be willing to stand with Mr. Stearns in this false, unscriptural position.