Earlier text: General ArticlesPROMISE TO THE FATHERS.
By Editor
But the change spoken of in our last, which occurs in connection with Christ's coming, is not the final change which the earth is to undergo. During this time of its utter desolation, while it is empty and void, without an inhabitant, the saints are in the "mansions" of the "Father's house" which Jesus ascended on high to prepare for them; John 14:1-3; to which they are taken when "caught up into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." 1 Thess. 4:17. There they sit on thrones of judgment, the decisions of which are executed at the end of the thousand years. Rev. 20. Of this day of Judgment, Peter speaks and gives most decisive testimony in regard to the future of the earth. He says:— "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Pet. 3:3-7. The apostle here denies the cavil of the scoffers, that all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Great changes have already taken place, of which they are "willingly ignorant," if ignorant at all. The word of God gives an account of the flood, and the earth itself gives evidence of the fact. As "the fountains of the great deep were broken up," and the highest mountains submerged, the face of the whole earth was changed by the violence of the storm, and the action of the waters. So complete was the change wrought in all nature, that in describing it, inspiration says, "The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." To the eye of the beholder after the flood only new scenes were presented. The multitudes of men who but a short time before peopled the earth, were all gone. The beasts were destroyed, and the fields were deserted. So terrible was the destruction when "the windows of heaven were opened," that even the fowls of the air perished. No sound of living thing was there to greet the rising sun. The fruitful field was a desolation, and all the workmanship of man was in ruins. Had Noah and his family been transported by the ark to some distant planet, the scene would not, probably, have been so new and strange, nor the contrast with their former home so great, as that which now greeted their sight. Truly, they looked upon another world. The elements—the materials—were the same. In every other respect all was strange and new. But another change, as great as any in the past, remains to be effected; not by water, but by fire. Literally it will be melted "with fervent heat." And to this it is reserved "against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." We have read in Prov. 11:31, that the wicked and the sinner will also "be recompensed in the earth." And the Revelation says that after the thousand years of judgment, "the rest of the dead"—the wicked—will be raised from the dead, and in the midst of their fruitless efforts to wage war against the camp of the saints, "fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them." Rev. 20:9. This chapter also says they receive their portion in a lake of fire, which will literally be fulfilled when the earth is melted by the fire which devours them. Many efforts have been made to give Peter's words a figurative application; but all such efforts do violence to the text. It does not refer merely to the change of dispensation, as theorists have asserted; nor is the fire a figure, and the heavens and earth used by metonymy to represent the people. But both the earth and its inhabitants are introduced; and not only "the perdition of ungodly men" is spoken of, but also the melting of the earth and the elements. As the apostle speaks of a literal creation, and a literal flood which changed the face of that creation, so does he speak of a literal conflagration of that literal earth; for figurative fire would not melt the elements of literal earth. Many scriptures besides those quoted speak of the great "burning day." To one only will we refer. As Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, in its closing scenes consigns the wicked to a fire which devours them, so does the closing book of the Old Testament leave the wicked under the action of this devouring element:— "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1. Thus at once shall the curse, and the accursed, be removed from the earth. Beyond this, another scene is introduced:— "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. The scriptures cited, as well as analogy, show that the new earth will bear the same relation to the earth which now is, that the present earth bears to that which was before the flood. It will be composed of the same material, but in every sense renewed. The Lord said by Jeremiah, as quoted, that the earth shall be turned again to chaos—without form and void—yet he will not make a full end. That earth which was given to Adam at first; which Noah beheld under two dispensations; upon which Abraham dwelt as the land of promise; upon which the wicked will receive their recompense in the great day, will be given to the saints of the Most High, when sin and sinners shall be entirely removed from it. The description of the new earth, in the Bible, is very brief. Whether it were brief or extended, we could never realize its glory. Having always associated a different state of things; having always had crosses and trials to bear, sorrows and disappointments to suffer, our minds cannot grasp the realities of a world of glory, and of unalloyed bliss. In vision it was shown to John, who says:— "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful." Rev. 21:1-5. Whiting's translation of verse 1 says: "And the sea was no more." Not as though there were no sea at all in that heavenly state, but that the old sea was no more, even as the former heaven and earth were no more. All was new. Dr. Clarke says:— "The sea no more appeared than did the first heaven and earth. And probably the new sea occupied a different position and was differently distributed, from that of the old sea."—Com. on Rev. 21:1. On this new earth is located the New Jerusalem, which descends out of Heaven from God. It is the capital of the universal kingdom of Christ, who, as the seed of Abraham, is the heir of the world. It is that "city which hath foundations," which the Lord himself built, for which Abraham looked. As Abraham offered up Isaac, the son of the promise, so was Christ, the seed of Abraham, the true heir, offered as a sacrifice. And by the offering of Isaac, was taught the death and resurrection of his seed before they could inherit the promises. So "Christ must needs suffer" before he entered into his glory. And so all the saints must suffer, and await the morning of the resurrection to fit them to inherit a holy and eternal inheritance. Paul says, "Corruption cannot inherit incorruption." 1 Cor. 16:50. But when the Son of man comes, seated upon the throne of his glory, he will raise the saints immortal, that they may "inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:34. Micah says:— "And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8. To what this refers, we cannot imagine if not to the dominion which was granted to Adam at the first—dominion over the whole earth. That the expectation of the saints takes hold on this promise is shown in their song of anticipated triumph, and of glory to the Lamb:— "For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." Rev. 5:9, 10. From this there can be no appeal. Abraham's promise, Paul's hope, Christ's heirship, the saints' expected triumph, the peaceful inheritance of the meek, all look to the earth made new, redeemed from the curse. "I long to be there! and the thought that 'tis near
Makes me almost impatient for Christ to appear,
And fit up that dwelling of glories so rare,
The earth robed in beauty,—I long to be there!" The particular points of glory and of beauty, as set forth by Isaiah, John, and other inspired writers, I leave with the reader to examine, only adding the view in Revelation of the final song of triumph, when the wicked are destroyed, the curse removed, and all is made new. All the inhabitants of the wide creation of God join in this song:— "And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. SCARCELY SAVED.
By Rev. James Wells
A FEW years ago, the Rev. Stephen Hyslop, missionary at Nagpore, India, was fording a swollen stream on his way home. Feeling that his horse had got beyond his depth, he disentangled himself from the stirrups, and struck out for the bank. A good swimmer, he soon reached it, and grasped some tree roots, panting and waiting till he gained his breath. But the fierce flood tore him and his frail stay away; and next day his body was found, with the tree roots still in his stiffened grasp. He had reached the place of safety; he probably thought himself safe then; he had almost saved his life, yet he lost it. Paul and his companions reached the island of Malta, dripping from shipwreck, and having lost their earthly all. They were living miracles—almost lost, but altogether saved. "They escaped all safe to land." Theirs was a hair's-breadth escape. They were scarcely saved. Peter asks (1 Peter 4:18), "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" While the salvation of Jesus Christ is full, free, and perfect, the fact remains that the righteous are scarcely saved. The reason is not on God's side, but on man's side. It is in the weakness and treachery of the apostate heart, in the power of the evil one, and in the fascinations of sin. About the fact itself there can be no doubt. Turn to Bible biography. There is Noah, soon after the flood, drunk with the wine of his vineyard. Remember Lot—his hair singed, the smell of brimstone on his garments—a brand plucked from the burning. Then think of Abraham, David, and not to mention others, Peter, who wrote these words. A man who was almost drowned, looked back from the shore he had just reached, upon the sea, which had all but engulfed him, and he told how his whole body trembled; and thus the righteous look back with mingled fear and joy upon the precipice, from the edge of which the grace of God has snatched them. Now, if righteous men, who make religion the business of life, feel that they need it all, and that at the best they are scarcely saved, what is to become of the ungodly who do not trouble themselves greatly about the matter, but let religion look after itself? It is one of those questions which are not answered, for merely to ask it is to answer it. If men would seriously put this question, they could not escape the right answer. It is plain that in such a case the ungodly and the sinner cannot even appear. It seems to me that the religious indifference of most easy-going people springs from two mistakes. They think that religion is a very simple matter. It will do if they have time before death to say, "God be merciful to me a sinner." In some293 unexplained way it will all be arranged by and by. They take counsel of their self-love and brutish indolence; and generally they fall into this mistake by abusing the simplicity and freeness of the gospel. They use the gospel to destroy that feeling of fear and need, without which the gospel appeals to us in vain. The gospel abused makes the gospel of none effect. While the gospel is simple and free, your salvation is a most momentous and anxious concern; for the righteous are scarcely saved. The second mistake is this: Light-minded people apply to religion comparisons and ideas that don't belong to it. They fancy that progress toward Heaven is like walking along a solid road, and not like swimming through a deep river. They say to themselves, "Well, we are not all we should be, or might be, but still we have many good points. We have taken some steps heavenward. If we have not paid the whole debt, we have paid at least some instalments." They forget the essential distinction between lost and saved, accepted and condemned. They forget that to be almost saved is to be altogether lost; that the actions of the unregenerate are not well-pleasing to God; and that the new life must have, as its starting-point, a new birth. Somehow they manage to overlook the exceedingly plain and numerous statements of Scripture on this vital point. Christianity must be something more than a decent morality; remission of sin is not the whole of duty; conversion is not an education or a growth of nature, but the work of the Holy Spirit; half-way to Christ is not salvation; they who are not far from the kingdom are outside of it.—Rev. James Wells, Glasgow. The Sabbath School.
By Ellen G. White
JESUS had spent the entire night in prayer, and he came down to the beach in the early morning to look for his disciples who were fishing near the shore. He could not long remain undisturbed by the people. As soon as it was known that Christ was by the sea-side, the multitude flocked to him. Their numbers increased so that he was pressed upon all sides. As he stood teaching them, the crowd became so dense that he stepped into a boat, and pulling out a little from the shore, gave the people a better opportunity to see and hear him, as he continued his discourse. What a scene was this for angels to contemplate! Their glorious Commander, sitting in a fisherman's boat, swayed to and fro by the restless water, and preaching salvation to the listening crowd that are pressing down to the water's edge! He who was the honored of Heaven teaches his grand doctrine of deliverance in the open air to the common crowd. Yet he could have no more magnificent scene for his labors. The lake, the mountains, the spreading fields, the sunlight flooding the earth, all furnish subjects by which his lessons can be impressed upon the human mind. In plain sight are the sowers and the reapers, side by side, the one casting the seed, and the other harvesting the early grain. The fruitful valleys and the hill-sides are clothed in beauty. The barren rocks are seen upon the beach, and the birds make the air vocal with their music. The sea-fowls skim upon the surface of the water. Jesus takes this opportunity to draw lessons from nature that will sink into the minds of his listeners. He employs the scenery about him to illustrate his doctrine, so that in the future, whenever these objects are presented to their eyes, their thoughts will revert to the lessons of truth drawn from them by Jesus. They will be daily reminders of his precious instruction. Sitting thus, and looking upon the animated scene before him, Jesus uttered the parable that has been handed down to us through the ages, as pure and beautiful to-day in its unadorned simplicity as when it was given that morning on the Sea of Galilee more than eighteen hundred years ago: "Hearken; behold there went out a sower to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And some fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased, and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." * The Pharisees understood the parable, but affected not to perceive its meaning. They closed their eyes lest they should see, and their ears lest they should hear; therefore their hearts could not be reached. They were to suffer retribution for their willful ignorance and self-imposed blindness. One reason why Jesus taught so much in parables was that the spies of the Jews were ever watching to find cause for complaint against him. He designed to expose their hypocrisy and evil deeds without laying himself liable to the danger of being arrested and imprisoned by them, and thus cut off from the work which he came to do among the people. He could speak cutting truths in parables, reveal the iniquity that it was necessary to expose, without any fear of their laws. They could make the application, for they could not fail to recognize his meaning, yet they were powerless to condemn him for using a simple illustration in his discourse. The great Teacher blessed his disciples because they both saw and heard with eyes and ears that believed. Said he, "Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see these things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them." Jesus then explained to his disciples the different classes represented in the parable he had given them. Christ, the Sower, scatters the seed. There are the worldly ones, whose hearts are like the hard-beaten highway, insensible to the teachings of divine wisdom. They love not the requirements of God, and follow their natural impulses. Many are convinced as they listen to the important lessons of Christ. They believe his words, and resolve to lead holy lives, but when Satan comes with his evil suggestions, they are overcome before the good seed has fairly sprung into life. Had the soil of the heart been broken up by deep repentance for sin, they would have seen how wicked was their selfish love of the world, their pride and avarice, and would have put them away. The seeds of truth would have struck deep into the fallow ground prepared for them in the heart, and would have sprung up and borne fruit. But evil habits had so long held sway over their lives that their good resolutions had vanished before the voice of the tempter. "And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." There are those who receive the precious truth with joy; they are exceedingly zealous, and express amazement that all cannot see the things that are so plain to them. They urge others to embrace the doctrine that they find so satisfying. They hastily condemn the hesitating and those who carefully weigh the evidences of the truth and consider it in all its bearings. They call such ones cold and unbelieving. But in the time of trial these enthusiastic persons falter and fail. They did not accept the cross as a part of their religious life, and they turn from it with dampened ardor, and refuse to take it up. These persons could cultivate and enrich the soil of their hearts, if they would, so that the truth would take deeper hold; but this involves too much patience and self-denial. It costs them too much effort to make a radical change in their lives. They are easily offended by reproof, and ready to say with the disciples who left Jesus, "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" "And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended." Jesus represents the seed as falling into neglected borders and patches covered with rank weeds which choke the precious plants that spring up among them; they grow sickly and perish. Many hearts respond to the voice of truth, but they do not properly receive and cherish it. They give it a place in the soil of the natural heart, without preparing the ground and rooting out the poisonous weeds that flourish there, and watching every hour in order to destroy them should they again appear. The cares of life, the fascination of riches, the longing for forbidden things, crowd out the love of righteousness before the good seed can bear fruit. Pride, passion, self-love, and love of the world, with envy and malice, are no companions for the truth of God. As it is necessary thoroughly to cultivate the soil that has once been overgrown with weeds, so it is necessary for the Christian to be diligent in exterminating the faults that threaten his eternal ruin. Patient, earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus, can alone remove the evil tendencies of the natural heart. But those who have allowed their faith to be overcome by the growth of Satan's influences, fall into a worse state than that which they occupied before they heard the words of life. "And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." Few hearts are like the good soil, well-cultivated, and receive the seeds of truth and bring forth abundant fruit to the glory of God. But Jesus finds some earnest Christians, rich in good works and sincere in their endeavors. "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." — Mrs. E. G. White, in Great Controversy. ALL well-informed people are familiar with the sad account of the death of the young Prince Napoleon, who fell pierced by nineteen wounds by the Zulus, in South Africa, June 1, 1879. Many will remember that Capt. Carey, in his published report, mentioned that after they had selected the camping ground—the object for which the squad of six had been detailed—and had had coffee, and rested, he suggested that they should remount and return to camp. But the young prince, who commanded the squad, said:— "No, let's wait ten minutes." Just as they were preparing to remount, at the expiration of that ten minutes, a body of Zulus came on them, and all fled but the prince, whose horse broke from him. After a desperate resistance, he fell, covered with wounds, and died, "in the tall grass of the douga." I presume all do not know that this pleading for ten minutes' delay was a habit of the young prince from early childhood. A correspondent of a leading Paris Journal interviewed the empress as she was upon the eve of departure for the scene of the tragedy that had wrecked all their earthly hopes, and drew her into conversation on the subject of her son. She talked freely during the interview, but with an evident anguish of spirit, which seemed only more sad from her effort at control. During this interview, while speaking of the childhood of her son, the prince, she unconsciously revealed the trait in his character that has caused all this woe—to her, wrecked hopes and a broken heart; to him, the probable loss of a throne, an earthly future, and his life. After describing her as still lovely in her lonely grief, the writer from whom we quote, said: "The empress had now risen and stood, slightly trembling with emotion, when, stepping rapidly and gracefully across the room, she opened a cabinet, from which she took a pocket book, and read therefrom on a leaf, "Going with Carey"—the last words ever written by the prince; then she added:— "Of all that Capt. Carey has ever written in regard to my son, those fatal ten minutes alone I hold to be true. It was ever his habit," she continued, "to plead for ten minutes' delay; so much so that I used to tell him they ought to call him Monsieur Dix Minutes. It was always ten minutes more to sleep in the morning; ten minutes more at night to sleep in his chair; and when too much overcome with sleep to speak he would hold up his two little hands, the ten fingers representing the ten minutes more for which he pleaded." The habit of procrastination is a deadly foe to all prosperity in temporal or moral affairs. THE Greek word hades is not translated in the revised version of the New Testament. This has caused some useless comments, on which the Christian at Work has the following note:— “In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, the new revision will have instead of the word hell, the Greek word untranslated, hades, thus: ‘And in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments.’ A prominent daily paper, in referring to this passage, and others where the Greek word hades is not translated but transferred to the English text, exclaims, ‘The presumption appears to be that the old hell of our fathers has been abolished by the Committee on Revision.’ Any Greek scholar would laugh at this remark. As well say that one had abolished fashions because in translating a French book, on coming to the word modes, instead of rendering it fashions, he simply introduced into his English, as American dressmakers do, the original French word, modes. The word hades means the place of the dead, both bad and good. The words ‘in torments’ define the part of hades where the wicked rich man was. It is as if I should say, ‘He was in New York harbor on Blackwell’s Island serving out a sentence.’ The Greek word gehenna is the one properly translated hell.” These remarks of the C. at W. are somewhat mixed. It intimates that to give hades instead of hell is parallel to giving modes instead of fashions; that is, that it is giving the original instead of its English equivalent, and then adds: “The Greek word gehenna is the one properly translated hell.” This is very true; and hades is not properly translated hell; and therefore its illustration by the words modes and fashions is faulty; it has no application. Hades in Greek is the equivalent of sheol in Hebrew. This is proved by comparing Ps. 16:10 with Acts 2:27. Sheol in the Psalm, is rendered hades in Acts, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hades.” The authorized version improperly renders it hell. “In torments” does not define any part of hades. It is so inferred from its use in a parable, in Luke 16. But parables prove no doctrines. Sometimes they are explained by inspiration itself, as in Matt. 13 the parable of the wheat and tares is explained; then the explanation is lawfully used to teach doctrine. The several parables of Luke are not explained, and may not thus be used. In parables, to inanimate things are ascribed or given the powers of animate creatures. Thus, in Judges 9 the trees are made to talk; and in Luke 16 dead men are made to speak; but in fact neither trees nor dead men ever speak. That we are correct in this interpretation, and that dead men do not converse, or, that there is no animation or knowledge in hades, is proved by what is affirmed of sheol in the Old Testament. Thus, there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in sheol; Eccl. 9:10; there is no remembrance of God in death, no giving of thanks in sheol; Ps. 6:5; sheol cannot praise God, death cannot celebrate him; Isa. 38:18. It is true that hades means the place of the dead, good and bad, for all are in the same condition in death. That which is spoken of sheol in the texts above, is true of hades. In it is no knowledge, nor work, nor device; in it there is no remembrance of God; no giving of thanks or praise. Dr. Young, in his Analytical Concordance gives the same definition to sheol and hades—“the unseen state.” Dr. Young very properly distinguishes, under the word grave, between the cases where it is translated from gever, and from sheol. Gever is a place of burial, or a grave; sheol, often translated grave in the authorized version, is quite different in signification, and more nearly expresses condition than location; hence the definition—“unseen state.” And this shows the error of those who divide hades into different apartments for two classes, in one of which the inhabitants are in happiness, in the other, in torments. It is an unscriptural theory, impossible as to its supposed facts. Some affirm that the soul of Christ went to Paradise on the day of his death. But the Scriptures say he went to sheol or hades. We raise the question: Is Paradise in sheol or hades? If it is, then there is no wisdom nor knowledge, nor device, nor remembrance of God, nor thanksgiving, nor praise, in Paradise. We cannot consent to this. And another query: When “death and hades are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death,” will Paradise—as a part of hades—be cast into the lake of fire? We are thankful that the revised version is proving the means of bringing this question so prominently into notice. Adventists have for years been pressing it upon the attention of the public that hades was improperly translated hell; that it does not denote a place of punishment; and that gehenna is the Greek word which is properly translated hell. In this they were sustained by some of the best authorities; but in this they were bitterly opposed by the host of interested theologians who seem determined to have it that sheol or hades, in which are all the dead, is a place of torment, and that the punishment precedes the Judgment. But God reserves the unjust to the day of Judgment to be punished; 2 Peter 2:9; and rewards the righteous at the resurrection of the just; Luke 14:14; and “gives reward to his servants the prophets,” after, not before, the Judgment; Rev. 11:18. If this truth had been admitted by the ministry, who were supposed to have full knowledge of all the facts in the case, scoffers would have no chance to say that “the old hell of our fathers has been abolished by the Committee on Revision.” And thus it becomes evident to all that they who teach false theories of the Christian faith are the ones who finally subvert the faith, and give the enemy occasion to reproach the word of God. The Christian at Work is inconsistent in its remarks. Its use of the French word, modes, and fashions, with the Greek, hades, and hell, makes the latter synonymous. Then it is quite lawful to render its own expression thus: “The word hell means the place of the dead, both bad and good.” But this is not true, in the true sense of the use of hell. It is true of hades; and if this word had never been translated hell, the confusion which now prevails on this subject would not have existed. For this confusion and its unhappy consequences the clergy are mainly responsible, because when the truth was presented to the people they hindered them from accepting it. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.
By Editor
It is much to be regretted that there is not a uniform law for all the States on the subject of marriage and divorce. As it now is, a person may get a divorce by collusion, by leaving one State and going to another, and there is no legal remedy provided. And, worst of all, our laws are so loosely framed that to evade the obligations of the marriage tie, a premium is placed on crime. A man may commit a crime for which the court will issue a decree of divorce against him, but the court has no further authority in the case to punish for the crime. It may appear to the satisfaction of the court that he was guilty; and the decree be based on that ground, but it brings no punishment. The only effect it works is to dissolve the marriage tie, which, it may be, was just what the criminal desired, as it enables him to contract marriage elsewhere. Here is a shameful abuse of marriage, if not directly legalized, yet made possible, and even protected, by the law. In this, our laws are wrong. To a correspondent we reply that we did not wish to be understood, in a recent article on this subject, to say that a person who is divorced for crime has any right to marry again. We do not believe that is the case. But we are still of opinion that a person who obtains a divorce from a criminal party, has a right to marry again. Our friend says:— "In St. Matthew the wording might lead one to think there was permission; but reading the other gospels, we find it expressed explicitly the sin of marrying one put away." We do not, and have never intended to, justify the marrying of one put away; the only question of difference is, Has a person a right to marry again who puts one away for just cause? We think in such a case, one party may marry; the other may not. The method of interpretation adopted by our correspondent, is certainly erroneous. We do not limit one text of Scripture by another not so extensive in its expressions; we must explain a text which is less definite, by the one which is more definite. The exception given in Matthew is not stated in Mark and Luke. But the silence of these evangelists cannot neutralize the words of Matthew. If the testimony of the latter is reliable, our Saviour did give one reason for which a man may put away his wife, and marry another. It is a pity that his words are so greatly abused, and perverted to serve the purposes of the base and vile. The laws of the nation should prevent this. We are not at all tenacious of our opinion. If it can be shown that one marriage is all that can be allowed to any person, even under the circumstances named, we shall cheerfully accept the decision. But we have not yet been able to so read the Scriptures. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
By James White
ON the Sabbath following the Dayton camp-meeting I preached in Walla Walla. The sermon was followed by a spirited social meeting. It was a good day to all in attendance. Meeting also in the evening after the Sabbath. Sunday forenoon, by invitation of the leader of the Health and Temperance Club, I gave a temperance address in Milton. The meeting-house was packed full, and all listened with interest. I think some of our temperance clubs, and our churches also, lose much by failing to properly circulate our temperance tracts on such occasions, and also in the meetings of other temperance societies. This class of literature not only meets with no prejudice, but it disarms prejudice, and brings us before the people in a manner to interest them in our work. Riding part of the way through a heavy rain, we returned to Walla Walla, where I spoke in the evening. The congregation was not large, but larger than I expected, and I greatly enjoyed the privilege of setting before them the "blessed hope." This closed my work in Washington Territory. After a visit with Bro. Jones at the tabernacle of Bro. Colcord, I departed for the Willamette valley. Bro. Jones goes to Medical Lake, some distance north of Snake river, to hold a tent meeting; and Bro. Colcord, with Bro. Russel, will visit the churches and labor as Providence may direct. Altogether I feel hopeful for the cause in that Conference. Eld. C. is blessed with a faithful helper, who is untiring in her efforts to keep the missionary work in an orderly and prosperous condition. Some trouble has arisen from those who came in for the purpose of introducing their notions of trine immersion; but that element mostly left when it appeared that their effort would prove a failure. It is astonishing how tenacious some people will be of an opinion which is so clearly proved to be unscriptural. The relation of baptism to the burial and resurrection of Christ, as set forth in Rom. 6, shows, without the possibility of contradiction, that a single baptism is all that can with propriety be administered. To be baptized three times is not being buried with Christ into death, nor is a three-fold rising from the water any likeness of his resurrection. It seems that all who are moved by Scriptural reasons more than by prejudice must see this. With such clear Bible evidence it is not consistent for our churches to have fellowship for that error.295 The move made in coming forward on Sabbath afternoon at the camp-meeting was an important one. Besides several members of the Dayton church, and others in that section, brother and sister Nichols took an advanced step which we all trust will prove a blessing to themselves and to the cause in Milton. Wednesday, June 15, I reached the residence of Elder Van Horn in Beaverton, Oregon. Sister Van Horn has been much afflicted in health of late. She was very sick, dangerously so, during his absence to the Dayton meeting. Her physician urgently advises a change of climate. They intend to go to the sea-coast for a season, after the camp-meeting, with perhaps a longer journey afterward if her health will permit and the providence of God shall seem to direct. The Lord has graciously heard prayer in her behalf, and we confidently trust that she will be able to attend the camp-meeting next week. The month of June, thus far has been wet, and the weather is yet cloudy. But we look for the blessing of God in the coming meeting. Our prayer is for much of that wisdom which "is profitable to direct." Brother and sister Van Horn are trying to make their afflictions work for them by renewing their consecration to God and his work. May his blessing attend their steps. To-day, June 17, I go to Salem, to spend a few days before camp-meeting. I must express the satisfaction and gratitude with which I read a letter written by Eld. Loughborough, dated Bale, Switzerland, giving favorable account of the condition of Bro. Andrews. May our faith in a prayer-hearing God never fail. James White