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Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 47.

NOW, IS THE TIME
Earlier text: NOW, IS THE TIME

Ruskin’s Essential Bible Chapters

Mr. Ruskin has left on record a list of chapters of the Bible, made out by his mother, the installation of which in his mind, he says, he could count very confidently as the most precious, and, on the whole, the one essential part of his education. These chapters were Exodus 15, 20; 2 Samuel 1, 5, and 17 to the end; 1 Kings 8; Psalms 23, 32, 90, 103, 112, 119, 139; Proverbs 2, 3, 8, and 15; Isaiah 58; Matthew 5, 6, and 7; Acts 26; 1 Corinthians 13 and 15; James 4; Revelation 5 and 6.—Selected.

FEEDING THE HUNGRY.

By David Paulson, M. D.

DAVID PAULSON, M. D.
(November 24-30.)
God makes a man hungry, so it is a divine ministration to satisfy the very craving which God himself has created; but, like any other function of the body, the appetite may be so perverted that the satisfying of its clamors may actually be a ministration of death. The Lord never intended any function of the body to be degraded to such an extent that it should be used for selfish gratification. Why should not eating and drinking be regarded in just as sacred a light as we regard the reading of the Bible or prayer? The fact that the majority do not regard it in this light has nothing to do with the question. The majority did not regard truth in the proper light in the days of Noah, and so they were left outside the ark. And those, to-day, no matter on what church book their names are enrolled, who regard their bodies simply as a harp, whose strings they may play upon for selfish gratification will have to be born again before they can be translated to heaven without seeing death.
God also created the mental and the moral appetite just as truly as He creates physical hunger. In asking a thousand questions in regard to a thousand things the child manifests a thirst for knowledge which is as truly heaven-born as is its thirst for water. It is wrong to quench its physical thirst with water to which has been added such poisons as tea and coffee, or with water from a well which, on account of its close proximity to the barnyard or other sources of infection, has become contaminated. It is likewise a sin to satisfy a child's mental hunger and thirst by supplying it with vile literature.
Although we are born in iniquity and sin, and have inherited to a certain extent the propensities and lusts that characterized our parents, yet there is in the heart of every human being who has not sinned away his day of grace, a definitely implanted hunger and thirst for Him who is the “desire of all nations.” In the majority of even the most degraded specimens of humanity, warped and deformed as are their spiritual and physical tastes, there is a relish for the sincere, unadulterated milk of the gospel, but nothing short of this can stimulate their spiritual appetites. Those weak gospel milk-and-water combinations that are served up so frequently, mingled with a great deal of human notions, do not arouse the spiritual taste in those who have so nearly lost their spiritual appetite. The man in health can often relish almost anything, but the invalid requires dainties and delicacies; so if we would feed the moral invalid that is nigh unto spiritual death, we must be prepared so to present to him the sweet gospel of Christ, in all its delicacy and beauty and fragrance, that it will serve to tempt his appetite.
After Nehemiah had reared the wall of Jerusalem amid untold difficulties, they had a pentecostal feast, and he charged the people to “send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.” Neh. 8:10. We have been trying to build up a wall of truth, and the Lord has certainly blessed our efforts; but there are thousands for whom nothing suitable to feed upon, either mentally, morally, or physically, has yet been prepared. Have we any responsibility in reference to this matter? or shall we compel the Lord to raise up others to feed the hungry ones for whom nothing is prepared? Is the definite message of Christ ringing in your ears, “Give ye them to eat”? The great majority in the world are trying to live upon husks, just as truly as did the prodigal son. The highly spiced food and various condiments, the diseased animal foods, tea and coffee, doughy breads, pasty mushes, and a long series of similar wretched things are composing the dietaries of multitudes to-day. Christ is saying to us, “Give ye them to eat.” He is anxious to use us to cleanse such tables. Shall He call in vain?
A recent analysis of the New York Mutual Life Insurance Company's statistics of the causes of the death of over 45,000 of their policy holders shows that by far the largest percentage of deaths are of such a character that they may be traced directly to follies and errors in eating and drinking. How many of these premature deaths might have been avoided if we had years ago grasped the thought that the establishment of pure food dining rooms in our large cities is a solemn duty enjoined by this message, or if each of our sisters had been so thoroughly stirred over the terrible number of unnecessary funerals as first to obtain a knowledge in reference to the principles of health, and then teach them to her neighbors? Thank God, a good beginning has been made in both these directions. Although it is only during the last few years that we have responded to the crying necessity of establishing places in our large cities where the people may be fed upon food that is conducive to purity of life and clearness of intellect and strength of body, yet nearly a score of these places are in successful operation, and are being patronized by a class of people whom it would be difficult to get an audience with in any other line of our missionary operations, and the opportunities are measured only by the degree of the consecration of those who are connected with them. Only a few weeks ago one of these dining rooms was opened in Madison, at the University of Wisconsin. It gives good promise of becoming an entering wedge for the truth. More recently another has been started at the University of Chicago; and although at this writing it has been in operation only a few weeks, it is already patronized by members of the faculty and the best class of students, and words of highest appreciation are heard on every side. We are thus being daily brought into contact with a class of humanity that has never before come within the influence of any of our missionary operations which are being carried on in different parts of this city.
Suppose none of these people ever become members of our church; is it a small thing to have had an opportunity to help make humanity healthier and happier? Did not Christ help many who were not saved? Is it too much to say that this people ought to lead the world in every enterprise and movement that stands for the upbuilding and betterment of humanity. If we are willing to keep our eyes open to our opportunities, we may have just this privilege; for the world is so absorbed in financial gain that they cannot be expected to be largely interested in movements that do not promise satisfactory lucrative returns.
The mail business in this country has increased so enormously that whole trains have to be chartered to transport it from some of our great centers. This indicates the amount of material that is required to feed the natural craving for mental food. Shall our literature and publications, which contain just the truths for this time, be left in the rear, while the products of worldly minds are being flaunted before the eyes of the people everywhere? We have now developed a class of literature which will not only satisfy every normal taste, but will tend to correct perverted mental and moral appetites. Yet we must ask for divine wisdom that we may prescribe the right kind of mental food. It is not enough to say that there is truth in all our publications. We are dealing almost constantly with diseased minds, and it requires just as careful discrimination to decide what kind of literature will best meet their condition as it requires to prepare a diet prescription for a dyspeptic.
To give a person a copy of the Good Health when he should have a copy of the Signs, while not a fatal error, is nevertheless a blunder. On the other hand, there is a class of persons whom God has especially prepared to appreciate the Good Health, and whose minds are not in a condition to assimilate with the same ability the truths that are contained in the Signs. There is a class of youthful readers who would feast on the Youth's Instructor; and why should they not have it? There is no gospel worker, no matter to what church he belongs, who would ever need a second invitation to read the Life Boat if he had been permitted to read one copy; for it deals with just the topics that he is interested in. What a pity he should go through life without learning that we publish such a paper! And so with each of our papers. The same principle holds good with reference to our books.
After we have carefully diagnosed the mental and moral condition of our friends and of those with whom we are brought in contact, let us earnestly study what kind of food they need, and God will bless our efforts. To force a man to eat either spiritual, mental, or physical food that he is not prepared for is nauseating to him, and nearly always leads to unpleasant results. It is not a sufficient excuse for the careless nurse to say, “Well, I gave the fever patient nothing but good food;” and so with the gospel worker; after he has stirred up a tempest of unnecessary prejudice, or has nauseated an individual on what he has tried to impart to him, then it is not a sufficient excuse for his lack of good judgment to say, “I taught him nothing but the truth.” We are to study to show ourselves approved of God, as workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We are to give to the household of God “meat in due season,” or, in other words, what is to them seasonable food. We are to present to the world not only theories and arguments, but that practical religion which feeds them, soul, body, and spirit, even as did the Master, who left us the immortal command, “Give ye them to eat.”

QUESTIONS.

1. Who creates hunger?
2. Under what circumstances may eating, instead of being a divine ministration, become a sinful ministration?
3. Does self-gratification of any function of the body tend to prepare the individual for translation?
4. How does the child manifest the mental longing that God has implanted within it?
5. Does God implant a moral hunger within us similar to the physical and mental?
6. If physical food has to be served in a dainty and delicate manner for the physical invalid, is it less important to be able to present the gospel in its most attractive and appetizing form to the sin-sick soul?
7. Is Christ's admonition, “Give ye them to eat,” carried out by the food that is served upon the average table to-day?
8. What startling fact does the report of the New York Mutual Life Insurance Company present for consideration to those who love the lives of their fellow men?
9. If we willingly withhold from the people the knowledge which would have saved their lives, are we not responsible to a certain extent for their death?
10. In what way may pure food dining rooms in our large cities become opportunities for untold good?
11. Is it our privilege to lead out in any movements that have for their object the uplifting of humanity, or does God simply want us to drop in, the last ones in the rear?
12. What do the enormous train-loads of mail suggest as to the extent of the modern mental appetite?
13. Is it necessary for us to discriminate as to what literature we put into the hands of the people? If so, why?
14. If forcing a man to eat physical food which he dislikes nauseates him, will not seeking to compel a man to absorb mental truths for which he is not prepared, have a similar effect?
15. What does the gospel admonition, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” mean to you?

Words of Cheer.

By Josephine A. Dickens

Josephine A. Dickens.
Some, through lack of physical strength, and ease of circumstances, have not been required to do much housework, but suddenly a change may come, and they be compelled to engage in home duties. These lines are written with the hope of helping such a one to find joy and strength in dish-washing, which will lead to joy in other duties.
In the midst of prosperity, adversity came, and I was reminded of the words, in Proverbs: “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” Faint? I did not want to. When called upon to wash dishes one morning, the thought came, How can I stand in that place where I shall be obliged to stoop while washing dishes, and still keep cheerful? The voice within said, Copy verses of Scripture in large letters on slips of paper, and pin them up before you; also take a poem of Miss Havergal’s, and do likewise. Commit these to memory.
The joy and strength that came in obedience to this suggestion I would not part with for all that could be given me. The blessing thus received continually increases.
Sisters, are you weary? combine the doing of home duties with the storing of the mind with God’s thoughts, and there will come a strength that will surprise you. God’s love and truth will spring up in your heart as a fountain—a well-spring of life.

The County House.

The word county house, or, as it is more commonly called, the poorhouse, has a sound we dislike, and none of us would look forward with pleasure to a sojourn therein. No; we hope to be taken care of in our helplessness and age without going to the county house. The fathers and mothers who have spent the best of their lives in hard toil, laboring early and late that their boys and girls may have an education, and be prepared to take their place with the learned and scholarly,—these parents, after spending not only their strength but their living with the one purpose in view,—that of seeing their children do well and have good homes of their own,—in many cases have found a small corner in one of those homes in which to pass their last days. To be sure, some of these corners are not very bright, but they are more to be desired than the misfortune, or, as some would say, “disgrace,” of going to the county house.
You may vow, and perhaps have already done so, that your father or mother shall never go to the poorhouse. But do you know we are living in perilous times? Read 2 Tim. 3:1-5, and look around you to see if any of those signs are in process of fulfillment.
I visited our county house not long ago, and as I talked with a lady past eighty years of age who had been kept by the county for nearly twenty years, I could not help thinking of the scripture referred to above. She was telling me about the people she used to know. I asked her some questions: “Have you any children?”—“Yes; a daughter.” “Is she living?”—“Yes.” “Married?”—“Yes.” “Has she a good home?”—“Yes, but there is no place in it for mother.” Sad thought! mother, who nursed her early and late, caring for her in sickness and health,—surely this daughter is “without natural affection.” In another room I saw a man not yet sixty years old, but helpless, or nearly so, with paralysis. He has a son living in town, in sight of the county house. “He does not come to see me very often,” the father said. I talked with another aged man whose only son is a minister. He said, “My son told me that I should never come to the poorhouse while he lived.” But it seems that the son has a family of his own, and the parsonage is not large enough for his father and stepmother to have rooms with them; so they are spending their last days in the county house.
If this life ended all, it would be sad indeed; but some of the poorhouse people have bright hopes for the future. They told me that they expect a mansion in heaven. They have treasures laid up there, and realize that this life with its changeableness will soon end.
I listened to Elder Luther Warren preach one evening. His text had only three words: “Thy kingdom come.” He asked if we were saying it or praying it? I am not going to try to tell you all he said, although it made a deep impression on the minds of those present. One point he made was this: If some people get to heaven at all, they will have to live at the county house. Then I thought of my visit. These people I talked with, when young, did not expect to spend their last days at the county house. Perhaps we do not expect to live at the county house in heaven, but what assurance have we that we shall not?” Where are we storing our treasure? Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
There are many things that can sweep earthly riches away from us, but what we lay up in heaven is safe. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord.” There is no better way to invest money than to lend to the Lord. How much have we in the bank of heaven? Enough to keep us out of the county house? Is our bank account such that we can draw on it throughout eternity and not exhaust it?
Elder Warren used this only as a figure. In reality there will be no place in heaven for those who have lived for self here on earth. Let us arouse from our slumber, and pray, not only in words but in deeds, “Thy kingdom come.” May the Lord help us to realize we are living in perilous times.

THE HOME.

By Elder G. B. Thompson

ELDER G. B. THOMPSON. (Rome, N. Y.)
Through the institution of marriage the Lord gave to man one of his most priceless gifts—the home. There is no place like it. In youth and old age it is a haven of rest, a refuge from storm. What tender memories cluster round the word! We can think of nothing in this sin-cursed earth more beautiful than a Christian home, a home where husband and wife manifest love and gentleness, and the children are trained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Angels as well as men admire the scene, and delight to hover round, bringing their heavenly influence to every member.
But, alas! how many homes whose inmates profess the name of Christ are such only in name. How many are made sad by unkind words, fretfulness, and complaining! How many wives have lost the buoyancy of youth, become downcast, frail, and discouraged by reason of the fretful words of a complaining, irritable husband. Likewise the angry words of an unappreciative wife have brought despondency to many an affectionate, loving husband. The following words from the Spirit of the Lord tell the sad story: “Unkindness, complaining, and anger shut Jesus from the dwelling. I saw that angels of God will flee from a house where there are unpleasant words, fretfulness, and strife.”—“Testimony for the Church,” Vol. I, page 307.
Reader, have the holy angels ever been grieved away from your home by the things here mentioned—“unpleasant words, fretfulness, and strife”? A home from which the angels of light and glory have departed is a dismal picture. Yet the impatience of the husband toward the wife, of the wife toward the husband, and of both the parents toward the children, has grieved many a good angel away, and left many a sad heart. Strange that any home would permit this wicked thing to remain, much less a home whose members are preparing for the coming of the Lord.
Again I quote: “We must subdue a hasty temper, and control our words; and in this we shall gain great victories. Unless we control our words and temper, we are slaves to Satan. We are in subjection to him. He leads us captive. All jangling, and unpleasant, impatient, fretful words are an offering presented to his satanic majesty. And it is a costly offering, more costly than any sacrifice we can make for God; for it destroys the peace and happiness of whole families, destroys health, and is eventually the cause of forfeiting an eternal life of happiness.”—Id., page 310.
What is needed most of all is a life the light of which shines in the home. If it does not shine in the home, it will never shine any place. The religion of Christ takes homes full of strife, impatience, fretfulness, and every wickedness, and makes them peaceful. Foreign-mission work is simply planting in the midst of heathen darkness a Christian home, where the gentle graces of the Holy Spirit will shine forth, and be a miniature of that eternal home toward which the feet of the weary pilgrims are tending.

YOU MIGHT HAVE THAID “OH!”

By Minnie Leone Upton

I was hard at work in my study, When I heard a gentle tap, “Come in!” and in came my Josie, Tearful from some mishap, And I knew that she was longing To be cuddled in my lap.
“I bruithied my finder orful, And papa, it doeth ache tho!” “Well, well, run away to mama, For I can’t help it, Jo.” She raised her tear-wet lashes— “Papa, you might have thaid ‘Oh!’”
The study door closed softly, And I was left alone, With nothing to hinder my writing But the thought of a tender tone, So loving and so reproachful ’Twould have touched a heart of stone.
And I sat and looked at my paper, But somehow I couldn’t write, And there broke on me in the silence The dawn of a clearer light; The touch of that aching finger Had given me my sight.
Have a tender word, my brothers, For the little troubles and pains. It was not beneath our Master, It is far above our gains; It will hasten the heavenly kingdom, Where only love remains.
—Minnie Leone Upton, in the American Mother.

HOW TO BECOME BEAUTIFUL.

By W. C. MATHEWSON.

W. C. MATHEWSON. (Luce, Mich.)
Beauty was one special feature of the earth when it came from the hand of the Creator. This quality was conspicuous in all nature, from the towering tree to the tiny flower. So complete was the animal kingdom in this respect that serpents, now so revolting to the sight, were beautiful, flying creatures. Man, created last of all, possessed this element in a pre-eminent degree, in being fashioned according to the divine similitude—the most beautiful of beings.
But sin has marred the beauty of creation, giving nature, in many respects, an unsightly appearance. Man, dwarfed and degenerated, bears but little resemblance to his original state of beauty.
What we now regard as beauty would seem repulsive were we privileged to visit distant worlds to view unperverted nature. While all these worlds inexpressibly excel the grandest of earthly beauties, yet some of them are more magnificent than others. “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.” 1 Cor. 15: 41.
But these beauties, superior as they might seem, would vanish into insignificance when contrasted with the beauties of the city of God. “Beautiful for situation . . . is . . . the city of the great King.” Ps. 48: 2. After beholding the beauties of the city, grander sights of matchless splendor, overflowing our hearts with unutterable delight, would be the special features of the throne of God. No language could describe the scene.
Returning to this earth, how dismal and unsatisfying would everything appear! Earthly nature has lost her real beauty. It is to be regained. The image of God in man, now so sadly defaced, is to be restored. Redemption stops nothing short of re-beautifying. Redeemed man is man re-beautified, and God wants us to know it. He has done everything possible to teach us this truth.
The great center for the work of man's redemption is in the heavenly sanctuary, where our Redeemer, our High Priest, ministers and reigns as priest and king at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb. 8: 1.
In no better way can we study the plan of redemption than by studying the heavenly sanctuary. The only profitable way of doing this is to study the earthly sanctuary, which is a pattern of the heavenly. Heb. 8: 5.
In studying the earthly sanctuary, its beauty immediately becomes the all-absorbing theme. “No language can describe the glory of the scene presented within the sanctuary,—the gold-plated walls reflecting the light from the golden candlestick, the brilliant hues of the richly embroidered curtains with their shining angels, the table, and the altar of incense, glittering with gold; beyond the second veil the sacred ark, with its mystic cherubim, and above it the holy Shekinah, the visible manifestation of Jehovah's presence; all but a dim reflection of the glories of the temple of God in heaven, the great center of the work for man's redemption.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, page 349.
Why was beauty made such a prominent feature in the construction of the earthly tabernacle? may be asked. Since the heavenly sanctuary in connection with the throne of God is the most beautiful institution in the universe (Ps. 50: 2), it would have been a great mistake not to make the earthly sanctuary a beautiful structure. Without its beauty, it would not have been a true pattern of the heavenly sanctuary. But this was not the sole reason.
The sanctuary, being God's dwelling place, was a holy institution, so holy that the first and second apartments were called the holy place and the most holy place, respectively. Holiness and beauty are inseparable qualities, as the following texts of Scripture indicate: “Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire.” Isa. 64: 11. “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Ps. 29: 2. Therefore, since the sanctuary was very holy, it was necessary to construct it proportionately beautiful.
God's instruction to Moses was: “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25: 8. Why did He want to dwell among them? How were they benefited by His dwelling among them in the tabernacle? Would such an arrangement sanctify their bodies? — No. God's dwelling among them was not His primary purpose; it was only a secondary one. He dwelt among them in order to teach them that He desired to dwell in them. 2 Cor. 6: 16. He made the sanctuary-temple His dwelling place in order to teach them how their body-temples might be made His dwelling place. The Israelites, associating the beauty of the sanctuary-temple with its corresponding holiness, in contrast to their own unholy, sin-scarred body-temples, could more easily grasp the truth afterward given to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3: 3. Their own bodies were unfit for God's abiding presence, for He dwells “in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” Isa. 57: 15. The beauty of the sanctuary was God's way, and the best way, of teaching them this fact. In relation to this thought, let us compare the creation of man with the construction of the tabernacle:—
Christ created man. Moses built the tabernacle.
Christ used a pattern in creating man. Moses used a pattern in building the tabernacle.
Christ’s pattern was a pattern of God, a beautiful heavenly Being. Moses’ pattern was a pattern of the heavenly sanctuary, a beautiful institution.
Christ made man exactly according to the pattern. Moses constructed the tabernacle exactly according to the pattern.
The man that Christ made was a beautiful, holy creature. The tabernacle that Moses built was a beautiful and holy institution.
From the comparison given above, all may readily understand that the beauty of the earthly sanctuary was an object lesson of the original beauty of man, which, by means of the work done in the heavenly sanctuary, is to be recovered. The psalmist understood this truth; for he says: “Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” Ps. 96: 6. “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.” Prov. 90: 17.
Reader, Do you admire the beauty of God's sanctuary? Do you wish to become beautiful also? Read the following recipe: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image [of beauty] from glory [beauty] to glory [beauty].” 2 Cor. 3: 18. This recipe never fails. Try it.

ACCEPT IT:

By Ada D. Wellman

MRS. ADA D. WELLMAN. (Oakland, Cal.)
WHEN about to go from home once for a few weeks, I requested a flower-loving neighbor to gather all the sweet-pea blossoms that would appear on my vines during my absence.
Though declaring that that would be a great privilege, she hesitated to accept it, expressing fear that to do so would be to deprive me of my own. I assured her that the flowers could be of no benefit to me when I was away, and that, on the contrary, if not picked, they would exhaust the strength of the plants, which then would cease to bloom.
Thus I endeavored to convince her that by taking the flowers, she would do me a favor. She thanked me cordially, and I went away feeling satisfied that the vines would be kept in good vigor; but on my return, I was dismayed to find them containing many pods, and few buds.
My neighbor hastened to inform me—as if confessing a trespass—that she had picked some of the sweet-pea blossoms; but when I asked why she had not taken more, she replied that she did not like to be so greedy-as to rob me.
In like manner, we fear to accept the full pardon and power which God would delight to give. We forget that giving does not impoverish Him, and that only when His infinite gift is accepted, will His infinite love be satisfied.

TIMELY RECIPES.

By M. Eugenia Mc Kee

M. EUGENIA MC KEE.
(Hickory, N. C.)
APPLES or pears to keep well should be nicely culled, then spread on a floor in a cool room where no sunshine will touch them, or on shelves for the purpose. A layer of fresh dry straw underneath is well, to keep them from touching one another. But a superior way is to pack in large stone jars with clean, dry paper around each. Of course none but perfect fruit is thus treated. The top should then be well covered with four or five thicknesses of paper, to exclude air and frost.
If the fruit is to be carried any distance, to prevent bruising put a thick layer of paper between the layers of fruit; and instead of jars use baskets, well lined with heavy paper, and covered. Clothes hampers, or any covered basket or tub will do.
I recently saw a recipe for using bran to fill up the interstices, much as eggs are packed. It should be well dried, and the fruit should be dry also.
Never sweat apples previously to storing them. They should never be laid in heaps at all. The fruit is apt to retain a bad flavor. If they cannot be laid singly, lay at least thinly on a clean floor or on fine paper. Never use soiled paper having an odor. Free air should be admitted to them for several hours each day in dry weather. The rule is, Keep as cool as possible without freezing.
Grapes on the stem may be packed in bran, and kept in a cool, dry place for several months, if all imperfect ones are removed, and the bran is perfectly clean and dry.

Words Smaller Than Ideas

An orator or author is never successful till he has learned to make his words smaller than his ideas.—Emerson.

NO MORE SEA.

By Editor

WILL there be a sea on the new earth? The query is raised on this point because of an expression found in Rev. 21:1, which says, “And there was no more sea.” It is very easy to take these terms in a general and unlimited sense, and give them a very rigid interpretation, and then it would appear that on the new earth the sea is to be done away, disappear, and be no more. The question in itself is of no sort of consequence whatever. But it is of interest to those who have a disposition to let the mind run forward and dwell upon our future inheritance, and who have a curiosity to set up a picture before the imagination of all the local features of the scene. The reason we say that it is of no consequence whatever how we decide the question, is because we know, from the general instruction on the subject, that whichever way it is, that way will be best. If it is best that there shall be no sea in the new earth, then there will be none. And if it is best that there should be a sea, then there will be one. Our speculations upon it will not make a particle of difference. It will all be arranged in the highest wisdom of God, and we shall be abundantly satisfied therewith.
We had a note on this point in the REVIEW of July 9, 1901, Ques. 814, in which we gave a modified rendering to Rev. 21:1; thus: “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.” We contended for a unity of thought in the whole passage. The term “the earth” would naturally include the sea, unless there was a thought peculiar about the sea, which rendered a separate mention of it appropriate. So the construction we gave of the passage was this: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth;” and since there is a discrimination made between the earth and the sea, it might have continued: “And a new sea; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” The literal rendering of this language would be: “And the sea [fixing the mind on the first sea, like the first earth] was no more.” That, too, had passed away in the scene which John beheld; and the same idea attaches to the sea that is expressed in regard to the heaven and the earth; namely, “I saw a new sea,” adapted to the new order of things.
The answer to question 814, as given in the REVIEW of July 9, was as follows: “We do not understand the text to affirm that there will be no more sea, or that the sea will no longer exist. The prophet was describing the change that is to take place in the present constitution of things. He saw a new heaven and a new earth; ‘for,’ he says, ‘the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;’ and the next and last clause, instead of reading, as in our version, ‘And there was no more sea,’ might be translated, ‘And the sea is no longer,’ that is, the sea as it at present exists will be no more. This brings the sea into the same category with the heavens and the earth, and affirms that the great change that is coming will affect the sea the same as it affects the heaven and the earth. ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth,’ says John. So the sea will also be renewed, or made new.”
This seems to us plain enough. But a correspondent, even in the ministry, takes exception to all this, and takes us to task quite sharply for such treatment of the Scripture. He calls it wresting the Scripture and denying the Scripture. He says we might, on the same ground, pervert and deny any of the plain statements of the word of God. This is strange. The prophecies are entitled to a certain degree of flexibility in their application. This remark we made at the time of the Minneapolis Conference in 1888. A good deal of fun was made of it then; but it is true, nevertheless. For instance, the ten horns on the head of the fourth beast of Daniel 7 denoted, according to the explanation of the angel, ten kings, or kingdoms, that should arise out of Old Rome. In time they were all developed, and the historian could locate them, and put his finger on the map of their territory. But in the changes and revolutions that followed, three of these ten horns were plucked up by the roots; that is, the kingdoms which they represented were wholly destroyed. Then, after this, the image representing the Roman Empire had only seven toes, had it? and the beast but seven horns? but the ten toes and the ten horns are contemplated in the prophecy as continuing unto the end, because they represent divisions in the days of which the God of heaven is to set up His kingdom.
Just so the sea, after the time in which it is said that it was no more, or was no longer, may be contemplated as existing, like the heaven and the earth, in its renewed, or purified, state. Such continuance we believe the utility and beauty of the renewed state demand. The dominion of the King in His beauty is spoken of as “extending from sea to sea [Ps. 72:8], and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” The proportion of land and water as it exists upon the earth to-day gives us three fourths of the surface of the earth covered with water. It does not accord with our ideas of the perfect state to suppose that such a proportion will be abandoned to a watery waste. In the chapter which speaks of the new heaven and new earth, John heard the voice of Him that sat upon the throne saying, “Behold, I make all things new.” The sea is enumerated among the “all things.” Then the sea is to be made over new.

INTENSITY

By L. A. S.

We were told years ago that “intensity” was a characteristic of the time we have now reached in the world’s history. “A new power is springing up from beneath, and taking fast hold on” those agencies which are of the world. Since we were first pointed to this truth, great events have occurred in the world, and marvelous changes have taken place in an incredibly brief space of time. A complete revolution has been wrought in principles and sentiments that had stood for a century. History has been made, and is being made, with tremendous rapidity.
Have you noticed that this is so? Have you observed that an intensity of feeling runs beneath the surface of events, and now and then breaks out in forms of tumult and violence? Have you observed how the mob spirit has grown upon the people of this country in the past few years? how there has been a return to the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishments,” expressly forbidden by the national Constitution? how law and established authority are being set at naught in many places, and mob law instituted in the place of the machinery of civil government? That which could have been spoken with safety a few years ago, can now be uttered only at the risk of personal violence. New definitions of treason are being found, and new avenues of ill feeling and hatred opened up.
There is a simple reason for all this, and an awful one. The restraining Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth, and men are being more and more given over to the impulses and passions of the carnal heart.
This awful spirit is stalking through the land to-day, and like a plague, may make some of us its victims. Satan is behind it, and through it is seeking to get full control of the world’s inhabitants. He will draw us into the vortex of carnal passion and strife if possible. We are surprised sometimes, many of us, by the sudden uprising of this wrathful, passionate spirit—the true spirit of anarchy—in our own hearts, where it has been lurking unsuspected. Beware of it; give it no room for activity if you would stand in the final conflict upon the side of the servants of God.
There is another side to the picture; the intensity is not all on the side of darkness. No spirit is so great or so intense as the Spirit of God,—the Spirit which is in the work that is now preparing the world for the second advent of the Messiah. Intensity will be characteristic of God’s closing work in the earth. Have you felt it— do you feel it— stirring you up to greater zeal and activity and love in the cause of God? Intensity is in the world, is filling the world, and is dividing the world into two great classes. One class will be moved by the spirit of evil thinking and surmising, evil speaking and evil plotting, rebellion, treason, and ungovernable passion, by which the world will be filled with violence, as it was in the days of Noah; the other class will be moved by the Spirit of love to God and man, of peace and gentleness, and in contrast with the opposing class will be described as “holy, harmless, undefiled.” But their work will be with an intensity of power which no opposing force can withstand.
What spirit are we cultivating— toward which of these classes are we tending— to-day? It is our privilege to come up now, in “the power of the Spirit,” to “the help of the Lord against the mighty.” L. A. S.
Continue reading: AN IMPORTANT CHANGE