1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 2 God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning 3 with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him 4 was not anything made that hath been made. In Him was 5 life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth 6 in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. There 7 came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the 8 light, that all might believe through him. He was not the 9 light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, 10 coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world 11 was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and they that were His own received Him not. 12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on His 13 name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the 14 flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only-Begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”
Golden Text.—“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Verse 4.
Suggestive Questions
(1) What was in the beginning? Where was the Word? What was the Word? Vs. 1, 2. Note 1. (2) What was made by Him? V. 3. Note 2. (3) What great universal principle was in Him? What is that life to us? V. 4. (4) Where does the light shine? With what result? V. 5. Note 3. (5) What man was sent from God? V. 6. (6) For what purpose did John come? Vs. 7, 8. (7) What is the special characteristic of that light? V. 9. (8) With what ignorance did He meet? V. 10. Note 4. (9) How did “His own” treat His overtures? V. 11. (10) What did He give to them that did receive Him? V. 12. (11) How are these children born? V. 13. Note 5. (12) What did the Word become? Of what was this flesh full? V. 14. Note 6.
Notes
1. “In the beginning.”—We learn nothing from this expression as to definite length of time in the past. If we consider the beginning of things to us visible, or to the beginning of all created beings, at the remotest time of which we can conceive in connection with any material existence, the Word was, implying a pre-existence. The Word was co-existent with God, for “the Word was God.”
2. “Were made.”—That is, “all things” came into being by Him, or through Him, or from Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being.
3. “The Light.”—Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. And John says, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5. “Apprehended.”—The common version has “comprehended,” and the margin of the R.V. has “overcame.”
4. “Every man” endowed with ordinary reason has some light from God, which, if followed, would lead him to the fuller light of truth and salvation. Even those who have only the knowledge of God through His visible works are “without excuse” if they reject the Light. See Rom. 1:18-25.
5. “Not born of blood.”—“Ye must be born again,” but the second birth is spiritual. John 3:3-6; Rom. 8:5-15. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” 2 Cor. 5:17. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22. For results in this life, see 1 John 5:1-5, 12, 18.
6. “The Word became flesh.”—This verse is the fullest proof that the Word referred to in the previous verses is Christ. He dwelt “among us,” and He was “full of grace and truth,” as none other ever was upon the earth. As He “dwelt among us,” so “in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And so ye are complete in Him.” Col. 2:9, 10. Therefore, “as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. This is true if we really have the Spirit of Christ. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God,” etc. See Col. 3:1-17.
Heralds OF HIS COMING
by Milton C. Wilcox, shows conclusively that Christ’s coming is very near. 25,000 already sold. Price, $1.50 per 100.
PACIFIC PRESS PUB. CO.
Oakland, Cal.
39 Bond St., New York City
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Lessons by Mail on Medical Electricity or How to Use the Battery
By G. L. Abell
By Prof. G. L. Abell
Member of the Board of Directors of the Electro-Medical Society of San Francisco.
Learn how to use the battery and treat yourself. Many diseases are quickly cured by the proper application of electricity. The course embraces the treatment of every organ and part of the body. The lessons are written in plain language and are illustrated. Course, five dollars. Send for circular. Address,
PROF. G. L. ABELL, School of Chemistry and Electro-Therapeutics. 22½ Geary St., San Francisco, Cal.
Pianos and Organs in California
Brother L. I. Sage, of Ventura, California, has opened a music house at that place, and has agreed to furnish pianos or organs to all readers of THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, from Seattle, Washington, to San Diego, California, at a much lower price than outside dealers will furnish them, handling all grades of pianos and organs, and selling for cash or on easy terms.
Those desiring an instrument should correspond with him at once.
When you write, please mention the SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
Healthful Delicious Nut Foods
EASILY and cheaply made in any household by the use of our complete equipment for grinding and emulsifying nuts. The production of our mills is unsurpassed. Full directions and a booklet containing many valuable nut food recipes, free with each mill.
NUTS
Shelled and unshelled, of all kinds at reasonable prices
For further information, catalog, price-list, etc., write to JOSEPH LAMBERT, Battle Creek, Michigan.
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ROMAN CANDLES
100-page monthly magazine on the lies of popery. One copy, 10 cents. One year, $1.00.
Address, “Roman Candles,” San Francisco, Cal.
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NUT BUTTER NUT MILLS AND NUTS
Health is wealth. Eat pure foods. Buy them of us or Make them yourself. Write for prices of Nut Butter, Nut Roast, Nut Meal, Maltola, Malt Oil, Malt Extract, Almond Butter, Crackers, and other health foods, Nut Grinders, Roasters, Blanchers, Shelled Peanuts, Roll Bakers, Gem Irons, etc.
Knapp Brothers
407 E. Burnside St. E. Portland, Ore.
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WHAT SHALL WE EAT? WHAT SHALL WE DRINK?
By B. F. Richards
A LIBERAL sprinkling of common sense with the food we eat, the fluid we drink, and the air we breathe, would save an untold amount of suffering, a world of inconvenience, and the lives of a nation. Man is made of food, water, and air, and every particle of these passes through the mouth and nostrils, which are the doors. Keep on the outside of the door every particle of unwholesome food, contaminated water, and impure air. Do not ever let them enter; for they are the lowest type of highway robbers, thugs, and hold-ups, bent on an errand of destruction and death.
Were we to enter a shipyard where ships are in process of building, and there see the carpenters framing and mortising timbers that were decayed, worm-eaten, and in every way unfitted for their intended use, we should at once say, “Why, that ship will never stand the storms on the ocean for a single season!” Why do we come to this conclusion?—Because the material from which the ship is made was decayed, rotten, and worthless before it entered into the construction of the vessel. We are vessels on the ocean of life, confronted with dangers and perils of a very hazardous nature, exposed in calm as well as in storm, by both day and night, whether awake or asleep; hence the importance of personally inspecting the material that is used in building this body of ours and keeping it in good repair.
Let us notice the attention we give to the horse, and watch the results of our labor. We groom him daily, from the tip of his ear to the ends of hoofs and tail; we give him water to drink at least three times each day, and more frequently six times; we give him his grain by actual measure, and as an extra precaution lock the grain box, or secure it in some other way, so the horse can not, if he should get loose, go to the bin and founder himself by overeating. Turn him out in the lot, or hitch him to the buggy, and notice the grace and ease of his movements. The horse looks well, acts well, and is well, because proper care has been given to his body in keeping it clean, and to the quantity and quality of his food and drink.
There are valuable lessons to be learned from the care we give our dumb animals; for the same attention given to ourselves will secure us, as a reward, a healthy body, a sound mind, and many happy days.
What shall we eat and drink? has become an all-important and perplexing question, notwithstanding the direct command given by the great God, the Maker of all things, that we should not be anxious about our lives in regard to what we eat or drink. Matt. 6: 25. But, regardless of command, the human family have gone on disobeying and violating the laws relating to the body, so that to-day we are a nation of dyspeptics, reaping a crop of misery and pain, natural results from seed of our own planting.
We do not receive health and strength from the food eaten, but from the food digested. So every particle of food left in the stomach that can not be taken care of by the system, will sour and decay; and sour or decayed matter is the same in the stomach as it is in any other place,—it is full of death and destruction, never quiet, but dealing out, with a heavy hand, deadly germs that travel through every portion of the body, leaving their poison all along their trail.
The sin of the age is overeating and gluttony. So voracious have we become as a nation, so rapidly do we devour our food, that it would almost seem that we think our very lives depend on removing it from the plate to the stomach in the shortest time possible. We do not stop to consider that there is a very important station between, known as the mouth, in which every particle of food should pass through a rigid milling process, being ground and pulverized with the teeth; and, while the mill is grinding, the food is becoming saturated with the first and very important digestive fluid, called saliva, which has a prominent part to act in the digesting of starch foods and in inducing the stomach to secrete its gastric juice.
The classification of foods should be known by every person; for a large per cent. of suffering is caused by not knowing that foods are like people, and do not, and will not, agree with each other. So foods that are antagonistic to each other should be kept apart, and not brought together at the same meal.
Fruits, grains, and nuts are of a peaceable family, and will agree in one meal; but when taken with vegetables, a quarrel will usually occur. Grains and nuts with vegetables will agree if properly cooked and masticated; but for the safety and comfort of the persons eating such a meal, it is not best to take fruit, for fruit and vegetables are more often in war than in peace with each other. The acid in the fruit and the starch in the vegetable make yeast when brought together in a warm place. Yeast is leaven, and a “little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” B. F. RICHARDS.
San Francisco, Cal.
I KNOW A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.
By Frances D. Gage
I KNOW a beautiful woman,
But she's not of "sweet sixteen,"
Full sixty winters have come and gone.
The "now" and the "then" between.
Yet every year hath added
A something so fair and true
That to me she's the sweetest woman
I think that I ever knew.
Her eye may be dimmer growing,
It hath lost the glance of youth,
But up from the inner fountains
It is flashing love and truth;
Her cheeks have not all the freshness
Of the rosebud's glowing red;
The purity of the lily,
Full blown, has come in its stead.
All over her face of beauty
There are lines of days gone by—
Of holy loves and earnest hopes
That have wrought there patiently:
They are lovelier far than dimples,
For I know that each was given
To mark the years of dutiful life
That have fitted her for heaven.
I never think of that woman
But my heart throbs high with love,
And I ask, "Can she be more beauteous
In the blissful realms above?"
I can scarcely in my dreaming
See her face more fair and bright;
She seems to me now, with her radiant brow,
A spirit of love and light.
The poet may sing his praises
Of the glow of "sweet sixteen;"
But there's a holier beauty
Of sixty-five, I ween;
For the girlish face that's molded
By a true and loving heart,
Will brighten as the heart throbs on,
Rechiseling every part.
—Mrs. Frances D. Gage.
THINGS HANDY TO KNOW.
THE following is a capital list of questions, that you can put to your brothers and sisters—after having answered them yourself.
Boys should never go through life satisfied to be always borrowing other people's brains. There are some things they should find out for themselves. A farmer's boy should discover for himself what timber will bear the most weight, what is the most elastic, what will last longest in the water, what out of the water, what is the best time to cut down trees for firewood. How many kinds of oaks grow in your region? and what is each specially good for? How does a bird fly without moving a wing or a feather? How does a snake climb a tree or a brick wall? Is there a difference between a deer's track and a hog's track? What is it? How often does a deer shed his horns? and what becomes of them? In building a chimney, which should be the largest, the throat or the funnel? Should it be wider at the top, or drawn in? The boys see many horses. Did they ever see a white colt? Do they know how old the twig must be to bear peaches, and how old the vine is when grapes first hang upon it? There is a bird in the forest which never builds a nest, but lays her eggs in the nests of other birds. Can the boys tell what bird it is? Do they know that a hop-vine always winds with the course of the sun, but a bean-vine always winds the other way? Do they know that when a horse crops grass he eats back towards him, but a cow eats outward from her? Why?—Selected.
USES OF PULP.
It almost looks as if the old saying, “Cotton is king,” might be revised to apply to wood pulp. Wood pulp has been used as a substitute for iron, steel, wood, stone, glass, ivory, and innumerable kinds of animal and vegetable fiber. As a material for car wheels the manufacturers have found it superior to any kind of metal, being about three times as durable as steel and much more elastic. It has been found available as a material for paving bricks, drain tiling, and conduits for electric cables. For ivory, which is becoming scarcer every day, cellulose is the best substitute that has yet been found. When properly treated, it is practically proof against heat and moisture, hence it has been found superior to timber as a material for telegraph poles and screws. Cannon, too, and bicycles are made out of wood pulp in Germany and Chicago, respectively; while a Frenchman has succeeded in producing a thread from the same substance, which he declares can be worked up into all sorts of fabrics. A Vienna inventor declares that his wood-pulp leather is superior to animal leather in fineness and durability. Among the other articles made of wood pulp are boats, canoes, cuspidors, pails, flower-pots, tables, chairs, bureaus, barrels, wagons, horseshoes, and imitation porcelain ware. The manufacture of silk from wood pulp is now an important industry in England and France. And in wood pulp the resources of Maine seem to be almost limitless.
—Lewiston (Me.) Journal.
A Sincere Man
No MAN adequate to do anything, but is first of all in right earnest about it, what I call a sincere man.—Carlyle.
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Development of the Money Power
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God’s Witnesses in Stone
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False Religions and Isms
Medical Missionary Work
The Open Door for Christ’s Ambassadors
These are but a sample of the score and a half of subjects ably presented, covering a vast field of research and giving up-to-date facts for all classes of society.
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NEWS AND NOTES
Domestic.—Over 500,000 tons of steel rails have been ordered during the past week by railroad companies centering at Chicago and Pittsburg......The government has sent a large quantity of seeds of various kinds to the Philippine Islands, to test the soil and to produce vegetables for the army of occupation......The government has appropriated $25,000 for the construction of a flying-machine, under the supervision of Professor Langley, of the Smithsonian Institute, who has constructed already a successful working model......The American Linseed Company filed articles of incorporation on December 5, with a capitalization of $33,500,000. It is also reported that all the large packing-houses in the country have entered a combine, merging into one trust their joint capital of about $75,000,000......James Stillman, of New York, has given $350,000 to Harvard College to cover the cost of land and buildings for a projected Harvard infirmary, to bear the name of the donor......On account of the great prevalence of typhoid fever among the New York troops stationed in Honolulu, it has been decided to have the troops sent home......The battle-ships Oregon and Iowa have sailed from Montevideo for Valparaiso, Chile, where further orders will await them One of the most gigantic trusts in the world was recently formed in New York by the consolidation of nearly all the large flour-mills in the United States. The trust expects to control three-fourths of the flour supply of the world. There is about $150,000,000 represented in its capital stock......
There is prospect of another Indian war in Minnesota. The Indians on the White Earth and Leech Lake Reservations are openly violating the game laws and defying the wardens to arrest them. They claim to have won a victory over the soldiers at Leech Lake, and are anxious to win another.
The tobacco-growers of Kentucky have organized a combination for the purpose of opposing the tobacco trusts of the country. They are perfecting plans to fight the trusts in the State and Federal courts......The transport Minnewaska left Savannah, Ga., on December 5, with a regiment of New York troops for the occupation of Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba......The United States gunboat Helena arrived at Gibraltar on December 4, and took on a supply of coal preparatory to the completion of her voyage through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and Indian Ocean, to Manila, where she will join the fleet of Admiral Dewey......Another severe storm swept the New England and central States on December 5, wrecking a considerable amount of shipping, and seriously impeding the railway and telegraph service......The third session of the fifty-fifth Congress was called to order at noon, December 5, when the President's message was read. The message was one of the most lengthy documents ever presented to Congress by a President and deals almost wholly with the war with Spain, the events leading up to hostilities, and the results growing out of them. It also refers to American interests in China, urging the appointment of a commission to study the commercial and industrial conditions of the Chinese Empire. The President maintains the equal rights of Americans in the territories of China which have recently come under the influence of other nations; and expresses the cordial sympathy of this nation for the peace proposals of the czar of Russia. An extensive merchant marine is also favored, and a recommendation made for governmental support for American steamship lines. The President advises that the regular army be increased to 100,000 men, and that the volunteers be retained in service until the army reaches that footing. In respect to the navy the President incorporates the report of the Secretary of the Navy, and endorses his recommendations, which are that the navy be increased by the addition of three powerful battle-ships and twelve cruisers of various tonnage. The construction of the Nicaragua Canal is advised, and Congress urged to institute the necessary legislation.
International.—There was another anti-Dreyfus riot in the streets of Paris on December 5, which was with difficulty quelled by the police......News from Spain is to the effect that that country is seething with sedition born of bankruptcy and ruin. There is a very strict censorship over the press, and the people are not allowed to know the true condition of the country......France is making new and rigorous demands upon China, which are equivalent15to the cession of a valuable portion of the Yang-tse Valley. The viceroy of Nanking stoutly refuses to accede to the demands of France, and for this the French admiral threatens to make his demands still greater and to destroy certain Chinese property in the vicinity of Nanking. British and Japanese vessels have gone to the vicinity to strengthen the viceroy in his refusal to yield to the demands of France......Trouble has arisen in Africa between Germany and the Kongo Free State over the boundary of German territory and Kongo territory north of Lake Tanganyika. A strong force of Germans has been sent to the disputed territory, and the Kongo forces have also been increased......The new German Army Bill just published gives the increase in the German army as 13,487 men. The Radicals term this “Germany’s answer to the czar’s disarmament proposal.”
Serious trouble is threatening in Peru over the policy of the obstructionists; and on November 29 Ecuador was proclaimed in a state of siege......The rebellion in Salvador, in the absence of the president, resulted in the rebel leader Regabido usurping the president’s office. He is said to be so firmly established that President Gutierrez will not attempt to dislodge him......The republic of Central America, which was recently formed, and which consisted of Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, has been again dissolved, and the little States resume their existence as separate republics.
Two British brigades have been ordered to the Swat Valley, India, to put down the uprising of the Mad Mullah, who has been victorious over local tribesmen......A report from Madagascar states that the bubonic plague has broken out in that island......General Kitchener, the conqueror of Omdurman, has appealed to the British public to subscribe £100,000 to found and maintain the Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum, with a view of educating the Soudanese and continuing the work which General Gordon commenced......One of the expeditions sent out in search of Herr Andree has been wrecked at the mouth of the Yenisei River. The members of the expedition succeeded in reaching an uninhabited island, where they were ice-bound for seventeen days before they were finally rescued......A German official is said to confirm the report that the German Government is negotiating with Spain for the purchase of the Caroline Islands. Germany makes her offer contingent upon no international complications arising, especially with the United States......The Reichstag (the German Parliament) convened on December 6, and listened to the address of the emperor......The present indications are that the treaty of peace between Spain and the United States will be signed during the week. The provisions of this treaty have not been officially given out for publication.
Casualties and Calamities.—The French steamer Algerois foundered off the coast of Algeria on December 5, and eleven persons were drowned......Five men were instantly killed by an explosion of gelatine-dynamite at the Judson Powder Works, near Berkeley, Cal., on December 5......Nine men lost their lives by the wrecking of the steamer Ainsworth, on Kootenay Lake, between Nelson, B. C., and Bonner’s Ferry, Washington, on November 29......Two schooners were wrecked off Gay Head life-saving station, Massachusetts, on November 26, and seven members of their crews were drowned. Eight men lost their lives by the wrecking of a schooner off Black Rock, near Cohasset, Mass., on the same date. The loss to the insurance companies during the recent storms is placed at over $1,000,000.
Fires.—Several stories of two of New York’s tallest buildings were destroyed by the fire which consumed the clothing establishment of Rogers, Peat & Co., on the night of December 4. The loss is placed at half a million dollars.
The Philippines.—Advices from the Philippines state that the insurgents have decided not to recognize the cession of the islands to the United States, and that they will resist to the last. They propose to use against the Americans the 10,000 Spanish prisoners whom they hold. The reports from Manila also state that Aguinaldo has renounced the Catholic faith and become a Protestant, after learning that the Episcopal Church was influential in the United States and England......The insurgents have renewed their attacks on Iloilo, and have cannon trained on the city......The insurgent chief is now demanding the sum of $1,500,000 for the release of the Spanish friars whom he holds......By the terms of the peace treaty between Spain and the United States both countries agree to liberate all prisoners of war. This will mean that the Americans must release the Spanish prisoners whom the Filipinos hold. Aguinaldo, as president of the Filipino republic, with an army under his command, is expected to refuse to yield up his prisoners, when compulsion will have to be used by the Americans in the islands. This, it is believed, will bring on war between the insurgents and the United States......The U. S. transport Puebla, with 600 troops on board, reached Manila on December 6, and reports no deaths during the voyage......The Secretary of the Navy has decided to send Lieutenant Hobson to Manila to superintend the reconstruction of the Spanish cruisers which have been raised from the waters of the bay.
