Earlier text: Every Plant Not Planted by GodSOLID CERTAINTIES IN CHRIST.
By Theo. L. Cuyler
AMID all the disappointments of this world, no one was ever yet disappointed in Jesus Christ. Our cisterns of enjoyment often become broken cisterns; our little rills dry up and vanish away. But who ever saw the fathomless ocean run low? Oh the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge and grace in Jesus! "Of his fullness have all we received," said that favorite disciple who leaned on his bosom at the feast of love. John was never disappointed in his Master; nor was Paul when he found himself filled unto all the fullness of God. There is a fullness of power in him who is able to save unto the uttermost, and a fullness of love in him who loveth his own ransomed flock unto the end. All the needy sinners in the universe cannot exhaust the infinite supply which Christ hath in store for us. We cannot ask too much or too often from Christ. Nay; he must take it ill that we ask so little, and then with such a hesitating faith. "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." These are imperial promises; and the only limitations are in the infinite wisdom which decides just what he ought to give, and what he ought to withhold. Christ must wonder at our feeble faith and stammering hesitations, in presenting requests to him who "loveth to be inquired of." Pint-cup praying brings only pint-cup blessings. It is good to carry a large cheque-book, and inscribe on it, "My soul, wait thou only upon God, for all my expectations are from him." Paul realized his own splendid heirship, and drew large drafts on the inexhaustible treasury. "I know whom I have believed" gave backbone to Paul's faith, and kept the sunshine of assurance playing on the old furrowed face. After he had tested his Lord for more than thirty years, he summed up his glorious experience in these words, "I have finished my course; I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give me in that day." The veteran apostle had never been disappointed in Christ's service—its joys, its toils, or its rewards; he knew that he never would be. He felt just as certain of Heaven as he did of the rising of the morrow's sun. So should we, if we have given ourselves to Christ, and aimed to follow him honestly in the spirit of obedience. Salvation is not guesswork. If I have given myself into the hands of Christ, I ought to feel confident that no man—or devil—can pluck me out of those omnipotent hands. I confidently expect that through faith I shall be kept by the power of God unto salvation. I expect that when I walk through the valley of the death-shadow, his rod and his staff will comfort me. I look forward to an hour when—poor, imperfect sinner as I am to-day—I shall become like HIM, and shall see him as he is. I have not seen anybody who has seen Heaven, any more than I have seen anybody who has seen next week. But they are both coming. I feel sure that if I hold fast to Christ, he will bring me into his Father's house, and show me its indescribable splendors. I confidently expect to find there a joy that shall be to me a "harp," and a triumph that shall be to me a "palm," and a reward that shall be as an "unfading crown." Whether the words used by the inspired John are figurative or not, makes no difference. If they are figures of speech, they represent solid certainties. Our knowledge of that life is small,
The mortal eye is dim;
But 'tis enough that Christ knows all,
And we shall be like him.
—Theo. L. Cuyler. MORTALITY AND IMMORTALITY.
How forcible a proof of the true doctrine of immortality is the empty tomb of Christ. How perfectly in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Spirit is the fact that it is his resurrection from the tomb that illustrates the way and means by which we are to attain to immortal life, or incorruptible being. Death is abolished, and life and immortality are brought to light—illuminated, illustrated—through the gospel. 2 Tim. 1: 10. Our Saviour not only shows that eternal life is dependent upon, and through the resurrection at the last day—John 6: 39, 40, 41, 54,—but has also given us an object lesson as to the way of entering this life by his own resurrection. It is an empty grave that demonstrates that Christ has triumphed over death, and dieth no more. Rom. 6: 9; Heb. 7: 10; Rev. 1: 18. And the saints' triumph will come when they emerge from their graves, and leave them as empty as the tomb of Christ. It is at the resurrection that this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality; and it is then, and then only, that the triumphant saints can exclaim in rapturous joy, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Thanks be to God, there is one grave empty, and thanks be to God that a great many more will be empty before very long. And thanks be to God, too, "who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."—The Restitution. EDWARD PAYSON'S memory is fragrant and strong. An exchange says:— “When I was in Portland, having an hour to spend, I sought out the sexton of the old church where Edward Payson preached, and said to him:— “‘Where is the house in which Mr. Payson died?’ “‘There are the remains of it,’ he replied, pointing to a house, partly torn down. “‘Is it true,’ I asked, ‘that they found the boards in the floor beside his bed worn by his knees where he had prayed?’ “The old sexton said, ‘It is true.’ “Morning and evening the man of God prayed there so long that the very boards felt the impress of his knees. When Payson lived, and when Payson died, he shook the State of Maine, and he shook New England. There was no man in all New England that had the power over men that he had.” RIGHTEOUSNESS OF LAW AND FAITH.
By Milton C. Wilcox
THAT which reveals and condemns sin must necessarily reveal righteousness. The law of God is the righteousness of God. Ps. 119:172; Isa. 51:6, 7. It is God's revealed will. Ps. 40:8. Sin is only the negation of righteousness, or the transgression of God's law. Did not the law reveal righteousness, we should not know its negation, sin; for the sin is shown in its being the negative, or the exact opposite of that which the law requires. Therefore if the law does not reveal to us its requirements, which is perfect righteousness, it cannot reveal to us the opposite of its requirements, which is sin. But by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20); therefore the law reveals to us righteousness. "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." Ps. 19:7, 8. "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. 6:23. But although sinful man may find righteousness in God's holy law, he cannot obtain it there. The prize is revealed, but it cannot be grasped; the jewel is before his eyes, but he cannot lay hold of it by any means which he possesses. But to him who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, God will reveal the way to obtain it; in a more abundant way than he can ask or think, the hungerer will be filled. This way is our Lord Jesus Christ, or the way of the gospel. "For therein [in the gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from [by] faith to faith." Rom. 1:17. Righteousness is revealed as obtainable. Faith grasps it; it is obtained. The prize is grasped. What man could not obtain in the law because of the sinfulness of the flesh, he has obtained in the gospel by faith in Christ. And, while he gets the righteousness of God by the gospel in a different way than he could the righteousness of God by the law, it is the same righteousness; for it is witnessed, or proved, or attested, by the law. Rom. 3:21. That this is true may be shown in other ways. He who is made righteous through Christ, who walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, in him is fulfilled the righteousness of the law. Rom. 8:4. That is, the righteousness received by faith is identical with the righteousness required by the law. And he who walks in this faith, through the Spirit fulfills, or fills up, or keeps, the righteousness demanded by the law. The proof that he has received the righteousness of God by faith is shown in the fact that he keeps the commandments of God. 1 John 2:3. Again: The righteousness of God imputed to us through the gospel is termed justification, or accounting righteous. That is, believers in Christ are accounted righteous, as righteous God; for they are clothed in the righteousness God. But "the doers of the law," those who have never transgressed it, are likewise justified, or accounted righteous, before God. Rom. 2:13. The believer and doer are equally just. The angels are doers of God's law. The righteousness of God is fulfilled in them. The law is to them righteousness and life. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is righteousness and life to fallen man. That is, faith in Christ brings pardon and peace for all past sins; faith in Christ enables him to obey God's law; and the keeping of that law is the righteousness of faith. M. C. W. Now let us briefly outline the new covenant. Paul says that this was established upon "better promises." Its terms are found in Heb. 8:8-12, which reads thus:— "For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people; and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." We find here the same condition as in the old covenant,—the people are to obey the law of God. But this covenant is established on "better promises" than the first, in that the Lord promises to forgive their sins, to write the law in their hearts, and to remember their iniquities no more. These things are all accomplished by virtue of Christ, who is the mediator of the new covenant. Heb. 8:6; 9:15. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7), by securing the remission of past sins (Rom. 3:24, 25), and enabling us to walk in harmony with the law. Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 13:20, 21. The law, then, is the basis of both covenants; hence it could not be done away with the old covenant, else there could be no new covenant. The terms of the new covenant leave no doubt on this point, and Christ's connection with it brings the fact out still more clearly. Thus Christ is the minister of this new covenant (Heb. 8:1, 2), and is now performing the ministration in the true sanctuary in heaven. Heb. 9:24. His ministration has reference to the law, for he came to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), and he is offering his blood to save men from sin. Rom. 3:24; 1 John 1:7; Matt. 1:21. This redemption we get through faith (Rom. 3:24), and faith establishes the law. Rom. 3:31. The law itself, having been violated, brings death; Christ redeems us from its curse (Gal. 3:13), and thus becomes our life. Col. 3:4. Now note the contrast between the two covenants. The first had the ministration of death, because everything connected with it tended to death; the violated law was death to the sinner, and the earthly ministration freed no one from that condemnation. The second covenant has the ministration of the Spirit, because "the Lord is that Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17), and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and life. Gal. 6:8. But although there is no death in the second covenant, there is in the rejection of it, for the law is still death to sinners, and all who are opposed to Christ are sinners, and condemned to death; so Paul says that the letter of the new covenant kills. The reason is that holding the mere letter of the new covenant,—the performance of the gospel ordinances while not receiving Christ in the heart,—is really a rejection of Christ. Of the Lord's Supper, Paul says that he who does not discern the Lord's body, eats and drinks damnation to himself. 1 Cor. 11:29. He is in the same condition as though he had never heard of the new covenant. But in every case, whether of the sinner under the old covenant, or of one who rejects the new, it is the law that causes his death. In the text under consideration Paul contrasts the two ministrations as to glory. If the ministration which could not cleanse from sin, was glorious, the ministration of the Spirit, which gives freedom from sin, must be more glorious. "If the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." And so much more glorious is the ministration of the second covenant than that of the first, that in comparison the first covenant seems to have had no glory. Why the ministration of the second covenant should be so much more glorious than that of the first, is because it is established upon "better promises," and Christ is its minister. "For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." 2 Cor. 3:11. Now what was done away? The answer must be that it is that which was glorious. Verse 9 states that it was the ministration of condemnation that was glorious. Then it must be the ministration of condemnation that was done away; that which remains is the ministration of the Spirit. By no possibility can verse 11 be made to refer to the law, because it contrasts something done away with something that remains. And we have found that the law is the basis of both covenants, and therefore it cannot have been done away; but the ministration of the old covenant as well as the covenant itself was done away, as was indicated by the fading glory upon the countenance of Moses. But it needs no abstract reasoning to show that it is the tabernacle service, and that alone, to which the apostle refers in verse 11 as being "done away," for he says, "if that which is done away was glorious," showing by the "if" that he had before called attention to something glorious; and the only thing which he has so designated in this connection, is the ministration of death. Verse 7. We think that any reader who carefully follows this brief exposition will be able to see for himself, on reading 2 Cor. 3:7-11 that the apostle is simply contrasting the glory of the service of the two covenants, and that the law of God is not under consideration at all, except by an incidental allusion which goes to show its permanent character. A JUDICIAL DECISION.
By Editor
Another illustration of the difficulty of administering Sunday laws is furnished in the recent decision by Judge Armster of the Cincinnati Police Court. According to this judge, ice-cream is not a luxury but a necessity, and its sale on Sunday is legal. Notwithstanding this judicial decision, there may be some people who will insist that ice-cream is not absolutely necessary to existence, nevertheless it can be sold in Cincinnati on the first day of the week without subjecting its vender to arrest. This reminds us of the decision made not long since by an Indiana court to the effect that cigars are a necessity and may be sold on Sunday. We believe also that a like decision was rendered in Pennsylvania, and that a similar decision is likewise on record in Massachusetts. But in all these States, as in Arkansas, persons would be liable to fine or imprisonment or both for doing such ordinary work as digging potatoes on Sunday. As a matter of fact, one man was fined in the last-mentioned State for digging potatoes for his Sunday dinner, and we suppose that the same thing might be done in any of the States that have Sunday laws, unless the persons doing the work happened to belong to one of the exempted classes. EVENTS OF THE MILLENNIUM.
By M. C. W.
IN past numbers, it has been shown that the day of the Lord began at the close of probation, that at that time the seven last plagues began to be poured out, and that in connection with the last plague, the Son of God appears in glory with all his holy angels. At the presence of Christ, the "remnant of the wicked are slain, the righteous dead are raised incorruptible, the righteous living are made immortal; and, together with Christ, escorted by an innumerable company of angels, the faithful ascend to the city of God. The time between the pouring out of the first plague, when the day of wrath begins and probation closes, and the last trump, when Christ appears, is called in the prophecy of Rev. 18:8 "one day," or a literal year. The coming of Christ, the resurrection and translation of the just, the slaying of the wicked, and the desolation of the earth, mark the beginning of the thousand years. Here the Bible millennium begins, not in glory, but so far as regards this earth, enshrouded in darkness. Where are the saints during this period? We have before shown that they were taken to the "Father's house," the city of God in Heaven. Here, associated with Christ, they judge the wicked dead; here they live and reign with Christ a thousand years. Rev. 20:4. Jesus told his disciples, who had forsaken the world, who were condemned by that chosen nation of Israel, that nation which had rejected God, that they should sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matt. 19:28. The tables would then be turned. Those condemned on earth by the greater part of the professed people of God, would in the future judge those apostate tribes; not in revenge, however, but in sorrow and strict justice. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes" (1 Cor. 4:5), from which it may be legitimately inferred that at that time the saints will judge. And this is what Paul expressly states further on. In chapter 6:1 he reproves them for going to law before the unjust, and not before the saints. Surely those who have been in some measure enlightened by the Spirit of God, ought to be able to judge between brethren of the same faith. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge [evil] angels? how much more things that pertain to this life." It is the fulfillment of this prediction by Paul that John sees, as recorded in Rev. 20:4. This reign is therefore in Heaven, not on the earth. "But do the saints judge the wicked?" asks one. We answer, Yes, why not? The Bible expressly declares it, and why not believe it? Abraham, the father of the faithful, asked the question, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. 18:25. That question will be answered to the faithful. They have believed God without always seeing the why and the wherefore. God will reveal to them that their faith was not misplaced; he will demonstrate to the redeemed host the wisdom of all his decisions. Therefore holy angels are commissioned to keep infallible records of men's lives, with the motives which actuated their deeds. See Ex. 32:32; Ps. 139:16; Matt. 12:36; Ps. 50:21; Dan. 7:10; Mal. 3:16, et al. God in his infinite knowledge does not need these records, but his people need them. And during the thousand years those who have died out of Christ come in review before God and the saints, in their records, and their deeds are weighed, and their sentences apportioned accordingly. Rev. 20:12. The question of Abraham is then answered, and with one acclaim the saints raise the song, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Rev. 15:3. As before shown, under the seventh plague the earth shall be "utterly emptied." Isa. 24:3. Thus the prophet speaks of the death of the wicked under the fearful judgments of God:— "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited." Isa 24:21, 22. The wicked are punished by the plagues. Under the burning glory of Christ's coming they die, and are gathered into the vast charnel-house of the dead, this desolate earth. But this death is not eternal. After many days they shall be visited again. John tells us how long a period these many days are. "But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Rev. 20:5. This is conclusive. If the righteous dead, the blessed and holy, are raised, and the saints are all taken to Heaven, if the "remnant" of the wicked are slain (Rev. 19:21) and those who were dead remain so, there is not one wicked human being alive during the thousand years, and there is not one human being either good or evil alive upon the earth. Upon this desolated earth Satan is confined. Rev. 20:1-3. The word translated "bottomless pit," in verse two, is abussos, the Greek word which corresponds to the Hebrew word tehom, translated "deep" in Gen. 1:2. In the Septuagint tehom is translated abussos. They both refer to the empty and desolated earth. Here Satan is confined to ponder over the ruin he has wrought. He cannot leave for other worlds, and the dead are beyond the reach of his power. It seems evident, however, that there will be animal life on the earth during this period, but not human life. The most graphic picture of the earth in this frightful loneliness is found in the double prophecy of Isaiah, referring to Idumea and to the earth as the antitype of Idumea:— "And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screechowl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; there shall the vultures also be gathered, everyone with her mate." Isa. 34:9-15. The earth is waste, empty, and desolate. The palaces of emperors, the courts of kings, the halls of legislation, know no sound of life save the scream of the wild fowl or the fierce growl of some beast of prey, which has sought these ruins as shelter from the fierce blasts of fiery heat which sweep over the sin-ruined earth. The hoarse wind howls its dirges over the dead; and Satan and his minions in remorseless despair contrast the result of their hellish work with their former home in Heaven. It is the Sabbath of the earth. Palestine was deprived of the Jewish nation for seventy years till the land had enjoyed her sabbaths (2 Chron. 36:20, 21), so the earth is desolated of all her inhabitants. Those who have rejected God are dead, the righteous are in Heaven, and the earth is worn out and at rest, and this condition remains till the close of the thousand years. Certainly the millennium, so far as this earth is concerned, is not to be desired. The pall of death will hang over this world at that time, where men, in the boasting of error, predict life and peace and joy. Would that their prediction were true, if it were God's will. But the "sure word of prophecy" has drawn another picture in order that the world may be warned of the evil to come. There is life and peace, but it is in the presence of God in Heaven. Infinite Mercy has set before us life and death; therefore choose life "before the day of the Lord's fierce anger come upon you." THE NEED OF SUNDAY LEGISLATION.
By C. P. B.
THE Examiner (Baptist), of New York, has an article in its issue of July 25 on "The Need of Sunday Legislation," in which some ideas worthy of notice are advocated. The article is a review of a paragraph or two from an article in the Twentieth Century. The sentiment expressed by the Century, and to which the Examiner takes exception, was that no laws should be made in regard to Sunday, and that consequently everybody should be left to do as they please about observing it. This, the Examiner thinks, would be utterly destructive to all Sunday observance. That paper admits, however, that "no laws should be made enforcing the religious observance of Sunday." Just what those who say they are in favor of Sunday laws, but not in favor of enforcing the "religious observance" of the day, mean, we do not know. Sunday is purely a religious institution. It is observed because it is a religious institution, and how any observance of it whatever can be enforced without enforcing a religious observance, is more than we can understand. It is true that no law can compel anyone to have a real regard for Sunday, and possibly the advocates of Sunday laws would regard nothing short of that as religious observance; but any law that prohibits secular occupations on Sunday, compels people to act as though they had a sacred regard for the day, and what is that but religious observance as far as it goes? The Examiner argues that Sunday laws are necessary in order to afford those an opportunity to rest who desire to do so. To prove this, it cites the case of the Saturday half-holiday in New York. It says:— "For several years, by a concerted action, some few large firms in the same lines of business adopted a system of early closing during the summer, but the practice was by no means general, and it had no sure basis until a statute made Saturday afternoon a legal holiday. When all banks and public offices closed at noon on Saturday, it was found not only practicable to close private offices and shops, but of little use to keep them open, and so the half-holiday became assured as a summer institution, and is more and more generally observed with every year." But instead of proving the necessity of Sunday laws, this proves conclusively that no such laws are required further than to make Sunday a legal holiday. There is no law in New York forbidding work upon Saturday afternoon; the law simply makes Saturday afternoon a legal holiday, and banks and public offices and courts must of necessity suspend business, because business done at488 that time would not be legal. But this would not satisfy Sunday-law advocates. This is exactly the case now with Sunday in California. It is a legal holiday, and yet Sunday advocates say that California has no Sunday law, and they are demanding that a Sunday law be enacted in this State. The truth is, that that which they want is a statutory recognition of Sunday as a sacred day. And that, they say, would not be religious legislation! Sunday Observance and Legislation
By C. P. B.
It is impossible to prohibit all kinds of labor upon Sunday; there must always be some exceptions. For instance, "works of necessity and mercy" are always excepted, and it follows that some court must decide what are "works of necessity and mercy." Ice-cream may be exceedingly refreshing on a hot Sunday afternoon, and a "good" cigar may be very soothing, but that either of them is necessary in any proper sense of the word, is beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals. But such decisions are valuable in this, that they go to show that Sunday observance is not a proper subject for legislation. C. P. B. WAS MOSES RESURRECTED?
By Editor
A CORRESPONDENT quotes the following from the "Spirit of Prophecy," Vol. 1, p. 342: "Michael or Christ, with the angels that buried Moses, came down from Heaven, after he had remained in the grave a short time, and resurrected him, and took him to Heaven;" and asks us to harmonize this with John 3:13, which reads thus: "And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man which is in Heaven." There is no lack of harmony between the above quotations. We cannot harmonize what is not in harmony. We will try, however, to show our querist the harmony existing between them. His first objection to the raising of Moses is that "no man hath ascended to Heaven." But we reply that Enoch was translated and did not see death. God took him to the heavenly mansions. Gen. 6:24; Heb. 11:5. Elijah, the type of the forerunner of Christ at both his first and second advents, was also translated without seeing death. "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven." 2 Kings 2:11. This is positive Bible testimony therefore that two men at least were taken up into Heaven, and if two could be taken to Heaven, three could as well; and three being taken there would no more contradict John 3:13 than would one. Therefore any objection against the raising of Moses and the "Spirit of Prophecy" stands equally strong against the cases of Enoch and Elijah and the Scriptures noted above. But none of these conflict with John 3:13 when rightly understood. Nicodemus asks concerning the new birth, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered, "Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things?" They have been manifested often in Israel, and yet Nicodemus is incredulous. Jesus continues: "We speak that we do know and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you of earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" Then follows the passage in question, before quoted. What did our Lord mean by this? He meant this: 1. The message which he brought to earth came direct from God. His communion with the Father was so uninterrupted that he could be said to be in Heaven. Verse 13. 2. If this testimony of Christ could be rejected, what hope could there be for him who rejected it. Jesus gave what he knew and had seen. If Nicodemus would not accept of what he had said of the earthly change, how could he believe if Christ told him of the heavenly? 3. And then our Lord positively states that his message is the only hope. "No man hath ascended up to Heaven [to learn this message and bear it to the world] but he that came down from Heaven." Belief in him and his mission alone would avail aught for the proud Pharisee. Verses 16, 17. This interpretation is in harmony with the context, does no violation to the text, and is in accord with all the Scriptures. Christ is the only one who received the message of life from God for the world; in no one else could any hope. No one had ascended for the purpose of receiving such a message, no one had come from Heaven with such a message but Christ. See John 5:33, 38, 57, 62; Eph. 4:9, 10. That Moses was raised from the dead is clearly evident from the Scriptures. 1. Jude tells us that Michael the Archangel disputed with the devil about the body of Moses. Verse 9. The Archangel is Christ. Compare 1 Thess. 4:16 and John 5:28, 29. The voice of the Head over all the angels, and the voice of the Son of God are the same. Satan caused death through sin. James 1:15; Heb. 2:14. He claimed Moses as his lawful captive. Christ is the life-giver; he takes from the captor his prey. In such a contention, we know that Jehovah would rebuke the enemy, and the body of Moses would be given life. 2. In confirmation of the above position is the appearance of Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration fifteen hundred years after his death. Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ. The one was as really and truly Moses as the other was Elijah, and both were as real as Jesus and the disciples. Matt. 17:1-9. As Moses died he must have had a resurrection from the dead, in order to appear at this time. In further proof of this, take Peter's reference to this experience in his second epistle, chapter first. He had not "followed cunningly devised fables" in making known the power and coming of Christ. He had been an eye-witness of his majesty on the glorious mount. The transfiguration was a miniature representation of the coming kingdom of Christ. In that kingdom the subjects will be made up of two classes: those who have been raised from the dead, and those who are translated without seeing death. Moses was the type of the former class, Elijah of the latter. The above scriptures are certainly sufficient to prove to a candid believer in the resurrection that Moses was raised from the dead. In fact the presence of Moses on the mount proves this, and the purpose for which he was there, as shown by Peter, confirms that view, and both scriptures explain and are strengthened by the testimony of Jude. But as objections to the resurrection of Moses, our correspondent brings Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; and 1 Cor. 15:23. The first text says, "That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." The second text refers to Christ as "the first-born from the dead;" and the third reads, "Christ the first-fruits." The above texts cannot mean that the resurrection of Christ was first in point of time; for Elijah raised from death the widow's son (1 Kings 17:17-23), Elisha raised to life the Shunammite's son, long before the raising of Christ (2 Kings 4:32-37); and Jesus raised from the dead the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. It may be said that these resurrections were not to immortality, and this is true; but the power of death was broken by them just as veritably as though they had been resurrections to eternal life. Paul knew of all these cases. He certainly did not contradict what Inspiration had before recorded. The true idea of Acts 26:23 is that Christ was the first to rise from the dead and show light, by his resurrection, unto the people. Others had risen, but they had no more light to give to the people afterward than before. Christ was the first to rise and give light. The Revised Version reads, "How that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles." Other translations give the same idea. His resurrection proclaimed to the world that Satan and death were conquered, and that life and immortality were assured to the race. First-born and first-fruits do not always refer to priority of time, but to preeminence, or position. So it is said of Christ prophetically, as the seed of David, "I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth." Ps. 89:27. That is, he would have the preeminence. Ephraim is said to be the first-born (Jer. 31:9), though Manasseh was older. Israel is said to be the first-born (Ex. 4:22), though Esau was older. So Christ is the first-born and the first-fruits in importance and preeminence. In fact, it was by virtue of his resurrection that all were raised from the dead, or will be raised. In the great scheme of redemption, in the promise of God, Christ was both first and preeminent. That the dead are taken to Heaven at the coming of Christ, is shown in the article on the "Day of the Lord," in the SIGNS of August 5, of the present volume. That they receive their great and final reward upon the earth is also evident from many scriptures. The promise which God made to the fathers was that they should be heirs of the world (Rom. 4:13), which will be the earth made new. Of this the land of Canaan, the promised land of Israel according to the flesh, was the type. Moses saw the type. He has not, nor have others, entered upon their eternal reign; nor will they till the faithful of all ages ascend with Christ to the new Jerusalem, the capital city of the regenerated earth. In this glorified state they will abide forever; for abiding refers not to place, but to continued existence. And all this knowledge comes through Him who revealed it to us from Heaven. All of the power to do God's will comes from the power of his resurrection. M. C. W.