Having shown that the Third Angel's Message ends with the end of the world, and that the events of which it speaks and against which it pronounces warning are the events which immediately precede the end of the world, we propose now to find by the Scriptures as nearly as possible the time when this message should begin. We believe that the Scriptures reveal the time, and it is only reasonable to expect that they should. For under the threat of the most dreadful penalties, the Third Angel's Message warns all people against the worship of the beast and his image; and if it could not be known when the message should be given, or when it were given, it would be impossible for any one to take advantage of the warning and escape the judgments threatened. From this it would follow that the message could never be given, and consequently it would have been written in vain.
But not so. The message was not written in vain. It will surely be given to the world. It will surely gather out a people who will not worship the beast and his image, but who will “worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters;” and so will get “the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,” and will “stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Jesus said, “The Scripture cannot be broken.” John 10: 35. Then as surely as this scripture has been written, so surely will this message be given to the world, warning them against the worship of the beast and his image; and calling them to the worship of God, by keeping “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” But for such a message to be given, it must be known; and it can be known only by the word of God—the word of God must reveal the time when it is due to the world.
Now let us study this point. Turn to Revelation 14. There, in verse 9, we read: “The third angel followed them.” Followed whom?—Why certain angels that had gone before. The eighth verse says, “There followed another angel.” As this angel likewise “followed” some one, we must go yet farther back. So in the sixth verse we read, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” We must know then, the time of the angel of the sixth verse, before we can know the time of the angel of the eighth, or of the ninth verse; for the angel of verse 8follows the angel of verse 6, and the third angel of verse 9, follows both these. Therefore the time of the angel of verse 6 must be known, to know the time of the third angel, verse 9.
Notice again verse 6. It does not read, And I saw an angel, but it reads, “And I saw another angel.” By this word “another,” there is direct reference made to some angel or angels that the prophet had seen before. Tracing backward in the book to find what will answer to this we find none until we come to chapter 10: 1, where we read, “And I saw another mighty angel.” But this text also uses the word “another,” and therefore we must go further back. So we go on backward till we come to chapter 8: 13, where we read, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven.” Here the word “another” is not used, but simply “I beheld, and heard an angel.” This, then, is the first of certain angels which the prophet saw which the language used will connect directly with the angel of chapter 14: 6, thus: “I beheld, and heard an angel” (chap. 8: 13). “And I saw another mighty angel” (10: 1), “And I saw another angel” (14: 10).
Notice further that these angels appear upon the scene in the midst of the events that accompany the last three of the seven trumpet angels. In chapter 8: 2, John saw seven angels to whom were given seven trumpets; and in verse 6 he says, “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Then after the first four had sounded, this angel of chapter 8: 13 appears, when the prophet says, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, which are yet to sound.” Now as this angel is connected, by the expressions used, with the angel of chapter 14: 6, and as this angel appears just before the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the sounding of the fifth trumpet is a proper starting point to find the time of the message of chapter 14: 6. If we can find the time of the first trumpet, we can find the time of the angel of chapter 14: 6.
In chapter 9: 1—11 is the prophecy of the events of the fifth trumpet, of which says Albert Barnes, “With surprising unanimity, commentators have agreed in regarding this as referring to the empire of the Saracens, or to the rise and progress of the religion and the empire set up by Mohammed.” We cannot see how any one who will read the prophecy, and Gibbon's history of Mohammed and his successors in the light of it, can disagree with the application of the prophecy to the Mohammedans. We cannot here go into a detailed explanation and application of the different points of the prophecy,—for that, see the work, “Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation,” or “The Seven Trumpets,” both published at this office—we can here only notice the time referred to in the prophecy. The rise of Mohammedanism is shown under the symbol of a cloud of locusts, but in verses 7—9 the symbol is explained by the words, “The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; . . . and their faces were as the faces of men; . . . and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” And says the Scripture, “Their power was to hurt men five months.” Five months are one hundred and fifty days; this being prophetic time—a day for a year—equals one hundred and fifty years, during which they were to hurt men.
This one hundred and fifty years is to be counted from the time that they had a king over them, as says verse 11. “They had a king over them . . . whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (margin a destroyer).” For more than six hundred years the Mohammedans had no regularly organized government, and recognized no such dignitary as that which answers to the title of king. Each tribe, under its own chief, was independent of all the others and came and went as it pleased. While this was the case it is evident, and it is the fact too, that their character as “a destroyer,” was not, and could not be, such as it was after they were solidly united in one government under the sway of a ruler recognized by all. This is made more apparent when it is seen what was to be destroyed by this “destroyer.” The first four trumpets show the ruin of the Western Empire of Rome, and the fifth relates to the destruction of the Eastern Empire. And it is in the character of the final destroyer of the last remains of the Roman Empire that this power acts. It was not as a destroyer of men as such, for of them it is said “that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months,” “and their power was to hurt men five months.” It is evident then that his character and work as “a destroyer,” relates to the final destruction of the Roman Empire which was then represented in the Eastern Empire552with the capital at New Rome—Constantinople.
Othman was the caliph who established the organized Government of the Mohammedans, and from him is descended the name and title of the Ottoman Empire. It was under the organized power of Othman that the work of the destroyer began. In closing his account of the devastating rage of the Moguls and Tartars under Zingis Khan and his generals, Gibbon says:—
“In this shipwreck of nations [A. D. 1240-1304], some surprise may be excited by the escape of the Roman Empire, whose relics, at the time of the Mogul invasion, were dismembered by the Greeks and Latins.”—Decline and Fall, chap. 64, par. 13.
But when the decline of the Moguls gave free scope to the rise of the Moslems, under Othman, of him he says:—
“He was situate on the verge of the Greek Empire; the Koran sanctified his gazi, or holy war, against the infidels; and their political errors unlocked the passes of Mount Olympus, and invited him to descend into the plains of Bithynia. . . . It was on July 27, A. D. 1299, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster.”—Id., par. 14.
The work of destruction, then, which was to subvert the last remains of the Roman Empire began July 27, 1299, and never ceased till the imperial power passed into the hands of Amurath July 27, 1449. Then the first woe was passed, verse 12, and the sixth angel sounded, and the four angels of the Euphrates were loosed “which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.” This also being prophetic time each day represents a year. A year—360 years, a month 30 years, a day 1 year, an hour, the twenty-fourth part of 360—15 days, altogether—360+30+1—391 years and 15 days. This, from July 27, 1449, onward, gives us August 11, 1840, when the imperial power passed out of the hands of the Ottoman Emperor into the hands of the Great Powers of Europe, just as it passed into his hands 391 years and fifteen days before. Then it was that the second woe passed, and behold the third woe was to come quickly. Chap. 11:14.
Then it is between the second and third woes, in the space marked by the word “quickly,” that Rev. 10:1 applies: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud; . . . and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth. . . . And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever and ever, who created Heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Notice that this angel refers to the sounding of the seventh trumpet as then future—“the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound.” Of that sounding we read in chapter 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”
The kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ at the second coming of Christ. Says Paul: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, Preach the word.” 2 Tim. 4:1. When He comes, “He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Now mark, the sixth trumpet and the second woe ended August 11, A. D. 1840. Then saith the word of God, the third woe and the seventh trumpet comes quickly; and when that comes, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. This is at the coming of Christ, and the coming of Christ is the end of the world. The first four trumpets mark the downfall of the Western Empire of Rome; the fifth marks the destruction of the Eastern Empire of Rome; and the seventh trumpet marks the downfall of all empires, all kingdoms, and all nations; for when the God of Heaven sets up his kingdom, “it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.” Dan. 2:44. The woe of the fifth trumpet was called by Gibbon the “shipwreck of nations;” but the woe of the seventh trumpet will be not only the shipwreck of nations, but of the great globe itself, for in Rev. 11:19, among the events of the seventh trumpet—the third woe—are that earthquake by which every mountain and island are moved out of their places, and that great hail, both of which come in the seventh plague, when God “ariseth to shake terribly the earth,” and the great voice is heard out of the temple of Heaven from the throne, saying, It is done. Rev. 16:17-21.
Further consideration of this subject must be deferred until next week.
J.
Object of Matthew XXIV.
By James White
A STRIKING point of similarity between Matt. 24 and those parts of the book of Revelation which refer to the closing scenes of this dispensation, is that which refers to the working of miracles to deceive. These are the words of the Saviour:—
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.” Matt. 24:23, 24.
In Rev. 13:11–17 is a prophecy of these wonders, wrought by a certain power called the beast with two horns like a lamb, by means of which he deceives the world, and fastens upon the people a system of false worship. Against this work of deception and falsehood, God causes a warning to be proclaimed, which is found in chap. 14:9–12. And this warning is given just before the Son of man appears to reap the harvest of the earth, which takes place at the end of this dispensation. See Matt. 13:38, 39, and Joel 3:9–15.
These miracles are again shown at the very conclusion of their work, in Rev. 16:12–14. Here also is shown the object of the deception which is wrought by “the spirit of devils working miracles.” It is to gather the kings and the people of the earth to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. And at this point of time the Saviour says, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth.”
The “great day of God,” mentioned in this text, is that “day of the Lord,” “day of his wrath,” or “day of the Lord’s anger,” so often spoken of in the Scriptures, and which immediately succeeds the “day of salvation.” By comparing the texts to which reference has now been made, it evidently appears that Matt. 24 refers to the same period of time that is referred to in Rev. 13, 14, and 16, Matt. 13:38, 39, and Joel 3:9–15. The deceptions are put forth and the world is deceived, the Son of man appears, the harvest is reaped, the battle is fought and the enemies of God are overthrown.
Now we have a most important consideration to present to the minds of the readers. We think we have given, in articles written some time since, facts and reasonings to prove that the coming of the Lord, mentioned in Matt. 24, is a literal, personal, visible coming. We have no idea that these facts can be controverted, or that these reasonings can be refuted. But if the question be asked to us, Do you, then, believe that the instruction of this chapter was given to prove that the second coming of Christ will be literal and personal even as his first was? we answer, No; we do not. No such object was in view; no question concerning the nature of his coming was asked. Mark well this point. The disciples did not ask him, Master will you actually come to this world again, that we may behold you personally as we see you now? No, no. This was not yet a matter of query. The Universalist or spiritualizing view of the second coming was not yet invented. Nor did the Saviour say, When ye see these things, then ye may know that my coming is personal and visible.
The question was, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?” It was a question concerning a certain event, and the time of its fulfillment; and the answer was to this question and to no other. And to this it was direct. “When ye shall see all these things, then know that it is near, even at the doors.”
Thus is shown the great mistake made by a majority of those who study this chapter. They appear to think that the sole object of the Saviour was to guard his followers against the idea that they can know anything about the time of his coming. But to the contrary he leads our minds down through a series of events and signs with the special object that we may know the time; not, indeed, the day nor the hour; but the time when it is near—very near,—even at the doors.
Verse 36 is only perverted when it is used to justify the oft-repeated assertion, that “we cannot tell anything about the time of the Lord’s coming.” When our opposers quote this verse, we accept its statement fully and cheerfully. They seem to have exceeding strong confidence in our Saviour’s words, that we cannot tell the day nor the hour. We have equal confidence in this declaration. But will they accept, with the same confidence, the statement in verse 33, which gives assurance that we may know when it is near? If they accept this as they do verse 36, then the controversy of this chapter is ended. If they do not accept it, but still insist that we cannot know, then how can they consistently claim to be believers of the Saviour’s words? We invite all readers to look candidly at this point, and answer to their own hearts before God this question, For what was the instruction of this chapter given? If the Lord did not intend that his people shall know anything about the time, what is the meaning of his words in verse 33? He says we may know when his coming is near, and we have too much reverence for, and fear of, his word to contradict him.
And more than this, we believe that verse 33 is not merely instructive, but also preceptive. It contains, not only a statement but also a commandment. It does not barely inform us that we may know, but it commands us to know. The Saviour spoke in the imperative; and therefore no one can justly claim exemption, and say, it makes no difference whether we know, or not. To say that we cannot know, is to slight the words of the Lord. To refuse to diligently and prayerfully search in order to know, is to disobey the Lord’s commandment. Reverence, humility, and a spirit of obedience, all call for a careful examination of our Saviour’s teachings, and a reception of the evidence of his near coming.
And this view is yet further confirmed by the illustration of the case of Noah. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Verses 37–39. This shows that we cannot innocently be ignorant on the subject of the Lord’s soon coming. It will be a terrible calamity in that day to those who do not know, even as it was to the world in the days of Noah because they did not know of the approaching time of the553flood. If they had had no means of knowing they would, of course, have been innocent, and have escaped destruction.
But they might have known, for Noah warned them by his preaching, and yet more forcibly in building the ark. In this “he condemned the world.” Heb. 11:7. He proved his faith by his works. They proved their unbelief, and were justly condemned. They turned away from his warnings, and forgot his words, and so the flood came when they did not expect it—they did not know,—and took them all away. So will it be when the Son of man is revealed. J. H. W.
A Terrible Battle, or the Second Crusade Against the Bohemians.
By S. N. H.
THE Hussites had internal differences which contributed more to their overthrow than did their enemies, who were so numerous; and there was nothing but affliction and the general oppression brought to bear upon them as a nation that united the different parties which existed among them. The two leading parties were the Taborites and Calixtines. The latter believed in a more thorough reform than the former, and many of their ideas were correct and in harmony with the views taught by the Reformers of the sixteenth century. To the Pontiff's summons for a second crusade against the Bohemians there was a general response. An army was collected of not less than 70,000 picked men, some historians say 100,000, and they carried with them 3,000 wagons and 180 pieces of cannon. On Saturday, June 15, 1426, they entered Bohemia in three columns, marching in the direction of Aussig, which lies on the great plain between Dresden and Toplitz, on the confines of the Slavonic and German worlds. On the approach of this formidable army Procopius sent a proposal to the invaders that quarter should be given to the defeated party, whichever it might be. The Germans did not expect to need quarter for themselves, and therefore refused it to the Hussites, saying, that they were under the curse of the Pope, and that to spare them would be a violation of their duty to the church. Procopius replied, “Let it be so, then; let no quarter be given on either side.”
The Bohemians entrenched themselves behind 500 wagons, fastened together with chains forming a formidable rampart. The Germans entered the battle with great impetuosity. They stormed the first line of defense, and with great difficulty broke through the line of wagons, and threw down the second and weaker line, which consisted of wooden shields stuck in the ground. When they reached the area where the Bohemians were entrenched, they were weary with the labor it had cost them to break through this double rampart. Meanwhile the Bohemians had been picking off their men as usual with their swivel guns. They were fresh for battle, and as the enemy approached they raised their war cry, and began to swing their terrible flails and ply their long hooks, pulling the Germans from their horses and making fearful slaughter among them. Rank after rank of the enemy came forward only to be blended in the terrible carnage that was going on. The battle raged until late in the afternoon. The soil was slippery with blood and cumbered with the corpses of the Germans. The Bohemian ranks were almost unbroken, and the day finally closed with the total rout of the Germans, who fled from the field in confusion and sought refuge in the mountains and woods around the scene of action. When the fugitives were overtaken they implored quarter, but they themselves had settled this question and accordingly no quarter was given. A large number of knights, nobles, counts, and barons struck their swords into the ground and prayed for mercy, asking simply that their lives might be spared; but all in vain. In one place 300 slain knights are said to have been found lying together in one heap.
“Palacky's History of Bohemia,” which is said to be based on original documents, and the accuracy of which has never been questioned, says that there were killed, wounded, and missing, not less than 50,000 of the Germans. There never was a time, says the historian, when the German nobility suffered such a tremendous loss as this; nearly all of their leaders having been left on the field of battle. The loss of the Hussites was only thirty men. We have never seen a history that questioned these figures. A rich booty was reaped by the victors. One historian says that every Bohemian was made rich by the plunder he received which the Germans left on the battle-field when they retreated. The Hussites jeeringly said, “The Pope owes the Germans his curses for having enriched us heretics with such boundless stores of treasure.” The national poets of Bohemia celebrated this triumph in song.
After each victory and before every battle the Bohemians celebrated the communion and held religious services. They carried their cause to God in prayer, acknowledging him as the author of the religion which they professed, and they devoted their lives to his service. It was not for themselves that they fought, but for their country, from which they desired that the world might have the light of truth. They were stirred to action by the injustice of the Emperor Sigismund in violating his sacred promises made to them, and in disregarding the safe conduct given to Huss, and also in the condemnation of Jerome. They felt that their leaders had been taken from them, and that they must fight to prevent the word of God from being crushed out of existence. Their souls were stirred within them, and no other nation ever passed through so many wars, to maintain their right, and with as firm adherence to the principles that governed them as they. It is a singular fact that in all of their wars for eighteen years they never lost a battle. After the great victory above described, a poem was composed by the poets of Bohemia which was handed down to many generations. It most clearly describes the battle, giving particulars of their asking for quarter, what was said respecting the matter, how they were looked upon, and the German's subsequent demand for mercy. The poem begins as follows:—
“In mind let all Bohemians bear,
How God the Lord did for them care,
And victory at Aussig gave,
Where war was waged their faith to save.
The year of grace,—the time to fix—
Was fourteen hundred and twenty-six,
The Sunday after holy Vite
The German host dispersed in fight.”
The poem closed as follows:—
“Ho! All ye faithful Christian men!
Each lord, and knight, and citizen!
Follow, and hold your father's creed
And show ye are their sons indeed.
Be steadfast in God's truth always
And so from God ye shall have praise.
God on your offspring blessing pour,
And grant you life forevermore.”
S. N. H.
Progress in New Zealand.
IN a business letter to the office, Brother Edward Hare, of Auckland, New Zealand, writes as follows:—
“Our meetings are still kept up with interest; several since we commenced have come out on the Sabbath question and are now good and earnest workers. I find it more and more that there is a power in the truth, that will save men. All the children take great pleasure in our Sabbath-school; at first we found it very strange, as the little ones were much attached to their former Sunday-school. I found that my best plan was not to play ball with both hands, and accordingly we have made a complete sweep from our old church. Our minister is very angry, but this I cannot help; I have found more real happiness in consequence, and we are all more than ever determined to go on to know more of the law of God which maketh wise the simple.
“We have a Tuesday evening Bible-class, and also one on Friday evening; we have not had occasion to let one evening drop through since Elder Haskell left us. Truly God is with us to help us in the work. The Sabbath-school and service is held in my own house, and we have indeed some refreshing seasons from the presence554of the Most High. My dear people in Kaeo are all so energetic and united in the work that in no distant future there will be a strong influence that must be felt far and near.
“We read with great interest in your papers of the progress of our brethren in other parts, and very naturally we long for the time when, in our beautiful New Zealand, the Lord’s holy day will be hallowed by the people, and the nation learn righteousness.”
The Appointment of the Next General Conference.
By George I. Butler
AFTER careful consideration by the members of the General Conference Committee accessible, it is decided that the next session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, will convene at the Tabernacle in Battle Creek, Mich., November 18, 1886, at nine o’clock, A. M., to continue its session as long as its business may demand. It is impossible to tell the exact time of its continuance, as unexpected business often prolongs the meetings. All delegates should come prepared to stay as many as three weeks; no appointments should be made which will call them away sooner, as it injures much the closing interest of the Conference for many of them to withdraw before its adjournment.
Every year the sessions of the General Conference increase in interest and importance. Our work is extending to all parts of the globe, and soon the message will have encircled the earth. We make this appointment thus early in order that our brethren in distant lands may prepare their reports, appoint delegates, and arrange their business in time. We want all parts of the field represented, if consistent, by delegates; otherwise, let full reports be sent in season. These should be directed to the secretary, Elder Uriah Smith, Battle Creek, Mich., as the writer is much of the time away.
Let our State Conferences send the most responsible men accessible to represent them,—persons of good judgment, and those who are intelligent in reference to the wants of the cause. Fields in great need of help should make their wants known in season. Let all our foreign missions send in statements of their accounts, financial condition, etc., for the consideration of the Conference. The appointment of the anniversary meetings of our associations, societies, and other institutions usually held in connection with the Conference, should be appointed in season.
Most important questions will come before the Conference the next session. Plans will be laid for the progress of the cause in distant lands. Selections of laborers will have to be made for entering foreign fields, and going to countries far away. Our message is to the world. Already the light of present truth is enlightening more or less the most remote portions of the earth. The spirit of persecution is abroad. Already some of our brethren know what it is to be deprived of personal liberty for observing and teaching the law of God. We have in this respect reached a point never before attained in this cause. Troubles are gathering over the world. It is a time for serious thought and much prayer. May all our people pray for the success of the next General Conference. We trust our people will not forget to pray earnestly that it may have wisdom to discharge aright all its heavy responsibilities.
GEO. I. BUTLER,
Pres. General Conference.
Words and Their Effects
By Pusey
WHAT more passing than words? A breath! What very, very few words of ours rest with us! We forget them as soon as spoken; God does not forget them. They do God's work or Satan's work on others; they pass in act; they abide in effect.—Pusey.
The Boston Mission.
By S. L. Edwards; E. W. Snyder; C. W. Priest
As no report has been sent from this place for a long time we thought it might be of interest to the friends of the cause to know what is being done in Boston and neighboring towns.
At the general meeting held at Lancaster last winter it was decided to abandon the Boston mission and send workers to re-enforce other missions. So from the first of February to the first of June there was but one worker left in this place, and he specially to attend to the ship work.
The first of February three canvassers were sent to Lynn, a city of about 50,000 inhabitants, ten miles from Boston. They remained there until about the middle of April. Good success attended their efforts to sell our publications. They paid to the tract society $346 for publications, and as the result of Bible readings held and the reading of our publications, eight or ten are keeping the Sabbath, while many others are interested and some are already convinced of the truth. Through the kindness and liberality of the brethren and sisters at Danvers, the Conference was relieved of the expense of the workers in Lynn.
At the general meeting held at the close of the school term in May it was decided to separate the canvassing from the colporteur and Bible-reading work; and two of those who were employed by the Conference were permitted to work on commission and select their own territory. Inasmuch as the mission rooms at Boston were unoccupied they decided to make this their head-quarters. About June 1st they were joined by Bro. C. W. Priest who has been engaged with them in the canvassing work since that time. Owing to the hot weather and the fact that many of the people were away, they have extended their work into neighboring towns, where they have introduced our publications. The blessing of the Lord has seemed to attend their efforts in a remarkable manner. They have taken orders for our publications to the amount of about $800, most of which have already been delivered. This, with the amount taken in Lynn, together with Brother Priest's sales while engaged in ship work, would make a total of about $1,200 worth of orders since February 1.
It is a little over two years since the mission was established in Boston, and while we have not seen that measure of success desirable, we have been permitted to see some good results from the efforts put forth. Quite a number have embraced the truth and are faithfully living it out, while many others are investigating. One of the most important results of the establishment of this mission has been in the encouragement and building up of the church.
One important item of improvement is in the increase of tithes paid. The last quarter the treasurer received more tithes than was paid for the whole year previous to the establishment of the mission.
We are of good courage and hope the time will soon come that this mission will be re-enforced with a strong corps of workers.