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Signs of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 30.

Resting in Faith
Earlier text: Resting in Faith

Salvation Through Jesus Christ

"Thou shalt call His name JESUS: [margin — Saviour] for HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS." Matt. 1:21.
"The Lord . . . saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore HIS arm brought salvation." Isa. 59:15, 16.
"The wages of sin is death; but THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD." Rom. 6:23.

The Love of God

"In this was manifested THE LOVE OF GOD toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, THAT WE MIGHT LIVE through Him. HEREIN IS LOVE, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, IF GOD SO LOVED US, WE OUGHT ALSO TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER." 1 John 4:9-11.

Christ’s Death and Sacrifice

"As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also . . . took part of the same; that through DEATH He might destroy him that had the power of DEATH, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Heb. 2:14, 15.
"I AM THE DOOR." John 10: 9.
"I delight to do Thy will, O My God." Ps. 40:8.
"Who His own self BARE OUR SINS in His own body ON THE TREE, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24.

Striking Signs of the Times

Wealth, Labor, and Capital

1. For what is prophecy given?
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1: 19.
"But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known . . . what shall be in the latter days." "He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass." Dan. 2: 28, 29.
2. What great lines of prophecy are given us in the Scriptures?
There are the second chapter of Daniel, the seventh chapter, the eighth and ninth chapters, the eleventh chapter, and not less than seven in the book of the Revelation, besides our Lord's great discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21. Each of these begins at a different date of the world's history, but all of them carry us forward to the glorious consummation of the kingdom of Christ.
3. To what particular point of time does the fulfilment of some of these prophecies bring us?
"To the time of the end." Dan. 11: 35, 40; 8: 17, 19; 12: 4, 9.
NOTE.—There are certain periods of prophetic time in the books of Daniel and the Revelation which reach their endings at the beginning of an indefinite period, called "the time of the end." Mark that this is not the end of time, but "the time of the end," a period during which the study of God's word should be revived, and the wise should understand.
4. What occurrences would take place during this period?
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." Luke 21: 25, 26.
NOTE.—In other words, God would hang out these signs everywhere. First, He would write them in His word as PREDICTIONS OF EVENTS TO COME; and secondly, He would in His providence so overrule that they would again be written in the physical, social, religious, commercial, and political worlds, in order that men everywhere might read them.
5. What great event would these predicted signs herald?
"And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21: 27.
6. What is one of the noted signs predicted for the last days?
"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days ["in the last days," R.V.]. Behold, the hire of the la-

The Miseries of the Rich

borers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." James 5: 1-6.
7. What does this prophecy of James predict?
"Miseries that shall come upon [the rich]."
8. What is said of their riches?
"Cankered," "rusted," "moth-eaten;" in other words, not used for God and humanity.
9. What has been a characteristic in obtaining this wealth?
"The hire of the laborers . . . is of you kept back by fraud."

Predatory Trusts

"hold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad." Hab. 1:13-15.
"Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and can not be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people." Hab. 2:5.
NOTE.—What a picture it is of the predatory trusts! Men to them are fishes to catch; their schemes are nets in which to take them. As they get much, they desire more, reaching out of their own legitimate field, with an ambition as unsatisfied as Sheol. As Isaiah ex

Items Showing Increase of Wealth

Items Showing Increase of Wealth in the United States since 1850
"World Almanac," compiled from statement of O. R. Austin, chief of Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor.
1850 1900 1910
Gold coin $ 31,981,729 $ 99,272,943 $ 104,723,735
Silver coin 1,866,100 36,345,321 3,740,468
Gold and silver in circulation 147,395,456 610,806,472 590,877,993
Total circulation of money 278,761,982 1,142,050,334 208,016,245
Circulation per capita 12.02 26.94 34.33
Bank clearings in United States 84,582,450,081 169,025,172,000
Deposits in savings-banks 43,431,130 2,389,719,954 4,070,486,247
Deposits in national banks 2,458,092,758 5,287,216,312
Number of depositors in savings-banks 251,354 6,107,083 9,142,708
Imports of merchandise 173,509,526 849,941,184 1,556,947,430
Per capita 7.48 10.88 16.54
Exports of merchandise 144,375,726 1,394,483,082 1,744,981,720
Per capita 6.23 17.96 18.28
Wealth per capita 307.69 1,164.79 1,310.11
Public debt less cash in treasury 63,452,774 1,107,711,258 1,046,449,185
Public debt per capita 2.74 14.52 11.35
The above are only a few items which are indicative of many others, as showing the progress of wealth in the United States. This is clearly true, and should be taken into consideration, that the wealth in its average per capita is far greater than in 1850; yet it is not so evenly distributed. A great part of the wealth of America, at the present time, is found in the hands of comparatively few.

The Duty of God’s Children

NOTE.—But one class of laborers is here named; not that this class alone suffers; but this class is representative of all others.
10. How has much of this wealth been used?
"Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton."
NOTE.—Increase of wealth brings increase of responsibility. But in how many cases do the immensely rich grow more tyrannous, more exacting, more careless of the needs of their fellows! As soldiers in a besieging army—when they have slaughtered the enemy and become possessed of his riches—cast off all restraint, so do many of the rich.
11. When does all this occur?
"In the last days."
12. What is the duty of God's children at such a time?
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7, 8.
13. What description of the work of the selfish rich is given by another prophet?
"Thou [God] art of purer eyes than to be-

Warnings to the Rich

presses it, they "join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no room." Isa. 5: 8, A.R.V.
14. Is it the will of God that His children should be made thus to suffer?
"Behold, is it not of the Lord of Hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?" Hab. 2: 13.
15. Of what does God warn the rich?
"Wo to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!" "Wo to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!" Hab. 2: 9, 12.
"Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?" Amos 8: 4, 5.
16. What will the mass of those who are oppressed and wronged at last do?
"Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against

The Last Days

him, and say, Wo to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay ["pledges," R.V.]! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee." Hab. 2: 6-8.
17. What does another say of the last days?
"And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. And the songs of the temple [literally, "palace," as in margin of R.V.] shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence." Amos 8: 2, 3.
NOTE.—The above are a part of the predictions of God's word concerning the vast increase of wealth and the consequent class troubles which grow out of the conditions. Labor-unions claim that they have greatly helped conditions by "pitting" great combinations of labor against the great combinations of wealth. It is a debatable question whether they have helped matters even within their own unions. True, they have shortened hours of labor and increased wages, but in most cases the cost of living has increased more rapidly than wages, and serious class bitterness and hatred have resulted. Labor-unions have often been deceived by their own trusted men, and the proportion of successful strikes is counterbalanced by the unsuccessful. From January 1, 1881, to 1906, the open struggles between the representatives of capital and labor cost more than $285,000,000, and threw out of employment 3,714,406 persons. Each striker lost on an average $44.00; and 366,690 persons lost on an average $73.00 each by lockouts. In the anthracite strike of 1902, 183,500 miners were out of work for five months. The loss to miners in wages amounted to $30,000,000; to operators, $69,000,000; to merchants in mining towns, $23,000,000; to factories closed for lack of fuel, $7,000,000; to merchants outside, $16,000,000; to railways, $34,000,000; business permanently abandoned, $8,000,000; troops in service, $2,000,000; police in patrolling district, $35,000,000; in railway men's wages, in protecting non-union workers, in fires and flooding of mines, $5,820,000: the total cost of the one strike in money alone, saying nothing of the loss of life, is $200,000,000.
There is still a larger class of professional men, of farm workers, and workers in other lines, who have not been benefited, and in the nature of the case could not be. They have seen little or no rise in wages, little or no increase in business, with constantly rising prices in the necessaries of life.
The great combinations that control the markets will continue to control prices; and times for the many, as compared with the few, will grow relatively harder. Add to this, losing faith in God and religion. The next thing is revolution and misery to the rich. We are not stating that which we wish to come. We welcome no bloodshed or violence. We are willing to leave to God all adjustments of that which can not be righted by ordinary means. But we must give His warnings.
18. Is there anything to be gained in uniting to oppose these evils?
"Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand." Isa. 8: 9, 10.
19. What counsel does God give us in this respect?
"For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid." Verses 11, 12.
20. What is our hope?
"Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary." Verses 13, 14.

Your Hope and Mine

THE hope of man lies not in social or political reform, or in the so-called saving of society. We are nowhere told in the Scriptures of truth that it is God's plan to save the nations or society. He came to save the individual soul.
The law of God is addressed to the individual. It is "Thou shalt," and "Thou shalt not."
The awful solemnities of the judgment come home to the individual man. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
Faith, saving faith, is an individual exercise. "Whosoever believeth" may have "everlasting life." "If thou believest with all thine heart."
To the individual soul comes the conviction of sin against a holy God. He stands alone before the Judge, condemned, knowing, as the law by the Spirit reveals his sin, that he is worthy of condemnation.
To the condemned individual soul comes the pleading voice of the Saviour of men, "Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest." "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." To the individual soul comes in response to the individual faith, pardon full and free. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
To the pardoned soul comes life and grace and righteousness. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ," cried one who declared himself to be the chief of sinners; "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
And thus we might go on and on, piling up the mountains of hope to the souls struggling in the deluge of sin.
The saved souls are the salt in the corruptions of society, the lights in the world of darkness, the uplifters of a holy standard in a world constantly receiving favors from God, but which knows Him not. Life connection with God recreates the soul, lifts it out of heredity, above environment, and places it in an atmosphere of heaven, panoplied with the armor and power of God.

Departing Simplicity

THE ceremonies of the Christian religion are few. It needs no more than it has, to manifest its true character; for from that individual who possesses true religion, there are ever flowing words and acts that show the hidden spring within. Ceremonies are outward; religion springs from within; its seat is in the affections and principles that control the individual. The multiplying of needless ceremonies, the increase of ritual pomp and splendor, always calls attention from the real inner life to an unreal outer life, till at last religion is lost in form and ceremony. This is the way it was with the early church, and papal Rome was developed. Are not our Protestant churches walking in the same path in their aping of Rome in ornate display and multiplication of days and times?

The End of Good Education

"The great end of a good education is to form a reasonable man."

Reason and Revelation

By J. W. Lowe

NEVER do anything without having a good reason, or a "Thus saith the Lord," for doing it.
Always prefer a "Thus saith the Lord" to your own reason. You might err in your reasoning; but God can not err.
Too many people do things from mere impulse. But our impulses can not always be depended upon.
We are expected to reason, and let it have a place in shaping our acts; but we should not allow ourselves to reason away from God.
Hence the importance of studying the word of God that we may acquaint ourselves with the right premises upon which to base our reasoning.
God's word is the only true guide-book for erring mortals; and he or she who reasons independent of this guide-book will often go astray. J. W. LOWE.
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