Earlier text: The Seventh Day on the Round WorldSALEM, Oregon, has a Congregational Church, whose pastor, Rev. Mr. Knight, is a plain-spoken and courageous preacher. On last New-Year's day he told his flock that, while he believed in the system of family pews, he was strongly opposed to tacking any man's name on a church pew who is not a regular attendant. It was an unworthy advertising device. He held that “the back seats and the poorest ones should be reserved for the irregular and late comers, be they rich or poor.” He thought there should be more sociability among members, but was opposed to fairs and sociables costing visitors five, ten, or twenty dollars an evening. “There are but few in our church who have even a speaking acquaintance with all the members of it. Who among us cultivates acquaintances for Christ's sake? Here is a talent the Lord has given us to use for him. We have prostituted it to our questionable plans for raising money; we have hidden it in the napkin of selfishness, we have dressed it up in the gewgaws of fashion and restricted its exercise to our chosen circles; we have frittered it away in the silly chit-chat of the evening party; we have made it drunken in the giddy whirl of the brainless dance, and poisoned it with those grossest of modern abominations, midnight suppers.”—Christian Union. Papal Blasphemy.
By G. W. Amadon
The prophet Daniel, while viewing with prophetic eye the stirring scenes of the last days, and particularly the blasphemous course of the Man of Sin, says: “I beheld then because of the voice of the GREAT WORDS which the horn spake.” Dan. 7:11. While this text, without doubt, refers to the “great words,” of the Roman Pontiff which have sounded forth to the world since “the Ancient of Days did sit” in the heavenly sanctuary, in the investigative judgment, at the end of the 2300 years, in 1844, and points out those assumptions of the papacy, Dec. 8, 1854, in declaring the Virgin Mary immaculate, and that of July 18, 1870, in making the pope, like the great God, infallible, it may be interesting to the student of the word to see in print a few of the arrogations of the scarlet beast in the past. The following paragraphs, from Alexander Campbell’s work on “Roman Catholicism,” we think are to the point. They are copied from a volume lent to the writer in 1853, by Dr. L. D. Fleming, of Rochester, N. Y., an active Adventist of 1844. “Universal Father,” “Holy Father,” “His Holiness,” “Sovereign Pontiff,” “Supreme Head of the Church on Earth,” “Pater Familias,” (i. e. Father of the family of God,) “Successor of Peter,” “The Infallible One,” “Prince of the Apostles,” “Vicar of Christ,” “Father of Fathers,” “Lieutenant of Christ,” “Father and Doctor of all Christians,” “Lord of lords,” “A God on Earth,” “Lord God the Pope,” “Prince of the World,” “Monarch of the Earth,” “King of kings.” Cardinal Bellarmine on the Authority of the Councils, Book ii, chap. xvii, says, “All the names which are given in the Scriptures to Christ, even these same names are given to the pope; whence it appears he is superior to the Church.” In Gratian’s Decretals, page 1, dis. 96, Pope Nicholas to Michael, seventh chapter, the pope says, “He is God, and therefore men cannot judge him.” The Council of Florence, the fifth Lateran, and that of Trent, make the pope superior to general councils; and call him an “unlimited monarch.” Johannes Devotus, vol. i, b. i, tit. 3, sec. 1, says, “The power of the pope is episcopal, metropolitan, patriarchal, and temporal: his decisions from the chair are infallible.” Gregory II., says, The whole Western Nations reckon Peter a “terrestrial God.” Labbé, viii, 666, Marcellus in a Lateran Council, called Julius the Pope “a God on earth.” Pope Pius VII., as late as 1809, in excommunicating Napoleon, says, “Unworthy as we are, we represent the God of Peace.” The Bishop of Grenada calls him “a God on earth not subject to a council.” Bellarmine De Pontif., lib. 4, chap. 3, says, “The pope cannot possibly err in decrees as to faith”—“no council is valid unless called and approved by him.” Worth Reading.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
I DARE not put the proper heading to this article for fear that the very ones who need it would never read it. Stop, brother, and carefully examine this advice, and may the Spirit of God trouble you and give you no rest till you live it out:— In this article on “The Christian Use of Money,” in the last Congregational Quarterly, Dr. Post, in answer to the question, When shall I give? says: Give when you have it; when God gives it to you to give. This power is precious and may be brief, and should not be periled by the hazards of future business success. Certain portions or proportions of your gains belong to God’s charities. Have you a right to risk them in the chances of your business any more than any other deposit? As a trustee, have you a right to use them for your own benefit? Are you not bound to deal with them as with any other fiduciary moneys in your hands, committed for keeping or for definite uses, or collected for remittance? Give early. The gift bears moral interest. The withholding is a curtailment of good. What is given, works, propagates, multiplies itself in its results immediate, or in establishing agencies of future beneficence, and acquires power for good often in a geometric ratio of time. This the gift loses by withholding, and for this the withholder is liable. The misery he might relieve is all the while passing beyond his reach. What an income is thus forfeited by delay, never to be recovered, yet strictly to be accounted for, which might have gladdened the days and years as they passed, but which, lost, turns for time and eternity to a regret and remorse! This is true if the ability of giving is still continued, and with late or dead hand we are still permitted to bestow what was due years earlier. Of this usufruct you rob yourself; you rob the poor; you rob God. But there is, moreover, grave peril that you will lose the power. You are jeopardizing the capital—another’s capital—all the while, in the risks of business, and also in risks of your own disposition to give. Give concurrently—pari passu—with your gains, according as God prospers you, and when he prospers you; laying by in store from his gifts, from week to week, or at frequent periods, in this measure. Do this, or you may never give at all. Not only may that which you retain in your business ventures or incidents be lost, you are also likely to lose the will to give. If you retain what is due to benevolent uses, you will be likely to build on it in business enterprises, or in your scale of expenditure for living, as though it were your own. It will enlarge your wants. They will grow on the mind like the greed of the horse-leech. Moreover, this giving systematically and synchronously with your gains, is your only guard against covetousness, that meanest of mean passions, a miserable miserliness, that rusts through the entire moral nature; a fatuity, a snake-charm, a diabolic possession of the soul. Nothing can protect from this curse of perpetual gaining, or strife for perpetual gain, but a similar perpetual giving. The hand that is constantly clutching, must be constantly opening, or its clutch will grow to spasm or paralysis. The constant ministration to habits of acquisitiveness must be counteracted by constant culture of habits of generous and charitable bestowing, or the soul will shrivel in both capacity of excellence and enjoyment. The Midas finds all changed to gold, and he is incrusted, starved, and stifled in his riches. What is rightly given changes the nature of the residue and consecrates it to a power of enjoyment unknown before, enjoyment only possible for a genial, benevolent, man-loving, and God-loving soul. By giving frequently and as God hath prospered you, you will in the end give much more and with less disturbance to any other interest. On the margin of each year’s budget of expenditures are a multitude of optional or dispensable items, which perpetually solicit all moneys not immediately required in livelihood or business. Secure your charities against embezzlement by these, through prompt giving, and you will be astonished at the amount secured from mere worthless or frivolous or luxurious expenditures. Give with a system of times as well as amounts. Thus you will not only increase amounts, but values; meeting the necessities of plan and system which must attach to all extensive and permanent charities. Give on the Sabbath, in the sanctuary, as a fitting part of worship in the Lord’s house; as a practical test of sincerity and truth, and a practical culture and expression of Christian consecration and love. Give while you live, that you may be certain of giving, and not be baffled and thwarted by executors, administrators, courts, or heirs. Be your own executor; so shall your benefactions be more fully subjected to your intelligence, and your purposes shall become more surely effective, and they shall bring you pleasure in the vision of their results. But if by anything you are precluded from previous giving, give by will. Let charities blossom and fructify from your grave. Work on through your property in after times. Convert it into voices and influences for good through the ages. Reader, are you doing your duty in this matter? If not, Satan is close on your track. THE publication of a new weekly journal is announced, under the title of The Golden Age, to be edited by Mr. Theodore Tilton, who, having retired from the Independent and Brooklyn Daily Union, will devote his editorial labors wholly to the new periodical. It will be “devoted to the free discussion of all living questions in Church, State, Society, Literature, Art, and Moral Reform.” THERE is no limit to the supply of grace and power which a Christian may draw from God's infinite treasure-house. We have no right to excuse ourselves for lack of patience, or love, or any other grace. In God is all, more than all we need, and it is ours, purchased for us by Christ. He bought with his priceless blood, poured out unto death, an absolute right to these “infinite resources” for us. If we but have faith, the hand which is extended to receive from this treasury, we may have patience which will never fail; courage which will never falter; zeal which will never slacken; and love which shall burn on in still brighter flame, consuming all selfishness in its pure glow, until that glorious day shall come when “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” This belief is founded upon God's word. Hear our Saviour's declaration to his disciples: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also.” This is a promise to them of power to work miracles such as he wrought—healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead. I fully believe that this word is to us the pledge of a limitless supply of grace to follow him in his perfect submission, his unwearying patience, his tender love, if we “believe on him.” O fellow-Christians, do you realize that you need never suffer from a keen, overwhelming sense of your exceeding poverty and weakness? His riches are yours, his strength your own. “Let him take hold of my strength,” says your Lord. Prove him, and see if you will not find yourself “strengthened with all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.” Do not feel as if the thought was presumption. It is not presumption to take God at his word. The Lord told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” If that grace was not to be his, the glorious assurance was valueless. But it was his; and feeling its full power, he cried, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” That is the secret. Come in utter weakness and hopelessness, in absolute self-distrustfulness, to him who is strong. Throw yourself upon his love, his infinite, never-failing love. He knows all; “for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” To live this life of trust and faith, receiving constantly infinite grace and strength, Jesus must be your all. You must live to him, for him, in him. He has the key of the store-house. “My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Believing this, claim the promise, “looking unto Jesus,” constantly, unwaveringly, you will say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, for in everything ye are enriched by him.”—Golden Censer. FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.
By C. E. C.
Toil-worn mortal, faint and weary,
By life's anxious care oppressed,
Hast'ning down its pathway dreary,
Tortured by the soul's unrest, Hast thou borne a weight of sorrow,
Which no heart with thee might share,
Forced to view each dreaded morrow
Through a clouding of despair! Hush, oh! hush this wild repining,
There is guilt in every sigh,
Since there's One, thy griefs divining,
Views thee with a pitying eye. Let each tear bespeak contrition,
Seek thy peace in God above,
Learn to bow in sweet submission
To the mandates of his love. 'Tis in love alone he chastens,
Scourges all whom he receives;
But with sweet compassion hastens
When the contrite soul believes. Vain the thought that earth's ambition
Can the troubled spirit calm,
Seek ye then the great Physician,
There is cure in Gilead's balm. Faith, look up, thy Saviour viewing;
Hope, make thou thine anchor fast;
Love, the heart entire renewing,
Lead to peace and Heaven at last. WHY should we tarry and hold back? Why not press into the work? All Heaven is interested in our welfare; then why not make it our first and chief business to get ready for the kingdom of Heaven? Oh! for a living faith, and a baptism into the work. The truth must and will go to the ends of the earth. The Lord will have a whole-hearted people. He calls for laborers. Some have grown weary in well-doing, and nearly lost sight of the prize at the end of the race, and think it a great way off. Take courage, and watch a little longer. Soon the morning will break and the darkness will be past. Now the Spirit and bride say, Come; and whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely. Why should any stand back? Why not press forward, and taste and see that the Lord is good? Salvation is free for all. How great are God's mercies! How full of compassion is our merciful High Priest! Oh! for a heart to obey, and follow in the humble way that leads to life. Daubing with Untempered Mortar.
By M. W. HOWARD
I REMEMBER that in early childhood, I often heard a quaint old minister use the expression with which I have headed this article. He would pray, “Let there be no daubing with untempered mortar,” and in his sermons would talk about “daubing with untempered mortar.” Albeit I am conscious now, that himself was not exempt from doing the very thing he so much deprecated; but it was the times of his ignorance, and, doubtless, God winked at it. However, the expression stands out clearly defined in my memory, without the least recollection of his manner of using it. But the knowledge which comes with maturer years fully develops to our understanding things that were to childish hearts, only mystical, incomprehensible words, and I doubt not but I now know just what the practical old man meant by “daubing with untempered mortar.” This significant quotation from one of the prophets, has come back to me with uncommon force, as I recall some new notes, which I have recently heard, of the peace and safety cry, which is now so surely lulling the churches to that fatal security that precedes the final doom! And the sad comment, “My people love to have it so,” applies as appropriately now as when it was first uttered to Israel. It is pleasant, if they be accepted as Scripture verities, to hear assertions which insure us cheering prospects for the future. But what saith the Scripture? Not, surely, what very recently I heard affirmed in a sermon from the text, “Watchman, what of the night?” The speaker exclaimed with enthusiasm, lifting up his hands, I suppose in imitation of the angel he personated, “that the angel of the revelator was lifting up his hand and swearing that the time of sin of ignorance and of error should be no longer!” And another as unqualifiedly affirmed that our Lord in teaching us to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” taught us to pray for the unity and prosperity of the church; for only as that was extended and established, could his kingdom come! But last, though not least in absurdity, was the speculation broached, admitting at the start, that it was only speculation, since, confessedly, there was no Scripture to sustain it. “When Christ ascended up from Bethany, he diffused—dissolved into that cloud which received him up out of sight.” Alas! Alas! that there should be so much “daubing with untempered mortar,” by accredited teachers in these days. Daubing till the true meaning of Scripture is lost in unwarrantable fables. Daubing, till the whole system is endangered or brought to a discount with the reflective, as well as with the unthinking. Let all give heed now, for life and death are at stake. Scripture is a pure stream flowing from the throne of God, and all should beware how they pervert it, making it reflect the fantastic images of a brain imagination. M. W. HOWARD. In Scotland, during the times of bloody persecution, when Claverhouse was marching about the country, driving people from their homes, burning their houses, and putting many godly people to death, a pious father told his family that there were soldiers near, and they must hasten to the next village, where there was a strong, old church the fugitives could use for a fort. So he told Jeanie to take the big Bible for her load, and that she must be very careful not to let it get wet or lose it by the way. “For we could not live,” said he, “without the good book.” So she wrapped a gown around the Bible and started with her father and mother, each of whom carried a child. They had to cross a brook; but they did not dare to go by the bridges lest they should be captured by the enemy. There was a place where they thought they could cross on some stepping stones, but on reaching the place, it had become quite dark. So Jeanie’s father waded across, and carried the others one by one, until she was left quite alone. Jeanie was much afraid to be left there by herself, so she started to cross after her father, stepping carefully from stone to stone. But presently her foot slipped, and down she went to the bottom. At the same time, up went her arms, holding the precious burden over her head. The water came up to her waist; but bracing herself firmly against the rapid current, she walked bravely on across the stream, and had nearly reached the shore, with the dear old book lifted as high as she could raise it, when she met her father returning to bring her. “Father,” she cried, “you told me to take care of the dear old Bible, and I have done so.” Just as she said this, they heard several pistol shots and the sound of approaching horsemen. They soon hid themselves in a little cleft of the rocks, and were not discovered. Jeanie married in after years, and now has great great grandchildren living in this country. The old Bible became hers after her father’s death, and in it were written the names of her seven children. It is still in very good condition, in the possession of her descendants. Jeanie never forgot that dreadful night when she carried the old Bible through the deep waters, and when she was dying, she seemed to be dreaming of it, and said, “I am in the deep river—in the deep river; but I’ll hold up the dear old Bible! There, take the book! take the book!” and she soon ceased to breathe. The brave girl wading through the waters and holding up the Bible is like the Christian church marching through rivers of persecution and streams of blood, ever holding up the word of God, that it might be safely kept and handed down to the generations following.—S. S. Visitor. THE following pleasant story is told by a pious minister about a monk of former days. He resolved to leave his monastery on the ground that he there too frequently met with causes of provocation, and was betrayed into anger and other sins. Accordingly, he retired into the desert, in the hope that solitude would enable him to serve God with an easier mind. One day, his pitcher happened to upset, and, when lifted up, fell a second time, which kindled his anger to such a pitch that he dashed it to the ground and broke it into a thousand pieces. When he came to himself, he said: “I now see that I cannot be at peace even in solitude, and that the fault lies not in others, but in myself.” He then returned to the monastery, and, after many strenuous efforts, succeeded in subduing his passion, not by flight, but by self-denial. Truth is one of the rarest of virtues. Many a youth has been lost to society by allowing falsehood to tarnish his character, and foolishly throwing truth away. Honesty, frankness, generosity, virtue—blessed traits! Be these yours, my boys, we shall not fear. You are watched by your elders. Men who are looking for clerks and apprentices have their eyes on you. If you are profane, vulgar, saloon-going, they will not choose you. If you are upright, steady, and industrious, before long you will find good places, kind masters, and the prospect of a useful life before you. A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against the wind, and not with the wind; even a bad wind is better than none. No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm. Let no man wax pale, therefore, because of opposition. Opposition is what he wants, and must have, to be good for anything. Hardship is the native soil of manhood and self-reliance. The following questions are sent us from the Brighton (Iowa) Sabbath-school. Are the people of God in this dispensation permitted to execute the death penalty as brought to view in Deut. 13: 6-11; Num. 15: 35; Lev. 24: 14, and many other places? If not, why not? If it is answered that the ministration is changed, then can we appropriate to ourselves the blessings, or are we exposed to the curses, brought to view in Deut. 28? Has God given a reason why the children of Israel were to abstain from the use of leaven on certain occasions, and what is it? See Ex. 23: 15, 18; Lev. 2: 4; Ex. 34: 25; &c. ANSWER. The ten commandments were incorporated into the civil law of the Jews, and as such had the penalty of death attached to their violation. But they also occupied a higher position and performed another office as the moral law of God. As such they were binding on all the world, and had penalties attached which God will inflict at the general Judgment of the human race. The Jewish government was at first a theocracy. God was their king. As such he gave them directions or laws in regard to their civil polity, or matters which concerned them as a nation. It was among these regulations that the penalty of death was attached to the violation of the commandments. So when an offender under that system was put to death, he suffered not as a violator of the law of God, but as a violator of the law of the commonwealth; that is, the penalty was not inflicted by God as the penalty of his moral law, but by the magistrate as the penalty of the law of the land; for the man who was thus put to death has yet to answer before God for his crime, the same as though he had not suffered death under that Jewish regulation. In some particulars it is the same at the present day. Thus, God's law forbids murder. The law of the land also forbids it; and in some States the penalty is capital punishment. Now the man who is hung for murder pays the penalty of the prohibition against murder, so far as that prohibition is a part of the law of the land, but not so far as it is a part of the law of God; for he has yet to answer for the crime of murder before the Judge of all the earth. With this view of the subject we can readily see how the abolition of the Jewish economy in nowise affects the perpetuity of the ten commandments as God's moral law, or the blessings and curses which attend their observance or violation as such. So the regulations of the Jewish civil law in regard to the sins forbidden in the ten commandments, do not affect the blessings and curses brought to view in Deut. 28; for these God attaches to the commandments as his moral law, the bestowal or infliction of which he retains in his own hands. And it will be noticed that the penalty of the moral law, God reserves to himself. In case of transgression, or obedience, the Lord is to do such or such things unto the people. But the infliction of the penalty of the civil law of the Jews was committed to them—“thou shalt surely kill him,” or “the congregation shall stone him with stones,” &c. We do not know of any reason offered in the Bible for abstaining from the use of leaven on certain occasions. But it is the opinion of all Biblical critics to whose works we have access, that leaven is a symbol of corruption with the single exception of Matt. 13: 33, and its parallel passage, Luke 13: 31, and that abstaining from its use was to symbolize a state of separation and purity. Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
CHAPTER XI (VERSE 31, CONTINUED).
“And they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” Having shown quite fully what constituted the taking away of the daily, or paganism, we now inquire, When was the abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed or set up? The little horn that had eyes, like the eyes of man, was not slow to see when the way was open for his advancement and elevation. From the year 508 its progress toward universal supremacy was without parallel. When Justinian was about to commence the Vandal war, A. D. 533, an enterprise of no small magnitude and difficulty, he wished to secure the influence of the bishop of Rome who had then attained a position in which his opinion had great weight throughout a large portion of Christendom. Justinian therefore took it upon himself to decide the contest which had long existed between the sees of Rome and Constantinople, as to which should have the precedence, by giving the preference to Rome, and declaring in the fullest and most unequivocal terms, that the bishop of that city should be chief of the whole ecclesiastical body of the empire. A work on the Apocalypse, by Rev. George Croly, of England, published in 1827, gives a detailed account of the events by which the supremacy of the pope of Rome was secured. He gives the following as the terms in which the decree of Justinian was expressed:— “Justinian, pious, fortunate, renowned, triumphant, emperor, consul, &c., to John the most holy archbishop of our city of Rome, patriarch.
“Rendering honor to the apostolic chair and to your holiness, as has been always, and is, our wish, and honoring your blessedness as a father; we have hastened to bring to the knowledge of your holiness all matters relating to the state of the churches; it having been at all times our great desire to preserve the unity of your apostolic chair, and the constitution of the holy churches of God which has obtained hitherto, and still obtains.
“Therefore we have made no delay in subjecting and uniting to your holiness all the priests of the whole east. We cannot suffer that anything which relates to the state of the church, however manifest and unquestionable, should be moved without the knowledge of your holiness, who is THE HEAD OF ALL THE HOLY CHURCHES; for in all things, as we have already declared, we are anxious to increase the honor and authority of your apostolic chair.” “The emperor’s letter,” continues Mr. Croly, “must have been sent before the 25th of March, 533. For in his letter of that date to Epiphanius, he speaks of its having been already dispatched, and repeats his decision, that all affairs touching the church shall be referred to the pope, ‘head of all bishops and the true and effective corrector of heretics.’” The pope, in his answer returned the same month of the following year, 534, observes that among the virtues of Justinian, “one shines as a star, his reverence for the apostolic chair, to which he has subjected and united all the churches, it being truly the head of all.” The “Novellæ” of the Justinian code give unanswerable proof of the authenticity of the title. The preamble of the 9th states that “as the elder Rome was the founder of the laws, so was it not to be questioned that in her was the supremacy of the Pontificate.” The 131st on the ecclesiastical titles and privileges, chapter 2, states: “We therefore decree that the most holy pope of the elder Rome is the first of all the priesthood, and that the most blessed archbishop of Constantinople, the new Rome, shall hold the second rank after the holy apostolic chair of the elder Rome.” Toward the close of the sixth century, John of Constantinople denied the Roman supremacy, and assumed for himself the title of universal bishop; whereupon, Gregory the Great, indignant at the usurpation, denounced John, and declared, with unconscious truth, that he who would assume the title of universal bishop, was Antichrist. Phocas, in 606, suppressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople, and vindicated that of the bishop of Rome. But Phocas was not the founder of papal supremacy. Says Croly, “That Phocas repressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople is beyond a doubt. But the highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome, spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the memorable year 533.” Again he says: “On reference to Baronius, the established authority among the Roman Catholic annalists, I found the whole detail of Justinian’s grants of supremacy to the pope formally given. The entire transaction was of the most authentic and regular kind, and suitable to the importance of the transfer.” Such were the circumstances attending the decree of Justinian. But the provisions of this decree could not at once be carried into effect; for Rome and Italy were held by the Ostrogoths, who were Arians in faith, and strongly opposed to the religion of Justinian and the pope. It was therefore evident that the Ostrogoths must be rooted out of Rome before the pope could exercise the power with which he had been clothed. To accomplish this object, the Italian war was commenced in 534. The management of the campaign was entrusted to Belisarius. On his approach toward Rome, several cities forsook Vitiges, their Gothic and heretical sovereign, and joined the armies of the Catholic Emperor. The Goths, deciding to delay offensive operations till spring, allowed Belisarius to enter Rome without opposition. “The deputies of the pope and clergy, of the senate and people, invited the lieutenant of Justinian to accept their voluntary allegiance.” Belisarius entered Rome Dec. 10, 536. But this was not an end of the struggle; for the Goths rallying their forces resolved to dispute his possession of the city by a regular siege. They commenced in March, 537. Belisarius feared despair and treachery on the part of the people. Several senators, and Pope Silverius, on proof or suspicion of treason, were sent into exile. The emperor commanded the clergy to elect a new bishop. After solemnly invoking the Holy Ghost, they elected the deacon Vigilius, who, by a bribe of two hundred pounds of gold, had purchased the honor. The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for the siege of Rome; but success did not attend their efforts. Their hosts melted away in frequent and bloody combats under the walls of the city; and the year and nine days during which the siege lasted, witnessed almost the entire consumption of the whole nation. In the month of March, 538, dangers beginning to threaten them from other quarters, they raised the siege, burned their tents, and retired in tumult and confusion from the city, with numbers scarcely sufficient to preserve their existence as a nation, or their identity as a people. Thus the Gothic horn, the last of three, was plucked up before the little horn of Dan. 7. Nothing now stood in the way of the pope to prevent his exercising the power conferred upon him by Justinian, five years before. The saints, times and laws, were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in fact. And this must therefore be taken as the year when this abomination was placed or set up, and as the point from which to date the period of its supremacy. Verse 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Those that forsake the covenant, the holy Scriptures, and think more of the decrees of popes and the decisions of councils, than they do of the word of God, these shall he, the pope, corrupt by flatteries; that is, lead them on in their partisan zeal for himself by the bestowment of wealth, position, and honors. At the same time a people shall exist who know their God; and these shall be strong, and do exploits. These were those who kept pure religion alive in the earth during the dark ages of papal rule, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent among these stand the Waldenses, Albigenses, Huguenots, &c. Verse 33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. The long period of papal persecution against those who were struggling to maintain the truth and instruct their fellow-men in ways of righteousness, is here brought to view. The number of the days during which they were thus to fall, is given in Dan. 7: 25; 12: 7; Rev. 12: 6, 14; 13: 5. Verse 34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. In Rev. 12, where this same papal persecution is brought to view, we read that the earth helped the woman by opening her mouth and swallowing up the flood which the dragon cast out after her. The great Reformation by Luther and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold. The German States espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reformers, and restrained the work of persecution so furiously carried on by the papal church. But when they should be helped, and the cause begin to become popular, many should cleave unto them with flatteries, or embrace the cause from unworthy motives, be insincere, hollow-hearted, and speak smooth and friendly words through a policy of self-interest. Verse 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a time appointed. Though restrained, the spirit of persecution was not destroyed. It broke out wherever there was opportunity. Especially was this the case in England. The religious state of that kingdom was fluctuating, it being sometimes under Protestant and sometimes under papal jurisdiction, according to the religion of the ruling house. The bloody queen Mary was a mortal enemy to the Protestant cause, and multitudes fell victims to her relentless persecutions. And this condition of affairs was to last more or less to the time of the end. The natural conclusion would be that when the time of the end should come, this power which the church of Rome had had to punish heretics, which had been the cause of so much persecution, and which had for a time been restrained, would now be taken entirely away; and the conclusion would be equally evident that this taking away of the papal supremacy would mark the commencement of the period here called the time of the end. If this application is correct, the time of the end commenced in 1798; for there, as already noticed, the papacy was overthrown by the French, and has never since been able to wield the power it before possessed. J. HACKET: Our Lord expressly says in Matt. 19 : 8, that some things were permitted under the Mosaic dispensation on account of the hardness of the hearts of the people. So in the scripture you refer to, Deut. 21 : 10–17, polygamy is recognized as existing under that dispensation; and the Lord, instead of deeming it best to abolish it in the then state of the world, and condition of93 his people, simply put it under restrictions. It was never enjoined nor encouraged; and all the accounts we have of instances in which it was practiced, show that its effects were evil and only evil. In regard to the law given to Israel against marrying strangers, the prohibition seems to have applied only while these strangers retained their heathen worship and nationality. They might become proselytes to the Jewish religion and then marry among them, as in the case of Ruth the Moabitess, of whom was born Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. So you will notice in the case of the captives mentioned in verses 10–14, before a Jew was allowed to take one to wife, she must become a proselyte. This is signified by the fact that a month was given her to bewail her father and mother, signifying her entire and final separation from her idolatrous kindred; and then she was to shave her head and pare her nails, which were ceremonies to show that she had become a proselyte to the Jewish religion. Then she could be taken into their families, and treated in all respects as one of their nation. And to see how infinitely superior this was to the laws and customs then existing among other nations, we have only to look at the manner in which they treated their captives under similar circumstances. Though the Mosaic economy permitted some things not allowable under the gospel, yet, when viewed in comparison with the highest types of heathen excellence then existing, it was a marvel of mercy and morality. W. SHIPPEE: When you understand our position better, you will not accuse us of basing our hopes of life on the keeping of the ten commandments. This is a mistake into which many fall from giving our views only a superficial examination. But until this much of our faith is understood, all time spent in examining points based on an entire misapprehension of what we believe, would be merely thrown away. R. D. BENHAM: We have not seen the book you speak of, but should be glad to have a copy. F. A. BUZZELL: We are pleased with your proposition.