Earlier text: Signs of the TimesHIS eternal power.” Let us think about this power for a moment. Very few have any sort of conception of the mighty energies at work in our world. Consider the air we breathe. We are not conscious of power wrapped up in this subtle, invisible air. Yet it is held closely hugging the earth by the downward pull of gravity with a pressure that is enormous. It is about fifteen pounds to every square inch of the earth’s surface. We do not feel the pressure, for it is through us as well as about us; we are immersed in it. The whole pressure of the air on the surface of the earth, expressed in tons, requires sixteen digits, being close to 5,517,823,961,480,000 tons. In round numbers we may say it is five thousand millions of millions of tons. But this is only one letter in the mighty alphabet of God’s power in the world. Listen to the rain. The patter of those drops means an annual fall of millions of tons of water. The average quantity of aqueous vapor, or water held suspended in the air, at any given time, is estimated to be more than 50,000,000,000,000 tons. The annual5 amount of rainfall has been estimated to be about 200,000 solid cubic miles. If spread out equally at one time over the land portion of the globe, it would cover all the continents — Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America — with water three feet deep. All this enormous weight of water is lifted without sound or agitation or seeming effort. What gigantic energy is this that lifts tons as easily as we lift feathers! To such a power, removing mountains is mere child's play. And yet this is but another letter in the ponderous alphabet of power. Now the pressure of the air upon the earth, and the pressure of the water that falls as rain, is as nothing to the pressure of the water at the bottom of the ocean. At a depth of 2,500 fathoms, the pressure has been estimated to be two and a half tons to the square inch. Our most ponderous engines do not have to sustain such tremendous pressure. In fact, the pressure at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is sufficient to run twenty-five ordinary railway trains for each one of those inches. Wood sunk in the ocean several thousand feet and immediately raised will be found to be completely water-soaked, the great pressure having driven the water into every pore of the wood. We are told upon good authority of a whaling boat that was dragged several thousand feet into the depths of the sea and up to the surface again by a harpooned whale. The sunken boat was hauled up only with great labor, for so heavy was it that, altho before the accident it would have been buoyant when full of water, it now required a boat at each end to keep it from sinking. "When it was hoisted into the ship, the paint came off in large sheets, and the planks, which were of wainscot, were as completely soaked in every pore as if they had lain at the bottom of the sea since the Flood. A wooden apparatus that accompanied the boat in its progress through the deep, consisting chiefly of a piece of thick deal about fifteen feet square, happened to fall overboard, and tho it originally consisted of the lightest fir, sank in the water like a stone. The boat was rendered useless. Even the wood of which it was built, on being offered to the cook for fuel, was tried, and rejected as incombustible." This being the mighty pressure at the bottom of the sea, who will undertake to compute the enormous weight of all the waters of the earth? And what shall be said of Him who measures them as easily as you would measure a few drops in the palm of your hand? Isa. 40:12. But all this is only one more letter in the mysterious alphabet of His power. Again, think of the marvelous energies at work in all sorts of vegetable life on the globe. Professor Clark, of Amherst, Massachusetts, found that a soft, pulpy squash could lift a ton and a half, and hold it day and night for months. If one squash could do this, what power must there be exerted by all the trees, shrubs, and herbs, that grow on all the earth! All over the globe this power and activity of vegetable life is constantly and untiringly exerted. The little daisy that blossoms in the meadows, and the vast acres of wheat that wave to every passing wind; each bunch of grass in the pastures, and every corn-stalk that rustles on the prairies; the shrub that ornaments the landscape, and every mighty tree that wrestles with the tempests of a hundred years, — all these add their part to the enormous tides of power that feed the vegetable world. But all this is merely a fourth letter in the vast alphabet of God's power. Consider the giant energies stored in our extensive coal-beds. It has been proved that on an average, four ounces of coal is sufficient to draw, on a railway, one ton a mile. The available energy of a pound of coal, properly applied, would lift a weight of one hundred pounds to the height of twenty miles. Or conversely, one hundred pounds falling from a height of twenty miles, and striking against the earth, would generate an amount of heat equal to that developed by the combustion of a pound of coal. A good Cornish engine, by the expenditure of the power of a pound and a half of coal, will perform as much work as a man can do working on a treadmill continuously for eight solid hours. From this it follows that about five tons of coal would evolve as much power during its combustion as would be equal to the continued labor of an able-bodied man for twenty years, working eight hours a day. What an incalculable amount of mechanical power lies stored away in our immense coal-beds! "Beneath the soil of our own great coal-basins there reposes power equivalent to the united force of myriads of giants, ready, like Aladdin's genius, to be called into activity by the lamp of science, and as its obedient slave to build cities, to transport palaces, or to remove mountains." But even so it is simply a fifth letter in the mighty alphabet of God's inexhaustible power. Think of the tides of power pouring down upon the earth in the genial rays of the summer's sun. According to recent measurements, it appears that from every square yard of the earth exposed perpendicularly to the sun's rays, in the absence of an absorbing atmosphere, there could be derived more than one horse-power, if the heat were all converted into this use. At the equator a steamer could be driven at a fair rate of speed by utilizing only the sunshine that heats down upon her deck. And on so small an area as the island of Manhattan, or that occupied by the city of London, the noon-tide heat is enough, could it all be used, to drive all the steam-engines in the world. Thus we see that untold millions of horse-power are rained down upon us daily in the form of sunlight. If we were able in some way to gather up this energy and store it for use, daylight itself would provide an inexhaustible source of power from which we could draw for untold ages to come. The sun, besides sustaining us by its power of light and heat, keeps the earth always near it by the mighty force of gravitation. Seldom do we think of the gigantic pull that it is forever exerting upon our globe. And it not only sways this world of ours, but orbs much vaster and that travel in far wider orbits. If we were to substitute wires between the earth and the sun for this attraction of gravitation, it would be necessary to use wires that would sustain a weight of fifteen hundred pounds each, and they would have to be placed so close together that a mouse could not run between them. Still this is but a fraction of the power that works in that shining orb we call the sun. And the sun is only a captain in the mighty armies of the heavens. Besides him there are suns upon suns, many of them fairer, brighter, and more mighty than he. And through the wide oceans of space, suns and worlds are made to spin on their axes as we spin our tops, and are hurled in orbits with a speed seventy times as fast as a rifle-ball, never the least portion of an inch out of place, never the fraction of a second out of time. "All power is given unto Me," says Christ, "in heaven and in earth." "All power"—who shall measure it? We have called over a few letters in this huge alphabet of energy. But the greater part of that alphabet is still unknown to man. In the field of God's activities we have not yet learned even our A B C's. And it is impossible for us as yet to spell out the first easy word in the infinite literature of "His eternal power." "The Lord's Day"
By James White
THERE is but one instance in all the Word of God where the term "Lord's day" is found, and that is Rev. 1:10. Neither that text nor its context tells us what day of the week the Lord's day is. Is it not the grossest assumption for any to say that the first day of the week is the Lord's day, with no other evidence than presented in the text? On the other hand, we have three passages of Scripture which declare the seventh day of the week to be the Lord's day or Sabbath; namely: Ex. 20: 10; Isa. 58: 13; Mark 2: 28. The first of these states that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;" in the second, the Lord calls the Sabbath "My holy day;" and in the third, Jesus says that "the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Here is Scriptural evidence as to what day the Lord's day is. Is it not explicit and sufficient? What matters it what testimony is borne to the contrary by semi-heathen philosophers, or an apostate church? Is not the Word of God sufficient? "What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord."
W. To militarize our schools would be a step backward and downward. It would create thousands of new places for military officers to be fed at governmental expense, and it would cripple the nation. It would swell the business of the men who manufacture guns and powder and bullets, but it would put an increased burden on the man who pays taxes. It would put a new glamour on army and navy, but it would retard the day when the whole world is to bow at the feet of the Prince of Peace. Europe has tried military drill, and look at it! Let us try something else. Europe puts a soldier on the back of every peasant. The soldier has a fine chest, but the back of the peasant is bent. This is the land of democracy, the land of the people, the land in which every man has the right to an upright carriage and an unfettered life. Let us be careful how we increase the number of men who, producing nothing themselves, sit daily at the government's tables; and let us think twice before we decide to drill the rising generation in the tactics of a game which one of the greatest military captains of all time declared to be the trade of barbarians. Failure of the Rich in Bearing the Test
By Ellen G. White
JESUS has said, "He that gathereth not with Me scattereth." Who is with Christ in the manner in which they treat the poor and suffering? Jesus has said again, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." "So shall ye be My disciples." In what contrast to the manner of Christ in His humiliation is the manner of those who exalt themselves, and have no care for the needy around them! The rich people of the world are called the great ones; but what does the Creator call them? Thousands and even millions of dollars have been expended in extravagant display, by those who do not know what to do with their abundant means, while at the same time thousands are starving for bread, thousands living in comfortless homes, who are naked and destitute. The souls of the poor are just as valuable in the sight of God as the souls of the rich. The riches of the world belong to God, and He does not estimate men by the amount of money they possess. God entrusts money to men in order that He may see what use they will make of it. Those who expend their money for self-gratification are only living on husks. What comfort can they take in looking upon their decorated persons, when the poor are all about them, suffering for the necessities of life? How can they desire to load themselves down with treasures, which are necessary neither for comfort, for health, nor for happiness, when, if they distributed their treasures in a wise way, they might make many comfortable who cry in want and suffering, who are dying for the want of proper food and shelter? The cry of the destitute enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He will call for an account from every one who has shut up the bowels of mercy and compassion. The Lord has imparted His goods in abundance; and if men and women possessed the attributes of Christ's character, they would not heap up for themselves treasures, and fail to provide homes for the orphans, schooling for the poor, and food and clothing for the needy. What will rich men do in the judgment when they have failed to be good stewards of the grace of God? "Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me." He Demonstrated His Goodness
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel. He that is the way, the truth, and the life, has illuminated the track that leads heavenward. He came to our world to identify His interest with that of suffering humanity, to demonstrate before the world the goodness, mercy, and love of God to fallen man. In Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. The requirement of God concerning those that shall enter the pearly gates, is that they be like Jesus, that they bear His image, and have His mind. They are to imitate His example, and live His life. Being and doing good is essential to Christian character. No man liveth unto himself. All who win the precious boon of eternal life, will exemplify in life the life of Jesus Christ. They will follow in His steps who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, who cheerfully gave His life a ransom for a lost world. Transformed by Ministering
Conformity to the world and worldly attachments are forbidden by the Word of God. Paul says: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The Holy Spirit with the cleaver of truth has separated men from the world, that they may go forth as missionaries for God into all the highways and byways of life. They are not only to seek and to save those that are lost, but they are also to minister to the wants of suffering humanity. Jesus says to them: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." This is the reason that they that will be rich, lay up their treasures on earth. They love the world, and the love of the Father is not in them. They decide to risk the consequences of disobeying Christ's words, and fully resolve to lay up treasure upon earth. "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." "The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." To lay plans for the gaining of worldly treasure simply that you may be rich and heap up treasure upon earth, is not laying plans in harmony with God's will. Selfishness and sin are at the bottom of all such gain. Such men do not love God with all the heart, and their neighbors as themselves. Many of the human family are perishing about them, and tho it is in their power to confer blessing upon them, they withhold the good they could do to them, and fail to supply the necessities of those who want. But the cries of orphans and widows come up before God. Their tears are all registered in the books of heaven; and those who have had the opportunity to help, and yet refused the aid they might have given, are charged in the ledger of heaven with robbery toward God, and are sentenced as those who have oppressed and defrauded the poor. The only safe way is to deal with the Lord as He has directed in His Word: "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." A LARGE part of our lifetime is wasted because of our deferred decisions. It is always easier to postpone a decision than to make it; so it usually gets postponed. Nine times out of ten we could, if we would merely insist on a slight effort of will, decide matters the first time they come before us, and thus leave the future just so much freer for new duties and decisions. Instead, we take a thing up, consider its pros and cons, and lay it down again. Sheer laziness of will is the reason. "Don't pick over things," once said one of the greatest business men America has produced. It is better to make some mistakes while we are forming the habit of prompt decision than to avoid all mistakes at the cost of dallying with our time and energies. But prompt decisions are more than likely to be correct decisions, for the very effort of deciding quickly means a concentrating of one's best powers on the subject in hand. We have no right to burden to-morrow with decisions that ought to be made to-day.—Sunday School Times. The Touch of Power
By Eliza H. Morton
'Twas in a land of hills and vales,
A land of sacred song,
A land where shepherds kept their flocks,
And twilight lingered long.
A mother lay upon a cot,
With fever in her veins.
Altho the air was clear and pure,
She seemed held down by chains. The chains of sickness are the chains
That swing the gate of death.
The demons sought to open it,
With poison in their breath.
The mother struggled to arise,
And struggled but to fail.
All hope grew dim within her heart,
Her cheeks grew strangely pale, When, lo! One came into that room,
And stood beside that bed.
The world's Physician touched that hand;
Quickly the fever fled.
A Saviour from life's wearing pain!
O healing touch divine!
That woman rose and ministered,
And said, "The glory Thine." And so may we, in this our day,
Touch oft the Master's hand,
And feel earth's fever die away
At His own blest command.
O soothing touch! O touch of life!
O Spirit calm and sweet!
Thy touch the power will give to make
Our ministry complete. A Spiritual Autobiography—IV
By J. A. L. Derby
The Ceremonial Law and the Moral
IN the last instalment of this account of the growth of my beliefs concerning the law of God, some reference was made to the use of the terms “ceremonial” and “moral.” While it is one of the commonest facts of Biblical knowledge, that the ancient Jewish religion had an elaborate and complicated ritual, and that the practises of this ritual are in all Biblical commentaries called “the ceremonial law,” and that likewise the Decalogue is known as “the moral law”—while the use of these two terms is the usual method of distinguishing the two laws, it will on a little reflection become evident that this mode is more convenient than logical. And here I met with a curious experience. I found, when talking casually with a person, that he would be perfectly free to speak of the Decalogue as the moral law, and of the other as the ceremonial law; but when I called his attention to the fact that “moral” meant “pertaining to duty,” and that if the Ten Commandments constitute the moral law, they are binding, including the Sabbath, he presently began to note that the “ceremonial” law must have been “moral” also, for that it was a binding obligation must be admitted. His purpose, of course, was to show that a “moral” law may be abolished, and hence the Sabbath probably. To forestall such an evasion, it becomes necessary, with people of that sort, to be very nice, very accurate, in our use of terms. The objector is indeed correct in his position that “moral” and “ceremonial” are not antonyms. The opposite of “moral” is “immoral.” This latter character did not, of course, attach to the ceremonial law. Another assumption that usually lurks about the objection just indicated, and about the common distinction of “moral” and “ceremonial,” is that “ceremonial” is synonymous with “non-moral,” or “unmoral.” This matter is easily settled. If morality means obedience to God’s commands, the ceremonial law was, while in force, unquestionably moral. God did not give the Jewish ritual as a thing the observance of which was morally indifferent or optional. I have already mentioned, in a previous article, that the whole law, ceremonies and all, is called the law of God. Some texts on this point are again appended here: Neh. 10:29; 8:8, 1, 14, 18; 2 Kings 18:6; Luke 2:23, 24, 39. There are others also. Another characteristic of the ceremonial law was treated at some length in my last week’s paper; namely, that the ceremonial law was as unchangeable as the Ten Commandments. It could cease to be significant or obligatory, because it was only typical of Christ, His attributes, offices, and functions; but it could not be changed while in force. It was final. Thirdly, it was temporal. It was “a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices; . . . which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances [margin, “rights, or ceremonies”], imposed on them [Israel] until the time of reformation. But Christ being come,” etc. Heb. 9:9-11. Note the phrase, “until the time of reformation,” and its equivalent one, “but Christ being come.” By the coming and death of the Messiah, type met antitype; it was no longer “a shadow of good things to come” (Heb. 10:1); it ceased by limitation. In order to make definite and clear what was abolished by the death of Christ, it is only necessary to read the first nine verses of the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. We transcribe it from the Authorized Version: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God. Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.” Now let us put this scripture in the vernacular, as given in the Twentieth Century New Testament: “The law, tho it was able to foreshadow the better system that was coming, never had its actual substance. Its priests, with those sacrifices which they offered continuously year after year, could not make those who came to worship perfect. Otherwise, would not the offering of these sacrifices have been abandoned, as the worshipers, having been once purified, had their consciences clear from sins? But, on the contrary, these sacrifices recall their sins to mind year after year. For the blood of bulls and goats is powerless to remove sins. That is why, when He was coming into the world, the Christ declared—‘Sacrifice and offering Thou [God] dost not desire, but Thou dost provide for Me a body; Thou dost take no pleasure in burnt offering and sacrifice for sin. So I said, “See, I have come” (as is written about Me in the pages of the Book), “to do Thy will, O God.”’ First come the words—‘Thou dost not desire, nor dost Thou take pleasure in, sacrifice, offering, burnt offering, and sacrifice for sin’ (offerings regularly made under the law), and then there is added—‘See, I have come to do Thy will.’ The former statement is set aside to be replaced by the latter. And it is in the carrying out of God’s will that we have been purified by the sacrifice, once and for all, of the body of Jesus Christ.” The First Taken Away; the Second Established
Notice especially, in the Authorized Version, the clause, “He taketh away the first”—sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offerings for sin—“that He may establish the second”—the “body of Christ.” All this is so clear that the wayfaring man, tho a fool, need not err therein. This says nothing about the abolition of the Ten Commandments, or of the law of tithes, or of the law of clean and unclean meats, or of that concerning usury, or of many other things. Read, for example, the twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third chapters of Exodus. The laws in these three chapters, with few exceptions, were no more abolished by the death of Christ than was the Decalogue. What is to be done with these three chapters, and many other parts of the old law, of the same unceremonial nature? The answer to this question was so easy, I marveled that I did not stumble on it before. It lies in the nature of the kingdom Christ preached. When Persia lay prostrate at the feet of Alexander, or Cæsar Augustus stood at the head of the Roman Empire, or William of Normandy conquered Harold at Senlac, no greater opportunity, or right, or power, was afforded for the introduction of a totally new code of laws than when Jesus Christ came as the new King and Lawgiver of Israel. Not only so, but a new form of the kingdom He did preach. His first preaching, as also that of John the Baptist, was of that kingdom: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matt. 3:1, 2. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matt. 4:17. Kingdom Not of This World
If Alexander, or Augustus, or William the Conqueror, continued any of the laws of the8 kingdoms they conquered, it was not because they were under any necessity of so doing. Likewise with the form of the kingdom proclaimed by the Messiah; He had the absolute right to transfer to it all, some, or none, of the laws of ancient Israel. Now what was the nature of His kingdom? Listen to the answer of Jesus to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18: 36. His empire is a spiritual one. In that fact is ignored, rejected, as such, every national law of the Jewish race. Jesus was put to death because, while claiming to be King, He refused the temporal crown. His is a kingdom of eternal principles. “Unto the Son He [God] saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.” Heb. 1: 8. What, then, is the Mosaic code to a subject of Christ’s kingdom? — It is simply so much divine material with which reason and conscience have to do in formulating principles for spiritual guidance. We do not now put witches to death, but we learn from the old code the abhorrence God has for spiritistic practises. We do not leave for the poor the produce of our fields and vineyards and olive orchards every seventh year, but we understand the tender regard God has for the poor. In concluding this paper, we mention once more that the CONSTITUTION of the new kingdom is exactly the same as the constitution of the old,—the Ten Words. Monopoly
By W. R. Uchtmann
God made this world — both man and
beast —
Perfect, from greatest to the least.
Why, then, is it so marred by sin?
Who caused it? Where did it begin?
Who cherished the first thought of ill?
Who first dared to oppose God's will?
Monopoly — monopoly — 'twas craving for
monopoly. Hear how this fearful curse did start,
Who played in it the leading part:
'Twas one who would a ruler be.
A mighty one in heaven was he,
A leading angel, near God's throne,
Which he would take, and rule alone.
Monopoly — monopoly — O, selfish, cruel
monopoly! This craving power in men to rule,
Has made of many a one a fool.
E'en children wish to rule each other,
The daughter oft corrects her mother,
And boys are loud in their protest
When father speaks, for they know best.
Monopoly — monopoly — all wish to have
monopoly. Plainly we see, as God has shown,
This world itself would Him dethrone;
But prophets show the time is near
When Christ Himself will soon appear
To call the righteous, who with wo
Upon the narrow path did go.
They formed a character, and He
Now saves them from monopoly. An object-lesson we have been;
The universe has plainly seen
The law of God is perfect, right,
In keeping it, is great delight.
The coming King will say "Well done"
To some; to others: "Be ye gone;
Desire for monopoly
Has kept you far away from Me."