Earlier text: Constitutional AmendmentThoughts on Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER IX.—THE SEVENTY WEEKS.
VERSE 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. The angel now gives to Daniel the event which is to mark the commencement of the seventy weeks. They were to date from the going forth of a commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. And not only is the event given which was to determine the time of the commencement of this period, but those events also which were to transpire at its close. Thus a double test is provided by which to try the application of this prophecy. But more than this, the period of seventy weeks is divided into three grand divisions, and one of these is again divided, and the intermediate events are given which were to mark the termination of each one of these divisions. If now, we can find a date which will harmonize with all these events, we have, beyond a doubt, the true application; for none but that which is correct could meet and fulfill so many conditions. Let the reader take in at one view the points of harmony to be made, that he may be the better prepared to guard against a false application. First, we are to find at the commencement of the period, a commandment going forth to restore and build Jerusalem. To this work of restoration seven weeks are allotted. As we reach the end of this first division, seven weeks from the commencement, we are to find, secondly, Jerusalem, in its material aspect, restored, the work of building the street and the wall fully accomplished. From this point, sixty-two weeks are measured off; and as we reach the termination of this division, sixty-nine weeks from the beginning, we are to see, thirdly, the manifestation, before the world, of Messiah the Prince. One week more is given us, completing the seventy. And, fourthly, in the midst of this week, the Messiah is to be cut off, and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; and, fifthly, when the last week of that period which was allotted to the Jews as the time during which they were to be the special people of God expires, we naturally look for the going forth of the blessing and work of God to other people. We now inquire for the date which will harmonize with all these particulars. The command was to include more than mere building. There was to be restoration; by which we must understand all the forms and regulations of civil, political, and judicial society. When did such a command go forth? At the time these words were spoken to Daniel, Jerusalem lay in complete and utter desolation, and had thus been lying for seventy years. The restoration pointed to in the future, must be its restoration from this desolation. We then inquire, When and how was Jerusalem restored after the seventy years' captivity? There are but four events that can be taken as answering to the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. These are, 1. The decree of Cyrus for the re-building of the house of God, B. C. 536. Ez. 1:1-4. 2. The decree of Darius for the prosecution of that work which had been hindered, B. C. 519. Ez. 6:1-12. 3. The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, B. C. 557. Ezra 7. 4. The commission to Nehemiah from the same king in his twentieth year, B. C. 444. Neh. 2. Dating from the first two of these decrees, the seventy weeks, being weeks of years, 490 years in all, would fall many years short of reaching even to the Christian era; besides, these decrees had reference principally to the restoration of the temple and the temple-worship of the Jews, and not to the restoration of their civil state and polity, all of which must be included in the expression, "to restore and build Jerusalem." These made a commencement of the work. They were preliminary to what was afterward accomplished. But of themselves they are altogether insufficient, both in their dates and in their nature, to meet the requirements of the prophecy; and thus failing in every respect, they cannot be brought into the controversy as marking the point from which the seventy weeks are to date. The only question now lies between the decrees which were granted to Ezra and to Nehemiah. The facts between which we are to decide here, are briefly these: In 457 B. C., a decree was granted to Ezra by the Persian emperor, Artaxerxes Longimanus, to go up to Jerusalem with as many of his people as were minded to go with him. The commission granted him an unlimited amount of treasure to beautify the house of God, procure offerings for its service, and to do whatever else might seem good unto him. It empowered him to ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, and execute punishment even unto death; in other words, to restore the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical, according to the law of God and the ancient customs of that people. Inspiration has seen fit to preserve this decree; and a full and accurate copy of it is given in the seventh chapter of the book of Ezra. In the original this decree is given, not in Hebrew, like the rest of the book of Ezra, but in Chaldaic (or Eastern Aramaic), the language then used at Babylon; and thus we are furnished with the original document, by virtue of which Ezra was authorized to restore and build Jerusalem. Thirteen years after this, in the twentieth year of the same king, B. C. 444, Nehemiah sought and obtained permission to go up to Jerusalem. Neh. 2. Permission was granted him, but we have no evidence that it was anything more than verbal. It pertained to him individually, nothing being said about others going up with him. The king asked him how long a journey he wished to make, and when he would return. He received letters to the governors beyond the river, to help him on his way to Judah, and an order to the king's forest for timber for beams, etc. When he arrived at Jerusalem, he found rulers and priests, nobles and people, already engaged in the work of building Jerusalem. Neh. 2:16. These were, of course, acting under the decree given to Ezra thirteen years before. And finally, Nehemiah, having arrived at Jerusalem, finished the work he came to accomplish, in fifty-two days. Neh. 6:15. Now which of these commissions, Ezra's or Nehemiah's, constitutes the decree for the restoration of Jerusalem, from which the seventy weeks are to be dated? It hardly seems that there can be any question on this point. 1. The grant to Nehemiah cannot be called a decree. It was necessary that a Persian decree should be put in writing, and signed by the king. Dan. 6:8. Such was the document given to Ezra; but Nehemiah had nothing of the kind, his commission being only verbal. If it be said that the letters given him constituted the decree, then the decree was issued, not to Nehemiah, but to the governors beyond the river; besides, these would constitute a series of decrees, and not one decree, as the prophecy contemplates. 2. The occasion of Nehemiah's petition to the king for permission to go up to Jerusalem was the report which certain ones, returning, had brought from thence, that those in the province were in great affliction and reproach, that the wall of Jerusalem was also broken down and the gates thereof burnt with fire. Neh. 1. Whose work were these walls and gates that were broken down and burned with fire? Evidently the work of Ezra and his associates; for it cannot for a moment be supposed that the utter destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, 144 years previous to that time, would have been reported to Nehemiah as a matter of news, nor that he would have considered it, as he evidently did, a fresh misfortune calling for a fresh expression of grief. A decree, therefore, authorizing the building of these, had gone forth previous to the grant to Nehemiah. 3. If any should contend that Nehemiah's commission must be a decree, because the object of his request was that he might build the city, it is sufficient to reply as shown above, that gates and walls had been built previous to his going up; besides, the work of building which he went to perform was accomplished in fifty-two days; whereas, the prophecy allows for the building of the city, seven weeks, or forty-nine years. 4. There was nothing granted to Nehemiah which was not embraced in the decree to Ezra; while the latter had all the forms and conditions of a decree, and was vastly more ample in its provisions. 5. It is evident from the prayer of Ezra, as recorded in chapter 9:9, of his book, that he considered himself fully empowered to proceed with the building of the city and the wall; and it is evident that he understood, further, that the conditional prophecies concerning his people were then fulfilled, from the closing word of that prayer in which he says, "Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations, wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?" 6. Reckoning from the commission to Nehemiah, B. C. 444, the dates throughout are entirely disarranged; for from that point the troublous times which were to attend the building of the street and wall, did not last seven weeks, or forty-nine years. Reckoning from that date, the sixty-nine weeks or 483 years, which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince, bring us to A. D. 40; but Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan and the voice of his Father was heard from Heaven declaring him his Son, in A. D. 27, thirteen years before. According to this calculation, the midst of the last, or seventieth, week, which is marked by the crucifixion, is placed in A. D. 44, but the crucifixion took place in A. D. 31, thirteen years previous. And lastly, the seventy weeks, or 490 years, dated from the twentieth of Artaxerxes, extend to A. D. 47, with absolutely nothing to mark their termination. Hence if that be the year, and the grant to Nehemiah the event from which to reckon, the prophecy has proved a failure. As it is, it only proves that theory a failure which dates the seventy weeks from Nehemiah's commission in the twentieth of Artaxerxes. 7. Will these dates harmonize if we reckon from the decree of Ezra? Let us see. In this case, 457 B. C. is our starting-point. Forty-nine years were allotted to the building of the city and the wall. On this point, Prideaux, Connec., vol. i, p. 322, says: "In the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus, ended the first seven weeks of Daniel's prophecy. For then the restoration of the church and state of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea was fully finished, in that last act of reformation which is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, from the twenty-third verse to the end of the chapter, just forty-nine years after it had been commenced by Ezra, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus. So far we find harmony. Let us apply the measuring-rod of the prophecy still further. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, were to extend to the Messiah the Prince. Dating from B. C. 457, they end in A. D. 27. And what event then occurred? Luke thus informs us: "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also, being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from Heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased." Luke 3:21, 22, margin A. D. 27. After this, Jesus came "into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled." The time here mentioned must have been some specific, definite, and predicted period; but no prophetic period can be found then terminating, except the sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy of Daniel, which were to extend to Messiah the Prince. The Messiah had now come; and with his own lips he announced the termination of that period which was to be marked by his manifestation.* 89Here again is indisputable harmony. But further: the Messiah was to confirm the covenant with many for one week. This would be the last week of the seventy, or the last seven years of the 490. In the midst of the week, the prophecy informs us, he should cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. These Jewish ordinances, pointing to the death of Christ, could cease only at the cross; and there they did virtually come to an end, though the outward observance was kept up till the destruction of Jerusalem A. D. 70. After threescore and two weeks, according to the record, the Messiah was to be cut off. It is the same as if it had read, And after threescore and two weeks, in the midst of the seventieth week, shall Messiah be cut off and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Now as the word midst here means middle, according to an abundance of authority which we might produce, if necessary, the crucifixion is definitely located in the middle of the seventieth week. Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication.
It was now near the end of Khislev—the cold month—equivalent to part of our November and December. The twenty-fifth of the month, which, according to Wieseler, fell this year, on the 20th of December, was, with the next seven days, a time of universal rejoicing; for the Dedication Festival, in commemoration of the renewal of the temple worship, after its suspension under Antiochus Epiphanes, was held through the week. Jesus, ever pleased to mingle in innocent joys, and glad to seize the opportunity for proclaiming the new kingdom, which the gatherings of the season afforded, once more returned to Jerusalem to attend it. He had been in the neighborhood since the feast of tabernacles, nearly three months before, and this visit would be the last, till his final entry, to die. The weather had been wet and rough, so that he was fain to avail himself, like the crowds, of the shelter of the arcade running along the east side of the temple inclosure, known as Solomon's porch, from a fragment of the first temple, left standing by Nebuchadnezzar. The rain drove the people from the open courts, and Jesus, like others, was in the porch, apparently without his disciples. The time was fitted to wake the old temptation of ambition, had it had any charms. How easily might he eclipse the hero of all this rejoicing, and by his supernatural powers achieve victories, compared with which those of Judas Maccabæus would be nothing! But he had far nobler aims. The Pharisaic party, themselves, may have had such secret thoughts in connection with him. Be this as it may, they now suddenly came and began to ask him if he would not, at last, relieve their minds by some direct and express declaration whether he were the Messiah or not. "We have waited long and anxiously," said they, "for some decisive word. If thou art the Messiah, tell us openly." "I have already told you," answered Jesus, "both by the witness of the miracles I have done in my Father's name, and in words, but you have not believed me, because, as I said not long ago, you are not my disciples, or, as I love to call them, my sheep. If you had been, you would have believed in me. You may, yourselves, see that you are not of my flock, for those who are so, listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, as sheep know and listen to the voice of their shepherd, and are known by him, and follow him. Nothing, indeed, can be more close and abiding than my relations to them, for I lead them not to mere earthly good, but give them eternal life, and am their shepherd hereafter as well as here; taking care that they shall never perish, and that no one, even beyond death, shall snatch them out of my hand. Moreover, being in my hand, they are, in effect, in that of my Father, for he is ever with me, and works by me. He gave them to me at first, and he still guards them, nor can any one snatch them from his hands, for he is greater than all the powers of earth and hell. Wonder not if I speak of their being both in my Father's hands and in mine, for I and the Father are One." The excitable, fanatical crowd had listened patiently till the last words, which seemed the most audacious blasphemy—a claim of essential oneness with the Almighty. In a moment they were once more scattered in search of stones, with which to kill him, for what they deemed his crime, and presently gathered round him with them, to fell him to the earth. But Jesus remained undismayed. "I have done many great works of mercy," said he calmly, "which show that the Father is with me, because they could only come from the presence of his power. They are enough to show you that he thinks me no blasphemer. For which of these mighty works will you stone me?" "We would not think of stoning thee for a good work," answered the crowd; "it is for your blasphemy—that you, a man, should make yourself God." "Is it not written in your law," replied Jesus, "of the rulers of Israel, the representatives and earthly embodiments of the majesty of Jehovah, your invisible king, 'I said ye are gods?' If God himself called them gods, to whom this utterance of his came, and you cannot deny the authority of Scripture,—how can you say of me,—whom the Father has consecrated to a far higher office than ruler, or even prophet—to that of Messiah; and whom he has not only thus set apart to this great office, but sent into the world clothed with the mighty powers I have shown, and the fullness of grace and truth you now see in me,—that I blaspheme, because I have said I am God's Son? Your unbelief in me, which is the ground of the charge, would have some excuse if I did not perform such works as prove me to have been sent by my Father. But if I do such works, then believe them, if you will not believe me; that you may thus learn and know that what I have said is true—that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." They had waited for a retraction, but had heard a defense. Instantly hands were thrust out on every side to lay hold on him, and lead him outside the temple to stone him; but he shrank back into the crowd, and passing through it, escaped.—Geikie. WE take the following paragraph from Scott's comments on this scripture:— "This woman must have attended the worship of God with great difficulty, as she was so bowed together, that she 'could in no wise lift up herself,' but was forced to go almost double. The calamity under which she had so long labored, would in general have been considered as a very remarkable disease, arising from some known or unknown natural cause; but it was at that time justly ascribed to an evil spirit; so that in fact 'Satan had bound her eighteen years.' Our Lord, seeing her in this afflicted state, called her to him, and by his word, attended with the laying on of his hands, immediately restored her; and, being made straight, she glorified God before all, for this most desirable and unexpected deliverance. But the ruler of the synagogue, who evidently hated the doctrine, and envied the honor of Christ, yet attempted to veil his enmity with the appearance of singular piety, told the people in anger, that they ought to come for healing other days, and not on the holy rest of the Sabbath; as if the woman had come to the synagogue on purpose for a cure; or as if a word and a touch, attended with so powerful and beneficent an effect, could break the Sabbath! The malice and hypocrisy of the man were therefore evident, and our Lord severely rebuked him; showing, that none, even of the Scribes and Pharisees, scrupled to water their cattle on the Sabbath-day, though it was attended with some labor, and was necessary only to preserve the animals from the uneasiness of a day's thirst, or the owner from some temporal loss which might result from it; and could it then be questioned, whether it were right to relieve a rational creature, a descendant of Abraham (probably an heir of his faith), from her long-continued calamity, on that holy day; even if it had been effected by labor? This reply was so satisfactory and conclusive, that it silenced and put to shame the ruler, and all the other adversaries of Jesus, and caused the people to rejoice in his glorious miracles, as so many proofs of his being the promised Messiah." Notice how the ruler of the synagogue tried to stir up popular feeling against Jesus. Although Jesus and the woman were the only parties to the transaction, and had there been any guilt, he alone was responsible, yet the ruler did not reprove him, but "said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work; in them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath-day." The reader will also notice how adroitly Jesus vindicated his action; taking the Pharisees on their own ground. On the ground that they were forbidden to bear a burden on the Sabbath-day, they could not carry water to a thirsty animal, but could "loose" it and lead it to the water. Christ's argument, then, was: If it is allowable to loose a beast on the Sabbath-day, and lead him to water, that it may not suffer even for one day, how much more allowable must it not be, that this woman who has been bound, and suffering, for eighteen years, should be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath? The argument was unanswerable, and convicted them at once of hypocrisy. As showing the completeness of their defeat, the Vulgate in this instance, affords a good commentary. The word for "they were ashamed," is erubescebant, "they began to grow red in the face, to blush." to be assembled 'Anno ab incarnatione Dom. 742, 11 Calendas Maii.' But it was not established till the time of pope Eugenius IV. A. D. 1431, who ordered this era to be used in the public Registers; according to Mariana and others."—Hales' Chronology vol. i, pp. 83, 84. See also "Life of our Lord," by S. J. Andrews. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." This scripture should fill every follower of Christ with encouragement. So long as they hear his voice, and follow where it leads, they are safe. No one, not even Satan, can snatch them away. God is "greater than all." Though trials and temptations may come, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation provide a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. 10:13. Christ also says: "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33. And to strengthen the assurance, he adds: "I and my Father are one." When both the Father and the Son unite for man's salvation what confidence may we feel! But while we gain courage from the fact that he is "able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him," we are not to be presumptuous. Jesus said, "No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand," but he did not say that no man could take himself out. This scripture has been perverted, and made to teach that no follower of Christ can fall away. That this view is incorrect, is shown by many passages. We are exhorted thus: "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Rev. 3:11. We are told also: "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Matt. 24:13. For positive testimony, see Heb. 6:4-6. Our Lord says also: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." John 15:6. See also Rev. 4:2-5; 3:16. The case, then, stands thus: So long as we hear the voice of Christ, and are content to follow him, trusting him humbly and implicitly, no harm can befall us; his strength will enable us to repel all attacks; but when we begin to trust ourselves, we take ourselves out of his hands; or refusing longer to listen to his voice, we are cast out. Let us all heed the words of the apostle Paul: "Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear." If a teacher is questioning a scholar about the scholar's personal feelings or history, he may properly ask a question without knowing what answer to expect. But if the question is about the lesson of the day, or about any great truth or doctrine, the teacher ought to have in mind the answer he looks for, before he shapes the question; and then the question ought to be so shaped as to bring just that answer—as the only proper one. Nine times out of ten, a poor answer is evidence of a poorer question, in a Sunday-school class.—S. S. Times. A Good Teacher Is Always a Good Learner
A good teacher is always a good learner. IN our former articles we noticed to whom the promises were made, namely, to the seed of Abraham, without regard to their birth or nationality; also the time and manner of their fulfillment. We will now briefly examine the promises themselves, that is, the subject matters promised, and this examination will confirm the conclusion to which we arrived in the previous articles. 1. The Land. The promise of the land cannot be fulfilled under the old covenant, for, (1) They forfeited all claims under that covenant. (2) That has passed away and been superceded by the new. (3) It is an offense against the new covenant, or the gospel, to revive or "build again" the old. Gal. 2:18. (4) The priests, or mediators, of that covenant, could not take away their sins, Heb. 10:1-4, and, therefore, they could not recover under it, what they lost by transgression. These points are sufficient to settle the question. And this is confirmed by the word of the Lord who gave as a reason for making a new covenant with them, that they had broken the other. Although he had promised to be their God, and that they should be to him a peculiar treasure above all people, yet by reason of their rebellion, he could not consistently perform his promise, and so he "regarded them not." As transgressors of his law, they were not peculiar; they were not holy; but were like other sinful nations. And if they had any claim under that covenant, it could not have been abolished without infringing on their rights. Surely, it is plain enough that, to secure the land, they must comply with the conditions of the new covenant, the only one that can possibly convey a good title to the inheritance. And what is the inheritance, or land, promised under the new covenant? As the original promise was made to Abraham and confirmed in Christ, we must look to both for an answer to this question; for Christ is mediator and first heir, and it can only be received through him, and, of course, under the covenant of which he is the mediator. To Abraham was promised a land for an everlasting possession; and circumcision was instituted as a token of this covenant. Now, our opponents assume that a certain part of the earth in its present form and condition must be conferred on his descendants to meet the promise; as the promise, they say, embraced only the land that he saw; but he did not see all of the present earth, nor any of the new earth. What he saw will doubtless be given to him, but not that only, nor in the condition in which he saw it. Of this promise, Paul says, "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4:13. Then Abraham is heir of the world. "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country," as other faithful ones, who, with him, "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Heb. 11:9, 13. Again, Christ is the seed to whom the promises were made; Gal. 3:16. He is the heir of the world, and the Father has promised to give to him "the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession." Ps. 2:8. As he is the heir, so his people are "joint-heirs" with him; and by reason of this joint-heirship with Christ, "the meek shall inherit the earth." To inherit is to receive by heirship; but there is no promise or heirship by which we can receive the earth, except that to Abraham; and Christ is heir as Abraham's seed. Hence, the Abrahamic promise embraced "the earth," even to its "uttermost parts." The land which the children of Israel possessed under Joshua, is shown in Heb. 3 and 4, to be typical of the true rest which remains to the people of God. If we look at the terms seed and token, as used in the covenant with Abraham, we shall find that in the New Testament there is a change from their outward and apparent to their real and more extended signification. The seed of Abraham was supposed to be only his literal posterity; but now we learn that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:28, 29. And so also of the token: that is no more circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter. But if these terms are thus enlarged, and all admit that they are, there is no incongruity in having the land itself enlarged in like manner. In Rom. 4:11, the token, circumcision, is entitled a sign and seal. Eph. 1:13, 14, says, "Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." We here learn that the inheritance, already purchased, is yet to be redeemed, and we receive the token, earnest, or assurance, thereof until its redemption. The sign reaches no further than to the thing signified; and we have the earnest or assurance reaching to the point of realization, but it would be no assurance beyond that point. But as the earnest reaches to the redemption, it is clear that our inheritance cannot be fully realized till the purchased possession is redeemed. This proves conclusively that the earth renewed, or new earth, is the subject of the promise of the Abrahamic covenant. And Jesus, the heir and mediator, is now ministering for individuals of both dispensations, or for transgressions under both covenants, that "they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Heb. 9:15. All who lived under the first covenant were transgressors; of course, they forfeited the promised blessings of that covenant. But Jesus secures to the faithful among them an eternal inheritance—not a mere temporal possession; and not under the curse as it is at this time, but redeemed. So that the hope of all is now made to rest on the promise of "an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." 1 Pet. 1:4. As before said, to inherit is to possess through heirship; and if we receive an inheritance redeemed, incorruptible, and undefiled, these conditions must necessarily be attached to the possession named in the will. This will is the Abrahamic covenant; Jesus is its "testator" and mediator; the earth redeemed from the curse is the promised possession; and the faithful in Christ, of every tongue and nation, are the heirs. 2. The Kingdom. A few remarks only are required on this subject. It will be remembered that the promises of the kingdom to the descendants of Jacob were conditional, and that they were forfeited under the old covenant; and the kingdom can now only be obtained by obtaining an interest in Jesus, the son and heir of David. See Ps. 89:20-37. The fact that they forfeited and lost their right to the kingdom is stated directly by the Saviour, in Matt. 21:43: "Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." And again, it is said that the poor of this world, rich in faith, are "heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him." James 2:5. Poverty of spirit and love to God, not birth or natural descent, are the requisites to heirship of the kingdom. And to the righteous of "all nations" the King will say: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:31-34. A WRITER in a professedly religious paper gives his opinion of Bible truth in the following words:— “That wickedness or righteousness will only be determined by the gospel, and not by the law, especially to the people of the gospel age, I think is clearly shown by the Scriptures.” The writer is a man of some learning, and has spent many years in the ministry, yet prejudice has so blinded his mind that he cannot see the force of the simplest and plainest expressions in the New Testament. John says: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. And Paul’s language is explicit and unmistakable in its import. Of his own experience he said: “I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Rom. 7:7. And again he said: “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. 3:20. No man ever sincerely comes to Christ—no man is ever genuinely converted—unless he is truly convicted of sin, and is thus made to feel his need of a Saviour. This conviction is only by the law, for “sin is transgression of the law,” and “by the law is the knowledge of sin,” and Paul says that without the law he would not have known that he was a sinner. In these New Testament evidences is found a complete vindication of the words of the Psalmist: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19:7. The conversions of antinomianism are all spurious. The preaching of no-lawism is not the preaching of the gospel of Christ; it is a perversion of the gospel. The context of the words quoted from Rom. 3 shows that we are not mistaken in referring them to the law of God, the ten commandments. 1. It is a law by which no flesh shall be justified. Verse 20. This is not the law of Christ, or the gospel for justification comes only by the gospel. There is no justification in a broken law, especially if the law is “holy, and just, and good.” It only condemns—proves the transgressor a sinner, and thus leads him to seek a Saviour from his transgressions and the curse. See Gal. 3:12-24. 2. It is a law of which the sinner cannot avail himself in having the “righteousness of God” conferred upon him. Verse 21. 3. It is a law which is not made void, but established by faith. Verse 31. It is thus shown to be distinct from faith, or the gospel, for, “The law is not of faith.” Gal. 3:12. 4. It is the law which was given to the Jews, of which Paul says: “Unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Verse 2. Of these Stephen also spoke when he said that Moses received at Mount Sinai “the lively oracles to give unto us.” Acts 7:38. 5. This law has jurisdiction over all, for it is distinctly shown that if these oracles given to the Jews were made of no effect, God could not judge the world. Rom. 3:2-6. Both Jews and Gentiles have transgressed it, and all the world are by it proved guilty before God. Verses 9-19. Paul also taught “repentance toward God,” for repentance is of sin, and sin is transgression of the law, and the law of God we have all transgressed; “and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ;” for Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man; the only way of salvation from sin. And the last warning message of this dispensation—“The true advent message,” or “present truth”—says: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” They honor both the Father and the Son, in the law and the gospel. They believe in genuine repentance as well as a living faith. The relation of the gospel of Christ and the law of God is exactly the relation of the pardon of a Governor and the statute of a State. No one would ever dare to say that the law of the State was abolished to give room for the pardon of the Governor, or that the pardon makes void and supersedes the statute. It is reserved for professed teachers of the gospel—for the preachers of religious antinomianism—to utter such absurdities. And, oh, shame! this they call the gospel of Christ. Surely the perils of the last days are come, and covenant breakers with an abundant profession of godliness, deny the power thereof, and are striving to remove its very foundations. Ps. 11:3. “It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” Ps. 119:126.