—Reports from Bombay show the continued increase of deaths from the bubonic plague in that city, 927 having succumbed to the disease during last week.
—Eight of the men who drifted to sea on floating ice off the coast of Newfoundland on February 3 have been rescued, and hopes are entertained for the safety of the others.
—Mr. John Thomas Morton, of London, has freely donated to the three denominations, Moravians, Waldenses, and Albigenses, the munificent sum of £500,000, or $2,435,000.
—The new parliament buildings at Victoria, B. C., which were opened on February 10, are said to be the finest public edifices on the Pacific Coast, and were erected at a cost of $1,000,000.
—The recurring boundary dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is said to be again approaching an unbearable point. It is hoped that the mediation of the United States will avert hostilities.
—A force belonging to the Niger Coast Protectorate (Africa) has been massacred in the interior, where they were operating against the Ediba tribes. A force of the Royal Niger constabulary has been despatched to the scene.
—General Balfour, speaking for the English Government on February 4, stated that Great Britain had not withdrawn from the firm stand which she had taken in regard to matters in the Orient, nor “yielded any of her just claims.”
—The French Government has declared its foreign policy in relation to China to be to work hand in hand with the other powers for the peaceful development of the country, and against any such cataclysm as the disruption of the empire.
—French aeronauts have discovered that frequently the bottom of the sea can be plainly discerned from a balloon. This fact has been made use of for the recovery of three torpedo-boats which had been lost near Toulon, and balloons will hereafter be used in the study of the sea bottom.
—Advices from Constantinople state that earthquake shocks continue to be felt at Balikiser, Asia Minor, and its vicinity. About 4,000 people have been rendered homeless, 3,600 houses, 30 mosques, and 15 khans have been more or less destroyed, and 120 persons have been killed or injured.
—A report from Nicaragua states that the revolution in that country is assuming a serious phase. The revolutionists took possession of the city of San Juan del Sur, but a severe bombardment by the government troops resulted in their dislodgment. The rebels retreated to the interior of the country.
—A despatch from St. Petersburg states that the failure of the harvest has caused terrible distress among the peasantry of the interior provinces of Russia, especially in central and southwestern Russia. In some places the peasants are feeding their half-starved cattle on the thatches of their roofs.
—The entire body of Canadian mounted police has been ordered to hold itself in readiness for an immediate summons to police duty in the Klondike mining regions. The reason for this move is not made known, but it is supposed to be due to the recent misunderstanding in regard to the boundary question.
—Reports from the Orient dated January 15 state that China is mobilizing her forces. It is said that 40,000 troops will be assembled in Tien-Tsin, and the celestials will go through the form of protecting the capital. It is not anticipated that China intends going to war, but is making this military show to allay the fears of her own people.
—President Jose Maria Reina Barrios, of Guatemala, was assassinated by a German Socialist on the evening of February 8. The vice-president has assumed the presidency, and the report adds that all is quiet in the capital. It is also reported that Prospero Morales, the leader of the late rebellion in Guatemala, has declared himself president.
—Austria and Germany have both signified to the sultan that they are not in harmony with the other European powers in advocating that Prince George of Greece be given the governorship of Crete. Emperor William will, if necessary, withdraw his war ship from Crete as an expression of his disapproval of the action of the other powers.
—It is reported that China has refused to borrow either of England or Russia, on account of the opposition of each of those governments to the other in the matter of the contemplated loan. Without it she will be unable to meet her payment to Japan of war indemnity, but hopes to secure consent of the Japanese Government to an extension of the time specified for the payment. Germany has seized more territory as reprisal for the killing of a German marine by Chinese near Kiaochau.
—Missionaries in the Telugu, India, mission field report that the failure of the monsoons, or fall rains, has made famine for the present year in that district certain. The missionaries fear that the terrible experiences that the central and northwest provinces have passed through, will be repeated in Ongole, Kanigiri, Udayagiri, Sattanapalli, Podili, Markapur, Kavali, and Atmakur, while other stations will be more or less affected.
—Very disquieting reports are emanating from the territory now held by the Turkish troops in Thessaly. It is stated that the Turks, after severe fighting with the peasants, have occupied and burned four villages in the Agrapha district. Eight thousand Turkish troops were engaged in the conflicts. In the neighborhood of Palaekastron the Turks were repulsed, and a panic prevails among the inhabitants of the neutral zone. The Turks have not evacuated Thessaly, as they have been recommended by the concert of Europe to do, but instead have established themselves in comfortable winter quarters in the homes of the Thessalian peasants. The present winter is exceptionally severe in Thessaly, and homeless thousands have been forced to take refuge in caves or find other rough shelter.
DOMESTIC.
—Six firemen were instantly killed during the burning of a five-story building in Boston on February 5, by the collapse of the roof.
—The Navy Department has ordered the appropriation of $40,000 for the construction of a special revenue cutter to ply upon the waters of the Yukon.
—The House, on February 5, passed a bill appropriating $4,144,912 for fortifications and coast defenses. This is over $5,000,000 less than the appropriation of last year.
—The Administration in providing for the prevention of further lawlessness in Alaska, has ordered four companies of soldiers to proceed north at once, two companies to be stationed at Dyea and two at Skaguay.
—A very rich vein of gold-bearing quartz has been discovered near Colville, Washington, which it is said assays as high as $25,000 to the ton. A rush of prospectors from other mining camps followed the announcement of the strike.
—A gigantic cracker trust was formed on February 4 by a combination of all the biscuit and cracker companies between Maine and the Rocky Mountains. It will be known as the National Biscuit Company, and is capitalized at $25,000,000.
—A temperance saloon and reading-room has been opened in San Francisco, which it is hoped will accomplish much good in the temperance cause. Similar institutions have been established in other large cities, resulting in great good.
—A company of American capitalists, with a capitalization of $5,000,000, has secured from the government of Honduras complete control for a period of twenty-five years over the export and import trade in cattle and other live stock in that country.
—Two thousand students of the Rush Medical College of Chicago, the College of Dental Surgery, and the Marquette School engaged in a desperate conflict with the police on February 8, in which a number were injured and twenty-five placed under arrest.
—The expedition which the government is sending to Alaska for the relief of the miners, sailed from Portland, Oregon, on February 5, taking with them 200 tons of provisions, which they will endeavor to take over the pass and down the Yukon before spring.
—A Spiritualist, of Medina, N. Y., who was an acquaintance of the late George W. Pullman, claims to have received a direct communication from the dead millionaire in which he expresses his regret for the unfair way in which he dealt with his former employees.
—The cruiser Montgomery is now engaged in paying visits to various Cuban ports, and has been cordially received. The Maine still anchors at Havana, and the cruiser Brooklyn has also been ordered to cruise in the West Indies, but will not call at Cuba.
—Pacific Coast gamblers have followed the lead of the trusts, and organized a gamblers’ syndicate, which is to operate in all the principal cities of the Pacific Coast and through the mining towns of Alaska and British Columbia, as well as the Alaskan ports of entry.
—A bill has been introduced into the Ohio Legislature, which, if it becomes a law, will require all contemplating matrimony to pass a medical examination. Persons having dipsomania, any form of insanity, hereditary tuberculosis or consumption, are barred from marriage by the bill.
—A call has been issued for the “First regular annual United Labor and Labor Reform Convention,” to be held in St. Louis on May 2, 1898, to adopt measures for securing closer union between advocates of labor reform and to establish a system for “resisting the encroachments of the judiciary upon the liberties of our speech, and to abolish government by injunction.”
—The Secretary of War has ordered the organization of an exploring expedition which is to proceed to the entrance of the Copper River mining region, and thence journey overland to Circle City, for the purpose of ascertaining if a feasible route can be found for a winter or summer road to the interior of Alaska for mail and supplies.
—The American minister to Russia has been raised to the rank of ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, thus making the United States mission at St. Petersburg an embassy. This action was taken in view of a similar action recently taken by the Russian Government in regard to her representative at Washington.
—The city officials of Toledo, Ohio, have enacted the strictest kind of a Sunday law. Saloons are closed all day Sunday, likewise theaters, news stands, candy stores, and cigar stores. Milk dealers were ordered to serve no milk on Sunday, and druggists were threatened with arrest if they sold anything on that day without a written prescription from a physician.
—The delicate situation now existing between the United States and Spain has been exceedingly intensified by the publication of a letter said to have been written by the Spanish minister at Washington to a Spanish agent, in which terms are used which are not at all complimentary to the President and the American Government. In consequence of the publication of this letter the Spanish minister, Dupuy de Lome, has telegraphed his resignation to the Spanish premier. A report from Washington states that the minister has been recalled by his government.
TRACTS FOR THE HOUR.
B. S. Library, No. 31. The Second Advent.—By James White. This tract shows the manner, object, and nearness of Christ’s coming. It is a clear and forcible presentation of the Bible argument on this solemn and important subject. Price, 2 cents.
B. S. Library, No. 36. The Signs of the Times.—This excellent tract has been revised up to date, so that the thrilling events of recent years are noted as evidence that the end of all things is at hand. Price, 1 cent.
B. S. Library, No. 49. Can We Know?—This shows that just before the second coming of Christ we may know that his coming is near. Price, ½ cent.
B. S. Library, No. 50. Is the End Near?—This gives evidence showing that the end of all things is at hand. Price, ½ cent.
B. S. Library, No. 136. The Millennial Age.—By J. H. Durland. The author gives an idea of the contents of this tract in the following words: “Little will be said in regard to the conversion of the world, or the return of the Hebrew people to their own land, but the space will be used rather in giving scriptures that tell us positively when the thousand years begin, the events taking place during that time, and those that mark its close.” Sixteen pages. Price, 1 cent.
B. S. Library, No. 143. Truth for the Times.—By G. C. Tenney. Shows that “the great epochs in the history of the work of God have each of them presented to the world some special message of sacred truth.” It takes up some of these special messages, and thus makes plain the fact that present truth for this time is the message of Christ’s coming. Contains sixteen well-filled pages. Price, 1 cent.
B. S. Library, No. 144. The Eastern Question; What Its Solution Means to All the World. By Alonzo T. Jones. This tract is divided into the following parts: The Seven Trumpets; The Rise of the Turkish Power in Prophecy and History; Fulfilled to the Very Day; The World’s Crisis; Daniel’s Vision; “At the Time of the End;” The King of the North and His End; When He Comes to His End; The Plagues of God’s Wrath, and Need for Watching and Praying. Sixteen pages, 1 cent.
A. G. Library, No. 26. “I Will Come Again.”—This blessed assurance given by Christ to his disciples is shown to refer to a literal return to this earth. That this coming is right at hand is also clearly proven. Four pages. Price, ¼ cent.
A. G. Library, No. 40. The Coming of Our Lord.—“We Would See Jesus,” and Why Speak of Christ’s Coming? are the two sub-titles of this excellent number, and the thoughts which they suggest are treated in a profitable and interesting manner. Price, ½ cent.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO.,
Kansas City, Mo. Oakland, Cal. New York City, N. Y.
Fountain Syringes
Best Rubber
Holds 3 Quarts
Complete with 5 Hard Rubber Tubes
. . In a Nice Oak Box
PRICE, POSTPAID, $1.60
AddressPacific Press, Oakland, Cal.
The End Very Near
The following tracts show conclusively that such is the case. Now is the time to study and distribute them. Sent post-paid on receipt of price.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO. Oakland, Cal. 39 Bond St., New York City. 14-18 W. 5th St., Kansas City, Mo.
TO CONTRIBUTORS.
By Editor
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES is a purely missionary enterprise. For this reason it has felt free to ask for contributions from its friends. It pays nothing for contributions, either prose or poetry, unless solicited by the editor, and then the fact is stated when the articles are asked for. This is a plan rarely followed, but sometimes deemed expedient.
Articles Desired.—Those which set forth in the Spirit of Christ the great saving truths of God, short and to the point. It is better to treat one important truth clearly, in a short article, than many points vaguely in a long one. We desire no caustic, critical productions, which might minister to personal pride or pleasure, but can not save souls.
How Prepared.—Write plainly, with typewriter or ink, with wide space between the lines, to freely admit of editing, writing of subheads, etc. Write on one side of the sheet only. Sign the name to the manuscript, as it becomes oftentimes separated from accompanying letter. Anonymous contributions are not used, whatever their merit. If the writer does not wish his name to appear, let him furnish a pseudonym for the public. But we wish the name.
Manuscript Returned.—We will return all unused manuscript desired if stamp and directions are inclosed. We are forced sometimes to return good manuscript mainly for three reasons: (a) Sometimes the articles are too long; (b) sometimes we have a number on the same subject; (c) sometimes our plans are such that an article can not be used till it is out of date. We therefore hope that no offense will be taken by those who have freely contributed their best thought if their productions are returned. When we receive so much matter, we can not use all.
A CARD.
To ALL interested in carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of other lands, and who desire to assist in supporting missionaries already there and others who may engage in the work, the opportunity is given to make an offering to the Foreign Mission Board of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Such donations should be sent to W. H. Edwards, the Treasurer of the Board, 1730 North Fifteenth Street, Philadelphia, Penn.
Angels of God (Spanish)
“Angels of God.” (Spanish.) A collection of five Bible readings on the following subjects: 1. The Angels of God. 2. Satan and His Work. 3. Christ the Resurrection and the Life. 4. The Second Chapter of Daniel. 5. Signs of the Coming of Christ. Two illustrations; paper; price, 6 cents. Address, PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO., Oakland, Cal.
GOOD NEW TRACTS
Apples of Gold Library No. 48 is entitled “Try the Spirits,” and is written by L. A. Phippeny. 8 pages; price, ½ cent.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God,” is the groundwork of this study. That these “spirits” are real personalities, possessing more than human power and intelligence, that they are ever “round about” us, intently engaged in the battle of good and evil, that we as human beings constitute their field of battle, are all clearly demonstrated. New and valuable thoughts are advanced—thoughts deserving careful consideration.
Bible Students’ Library No. 151, “Christian” Demand for War. A striking object lesson. By Dr. E. J. Waggoner, illustrated. 16 pages; 1 cent.
“In God’s name let us raise an army and . . . sweep the old murderer and all his tribe into the sea,” says one correspondent in a leading religious journal, referring to the Turks. Dr. Waggoner quotes such utterances because they indicate the “Christian” sentiment which is really consecrating the spirit of war. He asks those holding such sentiments, “When the name of Christ, the Prince of peace, is used as a war cry, where shall we look for peace on the earth?” It contains some of the most powerful arguments against the use of force by Christians that we have ever read, and if widely distributed will awaken people to the iniquity of the principle involved. One of the illustrations is found on the cover page, and shows the mosque of Omar, where thousands of the Saracens met death at the hands of the “Christian” crusaders.
Bible Students’ Library No. 152, “The Alarm of War.” By Elder A. O. Tait. Fully illustrated. 32 pages; price, 2 cents.
“The alarm of war” is continuously sounding from some part of the world. Every few days the papers tell of new inventions or improvements in the weapons of war. Already the powerful cannon and torpedoes, the rapid-fire and machine guns, along with all the other modern devices for killing men by the wholesale, are causing the questions to be anxiously asked, What are we coming to, anyway? Will the nations rush into war armed with these terribly destructive implements? What does it all mean?
These preparations are shown to be one of the signs of the end, and a fulfilment of prophecy. A series of vivid illustrations is an attractive feature and will gain the tract many readers. Every one is interested in, and will read on, this subject. Let us give them a chance.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO., Oakland, Cal.
39 Bond St.,
New York City.
18 West 5th St.,
Kansas City, Mo.
A GOOD TRACT FOR USE.
By Clarence Santee
“The Great Threefold Message” is just out as No. 47 of Apples of Gold Library series. It ought to be read by every Seventh-day Adventist, put in every reading-rack, and in the hands of every person who will read. Sometimes I fear that we are passing by the great foundation-stones of the message in our haste after something new. This tract is presented in such a way that people will read. Let the tract societies send in large orders for this tract and follow other publications that have been put out, with this tract, that you will find second to none. It has three illustrations, and contains sixteen pages. Price, one cent. Thousands of these ought to be used in Iowa before the evenings become short. Send them by letter, and in every way. I think the first general effort for 1898 may well be made with this tract. —Clarence Santee, in Workers’ Bulletin.
BIBLE SANCTIFICATION: A CONTRAST OF TRUE AND FALSE THEORIES.
By Mrs. E. G. White.
This is a pamphlet of only 84 pages, but its value is not to be judged by its size. It is just what its title indicates: a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Every believer in Bible truth should read it. Buy it, read it, and lend it to your neighbor. Price, 10 cents.
Address. PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.
The Great Threefold Message
The Great Threefold Message is an illustrated sixteen-page tract. Its price is $1.00 per 100, and it is now in its 25th thousand.
It considers the subject of “God’s remedy for the ills of Christendom.” All the world knows that Christendom is indeed ill; and many would gladly know the remedy. The subject is so treated in this tract that this class will read, and to read is to know that remedy for themselves.
PACIFIC PRESS PUB. CO., Oakland, Cal. New York, N. Y. Kansas City, Mo.
FRANCIS HOPE.
By Francis Hope
Stereopticon Slide Artist.
I HAVE a large stock of illuminated texts, charts, symbols, and pictures bearing on the prophecies, Sabbath, nature of man, temperance, etc. Beautifully colored. From 25 cents up. Send stamp for list. Slides made from any engraving, negative or kodak film at less than half trade prices.
Address,
FRANCIS HOPE, 1505 Brush Street, Oakland, Cal.
TEACHING TRUTH
By Mary Wood Allen
By Mary Wood Allen, M. D.
National Lecturer W. C. T. U.
A little brochure brimful of helpful suggestions to parents who wish to teach their children the truth in regard to the mystery of life.
Rabbi Nieto, of San Francisco, utters a truth worth heeding in the following: “The faulty training of our girls is perhaps more directly responsible for the frequency of the dissolution of the marriage tie than even the notorious laxity of our divorce laws. Girls nowadays marry to be supported, without the slightest estimation or comprehension of their moral right to assist.” Idleness has ever been a curse of the world. It was a marked characteristic of Sodom. Eze. 16:49. As it was in those days, our Lord tells us, so will it be when His coming is near. Luke 17:28–30.
Says the Rev. A. Kittredge, Lutheran, of New York: “The creed is the Christian’s chart. It is a map of the way to the eternal city—that is, so far as it is copied from the Word of God—and as such it is a source of strength and of wisdom to the pilgrims of eternity.” But why not let the “creed” go and take the Word of God?
Upon the matter of God’s seal of His servants’ work, Dr. O’Grady, Catholic, of Bellevue, Ky., remarks: “When the President of the United States sends an envoy to a foreign court or a plenipotentiary to negotiate a treaty with a foreign power, he furnishes him with credentials that certify that ambassadorial prerogatives have been conferred on the bearer. When God sends a delegate to speak to the human race, He arms him with credentials, and these credentials must be of such a nature that they can not be counterfeited.” And this is true; but God’s seal is not in human documents, traditions, or succession. See Matt. 3:9; Mark 7:7–9; 2 Cor. 3:1. God’s seal which He places upon His ambassadors is the power of the Holy Spirit manifest in saving souls from sin to obedience to God. See John 8:32, 39; 15:14–16; 1 Cor. 9:2; 2 Cor. 3:2; 1 Thess. 1:9, 10.
Here are some thoughts concerning the church worthy of thought by its members:—
“I would have the church not a dead sea into which the streams were pouring to become equally dead, but a fountain from which the streams should run out on every side to turn wildernesses into gardens. I would have people join it not to get social recognition or pastoral tea-drinkings, but for the opportunity of service.”—Rev. J. H. Barrows, Presbyterian, Chicago.
“What Christ and the church need to-day is workers, not shrinkers; toilers, not talkers; laborers, not loiterers; helpers, not hinderers; pushers, not pleasure-seekers; tools, not toys; benefactors to bless, not malefactors to curse humanity.”—Rev. J. K. Montgomery, Presbyterian, Cincinnati.
Rev. Robert McDonald, Baptist, of Brooklyn, N. Y., gives us a good definition of skepticism: “What is skepticism in its many glaring forms, if it is not the human choice supreme and depriving God of His choice concerning us? There would be no such thing as skepticism in all the world if men would only believe that God is interested in them and able to work greater advantages than any puny choice of their own can accomplish.”
Another Baptist, Rev. A. J. Rowland, of Philadelphia, presents the world’s need in these words: “We live in an age when there is a clamor for everything new, among these cries being one for a new gospel. Some say education is all that is necessary. The little red schoolhouse in every village and the bigger one in every city is all we want. Others would substitute for the church and the cross a new environment. The old Gospel, ever new, is the need of the hour.” And without the old Gospel all the education of the world is nothing.
A Sample Examination
By W. N. G.
The Bible gives us examples for every Christian duty. One that is quite generally overlooked is the sample examination for baptism. The case is that of Philip and the Ethiopian officer whom he met on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip was under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit in the whole transaction. He found the man reading Isaiah 53, and from that scripture preached to him the Gospel of Christ. “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” Acts 8: 36–38. The reason that so short an examination was necessary was because the man was properly instructed as to the import of belief in Christ, and therefore knew what he was doing when he applied for baptism. He believed on Christ with all his heart, and that was the key to a willingness to obey all His requirements. Two expressions by the Lord Himself show what it means to believe on Him: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16. The complement of this text is found in Matt. 19: 17: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” To this may be added Luke 6: 46: “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” W. N. G.
Unordered Copies of the Signs
By Editor
We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance.
When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the “Signs” are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon to pay for them. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read.
Read the Article on the First Page
Read the article on the first page. It may seem a little long, but no Christian can afford to lose its lesson.
Students’ Volunteer Missionary Convention
On another page will be found a report of the soon-coming Students’ Volunteer Missionary Convention, to be held in Cleveland, O., February 23 to 27. This report comes through the kindness of Mr. R. E. Lewis, the secretary.
Letters and Parcels to Pitcairn Island
Brother J. R. McCoy leaves for Pitcairn Island on a sailing vessel about one week after this paper will reach its readers. All who desire to send letters or parcels to friends on that island, should send them prepaid at once to J. R. McCoy, care of Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal., and he will take them if they reach him before he sails.
A Non-Gummable Mucilage Bottle.—
Up to the present time, editors and all others who wish to make scrap-books, have either clung to the old paste-pot and brush, clumsy, dirty, and foul-smelling, or the much-abused and generally worthily abusable, gummed-up-mouth mucilage bottle. The best till recently has been the sponge top, splendid if the sponge and mucilage worked well, which generally it does not for long. A better still is now on the market, a mucilage bottle with non-gummable, paraffin mouth, always clean, a good, durable brush, and a bottle so shaped that it does not easily upset. It would seem to us that it would last a lifetime. If any one who desires to get a good thing in this line will inclose twenty-five cents in coin or U. S. postage-stamps to E. P. Daniels, 725 Howard Street, San Francisco, Cal., he will receive one of these bottles in return, filled with good mucilage.
“THE ALARM OF WAR.”
The above is the title of a new tract (Bible Students’ Library, No. 152) by A. O. Tait. It presents in a clear, forcible way the striking and tremendous preparations for war now being made by all the great nations of earth; it presents an array of figures to show the immense increase in this respect in the last few years, and reviews these important facts and the tensely strained condition of the nations in the light of the prophetic Word. The tract is illustrated by seventeen cuts, showing in a graphic way what must be the terrible effects of the soon-coming battles of earth. The number of pages is 32, and the price of the tract only 2 cents. Address the Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal., or our branch offices or State agents.
Who Knows Best?
Who knows best which day is the Lord’s day, the “fathers,” to whom and through whom may be traced every error which has cursed Christendom, or the Lord Himself, who made all days and chose one for His own? This is the simple question, and it seems to us it should be easy to answer on the part of every child of God. Which knows best, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “the fathers” of the Catholic Church? In the latter case you will find that Sunday is called “the Lord’s day” as early as A.D. 200, by Tertullian. In the other case we are told by the Spirit of God (Ex. 20: 10; Isa. 58: 13; Mark 2: 28) that the Sabbath, the seventh day, is the Lord’s day, that Christ is Lord of it, that it is holy, that it is the Lord’s “holy day.” Now who knows best? Read these scriptures, and then decide which day you will call the Lord’s day, the Sunday, “the wild, solar holiday of all pagan times,” or “the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” a day honored by Word and man throughout all Biblical history.
EARTHLY PEACE AND THE PEACE OF GOD.
Certain classes of temperance people are making a great ado over the proposition to christen the new U. S. war ship Kentucky with a bottle of Kentucky whisky broken over her bow. The general custom has been to use champagne, but the suggestion of Kentucky patriots to use the far-famed product of their State has called out a temperance protest against the use of any intoxicant for such a purpose. As far as propriety is concerned, it would seem that for the christening of such an engine of death, the worst dynamite whisky that could be invented would be the most consistent.
The most incongruous custom in vogue is that of the Japanese, whose new cruiser, recently launched at Philadelphia, was christened by the release of half a dozen doves from a basket at the bow of the vessel, the harmless emblems of peace scattering flowers as they flew away. True, the nations of this world have a theory that the best way to preserve peace is to prepare for war; but a true peace never will be secured through fear of an antagonist. The vast accumulation of death-dealing implements in the hands of ambitious men will sooner or later tempt their use, merely to test their utility, if nothing else. And once the great magazine has begun to explode, it will not be in the power of man to squelch it.
There is a peace “which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7), but it is not secured by carnal weapons. It is the peace of God, the only enduring peace there is. This peace is proffered in love and accepted by faith in Him who alone has power to make good the offer. This is why it is not understood; the carnal mind can not comprehend the things of God. Therefore the human idea of peace is to enforce it by a menace of war. The element of love finds no place in the administration of civil government; and this is why the kingdom of Christ can not be a kingdom of this world.
BOY CRIMINALS.
“Generally speaking, the good little boy is scarce. There are 90,000 criminals behind the bars in this country under thirty years of age, and 10,000 in reformatories, ranging from seven to seventeen years. There are more children in the House of Refuge and various reformatory institutions in this State than there are criminals in our jails.”—Philadelphia Press.
And yet we are gravely told that the world is getting better! With the rising generation reeking in criminality, how is it possible to cling to such a delusive hope? Speaking of the “last days,” the Word plainly says that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” When not only the criminality of men and women has become alarming, but when even the children are devoting themselves to evil, who can doubt that the last days so clearly prophesied of are reached? And when the older people are so completely given over to pleasure, fashionable follies, and even crime, what else could be expected than a generation of children who will multiply upon the evils of their fathers?
