Signs of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 35.
IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YEPage 2
Earlier text: IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE"Out of Babylon to Zion"
By Prof. Lucas A. Reed
XXII. The Vision of the Chariots
"And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth." Verses 1-5. THE horses again appear in the visions of the prophet. In his first vision of this series of seven he saw the four horsemen. And in this closing vision of the same seven he sees horses again, only now the drivers are in chariots. Practically the same work is done by them in each instance. In the first vision of the horses and riders, there is a report of their work which they have been doing in the earth. In this closing vision there is no report on the work of the past, but a going forth to a new work. They have a definite result to accomplish. The picture is that of war chariots in a work of war and judgment. They go to and fro through the earth just as the riders of chapter 1:10 are said to do. Each is given a definite field to watch over. "The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grizzled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country." Verses 6-8. Two go to the north, one toward the south, and the fourth moves here and there in a general survey of the world. When we consider the conditions in the kingdom of Darius, we can easily understand why these heavenly messengers, God's representatives, take the positions that they do. At one time it appeared as tho Darius would never be able to conquer the dominions over which he had been made king. First a rebellion arose in Susiana which rapidly spread to Babylon. This indeed was one of the north countries. So complete was this uprising, and so serious, that Darius was driven to take the field in person. After severe fighting for nearly two years, the Persians seemed no nearer victory than at the beginning. But strategy soon changed the fortune of battle, and Darius completely quelled every opponent to his authority in Babylon. But this was but one of the north countries to give trouble. In the vision, Zechariah saw two chariot-drivers going to the north. Another rebellion had broken out still farther to the north, in the province of Media. This also proved to be a severe rebellion, so severe that the historian chronicles the statement, that had the insurrection spread to Persia it would have been fatal to Darius. But it was of enough severity that his confederates could not quell the rebellion, and as soon as he had been victorious at Babylon, Darius marched into Media. At one time a great portion of the province of Persia was in doubt as to the outcome. But Darius was at length fully victorious. At this same period other insurrections in various parts — "to and fro through the earth" — had been quieted. Egypt to the south was placed under an enormous tribute. By the year B.C. 519 the wars were all concluded. There were no wars to the south, and so the report could come in truth as it did: "Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country." By these words to the prophet we know exactly the time (519 B.C.) to which we have come. Once more universal peace reigns. Opportunity will now be given as never before to rebuild the city and temple of God. And so at this very part of the prophecy of Zechariah we can with certainty place the record of Ezra 6:1-15. At this opportune time the Samaritans had opposed the Jews, and a deputation had been sent to Darius. Ezra 5. As a result of this contention, Darius finds the old decree of Cyrus. Now it had all happened in the great providence of God that Darius's only hold upon the throne of Persia was his claimed or professed descent from Cyrus, the great king. In all that he had done, his claims had ever been that he, the descendant of Cyrus, would imitate his great forefather. Consequently when he finds the noble decree of Cyrus, he promptly gives order that it be carried out; and he goes farther, requiring that money from the imperial treasury shall be furnished for the work of rebuilding. Thus in God's good providence the mountain of difficulty has been removed and become a plain. Zech. 4:7. For this reason we find a change in the messages given to the prophet from this time on. Every one of the seven visions just given had dealt in some way with God's unseen providence, the workings of divine power in the earth. They brought peace and comfort and assurance to God's children. But now faith in measure has turned to sight. Previously they had built because God's prophets had bidden them, and against the Persian ruler of that territory. Now they were authorized by the highest imperial power and aided by the imperial treasure for the work. The prophecies from this point onward begin to reach out into the great unseen future. The prophet is called away from the time then to behold the times to come. There is to be a new King for Israel some day. He is to be the Priest-King. Such a one had not been in Israel from its beginning. The high priest could not be king. The king could not be priest. It was to such a being, however, that Abraham had come after the defeat of the five kings, — to a priest and king. That being was Melchizedek, priest of the most high God and also king of Salem. In a figure the truth that there is to be a merging of the priestly and the kingly office is presented to the prophet: "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord: even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a Priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." Zech. 6:9-13. The crowns were not to be worn by any one then living. They were for the Messiah. But sad to relate, they were never placed upon His head. Instead there was laid upon His temples the crown of thorns. But nevertheless He is the true, real Builder of the temple — the church of God. "Even He shall build the temple." He shall be a Priest upon His throne. "And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." In Christ the new temple is built. Eph. 2:21. Zerubbabel was to build the earthly temple. Zech. 4:9. "And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God." Zech. 6:14, 15. The crowns were to be a witness. They were a promise of the coming King. They were a prophecy of the Priest-King who in God's good time would appear. They told of that Melchizedek, Priest of the most high God, King of Salem, King of Peace, King of Righteousness, who for the salvation of His people would yet appear. And we believe the whole story would have come out differently had the professed children of God carried out the Lord's warning injunction. "And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God." Christ, when He came, sought most earnestly to save the Jewish nation, the city of Jerusalem, and the beautiful temple of God. But they whom He would save would not7 have it so. The nation perished, the city was taken, the temple ruined. All this stands upon the pages of history and the pages of God's Word, a monument to the unfaithfulness, yea, the decided rebellion, of those who profess the name of the Lord. You will note that the crowns were not placed upon Zerubbabel, for to do this would have been to promise the establishment of the earthly kingdom of the Jews. God had already said this would not be until Christ should rule. Eze. 21:25-27. The crowns are placed for a few moments only on the head of the high priest in order to foretoken the coming of the High Priest and King, Christ Jesus. Beauty for Ashes, Chapters 7 and 8
The tide had turned. A measure of prosperity and peace rested upon the people of God. They were rejoicing in what God had done for them. But a problem confronted them. All through the sad Babylonian captivity they had kept a time of mourning and fasting to commemorate the evil day when they went into captivity. Now it seemed in some ways best to abandon the old fast-day, for their captivity had turned. And still it seemed to them that were they to do this, it might be thought that they had forgotten the old sad days of captivity and cared not for the transgression that had gendered it. So they came to the prophet with their question. "And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; when they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord, and to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of Hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?" Zech. 7:1-3. The Lord answers them plainly and frankly. He had not commanded this fast. It was a time of their own devising and had been mixed with much hypocrisy. "Then came the word of the Lord of Hosts unto me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?" Zech. 7:4-7. In other words, the captivity had come because of transgression of the Word which God in times past had sent. It would be better to turn back in obedience to that old transgressed Word, rather than establish an outward ceremony which in no wise could compensate for their transgression. The reason for that captivity is plain enough. Being sad merely, or keeping a fast, does not go deep enough. Nothing short of complete change of heart and life will do. "And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to harken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of Hosts hath sent in His Spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of Hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as He cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of Hosts: but I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate." Zech. 7:8-14. For this had come all their trouble, the long years of affliction and captivity. Keeping a fast would be no return for the conditions that had brought this ruin upon them. But the Lord now gives them a great message of hope. Zech. 8:1-8. The Lord had returned to Zion, and once more would dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. As deep as had been their affliction, so high should be their blessing. "And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I repented not: so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not." Zech. 8:13-15. But the question of the fast-days had not yet been directly answered. Shall they still observe these days of their own devising, or shall they not? "And the word of the Lord of Hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace." Zech. 8:18, 19. Yes, they may now keep these days in commemoration of the captivity, but there is to be this grand significance in them, that God has turned that captivity. The days are to be days of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts, and with them is to go an abiding love of truth and peace. Higher Criticism
By Earle Albert Rowell
XVI. The Bible as the Word of God
IN the previous articles of this series we have examined many of the devious methods by which Higher Critics attempt to make it appear that the Bible is the word of man, and in a very limited sense, if at all, the Word of God. This subject is so broad that only one phase of it can be touched upon here, and that very briefly. Since the difficulties in the Bible are the foundation of, and reason for, Higher Criticism, I will endeavor to show that the difficulties in the Bible, so far from constituting a basis for repudiating the Bible as the Word of God and proclaiming it as the word of man, are actually about the best evidence there is in favor of the Bible as the divinely inspired Book of God. The Bible not only recognizes its own difficulties, but adds a caution in regard to them, much needed at this time. Speaking of Paul's epistles, Peter says they contain "some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unsteadfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16. This teaches clearly that all the Bible contains "things hard to be understood." When the infidel or Higher Critic approaches us with difficulties, we need not be either surprised or alarmed, for the Bible says they are there. The only thing that concerns us is whether we wrest them to our destruction. Two Kinds of Difficulties
Now, the difficulties of the Bible are of two kinds: those made by man, and those inherent in the subject. The first, made by man, may be removed by man. They consist of wrong interpretations and false inferences which are charged to the Bible as Bible teaching and then made the grounds for repudiating the Bible. This is the infidelic and Higher Critical favorite method of treating the Bible. Other difficulties arise because the language in which the Bible was written is disused. The expressions, images, and thoughts are from countries, ages, and persons entirely different from anything we see. The manners and customs it describes have for the most part passed away. Its history covers thousands of years, and the greater part of the earth's known surface. Its precepts refer to both worlds, and are necessarily expressed in terms of only one, and the whole is comprised in one brief volume. Keeping this fact in mind, it is evident that there must be difficulties of many and various kinds. Much is made of the historical difficulties and supposed contradictions between the Bible and other authentic records. But the whole weight of recent investigation, historical and archeological, is beyond doubt to establish not only the historicity and trustworthiness, but even the minute accuracy in many cases, of the Bible record; as shown by the vast and increasing mass of literature by the foremost experts and highest authorities upon the testimony of the monuments, tablets, resurrected cities, mounds, libraries, and other records of ancient8 Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria, Syria, Palestine, Sinai, as well as the immense amount of corroborative evidence from Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, etc., together with testimony from the literature, lands, peoples, and usages of the East in touch with the people of Israel. These discoveries have exploded many of the most confidently assumed Critical theories, and shown the baselessness of the bold assumptions upon which the Critics build their vast, imposing, and ominous superstructures of doubt and cavil, and have disproved many of their fine-spun philological theories. Since this recent knowledge has removed many once formidable objections, it establishes the principle of difficulties' being vanishing quantities, and makes possible, if not probable, the complete removal of all such difficulties with completer knowledge and greater research. The alleged discords between the Bible and science have arisen mainly from overlooking the fact that the Bible is a popular book, written not in the terms of scientific terminology, but in the language of the people. For instance, the same skeptical scientist who ridicules the Bible for unscientifically speaking of the sun as "rising" and "setting," when he comes to describe the same event invariably uses the same words. His objection to the Bible in such a case is a mere hypocritical subterfuge, and should not deceive the most simple. As to the famous differences between the records of Genesis concerning the formation of the earth and the Evolutionary doctrines of geology, botany, and zoology, it is only necessary to say that the difficulties have been created by the Evolutionists' gigantic assumptions of the most absurd and utterly unwarranted and absolutely unproved theories. The whole situation simmers down to this: Shall the baseless hypotheses of skeptics be accepted instead of God's fact? The fact is, that the discoveries of science, not the theories, are corroborating the Bible statements in a most wonderful manner. For instance, when God said to Abraham, "I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth" (Gen. 13:16), he would readily understand that this would be an immense multitude; but when another time God "brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be" (Gen. 15:5), Abraham would not so readily conceive of an immense number, for he could not possibly see more than a few thousand stars at most. But the implication of the Bible is that the stars are as numerous as the sands of the sea. For thousands of years nothing seemed more absurd from a scientific point of view than such a statement. But now the telescope has revealed not only millions but billions of stars, and the end is not yet. So after thousands of years we find that the comparison of the stars with the sands of the sea in number is a literal, scientific fact. And thus it has been in numerous instances that might be mentioned, all going to prove that difficulties which have existed for thousands of years are now vanishing before the light of modern research, and here also the principle of vanishing quantities is established. Of the Critical objections and difficulties most arise from misconceptions, preconceptions, misinterpretations, assumptions, and irrelevances. It is not possible to take space to give instances of these here, but sufficient have been adduced in preceding articles to prove the validity of my present claim. The solution of these difficulties has been gradual and for the best of reasons. Each age has had its own difficulties to face, and has faced them with its own peculiar evidence. The gradual solution of these difficulties has supplied each age with fresh evidence of the truthfulness of the Bible, and excited continued interest in it. Thus God has used the difficulties of the Bible to incite to its study, and lead to new truths. But if Higher Critics and infidels set such store by difficulties, let them face the overwhelming objections and attempt to remove the insuperable difficulties of their own theories, and the principle that leads them to discard most of the Bible will equally compel them to abandon their own theories. Besides the kinds of difficulties mentioned above, there are difficulties as to inspiration, prayer, miracles, the incarnation and resurrection of Christ; difficulties relating to the trinity, the atonement, the love of God in the midst of pain, and much else, all of which are universally talked about in the pew and from the pulpit, and are eagerly repeated by popular journals, echoed by unthinking readers, and treasured by skeptics and repeated by Higher Critics upon every occasion. Such difficulties as attend, for instance, belief in the atonement of Christ are such as are inherent in the doctrine, and no amount of reasoning or research will ever avail to remove them, any more than it could ever be possible to pour the Pacific Ocean into a pint cup. The atonement is infinite in its meaning, and it is patently impossible for finite man to comprehend the infinite so that no difficulty shall exist. Hence the presence of difficulties concerning these doctrines stand as bulwarks of proof that the Bible is the Word of God. Were there no mysteries or difficulties in anything coming from the Infinite, we might then wonder, and be disposed to question if such a revelation could possibly be from the infinite God. The very difficulties of the Bible show its divinity, and the absence of difficulties would be the greatest difficulty of all, and the basis of more plausible objections than can be made from its mysteries now. If we were to wait till every difficulty were removed before believing, we should believe very little of anything. Even the primal truth of science, the law of gravitation, is not free from grave difficulties; and the primal truth of the Bible, that God is love, is not free from the difficulties caused by the presence of suffering. But these difficulties do not prevent us from believing in gravitation, or in God. The difficulties of the Bible in the purpose of God serve high ends for the good of men. They tax our minds, and reveal our ignorance. They teach us humility, and train us in patience. They try our faith, and in its trial strengthen it. They lead us to a more simple dependence upon God, and thus increase our spirituality. Because of its difficulties the Bible has exhaustless fulness, perennial freshness, everlasting newness, infinite depth. Every Christian finds in it something that no other has found. Every age finds it adequate to its demands, and every nation finds it stored with treasures suited to its peculiar needs. Thus have the passing ages disclosed its accumulating riches; and still the mine of truth seems to be as filled with precious metal as ever, awaiting the eager search of the honest investigator. Besides all of this, is the evidence of the Christian who has answered the call to "taste and see that the Lord is good." The best evidence of the divinity of the Bible is the fruit of its teaching when received in the heart and worked out in the life. Scores of thousands the world over are living testimony to the divinity of the Word. "And so will progress in the knowledge and experience of its infinite depths of grace and truth go on, as, through the night of doubt and sorrow, the church of the living God is led by the providence of God, and the teaching of the Spirit of God, into the meaning of the Word of God, till the day dawn, and the day-star arise in our hearts amid the full blaze of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in all the glory of His appearing. Then, and not till then, will the written Word vanish in the light of the eternal Word, as fades the morning star into the glory of the noonday sun." WEAK men wait for opportunities, strong men make them.—Marden. Sacred Rest
By John Francis Olmsted
THE rich and poor, the old and young,
Whate'er their station be,
May have a place of sacred rest
Beyond life's stormy sea,
Where angels bow before the throne
And join in anthems sweet,
Where cherubs cast celestial crowns
Before the Saviour's feet. With joy divine the angels sing
Of His unchanging love,
Of peace and rest which heaven gives
To all who dwell above;
This happy hope extended here
Beneath the heavens high
To all who yield their hearts and lives
To Christ the Saviour nigh. Lift up your heads, ye chosen ones,
And look to Christ and live;
For He will shield and shelter us
When we allegiance give.
Then why should we discouraged be
If Satan tempts us sore?
He ne'er can conquer Christ the Lord,
Whom we shall e'er adore! God Rules
By William Ellery Channing
"COMPASSED about with so great a cloud of witnesses," let us with firm and cheerful trust endure all trials, discharge all duties, accept all sacrifices, fulfil the law of universal and impartial love, and adopt as our own that cause of truth, righteousness, humanity, liberty, and holiness,—which being the cause of the All-Good, can not but triumph over all powers of evil. Let us rise into blest assurance that everywhere and forever we are enfolded, penetrated, guarded, guided, kept by the power of the Father and Friend, who can never forsake us; and that all spirits who have begun to seek, know, love, and serve the All-Perfect One on earth shall be reunited in a celestial home, and be welcomed together into the freedom of the universe, and the perpetual light of His presence.—W. E. Channing. Jesus and the First Day of the Week
1. What testimony did the Father bear concerning His Son?
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am WELL PLEASED; HEAR YE HIM." Matt. 17: 5. 2. What testimony did that Son bear concerning His Father's law?
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFIL. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, ONE JOT OR ONE TITTLE SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5: 17, 18. 3. What counsel did He give to the young man who came seeking the way of eternal life?
"If thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." Matt. 19: 17. 4. In His commission to His disciples what did He tell them to proclaim?
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; TEACHING them to OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28: 19, 20. NOTE.—All these texts are very clear. They teach forcibly the Father's endorsement of the Son, and the Son's absolute unity with the Father's law and its unchangeable perpetuity. They also show what He regarded to be the rule of life, the observance of the commandments; and when He gave His commission to the twelve apostles for all time, they were to teach all things, whatsoever He had commanded. Surely if the first day of the week is the Lord's day, as we are sometimes told, and it is our duty to observe that day; Jesus should have taught us something concerning it; but the simple fact is He was utterly silent regarding that day. 5. What and how many times is the first day mentioned in the Gospels? (a) "So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch in the end of the Sabbath. As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher." Matt. 27: 66; 28: 1, Greenfield's suggestion. (b) "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun." Mark 16: 1, 2. (c) "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils." Mark 16: 9. (d) "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them." Luke 24: 1. (e) "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher." John 20: 1. (f) "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." John 20: 19. NOTE.—Here are six different times in which the first day of the week is mentioned in the Gospels. All but one of these have reference to the one day, the day on which Jesus arose from the dead as declared by Mark. None of these speak of it as a sacred day. No Scripture writer refers to it as a holy day, as a day in any wise sacred. This particular first day was spent by the disciples in trepidation, fear, and doubt. We read in the context of these scriptures which we have quoted that they did not believe that Jesus had arisen from the dead, consequently they were not met together to celebrate that resurrection; that when Jesus met with them He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, and they when they saw Him were affrighted, supposing that they had seen a spirit. All of which very clearly shows that the disciples had no idea whatever that the first day had been set apart as a Sabbath. We have two other mentions of the first day in the New Testament: Acts 20: 7, which merely records an evening meeting on that day, the rest of the day being spent in labor and travel; and 1 Cor. 16: 1, 2, where the Corinthian brethren were told to reckon up their expenses and lay by money for religious purposes, a purely secular task. The Scriptures are entirely silent as to the claim that the Sunday was to take the place of the seventh day; that the Sunday was considered in any wise sacred; that it was in any wise to be regarded as a Sabbath or a rest-day. 6. What may we conclude regarding the death and teachings of Christ? First, that in all Christ's teaching He honored the law; taught its absolute integrity, immutability, and perpetuity; secondly, that He came not to teach His own will, but the will of the Father; thirdly, that in this time, after confirming the new covenant in the hearts of His own, He died upon the cross, sealing that covenant with His own blood. The apostle Paul declares that tho it be but a man's covenant, if it be confirmed no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Previous to the sealing of that covenant there is no mention of the first day in our Lord's teachings, and no intimation of a change of the Sabbath; consequently, any Sabbath brought in after Christ sealed with His own blood the covenant, is brought in too late. It is no part of the will. Even tho it should come in in the teachings of the apostles twenty-four hours or one hour after the death of Christ, it has no place in the Christian covenant. Christ sealed for all time His teachings regarding the law, and commanded His disciples, in their commission, to teach all things whatsoever He had commanded. The teachings of the apostles themselves will be noted in our next. "Everlasting Punishment"
By Arthur L. Manous
"AND these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25: 46. By many this text is largely relied upon for the heathen doctrine of eternal conscious misery; but we think that on the contrary, it teaches that "God is love," and that the wicked will be punished by an everlasting, once-for-all deprivation of, a cutting off from, life. And so some translate the Greek as follows: "And these shall go forth to the aionion cutting-off; but the righteous to aionion life."—Emphatic Diaglott, new version. "And these shall go away into a cutting-off age-lasting: and the just ones into life age-lasting."—Emphatic Diaglott, interlinear translation. "The common version, and many modern ones, render kolasin aionion, everlasting punishment, conveying the idea, as generally interpreted, of torment. Kolasin in its various forms only occurs in three other places in the New Testament,—Acts 4:21; 2 Peter 2:19; 1 John 4:18. It is derived from kolazoo, which signifies (1) To cut off; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune; (2) To restrain, to repress. The Greeks write, 'The charioteer [kolazei] restrains his fiery steeds.' (3) To chastise, to punish. To cut off an individual from life, or society, or even to restrain, is esteemed as punishment; hence has arisen this third metaphorical use of the word. The primary signification has been adopted, because it agrees better with the second member of the sentence, thus preserving the force and beauty of the antithesis. The righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting-off from life, or death. See 2 Thess. 1:9."—Note on Matt. 25: 46, in the Emphatic Diaglott. About 1790 one Mr. Samuel Bourn wrote upon this subject as follows: "There are many passages of Scripture in which the ultimate punishment to which wicked men shall be adjudged is defined, in the most precise and intelligible terms, to be an everlasting destruction from the power of God, which is equally able to destroy as to preserve. So when our Saviour is fortifying the minds of His disciples against the power of men, by an awe of the far greater power of God, and the punishment of His justice, He expresseth Himself thus: 'Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' Here He plainly proposes the destruction of the soul (not its endless pain and misery) as the ultimate object of the divine displeasure, and the greatest object of our fear. And when He says, 'These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal,' it appears evident that by that eternal punishment which is set in opposition to eternal life, is not meant any kind of life, however miserable, but the same which the apostle expresses by 'everlasting destruction from the presence and power of the Lord.' The very term, death, is most frequently made use of to signify the end of wicked men in another world, or the final effect of divine justice in their punishment. 'The wages of sin [seith the apostle] is death; but eternal life is the gift of God, through Christ Jesus our Lord.'"—Quoted in "Buck's Theological Dictionary," art. "Destructionist." ARTHUR L. MANOUS.
Cartersville, Ga. “God only denies in order to leave our hands empty for larger gifts.” Absolute Obligation
By Beecher
SINK the Bible to the bottom of the ocean, and man's obligations to God would be unchanged. He would have the same path to tread, only his lamp and his guide would be gone; he would have the same voyage to make, only his compass and chart would be overboard.— Beecher.