It is fitting that we notice an objection which is presented in the form of a query respecting baptism as a saving ordinance.
There may be those who have so often heard the question, "Is baptism a saving ordinance?" asked by those in whom they have confidence, that they have come to think it allowable and proper. For such we desire to exercise the largest charity; yet we must express our conviction that the question originated in a spirit of rebellion and self-will. Its evident intention is this: If it is saving, if we cannot possibly be saved without it, then we will observe it; but if we can be saved without it, then we will disregard it. Or, in other words, we know that the Lord commanded it, and it is our duty to obey; but if we can be saved some other way, we choose to disregard his commandment. If this is not what the question amounts to, we must confess we cannot understand the language. A heart thus disposed would ask, "Lord, what may I do?" and not "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"
Moreover, this question is almost always asked by those who repudiate immersion and advocate "infant baptism." This is a strange inconsistency on their part. If their views of "infant baptism" are correct, then baptism is to infants "a saving ordinance" to the fullest extent of the term. It is made the means, the only means, of grace to them. Without faith, without repentance, without any act of accepting the gospel or of following Christ, they are, by baptism alone, made heirs of God, partakers of the Heavenly Gift, and inheritors of eternal life. Many, even in our own day, and in our own land, hold baptism in this very light. Yet they are often the very first to blame us for our tenacity in holding baptism, in its form and design, as we find it revealed in God's word.
It is not our province to inquire whether it is necessary to our salvation or not. We should look to duties, and leave results with God. It is not the part of a faithful servant to ask, "Why am I required to do this?" It is enough to know that we are required to do it. James, the apostle of the Lord, gave a stern reproof to this spirit of caviling inquiry, in condemning those who assume to be judges of the law, rather than doers of it.
Our answer to the question is both Yes, and No. Everything which the Lord requires is saving; yet no one duty has salvation in itself alone. If the question means this: Will baptism save me if I neglect other duties? then we answer, No; there is nothing in the Bible which is saving in this sense. Salvation was never made to rest on any such grounds. But if it means: Must I submit to everything which God commands in order to be saved? then we reply, Yes; there is no other way of salvation but conformity to the divine will. Man shall live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
The spirit which prompts such a question is only a selfish one, and we aver that selfishness has no place in the gospel. The duty of the Christian is to follow Christ; and not a shade of selfishness was shown in all his life. He said he came not to do his own will; and if he, the Lord of life and glory, renounced his own will, is it too much for us to renounce ours? Can we indeed follow Christ and indulge our selfishness and self-will? If so, his example must pass for nothing.
If we can be saved in a way of our own choice, then did God reveal his will in vain, and Christ died in vain. We could follow our own ways and indulge our selfish feelings without the Bible and without the death of the Son of God. But the querist may say: "It was necessary for us that Christ should die, and open the way of salvation; but since he has died for us it is not necessary for us to be so strict in conforming to the rules laid down in the Scriptures. Before Christ died, in the dispensation of law, men were bound by the express terms of the revelation; but not so in this dispensation of grace, in which a larger liberty is allowed." This statement is no mere supposition, or "fancy sketch." It has actually been urged, not on this subject alone, but on other subjects also. It is equivalent to saying that without the death of Christ obedience to the revealed will of God was necessary; but since he has died we may be saved without conforming to the rules he has laid down. But what is this but making "Christ the minister of sin"? whereas the Scriptures declare that he is the minister of righteousness. Have we yet to learn, in this our age, that he came to serve his Father's will; to "save his people from their sins;" "to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself"?
That antinomian position is so far from being true, that Jesus himself shows that sin would have been more excusable (if it be allowable to use the word in such a case), if he had not come into the world; "but now they have no cloak for their sin." If God would suffer and bear with those times of ignorance, he does so no longer, "but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent," or to turn from sin. Would that men would put aside their lawlessness, and learn to submit to all the divine requirements. It is the self-same spirit which rejects the law of God and the ordinances of the gospel, for the gospel is the means appointed of Heaven to put away transgression and to bring sinful man to obedience to God. And it is the same spirit of submission to divine authority which leads to keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one;" and men are now to honor the Son even as they honor the Father,—neither more nor less. They who do not find the gospel the means of glorifying God the Father, have studied in vain.
Reader, have you followed the Saviour in this ordinance of his own appointment, which he honored by his own example? Have you died to transgression and been buried with your dying Lord in baptism? If not, then we inquire, "Why tarriest thou?" Some say they tremble and hesitate, because it is a very solemn thing to obey this ordinance. True; but is it not a very solemn thing to disregard and neglect it? If we should tremble at the thought of obedience to the divine requirements, how much more should we tremble at the thought of disobedience.
We invite the young. We believe in baptizing the children when they turn to Jesus, the children's loving friend. As personified by Wisdom, he says, "Those that seek me early shall find me." Prov. 8:17. This is a precious promise; but if you neglect it, you will soon grow beyond it. By and by we may hear him speaking thus: "He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Prov. 29:1. Do not think it a hardship to serve the Lord; Wisdom's "ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Prov. 3:17. There is no peace found in sin. There is no sight more beautiful than to see young people give their hearts to God, and follow their Saviour in baptism. Angels in Heaven as well as saints on earth rejoice at the sight. Do not say that you will wait till you get older; if you are old enough to sin, you are old enough to repent. And remember too, you are not always old enough to die. There is no time for delay. "You know not what a day may bring forth." Many, very many, have deeply regretted that they put off the work of obeying God. But since the youth who have served God all their lives, was ever known to utter one word of regret that he early set out to follow his beloved Lord. Come now. "Now is the accepted time."
We invite the middle-aged. How often do those in the prime of life say, "When I get more settled in life, and old age comes on, then I will serve the Lord." Think what this means. Do you realize what an insult this is to your Creator? what a contempt of the claims of the Saviour? It means that you take pleasure in trampling on the law of the great God; though he is the author of every blessing you enjoy, and has a just right to the affection of your heart and the service of your life, you choose to despise his authority and rob him of that which is justly his, as long as you can do it successfully, or can find pleasure in it. But when you have spent the strength of your manhood or womanhood; when your energies are failing, and your power to work in his cause is gone, you will come to him and offer him the privilege of taking you, a moral wreck, to save you from the consequences of your unutterable folly and wickedness. Do you not wonder that God, the infinitely just God, spares you to pursue such a course? Is it not surprising that he ever saves an aged sinner? Are you sure that you will live to carry out your plans; that you will not be cut off in your obstinacy? Is the dear Son of God, who died to open a way of salvation to you, and now pleads his precious blood in your behalf—is he less worthy of your best efforts, of the strength of your manhood, than Satan, who is ever seeking to ensnare you and to lead you on to ruin? Young man, young woman, what are you doing? Whither are you going? Reflect. Stop! your next step may take you beyond the bounds of mercy. Turn now from sin; die, yes, die to the transgression of God's holy commandments, be buried with your precious Saviour, and rise to live unto God: to enjoy peace—his peace—a peace that passeth all understanding, even in this life, and eternal life and glory in his kingdom. Think of this joy and glory. And can you have it? Yes, you may; but do not delay, for the future has no certainties for you.
We invite the aged. What excuse can the aged offer for persisting in disobeying God? What hope of this life—what joy of earth—can stand between them and their duty to their Saviour? They will answer that it is hard to repent of a whole life of sin; hard to overcome habits of life so long settled; hard to change the whole current of thought, of feeling, and of action, when all have been so long established. They say, "If I were only young, how easy it would be to give my heart to God. If my sins were not so many, if my heart had not grown so hard in the years of my trifling and folly. Oh that I had repented in my youth! But now I fear it is too late." Let the youth listen to this and take warning. Too late! it is too late for you to linger, to trifle on the verge of eternity. Too late to waste any more precious time; you have none to spare. Jesus yet calls. Cast yourself on him now, and prove the depth of his love. It may indeed be too late to-morrow. His mercy has followed you all your life. It lingers for you still. You can not afford to add to the ingratitude of your past life by spurning the last call of mercy.
"Let youth in its freshness and bloom, come! Let man in the pride of his noon, come! Let age on the verge of the tomb, come!"
"And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
J. H. W.
WHY HE STAYED.
THERE is a story of a man who attended an evening party, and stayed very late. One after another the guests thinned out; but he still remained. At length his persistency attracted attention, and on being asked for an explanation he replied that he had observed that whenever one of the guests left, those who remained commenced talking about him, and saying all manner of things concerning him; and he consequently concluded that he would stay until all the rest were gone, and so escape the criticisms to which they were subjected.
We have seen occurrences in religious circles which have reminded us of this circumstance. It is noticeable that when a person retires from some sectarian circle where he has been associated, that as soon as he is gone his old associates begin to talk about him. Sleeping scandals suddenly awake, and are galvanized into life. He was supposed to be a very decent sort of man, but his change of relations has changed everything, and those who flattered and petted him it may be are the very first to spurn and scorn him.
This can hardly be esteemed as profitable. It is better to "speed the parting guest;" and there is little propriety in criticising and abusing in his absence, the man who was honored and approved while present. There may be some who will stay for fear that the company will talk about them as soon as their backs are turned, but any fellowship or association built upon such a basis is not the most desirable or the most enduring.
Christ says to his disciples, "I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." It is the privilege of the man who has entered through Christ the door, to "go in and out," self-appointed gate-keepers and toll-takers to the contrary, notwithstanding. It is the duty of Christians to observe the laws of Christ and maintain the discipline of his church, and a watch-care over each other. But they are to do this while they have opportunity; and throwing mud at people after they have gone, is a poor substitute for the exercise of faithful discipline and watch-care while they remain within their fellowship.—Christian.
Prayer Makes Christ’s Life Stir
PRAYER makes Christ's life stir like a pulse within.
THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION FOR HIS CLASS.
By John S. Hart
NOTHING is plainer than that a man cannot teach what he does not know. He must know a thing himself before he can teach it to others. This is so nearly a truism that it seems trifling to insist upon it. Yet one cannot have much to do with the management of Sabbath-schools without being forced to the conclusion that this is not an accepted truth in the practical beliefs of a great many teachers. I feel, therefore, that it will not be entirely beating the air, if I occupy a few paragraphs in urging upon teachers the duty of study.
Those who neglect weekly preparation for the duties of the Sabbath-school may be divided into several kinds. The first kind consists of those who teach very young children, or very ignorant persons. Such a class, beyond all others, requires stated, special preparation on the part of the teacher. The more feeble and ignorant the mind of the learner, the more the teacher must study to find out just what knowledge and ideas are capable of being received by the pupil, and of interesting him. The teacher may have a good deal of knowledge, of one kind and another, without having just what is wanted for his class. He should make it his business on the Sabbath to gauge the minds of his scholars, and during the week to select and prepare for use just those items of knowledge which their case requires and admits.
Another teacher is favored with a more advanced class. His scholars have a regular Bible lesson, with a Question Book from which to learn it. But he has been a great reader all his life, he is familiar with the Bible, has studied and read it a great deal, he is fluent in discourse, often addresses the people in the prayer-meeting, and other occasions, and never seems at a loss for thoughts or for words with which to express them. He is tempted, therefore, to rely upon his general knowledge and fluency, instead of preparing himself specifically upon the lesson of the week. He thinks, if his scholars will study the lesson, he can safely draw enough from his fund of general knowledge to make the subject interesting. So he contents himself with asking the questions that are in the book, and branching off here and there in unpremeditated talk upon something incidentally brought up in the course of the lesson. Such instruction is not entirely lost. But it is far from coming up to that measure of usefulness which every teacher should seek. To a studious child there is no stimulus to study so strong, and at the same time so healthful, as the discovery that his teacher is perfectly at home in every minute point of the lesson. The child feels that his own acquisitions or failures will come under the review of one who can measure them with minute and unerring certainty; and the recollection of this fact operates most powerfully and most beneficially upon the mind of the learner. If the scholar's mind is at all given to inquiry, and there are few minds which have not some tendency in this direction, the thirst for knowledge is stimulated by the certainty that it will be gratified. The more complete and exhaustive is the teacher's knowledge of that particular lesson, the more will the child's natural love for knowledge take root and grow under its influence.
A sort of preparation which might be good enough for a scholar, will be far from sufficient for the teacher. Nor let the teacher limit his study to books and commentaries. Let him imitate the great Teacher, who drew his instructions from the occurrences of every day. The Sabbath-school teacher would do well to make his book-preparation on Sabbath evening. Let him on that evening go through the ordinary routine of exploring the commentaries and books of reference, and hunting up the parallel passages, so as to have the subject fairly in his mind. Having done this, let him then keep the subject in mind during the week, and be ready to add to his book-knowledge illustrations drawn from life.—J. S. Hart, LL. D.
THE CHURCH SURRENDERING.
Dr. Talmage, speaking of the present position of the churches, says:—
I simply state a fact when I say that in many places the church is surrendering and the world is conquering. Where there is one man brought into the kingdom of God through Christian instrumentality, there are ten men dragged down by dissipations. Fifty grog-shops are built to one church established. Literary journals in different parts of the country are filled with scum, dandruff, and slag, controlled by the very scullions of society, depraving everything they put their hands on. Three hundred and ten newspapers, and journals, and magazines in New York, and more than two hundred of them depraving to the public taste, if not positively inimical to our holy Christianity. Look abroad and see the surrender, even on the part of what pretend to be Christian churches, to spiritualism and Humanitarianism and all the forms of devilism. If a man stand in his pulpit and say that unless you be born again you will be lost, do not the tight kid gloves of the Christian, diamonds bursting through, go up to their foreheads in humiliation and shame? It is not elegant.
There is a mighty host in the Christian church, positively professing Christianity, who do not believe in the Bible, out and out, and in-in, from the first word of the first verse of the first chapter of the book of Genesis, down to the last word of the last verse of the last chapter of the book of Revelation. And when, a few Sabbaths ago, I stood in this pulpit and said, "I fear that some of this audience will be lost for the rejection of Christ," why there were four or five of the daily papers that threw up their hands in surprise at it. Oh! we have magnificent church machinery in this country; we have sixty thousand American ministers; we have costly music; we have great Sunday-schools; and yet I give you the appalling statistic that in the last twenty-five years, laying aside last year, the statistics of which I have not yet seen—within the last twenty-five years the churches of God in this country have averaged
LESS THAN TWO CONVERSIONS A YEAR
each. There has been an average of four or five deaths in the churches. How soon, at that rate, will this world be brought to God? We gain two; we lose four. Eternal God! what will this come to? I tell you plainly that while here and there a regiment of the Christian soldiery is advancing, the church is falling back for the most part, and falling back, and falling back, and if you do not come to complete rout—aye, to ghastly Bull Run defeat—it will be because some individual churches hurl themselves to the front, and ministers of Christ, trampling on the favor of this world and sacrificing everything, shall snatch up the torn and shattered banner of Emanuel, and rush ahead, crying: "On! on! This is no time to run; this is the time to advance."
"CLEAN OUTSIDE."
WHEN the first missionaries at Madagascar had converted some of the islanders there, a Christian sea captain asked a former chief what it was that first led him to become a Christian. "Was it any particular sermon you heard, or book you read?" asked the captain.
"No, my friend," replied the chief, "it was no book or sermon. One man, he a wicked thief; another man, he drunk all day long; big chief, he beats his wife and children. Now thief, he no steal; drunken Tom, he sober; big chief, he very kind to his family. Every heathen man gets something inside him, which make him different; so I became a Christian, too, to know how it felt to have something strong inside of me, to keep me from being bad."
Now that old chief had the right idea of Christianity. He had something new and strong inside of him. He had a new motive; it was the desire to be true and pure.
At one of the ragged schools in Ireland a minister asked the poor children before him, "What is holiness?" Thereupon a poor little Irish boy, in dirty, tattered rags, jumped up and said, "Please, your reverence, it is to be clean inside." Could anything be truer?—Sermons to Children by W. W. Newton.
Early Direction Shapes Eternity
A CANNON ball passing through a four-foot bore receives its direction for the whole range. So the soul, in children, receives its direction for eternity.
The Sabbath School.
THE CHILD JESUS.
"Yea, daughter," said the Rabbi, casting off
His gabardine, "the Council hath sat late,
But not without good cause; for, sooth to tell,
We had this day a marvelous visitant,
Which, if I thought as do the Gentile Greeks
And Romans, I should dare believe a god,
Though in the form and semblance of a child.
For, as we probed the deep and hidden things,
The awful mysteries of our Holy Writ—
Whose meaning doth divide us as a gulf—
There came a boy with large and luminous eyes,
Which he did fix upon us with a gaze
So steadfast and so searching that we saw
Naught save those eyes; whereat his lips he oped,
And in a silvery voice such questions ask'd
As never man, much less a child, conceived!
And when we failed to answer him he smiled
A sad, sweet smile, and answered them himself,
And in such wise as fill'd us with amaze;
For in the doctrines, prophecies and laws
He seem'd exact, and yet a twelve-year-boy!—
If such, indeed, he was. So sped the day,
Till came a woman pushing thro' the midst
With pallid cheek, tear-stained, dishevel'd locks,
And eyes so like the child's that all could see
She was his mother, e'en before she press'd
Her trembling lips upon his silky hair,
Whispering, 'Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
Lo, thy father and myself have sought thee
Sorrowing.' But he said, 'How is it that
Ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be
About my Father's business?' Yet she seem'd
To understand him not, but silently
Conducted him away; and we were mute.
Mark me, Rebecca: if this be a child
Of mortal mold—the which perplexeth me—
The world will surely hear of him some day."
None to Speak Of
Dr. Lathorp was a man of genuine piety but much opposed to the noisy zeal that seeketh the praise of men. A young divine who was much given to enthusiastic cant one day said to him, "Do you suppose you have any real religion?" "None to speak of," was the excellent reply.
TEACHING OR BEING TEACHER.
THE idea is quite too common that it is more important to have a Sabbath-school class than to teach a Sabbath-school class; that somehow there may be a gain in allowing scholars to do just as they please in a class, rather than to insist firmly and with kindness on their being orderly and attentive. The truth is, that it would be better to have one scholar whom you can teach, than forty scholars who receive no instruction from you. Here is a New York State teacher, who is in perplexity on this point. He writes:—
"I have had a class of boys in a large Sabbath-school for about two years. It is the custom in this school for the librarian to distribute the library books before the lesson is half done. When the books are distributed, the lesson is out of the question, and the scholars pay no more attention to me than if I were not there. My time, as far as they are concerned, seems to be simply wasted. True, I could take the upper hand with them, close their books, and compel them to listen to the lesson. But the question with me is, would it not do them more harm than good to force the lesson upon them against their will? I am perplexed about this; and I think that I am not the only one in this condition. Would you be kind enough to assist me by giving me a few practical suggestions that will apply to my case?"
Of course it is wrong to permit the scholars to read their library books during the time allotted to the lesson. Would it be right to permit them to play cards, or the gem puzzle, during the lesson hour? Would the teacher think it would "do them more harm than good" to interfere with such an amusement, and "to force the lesson upon them against their will"? If it is right to have any control over the class, it is right to insist on the duty of the hour receiving exclusive attention. "Let all things be done decently and in order" is just as truly an inspired injunction, and just as binding on the Christian teacher, as "Quench not the Spirit." As it now is for those scholars, the teacher's "time, as far as they are concerned, seems to be simply wasted." Surely that is wrong in a Sabbath-school. In the first place, the librarian ought not to distribute books to the classes while "the lesson is half done." It would be better to have no librarian and no library in the Sabbath-school than to have that state of things. It is quite unnecessary. It is an unknown practice in a well-managed Sabbath-school. But if the books are left at the class seat, the teacher should see to it that they are not distributed until the lesson is finished. He should hold them meantime, if he dies for it. It is well to have a full class of scholars; but it is more important to do right, and to be faithful with a single scholar, than to have an overflowing class overrunning the teacher.—S. S. Times.
THE TIME OF THE END.
By James White
THE work to be accomplished in that brief period called the time of the end, is mentioned three times in the twelfth chapter of the book of Daniel.
1. "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Verse 4. Daniel was ordered to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." That which is sealed to the time of the end is open in the time of the end. It is, therefore, knowledge from the open book of Daniel, relative to the end, that is to increase in the time of the end.
2. "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Verse 10.
3. The special work of God for the time of the end, is expressed a third time, in the words, "And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." Verse 7. In considering this passage, we shall endeavor to answer these questions: Who are the holy people? What is their power? What is the nature of the scattering? And who is it that scatters the power of the holy people?
1. Who are the holy people? They are the truly wise, that are being purified, made white, and tried, in the time of the end. These understand the open book of prophecy, while the wicked do wickedly, and none of them understand.
2. What is the power of the holy people? The power of the true church of Jesus Christ has ever been the word of God accompanied by the Spirit of God. The power of the holy people in the time of the end is the prophetic word unsealed, accompanied by the Holy Ghost.
3. What is meant by the scattering? This is illustrated by the parable of our Lord, "Behold a sower went forth to sow," and is fulfilled in the work of the three messages of Revelation 14:6-12. The first is represented by an angel flying in "the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," saying, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come." The second is illustrated by the angel that announces the fall of Babylon, and the third by the angel that announces wrath upon those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark. This last message closes with words which express the position and work of the believing and obedient, who are waiting for the coming and kingdom of Christ, as follows: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
4. To whom does the word "he," in verse 7, refer? The persons named in this connection are the two, one on either side the river, Daniel, who is a spectator, the man clothed in linen, and the One that liveth forever. The Roman power is left out of the question. The scattering is not accomplished by the prophet, nor by the two angels on either side of the river, neither by the man clothed in linen who makes the solemn oath; but by Him by whom he makes the oath, which is the Eternal God.
The prophet had been shown the wonders pertaining to earthly empires and the coming and kingdom of Christ, presented in chapters 2, 7, 8, 11, and 12:1-4. And now a new scene opens before him, as expressed in these words: "Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto Heaven, and aware by Him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." Verses 5-7.
The points worthy of especial notice in this grand, prophetic scene are as follows:—
1. The persons named. These are Daniel, the two, one on either side of the river, the man clothed in linen, and the One who liveth forever. An angel appears to Daniel as described in chapter 10. In verse 21, he addresses the prophet in these words: "I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth; and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your Prince." The parties who speak and act in giving and receiving this prophecy, are Daniel, the angel Gabriel, chap. 8:16, and Christ, Jude, verse 9; 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:25, 28. Daniel is a spectator, a listener. One of the angels on either side of the river is Gabriel, the other says and does nothing. His name is unknown. The man clothed in linen is the Son of God. And he who liveth forever is the eternal Father.
2. The River. This is a symbol of time. As the river flows day and night, year after year, so time continues its ceaseless onward march.
3. Christ holding a position upon the waters of the river, as commander of the situation, shows that he reveals the prophetic periods. This is evident from the conversation of the two saints of chapter 8.
"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. 8:13, 14.
4. The question concerning the time. This is put by the angel Gabriel to the Son of God: "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" Dan. 12:6. Does Christ evade this direct question? Does he inform Gabriel that he is prying into the secrets of the Almighty? that this whole matter of time is hidden from men and from angels? No, indeed. Daniel continues:—
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto Heaven, and aware by Him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." Verse 7.
Does Gabriel in his question "How long?" set an example to the people of God, and show that it is their privilege to repeat the prophetic inquiry, "Watchman, what of the night?" The oath of the Son of God, with both hands raised to Heaven, justifies the answer by his ambassadors.
5. Christ's answer to the question of time embraces the 1260 years of papal supremacy, covering the ground from A. D. 538 to A. D. 1798. Here let it be borne in mind that the time of the end is the burden of the prophecy. Hence Christ, in his answer to the question of time, passes down over Persia, Greece, and pagan Rome, and gives that prophetic measurement which reaches to the time of the end. This indefinite period commenced in 1798, and reaches to the end itself. It is during this time that the solemn, three-fold message goes forth to the world symbolized by the three angels of Rev. 14:6-12, increasing upon the subject of the end, and in which many are purified, made white, and tried, prepared for the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven.
"that went with them," makes the point stronger. The apostle did not regard the ministration of the visible leader of the people as void of the spiritual light and life of Christ. He says that they "did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink." In verse 9 the apostle exhorts the Christian church: "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents."
CHRIST WITH MOSES.
CHRIST was with Moses in the wilderness, the invisible leader of the children of Israel. This appears evident, from the words of the apostle: "Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 10:1-4.
It was important that the church at Corinth should understand that Christ was with the Hebrews in the wilderness as their leader from the house of bondage. This fact is no less important to the Christian church of our time. Christ is declared to be "that spiritual Rock" that followed them. The marginal reading,
THE SON REPRESENTS THE FATHER.
By James White
No doctrine is more distinctly stated in the Scriptures of the Old Testament than that the Son of God manifests the will and work of his Father to the children of men. The holy character of the divine law made its transgression such an offense that the Father could not speak with man as when in his innocence he walked and talked with God in Eden.
The Son, who was equal with the Father in creation, in the institution of law, and in the government of created intelligences, leaves this glory with his Father, and becomes a mediator through whom the Father speaks. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." Deut. 18:18.
The New Testament is equally plain and explicit upon this subject. The words of the Son himself are to the point. In all his ministry he does not once intimate that he had come to speak of himself or to establish a new system which was to supersede the old. In the plainest language he declares that he had come to represent his Father, and to proclaim his doctrine.
"My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me." John 7:16.
"When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." Chap. 8:28.
"For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." Chap. 12:49.
"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Chap. 14:7-11.
The will of the Father was the will of the Son. The mind of the Father was in his Son, who in his teachings and character represented his Father. The deep, yearning love manifested in the mission and ministry of the Son was the love of the Father. "I and my Father are one." John 10:30.
The nature of the unity that exists between the Father and the Son is clearly illustrated in Christ's prayer for his disciples, and for all those also who should believe on their word to the end:—
"Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Chap. 17:17-21.
We close with the testimony of Paul: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:18-20. This is the very climax of evidence that, in the work of redemption as set forth in the sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the mind and will of the Father were manifested in the Son.