THERE is yet one important part of the Lord's discourse concerning the sign of His coming and the end of the world, which must be noticed—that is, the part relating to the destruction of Jerusalem.
It must be remembered that it was the disciples showing to Jesus the wonderful structure of the temple that was the occasion which called forth this whole grand discourse upon the subject of the signs of His coming and of the end of the world.
The whole story is as follows: "And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on His way. And as He went forth, His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple; and one of His disciples saith unto Him, Master, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! And some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Seest thou these great buildings? As for these things which ye behold, verily I say unto you, The days will come, in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
"And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, over against the temple, the disciples, Peter and James and John and Andrew, came unto Him, and asked Him privately, saying, Master, tell us, when therefore shall these be? and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?"
Now in this whole discourse in answer to these questions, the only reference that Jesus made to the destruction of Jerusalem is less than two dozen lines, in the midst of His discourse, after He had sketched the events between that time and the end of the world, and just at the beginning of that part of His discourse in which He proceeds to give the signs of His coming and the time when the signs would begin to appear. From this fact, as well as from the causes and character of the destruction of Jerusalem, it is evident that the destruction of Jerusalem is itself a sign by which can be known the times of the Lord's coming and of the end of the world, just as the fall of ancient Babylon is likewise such a sign. It is in the light of this suggestion that we shall here study that part of the Lord's discourse relating to the destruction of Jerusalem.
That part of the Lord's discourse is as follows: "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, where he ought not (let him that readeth understand); and when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains; and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there into. Let him that is on the housetop not come down, nor enter in, to take out the things that are in his house; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things that are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child and them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath. For there shall be great distress upon the land and wrath upon this people."
The Center of Controversy.
Why did all this come upon that people? Why was Jerusalem destroyed?—Because they rejected the Lord, of course. But why did they reject the Lord? What was the particular issue in which centered and culminated their opposition to the Lord and their rejection of Him? The answer to these questions is, That issue was the Sabbath,—the distinction between His principles as to what is true Sabbath-keeping and their views upon the same point.
In nothing had the selfishness of the Pharisees and doctors of the law taken a more perverse turn than in the matter of the Sabbath and its true meaning and purpose. So far as the Lord's meaning and purpose in His Sabbath are concerned, they had utterly lost sight of it themselves, and by their traditions and exactions had completely hidden it from the minds and hearts of the people. This was the crowning result of their perverse-minded course. And as Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and as to bring to mind what He is to mankind, is the true intent of the Sabbath,—in other words, He Himself, as He lived among them, being the manifestation of the true intent of the Sabbath, it is evident that in nothing could His course arouse more or more bitter antagonism from these men than in His words and actions with relation to the Sabbath.
It was with reference to this that they began their persecution of Him; it was regarding this that they first entertained the thought of killing Him; and it was upon this issue that their opposition culminated in the actual crucifying of Him. This issue became clearly defined at His second Passover, at the pool of Bethesda, when Jesus healed the impotent man. Thus we read:—
"A certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another stepeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked; and on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole." John 5:1-15.
Of course they then knew who it was who had told him to do this "unlawful" thing,—to take up his bed and walk on the Sabbath day.
"And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day." Verse 16.
Now think of this: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the sign of what He is to mankind. He then was in His life the living expression of the Sabbath. Therefore it was impossible for Him to do anything on the Sabbath that was not Sabbath-keeping; because
the very doing of it was in itself the expression of the meaning of the Sabbath.
But his Sabbath-keeping did not suit the Sabbath ideas of the Pharisees and the doctors of the law and the scribes. They, therefore, called it Sabbath-breaking. Now Christ's ideas of the Sabbath are God's ideas of the Sabbath. The Pharisees' ideas of the Sabbath and of Sabbath-keeping, being directly the opposite of the Lord Jesus' ideas, were wrong. Therefore the controversy in that day between Christ and the Pharisees and the doctors of the law, was simply whether God's ideas of the Sabbath should prevail, or whether man's ideas of it should prevail.
"Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." John 5:16-18.
By this we further see that the very first open steps that the Pharisees and the doctors of the law ever took against Jesus Christ to do Him harm in any way, were taken because He had not kept the Sabbath to suit them. That was the controversy between Christ and them; and upon this point everything else turned.
Shortly after this we have the record in the second chapter of Mark, twenty-third verse, to the third chapter, sixth verse; it is also in the twelfth chapter of Matthew, and the sixth of Luke, verses 1-12; but Mark's record gives a point that is not in either of the others, and it is all-important:—
"And it came to pass, that He went through the corn-fields on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day, that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them that were with Him? And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."
"And He entered again into the synagog; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him."
He knew that their attention was all on Him. And that they might have the fullest evidence possible, He called to the man who had the withered hand, and said to him, "Stand forth in the midst." The man stepped out into the midst of the synagog. This drew everybody's attention to Jesus and the man standing there waiting. Then He asked the Pharisees and those who were accusing Him, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" They could not say it was lawful to do evil, for that would be contrary to all their own teaching, and they did not dare to say it was lawful to do good, because then they would sanction His healing this man on the Sabbath. "Is it lawful to save life, or to kill?" They did not dare to say it was lawful to kill, and they did not dare to say it was lawful to save life; for He told them, and they knew that it was so, that if one of them had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day, he would pull it out to save its life. Whether they would do this out of mercy to the sheep, or for fear of losing the price of it, matters not. They knew it was so. Therefore "they held their peace."
"And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees5went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him."
Confederation against Christ.
The Herodians were a sect of the Jews, who stood at the extreme opposite pole from the Pharisees. They derived their title—Herodians—from being the friends, the supporters, and the rigid partisans of Herod and his house in their rule over the nation of Israel. The Pharisees were the "godly" of the nation, especially in their own estimation. They held themselves to be the righteous ones of the nation, the ones who stood the closest to God; and therefore they stood farthest from Herod and from Rome. They despised Herod; they hated Rome. The Herodians were the political supporters of Herod, and consequently the friends of Rome and Roman power. Therefore, as denominations, as sects, the Pharisees and the Herodians were just as far apart as they could be.
Now when the Pharisees saw that Christ would not yield to their ideas of Sabbath-keeping, they, in order to carry out their purpose to kill Him—it was a far-reaching purpose—joined themselves, not only to their sectarian enemies, but to these particular religio-political sectarian enemies, so that they could secure the influence of Herod, so that they might have the government on their side, that they might have the civil power under their control, and thus make effectual their purpose to destroy Jesus. Thus they entered politics.
After this we read:—
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him." John 7:1.
However, when the annual Feast of Tabernacles came, "about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught." As He was teaching, He said to them:—
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill Me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil; who goeth about to kill Thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at Me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:19-24.
Even at that time, these, His enemies, "sought to take Him," yet "no man laid hands on Him." And later in the same day "the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him;" yet neither did the officers lay hands on Him. And when the officers returned without bringing Him, the chief priests and the Pharisees were so enraged that they were on the point of officially condemning Him anyhow, and were checked only by the word of Nicodemus, "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?"
The next instance in this controversy is recorded in the ninth chapter of John—the case of the giving of sight to the man born blind.
"And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes; . . . therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because He keepeth not the Sabbath day." Verses 14-16.
"And He was teaching in one of the synagogs on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in nowise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art bowed from thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagog answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day."
Increasing Antagonism.
As they continued to watch Him to see whether He would heal people, and otherwise do good on the Sabbath day, He continued to heal on the Sabbath day, another instance in point being recorded in Luke 14:1-6. Thus He continued to grow in favor with the people, and the more to incur the antagonism of the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the Herodians. When at last He had gone so far as to raise from the dead a man who had been dead four days, and when, as a consequence, "many of the Jews believed on Him," this so aroused His enemies that "some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done." And then and there the chief priests and the Pharisees in council said:
"What do we? for this Man doeth many miracles. If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." John 11:47, 48.
Note the argument that was in their hearts, and in their words, in fact. They were accusing Jesus all the time of Sabbath-breaking; and now they say, "If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him," and that will make all men Sabbath-breakers. The nation will be a nation of Sabbath-breakers. And when the whole nation becomes a nation of Sabbath-breakers, the judgments of God will be visited upon us; and the Lord will bring the Romans, and sweep away the whole nation. Then, in that same meeting—
"One of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." "Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put Him to death." Verses 49, 50, 53.
And a few days afterward they accomplished to the full their purpose, and did put Him to death. And when that was done, the doom of the nation was fixed; and it was only a question of time when would come the destruction of the temple, the city, and the people. They said, "If we let this man thus alone, all men will believe on Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." They did not let Him alone, and the Romans came and took away both their place and nation forevermore. Their efforts to save the nation destroyed the nation.
And let it never be forgotten that the one great issue, above all others, on which they rejected Him, and persecuted Him, and sought to kill Him, was the Sabbath of the Lord as against a sabbath of men, the true Sabbath as against a false one, the Lord's idea of the Sabbath as against man's idea of the Sabbath. And in all the time of the impending destruction, and even in the very crisis of their experience in connection therewith—when they should see the given sign, in Jerusalem being encompassed with armies—the Sabbath was still an issue, and of vital consideration. For in all their thoughts as to their flight from the sure-coming destruction, this word of Jesus must ever be remembered, "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on THE SABBATH DAY."
ALONZO T. JONES.
THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST.
By George B. Thompson
"For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." 1 Peter 2:21.
IN Christ we have a perfect rule of life; He is man's example in all things. He came to show us how to live, and in His life magnified the precepts of the law. Isa. 42:21. He did no sin. When reviled, He did not revile in return, nor "stand up for His rights." When reviled, buffeted, and spit upon, He "opened not His mouth." When men lied about Him, He did not waste His time running from place to place to have it straightened up; He simply lived the lie down. His life was a complete refutation of all the vilification of His adversaries. He did this for us; He was our example.
Speaking of a certain ordinance, He said, "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." John 13:15. Reader, we believe that Christ is the only perfect rule of life this world has ever had, and that we should follow Him in all things. This is why the writer observes the seventh day as the Sabbath. Jesus kept this day during the whole of His life on earth. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and, as His custom was, He went into the synagog on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16. Mark you, this was the "custom" of the Saviour. It was the way He lived. Every Sabbath found Him, not at secular work, but resting, and going to the house of worship. Is His example right in this matter? Do we err when we follow the example of Christ in reference to the Sabbath?
The writer was holding a meeting a year or so ago, and a number embraced the Sabbath. During one of our services a clergyman came in, and before the services closed, arose and rebuked us for being so foolish and deluded as to observe the seventh day for the Sabbath. During the course of his conversation I asked him the following questions: Do you believe that Jesus is man's example in all things? No answer. Do you believe that we will do wrong if we do as He did? He evaded the question. I continued: Do you believe that a man will do right every time if he follows the example left by Jesus while here in the world? To my astonishment this professed shepherd of Israel said, "No." He further said: "I know what you are getting at. If I say, Yes, you will ask me why I do not observe the day for the Sabbath which He observed." Shame and pity for him filled my heart, to think that, to escape a plain duty, a professed minister of Christ turned from the example of the Son of God and declared His life not a perfect pattern for us.
I could not refrain from wondering what must be the spiritual status of the congregation over which he ministered. But this was the only way, seemingly, left for him to retreat; for if Jesus is man's example, it is plain that He is our example in Sabbath-keeping, and we should observe the same day that He did,—the seventh day.
And, further, He declares that He is the same "yesterday, and to-day, and forever." Heb. 13:8. We have an unchangeable Saviour, praise the Lord! He is the same now as when He was on earth. Then if He was on earth to-day, He would still keep the same day. This must be true, else He has changed. So, then, if He kept the seventh day when on the earth, and would keep it to-day were He here in the flesh, why should not His children who are here keep the seventh-day Sabbath? He says He is the "Lord even of the Sabbath day." Matt. 12:8.
Reader, will you follow the example of the Saviour in reference to the Sabbath? If not, why not? G. B. THOMPSON.
How May This Be Done?
LIFE AND IMMORTALITY. No. 6.
How to Obtain Life.
IT has been clearly shown that in righteousness alone is life. Sin tends to death, and when it is finished, brings forth death. It is consistent, reasonable, and Biblical that God gave His own eternal life, flowing from Him, the great Fountain, in harmony with His eternal law. All things in harmony with that law have eternal life.
Sin is the transgression or perversion of God's law of righteousness and life; and sin ends in death. In this world "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;" and all are subject to death. There is no exception among the children of Adam to this rule. God pours out His life to them freely, but sin within them perverts the law of the life of God, and all are dying creatures, corruptible, mortal. All received this in the physical man by inheritance from Adam. When sin became incarnate, infleshed, in Adam it established in him physically its own law, the perverted law of God. It is God's law of man's life that all blessings and gifts and powers and talents should be diffusive, used for the good of others. Sin turned the flow inward upon the man, and decay and death resulted.
In all natural men, apart from the powers of God, while there are desires for good, the fleshly desires are dominant. Under the dominating influence of sin, love becomes lust, economy becomes avarice, generosity becomes prodigality, self-respect becomes pride, firmness becomes obstinacy, and every good thing becomes perverted. All the power that man has is in the life he possesses, but there is no power in this perverted life to lift him above its perversions. As well could a man lift himself by his boot straps. Moreover, the mind of the man is in harmony with the flesh or in bondage to it; "because the carnal mind ["the mind of the flesh," R.V.] is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they which are in the flesh can not please God." Rom. 8:7, 8.
Then to obtain the life, the life which has power above sin and all inherited tendencies of evil, we must obtain the righteousness. In other words, man's disposition, mind, will, heart must be brought into harmony with God's holy law, the law of His life.
How May This Be Done?
By simple faith in Jesus Christ, the choosing of God's way instead of our own. That is all God asks of man, because it is all man can do. But if man will do the choosing, if he will put his own will in the current of God's will, God's will furnishes the power; for He "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." Eph. 1:11. "He doeth according to His will; . . . and none can stay His hand." Dan. 4:35.
Then it surely follows that the only wise thing to do, if we wish eternal life, is to come into harmony with God's will, by choosing His own righteous ways with all our heart. Jesus says, "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John 7:17. And this is simple faith—choosing God's way, believing God's promises. For it is not faith that believes God's promise and ignores His precept. He who desires His life must yield to His will.
The apostle expresses it in this way: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; . . . for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Rom. 1:16, 17. "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference." Rom. 3:21, 22.
Faith, willing, glad submission, choosing, believing, opens the soul to the righteous, everlasting life of God. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:2-4.
Faith chooses, receives Christ, and in so doing receives all that Christ wrought. He counts Christ's crucifixion as His, reckoning himself to be dead unto sin; he counts Christ's righteousness as his; and he receives continually from the great Fountain, through the Spirit, the life of Christ. The Spirit, if in power upon the sinner, would be death, even as to Ananias and Sapphira; but to the believer "the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Rom. 8:10. And the believer can joyfully and triumphantly say: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20.
Blessed eternal life by faith in God. Actual eternal life by faith in God. The same life, the same power, by which Jesus Christ overcame the world, the flesh, the devil, is given to every one who "believes unto righteousness," who chooses God's way in Christ Jesus. Says our Lord, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." John 6:47. "And the witness is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13, R.V.
Why not believe the record which God has given? Why endeavor to console one's self that we have this life in ourselves apart from Christ, whether we are sinners or not, when the Word declares that "he that hath not the Son of God, hath not the life"? Why not yield all the poor, sinful, corrupt being to God, choose His ways, open the heart to all that He has to give, and let the stream of living waters flow from His throne in ever-increasing measure into the dry, sterile, barren ground of our heart, bringing life and healing and fruitage wherever they go? See Eze. 47:8, 9.
Only in receiving His life by faith shall we have power over sin and Satan. But in receiving it by faith it will be dominant in our lives, even as it was in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The flesh will no longer be master but servant, and Christ will be magnified in us. So let it be with every one to whom this comes.
THE USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
By Editor
SOME of the conscientious readers of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES object very strenuously to the use of illustrations, basing their objections on their reading of the second commandment. Their objections deserve consideration.
We believe in God’s holy law. It outlines, in largely negative form, our duty to Him, duty which can only be performed through willing, loving obedience. The object of that law is to bring man through Christ to that love,—“charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and faith unfeigned.”
The first commandment forbids the having of any other objects of service before God, the Giver of the law. It makes Him first.
The second commandment forbids the making of any graven image of anything in the universe, in order to adore, worship, or serve it. We can see nothing more forbidden in the precept than the making in order to do what the commandment forbids. So the Lord again forbids: “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it.” Lev. 26:1. It is the worship that is prohibited. A man can as truly adore the house he has builded, the article he has written, the music he has composed, as the image he has made.
Again: God commanded the children of Israel to make certain pictures, figures, images. The earthly sanctuary was an image of the heavenly. Its wonderful drapery was covered with figures of cherubim, representing the ministering host of God in heaven. Over the mercy-seat were made, in wrought gold, two images of cherubim. Carved pomegranates were a part of the ornamentation of the priestly paraphernalia. Oxen and lilies were reproduced in temple ornamentation. But none of these were made for worship, but “for glory and beauty.”
And still again: God made man a teachable being. He gave him eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, for channels through which He could communicate with him. God addresses man through all these channels. He spreads out before him in all its beauty His glory in the heavens, and writes it upon lake and river, tree and flower, mountain and valley of earth. Object-teaching is the most universal of the divine methods.
God uses man’s eyes more frequently than He does man’s ears. An illustration of this is given in the case of Israel. When bitten by serpents, a brazen serpent was by the Lord’s express directions made and elevated upon a pole, a symbol of Christ’s offering. It was not placed there to worship; and when the7people in their blindness so lost sight of God as to worship this serpent, the good king Hezekiah destroyed it, naming it what it truly was, Nehushtan,—“a piece of brass.” And all the teachings of the sanctuary of old centered around object lessons.
Once more: In special revelations and instructions which God has given, both image and picture illustrations are used. For instance, Nebuchadnezzar’s lesson came with a great image. Daniel’s came under the form of beasts, as did also John’s and Zechariah’s. And the Scriptures, evidently referring to these very prophetic visions, instructs the servants of God to “write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
When the Lord would show another prophet the sins of Israel, He portrayed before him abominable beasts, creeping things, and idols, just what “every man in the chamber of his imagery was doing.” He told His prophet, that the children of Israel might the more readily see, to mark out Jerusalem upon a tile, lay siege against it, and carry out the imagery in full particulars; and these uses of illustrations for the purpose of teaching, of making the Word of the Lord clearer, His truth more forcible, or more attractive, we believe to be perfectly legitimate. Nay, more: We believe that we would be failing in the highest duty did we not use every means furnished of God to bring His truth to the attention and within the reach of every reader.
We see dangers in this. We do not believe it is wise or best to attempt to portray angels, or our blessed Lord Himself; for presumably the view would not even approximate true likeness, and in many cases prove a vile caricature. There are pictures which have given valuable lessons of the human life of our Lord, when used for that purpose, but they should be used few and far between.
The whole center of the question lies in the intent, motive, object, in using. If for worship or adoration, the use is a plain violation of the commandment. If used to illustrate, illuminate, make plain or more forcible the Lord’s truth, good illustrations are to be commended.
IS THE UNITED STATES A SUBJECT OF PROPHECY?
The Dragon Voice.
IN our last issue we considered the first part of the prophecy of Rev. 13:11: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”
It was clearly shown that these two horns represented principles peculiar to Christianity alone of all religions, and to this government alone of all governments, as shown by the Scriptures, early American documents, and Bancroft’s “History of the Constitution.”
In this article we will study the latter part of Rev. 13:11: “And he [the lamb-horned beast] spake as a dragon.”
The dragon is pre-eminently and primarily a symbol of the devil, and secondarily of Satan’s agents. “The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” Rev. 12:9; 20:2.
The devil is a deceiver, a persecutor, a murderer. Rev. 12:9, 13; John 8:44. A government can only speak in the laws which it promulgates. To speak as a dragon, this government must proclaim deceptive laws, which seem to promise fairly, but which will result in the persecution of honest souls.
More than this, it is to do great wonders, exercise great power, make an image to the first beast which had the deadly wound, influence the earth to make and worship that image, and cause all to receive the mark of the beast.
And all these are well under way, as the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has frequently shown. Yet a few more words may not be amiss here.
The essential of a beast power in Scripture is imperialism and popery. By imperialism is meant the right of the one or the few to rule over the many without their consent. The one or the few consider themselves better and more capable of ruling. The essentials of popery are the putting of a man or body of men as the human tribunal over conscience and faith, as God’s vicegerent on earth. The principle is the same, be the head a pope or council or church. And this latter is imperialism in religion, directly opposed to the great doctrine of the equality of man in his inherent rights before God. These principles inhered in all the great dynasties of the past. They were infused and used by Satan in all the persecutions of the past. It was against these that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States entered mighty protest in the forum of civil government. This Federal Government was a complete reversal in principle of all the old-time theories, and the faith and purpose of its founders were expressed on the reverse side of the great seal of the United States,—“Annuit Cœptis; Novus Ordo Seclorum,”—“God favors the undertaking; a new order of ages.” It was a glorious beginning of a new order of ages, and surely God favored the undertaking.
The nation grew and prospered as no other nation ever has. She went forward in her principles of liberty till in 1864 the shackles of slavery were stricken from every slave, and she stood forth to the world as the shining guide to liberty. Men were more than things. Souls outweighed dollars. Religion, unhelped by the State, prospered as never before. It was free.
But the Word of God declares that this nation, which thus learned liberty, will say to the nations of the world: “Make an image to the beast. Restore his worship. Enforce the mark of his authority, the counterfeit sabbath, exalted in the place of the Sabbath of Jehovah.” The sure word of prophecy declares that her influence will be sufficient among the powers of earth to do this. She “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,” gives life by her influence and action unto the image, and causes all, save God’s true worshippers, who will not yield tho they die, to receive the mark in hearty acceptance or slavish submission, under penalty of confiscation of goods, and to the ultimate death. So declares the Word. The first part of the prophecy has been demonstrated, and every day’s events are demonstrating the latter part.
How this glorious government has turned back from the espousals of her youth, proving false to all the principles which gave her life, is known and felt by thousands. Once effulgent in the beautiful robes of freedom, leading the world from the low swales of the Dark Ages of superstition and oppression to the clear air of the uplands of liberty, pointing to a liberty more glorious beyond, bringing hope and joy to the longing hearts and eager eyes of oppressed thousands in the Old World, lifting even the ancient nations from their slough of despond, she is now turning from all those lofty ideals and noble purposes, and, with robes bedraggled with the dews of deepening night, is descending into the malarial marshes of medievalism, and declaring to a war-ridden, despairing, dying world that the principles of life-giving liberty, which gave her birth and made her great, are a delusive lie, and that the hope of the world is in popery, despotism, and oppression.
But there is hope, tho all of earth fails. Its glorious star is heaven-born, and far above a decaying world it shines, a glorious light to lead, a beacon of hope to cheer the wanderer on to the glorious liberty, salvation, and eternal inheritance which Jesus Christ will give to all His loyal subjects.
“Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand,
Ere the doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our land?
Tho the cause of evil prosper, yet 'tis truth alone is strong,
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful tall angels to enshield her from all wrong.”