Earlier text: SILOAMOur girlie bent over a problem;
She had tried it o’er and o’er,
But seemed no nearer the answer
Than she’d been an hour before.
Then, lifting up to father
Blue eyes that were half afraid,
She asked, in a pleading whisper,
For just a little aid. “If you’d help me ever so little,
I’m sure I could get it right;
It’s just like groping in the dark
Without one speck of light.” Then two heads bent o’er the problem,
And soon came the merry shout,
“It’s always so easy to understand,
When father helps me out.” Her words brought a deeper meaning
To my heart that was sore dismayed;
I had struggled on in my weakness,
Not asking the Father’s aid;
The day had been filled with petty cares
That would not be set right;
I had groped alone in the darkness,
Without one ray of light. I thought of the weary problems
I had tried to solve alone,
Forgetting the precious promise
That the Father cares for His own;
I went to the throne with trembling lips,
My heart filled with doubt and fear,
But found, with the heavenly Father’s aid,
My problems all made clear. —Lulu Linton, in Christian Standard. AND THE REFORMATION IS NOT ENDED YET.
Mr. C. H. Spurgeon once graphically described the process by which the early church was paganized. He said:— The greatest curse, perhaps, that ever visited the world came upon it in this way: Certain vain-glorious preachers desired to convert the world at a stroke, and to make converts without the work of the Spirit. They saw the people worshiping their gods, and they thought that if they could call these by the names of saints and martyrs the people would not mind the change, and so they would be converted. The idea was to Christianize heathenism. They virtually said to idolaters, “Now, good people, you may keep on with your worship, and yet you can be Christians at the same time. This image of the Queen of Heaven at your door need not be moved. Light the lamp still; only call the image ‘our Lady’ and ‘the Blessed Virgin.’ Here is another image; don’t pull it down, but change its name from Jupiter to Peter.” Thus with a mere change of names they perpetuated idolatry; they set up their altars in the groves, and upon every high hill, and the people were converted without knowing it—converted to a baser heathenism than their own. They wanted priests, and lo, there they were, robed like those who served at the altars of Jove. The people saw the same altars and sniffed the same incense, kept the same holy days, and observed the same carnivals as aforetime, and called everything by Christian names. Hence came what is now called the Roman Catholic religion, which is simply fearing God and serving other gods. Every village has its own peculiar saint, and often its own particular black or white image of the Virgin, with miracles and wonders to sanctify the shrine. This evil wrought so universally that Christianity seemed in danger of extinction from the prevalence of idolatry, and it would have utterly expired had it not been of God, and had He not therefore once more put forth His hand and raised up reformers, who cried out, “There is but one God, and one Mediator between God and man.” Brave voices called the church back to her allegiance and to the purity of her faith. As for any of you who are trying to link good and evil, truth and falsehood together, beware of the monstrous birth which will come of such an alliance; it will bring on you a curse from the Most High. THE PROPHETS FORETOLD AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE SABBATH.
By T.
IN the prophecy of Daniel a power is described of which it is said, “He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25. Observe that this power shall “speak great words against the Most High.” He shall also “wear out the saints.” This latter expression shows that he will be a persecuting power; for he could not “wear out the saints” without being a persecutor. And then it is added of him that he shall “think to change times and laws.” When a rebellious power arrays itself against the properly-constituted authority, there is no way in which it can show its contempt more fully than by changing or overthrowing the laws in the realm it invades. The prophet foretells that the power which speaks “great words against the Most High” will also attempt to change His “times and laws.” The great majority of men to-day are not observing some of the times and laws as they were originally given by the Lord. This shows that a change has been attempted, but it does not prove that God recognizes it as anything else than an act of rebellion. It is not true that the spirit of rebellion is in the heart of every one who has been led off into these changes; but it is a fact that bitter rebellion is in the breast of the great arch-rebel who is back of it all. And the only thing we should inquire after is the real truth of God, so that we may be sure to stand with Him. Any candid mind that will take the Bible, the Word of the living God, as a guide, can arrive at no other conclusion than that the seventh day, commonly called Saturday, is the Sabbath. It is simply a matter of fact that no other weekly Sabbath is anywhere presented in the Word of the Lord. But notwithstanding this simple, plain fact, we see that the majority of men keep Sunday, a thing that the Lord has nowhere enjoined. Then is it not unmistakably true that the prophecy quoted at the head of this article from the book of Daniel has been most literally fulfilled? Has not some power succeeded most wonderfully in leading millions of minds into his thoughts of changing, or trampling under foot, the sacred time of the Most High? Which side am I on to-day? This is the all-important question for each and every one of us. Not only has this power sought to change the day of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, but he has also sought to change the time at which the Sabbath begins. The world at large begins the day at midnight and closes it at midnight, with nothing but the clock that human hands have made to mark the arrival of the hour. Some of the humanly constructed timepieces are marvels of accuracy. They make only a slight variation from perfect time; yet they vary. But the timepiece that God has set to indicate the beginning and the close of the day is infinitely perfect. It is appointed by the Lord to rule the day. Then the time set by the Lord for the beginning and the close of His Sabbath is that which we should accept, because it is designated by His infinitely perfect orb that measures the day.(327) If you are not aware of the Lord’s direction as to when the day begins, read His Word on the subject: “From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Lev. 23:32. “Even” is the time of the setting of the sun; for we read, “At even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.” Mark 1:32. A person needs only to read this scripture to see that “even” is the time of sun “set.” Then the time when the Sabbath begins is at the setting of the sun, and not at midnight. Further evidence upon this point might be given, but when anything is stated so plainly in the Bible, what is the use of multiplying words? The Lord’s prophet makes the statement very plain that a power would arise that would “think to change [the] times and [the] laws” of the Most High God. And all must admit that the Sabbath of the commandment, and of the entire Bible, has been set aside, so far as the vast majority are concerned, and another rest-day put in its place. The time when the day begins has also been changed from sunset, where the unvarying sun marks the close of one day and the beginning of the next, to midnight, where there is nothing in nature to show the hour. These changes have been made, so far as the thoughts and acts of men are concerned. The prophecy said it would be done, and we see that the prophecy has been most literally fulfilled. But what is the power that has done all this? When Christ was crucified, and when the last of His apostles had passed from the stage of action, the Sabbath as given by Jehovah in the beginning, was still held in its rightful place by those who were the followers of the Lord. But apostasies soon began, and the distinction that our heavenly Father designed should ever be a wall of separation and enlightenment between His followers and the heathen world, was broken down and ignored. And the more influential bishops, as well as the preachers of lesser note, in order to make a great showing for the church, permitted innovations that involved the very foundations of Christianity. Among these innovations was the Sunday festival of the heathen world—the day dedicated by the great idolatrous hosts to the worship of the sun. The heathen had every day in the week dedicated to the worship of some of their deities; but the Sunday took the precedence of all others, because to them the sun was the most luminous of all the heavenly bodies. The sun was the greatest object of their adoration, and for that reason they attached greater importance to the Sunday that they had dedicated to his worship. For a time in the earlier centuries the Sunday, and also the Sabbath, in so far as the people still retained the sacred rest-day of Jehovah, were permitted to be observed together. Or to be more exact, the professing Christians began to respect the heathen sun-festival, in order, as they said, not to appear too obnoxious, and at the same time they put the Sabbath more or less in the background. Finally the conditions were ripened for it, and Constantine, emperor of Rome, issued the first general Sunday law. This law, as at first issued by him, however, was not very strict. It was by the stealthy decay of apostasy, and after the Papacy was fully developed, that the true Sabbath was set aside, and Sunday, without one word of authority from the Lord, was put in its place. Thus Sunday observance grew up with the development of the Papacy. And when the time came that the world had popes and papal councils, then, and not till then, do we find the Sunday-Sabbath promulgated as a Christian institution. This is not a theory. It is a simple, brief statement of the solid facts of undisputed history, and history, too, that fulfils the unfailing prophecy of the Scriptures. The literature of the Papacy is full of the claim that the Sabbath has been set aside, and Sunday put in its place, by the Papal hierarchy. We will take the space here for only one quotation on this subject from Catholic authorities. The reader can have abundant opportunity to pursue the subject further if he so desires. The quotation is from the work of Monsignor Segur, entitled, “Plain Talk about the Protestantism of To-day.” This book was first written in French, but was considered of sufficient importance to be translated into the English, and extensively circulated in this country. The quotation from Mgr. Segur reads thus:— “It is worth its while to remember that this observance of the Sabbath,—in which, after all, the only Protestant worship consists,—not only has no foundation in the Bible, but it is in flagrant contradiction with its letter, which commands rest on the Sabbath, which is Saturday. It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday, in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Church.”—Plain Talk, etc., p. 225. Jesus Christ did not give the Catholic Church the authority to substitute Sunday for the Sabbath. Their claim that He did is based upon their other claim, that the Church of Rome is God’s delegated authority and power upon earth. And claiming this power, they also claim the power to change the Sabbath, which, in the language of the prophecy, they had “thought” to do. Thus do we have the prophecy foretelling the rise of a power that would think to change God’s “times and laws.” And the power prophesied of boldly steps forward to boastfully say, “I have done it.” This makes the evidence complete, and it has in it the real truth about the attempted change of the Sabbath. Thru this apostasy, and the elevation of Sunday, the true Sabbath was largely obliterated from the minds of men. But the original Sabbath of Jehovah is to be restored to its rightful place, and properly observed by every true follower of the Lord. There are prophecies in the Bible which make this matter clear. They will be the subject for consideration in an article next week. T. REGENERATION VERSUS EVOLUTION.
WHAT power is to reform the world? Whence is it? Of course, we know the ideas of evolutionists of all sorts of names from away back in the dim and distant past. Their thought is that there is within the primordial germ that which has progressively evolved from the lower orders—polywog, reptile, bird, beast, simian, and man, and that from the low moral plane whereon so many men now dwell, by “the divine immanence in man,” evolving thru no one knows how many ages, the race will reach perfection. This is hopeful—for unborn generations, but small comfort to the man who needs to be evolved but has not time. The sad thing is that this evolutionary belief is coming to be the dominant idea in the minds of “Christian reformers and missionaries.” For instance, here are the words of an earnest worker among Chinese women and girls:— “Our hope lies with the future generation. We can not expect to reap the fruit of our harvest so soon. We must wait. We can not expect to make a person a ‘heart Christian’ who has for generations been reared in paganism. I know we shall succeed. Things can not stop now, the work must go on and bear fruit.” We have no desire to discount one farthing the benefits and blessings of Christian teaching and its restraining and moulding influences upon the human race. They are great, and ought indeed to render hearts more susceptible to higher spiritual life. But is this the hope of the world? Must all the heathen nations be taught the ethics of Christianity and Christian civilization after the modern methods for generations before there is hope for “heart Christians”? It was not so once. Jesus spoke to deaf ears, ears closed by generations of error and years of sin, and the heart heard and responded. He touched eyes blinded by passion and lust and greed, and the quickened soul saw Christ alone. He sent out His apostles and ministers to the great, dark lands of paganism, the people of which were steeped in centuries of senseless superstitions and moral debasement, and hearts in the prison-houses of sin responded to the words of life, and became new men and women in Christ Jesus. In the wicked city of Corinth was such a company. This was their former state: unrighteous, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. Such were some of them. But the Gospel of God’s grace was preached by the apostle Paul and coadjutors. The word of life was received as from God. And then the apostle said to these same people: “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-11. What reformers need, what missionaries need, is not so much skill to teach, is not evolutionary philosophy, but the power of God. The Gospel preached as a form is pleasing but powerless. Preached as God designed it, it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” God is Creator. Nothing is too hard for Him. And even as of old, He desires to manifest and magnify thru His church His own creative, regenerating, saving power. But that power, that life, flows out from the great fountain with mighty power to those in harmony with the will of God. God is pleading with all who profess His name, “Be ye reconciled.” Come into harmony with the great power of the universe. Submit to His perfect law, and know the power of His endless life. Sinner, there is hope for you in God. Do not despair. There is hope now. Like the utterly corrupt leper, you can come to Jesus and say, “Lord, make me clean,” and in response to your simple faith He will respond with infinite power, “I will; be thou clean,” and immediately thou shalt be clean. NOTES ON THE CONFERENCE.
By Editor
BESIDES the educational work as connected with our central college, noted in last week’s issue, considerable attention was given to sanitarium and health lines. Noble work has been done by the Battle Creek Sanitarium in the education of workers, devoted, self-sacrificing disciples of Christ. These are found in the field as physicians, medical missionaries, health lecturers, and nurses. There are over four hundred such workers now, and many more are developing. THE Medical Missionary College in Chicago having altogether inadequate buildings, it was voted to erect a suitable structure at a cost of $100,000. The needs of the Sanitarium at Battle Creek have demanded the leasing of cottages all around the institution, and $5,000 rent was paid last year. Now that the institution is about to secure the buildings of the college, consisting of the college proper, west hall, and south hall, the two dormitories, the congestion will for a time be relieved. At present there are over 400 patients and guests at the Sanitarium, from all parts of the United States. TAKING it all in all, the conference was a wonderful manifestation of what the Spirit of Christ will do. This was shown in two ways. First, in the great and radical changes made in organization. While these were many, and affected many, and while there was more or less difference of opinion, the changes were made with very little friction. There were no sharp thrusts, no manifestations of temper, no innuendoes, all was brotherly and Christian. THE second manifestation of the Spirit of Christ was in the prominence given to work in distant lands. While many changes were made in fields of labor, in what might be called the home field,—United States,—there were many sent to other lands, and there will be many more, as time is given to bring the fields and the volunteers together. As it was, over seventy persons were assigned fields in other than home lands. The near product of this conference will in all probability reach over 100. Its final product will be seen only in eternity. ALL these changes and calls are based upon the willingness and co-operation of all parties concerned. No board or organization says you shall go. Suggestions are made; but does the Lord bid the soul to go? does his heart make him willing? These are paramount considerations. The message must be God-given, the soul who gives the message should know his mission. IT was a glad, joyous sight, the last afternoon and evening of the conference. Those going to distant lands were present in a body, and they were addressed by old and experienced laborers, including Mrs. E. G. White, who besought all to stand in their own individuality under Christ Jesus; united with others not by human yokes, but by the life and love of Jesus. The editor of this journal besought these missionaries to remember this paper when absent, that its many readers may know of their work. This we expect they will do. Their own testimonies were cheering, as they told of their experiences, and how the Lord led them. May God indeed go with them, every step of the pilgrim way; and may every one come home in the great harvest close, bringing many sheaves with him. THESE exercises closed the best conference we have ever known, and which, under God, we ardently hope will bring forth great results. OUR journey home was without special incident. There were twelve in our company; other western delegates and visitors had remained or gone on before. We came by the Santa Fe route, and the weather across the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona was delightfully cool and free from dust. Strange as it seems, the worst weather found on our whole trip was in sunny, genial California. The close of our journey was in the midst of a hard rain and rough sea, preceded by the dust of the south San Joaquin Valley. AT Williams, Arizona, we met the pastor, W. C. Geyer, of the M. E. church of that place, who accompanied us to Ash Fork, a part of his great field. Mr. Geyer is all alone in pastoral work in Williams, a town of 1500 inhabitants, there being no other church or minister in that field. May the Lord bless him in all his labors for the Master. ONCE again we are at this post of duty, to labor as the Lord directs, and it is our desire to make as never before the SIGNS OF THE TIMES a preacher of righteousness, an instructor in the way of life. And to this end we ask the prayers and co-operation of our readers. THE LESSON OF PENTECOST.
By G.
WHATSOEVER things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we thru patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. Then there is something in the story of Pentecost for our learning, for our comfort, for the encouragement of hope. Verily such a lesson is worthy of thoughtful study. The central point of the account is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Without this there would have been little, if anything, worthy of record. Whatever is to be learned from that day’s proceedings is from the Spirit. That outpouring was the fulfillment of promise. It was the “promise of the Father” and also of the Son. See Acts 1:4-8. It was the “Comforter” which Christ had promised to send when He should go away from earth. Thru its ministration was to come the “comfort of the Scriptures,” by guiding us “into all truth,” which is the Word of God. John 17:17; Ps. 119:151. The Lord laid great stress on the importance of the Spirit’s coming to His disciples; so much that He deemed it “expedient” for Himself to go away that the Spirit might come. He had many things to say to His followers which they could not bear until their minds were enlightened by the Spirit. No more could the disciples of any subsequent time have borne the same things without the Spirit’s guidance and comfort. Thru the Spirit the disciples would be enabled to remember what Jesus Himself had taught; and by the same means we are to remember His words. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. Pentecost was not the beginning of the work of the Spirit in the earth, but it was the greater fulness which had been foretold by prophecy. It had actuated individuals in a special manner before; notably Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), Zacharias (verse 67), and John the Baptist (verse 15). It had also been sent upon patriarchs, prophets, priests, kings, and judges, as occasion demanded. But at no time before could it be said that the Spirit in visible form had come upon the common people personally, and “sat upon each one of them” in an assembly of about one hundred and twenty. Moreover it was explained by the Spirit itself that this was the beginning of the fulfilment of the prophecy of God, which had said: “It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:16-18. A very important point in this connection is the fact that this same Spirit had dictated the matter contained in the Scriptures. “Holy men of God spake [the prophecy] as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. The prophets testified the things which “the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.” 1 Peter 1:10, 11. Then the Spirit is essential in the interpretation of the things which are given to us by the Spirit. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Cor. 2:9-14. On the day of Pentecost the gift of tongues was made prominent because of the great opportunity for Gospel work thru that particular gift. There were “devout men” congregated there from “every nation under heaven,” and the Spirit took advantage of this opportunity to give each one the truth in his own language. But the operation of the Spirit is not confined to the gift of tongues. “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” Ch. 12:8-11. The gifts of the Spirit are not merely spasmodic or ecstatic emotions, or temporary functions; but they are abiding, as long as the recipient is willing to be led by the Spirit in “humbleness of mind.” They are for the “perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4:12, 13. Thus it is as necessary to be filled with the Spirit in order to do the work of Christ successfully to-day as it was on the day of Pentecost. The promise of Christ is, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Thru the Holy Spirit come the presence and power of Christ; and it is yet true that our Father in heaven is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. The Holy Spirit is the “earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession;” it is that by which we are sealed to Christ, and thru whose ministration we are “kept by the power of God thru faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Eph. 1:13, 14; 1 Peter 1:25. But while the power of the Spirit is so graciously vouchsafed to us for our sanctification, and for the work of the Gospel, we are in return to manifest its effect to the world. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” If we do this, the legitimate fruits will be manifest in our walk and conversation. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Gal. 5:22, 23. So much for this life; “as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. Then comes the promise for the future life: “If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:11. “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:54. It is the privilege of every one to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), to bear and enjoy its fruits here, and to enter into its fulness of joy and peace in the everlasting inheritance. G. A SUBTLE SEDUCTION.
By C. M. S.
THE NEW YORK Independent notes the striking fact that notwithstanding the presidential campaign of last year, the fighting in the Philippines and South Africa, the weighty affairs in connection with the China disturbance, the developments going on in Cuba and Porto Rico—notwithstanding all these important occurrences, the production and consumption of light literature has increased. These important matters have not been able to absorb the attention of the people as once they did; but the fictions of the novelist have thrived in every society; have occupied the attention of men, women, and children; have robbed the household of the attention it should have had from mother and father; have robbed the children of the precious moments which should have been devoted to their instruction and their moral and physical culture; and by their own indulgence, have robbed them of the foundation of a broad, manly, and womanly character. This suffering has not been confined to the home, but wherever an active brain is required, fiction has introduced its deadly work. The mechanic has lost, thru novel-reading, the power to concentrate his mind upon mechanical problems, or to turn off high-grade work in an efficient and agreeable manner. It is impossible to imagine a Franklin, a Morse, a Fulton, a Whitney, an Edison, or a Tesla, pouring for hours (or whole days as some do) over the imaginary experiences of persons who never existed. As a simple matter of business they would tell you they had no time to squander in this the most foolish kind of idleness. Why the most foolish? They would tell you that in addition to the squandering of time, it utterly unfitted their brain for sober, serious calculations. It is not an occasional wound that endangers the strength and effectiveness of an army; but it is the long, lingering, debilitating disease that is most feared. The wounded man may return to duty strong and rugged; but the lingering disease weakens the constitution, and the power and effectiveness is gone. It is this latter work that is going on upon the brain of the novel-reader, subtly undermining its most important functions. Tickling the imagination on one hand, the novel robs men on the other, of that which is more precious than the “golden wedge of Ophir” or the diamonds of Kimberly. Gold and precious stones are cheap when compared with the mental and spiritual possibilities of man. To the fiction-clouded brain the truths of the Gospel fade into dreamy nothingness, while the myths of fiction are idealized and materialized; and the liquor-steeped, tobacco-steeped novelist becomes the dictator of the people’s course in life. What has brought this about so soon and so subtly? The answer is not far to seek, nor hard to find. It is in the present novel-infested curriculum of the public school. The Independent says, and says truly: “Such revolution in the public mind might have been confidently expected largely on account of the rapid growth of literary appetite aroused by the enthusiastic training in our public schools. The millions of children educated to love books are beginning to appear as men and women who love books and buy them.” It is only within recent years that the public schools have required a certain amount of novel-reading on the part of the children, but how rapidly and how terribly is the fruit of its folly manifest. Even such influential religious journals as the one above quoted look with complacency or open commendation upon this work and its baleful results. The mind of man never had a more subtle seducer than is found in the trashy fiction of the present day; and childhood’s possibility for true manhood and womanhood never had a more dangerous obstacle thrown in its path than the novel-reading which the public schools are now requiring as a part of the regular school work. Upon the mind saturated, in its most receptive stage, with the literature of fiction, the words of eternal truth fall with ever-lessening effect. The moulding influence which such a work must have upon the present and the rising generation is making of them fit soil for the rankest weeds of error which these “last days” can produce. Surely demons must laugh to see men doing their work for them, and doing it so well. In this way do men help on the cause of man’s greatest enemy, and build the death-trap for themselves and their children. It is a sad, merciless business this debauching of little children in the name of literary education. “As the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.” As the child’s mind is moulded, so will it grow. Fed thus early on the chaff of the day, it will learn to look for chaff all along its journey, and to feed chaff to those who come after. Such is the outlook in the line of child training, and such the preparation of the soil upon which is now growing the last great harvest of the world. THERE IS A REASON FOR IT.
By T.
It is a fact apparent to all, that lawlessness is spreading most rapidly. The police officer accepts a bribe, and closes his eyes to the work of criminals who ought to be brought to justice. The judge on the bench allows technicalities and unwarranted precedents, shrewdly presented by crafty lawyers, to shape his decisions, instead of being governed by the everlasting principles of right. The result of this procedure on the part of the judicial bench is the failure to convict and punish men for their dark deeds. The trial of every crime in the calendar, from murder on down the list, is made to drag thru weary days, and sometimes weeks and months. Men have become irritated at this, and in various places have expressed themselves in mob violence. Thru all this system of crime and crime protection there runs a great chain of influence. The politician must hold his influence, and so he will protect this and that wrong—does so that he may hold the votes they can control. Then these wrong-doers, with whom he comes directly in contact, have their friends, and they too must be protected. Thus the evil goes from one to the other, until the whole nation is honeycombed with the baleful disease. There is a cause that is back of all this breaking down of the bulwarks of morality. The embankments have been digged away, else this flood of evil could not be deluging the land. When we seek for the reason, it is not hard to find. For the last half century a great class of men have been soberly and ardently teaching that the Ten Commandments are abolished. They have done this largely to quiet the awakening consciousness that the world has gone wrong on the Sabbath question. The law of God plainly says that the seventh day is the Sabbath. It can not be made to say anything else. And by searching the Bible from Genesis to Revelation no evidence of any change in the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week can be found. This is the statement of a simple fact, that is apparent to any one who studies the Bible for himself. The stirring activities of the century just closed have brought a great many things to the front. This is particularly true in the field of Bible study. These truths had been covered by centuries of tradition and superstition, and some of them have been accepted, in theory, by the masses, while others, that involved some inconvenience, have been rejected. Among the truths rejected is the Sabbath. And one of the most prominent arguments brought forward against the Lord’s holy day of rest has been the theory that the law of God is abolished. Men may reject and trample upon wrong or oppressive human law, and as a result there will come forth a strong nation of free men,—a nation loyal and true to law and order. But when the law of Jehovah is lightly regarded, it shows that the great foundation principles of morality are losing their hold upon the minds of men, and nothing short of the worst kind of anarchy can come as the fruit of such evil doing. Take the person, for example, who holds the Ten Commandments in high esteem, and teaches them to his children. Could you imagine such a one at the head of a mob of law-breakers? Could such a one accept bribes to do evil, or to protect the evil-doer in his vices and crimes? God’s law has been set aside in the minds of many; the abrogation of the law has been seriously and ardently taught, and the terrible fruits of this worst of all forms of anarchy are making their appearance. What an awful record will have to be faced when the final harvest of this wrong teaching is reaped? Men who regard the ways of righteousness should give serious attention to these things. Every one who respects the law of God should hold it before the minds of men, and thus seek to restrain the flow of evil as much as possible. God is calling for men to-day who still have the sense of right and truth. He needs them to stand with Him in these days of lawlessness, to hold forth the words of life to perishing men. T.