p. 16 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 18. (4/30/1902)

LESSON 6.—MAY 11.—PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON.

Lesson Scripture, Acts 12:1-17, R.V.

1 “Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. 4 And those were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in the prison; but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. 5 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison. 6 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell; and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly. 7 And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 8 And he went out, and followed; and he wist not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. 9 And when they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out, and passed on through one street; and straightway the angel departed from him. 10 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth His angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. 11 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together and were praying. 12 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda. 13 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peter stood before the gate. 14 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And they said, It is his angel. 15 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed. 16 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren. 17 And he departed, and went to another place.”

Golden Text.—“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) While Barnabas and Saul were laboring in Antioch, Syria, what did Herod do in Jerusalem? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What special act of cruelty is recorded? Verse 2. (3) What other apostle was arrested, and why? Verse 3. Note 2. (4) What did the king design to do with Peter? Verse 4. Note 3. (5) While Peter was kept in prison, what was being done by the church? Verse 5. Note 4. (6) How closely was Peter guarded? Verse 6. (7) What occurred on the night before Peter was to have been executed? Verses 7-9. Note 5. (8) What further indicates the supposed security of Peter’s imprisonment? Verse 10. Note 6. (9) What did Peter realize when he was left to himself? Verse 11. (10) To whose house did he go? What was going on there? Verse 12. (11) Who answered Peter’s knock at the gate? Verse 13. (12) What did she do when she recognized his voice? Verse 14. (13) How was her report received by the company? Verse 15. (14) What was their feeling when they found that it was really Peter? Verse 16. Note 7. (15) What report did Peter make? What request did he add before leaving? Verse 17. Note 8.

Besides the notes, read the article of the same title as the lesson, in the fore part of paper.

NOTES.

1. “Herod the king” was Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great. He made a great display at Caesarea a short time afterward, dressed in “royal apparel” and “made an oration.” The people praised him as a god, and an angel smote him. He died in great agony, being “eaten of worms.” See verses 20-23 of lesson chapter.

2. To please the Jews had been a marked policy with Herod. He was appointed by Emperor Claudius, who succeeded Caligula. He was in part a Jew by birth; he lived in Jerusalem, and secured the loyalty of the Pharisees by punctually observing the traditions of the fathers. It is said that at one time, at the Feast of Tabernacles, he took the reader’s stand and read the whole of the book of Deuteronomy, which greatly pleased the Jews.

3. Keeping Peter till after the Passover was a part of Herod’s policy to regard the traditions of the Jews. These were averse to executions during the Passover week. James had been put to death before the Passover. Incidentally this reminds us that in their desperate anxiety to have Jesus condemned, the Jews had not scrupled not only to violate the law, but even to disregard their own traditions, when they clamored for His death on the very day of the Passover. The Common Version has “Easter” instead of “Passover,” which is a grievous error, an utter perversion of the original. The Greek is pascha, passover.

4. “But.”—The disjunctive is very striking in this sentence. Peter was kept in prison, “but prayer was made earnestly of the church.” Thus the superiority of the power of prayer over the power of the prison is made very emphatic by a single word, and that a monosyllable.

5. “Awoke Him.”—Apparently Peter was not worrying over the situation, else he would not have been sleeping soundly under such unfavorable circumstances. Such is true faith. It will obey God rather than men (ch. 4:19; 5:29), and leave the consequences with God.

6. Peter was supposed to be very securely confined. The Jews had not forgotten that he had at one time been released from their prison (ch. 5:17-20); and no doubt Herod was made aware of this fact. The apostle was evidently in an inner cell of the tower, fastened between two soldiers by a chain on each hand. Then there were sentinels at two outer posts, and outside of these an iron gate, opening into the city. To all human appearances escape was impossible.

7. The prayer of faith had been answered. The amazement of the company at the house of Mary was not that prayer should be heard, but that Peter should appear to them at such an hour. Evidently their hope had been for some favorable turn in the mind of the king, that would result in the prisoner’s release.

8. James, to whom Peter desired to have the fact of his release communicated, was the brother of Christ (Gal. 1:19), and was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was also president of the council held in Jerusalem over the question of circumcision for Gentile converts. Ch. 15:12-21. Paul also recognized him as the leader of the church in Judea, Gal. 2:11, 12.

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CO-OPERATION CORNER.

By Editor

Many of our faithful missionary workers would gladly use much larger clubs of the SIGNS than they are now circulating if they could afford to do so, while there are others who would be just as glad to pay for such clubs if they knew who needed them.

For these reasons we have opened the “Co-operation Corner.” It will contain requests for clubs of papers for use in various fields, short reports from those who are using such clubs, acknowledgments of money received, and such other information as will bring together those who can use papers but can not pay for them, and those who can pay for papers but are not so situated that they can use them.

Statement.

The following is a statement of receipts and disbursements for the six months since the Co-operation Corner was inaugurated:—

AMOUNT CALLED FOR | AMOUNT RECEIVED

10 SIGNS one year to International Tract Society, Free School St., Calcutta, India . . . $12 00 | $22 00 (We were able to send this club nearly two years.) 36 Our Little Friends, one year, to Orphan Asylum . . . 14 40 | 14 40 12 SIGNS one year to Workingmen’s Home, Chicago, Ill. . . . 9 00 | 9 00 Single subscriptions for people who desire their SIGNS continued, but are unable to pay for them. They write of their appreciation of the SIGNS and tell what it has done for them. Part of these requests are from people who are well advanced in years and who are dependent upon others for their support . . . | 30 95 5 SIGNS one year to a County Hospital . . . 3 50 | 00 00 50 Our Little Friends to a Mission Sunday-school, for one year . . . 20 00 | 10 00 75 SIGNS six months for use by Pastor S. N. Haskell and his company of workers located in New York City . . . 24 75 | 24 75 42 County Jails, one year, literature for . . . 00 00 | 54 70 A club of SIGNS to help open the work in Tokyo, Japan . . . 00 00 | 131 10 20 SIGNS, six months, to Working Women’s Home, Tampa, Fla. . . . 7 00 | 7 50 Single copies to be placed on file in as many Public Reading Rooms as possible . . . 00 00 | 00 00 50 SIGNS, six months to A. R. Ogden, for use in the Chile mission field . . . 30 50 | 18 50

Total Received $322 90

In case more money was received for one call than was advertised for, the subscription of said papers has either been extended accordingly or else the surplus money put to the credit of the most needy club.

Twelve dollars more is needed before the club for Chile will be paid for.

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Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, California

Looking unto Jesus

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Divided Forces.

—Our neighbor, Messiah's Advocate, remarks:—

What a pity it is that the devil has succeeded in dividing the forces of those who believe in conditional immortality, when there is so great a need for union.

And then it tells us that the worst division among believers in the mortality of man and the need of a real resurrection for future life, is over the Sabbath question; but an agreement seems utterly impossible: we are looking at the question from entirely different standpoints.

But it is no more impossible than it is for those who believe in the immortality of the soul to agree with those who hold to conditional immortality. The cases are parallel. Logically every soul who believes in Jesus Christ as his Saviour, his all in all, ought to be a conditionalist. His future life is dependent upon “Christ our Life.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” The conditionalist believer ought logically to see that Christ is our Life because He is “our Righteousness.” He is our Life that we may have the same life which He possessed here and ever after. He is our Righteousness that we may have the same righteousness which He possessed here and ever after, the righteousness of entire conformity to God's will, the life which kept all God's commandments,—the Sabbath among the rest. By that “obedience” we are made righteous. By that life we are kept righteous. God is one. He and His Son are one. His law is one. His righteousness is not a thing of era or dispensation, of whim or choice; it is one and unchangeable. It seems to us so clear, so strong, that every true believer in conditional immortality through Jesus Christ ought logically to be a Sabbath-keeper.

God’s Life and His Law

The life from God, perverted by the wicked man to selfish purposes, is no more God's life than the law of God perverted is God's law, or the justice of God perverted is God's justice. As soon as the life of God is perverted to the channel of a perverted law, it is no longer God's life. The life of God comes into a man, when man by faith comes into glad harmony with God's law.

Winning Love Through Unselfishness

We never win love by demanding it, or mourning because we do not possess it. The only way to win love is by being lovely, not outwardly, but inwardly, unselfishly lovely. Outward acts may win admiration,—always more or less evanescent; but it takes the real character of unselfish loveliness to win love and hold it. Sometimes the love of a wife is a love of being loved. Her affections are bestowed as an investment is made—to get more. This is as frequently true of the husband—the love has a selfish basis, and that is not genuine love. This is a subject worth thinking of by both husband and wife, by father and mother.

Modern Medicine for March

In “Modern Medicine” for March Dr. J. H. Kellogg concludes an able and practical article on “The Etiology and Treatment of Chronic Articular Rheumatism,” in which physicians will be interested, and by it many may be helped. David Paulson, M.D., has an article of interest on “Morphine and Allied Drug Habits.” Per annum, $1.00; single copy 10 cents. Modern Medicine Publishing Company, Battle Creek, Mich.; 28 Thirty-third Street Place, Chicago; 451 Holloway Road, London, N.

Increase of Violence.

The Boston Herald of March 3 had this editorial utterance:—

Within the last two years, and, presumably, as the outcome of the prevailing war spirit, an alarming increase has been noted of crimes of violence, tyranny, and cruelty. The most distressing feature of the whole is that they have been especially rife in our higher institutions of education, to which naturally the public looks for the training of its loftiest exemplars of manners, morals, and ideals.

Of the times of Noah we read:—

“And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.” “The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Gen. 6: 5, 11.

And Jesus has emphatically told us several times:—

“As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24: 37.

While our hearts are sad because of increasing crime and wickedness, we may be comforted with the assurance that even these things are tokens of the near coming of the Life-giver and Restorer.

Comparative Meanings.—

By Editor

In San Francisco a street-car strike is pending. The United Companies wish to move their cars, but are prevented by the strikers. In the first four days of the strike, according to the report of the employees, 127 car windows have been smashed, trolley ropes have been cut, and other injury done to property; nine men have been, without reported injury, forcibly removed from the cars they were attempting to operate, and nine others have been assaulted and injured. Now the companies may be all wrong; we confess that our sympathies are with the men in the strike, who ought to receive larger wages; but we do believe that a company has the right to operate its own property unmolested. But the thing we wish to note in this writing is the comparative meaning of words. In the light of the above conditions the mayor tells us, “The conditions are now peaceful, and peaceful and orderly they must remain.” It would be difficult to find the place or condition in which the mayor would concede that strife and disorder existed. This is the world’s idea of peace. This is the “peace” that many professed Christians have with God. Words used in this way become utterly meaningless. Peace is harmony, is union, is accordance with the same standard. It is hoped that the strike may be settled peacefully, and that no further violence be committed.

Where Is the Proof?

A lady in Arizona who signs herself “Madam E. Wilson,” stated publicly in a printed circular, dated “Sept. 16, 10:30 A. M. sharp,” 1901, that she accepted the offer of T. Enright, a Catholic priest of St. Louis, who has for years been offering to give $1,000 to any one who will prove, from the Bible alone, that Sunday is a sacred day, and that its observance is enjoined upon him. Madam E. Wilson in her circular agreed to “produce [proof], from the Bible alone, that our glorious Sunday is the right, the legal, the lawful Sabbath for worshipers since the Christian era of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” So she states it. Without pausing to inquire the difference between legal and lawful (both of which may be used for emphasis), or what other Christian era there is save that of our Lord, we wish merely to note that we have heard nothing of this “proof,” and the priest still holds the $1,000. Why does not this lady claim the reward?

Coveting the Gifts of the Spirit

To covet, according to the Standard Dictionary, means, primarily, “to have an inordinate or unlawful desire for; to lust after.” Hence the idea as expressed in the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” etc. A covetous person is an idolater (Eph. 5:5), and has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. See, also, 1 Cor. 6:9, 10. So the expression, “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31), is better as rendered in the Revised Version, “Desire earnestly the greater gifts.” We have no right to covet, or unlawfully desire, even the gifts of the Spirit. This was the sin of Simon Magus, who desired to purchase miraculous power with money, and was told by Simon Peter that his heart was not right in the sight of God, and that he was “in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” To desire the Spirit of God for any purpose but to unselfishly glorify God, is nothing short of idolatry. Hence in asking for the Spirit, we should weigh carefully the real purpose of our earnest desire. No doubt an underlying selfishness in asking for the Spirit is a reason, if not the reason, why the prayer is so often denied.

Prayer for Israel

“Prayer for Israel.”—The Superintendent of the Messiah Mission to Israel, Thos. M. Chalmers, 247 South Center Avenue, Chicago, sends out an address entitled, “A Call to Prayer for Israel,” for ten days, May 1 to 10. It pleads the indifference of the church, the great opportunity to work for the 1,200,000 Jews in this country, the more liberal attitude of the Jews, growing infidelity among many of them, failure of Jewish mission work, gratitude for what Christians have received through the Jews, God’s demand, the urgent need; and other reasons are urged for this prayer movement. We bid God-speed to all who are laboring to save the Jews through Jesus Christ, mistaken tho many of the efforts are. When God’s church, clothed with His righteousness, filled with His Spirit, goes forth with “the everlasting Gospel,” to win all men to the commandments of God through the faith of Jesus (Rev. 14:6-12), then will we find many in Israel according to the flesh returning to the Lord, but not till then. The Gospel is not designed to make either Jew or Gentile a law-breaker, disloyal to God.

Eight Hymns and Christian Songs

Upon our table has been laid a few tastily bound sheets labeled “Proofs.” Proofs of what? we conjectured. Of things worth proving, we concluded, as we run through its contents. It contains eight sweet hymns and Christian songs, with music. The pages are 7½ x 10. The songs have mostly appeared in the SIGNS. The titles are as follows: “My Heavenly Home;” “Let in the Sunlight;” “Speed, Heralds of Our King;” “In the Temple;” “Satisfied;” “Shine In;” “A Guest of the King;” “Encampment of the Angels;” “Take My Heart, O Christ, My Saviour.” Any one who wishes to obtain these in this form may address E. A. Smith, Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal. The price is only fifteen cents.

Wonderland Booklet

“Wonderland,” by Olin D. Wheeler, is a beautifully descriptive illustrated book of that part of the northwest tributary to the Northern Pacific Railway. “Mining in Montana,” “Northern Cheyenne Indians,” “Yellowstone Park,” and the “Puget Sound Country” are given special treatment. We learn from it that on April 18, 1865, flour sold in Virginia City for $100 per 100 lbs., at a dollar a pound. The book may be obtained for 6 cents in postage stamps of Mr. Chas. S. Fee, General Passenger and Ticket Agent, Northern Pacific Railway, St. Paul, Minn.

Summer Schools at Berkeley

Summer schools are coming to be established in connection with many of the great institutions. Among the leading ones in this respect is the University of California, at Berkeley. In three years it has come to be second in students of American summer sessions. It is designed to be a help to professional men, teachers, etc. The session this year is from June 26 to August 6. Any one desiring information may address James Sutton, Recorder of the Faculties, Berkeley, Cal.

Peace Through Surrender to God

Rest is the fruit of peace; and peace is the divinely certified condition of the soul that has surrendered to Him. He who yields to God has peace. It is a condition, not a feeling.