Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 15.
ARISE YE, AND DEPART; FOR THIS IS NOT YOUR RESTPage 1
Earlier text: ARISE YE, AND DEPART; FOR THIS IS NOT YOUR RESTA Letter to a Condemned Murderer
A few days before going to Graysville, Mrs. Henry dictated the following letter to a condemned murderer, who was sentenced to meet the full penalty of the law on the 9th of February:— “I have just received a letter in which you are mentioned, and the painful circumstances that hang over your life at the present time. I was not requested to write to you, it was not even suggested; but I am constrained to do so. It is a terrible thing to come to the end of one’s probation in this world, in view of the relation which we sustain to God, our Heavenly Father, and all that he has done to make it possible that every soul should be gathered into his kingdom at last. It is impossible that you should have sinned so greatly as to be beyond the love and mercy and tender forethought of your Heavenly Father. The law of the land may condemn you to the extreme penalty; but if you suffer the penalty of eternal death, it will be by your own decision instead of that of God. You can not have sinned a sin that was not taken into account in the gift of Christ, and the penalty of which he did not bear in his own person when he was crucified for you. So let me urge you carefully to consider all the claims of Christ. Do not add, after all the sinfulness that may have been in your life, the last sin of refusing the offer of salvation and the invitation to come home to God.
“You probably have access to a Bible. If so, let me ask you to turn to the twenty-ninth chapter of Jeremiah, and read the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth verses; and as you turn the pages of the Bible, look for the words of invitation which are scattered all through it for just such poor sinners as you and all of us. The sleep of death, into which the execution of the penalty under which you rest may usher you, will be passed quickly, and the morning of the resurrection will come as to one who has lain down and slept a dreamless sleep, and your life will seem to have had no interruption whatever; and it is possible for you to arise at that time in the first resurrection, with all the joy of a new-born soul, born to eternal life and the joy of a child who has come home out of dark wanderings and many sorrowful and lonely scenes of desolation. Do not turn away from the gospel invitation, but yield yourself to God, make your peace with him, and lie down to sleep conscious that you shall awaken in his likeness.” Little did we think that she would precede him into that “dreamless sleep.” In response to this letter the following note was received, dated January 25:— “DEAR MADAM: In reply to your letter of the 1st inst., I thank you for the interest you have taken in my spiritual welfare, and hope your words of advice will not be in vain.” To seize the opportunities as they came hour by hour, performing any duty immediately when it presented itself, was one of Mrs. Henry’s most prominent characteristics; and therefore when her life work closed, there seemed to be nothing left unfinished that she could have done. In the midst of her busy life it would have seemed a very excusable thing to have delayed writing to this young man; but her part was faithfully done, and we know not what the result may have been to him. It is a good thing to keep our work up to date day by day, so that there will be no hanging ends, and vain regrets. EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.
For nearly two years I have lived as a lone Sabbath-keeper in this place. In every way I have tried to hold up the light of truth to my neighbors, and last month two sisters took a stand for the truth. I feel that a great responsibility rests upon me now, and I ask an interest in your prayers that my words and acts may be inspired by the Holy Spirit. I am glad the Lord has shown you your work, in the W. C. T. U. I felt from the first that he wanted you there to take the message to them for this time, and from them the Lord can take it to the world. Your work at the convention at Seattle reminded me of Luther before the Diet of Worms, and God only knows but the importance of the work was just as great as that of Luther. We must be willing to be used in God's own way and time. Our woman's work is steadily going on. We are invited to hold a meeting to-night with an Episcopal family. We found a family that was poor, and we asked the privilege of going to the house to help the mother fix up the clothing for the children. We did the best we could to make them comfortable for the winter, and the husband told one of our brethren that he was indeed glad we came, for there had been a great change in his wife. They now attend prayer-meetings, and say that they have erected a family altar, and are studying the Bible. The husband's father attended our prayer-meetings, and accepted the Saviour. He died a short time ago, but he said that he was ready to go. He was just on the point of accepting the Sabbath and kindred truths, although we had never said anything on the Sabbath question. I think we have much to praise God for. Others who belong to different churches are slowly being led into the truth. Two persons have given up the use of tobacco. Pray for us, that the Lord may give us wisdom. The Methodist minister of our neighborhood called on me this afternoon, and I loaned him a few books to read. We had a good missionary visit together. I hope to become better acquainted with him, and that the Lord will use me to help get this precious truth before him. Last week our society of Woman's Gospel Workers tacked three comfortables for our city mission. We do not have any regular time for meeting. Any member can call a meeting at any time she thinks best. We think time is too precious to be spent in having too many meetings, thus neglecting more important work; for there are many poor to feed and clothe. A few days ago a friend of mine received a letter from one of her friends whose husband has been killed by the cars, leaving a crippled wife, and children without a father. Knowing this, I went over this morning, taking a copy of the REVIEW AND HERALD with me which contained one of your articles, “Saved by Families,” and directed her mind to the comforting scriptures there quoted. I thought she might like to write to her bereaved friend, and comfort her with the word of God. I felt much impressed this beautiful preparation day morning to drop you a few lines of encouragement. For the last week I have felt more encouraged than ever before in my Christian experience. Last night we had a grand experience in the meeting that was held in our home. There were only a few persons present, but the Spirit of the Lord was manifested in a large measure. The promise of the Lord, that where two or three meet in his name there he will be in their midst, is sure. My husband has decided to take his stand with us. Oh, how I rejoice in the name of the Lord Jesus! My husband never made any profession. His work has been such as to cause him to have some very narrow escapes with his life; but I believe the Lord has spared him that he might receive the truth. YOUR answer to four sisters in some church, as found in the REVIEW AND HERALD of January 16, was just to the point. I have been looking for something to that effect. Besides my own family, I have in my home a grandpa, and his sister's son, who eat those things that the Lord has pronounced unclean; but I have not found it necessary to eat them myself, nor to give them to my children; and they never ask for them. I have had a roasted rabbit on the side of the table where grandpa and cousin sit, but the children never ask for it. I made them some extra dish that was healthful; and while I was preparing the food and the rabbit, I taught them about what the Lord said about these unclean things, and that he wishes us to put only clean things into his temple. For some time I have been wishing to write to you about these things, so you may be sure I was glad to find this in the REVIEW. I am indeed glad that the Lord has made you his co-worker to lead us weaker sisters into his paths. I have just read “A WOMAN-Ministry.” How thankful we should be for the light God is sending us! If we are truly willing to work in his vineyard, we can find plenty of places. Not long ago a sister and myself went to see an invalid who has been afflicted many years with nervous prostration. The daughter, a young woman of twenty-five, had raised the younger children, and nursed her mother. The husband and father has treated the family cruelly, never hiring help, although he is a man of means. The young woman has worked so faithfully with her mother, and has been deprived of rest so much, that her health has failed, and it is feared that she will lose her mind, or be prostrated with the same disease that her mother has. The neighbors are not willing to go and take the place of a nurse when the husband is able to hire one; but the Lord impressed me that we must not let this dear girl be sacrificed without an effort to save her life. So seven women were selected, each to spend a day with the sick woman, and let the girl go away to rest. The Lord has been working in a wonderful way here. Seven miles distant there lives a woman who professes holiness, but does not belong to any church. The Lord put it into my heart to visit her, so another sister and I went, and had a good visit. Soon she came to see us. We talked on Bible subjects all day, and I mentioned going to Sabbath-school fifteen miles away. She said she would like to go too, so we went, visiting several sick and lonely ones on the way. As we were returning, she said, “Now if you had waited until I received the Sabbath before coming to see me, perhaps we would not have been together yet; but now we can enjoy each other's company, and agree on so many things, and perhaps after a while we can agree on all things.” She is reading and praying for light. I mention this that others may see that we must get out of denominational lines to work. There are many all about us who are waiting to see us step over the church line to help them, and will be glad to have our help. This house-to-house work is a grand work. We can take “The Ladies' Guide” and point many a sick and nervous woman to the right way of living. And when they are taught this, and how to rely upon God, how quick the light comes to their eyes, and they exclaim, I am so glad you came! EARLY SPRING.
By Cordelia Stewart
GONE are the winter’s rough gales,—
And a softer breeze is blowing;
The fields have lost their snowy veils,
And on the hills and in the dales
The little flowers are growing. The brooklet sings a merrier song
To the willows lowly bending;
The icy fetters, so cold and strong,
Are broken now, and it glides along
Through the meadows, swift descending. The mossy bank, where the violets bloom,
Grows brighter for its singing;
And hastens the work on its mystic loom,
To be ready in time for the sweet perfume
The violet buds are bringing. And the tiny blades of grass avow
That the winter time is over.
A robin sings on the maple bough,
And I almost thought I heard just now
The hum of the bees in the clover. Not long will we have to wait, I know,
For the birds and bees and flowers;
We’re told in the softer evening glow,
And the balmy touch of the winds that blow,
And the daylight’s lengthening hours. Cheer up, sad heart, thou’st waited long,
Through days so cold and dreary;
And raise your voice in a cheerful song
Of praise for the promise, so true and strong,
Of the coming days so cheery — For the days with their new-born life so bright
And beautiful in their dawning —
For the promise that even earth’s darkest night
Will pass away in glorious light
Of the resurrection morning. PURE FOOD AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF TRUE REFORM.
By David Paulson
Vegetarianism is not a fad nor a new-fangled idea. It is decidedly old-fashioned, for it originated with the race. After creating Adam, the Lord made out a menu for him; and it consisted of the natural products of the earth. Evidently there was a divine fitness existing between Adam's beautiful home, his pure diet, and his exalted character. Providence always arranges things in the best manner; and when men seek to improve them, they of necessity to that extent spoil them. Saturating the pure air of heaven with tobacco smoke, instead of improving the atmosphere, makes it a menace to health. Nature furnishes us with water to quench our thirst, and instead of making it better by adding to it alcohol, or even tea or coffee, or any other harmful substance, we render it more suitable to be consigned to the kitchen sink than to be taken into the human stomach. When we consider the importance of the diet question from the mental, moral, and physical standpoint, it is amazing to see the indifference and ignorance that exist in reference to it. It is not only possible, but it is the rule, rather than the exception, for young women to go through the entire modern system of education, of which we are so proud, and yet not be able to give their mothers one idea of how to improve upon their methods of cooking the food that is to build up brain substance with which to think again God's thoughts. The business man requires a good stenographer; for he can not afford to run the risk of having her make him say that he will pay a thousand dollars for a certain article when he said one hundred dollars. Likewise, if he becomes badly tangled up in his business affairs, he secures a good attorney to unravel the snarl. He also desires to listen to a good minister to preach the gospel from the pulpit. But any ignorant girl, who perhaps has no more knowledge of the composition of the body than she has of the geography of the moon, but merely knows enough of the art of seasoning and flavoring the ingredients that she mixes together so that they will taste well for the half second that is required for them to slip past the palate — she is on that account regarded a perfectly competent cook. Dr. Lauder Brunton, an eminent English physician, has well said that cookery deserves to rank with the fine arts. The painting on the wall stimulates the nerve of sight, but it is not taken into the body; the piano that produces beautiful music always remains outside of the body; but the food that stimulates the nerves of taste, unlike the piano and the painting, is taken inside the body. Yet too often the question that the mother debates in her mind, and even in the presence of her child, is whether to eat a certain thing to save it. The child comes to regard its stomach, not as deserving at least the care that is given to the piano and the painting, but as simply on a level with the garbage box in the rear of the house. One objection I have to the eating of flesh foods, as well as to the wearing of second-hand clothing, is a dread of what is likely to go with them. I do not approve of filtering through the body, the waste products and the poisons that are found in dead oxen, dead hens, and other animal carcasses. When a human system is used as a filter through which to strain all these waste products, it is gradually being prepared for disease. Dr. Brunton has expressed it as his opinion that the reason that the percentage of Englishmen who die as a result of taking chloroform is larger than is the percentage of deaths from the same cause among the inhabitants of India, is due to the excessive use of meat among the English. On this account their blood is constantly so near the saturation point of general poisoning that the mere addition of chloroform is sufficient in many instances to overpower the heart's action, and cause instant death. Recently, in the London Lancet, Dr. L. Roger Williams called attention to the fact that the mortality from cancer had exactly kept pace with the increased use of meat,—that while, in 1850, in one hundred and twenty-seven deaths there was only one death from this cause, it is now responsible for one death in every twenty-two. The Englishman eats, on the average, one hundred and thirty-two pounds of meat a year. It is well known that there are thousands of persons in the British Islands who scarcely taste meat, so it is evident that there are some who use vastly more than these figures represent. In our laboratory of hygiene at the Battle Creek Sanitarium carefully arranged experiments were conducted to determine the increase of the toxicity of the kidney secretion of a person when using meat, as compared to the same when he lives upon pure food. The kidney secretion of a healthy vegetarian was injected into a vein of a rabbit, and the exact amount required to kill it was noted. Then, for a few days, this man was placed upon a diet consisting largely of flesh foods, after which a rabbit, of the same weight as the first one, was selected, and it was found that only one fourth as much kidney secretion was required to kill it. That meant, of course, that the blood in every part of the man's body was constantly four times as poisonous as before. As long as a person has a strong constitution, and his eliminating organs are capable of carrying off four times as much poison as should be necessary, so long he may eat flesh food with impunity, and even boast that it does not hurt him; but let the reverse be the case, as it is with many thousands, and the use of flesh food becomes at once an important factor in preparing the way for serious diseases. According to Dr. Osler, there are 1,200,000 consumptives in the United States to-day; and according to Dr. Matthews, late president of the American Medical Association, one third of all the deaths between the ages of fifteen and sixty is now due to this dread malady. We know that every one inhales more or less tubercular bacilli at every breath; but the bacilli secure a foothold only when vitality has been weakened. Reliable statistics show that insanity has increased three hundred per cent over and above the increase of the population during the last fifty years. Dr. McGuigan, of the State insane asylum at Kalamazoo, Mich., has called attention to the fact that placing certain classes of mental patients upon a purely non-flesh diet has resulted in a noticeable improvement in them. It must be evident to all that a diet which is conducive to the recovery of insane patients would certainly be equally conducive to the prevention of the disease. The overwhelming increase of tuberculosis among cattle is of itself sufficient justification for us to discard the use of flesh foods. The Illinois Live Stock Commissioners, as recently editorially reported in the Times-Herald, made the statement that of the sixty thousand cows supplying milk to Chicago twenty thousand were estimated to have tuberculosis. It was my privilege to be present when the herd that had been supplying Governor Tanner's family with milk was slaughtered at the Chicago stock yards. There was certainly nothing to indicate that eighty per cent of those sleek-looking animals were infected with any disease, but the post mortem revealed that the pharyngeal glands were in some cases as large as a fist, and were in a completely broken-down state of tubercular degeneration. In some instances the udders themselves were in almost the same condition, not to mention the lungs and other parts of the body. If we really “ring in the new” in reference to the improvement of society, and seek to propagate true reform with the intense earnestness that its importance demands, then we must take hold of the diet question in earnest; for it lies at the very root of more physical and moral evils than has been supposed. Providence co-operates with every true effort which man makes in the direction of reform. If we can induce a man to make no greater reform than merely to bury dead things in the graveyard rather than in his stomach, he will be so amply rewarded for this effort that it will serve as an encouragement to him, and will surely lead him to take further steps in the way of reform. A HINT TO READING CIRCLE MEMBERS.
By Josephine Grannis
Thinking that many of our people are wondering how they, who are bound quite closely at home by their work and family ties, can aid in extending the knowledge of the truth we love, and in scattering the printed page, my mind runs back to a plan we used a year or so ago in introducing into the homes and neighborhoods of our people that helpful little book, “Steps to Christ.” Everywhere, you remember, our people purchased it in lots of five or ten copies; and after selling all that they could at the retail price, the profits on these paid for the remaining copies, which they either gave to friends and neighbors who did not purchase, or kept themselves to loan to any who would read. In no other book is the truth so clearly brought out in all its phases as in “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation,” and none has brought so many into a full knowledge and acceptance of the truth; hence we are especially blessed in having this work in pamphlet form at so low a price that it ought everywhere to be circulated by our members in their own neighborhoods and among their friends. That the people will gladly read is evidenced by the following incidents:— A copy of the book has been in the parlor of one of the hotels here, and has been quite extensively read. Another has been read with interest in the homes of two of the prominent Baptist families here. A short time ago, in wheeling to a country settlement to conduct the Sunday-school, it was necessary to stop a few minutes for repairs at a house where I was slightly acquainted. In the conversation the man spoke of the “return of the Jews,” and other points, and seeing that he was a student of the Scriptures, I mentioned a book I had which treats on these and many other points of prophecy, and offered to loan it. It was accepted; and a few days ago the man said that he had been reading the book, and was deeply interested in it. This book is “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation.” A short time ago, a man entered the office to purchase a copy of “Daniel and Revelation.” He said that one of the Tampa brethren had loaned him this book, with others, to read, and that he desired to read it again, and to own it. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church, but seem to be interested in the truth, and will, I think, obey it. These incidents are evidence to me that if we use the opportunities that God gives us, a way will open, not only to loan, but also to sell these works among our friends and neighbors. And as we are filled with the everlasting gospel in these books, we shall, by the inspiration of the Spirit, be enabled to speak in such a way that God may interest souls in the study of the prophetic word. If each of us would dispose of only five copies of this book this year, what a harvest of souls God would gather from the labor, only the ages of eternity will reveal. Shall we not arise and let the light shine? PROGRESS OF THE READING CIRCLE WORK.
A STATE secretary writes:— I have written to all the librarians in the Conference concerning the Reading Circle work. In replying, nearly all speak of the interest manifested in the work, and of the expectation that others will soon join them in the studies. One librarian says that she does not see why we have not had something of this kind long ago. Another says it is just what she has wanted for a long time. I have worked hard to get the Circle work started in this Conference, but I do not regret it; for I think it is going to pay in the end. One of our ministers, who has been visiting the churches this winter, says that the Reading Circle work is a great blessing to the people. From the Pacific Coast comes a cheery letter from an enthusiastic State worker:— I think we are all agreed that the Reading Circle work has a blessed and saving influence wherever our people have taken it up. It is one of the most active factors for good in our Conference. I have not been able to ascertain just how many of our churches have begun this work, but most of our larger churches are enjoying the studies. I have started two circles in this city, and expect to start another next week. One is a circle of old ladies, and it has pleased me much to see how their minds have expanded, and their faces brightened. They have more to live for than before taking up these lessons. Another circle is composed of young matrons, and the third will be of young people. To me the fact of our people generally making a study of the prophecies at this time, is very significant. They were the constant study of the early pioneers in this truth, and we who are standing at the threshold of eternity and studying these things, shall soon have revealed to us “the Ancient of days.” I believe we can receive no better preparation for that glorious event than a minute and careful study of the prophecies. I wish to express a personal appreciation of the Missionary Reading Circle. This study of the truth, the world to which it is to be given, and how to give the message, means more to me than any previous study. Never did the truth seem more precious, and never did I so long to act a part in giving it to the world; and never before has the precious present truth seemed to so fill my soul with a consciousness of the inflowing of God's grace and power, preparatory to acting a part in the “loud cry.” “Great Empires of Prophecy” contains just the helps desired in obtaining a clear, well-connected knowledge of the prophecies we are studying, as well as many others. May the Lord greatly bless this work in behalf of his people, who greatly need just this instruction. H. A. WASHBURN. SHE kissed the old man: she showered upon him kisses and tears. She told all the people how good he was. I thought, If she had only given half a dozen of those kisses a year for the last ten years, how the tender-hearted old gentleman would have smiled through his tears! But now he took it all very coolly. He was dead. He was old and poor, and she was young and rich. She had ten rooms, but no room for father. Yet he made room for her when he had only two. The old man was n’t educated. She was—at his expense. He had fed and clothed her for twenty years at home and at college, until she had risen into more refined and cultured society, and married among new friends. The old people’s address and dialect were too coarse. She kissed him, and buried him in a beautiful coffin. Dear father is to have a costly marble monument. A warm kiss while living is better than cold marble when dead. — The Young Woman. My Lady’s Mirror
By LERELIA BRYANT
Oh, that the hand of an angel
Might open each closet door,
And bring out the old-fashioned garments
My lady will wear no more!
Oh, that the hand of an angel
Might be placed on my lady's head,
And turn her face from her mirror
To the children in need of bread!
LERELIA BRYANT. Opportunity Is Responsibility
“OPPORTUNITY is responsibility.” APRIL STUDY OF THE FIELD: PART III.
- (Text-book, April Magazine.)*
1. NAME the chief nationalities represented in Egypt. 2. Give some of the physical characteristics of the native Egyptians. 3. How many classes of society are mentioned in this article? 4. State the two great articles of Mohammedan belief. 5. What do they hold with reference to the second coming of Christ? 6. Name the prophets thought to have delivered new systems of religion. State their belief concerning the crucifixion of Christ. 7. In what light do they regard the Koran, as compared with our Gospels? 8. How much love are they expected to show the Jew and the Christian? 9. What are three of the most important duties imposed on the faithful? How often does the devout Moslem pray? 10. Speak of the temperance of the Egyptians. THE prophecy of our study has now reached to “the time of the end.” Turkey, long known as the “Sick Man of the East,” is now the king of the north. The fate of Turkey is a subject of deepest interest not only to the kingdoms of the world to-day, but to the religious world as well. Errors are being taught concerning the future of Palestine and Jerusalem, now included in the Turkish dominions. “If ever an utterance from the Lord was needed, it is now, to bring harmony out of these jarring discords.” The Lord has spoken; let us hear and understand. 1. In the study of verse 40, notice carefully the following points:—
(a) The powers involved.
(b) Plans of France.
(c) France sends an expedition against Egypt.
(d) Turkey declares war against France.
(e) Three events prove 1798 to be the beginning of “the time of the end.”
(f) Result of each war.
(g) Prophecy transferred from France to the king of the north—Turkey. 2. Relate the fulfillment of the events of verse 41. 3. Describe the further contest over Egypt which took place between France and the allied forces of the English and the Turks. 4. What is the especial meaning of the expression, “Egypt shall not escape”? 5. What arrangement did the sultan of Turkey make with the Egyptians, which fulfills verse 43? Suggestions for Review Meeting.
1. Give a brief summary of the lesson. 2. Review the location of the powers called the king of the north and the king of the south, as they are first introduced in the chapter. 3. What is meant by “the time of the end”? Review the texts and events that point out definitely when this time began. 4. Sketch the history of Napoleon Bonaparte in fulfilling the prophecy of this and the previous lesson. THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE.
The Beast, in its rise, its time, and its place, is so clearly marked in the Scriptures that there can be no mistaking it by any one who will carefully study the Scriptures. And when the Scripture is clearly understood, as to its characteristics, its rise, its time, and its place, the intelligent study of the thing itself in its different phases is easy. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul described that which, in other places, is set forth as the Beast, as follows: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God [“setting himself forth as God,” R. V.; “and gives it out that he is God,” German]. “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. 2:1–8. Remember this was written to the Thessalonians; and notice that he says, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” Thus, when Paul was at Thessalonica, he had preached to them the things which are here written. Now, in Acts 17:1–3, we read of his visit to Thessalonica, thus: “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” Notice that, in his preaching there, he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. The only Scriptures that were then in existence were what are now the Old Testament Scriptures. These, then, it was out of which Paul reasoned with the Thessalonians. And he says that, when he was there, he told the people about this “falling away,” and the man of sin being revealed,—“the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,”—“the mystery of iniquity,” and “that Wicked,” “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Where, then, in the Old Testament did he find scriptures from which to reason to the people concerning all this, by which he could tell them these things? Look at Daniel 8. After the prophet had seen in vision the ram, and the he goat with the notable horn, and the four notable horns that came up after that one fell, “out of one of them [one of the four] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” “It waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host,” “and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.” Now the Word plainly declares that the ram represents Medo-Persia; and the rough goat, Grecia; and the great horn, the first king; and the four that succeeded it, the four divisions of the Grecian Empire after Alexander died. Then, in the latter time of the kingdom of these four, “when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes.” This great power, which followed Grecia, is none other than Rome, as all the world knows. And that power, as described in this scripture throughout, is Rome in all its phases, from beginning to end; from the entrance of ancient Rome upon the scene of the world's action, unto the end of the world, when “he shall be broken without hand.” For this breaking “without hand” is evidently that time and event referred to in the second chapter of Daniel, when a stone cut out “without hand,” smites the image on the feet, and then all the kingdoms of the world are dashed to pieces and swept out of the world, and the stone becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth—and that is the kingdom of God. This is further pictured, and this same ground is covered, in the seventh chapter of Daniel, where the fourth kingdom is described as “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” Then among these horns came up another little one, “before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” And this power continued until the judgment was set, and the books were opened. And, says the prophet, “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” No one can attentively read these two passages of scripture concerning Rome, in the eighth chapter and in the seventh chapter of Daniel, and compare them with the passage in 2 Thessalonians 2, without being able to see plainly that 2 Thessalonians 2 refers definitely to these passages in Daniel. And this makes it certain that it was these passages of Daniel from which Paul reasoned when he was at Thessalonica, when he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, and told them in words that which, later, he wrote in the passage here quoted from 2 Thessalonians 2, as to “the man of sin, the son of perdition,” “the mystery of iniquity,” and “that Wicked.” And notice particularly that in both the passages in Daniel, it is Rome, from its beginning to the end of the world, that is considered: it is Rome in both its phases, ancient and modern, that is described. The passage in the eighth chapter, in every feature, is applicable to modern Rome as well as to ancient Rome, and in some of its features is applicable only to modern Rome. The passage in the seventh chapter is first Rome in its pagan form, under the symbol of the great and terrible beast; then, after that fell, the subject is the rise of Rome, and its career, in its papal form, as the little horn. Yet, when it comes to the end of its career, and the time of its destruction, it is not said: I beheld until the horn was slain, and given to the burning flame; but “till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” And this shows plainly that it is in essence, and in characteristics, the Beast that continues, under the form and phase described as “the little horn.” This feature is also discerned in the description in the eighth chapter, where it is under the symbol of a little horn, which waxes exceeding great, that the whole course of Rome, from the beginning to the end of the world, is sketched. In a former study, in considering Revelation 12 and 13, we found that the power there described as the Beast is that power which Satan uses in his wrath against the church, in the time in which the church is in the wilderness. This power which is “the Beast” succeeds the power which Satan used to destroy Christ as soon as he was born, and to persecute the church after Christ was caught up to God and to his throne. That power, as we plainly saw, was Rome as it stood in the time of Christ. And the power which succeeded Rome in that phase, by which Satan persecuted the church when she “fled into the wilderness”—this power, as all the world knows, is Rome in its second phase, which is papal Rome. And this power it is which is plainly declared by the Scripture to be “the Beast.” Therefore it is perfectly plain, by the Scriptures throughout, that the Beast is nothing else than the Papacy; and the making of the Beast is nothing but the making of the Papacy. Consequently, the study of the making of the Beast will have to be the study of the making of the Papacy. And it is necessary to study and to know the making of the Papacy, in order to be able to know the making of the Image of the Papacy, and to take warning and escape the worship of the Beast and his Image. Next week, therefore, the study of the Third Angel's Message will be, The Elements That Enter into the “Falling Away” out of Which Came the Beast.