A BROTHER in Philadelphia sends the following three questions on one of the Sabbath-school lessons, which he wishes answered through the SIGNS OF THE TIMES:—
"1. How do you prove that Adam lived 233 years with Methuselah? Smith's Dictionary says it was 243 years."
So does the Bible. By an error in copying, the lesson came short just ten years. This was better than to have had the number too large.
"2. How do you count to get 352 years in the 20th question? The genealogy of Shem, in Gen. 11: 10-26 counts only 292 years from the flood to Abram."
The brother's difficulty arises from the fact that he supposes Abram to have been born when Terah was seventy years old. The fact is that Abram was not born till Terah was one hundred and thirty years old. We learn this as follows: Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran (Gen. 12: 4); he did not go out of Haran until his father was dead (Acts 7: 4); and Terah, his father, was two hundred and five years old when he died (Gen. 11: 32). Now a very slight mathematical calculation will enable anybody to see that Abram was born when Terah was one hundred and thirty years old; 205-75=130. With this in mind, the brother will have no difficulty in finding that from the flood to the birth of Abram was 352 years.
"3. If Noah was five hundred years old when Shem was born (Gen. 5: 32), and Shem was one hundred years old when Arphaxad was born (Gen. 11: 10) two years after the flood, how could Noah have been six hundred years old when the flood came? Gen. 7:11."
The brother has fallen into the same difficulty here as in the case of Abram; he evidently thinks that Abram, Nahor and Haran were all born at the same time, and that Shem, Ham and Japheth were also born at one time. But the Bible does not say so. Terah was seventy years old when his first son was born, but Abram was not born until sixty years later, as we have seen. So Gen. 5: 32 tells how old Noah was when his eldest son was born; but that oldest son was not Shem. From Gen. 10: 21 and 9: 22-25 we learn that Japheth was the oldest son of Noah, and that Ham was the youngest, and that consequently Shem was the second son.
Although Abram was undoubtedly the youngest of the sons of Terah, he is mentioned first because he is the only one of importance. Shem was the second son of Noah, yet he is always mentioned first, because he is the one from whom the genealogy of Christ is reckoned.
Unpaid Copies of the Signs
By Editor
We send no papers from this office without pay in advance unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the Signs are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read.
Mrs. White’s Visits to Lemoore and Fresno
By Editor
We are requested to state that Mrs. E. G. White will spend Sabbath and Sunday, March 10 and 11, with the church at Lemoore; and the following Sabbath and Sunday with the church at Fresno.
Seventh-day Adventist Year Book for 1888
By Editor
The Seventh-day Adventist Year Book for 1888 is a pamphlet of one hundred and sixty pages full of important and interesting matter relating to the cause and its workings. Every friend of the cause should have one. Much pains and careful work have been expended on this book, and we think that it is the best Year Book ever published. For sale at the office of Pacific Press for ten cents.
The Best Church Uniform
An elder in the Presbyterian Church having suggested that if congregations would adopt a plain, inexpensive uniform, it would remove much of the reluctance of the poor to come to church, the Interior says that "the best uniform any church can adopt is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." Very true; but the trouble with it is, that it does not attract enough attention to warrant its general adoption.
Preachers Who Draw Congregations
By Editor
The demand of popular churches is for preachers that will "draw." How to meet the demand is the question with many preachers. One thing that never fails is sensation; and the way some ministers pander to the popular appetite is a disgrace to the gospel. A San Francisco clergyman lately secured a congregation by advertising as his theme "Get Up and Get." He applied it to the call of Abraham. He ought to apply it to himself.
Louisiana Sunday-Law Campaign
The Presbyterian Banner says that the friends of the Sunday, in Louisiana, are demanding a more rigid Sunday-law, and a stricter enforcement, and that this will be the test question in the election of the members of the new Legislature in April. It is thought that the Sunday party will be successful. The Banner says that “the ministers of all the Protestant denominations are laboring earnestly to secure the victory which seems almost in sight.”
The Bible’s Account of Origins
By Editor
We have been requested to invest in a book bearing the pretentious title, "History of the Origin of All Things." We have no inclination to purchase, for we already have several copies of an old book that to our mind gives the exact truth on the subject. It is called the Bible. If anybody would like to study the subject, and has not the book, we would refer him to the Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, Cal., as a place where he can find a full assortment.
Reports from the European Field
By Editor
REPORTS from the European field are of a nature to cheer and encourage the heart of everyone who loves the cause of present truth. Elder Conradi writes through the Review and Herald a very interesting account of the work, from which we gather the following notes: In Central Europe a large printing establishment is publishing in different languages while half a dozen ministers and a score of colporters are scattering the seeds of truth. There are over seven hundred Sabbath-keepers, and they are found from Piedmont to the Netherlands. New ones are constantly embracing the truth in Russia. Two brethren living beyond the Volga have been on a missionary tour; at one place six joined the church, and Russian Baptists were found who were much interested. The church in the Caucasus now numbers seventy. Several churches have lately been organized in France. Brethren Vuilleumier and Geymet are laboring in the Piedmont valleys, and have an attendance of one hundred. In Switzerland both German and French canvassers have good success. The book sales in four months amounted to nearly $3,000. Six more have embraced the truth at Zurich under the labors of Brother Ertzenberger. Brother Conradi has visited Holland, where he finds a very favorable field.
Elder Matteson, writing from Stockholm, says that their mission school has just closed, and that thirty more colporters have now gone out to the Scandinavian field. During the time of the school, in ten weeks there were sold in Stockholm books and papers for $1,508. At the celebration of the ordinances over ninety believers took part, and many others are interested.
The Bible and Its Characters
By Editor
THERE are plenty of people calling themselves Christians, who profess great faith in Christ and the New Testament teachings, but believe in the Old Testament only as it concurs with their sense of propriety. Accordingly they reject the Bible account of the creation and fall, ridicule the stories of Samson and Jonah, and in many cases rend the word of God asunder and repudiate the former part as obsolete, and unreliable. The inconsistency of this course while holding up Christ and the apostles who appealed so strongly to these ancient Scriptures, and held such faith in their truthfulness and importance, is shown in the article by Dr. Spear in this paper. The selection is an unusually long one, but none too long since it is all good. We bespeak for it a careful reading. And henceforth let us be consistent; for the Bible and all its characters and factors stand together.
The First Book in Physiology and Hygiene
By Editor
WE have just received from the publishers, Harper & Brothers, New York, a copy of "The First Book in Physiology and Hygiene," by J. H. Kellogg, M. D., who is at the head of the Medical Sanitarium at Battle Creek, Mich. The book is designed as a primary text-book on physiology, for children from nine to twelve years of age. It contains twenty-six lessons, with a summary at the close of each lesson, and questions for review at the close of the book. The wide experience of the author as a physician, and his skill as a teacher, have enabled him to get up a book that is thoroughly scientific, and at the same time adapted to the comprehension of children. Moreover, the book is eminently practical. With this book in hand as a guide, we cannot see how any teacher who has a fair knowledge of physiology can fail to make the subject interesting. Of course it is expected that the teacher will have charts and models, and will add many illustrations to those given in the book; but, even if this is lacking, we think that the book is better able to teach itself than any other book we have ever seen, and better, in fact, than many persons who presume to teach physiology and hygiene. We hope to see this book generally adopted in the public schools, and where it is not, parents would do well to procure it for their children to study at home.
God’s Delight in Mercy
"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy."
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES,
By Editor
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