Earlier text: A Report of the China Mission FieldThe Ministerial Institute
Daily Studies upon Important Subjects
The High Calling and Importance of the Gospel Ministry
S. N. HASKELL: The subject before us is vast indeed. When a man is called by God into the gospel ministry, there are three parties that enter into the covenant; namely, God, the minister, and the people. God thereby becomes responsible to the minister; the minister becomes responsible to God; and the people become responsible to him as a minister. It is the duty of the minister to care for the flock and for the cause of God, self being the last thing to be cared for. In 2 Cor. 5:17 and onward we learn that we are ambassadors for God. An ambassador for God is one who represents the plan of God in reconciling men to God, and his duty is to take up the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in reconciling the world to God the Father. There is this difference between an ambassador and one who is called to do a special work in that the ambassador is an all-round man. His word is law for the government, and the government stands back of him to sustain what he does and says. If an ambassador is out of the way, he is called home. A man who is called to do a special work does only that special work. We as ministers represent the government of heaven, a kingdom that was established before the world was, and hence in accepting the call of heaven, and in going forth to do our appointed work, all heaven stands back of us. An ambassador in the third angel's message is a different ambassador than has been in ages past; for the gospel has been unfolding, and in order to truly represent the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must represent the light that has been unfolded up to the present time. Consequently in connection with this work there will be a power manifested that has never been manifested before in the history of the world. The scripture in 1 Peter 2:19 and onward tells us of the work of Christ, and we are to follow his steps in things that pertain to the work of an ambassador for God. God's messengers will have a message, and there is to be a power connected with it. You may not see a great manifestation of power at the time being any more than there was connected with the work of Christ in gathering people around him. His life was an unselfish one continually, but what he had accomplished outwardly could hardly be seen when he left this world; it was nothing compared to what was seen before he had been in heaven only forty days. But the seed for this work was sown when Christ was here; then he poured out his Spirit. There is nothing done by a devoted, consecrated minister, but that all heaven sees, and the Lord will prosper it. In Isa. 49:8 we are told that the Lord uses ambassadors to establish his covenant in the desolate places of the earth, and from the sixth verse we find that the Lord's servants are to be a light to the Gentiles, “that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” God's messenger is to take up his work, and carry it to the ends of the earth. When God calls a man to go to a place, he can go there, notwithstanding difficulties, disease, and death itself. If they fall in the field of duty, God will raise up others by their side. The Lord wants true men to-day, who will give the message of God as he would have it given, and the promise is that they are sustained by an omnipotent power. Paul was a prominent apostle of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; he wrote over half the New Testament. And if we study the matter carefully, we find that his strength lay in making an application of these words: “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” He believed and acted as if that meant him; for in Colossians he tells us that every creature under heaven had heard the gospel. After that he could say “my life is in my hands.” In Acts 22:12-15 we read regarding Paul's work, and how Ananias spoke unto him the words which we find recorded in the forty-ninth of Isaiah, to which we have referred. Paul believed those words, that he was to be a light to the Gentiles, and he immediately began to act his belief; and he believed so strongly and so determinedly that, although it was twelve years before the brethren at Jerusalem would accept him as a minister, they would not have done so then if Barnabas had not brought him to Antioch and he preached there a year, and raised up a church. What he believed was that he must go to the Gentiles, and that they would hear his words even unto the ends of the earth. In 2 Cor. 11:20-27 we find recorded the evidences of the call of Paul to the ministry. Our call is from heaven. Circumstances will arise, peculiar conditions will come up, so that a minister must know that God is his, and he must have a connection with heaven. He must love his message so much that he can die for it. It is because of this attitude that Paul and Moses stand out so prominently as ambassadors for God. As an instance, take the prayer of Moses when Israel had sinned, and he felt that there must be a blotting out from the book of life, he said, Spare this people, but let me be blotted out of the book of life. Paul had the same spirit. May God help us to show to the world that we are ambassadors for God. Then the greatest desire in our hearts will be accomplished by us and through us, if we cling to God. I prefer to be in the front of the battle, and in the hardest part of the conflict, if I do drop in the battle. A. G. Daniells: “Who is sufficient for these things?” We are not of ourselves sufficient for this great and holy calling to which we are committed. We never can reach the place where we can say we are graduated in this work, or in the preparation for it, or feel that we are capable of ourselves to carry it forward26 as it should be. Notwithstanding our ignorance, our inefficiency, and our unpreparedness from every standpoint, I feel encouraged, because of two things; namely, God is able to make us efficient ministers of his word, and the fact that there is a strong desire for a more efficient and successful ministry. Our officers and people are longing for a stronger ministry in this denomination. That is a hopeful sign, for there is a deep longing to see the ministry more whole-hearted in this work, more spiritually minded, more zealous, and more fruitful in their labors. There is a strong desire to see our ministers become good producers, and not consumers only,—to bring fruit into the garner of God every year. There is an earnest longing to see a body of ministers who believe every word of this message to the very depths of their hearts, as our pioneers believed it. There is a desire to see men who are content with this message, who are satisfied with the length and breadth and the scope of this great truth revealed to us, and who will give it to the world with all their hearts, and not spend their time conjuring up something new. To me, this is a hopeful sign that we are on the way to a strong and more efficient ministry in this cause, and I desire that this institute shall mark a new era in this, and help us to get our feet on that platform, and start out from here for a stronger, larger, greater work. Christ and him crucified is the message to be given; and as the messenger associates with the people, he must deport himself with fear and trembling, and he is to deliver his message not with persuasive words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit of God. And the great motive, the purpose, the one all-consuming thought of the true messenger is that the people may not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of the truth of God. The man who does that work in that way, will do the grandest work in this world, the results of which will be seen, if not in this world, in the world to come. Let us go forth to give this message to the world in that manner, cheer the hearts of our people, and save the perishing that are going, like a great Niagara, over the falls of death. As I see such a great river of humanity going down into the dark abyss, I pray God to reveal to us the essentials of this cause, and help us to see the non-essentials, and to put them away, eliminate them from our lives, and address ourselves to the one great thing, the essential to which God has called us at this hour—the giving of this saving message. A RECENT report from Prattville, Mich., stated that six persons were awaiting baptism at that place. ELDER JOHN F. JONES reports the addition of two members to the Millington, Md., church, by baptism, May 6. FOUR persons have recently begun the observance of the Sabbath at Rose City, Mich. From fifteen to twenty persons there attend Sabbath meetings. THE clerk of the Paterson, N. J., church reports that seven persons were added to the membership there by baptism May 6, and three others by profession of faith. There are four other Sabbath-keepers who have not become members of the church. BROTHER J. W. LAIR, who has been visiting among the churches in Kansas, reports the baptism of four persons at Hepler, and of two at Humboldt. At Altoona four new converts to the truth were received into the church, and three others joined by letter. THE Atlantic Union Gleaner says: “As a result of a series of meetings held at Lebanon [Pa.] by Elder Schilling, beginning about March 1 and continuing about five weeks, six precious souls accepted the truth, and were baptized at the last quarterly meeting at the Lebanon church.” ELDER S. N. HASKELL conducted the Bible study at the eleven o’clock hour, May 15. The following is a brief outline of the thoughts presented:— As ambassadors for God we can never give to others that which we have not experienced. It is a law in both spiritual and temporal things, that a stream can never rise higher than its fountain. We may be applauded because of our eloquence, or because we are possessed of certain gifts, but in our endeavor to lift the soul to God, we can impart only what we have gained by an actual experience in the things of God. Christ suffered for us on the cross, and we must share in his sufferings. In 2 Cor. 1:4 we learn that the only way we can comfort souls that are in trouble is by our having been comforted of God ourselves, having passed through similar experiences. Christ had all the sufferings and temptations that come to the human family, was tempted in all points as we are, and yet without sin, and thus it is that every one who comes to him can find in him a special Saviour. We are ambassadors for Christ, but what poor representatives we are many times,—finding fault, grumbling, criticizing, because things do not go right, when God designed that experience to fit us to labor in his cause and save souls. With whom do we get in trouble?—Those who are in our way,—our enemies really. God designed to give me a precious experience that I might help some one else, but I take as an enemy the one who is injuring me, and so I find fault and murmur. But if, instead of complaining, I look upon that experience as a lesson to me, and labor in that line, and receive afflictions from that source, the Lord will put on me his righteousness, and he will make my mistakes all right. The reason why so many will be shaken out of the message before its close is because they have not drunk of that cup. They have not that experience, and at the last moment it can not be secured, so there will be hundreds, if not thousands, among us who will say, “My lamp is going out; give me of your oil.” In 1 Sam. 26:23, 24, we find recorded an incident showing how David treated his enemy Saul when he was delivered into his hand, David thus showing a magnanimous spirit on his part in sparing the life of his worst enemy. And in the preceding portion of this chapter is shown the manner in which Saul was delivered into David’s hand; for “a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.” It would seem that David would have been justified in smiting Saul at this time; but the Lord had brought all this about in order to see what course David would take. And the record shows that Saul went and repented. The Jews took Christ as their enemy; and while Christ did nothing but good in healing the sick, restoring the blind, and setting sin-bound souls free, so that the common people appreciated and loved his work, yet the Jews thought he was their enemy. The result was that their house was left unto them desolate. When a man is converted, he will take in the message which God has given. That can be illustrated by the work of Noah. There were religious people then besides Noah. Suppose a man had made offerings and sacrifices to God, but had said, “I believe in getting converted to God, and having all the good things, and giving my money and everything else to the Lord; but I take no stock in that ark.” Do you think he could have been saved? You know he could not. What was present truth for that period was embraced in conversion. No one could get converted without it, and when he was converted, he would help build the ark, too. For six thousand years the gospel of Christ had been unfolding, and this unfolding will continue until the end, when the greatest amount of light will be shining; so there is just before this people the most wonderful experience of any people in all the world. At the beginning angels did not know the future of the gospel; they knew the end, the result; but they did not know how that gospel would unfold. No one but God and Christ knew that. The angels desired to look into these things, and they looked for the Seed to come. When Christ was revealed, and there was this new phase of the gospel manifested, every angel in glory shouted, and since then no man on earth could be saved unless he echoed that shout, and no person could then be saved without having that experience. So from that day to this every soul is saved only by believing in the birth of Christ, and in his death on the cross as the sacrifice for man. When he cried out, “It is finished,” there was again a shout that went from world to world, because the plan of salvation had been worked out. All the universe was affected by his death. I believe the salvation of the human family upon this planet was but a small part of what was effected by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ; for we learn in Col. 1:20 that Christ’s death touched the entire universe of God. John 12:31 indicates that the time came when the prince of this world was to be cast out of heaven, at whose gate he had stood to accuse Christ, and to charge that man could not keep the law of God. This he did to prove that he was right when he was in heaven. But the death of Christ settled the question that the law of God could be kept, and that there is power with Christ to reach down his arm and sustain every man in the way of salvation. Was there any shouting in heaven when Christ died? In Rev. 12:10 we read that there was “heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” The angelic host, unfallen beings, saw the death of Christ, and they had heard the accusation that had been coming up for four thousand years that no man could keep the law of God. But when Christ took upon himself our nature, was tempted in all points as we are, and yet went through life as sinless as he was when in heaven before he came to this earth, it demonstrated before the universe that the law of God could be kept; and it demonstrated, too, that that law had not been abolished, else the death of Christ were in vain. So at the death of Christ there was a shout in heaven that went from world to world. Can anybody now be saved who does not believe in the death of Christ?—No one can be saved who does not believe in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is nonsense to talk about salvation, and not accept Him whose name is the only salvation that ever came to this earth. And since his ascension to heaven, we read of his work there, as recorded in Rev. 11:14, 15, 19, where it is shown that, under the sounding of the seventh angel, the temple of God was opened in heaven, and Christ entered the most holy place, to return, after having finished his work as high priest, and to receive the kingdom. And again, when this unfolding27 was manifested, and the great plan of salvation was about to be consummated, there were great voices in heaven. The work is done, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. And when you believe that truth, you will have an experience in that thing. There will be a people on earth that will be made separate by that very doctrine. Let us believe in a living Christ, a real Saviour, and finally we will go to a real home. The Ministry in Its Relation to the Church
At the eleven o'clock hour, May 16, Elder G. A. Irwin spoke upon this subject. In the course of his remarks he spoke substantially as follows:— There is more involved in ambassadorship than we many times consider. An ambassador is one who represents a government at the court of another government or nation. He does not represent himself, but the principles of the government which sent him out. And so it is in the government of God on earth; there are great underlying principles, a law upon which these principles are based, or from which they are drawn, which the ambassador must represent; for these principles lie at the foundation of the government of God, both in heaven and in earth. Behind that ambassador stands all the power and influence of that government. This is shown by the great commission as recorded in Matt. 28:18, which indicates that if we are true ambassadors of heaven, all the authority of heaven is vested in us, and our word should be law, the same as the word of the consul is in the affairs of the government he represents. This is in harmony with the thought expressed in John 20:20-23. In regard to the duty of the ambassador respecting what he is to preach, we find this statement in “Testimonies,” Vol. VIII, page 198:— “The power and glory with which the law was given reveal its importance. It is the faith once delivered to the saints by Christ our Redeemer speaking from Sinai.”
Then our faith is the law of God, so that no man can preach faith in a manner acceptable to heaven who does not preach the law of God. “The law of God is the foundation of all enduring reformation.” “The law is the gospel of Christ veiled.” “The gospel of Jesus is nothing more or less than the law defined, showing its far-reaching principles.”—Review and Herald, May 27, 1890. He who preaches a gospel that will change the heart and life of an individual, must preach the law of God, because the two are inseparable. There are four points I wish to present regarding this question: First, the minister is an ambassador to represent the government of heaven, and instead of his presenting human theory and speculation, he is to teach the binding obligation of the law of God, those great principles that should govern in our lives. Second, the relation that the minister sustains to the church is that of a watchman. This idea is clearly expressed in Eze. 3:17, 18. The duty of the watchman to give the trumpet a certain sound is fully expressed in 1 Cor. 14:7, 8. The Lord's instruction to his people anciently is given in the eleventh chapter of Numbers, which may be considered the constitution of Israel, and this shows the duty of the watchman to blow the trumpet of alarm when danger is near. Third, the minister must be an example. Paul recognized this fact, and stated the principle in such scriptures as 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Cor. 11:1; 4:11; 16:10; 1 Thess. 2:10. There is a statement in “Gospel Workers,” page 243, bearing on this same point: “By comparing the living preacher with the divine picture, all may see whether he has the credentials of heaven. . . . What a man is, has greater influence than what he says.” Fourth, the minister must be a teacher. This thought is stated in 2 Tim. 2:2, and it shows that the minister must not only be able to teach, but he must commit these things to others, so that the truth of God will constantly widen. This idea is clearly given in 2 Tim. 4:1-5, where the ambassador is charged to preach the word,—nothing but the word; for there is nothing that will change the heart of man but the word of God, accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit; the word will then accomplish its purpose. In his manner of teaching the ambassador is to be long-suffering. An ambassador in the third angel's message must certainly teach all the phases of that message, not only to those outside of the denomination, but to the thousands of professed Adventists to whom instruction must be given in the fundamental principles that make us a separate people. Our own people must be instructed on these subjects, and it is the duty of the minister to give this instruction concerning the great pillars of our faith. The Testimonies state that “the great pillars of our faith will stand all the strain that can be placed upon them.” I wish to place before you a chart I have prepared that gives what I consider the great pillars of our faith, and I believe that any man who fails to understand and to teach these pillars of our faith is remiss in his duty. - The commandments of God.
- Righteousness by faith.
- Life only in Christ.
- The sleep of the dead.
- The sanctuary.
- The three messages.
- The second advent.
- The spirit of prophecy.
- Health reform.
- Systematic giving.
We might call attention to the fifth pillar, which, if removed, would, as in the experience of Samson, bring the entire work to ruin. But it can never be removed. The universe itself would first go to pieces. And yet this point, so essential in our doctrinal structure, is not well understood by many of our people. And another important point is the spirit of prophecy. We read that we “are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” Therefore we are enriched just as the spirit of prophecy (which is the testimony of Jesus) is confirmed in us. If we doubt the spirit of prophecy, we can not be enriched. And I may add that those who give up this message invariably do so on the last three points I have presented,—the spirit of prophecy, health reform, and systematic giving. May God help us to be faithful ambassadors of heaven, giving the trumpet a certain sound, an example to the flock, teaching only the pure word of God to needy, perishing souls all about us. THE hour at 5:30 A. M., May 17 was devoted to a consideration of the question of church discipline. The question was asked as to what should be done with members of the church who only partially keep the Sabbath, and who use tea, coffee, tobacco, opium, etc. In replying to this question R. A. Underwood related an experience which occurred in Ohio many years ago, when a man who was using tobacco secretly was labored with carefully and prayerfully. He always pleaded, “Bear with me, brethren.” But the time came when the man was converted, and his tobacco went, and he was a clean man for the remainder of his life. You can not lay down an absolute rule for dealing with every case. God must teach us what we should do. We must seek to maintain discipline, receiving from God the instruction we need for every case. D. T. Bourdeau stated that the essential thing in such a case is to connect the person with the mighty power of God, and lead the person to the point of yielding his will for an effort to overcome, and if necessary have the church pray for him. The miracle-working power of God taking hold of a person who has a bad habit will enable that person to gain the victory, and by a connection with God we shall have wisdom to help in such cases. G. F. Watson stated that the idea had become prevalent throughout our churches that we had reached a time when no one is to be disfellowshipped, and he stated that some who hold this idea believe they are supported in this position by the instruction contained in the parable of the wheat and the tares. He did not believe, however, that this parable applied to members of churches, but that the tares are in the world, and ought to remain in the world. E. W. Farnsworth coincided with this opinion, saying that he believed the parable of the wheat and the tares represents the world, and not the church. C. Santee read regarding the matter of church discipline, from “Spirit of Prophecy,” Vol. III, pages 246, 247, as follows:— “When the church takes up the case of an offender, the prayer of faith will bring Christ into the midst as an all-wise counselor.” “If the voice of the church is disregarded, and his individual will is set up above it, then the offender must be promptly dealt with, and the decision of the brethren, made with prayer and faith, and according to the wisdom given them of God, is ratified by heaven.” “The directions of the apostles in regard to condemnation or acquittal in case of church trials are to remain valid till the end of time.” He also read from “Testimonies for the Church,” page 429, as follows: “In heaven there is perfect order, perfect obedience, perfect peace and harmony. Those who have had no respect for order or discipline in this life would have no respect for the order which is observed28 in heaven. They can never be admitted into heaven. . . . When Christ shall come, he will not change the character of any individual.” Development in the Work of God
The fifth session of the ministerial institute was held at eleven o'clock, May 17, when Elder M. C. Wilcox read a paper on “The Development in the Work of God,” the larger part of which follows:— In every advance movement in the work of God, in every regenerating work of the ages, that movement has invariably had for its aggressive and potential center either some truth trodden under foot of past generations, or some truth new to the world, but belonging to that generation alone to which it is preached. Such revelation is needed not merely because it is due, but for the twofold purpose of awakening God's church from its lethargy and bringing to it clearer, broader vision and new hope and new life. To reject this central truth is to fossilize, to retrograde, to apostatize, and to die; to accept it is not alone to meet the opprobrium of the world as narrow literalists, and finally, from the apostate, persecution, but it is to go forward with the remnant church to greener pastures, to richer experiences, and to final victory with God's celestial army. This manifestly central truth may not in itself alone have within it saving power, nevertheless it demands saving faith of all to whom the Spirit reveals it; and ever connected with it, as the circumference is to the center, is the great everlasting gospel. Concrete examples of this work in the past will illustrate my meaning. First, the deluge. The dominant thing in that message in the eyes of the people was, the coming flood. Second, the one central word which came from Moses to Pharaoh was, the serving of God. “Let my people go that they may serve me,” was repeated again and again by Moses, the messenger of the Lord. Third, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” was the great manifest side of the message of John the Baptist. Fourth, the central theme of the message of Jesus was his mission as the Christ; and in him was the fulness of the Godhead. Fifth, the great central truth of the Reformation was the justification by faith in a personal Christ. Sixth, the mighty manifest truth of the great threefold message due to this generation alone is, Christ is coming, the hour of his judgment impends. The third angel's proclamation, embracing the others, came to a confused, a divided, a despairing people who would not yield their faith. They examined anew the ground of their faith in the great prophetic period of the twenty-three hundred days, and they came from their examination with hearts confirmed that the ending of those days in 1844 was correct. And to the waiting company, like a vision from heaven, was revealed, aye, a vision veritable from heaven revealed, the disappointment, and lighted the way to the central truth of all truth, the holy of holies in the sanctuary of God. There they saw the ark of the covenant, the eternal law of God, the glory of his mercy-seat, and the great High Priest, the God-man our Advocate, our Brother-Saviour in the presence of our Father-God. There centered the Sabbath truth; there was clearer light thrown on man's nature and the price of his redemption; there faith saw the law of life in Christ Jesus our Lord, and the great time-table of prophecy shone in a clearer, holier, sublimer light than ever before. There is a multitude of denominations believing in almost every imaginable theory, true and untrue, but we are singular and alone respecting one great central truth. Seventh-day Baptists have for unknown years before us kept the Sabbath day and taught it, and for it praised God. Adventists there have been in all denominations who believe in the Lord's soon coming and in the fulfilment of prophecy, and who are in general agreement with us in this respect. All evangelical churches, so-called, believe in the divinity of Christ, and that he alone is Saviour. Whole denominations and many in the great popular churches, notably the Baptist and the Episcopal, do not believe in the inherent immortality of man, but hold that everlasting life and immortality come only through faith in Christ Jesus. Many there are who believe the earth made new to be the eternal inheritance of the people of God. Every phase of the great threefold message, save one, is held by some of all of the various denominations, and that is the doctrine of the sanctuary, old in its revelation, new in its significance and specific application. It is the great central truth of the great cluster of truths of this message. It is the harmonizing, arranging, unifying truth of the message. It enabled this people to place before the world the most glorious cosmos of gospel light and truth this world ever saw, in contrast to the chaos of error found in the world's great Babylon. God has predicted the times and the thing, and the people who accepted fulfilled the prophecy. How the Sabbath truth shines out in clear luster in the light of the revelations of the sanctuary! How the various phases of our Lord's coming, the apokalupsis, the parousia, the epiphany,—the revelation of God's Son, the personal presence of our divine Lord, the forth-shining of his eternal glory,—each find a fitting and important place in the setting given by the sanctuary. Instead of sinking into utterly insignificant proportions as needless, how the transcending importance of the great judgment day stands revealed in all its infinite and awful majesty. How clearly it reveals our Lord's last work of ministry in the antitypical day of atonement, the close of that work in the finishing of the mystery of God, the reception of the redeemed kingdom by its Redeemer, the coming to each one to judgment, the close of the day of probation, the beginning of the great and awful day of Jehovah, the place of the seven last plagues, and the death of the wicked and the resurrection and translation of the righteous at the shining forth of the Son of God. How free grace and eternal election blend in a teaching of transcendent beauty. How the church and the individual are transformed into temples of God through the glorious sublimity of the same truth of our Lord's priesthood over a holy law for the redemption of souls to eternally elected character. And there is much more to be said concerning this wonderful truth which God has given us in his Book, and revealed through prophecy as especially applicable to this time, and in which and around which has developed the great harmonious threefold message we are giving to the world. Shall we relinquish this glorious note in the major chord in the great diapason of truth? Shall we cast aside this glorious gem in the coronet of truth God has given us?—No; a thousand times, no. Or shall we be content to hold it as a mere theory, to measure its boards and coverings, to count its rings, its hooks, its staples, to weigh its sockets and reckon its material value? Shall we limit the heavenly by the earthly? O brothers beloved! We are even yet on the border land of light and power and gladness. We see the mighty pillars and outlines of truth's grand system; we are too prone to be content therewith. There is light, clearer light, power, greater power, beyond. But not until our humility, our consecration, our faith, shall equal the truth already revealed, will God give more truth. Earnestly seeking, faithfully serving, God's people will be given more and more light and truth; “for light is sown for the righteous,” and clothed in that ever-developing, increasing light, God's church shall go forward to certain victory, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners! The discussion was led by Elder O. A. Olsen, who spoke substantially as follows:— God's messengers have always had a message. And so our work is in fulfilment of prophecy, and we have a definite work to accomplish, a work which has been definitely outlined by the Spirit of God. William Miller was moved upon by the Spirit of God to study the very line of truth, and by that study developed the prophecies indicating our work and message. The time had come when the message should be given, and God raised up men to do the work. We to-day are representatives of the third angel's message, and there is no truth in all the Bible so fully and strongly established as this last closing work. We are not following cunningly devised fables. Take Seventh-day Adventists out of the world, and there would be nothing to represent the threefold message of Revelation 14. There is no other people, work, or message that claims to be doing this work. God will carry this work through gloriously, and its end will be triumphant. D. T. Bourdeau: This message came to us in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. Disconnect power from it, and it is worthless. This message is the power of God unto salvation. S. N. Haskell: We have two unanswerable arguments regarding present truth; namely, our existence as a people, distinct and separate, which was brought about by the truth of the sanctuary; and the fact that there has been increasing light from the beginning of our existence. God never gives light that destroys or weakens the truth that he first gave; but his truth constantly unfolds, and separates his people farther and farther from the world.29 New light is not to study up something new that will upset what the Lord has already revealed; increasing light only establishes and confirms what he has already given. The light will continue to increase more and more until the end. G. I. Butler: I do not believe there is a minister in the world outside of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination who could intelligently give an explanation of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation; and another point is that if we do not have the third angel's message to-day, the world will never have it. Notice: the first message brings to view that the hour of his judgment is come, which is the same thing as the cleansing of the sanctuary, which was to come at the end of the twenty-three hundred days. The beginning of that period is marked by the decree to restore and build Jerusalem, given in B. C. 457. And without this definite date as a starting-point, we could not determine the date of the message. J. N. Loughborough: It was my privilege to hear the first angel's message, and I know that there was a power that went with it. What moved me was a sermon on the judgment. The power of God was there. Some have said to me at this meeting, “I wish we could make an effort to get the power of God.” I say, If the Spirit of God was not here on this ground yesterday afternoon when Sister White spoke to us, when do you expect to receive it? I remember some of the experiences we had in the early days of this message, and how God was with us. I remember the experience of Hiram Edson, a man of earnest devotion and sincere piety. He is the one who first received light on the sanctuary question. He received this light on the twenty-third day of the seventh month in 1844, and he got it on his knees in answer to prayer. God has been in this message from the beginning. Persons have arisen who have some ideas that would seem to upset the sanctuary question. We had that same thing in 1858, and a party arose back there that attempted to remodel the whole third angel's message; but their work came to naught, as will every other such effort to overthrow this glorious truth. And back at that time when this question was brought forward by these persons, and they had met with the brethren to present these matters, and to talk with Brother and Sister White, Sister White was given a vision before them, and this was the statement she made while in vision: “That past message was given just as the Lord wanted it given; stir not a pin, move not a block.” I heard that said more than once when she was in vision. This was spoken through her by the angel of God. And so now, when people come up with some new light that is calculated to upset this whole truth, God says to us, Stir not a pin, move not a block.