Earlier text: LIFE AND HEALTHA RECENT decision by Judge Robert F. Raymond, of the Massachusetts bench, is of more than local interest in its bearing upon the question of the responsibility of labor organizations for encouraging acts of violence. In the case of a man on trial, who was suspected of having blown up material provided for the construction of a railroad bridge, because the bridge company employed non-union help, the judge excluded all evidence tending to show that the accused, as a member of a labor union, might be actuated in the commission of the crime by his antagonism toward non-union principles. In rendering his decision the judge said:— The policy of the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the declarations of the courts of Massachusetts, up to this day, have always been in favor of labor organizations; and these declarations have been put on the ground that a labor organization is not only legal, but that the objects of labor organizations are commendable. They go beyond merely saying that labor organizations are legal, and may be upheld by the courts. They declare that the object of labor organizations is a commendable object. They put them on precisely the same footing with reference to their objects as a Masonic or an Odd Fellows' order, or, for that matter, as a church; and the necessary inference follows from that that a membership in a labor union can not be used to infer that because of such membership a man intended to commit a crime. The law, so far as there is any law on the matter, presumes the contrary. It presumes that labor organizations will restrain their members from crime as well as they will endeavor to secure beneficent objects. In view of the well-established fact that in connection with almost every large strike, the members of labor unions have organized themselves for acts of violence, including murderous assaults upon non-union men and the destruction of property, there does not seem to be proper justification for the assumption that “labor organizations will restrain their members from crime.” To class labor unions with churches in the influence which they exert to prevent crime, is a new revelation of the curious conclusions at which the legal mind sometimes arrives. If this decision is followed by other courts, it will make it all the more difficult to convict members of labor unions charged with violence. THE denial of religion and of the teaching of the Scriptures by those who profess to be leaders of religious thought is one of the signs of the times. As a recent instance we have the case of Prof. George B. Foster, of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, who is reported as saying:— More and more people are giving up the idea that their religion is something handed down to them from a divine source. They are coming to see that their religion is just as good and better than if it had been given to them without the work of human agencies. Consequently, religion is on a more rational basis, as people are cultivating it just as they cultivate music, language, science, and morality. After the same order is the declaration of Dr. Lyman Abbott in a sermon in the Yale College chapel, in which he discussed the relation between science and religion:— Science takes a rational order for granted. It discovers that order. Religion takes for granted a moral order. Science assumes that from the beginning material things have moved in accordance with a fixed law, and that in no case has there been an overturning of that law. I sympathize with science in this view, for I do not believe that the reasonable material order of the universe ever has been broken by a miracle. In the olden time the world by wisdom knew not God, and in these last days men are following the suggestions of human wisdom rather than the revelation from heaven, and are consequently being turned away from God and his truth. There is certainly a great demand for the message which shall say, “Fear God, and give glory to him.” It is quite a common thing for those who reject the Bible to hold up to ridicule the believers in the truths revealed in the Scriptures; but it is not often that the tables are effectively turned, and the absurdities of the assailants of Christianity are cleverly shown up. The best recent example of this is a book from which these paragraphs are taken:— St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his visions; he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is the head that splits. So again: modern skepticism is “the suicide of thought. It is the belief that we can be sure of nothing.” We are on the road to producing a race of men too modest to believe in the multiplication table. There is a thought that stops thought. That is the only thought that ought to be stopped. Descartes said: “I think; therefore I am.” The philosophic evolutionist reverses and negatives the epigram. He says: “I am not; therefore I can not think.” The most effective way to dispose of a wind-bag is to puncture it, and the same method may sometimes be successfully employed in dealing with the unproved and unprovable assertions made concerning Christianity and the Bible. Two meetings have recently been held which have attracted wide-spread attention. One was the meeting of the Catholic Congress in Chicago, and the other the meeting of the Federal Council of Churches in Philadelphia. It is said of these two gatherings that “between them they include nearly all the Christian forces of the country, and nine tenths or more of the population.” A paragraph of some significance appears in an editorial in the Independent, dealing with these two meetings. We quote:— The time is not yet ripe for the two bodies to meet together officially, but they are engaged in the same great purpose, but in somewhat different ways. In common works of beneficence and reform they can and do meet more and more individually on the same platforms. Equally they wish this to be a truly Christian country; and for temperance, social order, and all the decencies of civic life they are one. Not all Protestants are yet ready to admit that the Catholic Church is a true and loyal church, as the Lutheran protest has lately shown; but they are now few who denounce Rome as Antichrist. On the other hand, if Rome declares that the Protestants have no true churches, they are ready to allow that they may be and often are good Christians. We are brought so close together that we know each other’s good purpose, and we honor each other. When the united influence of these two bodies is exerted to secure the passage of such legislation as in their judgment will advance the cause of moral reform (Sunday laws, for instance), it is easy to foretell what the result will be; and it is by such means as this that America is to be made “a truly Christian country.” Thus was Rome made Christian in the days of Constantine. The Spirit of God
By L. D. SANTEE
“In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.” Acts 2:17. In vain do ye seek to behold him,
When ye dwell from his Spirit apart;
The heights of the heavens can not hold him,
Yet he dwells with the lowly in heart—
Whose hope is the brightest in trial,
Whose zeal to the end will endure,
With a faith that will take no denial,
A love that is changeless and pure. All those who are “led by the Spirit,”
Obeying his infinite word,
Shall the riches of heaven inherit,
And “enter the joy of their Lord.”
Their lives have been faithful to duty;
Soon they’ll sit with their Lord on his throne;
They will see the fair King in his beauty,
When the portals wide open are thrown. Like the song of a bird that yet lingers
When in distance the singer has flown,
Or a harp, ’neath the zephyr’s light fingers,
My heart claims that promise its own;
And I plead, looking up to the splendor
That circles the infinite throne,
“In the name of Christ, holy and tender,
O make thy sweet spirit my own!” He hears, and regards my petition,
His Spirit is sent from above;
Faith looks to a happy fruition,
My soul thrills with holiest love;
And a peace that is pure as a river,
That the Master in love will impart,
Enters into my being, forever
To make its abode in my heart. Grace and Faith the Gifts of God
By Ellen G. White
The grace of Christ and his righteousness are offered to men as a free gift. The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, says: “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” The thought that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, not because of any merit on our part, but as a free gift from God, is a precious thought. The enemy of God and man is not willing that this truth should be clearly presented; for he knows that if the people receive it fully, his power will be broken. If he can control minds, so that doubt and unbelief and darkness shall compose the experience of those who claim to be the children of God, he can overcome them with temptation. The Bible simple faith that takes God at his word should be encouraged. God’s people must have that faith which will lay hold of divine power; “for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Those who believe that God for Christ’s sake has forgiven their sins should not, through temptation, fail to press on to fight the good fight of faith. Their faith should grow stronger until their Christian life, as well as their words, shall declare, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Faith is trusting God,—believing that he loves us, and knows best what is for our good. Thus instead of our own way, it leads us to choose his way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts his wisdom; in place of our weakness, his strength; in place of our sinfulness, his righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already his; faith acknowledges his ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, purity, have been pointed out as secrets of life’s success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles. Every good impulse or aspiration is the gift of God; faith receives from God the life that alone can produce true growth and efficiency. How to exercise faith should be made very plain. To every promise of God there are conditions. If we are willing to do his will, all his strength is ours. Whatever gift he promises is in the promise itself. “The seed is the word of God.” As surely as the oak is in the acorn, so surely is the gift of God in his promise. If we receive the promise, we have the gift. Faith that enables us to receive God’s gifts, is itself a gift, of which some measure is imparted to every human being. It grows as it is exercised in appropriating the Word of God. In order to strengthen faith, we must often bring it in contact with the Word. How often those who trusted the Word of God, though in themselves utterly helpless, have withstood the power of the whole world,—Enoch, pure in heart, holy in life, holding fast his faith in the triumph of righteousness, against a corrupt and scoffing generation; Noah and his household against the men of his time, men of the greatest physical and mental strength and the most debased in morals; the children of Israel at the Red Sea, a helpless, terrified multitude of slaves, against the mightiest army of the mightiest nation on the globe; David, a shepherd lad, having God’s promise of the throne, against Saul, the established monarch, bent on holding fast his power; Shadrach and his companions in the fire, against Nebuchadnezzar on the throne; Daniel among the lions, against his enemies in the high places of the kingdom; Jesus on the cross, against the Jewish priests and rulers forcing even the Roman governor to work their will; Paul in chains, led to a criminal’s death, against Nero, the despot of the world’s empire. Such examples are not found in the Bible alone. They abound in every record of human progress. The Vaudois and the Hugenots, Wyclif and Huss, Jerome and Luther, Tyndale and Knox, Zinzendorf and Wesley, with multitudes of others, have witnessed to the power of God’s Word against human power and policy in support of evil. These are the world’s true noblemen. They are its royal line. As the plan of redemption begins and ends with a gift, so it is to be carried forward. The same spirit of sacrifice which purchased salvation for us, will dwell in the hearts of all who become partakers of the heavenly gift. Says the apostle Peter: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Said Jesus to his disciples as he sent them forth, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” In him who is fully in sympathy with Christ, there can be nothing selfish or exclusive. He who drinks of the living water will find that it is “in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The Spirit of Christ within him is like a spring welling up in the desert, flowing to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life. It was the same spirit of love and self-sacrifice which dwelt in Christ that impelled the apostle Paul to his manifold labors. “I am debtor,” he says, “both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Our Lord designed that his church should reflect to the world the fulness and sufficiency that we find in him. We are constantly receiving of God’s bounty, and by imparting of the same we are to represent to the world the love and beneficence of Christ. While all heaven is astir, dispatching messengers to all parts of the earth to carry forward the work of redemption, the church of the living God are also to be colaborers with Jesus Christ. We are members of his mystical body. He is the head, controlling all the members of the body. Jesus himself, in his infinite mercy, is working on human hearts, effecting spiritual transformations so amazing that angels look on with astonishment and joy. The same unselfish love that characterizes the Master is seen in the character and life of his true followers. Christ expects that men will become partakers of his divine nature while in this world, thus not only reflecting his glory, to the praise of God, but illuminating the darkness of earth with the radiance of heaven. Thus will be fulfilled the words of Christ, “Ye are the light of the world.” “We are laborers together with God,”9 —“stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The knowledge of God’s grace, the truths of his Word, and temporal gifts as well,—time and means, talent and influence,—are all a trust from God to be employed to his glory and for the salvation of men. Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever the heart reaches out to uplift and bless others, there is revealed the working of God’s Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism, men who have no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even heard the name of Christ, have been kind to his servants, protecting them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. The “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” is shining in his soul; and this light, if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of God. No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste, is recognized by God. He is the Maker of all mankind. All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple, that every soul may have free access to God. His love is so broad, so deep, so full, that it penetrates everywhere. It lifts out of Satan’s circle the poor souls who have been deluded by his deceptions. It places them within reach of the throne of God, the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free. All are brought nigh by his precious blood. D. A. PARSONS
By D. A. Parsons
The first recorded case of polygamy is that of Lamech, who “took unto him two wives. . . . And Lamech said unto his wives . . . I have slain a man.” Tracing his line back to Cain, we find it said of him, “Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” This same murderous spirit that controlled the first polygamists has been and is still associated with modern polygamy. Astonishing as it may seem to some, yet it is true that the Mormon prophets and leaders who have made the Latter-day Saints what they are now, urge with all their “divine authority” and “priesthood power” that “all mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be loving themselves even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your brothers and sisters likewise when they have committed a sin that can not be atoned for without the shedding of blood? Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus meant.” These words were spoken by Brigham Young to thousands, on Feb. 8, 1857, and the sermon was published with his sanction in the official organ of the Mormon Church, and also in their “Journal of Discourses,” Vol. IV, page 219. In the publishers’ preface of this volume, Young’s words, and those of other leaders, are spoken of thus: “To the saints their words are as the words of God.” On page 53 are some more of these “words.” He says:— “I know there are transgressors who, if they knew themselves, and the only condition upon which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg of their brethren to shed their blood, that the smoke thereof might ascend to God as an offering to appease the wrath that is kindled against them, and that the law might have its course. I will say, further, that I have had men come to me and offer their lives to atone for their sins.” Every student of ancient history will recognize in these statements the teachings of ancient Moloch. Men were urged to offer themselves as human sacrifices to appease an offended and angry god. The prophets of Mormonism urge the same thing. That the “law” referred to was the law of Jehovah is clearly seen by another statement from Brigham Young. We now quote from page 220:— “I have known a great many men who have left this church for whom there is no chance whatever for exaltation, but if their blood had been spilled, it would have been better for them: the wickedness and ignorance of the nations forbid these principles being in full force, but the time will come when the law of God will be in full force. “This is loving our neighbor as ourselves: if he needs help, help him; and if he wants salvation, and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it. Any of you who understand the principles of eternity, if you have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the sin unto death, would not be satisfied nor rest until your blood should be spilled, that you might gain that salvation you desire; that is the way to love mankind.” A few lines further on, as a closing exhortation to these remarks, Mr. Young says: “Now, brethren and sisters, will you live your religion?” We feel impelled to ask, Did this Latter-day Saint live up to his religion? Did this Mormon prophet, invested with “divine authority,” ever take the life of a sinner in Zion City? He unhesitatingly replies, “I have had men come to me and offer their lives to atone for their sins.” He does not say whether he complied with these requests, but if he did not do so, it was because he did not live up to his own teachings. Do not forget that when this fidei defensor taught these “principles of eternity,” he was the channel through which they believed God spoke to them; and every loyal Mormon to-day will tell you that he was a true prophet. He was not the only leader to advocate human sacrifice. In a sermon delivered before a great gathering on Sept. 21, 1856, the following statement was made by Pres. J. M. Grant, counselor to Young:— “I say that there are men and women that I would advise to go to the president immediately, and ask him to appoint a committee to attend to their case; and then let a place be selected, and let that committee shed their blood. . . . I would ask how many covenant breakers there are in this city and in this kingdom. I believe there are a great many; and if they are covenant breakers, we need a place designated, where we can shed their blood. . . . I am speaking to you in the name of Israel’s God.”—“Journal of Discourses,” Vol. IV, page 50. It is not necessary for us to comment at length on these statements made by their prophets, seers, and revelators. Their blood-thirsty doctrines stand out too clear to be misunderstood. They teach a human blood atonement. They assert that the spilled blood of a poor wretch groveling in his sins can do for him that which the blood of Christ can not do, and they urge their members to murder their transgressing neighbors, asserting that “that is what Jesus meant;” “that is the way to love mankind.” It was not persecution that moved the Mormons to advocate murder. It was not done to protect homes, wives, or children. “Will you live up to your religion?” exclaimed Brigham Young as a fitting climax to one of his most blood-thirsty sermons. It was a part of their religion then, and it is certainly a part of it yet. The church can not truthfully deny her own statements, for in doing so she would repudiate her own prophets. Nothing could hinder the Mormon Church from carrying into effect these doctrines; for their human sacrifices were not slain in public. The victims were urged to report themselves quietly and voluntarily to some brother or sister, or to the president of the church, and, if to the latter, it was recommended that a committee be appointed to “shed their blood” in some quiet and selected place. Nor does that man keep truth on his side who says, as some have said, that these were legal executions for murder. Such an unscrupulous quibble seems almost too transparent to justify further exposure. The president of the Mormon Church, speaking in 1905 of human sacrifice, said it was, and is still, made necessary by “certain grievous sins.” Now if murder is one of these sins, what are the others? Even the president himself exposes the quibble without mercy when he attempts to justify the doctrine by calling attention to five men “whom the Lord slew,” not one of whom was guilty of murder. Doctrine of Human Sacrifice Confirmed\nin 1905
Mormonism has not changed. As recently as 1905 the Mormon Church published a work advocating this very doctrine10 of human sacrifice as the only means of salvation under certain conditions. Under the heading of “Doctrine of Blood Atonement,” their president, prophet, seer, and revelator says:— “What is that doctrine? . . . It is simply this: through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. . . . But man may commit certain grievous sins—according to his light and knowledge—that will place him beyond the reach of the atoning blood of Christ. If, then, he would be saved, he must make sacrifice of his own life to atone, so far as in his power lies, for that sin; for the blood of Christ alone under certain circumstances will not avail. . . . This is the doctrine of Christ our Redeemer, who died for us. This is the doctrine of Joseph Smith, and I accept it.”—“Blood Atonement and Plural Marriage—A Discussion,” pages 55, 56. (Italics theirs.) “Do you want a few references of where men were righteously slain to atone for their sins? What about the death of Nechor (Alma 1:15), Zemnariah and his followers (3 Nephi 4:27, 28)? What about Er and Onan, whom the Lord slew? Gen. 38:7, 10. Nabad and Abihu (Lev. 10:2), and the death of Achan? Joshua 7:25. Were not these righteously slain to atone for their sins?”—Ib., page 57. The leader of Mormonism then quotes Brigham Young to prove how and why they were slain:— “He slew them by the hand of their enemies, by the plague and by the sword. Why?—Because he loved them, and promised Abraham that he would save them.”—Ib. These statements were officially published by the Mormon Church to justify the doctrine of human sacrifice as taught by Brigham Young. The statements explain that, under certain sinful conditions, the spilled blood of a human sacrifice must supplement the atonement of Christ, or his atonement would utterly fail to save them. This is exalting the human above the divine. This is idolatry. It is paganism. From what has been presented, it must be evident to all that there is no vital difference between Mormonism and ancient heathenism. Its only variance is in form and subtility. It is more subtle because its rites, mysteries, and secret temples masquerade under the name of Christianity; and its pagan sacrifices beg to supplement the atonement of Christ to make his atonement all-powerful. It varies from paganism but little in form. The human offerings to Moloch were for all the people; but in Mormonism the victim must “make sacrifice of his own life to atone” for his sins only. It is not against the Mormon individual that we take up our pen. It is against their doctrines. We have only the most tender feelings for those who have been blinded by the enemy of Jesus. He loves and desires to save them. We believe that many in the Mormon Church are sincere in their convictions; and that others there, feeling the absence of their Saviour, are earnestly pleading to know his will and to hear his voice. May our Heavenly Father gently lead them all from darkness into light, from the human to the divine, and from the teachings of men to the true gospel of Jesus our Lord. The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing
By GEORGE I. BUTLER
The Disappointment and Its Explanation — No. 2
The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing
There was once a sanctuary on this earth,—the one great central point of interest in the Jewish worship for some fifteen centuries,—embracing the tabernacle in the wilderness, the temple of Solomon, and the second temple built after the return from Babylon, continuing until Christ came, and finally destroyed by Titus, the Roman emperor, in the year A. D. 70. The apostle Paul speaks of it as follows: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat; of which we can not now speak particularly.” Heb. 9:1-5. This was the earthly sanctuary. A description of this building and all its furniture and vessels is found in Exodus 25, 26, etc. God said, “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” The pattern of it was shown to Moses in Mount Sinai, where he met with God and communed with him. It was built in two apartments, the holy and the most holy place. We have not space to enter into a full description of this worldly sanctuary. Suffice it to say, the tabernacle made in the wilderness, the temple made by Solomon, and also the second temple, in general outline were alike. All had the two apartments, the holy and most holy places. The same furniture was in each,—in the first, the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, the table of showbread; in the second, up to the time of the captivity, the ark, in which were kept the two tables of stone upon which God had written the ten commandments of his holy law, the two cherubim, and the golden censer, in which incense was offered. These buildings, with their furniture, are expressly declared to be the worldly sanctuary. Since the destruction of the second temple by Titus, there has been no sanctuary in existence upon earth. Aaron was appointed by God as the first high priest to minister in this sanctuary. After his death his descendants succeeded him. Careful directions for all their religious services were written out in the Mosaic law. As a general statement, we may say each year there was a round of services in connection with this earthly sanctuary, terminating with the day of atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month. During the year the sinner came to the sanctuary with his sin-offering of some clean beast or bird. In the presence of the officiating priest, he made confession of his sin over this victim. It was then slain, and the priest took the victim’s blood and sprinkled it upon the altar and in the sanctuary. The sin was thus in type conveyed from the sinner to the sanctuary, to be finally disposed of on the day of atonement. On that day all Israel were summoned to appear at the sanctuary. These services were called the “cleansing of the sanctuary.” That is the final removing of those sins which had been transferred in figure to it. In the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus a full account is given of the religious services performed by the high priest in this process of “cleansing the sanctuary.” A brief epitome of what was done is all we have space to present. Preceding the day of atonement all the sanctuary services during the whole year were performed in the holy place, or first apartment of the sanctuary. On the day of atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month, the service was transferred to the most holy place, before “the ark of his testament.” Aaron’s first act was to offer a bullock for a sin-offering for himself and his own family before he could be in a fit condition to officiate in behalf of the removal of sins for all the people. In doing this he “made an atonement” for himself and his household. Then two kids were selected for a sin-offering. These were presented before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle. Then Aaron “cast lots upon the two kids, one for the Lord and one for the scapegoat” (“Azazel,” margin). Next he took the Lord’s goat and offered it for a sin-offering for the people, taking its blood and sprinkling it within the veil in the most holy place, making an atonement. “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it [the altar] with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Lev. 16:19. After this, Aaron brought the scapegoat (Azazel), laid his hands upon its head, and confessed over it all the sins of the children of Israel; and then this goat was taken by a fit man into the wilderness, and let go. This, in brief, was the ceremony of cleansing the sanctuary, or removing sin from it, in that typical service. The large congregation outside, in the meantime, were confessing their sins and afflicting their souls, and humbling themselves before God. It was the most solemn service connected with that typical system. Ask any intelligent Jew the meaning of it all, and he will tell11 you that it was the day of judgment, the removal of sin, the final disposition of the sins of the year. Those sins could not be removed from the souls of the people until they repented of them. That whole system was a typical system pointing forward to Christ. The offering of beasts could never remove sin in fact. The first offering of which we have a record was a lamb, offered by righteous Abel. That offering was acceptable to God. It prefigured the final offering of the Lamb of God, whose blood could take away sin. So with all the offerings ever made during the whole typical system; they showed faith in the Redeemer, who came to this world to die for our sins. Paul positively declares, “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Heb. 10:4. The priesthood of Aaron was of the tribe of Levi. Christ was of the tribe of Judah. He could not therefore be a priest in the typical dispensation. But when Christ died upon the cross, he cried, “It is finished.” The great sacrifice had then been offered for the sins of the world, and the type had met its antitype. The veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom, signifying that God had withdrawn from that typical temple. That house was left desolate, as Christ declared. The priesthood of Aaron gave place to that of Christ, who the psalmist declared was “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Ps. 110:4. The priests on earth ministered in a typical or worldly sanctuary, which passed away over nineteen centuries ago. Of what was it a type?—Of a sanctuary in heaven. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:1, 2. After describing the earthly sanctuary and its services here, Paul continues: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices. . . . But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, . . . he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:8-11. “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [that is, the blood of beasts, etc.]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:23, 24. These scriptures demonstrate beyond question that Christ is a minister, or great high priest, and that there is a heavenly sanctuary in which he ministers. In vision John the revelator saw those articles of furniture which were in the earthly sanctuary. “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Rev. 1:12, 13. “And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” Rev. 4:5. “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer.” Rev. 8:3. Both the altar and the censer were in the earthly sanctuary, and both are in the heavenly temple where Christ our High Priest ministers. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11:19. Surely, then, there can be no doubt that there is a heavenly sanctuary in heaven; for the Bible says so, and that blessed Book will never tell a lie. Christ our Saviour is there ministering for us before the ark, which contains the ten commandments. So those commandments, instead of being abolished at the cross, as multitudes declare, are in the temple of God in heaven. “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” As we have seen, that period terminated in 1844 A. D. In our next, we will notice what occurred at the close of that period.