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Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 2.

The Calling and Character of John
Earlier text: The Calling and Character of John

Why Many Will Fail.

By W. N. Glenn

We are told by the Saviour of mankind (Luke 13:24) that many will seek to enter into the kingdom of God, and shall not be able. This statement, together with the further declaration (Matt. 7:14) that few will find the narrow way to eternal life, shows the importance of some inquiry as to the reason for the multitude of failures here foretold. As God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9), it is clear that the fault cannot be ascribed to him. To the Jewish rulers, Jesus said, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.” Here was positive rejection of the only source of life; and this fully accounts for their condemnation, as also for the condemnation of all others who assume a like attitude toward the Redeemer.
But the query still stands, why so many who do not abruptly reject the offered mercy, but who actually “seek” admission to the kingdom, professedly through Christ, will in the end come short. There are many reasons assigned in the Scriptures why different classes of professors will fail, but there must be a root whence they all spring. The all-important era in the life of one who would seek the kingdom of God is his conversion. That is the starting point, and much depends upon getting a right start.
In this connection there is a principle laid down by the Saviour, in his instruction to his disciples, which the many seekers for the honors connected with his service apparently overlook: “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Matt. 18:3. Not only is conversion essential, but it is also necessary for the convert to become as a little child. This is the great obstacle in the way of human nature; and the greater the measure of worldly success an individual may have attained, the greater is the difficulty he experiences in giving it all up and reverting to childhood for a new start in a directly opposite course. But the imperative word of the Lord is, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Being born again implies beginning life a second time, and consequently assuming an entirely dependent position, helpless as regards inherent strength. A person may be converted, and through false instruction, or lack of instruction, may fail to realize the necessity of an absolute surrender of self, and a meek, childlike submission to God. But, sometime during his probation, this humble position may be assumed, otherwise he “cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
The apostle Paul said, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Cor. 12:10. Those things drove him to God for strength—a strength that overcomes all weakness, and subdues all opposition. Now a child is the personification of weakness and dependence. No other young creature, of whatever species, remains so long in an utterly helpless condition, as a child. Yet there is no time that it is subject to so many mishaps as when it begins to go alone. So long as it lies contentedly in its mother's arms, or confidently allows her to assist and direct its steps, it is comparatively safe from harm. But as soon as it begins to spurn parental guidance, then come the straying into forbidden paths, the beguilements of the enemy, and departures from duty.
There is hardly a principle in the Christian course that is not in some way illustrated in the history of ancient Israel. And in contemplating this subject the mind reverts to the case of Uzziah, king of Judah. The account of his career is given in the twenty-sixth chapter of 2 Chronicles. He was elevated to the throne in a day of trouble, when his father Amaziah, who had departed from the service of the Lord, had been slain by his people. Although Uzziah was but sixteen years old when he began to reign, “he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.” Verse 5. “And his name spread far abroad, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction; for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” Verses 15, 16. The priests remonstrated against the wicked assumption, but he persisted in the unwarranted trespass until he was smitten with leprosy; and was cut off from the house of the Lord from that day onward.
Comment upon this example is unnecessary. It was “written for our learning,” and we can do no better than to heed the instruction. But there is one more point in reference to childhood. “Little children” are supposed to do what they are bidden. And it is a fact that, generally, they are more obedient than those of maturer age. Then to become as a little child the conversion implies not only a close relationship to God, and humble dependence upon his fostering care and guidance, but obedience to his commands. Without these qualifications, “ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” The requirement is imperative, and the sooner all seekers for entrance to that kingdom learn the lesson, the better for their prospects of success. W. N. GLENN.

Nature and Design of the Law.

THE moral law, or the rule and obligation of moral rectitude in the sight of God, which is revealed in the Scriptures, and interpreted by Christ, as obligatory upon the thoughts and feelings of the soul, is not only in its nature of perpetual and universal obligation, and adapted to produce conviction of sin in every soul that is sensible of transgressing its requirements, but the Scriptures expressly declare that it was designed to produce conviction of sin in the soul, in order to prepare it to receive the gospel.
The moral law is set forth in the Scriptures as holy, just, and good in its character; and whatever may be its effects upon the soul itself, that its character is such no intelligent thing in the universe can doubt, because it requires of every one perfect holiness, justice, and goodness; it requires that the soul should be perfectly free from sin in the sight of God; and as we have seen, God ought not to allow the sin; if he did, the law would not be holy, nor adapted to make men holy. But the more holy the law, the more conviction it would produce in the mind of sinners. If the law extended only to external conduct, men would not feel guilty for their wrong thoughts, desires, or designs; and if it extended only to certain classes of spiritual exercises, men would not feel guilty for those which it did not condemn; but if it required that the soul itself—the spiritual agent—the “I” of the mind—should be holy, and all its thoughts and feelings in accordance with the law of love and righteousness, then the soul would be convicted of guilt for a single wrong exercise, because while it felt that the law was holy, just, and good, it could not but feel condemned in breaking it. When Christ came, therefore, every soul that was taught its spirituality would be convicted of sin. One of two things men had to do, either shut out its light from their soul, and refuse to believe its spiritual and perfect requirements, or judge and condemn themselves by those requirements. And while the law thus showed sin to exist in the soul, and condemned the soul as guilty and liable to its penalty, it imparted no strength to the sinner to enable him to fulfill its requirements; it merely sets forth the true standard, which is holy in itself, and which God must maintain; and, by its light, it shows sinners their guilt, condemns them, and leaves them under its curse.
Now the Scriptures declare that this is the end which, by its nature, it is adapted to accomplish, and that it was revealed to men with the design to accomplish this end, and thus lead men to see and feel the necessity of justification and pardon by Jesus Christ. The Scripture saith, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” “The law worketh wrath—where there is no law, there is no transgression.” “Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, for where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Mark the following: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God; therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
The argument of the apostle in vindicating the holiness of the law, while it, at the same time, produced conviction and condemnation, is conclusive. “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet [i. e., I would not have felt covetousness to be sin except the law had condemned it as such]. For I was alive [i. e., not consciously condemned] without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life [i. e., which required the soul to be holy and therefore alive to God], I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment [or acts shown to be sin by the commandment], deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin [i. e., sin which did exist in the soul, was made to appear in its true evil character], working death in me by that which is good [i. e., the holiness of the law showed the evil of sin]; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.” And then, for deliverance from this bondage, he looks to Christ: “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death,” &c. And mark again: “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid; for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law [i. e., while the law showed the soul to be unholy and condemned to spiritual death, it provided no means for the relief of the sinner; no influence by which love and holiness could be produced in the heart]. But the Scripture [that is, the revelation of law in the Scripture] hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed; wherefore the law was our school-master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Now, from the above scriptures, it is evident that the apostle understood the law not only to be adapted, but designed by its author, to show the soul its guilty and lost condition, its inability to free itself from the condemnation to which it was liable, and to prepare it, at the proper time, to trust in and love Christ for salvation from sin, and from death, the consequence of sin.—Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation.
“OPEN to me the gates of righteousness.”

Yet Am I Not Justified.

The apostle said, “I know nothing against myself, yet am I not hereby justified.” 1 Cor. 4:4, Revised Version. In other words, his conscience was void of offense toward God. He was trying in honesty and fidelity to serve the Lord, who had called him by his grace. But the fact that he knew nothing against himself was no ground of justification, for the Lord might know a dozen things against him which he, as yet, was too ignorant or blind to understand.
Paul could not forget that when he was living “in all good conscience toward God” he was at the same time persecuting the church, and “breathing out threatenings and slaughter,” and that though in days past he verily thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, he was at the same time guilty of grievous sin.
Sincerity is no proof of righteousness; and the fact that a man knows nothing against himself, affords him no ground for self-justification and self-gratulation. The psalmist says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults!” And he also prays, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The law of Moses most distinctly recognized that men were guilty of sins of ignorance. They were not merely “mistakes,” they were sins. Man was not only bound to confess his known sins, and offer sacrifices for them, but also to acknowledge his sins of ignorance, and bring an offering to the Lord for sins which had left no feeling of guilt upon the conscience.
It is well to be free from all consciousness of guilt, but we are not hereby justified. Nor are we to confound the dullness of an unenlightened conscience, the insensibility of a conscience perverted by willfulness, or the quiet stupor of a conscience benumbed by self-righteousness and seared by long persistence in wrong-doing, with the peace and rest that comes to a conscience purged with blood, and “void of offense toward God and men.”—Sel.

Uncharitable Charitableness.

If there is one sin of the tongue which is more hateful than another, surely it is the sin of uncharitable charitableness. Every statement has its implications, as the lawyers say; and sometimes the most effectual way of slandering your neighbor is to express a charitable hope that he may not be as bad as some people have reason to think him. There is nothing which hurts reputation like suspicion, and there is nothing which more directly suggests suspicion than the apparent reluctance with which one person acknowledges his hope that another person may be an honest man in spite of what he himself might say if he would. “I know that that is not true of Mr. Asterisk,” said one sharply. “I hope not,” blandly responded Mr. Blank. “I will try not to believe it as long as I can help.” Some time later, Mr. Asterisk’s reputation was abundantly cleared, and that from the very same source where it had been first called in question. “Now you see it has turned out all right,” said the one who had expressed his belief in Mr. Asterisk’s innocence. “Not whitewashed, I hope!” said Mr. Blank—who was, of course, too charitable to speak uncharitably.—S. S. Times.

When Blessings Become Curses

“MANY of our cares are but a morbid way of looking at our privileges. We let our blessings get moldy, and then call them curses.”

Virtue in Ordinary Life

A MAN's virtues should be measured, not by his occasional exertions, but by the doings of his ordinary life.

The Sabbath-School.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—JAN. 24.

  1. When will all the nations of earth be gathered before the Lord?
  2. How many classes of people will there be?
  3. Name and describe them?
  4. What will be said to those on the right hand—the righteous? Matt. 25:34.
  5. What will the Lord say to those on the left? Verse 41.
  6. Have any people ever yet been punished with everlasting or eternal fire? Jude 7.
  7. Describe the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen. 19:24, 25.
  8. How long a time, in comparison with eternity, did it take to accomplish this overthrow? Lam. 4:6.
  9. As the result of being overthrown by "everlasting fire," what did those cities become? 2 Pet. 2:6.
  10. After the cities became ashes what must have become of the fire?
  11. Then does "everlasting fire" necessarily burn to all eternity?
  12. What did the prophet Malachi say of the fierceness of the fires of the last day? Mal. 4:1.
  13. As the result of this fire, what will the wicked be? Verse 3.
  14. When this takes place, what will have become of the fire which devoured them?
  15. What wonderful promise was made concerning Jerusalem, on condition that the people should obey the Lord. Jer. 17:24, 25.
  16. What did the Lord say that he would do if they did not obey him? Verse 27.
  17. What did he say that this fire should do? Ib.
  18. What did he say should not be done to the fire? Ib.
  19. What is the meaning of the word "devour"?
  20. If the fire, when kindled, had been quenched, would the gates and palaces have been devoured?
  21. When that upon which the flames were feeding was "devoured," what must have become of the fire?
  22. What did Christ say of the fire into which the wicked are to be cast? Mark 9:45.
  23. Since the fire is not to be quenched, what will it do? Rev. 20:9.
  24. Then how much of the wicked will there be left? Mal. 4:1.
It has often been said that the Bible is like a fiddle, because it will play any tune that is desired. To this it has justly been replied that you can get only one tune from a fiddle if you keep your fingers off from the strings. So the Bible of itself does not teach many and contradictory doctrines, but only one, harmonious in all its parts. In no case is this better illustrated than in the doctrine of the punishment of the wicked, which we are now considering. If we only let the Bible explain itself, nothing more harmonious was ever seen. Our lesson covers one or two texts which suffer much from being tampered with by human hands; let us see how they appear when the Bible is used as a commentary.
"THEN shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The "angels that kept not their first estate" sinned against such great light that there was for them no forgiveness. If man had not yielded to temptation, they alone would have suffered the torments of everlasting fire; but now they are to be accompanied by wicked men who will not be forgiven. "And this torment is never to end," says one, and then, perchance, he asks, "Is it just for God to cause a man to suffer eternal torment for the sins committed in one short life?" We answer, It must be, if that is what he has threatened to do. We are not to decide by our ideas of justice what God ought to or will do, but must derive our ideas of justice from what God says he will do; for he is the embodiment of justice, as well as of every other desirable thing. Perhaps if we study carefully, we shall find that God has not threatened anybody with eternal torment.
Eternal punishment, as we learned last week, is threatened; but we must remember that this punishment is death, and that no one has received his punishment until death takes place, and then torment must necessarily cease.
As we read along the New Testament, with this text in mind, our attention is caught by a similar expression in Jude, the seventh verse: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Everybody is familiar with the story of the destruction of Sodom. It is found in Gen. 19. There we learn (verses 24, 25) that God rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone, and overthrew them and all their inhabitants. Peter tells us how complete was this overthrow: "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Pet. 2:6. When a thing is reduced to ashes, we know that every particle of it that is combustible has been burned, and that fire can no longer be kept burning upon it. In fact, there is no surer way of putting out a fire than of covering it with ashes, for they are incombustible. So then the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah having been long since turned to ashes, must have, for an equally long time, ceased to burn; nobody will question this, for all believe that a portion of the Dead Sea covers the place where they once stood.
AND still those cities suffered the vengeance of "eternal fire." This being true, we reasonably conclude that although the wicked are to go into everlasting or eternal fire, they need not necessarily continue to burn to all eternity. At least Matt. 25:41 does not teach that they will. Now if we carry our investigation a little further, we shall see that, as in the case of the cities of the plain when they were turned to ashes, the fires which prey upon the wicked must cease to burn. "Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1. Stubble cannot long withstand the action of fire, and we are not surprised to learn that if the wicked are stubble nothing will be left of them when once they are subjected to the flames. But read verse 3: "And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." That settles the matter beyond controversy. We know not how long a time it may take to reduce the wicked to ashes; to our comprehension it will doubtless be a very long time; but we are certain that they eventually will be ashes, and are just as certain that when that time comes, the "everlasting fire" which consumed them will have ceased to burn.
THE learned commentator, Dr. Barnes, although he believed in the eternal torment of the wicked, has given the following just criticism on Jude 7:—
"The phrase 'eternal fire' is one that is often used to denote future punishment—as expressing the severity and intensity of suffering. See Notes on Matt. 25:41. As here used, it cannot mean that the fires which consumed Sodom and Gomorrah were literally eternal, or were kept always burning, for that was not true. The expression seems to denote, in this connection, two things: (1) that the destruction of the cities of the plain, with their inhabitants, was as entire and perpetual as if the fires had been always burning—the consumption was absolute and enduring—the sinners were wholly cut off, and the cities forever rendered desolate; and (2) that in its nature and duration this was a striking emblem of the destruction which will come upon the ungodly."
MARK 9:45 is another text that is sadly misunderstood. People think, or, rather, conclude without thinking, that "fire that never shall be quenched" must of course always continue to burn. But what is the natural consequence to perishable substances when the fire into which they are cast is not quenched? Why, they are burned up, of course. They are speedily reduced to ashes, and then the fire, which was not quenched, dies a natural death. Throw stubble into the fire; if you speedily quench the flame, the stubble may be saved; but if the fire is unquenchable, nothing can keep the stubble from becoming utterly consumed. So of the wicked; if the Bible said that the fire shall be quenched, we should know that they would escape punishment; but no human power can quench the fire of the last day, and God has said that he will not. So we must conclude, even if the Bible did not tell us, that the wicked are to be devoured, not preserved alive. When the fire has done its work, they will be left "neither root nor branch." E. J. W.

NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

By Alonzo T. Jones

JANUARY 18—ACTS 21:1-14.

Coos WAS about forty miles from Miletus, and both Coos and Miletus were only about forty miles from Patmos, where John wrote the Revelation.
RHODES, the second stopping-place of Paul on this journey, was a large island below the southwest point of Asia Minor. Its principal city was also named Rhodes, and is known all over the world by the Colossus, that stood there, which is counted as one of the seven wonders of the world. Three hundred and four years B. C., Demetrius Poliorcetes besieged Rhodes, and, failing to reduce it, after a year's siege made peace with the Rhodians; and, as a token of his sincerity, he made them a present of all the machines of war that he had used in the siege. These the Rhodians sold, and with the proceeds made the famous Colossus. It was a statue of Apollo, the sun, and was one hundred and five feet tall. After standing about sixty years it was thrown down and broken to pieces by an earthquake, and there it lay, scattered about at the entrance to the harbor, when Paul entered. Thus it lay until A. D. 653, when under the caliph Moawiyah, Rhodes was subdued by the Saracens, and the fragments of the Colossus were sold to a Jewish merchant of Edessa.
PHENICIA lay on the coast of the Mediterranean, north of Palestine. Tyre and Sidon were its principal cities. Luke says, "Finding a ship sailing over into Phenicia, . . . we sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre." Syria and Phenicia were not identical. Syria extended to the Euphrates on the east, the Taurus Mountains on the north, Palestine on the south, and the Mediterranean on the west. Phenicia was therefore a part or province of Syria.
"LANDED at Tyre." Tyre is one of the most noted cities of the Bible. It was built by a colony from Zidon (Isa. 23:12); it was a "strong city" when Canaan was divided among the ten tribes of Israel (Josh. 19:29); Hiram, king of Tyre "was ever a lover of David," and sent "cedar trees, and carpenters and masons," and built David a house (1 Kings 5:1; 2 Sam. 5:11); he also furnished Solomon with materials and workmen, in building the temple (1 Kings 5:2-18); Jezebel, the iniquitous wife of Ahab, was daughter of the king of Tyre. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, Tyre rejoiced, and exclaimed, "Aha! she is broken; I shall be replenished now she is laid waste," and because of this, Ezekiel was commanded to declare the doom of Tyre by the power of this same Nebuchadnezzar. Eze. 26.
IN Ezekiel 27 we have portrayed the glory of Tyre before her fearful fall. Her builders had made her of perfect beauty. Her ships were made of fir, and their masts of cedars of Lebanon; their oars were made of the oaks of Bashan, and the seats for the oarsmen were made of ivory; the sails were made of fine linen with embroidered work, and blue and purple for coverings; the wise men of Tyre were pilots, and the wise men of Gebal were calkers; her merchants were princes, and her traders were the honorable of the earth. Isa. 23: 8.
IN her fairs, there traded all nations, in all manner of merchandise. Tarshish (southern Spain) traded there in silver, and iron, and tin, and lead. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech (the coasts of the Black and Caspian Seas) traded in slaves and vessels of brass (or copper); Togarmah (Armenia) was there with horses and horsemen and mules; Dedan was there from the borders of the Persian Gulf, with ivory and ebony and precious clothes for chariots. Syria was there with emeralds, purple and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral and agate. Judah and Israel were there with wheat, and honey, and oil, and balm. Damascus came with wine of Helbon and white wool. Arabia came with bright iron, cassia, calamus, lambs, rams, and goats. Sheba and Raamah occupied in her fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, and Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad (Assyria, Chaldea, and the people about the Tigris and the Euphrates) brought all sorts of things in blue clothes and broidered work, and rich apparel in chests made of cedar and bound with cords. World's fairs are not peculiar to modern times; Tyre had them 2,500 years ago.
"WE tarried there seven days." With Paul's well-known custom of reasoning with the people out of the Scriptures, it is scarcely possible that he should not dwell on the prophecies concerning Tyre.
PTOLEMAIS is the Accho of Judges 1:31, and is twenty-seven miles south of Tyre. In the division of the empire of Alexander the Great, it, with the rest of Phenicia, fell to Ptolemy, from whom it received the name Ptolemais. It is now called St. Jean d'Acre, or Acre. In the Middle Ages it fell into the hands of the Saracens, and was a great bone of contention during the Crusades. In A. D. 1110 it was taken by the Crusaders; in 1187 it was retaken by the Saracens under Saladin; in 1191 it was again taken by the Crusaders under Richard Cœur de Lion, and Philip of France, at a cost of 100,000 of their troops. They gave it to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, by whom it received the name St. Jean d'Acre, i. e., St. John of Acre. They had it for a hundred years, when the Saracens again got possession of it, after a bloody siege, in 1291. In 1517 it fell to the Turks. In 1799 it was besieged by Napoleon sixty-four days, but he could not take it. In 1831-32, in the revolt of Mehemet Ali, of Egypt, it was taken by his son, Ibrahim, after a siege of five months and twenty-one days. In 1840 the British fleet bombarded it three hours and reduced it to ruins. In 1841 the allied powers put the Turks again in possession of it. It was rebuilt, and now contains 10,000 inhabitants.
CESAREA was an important place in the life of Paul. There, as says the lesson, lived Philip the evangelist; there lived, also, Cornelius, the centurion to whom the angel appeared and told him to send for Peter, and to whom Peter went and preached, when the "Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." Acts 10. There, upon a royal throne, dressed in a garment "wholly of silver," with the bright sun shining upon him, and reflected from his silver robe, sat Herod, who had killed James, and sought to kill Peter, and delivered an oration to the people, at which they cried out that he was a god and not a man; "and immediately the angel of the Lord smote him." Acts 12. There Paul lay in prison two years, preached to Felix and Drusilla, defended himself before Festus, appealed unto Cæsar, plead before King Agrippa, and from there was sent to Rome. It is now utterly desolate and its ruins for a long time have been a quarry, from which stones are taken to build other towns in that part of Palestine.
PHILIP "had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy." "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." 1 Cor. 14:3. Conybeare and Howson say: "The gift of prophecy was that charism [extraordinary gift] which enabled its possessors to utter, with the authority of inspiration, divine strains of warning, exhortation, encouragement, or rebuke, and to teach and enforce the truths of Christianity with supernatural energy and effect."—Life of Paul. "And God hath set some in the church." 1 Cor. 12:28. In the last days, the remnant of the church "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ;" and "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. 12:17; 19:10. Therefore, "Despise not prophesyings." 1 Thess. 5:21.
ALONZO T. JONES.

Temperance.

Beer as a Medicine.

IT is painful to note the vast amount of evil which is being done by an ignorance of the poisonous nature of beer. Thousands of persons use this vile stuff continually as medicine, upon the advice of physicians, without knowing its real nature and effect, innocently supposing it to be doing them good. It is of course impossible in all cases for patients to know the nature of that which they take as medicine, but any one can easily ascertain the true nature of beer, and when there is so much crime resulting from its use as a beverage, it is every one’s duty to know what it is which they are encouraging the use of by taking it as a medicine. We are not prepared to say why physicians prescribe it, but whether they do so without having analyzed it or with a perfect knowledge of it is equally to their discredit. In the one case they would be giving that which they know nothing of, and in the other case they would be prescribing that which they must know to be a poison. But patients are guilty of sin in the use of it, even though they do not know anything of its pernicious effects upon the system, since, by the use of it, they furnish an example and an apology for others, who, under the pretext of using it as a medicine, really do so as a beverage. To all such we call attention to the following extract by Dr. Crothers, the able editor of the Quarterly Journal of Inebriety:—
“For some years past a decided inclination has been apparent all over the country to give up the use of whisky and other strong alcoholic liquors, using as a substitute beer and bitters, and other compounds. This is evidently founded on the idea that beer is not harmful, and contains a large amount of nutriment; also that bitters may have some medicinal quality which will neutralize the alcoholic concerns, etc. These theories are without confirmation in the observations of physicians and chemists where either has been used for any length of time. The constant use of beer is found to produce a species of degeneration of all the organism, profound and deep-seated. Fatty deposits, diminished circulation, conditions of congestion, and perversion of functional activities, local inflammation of both the liver and the kidneys, are constantly present. Intellectually, a stupor amounting almost to paralysis arrests the reason, precipitating all the higher faculties into a mere animalism, sensual, selfish, sluggish, varied only with paroxysms of anger that are senseless and brutal. In appearance the beer drinker may be the picture of health, but in reality he is most incapable of resisting disease. A slight injury, severe cold, or shock to the body or mind, will commonly provoke acute disease, ending fatally. Compared with inebriates who use different forms of alcohol, he is more incurable, and more generally diseased. The constant use of beer every day gives the system no time for recuperation, but steadily lowers the vital forces; it is our observation that beer drinking in this country produces the very lowest forms of inebriety, closely allied to criminal insanity. The most dangerous class of tramps and ruffians in our large cities are beer drinkers. It is asserted by competent authority that the evils of heredity are more positive in this class than from alcoholics. If these facts are well founded, the recourse to beer as a substitute for alcohol merely increases the danger and fatality following.”
Another physician, who calls beer “the least hurtful of all the alcoholic beverages,” says: “All the eliminating and excreting organs, the kidneys, skin, lungs, etc., are doing fullest duty, but are unequal to the task. So the watery fluid permeates and saturates all of the tissues of the body, and the man is just as completely waterlogged as the ill-fated Ironsides was when she went down. Hence the bloated appearance; and what was taken for healthy glow of the face is only a distention of the minute blood-vessels of the surface, from the same cause.”
We make no point here concerning the use of beer openly, as a beverage; the limitless and measureless harm resulting therefrom is now evident to all. But we do feel that it is high time for Christians to cease injuring themselves and encouraging beer drinking and deceit in others by the use of this terrible stuff as a medicine. It is one of the devil’s devices to establish himself in the midst of moral and Christian families.—Christian Statesman.

The Woes of Drunkenness

"Who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine."

The Hypocrisy of Liquor Voting

Suppose you go to the saloon-keeper and offer to license him to sell your son whisky for twenty-five dollars a year. Oh! you don’t believe in that? You don’t want it sold to your boy? Then be honest and don’t vote to have it sold to somebody else’s son.—Clyde Review.

The Only Difference.

Not long ago a Scottish clergyman reproved a member of his flock for being drunk. “Gin, it please ye,” said Jemmy, “I dinna drink as meikle as yoursel’.” “Why, how is that?” said the minister. “Weel, dinna ye aye tak’ a glass of whisky and water after dinner?” “Why, yes, Jemmy, sure I take a glass of whisky after dinner to aid digestion.” “An’ dinna ye tak’ a glass o’ toddy every nicht when ye are gangin’ to bed?” “Yes, to be sure, I just take a little toddy every night to help me to sleep.” “Weel,” continued Jemmy, “that’s just fourteen glasses a week, and about sixty every month. I only get paid once a month, and then if I’d tak’ sixty glasses it wud mak’ me dead drunk for a week. Now, ye see, the only difference is that ye time it better than I do.”
Continue reading: The Church. No. 2.