Earlier text: General ArticlesDirect Proof that the Kingdom is Future.
By Editor
THAT the kingdom foretold by Daniel was not set up in the days of the four kingdoms, or of either of them, is susceptible of the clearest proof. And we notice, 1. It is to be a restoration of the throne and kingdom of David, and of Israel. It will not be denied that the kingdom which the God of Heaven shall set up, which shall stand forever, and fill the whole earth, will be ruled over by Jesus Christ. Again, it will not be denied that Christ is the one referred to in Eze. 21 : 27, as "he whose right it is," to whom the crown is to be given. And this makes Dan. 2 and Eze. 21 parallel; that is, the setting up of the kingdom and crown overturned, according to Eze. 21. And of course the same is referred to in Luke 1 : 32, 33: "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Now, if it could be proved that a score of kingdoms had been or would be set up, it would be no proof on this subject unless it could be shown that one was set up which bore the characteristics of that kingdom which is the subject of the scriptures here noticed. And this remark will be appreciated when we notice that, 2. Jesus Christ occupies two different thrones at different times. This is clearly proved by his own words in Rev. 3 : 21: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." An effort has been made to evade the evidence of this text by declaring that it was only one and the same throne; that it was the Father's who gave the right of it to Christ, and then became his to give to other overcomers. And to confirm this view, reference is made to Matt. 28 : 18, where Jesus said all power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. But it is assuredly forcing a construction of Rev. 3 : 21 to say it refers to only one throne. The obvious meaning of the text forbids it. And in regard to Matt. 28 : 18, if it can be shown that he, at any time, receives another dominion after he spoke those words to his disciples, then it is already shown that the objection is invalid. On this we notice, a. This "all power" can refer to nothing else than his right to sit on his Father's throne, which is the throne of the whole universe. b. On that throne he was "set down" at the time the Revelation was given to John. c. Paul to the Hebrews, in chapters 7 and 8, shows that he is a priest after the order of Melchisedek on "the throne of the majesty in the Heavens." d. In Ps. 110 : 1, the Father says to him, "Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Also in verse 4, we learn that his sitting on the Father's right hand is the same that is spoken of by Paul, as a priest after the order of Melchisedek. e. In Heb. 10 : 13, the apostle says he is set on the right hand of God, "from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Then when he is on the throne of his Father in Heaven, possessing the power spoken of in Matt. 28 : 18, his enemies are not yet put under his feet, but he is "expecting" it, according to the promise of the Father. f. In 1 Cor. 15 : 25, it is said: "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." This "reign" evidently refers to his sitting on the throne of his Father, at his right hand, till his foes are, by his Father, made his footstool, or put under his feet. Therefore, again, it is evident that while he is on his Father's throne, a priest after the order of Melchisedek, who was also both king and priest, but David had no priesthood. The throne which Christ now occupies he did not inherit from David; that which he will take at the close of his priesthood, is one that he does inherit. 3. The position of Christ on his Father's throne, as priest, is for a limited time. As this will be admitted by all who believe that there is a future judgment, that Christ will come to raise the dead, there is no need to argue the point. It is proved clearly by the reading of the text which calls him to that position, "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." To this, Paul also refers when he says, "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." But in contrast with this is the decisive fact that, 4. Christ's reign on his own throne, or that which he inherited from his birth, is eternal and unending. Thus the angel said to Mary, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom THERE SHALL BE NO END." Of his reign on his Father's throne in the Heavens, Paul said, "Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God." Now, if he has but one "reign," and is to occupy but one throne, then this language is inexplicable; for, in that case, it speaks of "the end" of that which "there shall be no end;" and says he shall reign "until" a certain event, while yet that event does not indicate its termination. But, admitting that there are two thrones, one, that of his Father, on which he sits as priest until his foes are made his footstool; the other, that of David, which he takes at the close of his priesthood, and which he occupies thenceforth forever, all is clear and harmonious. Now, there is no possible question in regard to the time when he began to occupy the throne of his Father in Heaven. He was thereon during the whole time of his priesthood. He was on that throne when the Revelation was given to John on Patmos, and when Paul wrote his letter to the Hebrews. But we follow down the stream of time as marked in the Revelation, till the third woe comes upon the earth, and the seventh trumpet is sounded. Rev. 11 : 14-17. Of the locality or order of this trumpet there is no question. It closes up the present dispensation. It ushers in "the time of the dead that they should be judged," and the time of giving reward to all the servants of God, which Jesus said is at the resurrection of the just, and at his coming. Luke 14 : 14; Rev. 22 : 12. Under this trumpet it is announced that "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." Now it is by reason of their becoming his that he appears as "King of kings, and Lord of lords;" and that they are his enemies who are at that time put under his feet, we learn by Rev. 6 : 15; the kings of the earth and their armies are gathered against the Lord Jesus and his army. This is immediately preceding their destruction. With this agrees also the prophecy of Dan. 7 : 9-14, where the kingdom and dominion over the kingdoms and people of the world are given to Christ as he is brought before the Father when the Judgment is set and the books are opened. And again, a most decisive testimony in regard to the time and order of these events is found in Ps. 2 : 7-9, as follows: "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Ps. 110 : 1, shows when they will be given, to wit, when he ceases to sit at his Father's right hand as priest; it also declares that they are his foes, and the same is shown in this text, in that he dashes and breaks them in pieces. Most decisive testimony on this subject is given by our Saviour in Luke 21 : 31. Speaking of the signs of his second coming, he says, "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Further proof on this point seems needless, as they who would deny these declarations and their unavoidable conclusions can just as readily deny all the scriptures that could be produced. Again, if it be contended, as it sometimes is, that David's throne and kingdom were only typical of the reign of Christ, we reply, that if that were the case, Christ when he obtains the dominion over the kingdoms of this world, would be the kingdom, but not the reign of Christ as priest; that is after the order of Melchisedek, who was both king and priest, but David had no priesthood. The throne which Christ now occupies he did not inherit from David; that which he will take at the close of his priesthood, is one that he does inherit. Another question now arises: When do the saints inherit the kingdom? A few texts may decide this. James says the poor of this world, rich in faith, are heirs of the kingdom that God hath promised to them that love him. Here we notice the characteristics of the persons; they are "rich in faith;" they are believers in Christ. They love God; they are then his children and people. And they are heirs—not inheritors—of the kingdom. And to them the kingdom is a matter of promise. If this does not indicate that the kingdom is future, what language could? Peter says, "to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," and who of course are gospel believers, that if they add to their faith the Christian graces they shall have ministered to them an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 1 : 1-11. This is positive evidence that an entrance into the kingdom had not then been ministered to the faithful followers of Christ. The Saviour, speaking of his second coming in glory, says that when he comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him; when all the nations are gathered before him, and the righteous and wicked are separated, he will say to them on his right hand, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." He who is an heir does not yet inherit; when he does inherit, his heirship ceases. The saints are now heirs of the kingdom; they will inherit it when the Lord Jesus comes in his glory. There is given in the Scriptures a plain reason why this order must be observed. In Dan. 2 : 44, it is said the kingdom "shall never be destroyed," it "shall stand forever," and it "shall not be left to other people." It is then, as Peter says, an "everlasting kingdom." And if it is not "left to other people," they who possess it must also be everlasting or immortal, otherwise they would die and leave it to others. Paul's argument on the resurrection of the righteous makes this point clear. He says "that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." "Flesh and blood" is an expression used to indicate a corruptible, mortal state, as the context proves. The corruptible, mortal man, cannot inherit an incorruptible or everlasting kingdom. But he says also, "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality;" and this will take place at the sounding of the last trump, or, as he says again, in 1 Thess. 4, when "the Lord himself shall descend," when "the trump of God" is heard, and "the dead in Christ shall rise." Then the saints of God will rise immortal; but that is the time also when Jesus says they shall "inherit the kingdom." And that is, indeed, the first time in their existence when it will be possible for them to inherit an incorruptible, everlasting kingdom, according to the scriptures quoted. When this point is proved, it is sometimes said, to avoid the conclusion which seems displeasing to some: "This is all admitted as far as it refers to the future glorious, everlasting kingdom; but there is a kingdom which was set up in the past, in the which the saints now are." To this, we reply, In that you have admitted the whole ground in dispute. The kingdom of the prophecy is the kingdom and throne of David, and this, according to Luke 1 : 32, 33, is the everlasting, unending kingdom. And Dan. 2 : 44, speaking of the same everlasting kingdom, says it will be set up "in the days of these kings." But if this everlasting kingdom is yet future, then it was not set up in the days of the Roman Empire. There is no evading this point. Peter certainly makes the everlasting kingdom yet future to the faithful; Paul shows that mortal men cannot inherit it; the Saviour said the righteous shall inherit it when he comes. And that is this the kingdom of the prophecy of Daniel must be admitted unless it is claimed that there are two everlasting kingdoms which the saints of the Most High will possess forever! But if the objector has any other kingdom in view, one that is temporal and not everlasting, he may then understand that over that we shall have no controversy for not one of the prophetic scriptures herein quoted refers to such a kingdom. Counsel from Those Nearest God
Those that keep the nearest to God are the ones we look to for counsel. Christ’s Journey to Golgotha
THERE is a change of expression in Mark’s account of the taking of Christ to be crucified, that is worthy of notice. First he says that they “led him out to crucify him.” Chap. 15:20. Then he relates the fact that Simon was compelled to bear the cross. Jesus, exhausted by the agony in the garden, the loss of sleep, and the inhuman treatment which he had received at the hands of the mob and the Roman soldiers, had fallen under the burden. And then, having found a substitute to bear the cross, “they bring him unto the place Golgotha.” This word indicates that Jesus had to be assisted. He was unable to proceed alone. An Inspired Recipe for Good Days.
By Rev. E. B. Sanford
The daughter of an Eastern rabbi heard an Assyrian cry in the streets of the city, saying, "Who will receive the elixir of life?" She ran to tell her father, and at his suggestion invited the man within their door. "What is that elixir of life that thou art selling?" inquired the rabbi. "Is it not written," answered the stranger, "'What man is he that desireth life and loveth days that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile.' Lo, this is the elixir of life which is in the mouth of a man." The recipe from which the joy and gladness of good days is distilled is given more fully by an inspired writer (1 Peter 3: 10, 11). The secret of blessing and happiness that the hours give to us has its hiding-place in the heart, out of whose abundance the mouth speaketh. There is no honey in gall cells, and the fairest skies will not ripen sweet fruit from thistles. The spirit of our lives marks the quality of our days. If that be wrong, the beauty and sunshine of Eden avails nothing. If that be right, the desert place will bud and blossom as the rose, and the storm will pass unheeded because of the joy within; a divine sheltering whose inner warmth is all the more grateful by reason of the contrast to the chill and darkness without. The tongue but speaks what is in the heart, and the best guard that can be placed over it is that of a spirit without guile or evil intent. The feeling of envy stirs the depths of the heart with malice before the poisonous word is uttered that blisters the lips of him who speaks. Pride, jealousy, and the evils that spring from them, make the tongue a sluice way for those streams of influence that, lava-like, destroy every good thing that they touch. But the evil word spoken takes all the joy out of the day. It hides the shining of the sun, and makes the pleasant music of the world only a jangling of sweet sounds. It is the love that thinks the best possible things of others, rejoices in their prosperity, sympathizes with them in their adversity, and bears toward every one, and in all times and seasons, a face that hides no guile, that manifests a life out of which are born days whose clear shining reveals the upper skies smiling in peace upon the earth; where thorns and nettles are covered out of sight by the larger growth of fragrant blossoms and wholesome fruit. Life hid in Christ is heir to good days. It could not well be otherwise where experience matures the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, are elements of a sunny and cheerful happiness. Thunder-storms and cyclones cannot be evolved from them. Sweet waters flow from the fountains. Words of kindly interest and affection make the lips the source of happiness that lightens the burdens of care and toil. The fretful, repining spirit will find small lodgment in the home where the tongue is kept from evil, and the open countenance, with cheerful greeting, speaks of an indwelling peace that finds its chief joy in ministering to the welfare of other hearts. All days cannot be alike, but with the guidance of Him who is "the way, the truth, and the life," they may be good days. Even those most clouded outwardly will show the silver lining that betokens the light beyond that is undimmed. — Rev. E. B. Sanford. The Sabbath and Divine Justice
GOD regards the non-observance of the Sabbath as a doubt of his ability and faithfulness to provide for those who obey him, or of his ability and justice to punish those who disobey him. He regards this as the greatest insult, and will not suffer the guilty to escape, though he may bear long with them. The children of Israel neglected to keep the Sabbatical year as God had commanded them. He bore with their disobedience four hundred and ninety years. But at last he told Jeremiah that he was going to bring in his whole bill, and that they should pay it at once, by seventy years' captivity, so that the land may enjoy its Sabbaths. Thus, whatever a man gains by working on the Sabbath day, God will surely take it from him either through misfortune, sickness, or some other way.—Sel. God hears the heart, though without words; but he never hears words without the heart. Notes on Lesson for November 25.
"And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him." The words imply continued or repeated mockery. In that vast, royal hall some hundreds of soldiers passed in procession before him, each kneeling, each in mockery saluting him as "the king of the Jews," till as their excitement increased they spat upon him, following the example of the chief priests (Matt. 26: 67), and, taking the scepter from his hand, smote him on the head repeatedly. The Sabbath-School.
By Ellen G. White
WHEN Jesus was thought to be dying beneath the burden of the cross, many women who, though not believers in Christ, were touched with pity for his sufferings, broke forth into a mournful wailing. When Jesus revived, he looked upon them with tender compassion. He knew they were not lamenting him because he was a teacher sent from God, but from motives of common humanity. He looked upon the weeping women and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children." Jesus did not despise their tears, but the sympathy which they expressed wakened a deeper chord of sympathy in his own heart for them. He forgot his own grief in contemplating the future fate of Jerusalem. Only a short time ago the people had cried out, "His blood be on us and on our children." How blindly had they invoked the doom they were soon to realize! Many of the very women who were weeping about Jesus were to perish with their children in the siege of Jerusalem. Jesus referred not only to the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the end of the world. Said he, "Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" The innocent were represented by the green tree. If God suffered his wrath because of the sins of the world to fall upon the Redeemer, in that he was permitted to suffer death by crucifixion, what might be expected to come upon the impenitent and unbelieving, who had slighted the mercies of God, purchased for them by the death of his Son? The mind of Jesus wandered from the destruction of Jerusalem to a wider judgment, when all the impenitent would suffer condemnation for their sins; when the Son of man should come, attended not by a murderous mob, but by the mighty hosts of God. A great multitude followed the Saviour to Calvary, many mocking and deriding; but some were weeping and recounting his praise. Those whom he had healed of various infirmities, and those whom he had raised from the dead, declared his marvelous works with earnest voice, and demanded to know what Jesus had done that he should be treated as a malefactor. Only a few days before, they had attended him with joyful hosannas, and the waving of palm-branches, as he rode triumphantly to Jerusalem. But many who had then shouted his praise, because it was popular to do so, now swelled the cry of "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Upon the occasion of Christ riding into Jerusalem, the disciples had been raised to the highest pitch of expectation. They had pressed close about their Master, and had felt that they were highly honored to be connected with him. Now they followed him in his humiliation at a distance. They were filled with inexpressible grief, and disappointed hopes. How were the words of Jesus verified: "All ye will be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." Yet the disciples still had faint hope that their Master would manifest his power at the last moment, and deliver himself from his enemies.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Spirit of Prophecy. God Causes Wrath to Praise Him
When men think they are rooting out the truth of God, they are often only causing it to spread more widely. This is illustrated in the case of Simon, who bore the cross for Jesus. The Jews thought that by seizing him they were simply hurrying matters up to get Christ out of the way, so that his hated doctrine might perish. But Simon was from Cyrene, a city in the north of Africa; the service which he rendered Jesus that day resulted in his conversion; and thus an instrument was raised up to carry the gospel into Africa. Thus God causes the wrath of man to praise him. E. J. W
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
Matt. 27: 34 is an exact fulfillment of Ps. 69: 34. No one should fail to read carefully Ps. 22 and 69, and Isa. 53, in connection with the betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion of Jesus. A more literal fulfillment of prophecy could not be found. And it is impossible to understand some of these passages in the Psalms unless we note their reference to Christ. If we do this we shall not be driven to the miserable expedient of saying that the imprecatory Psalms were not inspired. The Approval of Conscience
No MAN has a right to expect the approbation of his neighbors, while he has the disapprobation of his own conscience. SMITH'S COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE.
NEW EDITION, octavo size, 1,200 pages, with many important additions and improvements from the works of the most eminent scholars, commentators and travelers. It is designed to be In regard to the pronunciation and signification of Scriptural names; the solution of difficulties respecting the interpretation, authority, and harmony of the Old and New Testaments; the history and description of Biblical customs, events, places, persons, animals, plants, etc. In this book it is designed to make everything intelligible to those who understand only the English language, and to place them as nearly as possible on a level with the scholars who are familiar with the original languages of the Scriptures. All the words in the vocabulary are pronounced and divided into syllables, and words or parts of words are respelled whenever this is necessary to indicate the pronunciation. The book contains numerous maps, and is abundantly supplied with superior engravings, which are of real utility to the student. No one who desires to study the Scriptures intelligently will be without a copy of this most excellent book. Price, in cloth, $5.00; in library binding, $6.00 Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. YOUNG'S ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
The latest and most complete work of the kind ever published is now offered at a price within the reach of This book places in the hands of everybody, knowledge heretofore limited to a very few. It contains one hundred and eighteen thousand more words than Cruden's Unabridged Concordance. It gives every English word, also the Hebrew and Greek original words, with their pronunciation and literal meaning. The Greek and Hebrew words are transliterated so that they are intelligible to any English reader. A complete index of the original words is added, referring them to the English words under which they are found. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
By Editor
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE. This paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information. As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study. The Sabbath-school Department contains two series of lessons, one for children and one for youth. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, 75 CENTS A YEAR. All new subscribers paying the above price will receive the "Child's Poems" as a premium without extra charge. TERMS TO CLUBS, PAID IN ADVANCE. Price per Copy, Post-paid.
5 to 10 copies.....................................60 cents a year.
10 copies and upward ........................50 cents a year. Subscription for 5 to 10 copies will be taken for six months. Larger clubs may be paid for quarterly. Address YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich.
Or, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. Scriptural Meaning of the Word Soul.
THE Scriptures often speak of saving the soul. What is the meaning of this expression? From what does the soul need to be saved? James says: "He that converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death." This exactly corresponds to the words of Eze. 18:4, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Now comes the objection: "The soul is immortal, and cannot die." And this objection is so deeply grounded in the minds of the multitudes, that a quotation from the Scriptures is not sufficient to remove it. There must be a reason for this. It is found in the rule of interpretation which is generally adopted of spiritualizing the words of the Bible; that is, giving words a meaning in the Bible which the same words have no where else. This rule causes endless confusion and disagreement where the Scripture is so plain, that, if taken according to its evident meaning, there would be nothing but harmony. In this case, the spiritualizing process is brought to bear on the word die, and to it is given a meaning or meanings which would not be admitted at all in every-day life, or applied to it in any other book. Whatever meaning was attached to the word in the prohibition laid down to Adam, must be the true meaning; the Lord's own meaning, in his own law. This we must examine. The Lord said to Adam: "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Now the question is asked, To what does this refer? Is it the body or the soul that shall die? Our answer is, It is the sinner that dies. Man is the sinner, and man must die. Surely all of man that partakes of the guilt must suffer the penalty. This is just, and cannot be contradicted. Leaving that thought for the present, to be examined again, we notice, that Adam sinned; he did that which God said he should not do, under penalty of death. Have we any means of determining how the Lord regarded this penalty? what construction he put upon the word die? We have; we have a rule furnished which is unmistakable. If the common people are in doubt about the terms of a law—what construction they shall put upon them—if they watch its operation, and note how it is construed in Court by the Judge who is appointed to administer it, their doubts must be relieved. In this case, Jehovah is both the Lawgiver and Judge; he can make no mistake. He arraigned Adam as a transgressor, and proceeded to pronounce sentence upon him. It is true that divine clemency interposed to stay the execution, because a plan was devised whereby the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the tempter, but the threatening was carried cut notwithstanding. The sentence upon Adam was this: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life, thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:17-19. Here is the penalty in full: toil and care while he lived, and finally a return to the earth—to the dust, of which he was formed. See Gen. 2:7. All the days of his life—until he returned unto the ground out of which he was taken. This shows that when he returned unto the ground, his life was ended. And his biography closes with the words, "And he died." When we were catechized in our younger days, we were taught to say that the penalty threatened for disobedience was "Death temporal, death spiritual, and death eternal." The answer is wrong in every particular. It was simply and only death. "The wages of sin is death." Had no ransom been provided, it would have been death eternal, for without a resurrection, which comes only through Jesus in the gospel, man would sleep in the dust forever. Had God declared that the penalty should be eternal death, it would have forever shut out all possibility of a remedy, or else caused a reversal of his word in a change of the penalty. The sentence was simply death, other circumstances determining whether man should forever remain dead, or be redeemed from death. As for spiritual death, it can be no penalty. It is a state of sinfulness, which man brought upon himself, and which God could not inflict upon man without showing that he desired that man should be a sinner. To say that it is the penalty of the divine law, is to cast the deepest reproach upon the divine government. We leave the thought as unworthy of further consideration. The idea of the nature of the penalty pronounced upon Adam, may be learned by examining the sacred word which treats of Adam as a representative of the race. As such, the consequences of his sin extends to the race. In bringing mortality upon himself, he entailed it upon his posterity. The members of his race now die because of his act and of their relation to him. We read in 1 Cor. 15:22, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Apply this text to the idea of the three deaths taught in theology, and we have the following result:— 1. As all die in Adam an eternal death, so in Christ are all made to have eternal life. This contradicts many scriptures, and is an impossibility; for it is not possible to suffer eternal death and have eternal life after it, or any life at all. 2. As all die in Adam spiritual death, so in Christ shall all be given spiritual life. This in like manner contradicts the Scriptures. It would be acceptable to Universalists, but Universalism itself makes the Bible a mass of contradictions. But, 3. As all die in Adam, that is, lose their lives, return unto the dust of which their first parent was made, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, restored to life, brought up from the dust, for "all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth." This involves neither absurdity nor impossibility; it is possible for Him who made man of the dust, to bring him up from the dust again. It affords no aid or comfort to Universalism, for they arise with the characters with which they died. "They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Some die as unjust, having done evil and rejected the gospel of Christ, which is the only remedy, and they rise as unjust, unto the resurrection of damnation. These scriptures, these facts, will apply only to that death which all people die, without respect to character, condition, or age; to that death by which they all go into the grave, or return unto the earth from which they sprang. This was the death which was threatened to man if he sinned, and pronounced upon man because he sinned. And lastly, the objection is raised, for we regard it as only an objection to the truth, that when the Bible says the sinner shall suffer eternal misery, it means that he shall suffer eternal misery. But on examining this statement, it will be seen to involve in difficulty only those who present it. If it were true, the atonement, as taught in the Scriptures, could not possibly be accomplished, for God could not possibly be just, or vindicate the justice of his law, and justify him that believeth in Jesus. Rom. 3:23-26. On this point we copy the following paragraphs from our own work on "The Atonement":— If the signification of death is "eternal misery," Christ never died at all; and then all the scriptures that say he died are untrue; and thus the atonement would be proved impossible, and further consideration of it would be useless. But admitting the Scripture testimony, that the wages of sin is death, and that Christ died for sin, and we have the scriptural view of the term death, utterly forbidding such an unnatural and forced construction of a plain declaration. Secondly, If the correct definition of death is eternal misery, the relative terms, first and second, as applied to death before and after the resurrection, are used absurdly. For how can there be a first and second eternal misery? Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and death passed upon all men. But the very fact that man may be resurrected, released from death, as the Scriptures teach, clearly proves that the Scripture use of the term death is entirely different from the "theological use," as given above. And, thirdly, if death means eternal misery, then that is the penalty of the law; but as Christ did not suffer it, and the redeemed will not suffer it, so it follows that justice is never vindicated by the infliction of the penalty, either upon them or a substitute; and thus justice is suspended, not satisfied; and Christ's death (if it could with any reason be called so) is not truly vicarious. As we have before considered, justice demands the infliction of the penalty of a just law; and as God is unchangeable and infinitely just, the penalty will surely be inflicted upon the transgressor or his substitute. But the above view makes it impossible. According to that, mercy does not harmonize with justice, but supersedes it; and God's justice is not manifest in justifying the believer. The sum of the matter is this: that if the penalty be eternal misery, then all that have sinned must suffer it, and be eternally miserable, or else the demands of the law are never honored. But the first would result in universal damnation, and the other would degrade the government of God, and contradict both reason and Scripture. This definition of death has been adopted of necessity to conform to the popular idea of the inherent immortality of man; yet it involves a contradiction in those who hold it. For it is claimed that the wicked are immortal and cannot cease to exist, and therefore the death threatened in the Scriptures is something besides cessation of existence, namely, misery. But immortality signifies exemption from death; and if the scriptural meaning of death is misery, and the wicked are immortal, or exempt from death, they are, of course, exempt from misery! The advocates of this theory do not mean to be Universalists, but their position necessarily leads to that result. Life and death are opposites; the first is promised to the justified, the second is threatened and inflicted upon the unjust. But life and misery are not opposites; misery is a condition of life. In everything but "theology" such a perversion of language would not be tolerated, as to make eternal misery and death, or even misery and death, synonymous. Were we to report that a man was dead because we knew him to be suffering in much misery, it would be looked upon as trifling—solemn mockery. With a cessation of life every condition of life must cease.