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Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 32.

The Bible Student's Library

Review and Herald

Aug 11, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Aug 11, 1904

The Bible Student's Library

By Editor

At different times we have advertised small assortments of tracts on various subjects. We have thought it well to publish for the benefit of the readers of the REVIEW a complete list of the Bible Students' Library, comprising the best series of tracts published by the denomination, and covering almost all the points of present truth.
In ordering, it is not necessary to write the name of each tract; simply give the number of the tract and the number of copies desired, thus: 50 No. 42; 100 No. 107, etc.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT: Tracts are put up, a certain number in a package, as noted in the list. If one hundred or more copies are ordered by the package, we allow a discount of 40 per cent, plus two cents per package for postage. As this is a reduction of almost one half, it will pay to purchase a quantity for future use.
No. Price No. Price No. Price
1. Bible Sanctification 10 cts. 81. God's Message for To-day ½ 133. Righteousness 1
10. Scripture References 2 83. Angels: Their Nature and Ministry 15 134. The Lord's Day the Test of the Ages (illustrated) 10
12. Samuel and the Witch of Endor 2 85. Evidences of Acceptance with God ½ 135. Honor Due to God (revised) 10
14. The Sufferings of Christ 2 86. Justification, Regeneration, Sanctification 1 136. The Millennial Age 1
16. Christ in the Old Testament 1 89. A Foundation Stone of the Temporal Millennium ½ 137. The New Testament Sabbath, Illustrated 1
21. The Seventh Part of Time 1 90. The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity 1 138. America's Crisis (illustrated) 2
25. The Sanctuary and the Judgment 1 92. Peter's Denial of Christ ½ 140. Saints' Inheritance 10
26. The Sabbath in the New Testament 1 95. From Sabbath to Sunday ½ 143. Truth for the Times 1
27. The Bible: Its Inspiration and Importance 1 97. The Sun of Righteousness 10 144. Eastern Question 14
32. The Present Truth 2 99. Prediction, Interpretation, Fulfilment 1 145. Will a Man Rob God? 10
33. The Two Thrones 1 100. Seducing Spirits ½ 146. Rich Man and Lazarus 1
35. The Millennium 1½ 101. The Rest that Remains for the People of God ½ 147. Home Missionary Work. By Mrs. E. G. White 2
38. The First Message of Revelation XIV 1 103. Should Christians Be Members of Secret Societies? Mrs. E. G. White 1½ 149. From Glory to Glory 1½
39. The Lost Time Question 1 104. Justified by Faith. By Mrs. E. G. White 1 150. Rome's Arraignment of Sabbath Breakers 1
42. Elihu on the Sabbath 1 105. The Way to Christ. By Mrs. E. G. White 1 152. The Alarm of War 2
43. Ten Commandments Not Revised 1 107. Who Changed the Sabbath? 1½ 154. Sabbath in the Greek ½
46. Without Excuse 1½ 108. Life: Its Source and Purpose 10 155. Wonders of the Nineteenth Century 2
49. Can We Know? 1½ 111. Tormented Forever and Ever 1 156. Spiritual Gifts 2½
52. Why not Found out Before? 1½ 112. Spiritualism: Its Source and Character 1 157. Seal of God and Its Counterfeit 2
53. The Sabbath and the Law 15 113. The Christian Sabbath 2 158. Natural Food of Man 25
54. Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment 10 114. The Identical Seventh Day 1 159. Christian Patriotism 10
58. Matthew 24 or the Second Coming of Christ 10 115. Waymarks to the Holy City 1 161. Marshaling of the Nations 10
63. The Sure Foundation and the Keys of the Kingdom 1 117. Prophetic Lights (illustrated) 180 pp. 30 162. Glad Tidings (Study of Galatians) 25
64. The Full Assurance of Faith 1 118. Christ Tempted as We Are 1 164. Prophetic Gift in the Gospel Church 15
65. The Great Day of the Lord 2½ 119. The Kingdom of Christ: Its Nature and Subjects. When and How Established 1 165. The Fulness of Jew and Gentile ½
67. Bible Election 1½ 121. The Temporal Millennium 1½ 166. Relation of the Law and Gospel 1½
68. The Old Testament in the New Dispensation 1½ 122. Perfection of the Law of God 1½ 168. Miracles and Delusions 15
69. “Jewish” Christians are Israelites Indeed ½ 124. Manner of Christ's Coming 1 169. Babylon Is Fallen 1½
70. Immortality of the Soul 2 125. The Privilege of Prayer 1 170. An Appeal to Baptists 1
71. Righteousness, Where Is It, and How Obtained? ½ 127. Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King 1 171. Catholic Doctrine. How I Found the True Faith ½
72. Christ and His Righteousness 10 128. Christ Our Advocate, His Ministry in the True Tabernacle (illustrated) 10 172. The Two Laws 10
74. The Counterfeit and the Genuine 1 131. The Sure Word of Prophecy (illustrated) 10 173. We Would See Jesus 1
75. Living by Faith 1 174. Signs of Our Times 1
76. Bible Questions and Answers Concerning Man 1 175. Remedy for Present-Day “Isms” 1
77. The Talents 1 176. What Do These Things Mean? 1
79. Baptism: Its Significance 1 177. “Is Sunday the True Sabbath of God; Reply to Gamble.” 10
80. Sunday: Origin of Its Observance in the Christian Church 10 178. Perpetuity of the Law 1
180. Why the Earth Was Made ½
181. Suggestions for Missionary Conventions 1½
183. Modern Mysteries 15

A Simple Way to Use Tracts

It is said that time and tide wait for no man. Nevertheless men must wait for one another, be it at the railway station, doctor's or dentist's office, barbershop, hotel, etc., and the curiosity of persons compelled to stop at such places will invariably lead them to inspect the surroundings. Why not, therefore, place tract racks in these places where they will come under their notice? You will do a double good: make the time pass quickly and introduce the reader to “present truth.” This tract rack is made of strong oak-grained straw board in imitation of wood and folds up so that it can be sent safely by mail. By simply folding in the ends and fastening with two pins it is ready for use. It is sufficiently large to accommodate a quantity of, from four to six different kinds of tracts—sufficient to place in any one place.
The Simplicity Tract Rack, 20 cts. each, postpaid.
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His Presence

By Editor

Editorial

His Presence

THE presence of God gives rest. “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” The presence of God gives joy. “In thy presence is fulness of joy.” “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Here we may enjoy his presence and that continual fellowship with him which transforms all life into a heavenly service, but soon we shall see him face to face. This is the Christian’s hope. Moses “endured, as seeing him who is invisible;” and he accounted “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward.” His presence here and his presence eternally, constitute the inheritance of the Christian. O wondrous privilege! O glorious inheritance!

Our Banner

THE church militant is now entering upon her final conflict. In the long-continued controversy between good and evil the opposing forces are now being marshaled for the last and decisive struggle. We should now hold aloft our banner with this inscription upon it: “The Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.” To lower this banner or to attempt to hide the inscription is to compromise the very issue over which the whole warfare is waged. This third angel’s message is to call the attention of the world to the true God, the Creator, to his unchanged and unchangeable law, to his new covenant promise to write that law in the hearts of those who have faith in Jesus, and to the perfect law as the standard in the judgment work which is now in progress. This is the only basis of a genuine righteousness by faith, and is the true gospel message for this time. Let no one be deceived by a pretended goodness so good that it can claim to ignore the only standard of goodness,—the law of God,—or by that equally false teaching of harmony with God and his law apart from personal faith in the atoning work of Jesus. These are the leading errors of the day. In the truths of this message will be found the effective antidote for these errors. Let the banner be displayed that all may read: “The Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.” Let the call go forth to rally under this banner, that we may be led to victory by the Captain of the Lord’s host.

“Ichabod”

THIS name was given to the child born to the wife of Phinehas at the time when the news was received that the Philistines had defeated Israel, and had captured the ark of God. “And she said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.” “The glory had indeed departed from Israel when the symbol of the abiding presence and power of Jehovah was removed from the midst of them. With this chest were associated the most wonderful revelations of God’s truth and power.” At the time of the destruction of the temple by the Romans, this same fateful word was again uttered, and “above the sound of battle, voices were heard shouting, ‘Ichabod!’—the glory is departed.” In rejecting Jesus and his work for them the Jews rejected the real glory of the temple and its services, and the building itself was soon utterly destroyed, according to the prophecy which Jesus himself had spoken, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” We have again come to the time when the sanctuary and its services are the center of interest to God’s people. “The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making his final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers, and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God.” The great truths of this last message cluster about the sanctuary, and they derive their special glory from the right interpretation of the scriptures which treat upon this subject. Any effort to turn attention away from the heavenly sanctuary and the closing work of our great High Priest in this generation is preparing the way for the departure of the glory from this advent movement. If such efforts are successful, they will spell “I-c-h-a-b-o-d” for this message. Why should we destroy the very foundation upon which we have built? We can not guard too jealously the true teaching concerning the heavenly sanctuary and its services.

A Fierce Conflict

THOSE who give serious attention to the condition of things either in the church or in the world must see that a marked intensity is being shown in the working of all the powers of evil. The conflict is now fierce, and it will grow fiercer. No human wisdom is sufficient for the sophistries which are being taught as truth, and no human power is sufficient to withstand the determined effort of Satan and his allies to force every human being into sin. Our only safety is found in “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” We ought to give special heed to the counsel of inspiration: “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” Victory is assured in this fierce conflict to those who fully accept Jesus as their leader.
“While Jesus is our friend, And his rich grace supplies, We’ll march like valiant soldiers on; We’re sure to win the prize. The battle’s almost o’er; The race is nearly run; Then with our glorious, conquering King We’ll sit down on his throne.”

Studies in the Prophecies

“Babylon the Great”—No. 3

It was in the reign of Manasseh, the thirteenth king of Judah (B. C. 677), that Jerusalem first fell under the power of Babylon. Manasseh profited by the severe discipline administered, “and when he was in distress, he besought Jehovah his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And he prayed unto him; and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God.” Amon, the son of Manasseh, succeeded his father in the throne, “and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, . . . and he humbled not himself before Jehovah, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this same Amon trespassed more and more.” He was put to death by conspirators, after a reign of only two years, who were in turn put to death by the people, and Josiah, the son of Amon, was made king. “In the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images. . . . And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve Jehovah their God. All his days they departed not from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.” After the death of Josiah, Jehoahaz his son came to the throne, and reigned three months. Then the king of Egypt deposed him, and “made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. . . . Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried off the vessels of the house of Jehovah to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.”
The prophet Daniel records this event in these words: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god.” This was in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 39:6) already quoted, and also of the words of Jeremiah: “Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and I will send unto Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; . . . and this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” This brings us to the Babylonish captivity and to the prophecies of the book of Daniel.
In his interpretation of the dream of the great image, Daniel spoke as follows concerning the greatness of Babylon: “Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.”
In his interpretation of the dream of the tree, Daniel again described the greatness of Babylon: “The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation: it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion unto the end of the earth.”
But in spite of his clear view of the power and glory of Babylon, Daniel foresaw her downfall. To Nebuchadnezzar he said, “After thee shall arise another kingdom.” Other prophets, especially Isaiah and Jeremiah, had foretold the utter overthrow of Babylon: “Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.”
“And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son’s son, saith Jehovah. I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.”
“Chaldea shall be a prey: all that prey upon her shall be satisfied, saith Jehovah. Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder my heritage, because ye are wanton as a heifer that treadeth out the grain, and neigh as strong horses; your mother shall be utterly put to shame; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah. Shout against her round about: she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.”
“A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.”
“Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. They shall roar together like young lions; they shall howl as lions’ whelps. When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.”
These prophecies have been fulfilled to the letter. “The extraordinary accuracy of these descriptions has been frequently noticed, scarcely a traveler from the time of Pietro della Valle to the present day having failed to be struck by it.” But there is more involved in these prophecies and in our study of them than the mere question of the downfall of Babylon in Chaldea. We have already seen that the kingdom of Babylon represents the effort of the great rebel leader to establish a kingdom of absolute and irresponsible authority. From this standpoint the prophecies concerning Babylon must be considered. When they are all brought together and studied in this way, it will be seen that they forecast the utter failure of the effort to establish a rival to the kingdom of God, and predict the complete destruction of Satan and his kingdom. This will be developed in future articles.

We Admit the Charge

By L. A. S.

IN a paper read before a recent conference of Baptist ministers in Detroit, and “published by request” in the Michigan Christian Herald, the Rev. W. L. Munger attempts to set forth “the human element in the Scriptures.” He says that in some particulars God “left the writers of the Scriptures to their own resources,” the result being that in those particulars their writings show the imperfections of the human mind, and the Scripture statements penned by them fall short of the truth. Historical and scientific inaccuracies abound in the writings of the Old Testament, he says. The Lord allowed the Old Testament writers to mix in with his revelation of truth to mankind, crude errors reflecting the ignorance of the times in which they wrote, etc.
As an illustration of the “errors” of the Old Testament writings, he cites such texts as Ps. 6:5 (“In death there is no remembrance of Thee”); Ps. 31:17 (“Let the wicked . . . be silent in sheol”); Eccl. 9:10 (“There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in sheol”); Isa. 38:17-19 (“The grave can not praise thee, death can not celebrate thee”), and others teaching unconsciousness in death, and adds: “The Adventists, taking these scriptures as an adequate and final expression of Scripture teaching, have drawn from them the doctrine of soul sleeping.”
We plead guilty to the charge. We, Seventh-day Adventists, do take these and all other portions of both the Old and the New Testament writings as being “adequate and final expressions of Scripture teaching;” and if in holding such a view of the Scriptures we show ourselves to be different from the Baptists and the whole religious world besides, then we are willing to be so distinguished.
We believe that Peter was right in saying that the “holy men of old” who penned the Old Testament Scriptures did not write of their own will or of their own knowledge, but that they “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21); and that Paul told the truth in the statement that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, . . . that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Whatever others may think of it, it is clear to us that a man can not be made perfect by a means that is imperfect. God does not feed us on imperfection, and then expect us to be “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
If the Scriptures as given to us in the Bible are not the infallible word of God, but merely contain that Word mixed with fallible human ideas, then either some council of learned men must decide for the rest of us what is true and what is false in the Word, or each one of us must decide this for himself, and in either case the judgment is only human and fallible, and we should have infallibility resting upon fallibility,—a thing which obviously could not be. The Scripture selected by us as being “given by inspiration of God,” would be infallible provided our fallible judgment about it was correct! What kind of “infallibility” would such scriptures possess, and what would such “infallibility” amount to?
We naturally choose to believe those scriptures which harmonize best with our own views and inclinations, and to doubt those which cut squarely across our own preferences, and to conform with which would require the greatest change in our lives. Hence it would naturally happen that we would select as inspired those portions of the scriptures which we need the least, and reject those which we need the most. In that way we should make slow progress indeed toward salvation. L. A. S.

Diplomatic Relations With Rome

By L. A. S.

The Northwestern Christian Advocate (Methodist) is stirred over the progress Rome is making to secure through the Philippine negotiations the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. It appears that very satisfactory progress to this end is being made at Manila, the papal apostolic delegate and the archbishop of Manila having been recognized by the United States authorities as diplomatic representatives to the islands. Not only this, but the names of these two papal prelates stand first in the list of diplomatic and consular representatives as published in the official government directory at Manila. They are given precedence over the dean of the consular corps.
The Advocate says it is evident “that some one in the office of the adjutant-general of the Philippine division of the United States army at Manila assumes to possess more power than the president of the United States or the Secretary of War, and in the exercise of that assumption of power has recognized the papal apostolic delegate and the archbishop of Manila as diplomatic representatives to the Philippine Islands.” “We commend the unauthorized action,—we are sure that this action is unauthorized,”—says the Advocate, “to the notice of the president of the United States and the Secretary of War, who we have no doubt will direct the adjutant-general to issue a new directory of diplomatic and consular representatives with the names of the apostolic delegate and the archbishop of Manila omitted.”
We are not so sure as is the Advocate that this concession to Rome on the part of the American representative at Manila was entirely unauthorized by the home government, or that a new directory will be issued with the names of the apostolic delegate and the archbishop omitted. Governmental honors to the papacy are by no means unknown at Washington. It was only a month ago that Secretary-of-war Taft gave a dinner at which the guest of honor was Cardinal Satolli, who was present as a church dignitary, dressed in his ecclesiastical robes. The secretary gave a toast to the cardinal, in which he spoke of being deeply indebted to the latter for past favors. It is quite probable that the cardinal might be willing to accept diplomatic recognition of Rome in the Philippines in part payment of this indebtedness. It is quite certain that while cordial relations with the papacy exist at Washington, those at Manila will be of a similar character. There remains also the Catholic vote to be considered, which in the pending national election might be antagonized by any such action on the part of the administration, as the Advocate suggests.
The purpose of the papacy is to prolong the negotiations relating to Philippine affairs, in the hope that an opportunity will occur, or that an occasion can be created, for securing the establishment of diplomatic relations between Rome and the United States. The mission of Governor Taft to the Vatican, while authorized here as a business one solely, was treated as of a diplomatic character at Rome, and repeatedly through the press, hints have been thrown out that a diplomatic representative from the Vatican might soon be accredited to Washington, the purpose in this being to feel the pulse of public sentiment in the matter and to accustom the public mind to the idea. A further advantage has now been gained at Manila by the recognition of the papal ecclesiastics as holding a high diplomatic position. When public sentiment in this country consents to this — if it does consent — the way will be open for a further step. The danger lies in the fact that American Protestantism is on the wane. Recently American statesmen have been saying that the nation has outgrown the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It may be that the principle of the separation of church and state has likewise been “outgrown.” Rome is losing ground in Catholic nations; but if she captures the American republic, her gain here will more than make good all the loss she sustains elsewhere.
L. A. S.

The Outlook in Russia

By L. A. S.

Is the Russian autocracy on the verge of overthrow? This question is considered by a Russian writer, S. Kniajnine, formerly editor of a Russian liberal paper, in a contribution to The Independent, and is answered in the affirmative. Between the war with Japan and the organized opposition at home of vast numbers of Russian subjects, the present autocratic government will, he says, be forced to its downfall, and a constitutional government will be set up in its place. Whether a triumph of liberty is impending in Russia or not, M. Kniajnine makes it clear that the overthrow of the existing government is seriously menaced both from without and from within.
“The greatest enemy of the Russian government,” he says, “is not the Japanese army facing General Kouropatkin, but rather the army of discontented people at home within the borders of the empire itself, whom governmental oppression, through long years of evil-doing of all sorts, in all parts of the vast monarchy, has raised up as an implacable enemy.”
Composing the ranks of this home army of revolt are, he says, first, “the subjected races, peoples in a perpetual state of harassment on the part of the St. Petersburg authorities. In this category the Poles deserve to take front rank, filled with anger and hatred, as they are, against the governmental policy of excessive Russification.” An open insurrection in Poland has, he says, recently been with difficulty averted.
“Finland too,” he affirms, “is another Poland. The valiant, liberty-loving Finns detest the present regime of perjury, illegality, and violence set up against them by M. de Plehve, the Russian minister of the interior, and by General Bobrikoff, the military governor of Finland.” It remains to be seen how the situation will be affected by the assassination of these two officials.
In vast Siberia also, there are scattered over the country “colonies of convicts and political exiles who detest their keepers, both of low and of high degree.”
In the interior of Russia proper are three revolutionary parties who stand openly opposed to the government; namely, the Social Democrats, the Revolutionary Socialists, and the Union of Hebrew Socialists. “All three are keeping up a continual propaganda addressed to every stratum of society, but especially to the working classes of the cities, and even to those of the country districts. Thousands of tracts and proclamations are scattered broadcast throughout the land, explaining every event and the whole political policy of the government, in a spirit of stout opposition, . . . and in spite of wholesale arrests, the movement goes on unchecked.” “This reckless policy of arresting right and left has called forth this remark from St. Petersburg: ‘Here in Russia, while one half the population is fighting at the front, the other half is kept in prison.’ It is quite true that the prisons and jails are overflowing, and to such an extent that houses never intended for this purpose have had to be rented in which to lock up Russian citizens; and this at a moment when Russian armies need re-enforcements at the front.”
Another formidable enemy of the autocracy, which “is beginning to take on an organized form and to loom large on the Russian political horizon,” we are told, is “the Liberal party, representing and including all the various strata of the nobility, municipal bodies, district governments, the burgher classes of the cities, and the liberal professions,” which “are now coming forward to help organize a great political party and to demand political reforms.” This liberal movement is affirmed to be making rapid progress.
It will be when the present war with Japan comes to an end, this writer says, that the full force of the tide of opposition to the existing government will be felt. “Thousands of families are already ruined and in mourning, and the end is not yet. When these afflicted families finally rise above their losses, they will lend a willing ear to the words of the malcontents, the Revolutionists and the Liberals; they will then fully grasp the grave faults and criminal culpability of the present government, which rushed headlong into this murderous struggle with Japan. An exhausted treasury, business stagnation, all the evil results of a terrible war, will add their difficulties to the moral and political shortcomings of the regime, which will surely be shaken to its base thereby.”
In short, there is impending in Russia, M. Kniajnine says, “a life and death struggle between autocracy and liberty.”
In conclusion he adds: “The present coterie which rule Russia never dreamed, when they began this war, that they had started czardom on a course at the end of which was a fatal fall, or, at least, a change of regime in the direction of modern forms of government. We are now moving toward that fall or that change, perhaps toward both, with a giant’s step.” L. A. S.

Spiritualism and the Buffalo Tragedy

A SHOCKING tragedy, which practically suspended business on the Buffalo grain exchange for the day, occurred in that city July 15. A grain broker named Washburn committed suicide, after killing his wife and daughter, the alleged reason for the mad act being business reverses. Mr. Washburn was, it is stated, “an ardent Spiritualist.” He began business by seeking advice from spiritualist mediums, and was at first very successful. He attributed his success to the source from which he obtained advice, and became a confirmed Spiritualist; but later the tide of his prosperity turned, and in a letter to his business partner about the time of the tragedy, he said: “There seems to be something that forever upsets my plans.” Not only his plans were upset, but his reason and judgment as well. The history of Spiritualism abounds with human tragedies.

Churches and Football

The tendency of these times to intermingle Christianity and worldliness until the distinction between the two is almost lost sight of, is illustrated by the interest some churches of the capital city are showing in athletics. Under the heading “Churches Lay Plans for Football League,” the Washington Times calls attention to the projected formation of a football league in the Sunday-school Athletic Association, which it is believed would prove financially successful by reason of the church patronage it would have. “The Gunton-Temple baseball team, which won the championship in the church baseball league last season,” says the Times, “formed a football league at the close of the baseball season, and played nearly a dozen games, meeting with much success. The eleven always had a large church following at its games, and should a league be formed this fall, it is assured of a good patronage from the various churches.”
Just what place a football league will be able to fill in the religious economy of the Christian church is a matter not clear to the comprehension of the ordinary mind.
Continue reading: MRS. E. G. WHITE