They would be as claimed by the writer. But besides all this, it will be discovered that the basis of the whole transaction, both in the case of the sponge and the vessel, is fraud, deceit, and force. Stupefy a man with narcotics for twenty-four hours; or nail him down under the hatches of a circumnavigating vessel; break the compass; send him round the world; let the whole community conspire to falsify the facts in the case; do not let him know where he has been; falsify the truth regarding the day observed by first-day keepers; and then, forsooth, you have changed the practice, if not convinced the judgment, of a little handful of conscientious, definite Sabbath-day keepers. Wonderful, gentlemen! Wonderful in the extreme! What results for such prodigious efforts! Alas, for truth, when it must pass such an ordeal as this! We blush, but not for ourselves. We would almost be willing to inhale the anesthetic or run the hazard of the voyage at sea, taking our chances respecting the proper preservation of the heaven-appointed day of rest, if, by so doing, we might prevent our brethren of the Amendment school, for whose welfare we have the most earnest desire, from making so sorry a show of the low estimate which they place upon the importance of employing in a controversy like this arguments which appeal only to the Christian’s head and heart, instead of those which appeal to the baser faculties of the mind.
A summary of the ground traveled in this rejoinder would run somewhat as follows: 1. That in adopting the seventh-part-of-time theory, the gentleman has abandoned the definite first day which he sought to establish in the first nine of his articles. 2. That the seventh-part-of-time theory is just as fatal to the Sunday as it is to the Sabbath. 3. That it overturns the practicability of the Constitutional Amendment, since it seeks to enforce a definite day, and since, according to it, Sabbatarians have a Bible right to observe the seventh day in the exercise of a divinely given choice of days. 4. That it is possible to establish the identity of the last day of the week at the present time with that upon which God rested at the completion of the creation; from the providential manner in which God pointed it out in the exodus from Egypt; the fact that Christ and his disciples kept the Sabbath according to the commandment; the general agreement among Jews, Christians, and heathen concerning its place in the week from that time to this. 5. That the objection concerning the conflict between a definite Sabbath and the laws of nature at the poles does not array the God of nature against himself or our version of his commandment, since the trouble does not imply any want of foresight on the part of the Deity, but rather a disregard of the plainest teachings of both providence and nature on the part of those who have placed themselves where it was never designed that men should locate. 6. That if a definite day is impossible, then the wisdom of God is impeached, since, both by the letter of the commandment and by his providential interpretation of it for forty years, that is the very thing which it inculcates. 7. That a definite day can be kept on the eastern continent, since this had been done for hundreds of years before the change of the law will be even claimed. 8. That a definite day can be observed on the western continent, since this is the very object which the Constitutional Amendment is designed to secure. 9. That the trip around the world would render it as impossible to keep an exact seventh part of time as it would a definite seventh day. 10. That the seventh-part-of-time theory would introduce into society the direst confusion, defeating even the administration of justice. 11. That, practically, the whole world from the extreme east to the extreme west does keep a definite day. 12. That the loss and gain of time creates no disturbance except in the crossing of the Pacific Ocean. 13. That with a definite day, there must be a day line. 14. That that day line is, by the uniform practice of nations, and the providence of God, which renders it impossible that it should exist anywhere else, drawn through the Pacific Ocean. 15. That it only remains for us to do just what we are doing and have been doing for centuries in order to prove by actual demonstration that all the difficulties in the way of a definite Sabbath can be readily disposed of by those who are desirous of keeping the law of God as it reads.
W. H. Littlejohn.
SAVE, OR I PERISH.
O, bid me come to thee,
Jesus, my Lord!
Loud roars the angry sea,
Darkness o’ershadows me,
Rude winds shriek threateningly;
O, speak that cheering word!
Extend thy powerful arm,
And help afford;
My heart sinks in alarm,
So dark and wild the storm;
Yet thou canst shield from harm;
Save, or I perish, Lord.
I’m sinking in the deep,
My cry regard;
Higher the dark waves creep,
Over my head they leap,
But thou my soul canst keep;
Save, or I perish, Lord.
Speak to the billows wild,
Peace, be thou still.
O God, be reconciled!
Through Christ, the undefiled,
To me, thy erring child,
Who’d humbly meet thy will.
Let me upon thee rest,
O Saviour, dear!
Thus I the waves may breast,
By thy sweet presence blest;
Naught may my peace molest,
Whilst thou dost soothe each fear.
—Sel.
Testimony of the Fathers.
By John Nevins Andrews
THE APOSTOLICAL CONSTITUTIONS.
“Have before thine eyes the fear of God, and always remember the ten commandments of God,—to love the one and only Lord God with all thy strength; to give no heed to idols, or any other beings, as being lifeless gods, or irrational beings or dæmons. Consider the manifold workmanship of God, which received its beginning through Christ. Thou shalt observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from his work of creation, but ceased not from his work of providence: it is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the hands.” Book ii. sect. 4, par. 36.
This is sound Sabbatarian doctrine. But apostasy had begun its work in the establishment of the so-called Lord’s day, which was destined in time to drive out the Sabbath. The next mention of the Sabbath also introduces the festival called Lord’s day, but the reader will remember that this was written, not in the first century, but the third:—
“Let your judicatures be held on the second day of the week, that if any controversy arise about your sentence, having an interval till the Sabbath, you may be able to set the controversy right, and to reduce those to peace who have the contests one with another against the Lord’s day.” Book ii. sect. 6, par. 47.
By the term, Lord’s day, the first day of the week is here intended. But the writer does not call the first day the Sabbath, that term being applied to the seventh day.
In section 7, paragraph 59, Christians are commanded to assemble for worship “every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord’s house: in the morning saying the sixty-second psalm, and in the evening, the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath day. And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus and sent him to us.” “Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection, on which we pray thrice standing, in memory of him who arose in three days, in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food?”
The writer of these “Constitutions” this time gives the first day great prominence, though still honoring the Sabbath, and by no means giving that title to Sunday. But in book v., section 2, paragraph 10, we have a singular testimony to the manner in which Sunday was spent. Thus the writer says:—
“Now we exhort you, brethren and fellow-servants, to avoid vain talk and obscene discourses, and jestings, drunkenness, lasciviousness, luxury, unbounded passions, with foolish discourses, since we do not permit you so much as on the Lord’s days, which are days of joy, to speak or act anything unseemly.”
From this it appears that the so-called Lord’s day was a day of greater mirth than the other days of the week. In book v., section 3, paragraph 14, it is said:—
“But when the first day of the week dawned he arose from the dead, and fulfilled those things which before his passion he foretold to us, saying: ‘The Son of man must continue in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.’”
In book v., section 3, paragraph 15, the writer names the days on which Christians should fast:—
“But he commanded us to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week; the former on account of his being betrayed, and the latter on account of his passion. But he appointed us to break our fast on the seventh day at the cock-crowing, but to fast on the Sabbath day. Not that the Sabbath day is a day of fasting, being the rest from the creation, but because we ought to fast on this one Sabbath only, while on this day the Creator was under the earth.”
In paragraph 17, Christians are forbidden to “celebrate the day of the resurrection of our Lord on any other day than a Sunday.” In paragraph 18, they are again charged to fast on that one Sabbath which comes in connection with the anniversary of our Lord’s death. In paragraph 19, the first day of the week is four times called the Lord’s day. The period of 40 days from his resurrection to his ascension is to be observed. The anniversary of Christ’s resurrection is to be celebrated by the supper.
“And let this be an everlasting ordinance till the consummation of the world, until the Lord come. For to Jews the Lord is still dead, but to Christians he is risen: to the former, by their unbelief; to the latter, by their full assurance of faith. For the hope in him is immortal and eternal life. After eight days let there be another feast observed with honor, the eighth day itself, on which he gave me Thomas, who was hard of belief, full assurance, by showing me the print of the nails, and the wound made in his side by the spear. And again, from the first Lord’s day count forty days, from the Lord’s day till the fifth day of the week, and celebrate the feast of the ascension of the Lord, whereon he finished all his dispensation and constitution,” etc.
The things here commanded can come only once in a year. These are the anniversary of Christ’s resurrection, and of that day on which he appeared to Thomas, and these were to be celebrated by the supper. The people were also to observe the day of the ascension on the fifth day of the week, forty days from his resurrection, on which day he finished his work. In paragraph 20, they are commanded to celebrate the anniversary of the Pentecost.
“But after ten days from the ascension, which from the first Lord’s day is the fiftieth day, do ye keep a great festival; for on that day, at the third hour, the Lord Jesus sent on us the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
This was not a weekly, but a yearly, festival. Fasting is also set forth in this paragraph, but every Sabbath except the one Christ lay in the tomb is exempted from this fast, and every so-called Lord’s day:—
“We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week, and every day of the preparation [the sixth day], and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy; every Sabbath day excepting one, and every Lord’s day, hold your solemn assemblies, and rejoice; for he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord’s day, being the day of the resurrection, or during the time of Pentecost, or, in general, who is sad on a festival day to the Lord. For on them we ought to rejoice, and not to mourn.”
This writer asserts that it is a sin to fast or mourn on Sunday, but never intimates that it is a sin to labor on that day when not engaged in worship. We shall next learn that the decalogue is in agreement with the law of nature, and that it is of perpetual obligation:—
In book vi., section 4, paragraph 19, it is said: “He gave a plain law to assist the law of nature, such an one as is pure, saving, and holy, in which his own name was inscribed, perfect, which is never to fail, being complete in ten commands, unspotted, converting souls.”
In paragraph 20 it is said: “Now the law is the decalogue, which the Lord promulgated to them with an audible voice.”
In paragraph 22, he says: “You therefore are blessed who are delivered from the curse. For Christ, the Son of God, by his coming, has confirmed and completed the law, but has taken away the additional precepts, although not all of them, yet at least the more grievous ones; having confirmed the former, and abolished the latter.” And he further testifies as follows: “And besides, before his coming he refused the sacrifices of his people, while they frequently offered them, when they sinned against him, and thought he was to be appeased by sacrifices, but not by repentance.”
For this reason the writer truthfully testifies that God refused to accept their burnt-offerings and sacrifices, their new moons and their Sabbaths.
In book vi., section 23, he says: He who had commanded to honor our parents, was himself subject to them. He who had commanded to keep the Sabbath, by resting thereon for the sake of meditating on the laws, has now commanded us to consider of the law of creation, and of providence every day, and to return thanks to God.”
This savors somewhat of the doctrine that all days are alike. Yet this cannot be the meaning; for in book vii., section 2, paragraph 23, he enjoins the observance of the Sabbath, and also of the Lord’s-day festival, but specifies one Sabbath in the year in which men should fast. Thus he says:—
“But keep the Sabbath, and the Lord’s-day festival; because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter, of the resurrection. But there is one only Sabbath to be observed by you in the whole year, which is that of our Lord’s burial, on which men ought to keep a fast, but not a festival. For inasmuch as the Creator was then under the earth, the sorrow for him is more forcible than the joy for the creation; for the Creator is more honorable by nature and dignity than his own creatures.”
In book vii., section 2, paragraph 30, he says: “On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, that is, the Lord’s day, assemble yourselves together, without fail, giving thanks to God,” etc.
In paragraph 36, the writer brings in the Sabbath again: “O Lord Almighty, thou hast created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day thou hast made us rest from our works, for the meditation upon thy laws.”
In the same paragraph, in speaking of the resurrection of Christ, the writer says:—
“On which account we solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord’s day,” etc. In the same paragraph he speaks again of the Sabbath: “Thou didst give them the law or decalogue, which was pronounced by thy voice and written with thy hand. Thou didst enjoin the observation of the Sabbath, not affording them an occasion of idleness, but an opportunity of piety, for their knowledge of thy power, and the prohibition of evils; having limited them as within an holy circuit for the sake of doctrine, for the rejoicing upon the seventh period.”
In this paragraph he also states his views of the Sabbath, and of the day which he calls the Lord’s day, giving the precedence to the latter:—
“On this account he permitted men every Sabbath to rest, that so no one might be willing to send one word out of his mouth in anger on the day of the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the cessation of the creation, the completion of the world, the inquiry after laws, and the grateful praise to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon men. All which the Lord’s day excels, and shows the Mediator himself, the Provider, the Law-giver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of the whole creation,” etc. And he adds: “So that the Lord’s day commands us to offer unto thee, O Lord, thanksgiving for all. For this is the grace afforded by thee, which on account of its greatness has obscured all other blessings.”
It is certainly noteworthy that the so-called Lord’s day, for which no divine warrant is produced, is here exalted above the Sabbath of the Lord notwithstanding the Sabbath is acknowledged to be the divine memorial of the creation, and to be expressly enjoined in the decalogue, which the writer declares to be of perpetual obligation. Tested by his own principles, he had far advanced in apostasy; for he held a human festival more honorable than one which he acknowledged to be ordained of God; and only a single step remained; viz., to set aside the commandment of God for the ordinance of man.
In book viii., section 2, paragraph 4, it is said, when a bishop has been chosen and is to be ordained,—
“Let the people assemble, with the presbytery and bishops that are present, on the Lord’s day, and let them give their consent.”
In book viii., section 4, paragraph 33, occurs the final mention of these two days in the so-called Apostolical Constitutions:—
“Let the slaves work five days; but on the Sabbath day and the Lord’s day let them have leisure to go to church for instruction in piety. We have said that the Sabbath is on account of the creation, and the Lord’s day, of the resurrection.”
To this may be added the 64th Canon of the Apostles, which is appended to the “Constitutions”:—
“If any one of the clergy be found to fast on the Lord’s day, or on the Sabbath day, excepting one only, let him be deprived; but if he be one of the laity, let him be suspended.”
Every mention of the Sabbath and first-day in that ancient book called “Apostolical Constitutions” is now before the reader. This book comes down to us from the third century, and contains what was at that time very generally believed to be the doctrine of the apostles. It is therefore valuable to us, not as authority respecting the teaching of the apostles, but as giving us a knowledge of the views and practices which prevailed in the third century. At the time these “Constitutions” were put in writing, the ten commandments were revered as the immutable rule of right, and the Sabbath of the Lord was by many observed as an act of obedience to the fourth commandment, and as the divine memorial of the creation. But the first-day festival had already attained such strength and influence as to clearly indicate that ere long it would claim the entire ground. But observe that the Sabbath and the so-called Lord’s day are treated as distinct institutions, and that no hint of the change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week is even once given. The Apostolical Constitutions are cited first, not because written by the apostles, but because of their title. For the same reason the so-called Epistle of Barnabas is quoted next, not because written by that apostle, for the proof is ample that it was not, but because it is often quoted by first-day writers as the words of the apostle Barnabas. It was in existence, however, as early as the middle of the second century, and, like the “Apostolical Constitutions,” is of value to us in that it gives some clue to the opinions which prevailed in the region where the writer lived, or at least which were held by his party.
J. N. A.
A Pleasant and Profitable Day.
By J. H. W.
THURSDAY, May 29, was a day which will be remembered by the church of Battle Creek. Baptism had been contemplated for several weeks, and it was decided to have it administered at Goguac Lake. The grove procured has a long, broad shade with a table underneath it. Near this were pitched three camp-meeting tents. These, however, were not much used, as the pleasant shade of the trees was enjoyed by all, the weather being very favorable. All the hands in the REVIEW Office, a goodly number from the Health Institute, and a large part of the church, were there.
The exercises were opened by singing, “Shall we gather at the river?” followed by prayer; then singing, “The tempter to my soul hath said.” After this, Bro. White made some excellent remarks on Baptism.
The dinner, at 12:30, deserves particular mention. It has been the custom, for several years, to resort to this lake for recreation and worship, and it is well known that on such occasions much time is usually spent in preparation, and some are deprived of the benefits of the meeting because they have to “serve tables” so diligently. But on this occasion nothing was taken onto the ground but graham bread and crackers and apples. The table was spread for the benefit of those who chose to occupy it, but most took their dinners in family groups scattered under the trees. We have seen many picnic dinners served, but never saw one which seemed to be enjoyed so highly as this. No cumbersome baggage was to be looked after, as a family can easily carry enough graham bread for a dinner in a common work-basket. The clear breeze coming over the lake, and the agreeable outdoor exercise, gave a good appetite—all ate with a relish, yet we doubt if there was one on the ground who overate, as is too often done when there is a variety of dishes, especially with cakes and pies. We commend this example to all excursionists.
At 1:30, religious exercises were resumed by singing, “Shall we know each other?” Prayer, and singing the hymn, “Baptized into the Saviour’s death,” followed by the examination of candidates, after which remarks were made by sister White; these were practical, and well fitted to the occasion.
The baptismal scene was one of the most pleasing and impressive we ever witnessed. The water is clear, with a smooth, sandy bottom, but so shallow at the shore that it would have involved too much walking on the part of the administrator, as usually performed. To obviate this, as Bro. White, who administered the rite,197started shoreward with the person just baptized, Bro. Kellogg left the shore with another, and they exchanged as they met, Bro. K. bringing the one baptized to the shore, as Bro. White returned to the deeper water. There was no crowding to see, as the bank was clear, and the rite administered so far from shore that it could be seen by all, in every direction.
Seventeen were baptized; among them a husband and wife, three daughters of Bro. Merriam, two daughters and a son of Bro. O. Davis, and two sons of Bro. Belden.
Another noticeable feature of the occasion was the absence of lightness and hilarity. We are often pained to see the young, especially during the recess and at dinner, on such occasions, indulge in unbecoming levity and trifling conversation. There seemed to be a singular and unusual exemption from all this; it was emphatically a season of solid Christian enjoyment. All felt that it was a day of both pleasure and profit, and all returned to their homes with cheerful, thankful hearts. J. H. W.
Cause at Battle Creek.
By James White
We spoke to our people in this city last Sabbath, and enjoyed unusual freedom. The entire congregation seemed to enter into the same spirit, and the season was one of unusual interest and profit. Difficulties under which we have labored in this city in past years, are passing away, as we now enjoy the counsel and full co-operation of Brn. Lindsay, Gaskill, and Abbey, from New York, Cumings, from New Hampshire, Merriam, from Ohio, and Ings, from Iowa. We hope that very soon all our State Conferences will be represented by valuable men who shall have charge of the general interests of our cause and our institutions at Battle Creek.
The above-named brethren have a chance to more fully learn the difficulties under which we have labored. We thank God that relief has come, even at this late day. We deeply regret that we have not better borne up under the discouragements which it has been our lot to suffer. We mourn that we have suffered them to drive us to sadness and despondency, cut off our faith, and separate us in a degree from God. In returning to him with full purpose of heart, in a covenant to serve him in hope, faith, and gladness of heart, even in tribulation, we find great peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Our friends, everywhere, may depend upon it that the cause at head-quarters is being established upon a permanent basis, that is sure to secure to the cause prosperity in all our operations. We hope that the appeals of Bro. Butler at all our camp-meetings, for substantial aid in behalf of our institutions located in this city, will meet with a liberal response from all the friends of the cause.
J. W.
The Present Truth.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
TEXT: “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” 2 Pet. 1:12.
Why talk so much about the coming of the Lord? Can we know anything about when it is to occur? Does not the Bible say, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man”? and even if we could know when it was coming, what is the use of saying so much about it? If we are only prepared to die, are we not prepared for the coming of the Lord? Why make division, and stir the people on this point? Would it not be better to unite with others in converting souls to God by preaching Christ and repentance instead of making a separate party by talking about the coming of Christ? All believe that he will come sometime.
These are some of the most common objections that we, Adventists, meet wherever we go, and to answer them is the object of this article. No doubt they seem reasonable to those who make them. Yet we think we can show that they are entirely unscriptural. Our text speaks of “the present truth.” Not that Peter is speaking of our times, but it shows this idea, that there was in his days, and, hence, that there may be at other times, what he denominates “present truth,”—that is, a truth which is applicable at one time, but is not at another. Some truths are always equally true and applicable; as, There is a God; we should love him; men should repent of their sins, &c. These truths should always be preached. But other truths have a more local and temporary application, but yet are equally important. Noah’s case will illustrate this. God, at the proper time, gave him a message to warn the world with regard to the coming flood. This he did for about an hundred and twenty years, till it came. It was important that he should warn the world of that impending calamity. God blessed him in doing it. But suppose that, after the flood was over, Noah had continued to preach that the flood was coming, just as he had before it did come, would there have been any propriety in his action, or any force in his preaching? Would it have been true? Certainly not. The time had passed for that message to be proclaimed. It had been present truth to the generation that perished in the flood; but it was not present truth after the flood was passed; nor would it have been a thousand years before it came. Did not God send out Noah? Yes. Did he not have an important message? Was it not the truth? Certainly. Did not God bless him in preaching it? He did. Could he have neglected that message and been clear before God? If he had refused or neglected to give it, God would have rejected him and raised up somebody who would have given it.
Take another case. When God sent Jonah to Nineveh, the prophet cried, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Was it important that that warning should be given to Nineveh? We well know it was, from God’s dealing with Jonah when he refused to give it, and when the prophet delivered his message, behold, how mightily it stirred that great city. It caused them to repent in dust and ashes. It was the means which God used for their salvation. It was present truth to them at that time, and if they had neglected it they would have perished. But suppose that Jonah, because God so greatly blessed that proclamation, had kept right on preaching the same thing for years afterward, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” would that have been sensible? would it have been true? Certainly not; it had been “present truth,” but could be no longer.
Take another case. At the first advent of Christ, God raised up John the Baptist and sent him with an especial message to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. John preached the baptism of repentance, telling them that they should believe on him who should come after him. That was an especial message, an especial warning. God was in it and greatly blessed it. While John was preaching, it was emphatically the present truth for that people. Those who heeded it were blessed of God, while those who did not heed it, rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Luke 7:29, 30. “And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.” But after Christ had come and the gospel had been fully introduced, would it have been proper for the apostles, or any others, to preach the same message that John did a few years before? It would have been entirely out of order. It would not have been truth, and God would not have blessed it. See this fact illustrated in Acts 18:22–28; 19:1–7. Apollos, some fifteen years after the resurrection, did preach and baptize after the manner of John; yet, when Paul came there, he baptized these same individuals over again, into the then present truth of a risen Christ. These illustrations might be multiplied to any extent, but these are sufficient to show the meaning and import of “present truth.”
All must agree with us that there are important, stirring truths which the people should hear at one time, which, if heard at any other, would not be true. People are continually asking us, If these things are true which you are preaching about the coming of Christ, why were they not found out and preached before? In the light of facts already stated, the answer is plain: The time had not come, and it would have been entirely out of place. For Noah, or Jonah, or John the Baptist, to have preached what they did a thousand years before the events came to pass, would have been out of place. So it would have been entirely out of place for the people to proclaim the immediate coming of Christ a thousand or even a hundred years ago, when it was not at hand. But when the fulness of time has come, and that event is just at hand, then it is present truth, and a mighty one too, to proclaim that event. Christ himself illustrates it in this manner. After stating the signs which should mark his second coming, and further stating that it should be at that time as it was in the days of Noah, he says, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” Who then, that is, at that time, at the time of his second coming, is a wise servant, and will be found giving the household meat in due season? Look at the illustration. It is that of a man providing proper food for the household during the seasons. Here is a man keeping boarders. During the winter he provides bread, meat, potatoes, tea and coffee, and other food commonly used in winter. This is considered proper food for the household during the winter, and no one complains; but, by-and-by, spring draws near, and early vegetables come, but he provides none for his table. Strawberries and raspberries are ripe, but he buys none for his boarders; cherries and apples are in the market, but not any appear on his table. He provides for them exactly the same food that he did for the winter. Would there not be some complaining in that household? Yes, and justly too, for he does not provide for them food according to the seasons.
This parable of our Lord beautifully illustrates the idea of instructing the church of God with the proper truths which are due at different ages of the world. This, and this only, will keep the church alive. And here we may suggest that the great failure which many learned theologians make, lies in this fact, that they do not keep up with the times, and preach living truths, which are due in their days. They go back and study the writings and theological systems of eminent men who lived ages before them. Those men were alive to the truths applicable in their days, and with these they stirred the world; and after those days were passed and circumstances are changed, these men now take up the same line of argument, fill their minds with these old, dead issues of the past, and dwell upon them, while other plain and living truths of their own times are neglected. Hence God cannot use them in his work. He has to choose some poor shepherd, fisherman, farmer, or mechanic, whose mind is open to receive the light of present truth. Such humble men, with the living, stirring truths which are applicable to their days, go forth with them and stir the world. Here is where the teachers of the people, the scribes and the Pharisees, erred in their days. Christ upbraided them for not being able to discern the signs of the times. Matt. 16:3. Jerusalem was overthrown because the people knew not the time of their visitation. Luke 19:41–44.
This brings us to consider another important truth: God always has and always will reveal his truths to his people as fast as they are due to the world. Thus Amos says: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. This text states the great truth which we are trying to demonstrate, viz., That God never leaves his people in the dark concerning any important event which materially affects them. Before the event comes, those of his people who are walking with the Lord are always duly informed with regard to it. Notice a few examples: Noah was informed of the time of the flood, that it was to be after one hundred and twenty years. Gen. 6:3. A short time before it came, the Lord revealed to him the very time it should commence. Gen. 7:4: “Yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”
The time of the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt was foretold to Abraham. Gen. 15:13, 14. “They shall afflict them four hundred years,” said the Lord, “afterward they shall go out with great substance.” When the Lord proposed to destroy Sodom, he said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” Gen. 18:17. Then he proceeded to inform Abraham concerning what he was about to do. Lot, also, was warned, and fled out of the city. Through Joseph, God revealed to Pharaoh the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine which were to come on Egypt. Gen. 41:26–30. When the time of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt drew near, God raised up Moses to deliver them. Moses knew that the time had come, and that he was to deliver them; for thus we read of him: “For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not.” Acts 7:25. Moses understood it, though some of the people did not. The number of years that they should wander in the wilderness was foretold. Num. 14:34. The seventy years’ captivity in Babylon was revealed to his people: “And the whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” Jer. 25:11. The very year that the Messiah should come was revealed. Dan. 9:25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” The 1260 years of papal supremacy were foretold. Dan. 7:25.
At Christ’s first advent it was revealed to holy men and women that they should see him before they died, which, also, they did. See Luke 2:25–30, 36–38. Indeed, they generally expected him at that time. God raised up John the Baptist to go before Christ and prepare the people for his coming. Did not John know that the advent of the Messiah was at hand? He did, and told them to believe on him who should come after him. John’s mission was no mere guess work. He knew definitely what his message was and what prophecy he was fulfilling. Thus we read: “Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” John 1:22, 23. Here was a prophecy given hundreds of years before. When the proper time came John was raised up to deliver that message, and he did it, knowing and claiming that he was fulfilling it.
Thus we might show that every great and important event connected with the work of God and God’s people in every age of the world, has been revealed to his church just before these events came to pass. When the generation had come who was to witness them, God raised up men to warn the people of their coming. The true servants of God, who are in the light and are walking with the Lord, were always informed in regard to them, and were ready when they came. At the same time, there always was another class, and a large one, too, who were not only ignorant with regard to these events, but opposed those who proclaimed them.
Now we appeal to the reader, If those minor events, such as the flood, the fall of Sodom, coming out of Egypt, destruction of Nineveh, the first advent of Christ, &c., &c., were revealed to the people of God, and an especial message given with regard to them just before they came, is it reasonable to believe that the last great day will come and the people of God know nothing about it, no warning be given concerning it? Those events affected only the generation then living, sometimes only a small portion of that, and yet the Lord thought them of sufficient importance to reveal them to his people and instruct that generation with regard to them. But when the Judgment of the great day shall come, when Christ shall appear King of kings and Lord of lords, when the dead shall be raised, when the world shall end and all things earthly shall be closed up, how vastly more important will this event be than all others. In this grand event all will have an interest, both the living and the dead, from Adam to the last child born. Before this grand and awful event all others sink into insignificance. Shall, then, such an event as this come upon the people of God and upon the world, and God’s servants know nothing about it, and the world be unwarned concerning it? Reason itself would teach us that it could not be so. The history of God’s dealings with his people in the past show it will not be so, besides which, we have abundance of direct testimony that God will do in the last days as he always has before, viz., instruct his people and warn the world. In proof of this, we now propose to offer a few very plain propositions.