Earlier text: PRINCIPLES TOO LITTLE UNDERSTOODThe heavier cross, the nearer heaven:
No cross without, no God within:
Death, judgment, from the hearts are driven,
Amidst the world's false glare and din.
O, happy he, with all his loss,
Whom God hath set beneath the cross! The heavier cross, the better Christian;
This is the touchstone God applies.
How many a garden would lie wasting,
Unwet by showers from weeping eyes!
The gold by fire is purified:
The Christian is by trouble tried. The heavier cross, the stronger faith;
The loaded palm strikes deeper root;
The vine-juice sweetly issueth
When men have pressed the clustered fruit;
And courage grows where dangers come,
Like pearls beneath the salt sea-foam. The heavier cross, the heartier prayer;
The bruised herbs most fragrant are;
If wind and skies were always fair,
The sailor would not watch the star;
And David's psalms had ne'er been sung
If grief his heart had never wrung. The heavier cross, the more aspiring;
From vales we climb to mountain crest;
The pilgrim, of the desert tiring,
Longs for the Canaan of his rest;
The dove has here no rest in sight,
And to the ark she wings her flight. Thou Crucified! the cross I carry,
The longer may it dearer be;
And, lest I faint whilst here I tarry,
Implant thou such a heart in me
That faith, hope, love, may flourish there,
Till for my cross the crown I wear! Moline and Battle Creek
By Ellen G. White
At the close of the General Conference Committee Council at College View, Neb., we returned to Battle Creek, as I had promised. At Moline, Ill., we broke our journey, that we might visit the Moline Sanitarium. Here we had a profitable visit with Drs. Sanford and Maria Edwards, who have charge of the medical work of the institution. We were pleased with the location and appearance of the sanitarium, though we wished it might have been a little way out of the city. Dr. Edwards gave us as much of his time as possible, and took us for a drive through the city and the park. This city is an important field, and must be given the message for this time. We are glad that the sanitarium work has been begun here, and we hope that a holy influence may be exerted by this institution through its workers. The Lord has many souls in this place that should be visited by workers ready to do their Master's bidding. Not long ago this sanitarium had a narrow escape from being destroyed by fire. Electric wires set fire to a portion of the upper story, and the flames had begun to burst out from the roof. But Dr. Edwards discovered the blaze, and by quick action with fire-extinguishers, succeeded in putting it out. When the fire-engines arrived, the fire had been entirely subdued. All are very thankful that it has not been necessary for the fire-engines to be put in operation. This sanitarium has a good patronage, and the hearts of the workers have been greatly cheered by the favors and tokens of appreciation shown them by the patients. One day one of the wealthy patients, after climbing the stairs to his room after his bath, remarked that they should have an elevator. Sister Edwards replied that when they had taken in sufficient money so they could afford it, they would put in an elevator. Very soon this gentleman gave Dr. Edwards instruction to select a good elevator, promising that he and a friend of his would purchase it, and present it to the institution. This elevator is now in daily use. We hope that our brethren and sisters in northern Illinois will encourage and assist Brother and Sister Edwards and their faithful helpers in the good work to be done in the sanitarium and in the city. If all will labor heartily and disinterestedly, the Lord will give them souls for their hire. I think of the many places in need of such work, and wish that all our people could realize that the Lord is ready to go before every self-sacrificing worker who will carry the truth to places where it has not been heard. Then those who are collected in large numbers in some of our churches would feel a burden to go out into other cities and villages to search out those who are waiting for the truth. In the night season I am repeating the words:— “My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.” “Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” As I rode through the streets and parks of Moline, I thought, Verily this is a place where the truth should be firmly established. The Lord will work here if those who are placed in positions of trust will work and watch and pray. He will in mercy call out in this place a people who will be united in keeping his way. I felt an earnest desire that our people, who profess to accept the great commission given by Christ to his disciples just before his ascension, should take up their appointed work, and carry the message to all the cities and villages in our land. The truth must be proclaimed in the highways and the byways. The Lord says to his people: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” O that the Lord would awaken the church-members to go forth to devote their powers to the work of saving the souls that are perishing in sin! God calls upon men and women everywhere to go forth and earnestly prepare the way for his coming. On our arrival at Battle Creek, we were met by our friends, who gave us a hearty welcome. We spent five days there, during which time I spoke three times to large congregations in the Tabernacle, once to the students in the medical college, and once to the helpers in the sanitarium gymnasium. The Lord gave me a decided testimony to bear at these meetings. I can not find words to tell how heavy was the burden resting upon me as I looked upon the large audience before me in the Tabernacle Sabbath morning, and thought of the instruction and the warnings that have so often come to the people in this congested center. Often has the testimony been borne that there are thousands upon thousands perishing in ignorance of the requirements of God, and of the judgments that will fall upon the disobedient. There were between twenty-five hundred and three thousand people present. I knew that if they were awake to discern the signs of the times, if they understood the responsibility resting upon them individually, they would not all be in Battle Creek, listening to a repetition of gospel truth, and paying little attention to the messages sent them. If they knew and understood the voice of God, many would leave Battle Creek, and go forth with the light of present truth, carrying it to many places now in darkness. As I read the words of the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, I wonder that God's people do not see and understand the work they have been given to do. Read the whole chapter carefully and prayerfully. After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples were first to bear their witness in Jerusalem, and then they were to go forth to all nations. “Ye shall be witnesses unto me,” Christ declared, “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, thousands were converted in a9 day. The word of the Spirit, newly edged with power, and bathed in the lightnings of heaven, cut its way through unbelief. The hearts of the disciples were surcharged with a benevolence so full, so deep, so far-reaching that it impelled them to go to the ends of the earth, testifying, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” They were filled with an intense longing to add to the church such as should be saved. They called on believers to arouse and do their part, that all nations might hear the truth, and the earth be filled with the glory of the Lord. As the disciples, filled with the power of the Spirit, went forth to proclaim the gospel, so God's servants are to go forth to-day. Every one on whom is shining the light of present truth is to be stirred with compassion for those who are in darkness. From all believers light is to be reflected in clear, distinct rays. A work similar to that which the Lord did through his delegated messengers after the day of Pentecost he is waiting to do to-day. At this time, when the end of all things is at hand, the zeal of the church should exceed even that of the early church. Zeal for the glory of God moved the disciples to bear witness to the truth with mighty power. Should not this zeal fire our hearts with a longing to tell the story of redeeming love, of Christ and him crucified? Sunday afternoon I spoke again in the Tabernacle. The meeting had been advertised, and there were present many citizens of Battle Creek who were not of our faith. At this meeting I assured my hearers that we held the same principles of truth that we had so many times set before them in past years. I assured them that no phase of our message had been changed to meet scientific or spiritualistic philosophy, but that we hold as firmly as ever to the strongholds of our faith, which have made the Seventh-day Adventist people what they are. We have built our house upon the eternal Rock, the Rock of Ages. I said that I did not claim to be a prophetess. I have not stood before the people claiming this title, though many called me thus. I have been instructed to say, “I am God's messenger, sent to bear a message of reproof to the erring and of encouragement to the meek and lowly.” With pen and with voice I am to bear the messages given me. The word given me is, “You are faithfully to reprove those who would mar the faith of the people of God. Write out the things which I shall give you, that they may stand as a witness to the truth till the end of time.” I said, “If any of the citizens of Battle Creek wish to know what Mrs. White believes and teaches, let them read her published books. My labors would be naught should I preach another gospel. That which I have written is what the Lord has bidden me write. I have not been instructed to change that which I have sent out. I stand firm in the Adventist faith; for I have been warned in regard to the seducing sophistries that will seek for entrance among us as a people. The Scripture says, ‘Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ I present before our people the danger of being led astray as were the angels in the heavenly courts. The straight line of truth presented to me when I was but a girl is just as clearly presented to me now.” I have a most earnest desire that the truth for this time shall be proclaimed throughout the world. God's people have a great and solemn work to do. The day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. Every hour, every minute, is precious. We have no time to spend in the gratification of selfish desires. All around us there are souls perishing in sin. Every day there is something to do for the Master. Every day we are to point souls to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. Seventh-day Adventists and Labor Unions
By K. C. RUSSELL
It must be admitted that from a human or worldly point of view, labor unions seem to be the most effective means for maintaining the rights of the laboring man against the oppressive system of the money power. But with the person who has “been born again,” and has become “a new creature,” old things have passed away, and all things have become new. Hence he can not view things as he did before. He must look at them with heaven and eternity in view, and not from a worldly and temporal standpoint. With this understanding of the question, it will not be difficult for every Seventh-day Adventist to determine what his relation should be to labor unions. The very essence of the gospel is to make men free; for Jesus says he was sent “to preach deliverance to the captives,” and “to set at liberty them that are bruised.” The Lord wants his people delivered from Egyptian bondage and servitude. Anything that restricts their liberties he is not pleased with; for it deprives them of their free moral agency, which lies at the very foundation of all that makes this life or the future one worth living for. Every one who has any acquaintance with labor organizations knows that when one becomes allied with them, he surrenders to a certain extent his freedom to act. Such matters as the number of hours he is to work each day, the rate of wages he is to receive, the choice of an employer, when he is to work, when to strike or cease to work, and the like, have passed from under his control. Should a strike be declared by the leaders of the organization, he must refrain from labor, even though he is satisfied with his wages and his employment, and there exists the most perfect satisfaction and the sweetest harmony between himself and his employer. In some instances he is even denied the right to choose where he and his family shall spend the wages he has earned by the sweat of his own brow. Not only is the man who joins the labor unions thus deprived of his own liberties, but the liberties and the rights of others are also involved. One illustration will suffice to show this. The manager of an extensive job printing plant in an Eastern city desired on a certain occasion to discharge a workman who was not giving satisfaction. But, although employer of the man and owner of the printing plant, did he have the power to exercise that right?—No; he must first place the matter before the local printers’ union. And before he could even do this, he must secure with difficulty the privilege of presenting the case before them; and then it would be a question whether he could secure redress. Illustration after illustration might be given showing that the principles that govern those connected with these unions are in flagrant contradiction to the principles of the gospel. There is another feature that should not be overlooked by every Seventh-day Adventist, and that is the fact that every member of these unions is equally responsible with every other member of the organization for all the results that follow this relation, and the influence of them. Let me ask you, my brother and sister, are you prepared to assume the awful responsibility of the fruits that are often borne as the result of labor troubles, in which are destroyed property, and sometimes life itself? The Lord has plainly said, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” This statement does not apply merely to the marriage relation, but to any other that makes us equally responsible in our actions and influence with those who are not walking in the light of present truth. It embraces partnership in business with unbelievers, and uniting with secret societies or labor unions. There is a union that we can all safely join, and that is the one spoken of in John 17:20-23. Christ or Diana?
By GEO. O. STATES
WHILE visiting one of my neighbors recently, and trying to interest him in the truth for our time, he remarked that he belonged to a certain order, and that the man who lived up to its teachings would be about as good as a man could be. I told him I fully agreed with him, and no doubt the man who lived up to such teachings would be as10 good as man could be without Christ. I told him that the Bible taught that we should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; and that God's people were to come out from the world and be separate; that when, years ago, I belonged to the lodge, I had sat in the lodge room and heard a man read a prayer, who, outside the lodge room, was very profane. My heart has been made sad many times to find those who profess this message still holding on to those things when the Lord has plainly told this people that this injunction against being yoked with unbelievers refers not only to the marriage of Christians with the ungodly, but to all alliances in which the parties are brought into intimate association, and in which there is need of harmony in spirit and action. In dealing with those who come among us belonging to these secret orders, we should be kind, realizing the pit from which we were taken, but I believe that as ministers we should be honest, and while speaking kindly, give them the plain truth. I believe there was never a time in the history of the world when there were so many influences of this kind to draw this people from the truth. One of our neighbors recently came to our house to induce my son to unite with a lodge. My son not being at home, I told the neighbor that our church did not believe it was consistent to unite with the various orders, that they diverted the mind from Christ to the human, that all such things led one to trust in the human, and not in God. From a human standpoint there are doubtless many things about such affiliations that are very pleasing and apparently advantageous, yet from a personal experience I know that these things divert the mind from the message that God has given this people. I believe this to be one of Satan's means of drawing souls from the truth. I know that during the time I was connected with the lodge, I had but little interest in the third angel's message, and many times I walked several miles to lodge when I would not have gone that many blocks to the prayer-meeting. I positively know that these things divert our interest from the truth. How can those who profess to believe a truth that is to cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit spend hours in the lodge room with men who smoke and chew until the room is filled with smoke, and the floor covered with tobacco juice? Verily it is not in keeping with the solemn truth for this time. The man who believes this truth can not advance in the message while in these associations; for many of his associates do not even believe in a God. Through the spirit of prophecy the Lord has told this people that “Christ will never lead his followers to take upon themselves vows that will unite them with men who have no connection with God, who are not under the controlling influence of his Holy Spirit.” If God does not lead us to unite with these orders, then it follows that Satan is the one that is at work, and we as a people must resist his deceptive influence. “Fraud runs all through these secret associations, and none can be bound up with them and be free men before God and heaven. The moral nature is dragged down to that which God pronounces unjust, which is contrary to his will and his commandments.” “These societies offer some advantages, which, from a human point of view, appear like great blessings, but not so when judged by the Lord's measurement. Behind their apparent advantages are concealed satanic agencies. The larger the income drawn into the treasury, the more and deeper is the evil. The ungodly gain which has enriched these societies will, when traced out in all its bearings, be seen to be a curse.” My brethren, how can any of us remain in these orders when God has spoken so plainly? When we trust in these orders, we are not trusting in the Lord, and money paid out might far better be put into the cause of God. When I joined the lodge years ago, I was in a backslidden state, but I never paid my dues without hearing the good Spirit whisper, “This might better be put in the cause of God.” During the time I was a member of the lodge, I gave time and money that might far better have been given to the Lord. I am writing very plainly; for I believe the time has come for every Seventh-day Adventist to take his stand fully on every point of the message, and if we do, it will cause us to cut loose from everything that retards our advancement in the truth. As ministers we should kindly give instruction on this point to those who come into the truth through our labors; for I know that from now on we shall have more and more of these things to meet; and when God speaks so plainly through the spirit of prophecy, we can not be clear before him unless we heed his counsel. May the great Head of the church grant that we all may see eye to eye on every point of the message. Should Every Church-Member Pay Tithe?
By G. F. WATSON
WHAT God says to one, he says to all. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” These words of our God can not be narrowed down to mean simply baptism and the keeping of the seventh day; but they embrace all the requirements of the gospel, even the payment of an honest tithe, the gospel embracing the tithing system; and as the gospel reaches individuals only, how can an individual accept a complete gospel without accepting the command of God to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse”?” The unchangeableness of our God is the only reason that we can give for our being permitted to live; and he uses this expression in connection with his instruction to us regarding the paying of our tithe: “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Mal. 3:6-8. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In Lev. 27: 30, 32, God calls the tithe holy, and in Ex. 20: 8 the same One calls the Sabbath holy, and in Neh. 13: 10-32 we find that when the people left off paying the holy tithe, they kept not God’s holy Sabbath; and when they obeyed the command to bring in the tithe, the Sabbath was restored. God himself declaring that the Sabbath is holy, and the tithe holy, who among the sons of men would dare to say that the one is more holy than the other? These are two grand principles by which the loyalty of man to his God is tested. Will a man who is an impenitent robber ever meet his God in peace, whether he be a robber of holy time or of holy money? The Sabbath and the tithe both being holy, and made so by the same power, who among us would presume to say that a man can be a robber of holy money, and yet be saved, while another man, being a robber of holy time, would be lost? Again: the tithing system being a part of the gospel,—that part which supports the giving, or the promulgation, of every other part,—could the gospel be complete without this support? Then can it be said that I am a promulgator of the gospel if I do not pay tithe? This being true of one man, it is also true of every other man who knows the truth. The commandment is to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. But where is this storehouse? it may be asked; in Washington, South Africa, India, or some individual? God, by his people, in planning for their best good and for the good of his cause, has established storehouses throughout the great field, in every church; so the storehouse for the members of the church is right in the church to which they belong; and the storehouse of that church is the conference to which the church belongs, and the storehouse of that conference is the union conference to which it belongs, and the storehouse of that union conference is the General Conference.
A perfect system for carrying forward God’s great work is thus established; but the enemy does not want this work11 to go forward, so he gets all he can to pay no tithe at all, and some to give their tithe to the poor, and others to send their tithe to some far-off land, and still others to send their tithe to Washington, and so on, hoping to cripple the work in some part of the field. I believe that God meant what he said when he gave the command to bring all the tithe into the storehouse; and my storehouse is the church where my membership is. But a command unheeded by a people brings death; and a commandment unheeded by an individual brings the same result. Therefore every church-member should pay tithe, to answer the command of God, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse.” The Enduring Memorial
By W. E. HASKELL
BUT to some it has seemed that a double and larger blessing on the Sabbath would mean a single and lesser blessing during the week, which would seem to necessitate an up-and-down experience in the Christian life. Others, in a vague, half-unconscious way, may have felt that there was some difficulty, some inconsistency, between the idea of a double Sabbath blessing and the ideal of Christian life expressed in such scriptures as, “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” But there is a beauty and glory in the fulness of the Sabbath truth, before which all this seeming difficulty and inconsistency vanish. 13. Why, in part, was the earthly sanctuary made? “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Ex. 25:8. It was an expression, an illustration, of God’s longing for fellowship with his people. It was more than this (see Heb. 9:23, 24), but it was this also. So in that wondrous object-lesson there must be some type—some illustration of the Sabbath blessing—of the Sabbath manifestation of Christ’s presence with his people. “And thou shalt set upon the table showbread [“bread of the presence,” as the Hebrew signifies] before me alway.” Ex. 25:30. 15. When was it prepared? “And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.” 1 Chron. 9:32. “Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually.” Lev. 24:8. 16. How long did it remain? “So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken up from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.” 1 Sam. 21:6. It remained until the next Sabbath. 17. What was then done with the old? “And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place.” Lev. 24:9. It was prepared and set in order each Sabbath, and continued through the following week till the next Sabbath, when it was eaten by the priests (representing the people), and then replaced by a new, fresh, additional supply. So each Sabbath they had a double measure, the old and the new. The old was eaten, and thus more was obtained from it than when first given the Sabbath before. It was then appropriated more fully, became a part of their very being, and continued. The new supply also continued. 18. So what was the showbread called? “And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue. . . . and the continual bread shall be thereon.” Num. 4:7. This reveals and illustrates the high and glorious privilege of true Sabbath observance. The Sabbath manifestation of Christ’s presence is an abiding, continual presence, but renewed, increased, redoubled, each returning Sabbath. So we see the double Sabbath blessing does not mean a single and lesser blessing through the week, an up-and-down experience, but a progressive experience. Each Sabbath should lift us to a higher plane in Christian life. This higher plane should be maintained through the following week, and each succeeding Sabbath elevated higher and still higher. The Sabbath is not a mere depository, which comes laden with rich treasure for us to behold and enjoy but for a day, and then departs, carrying the treasure away with it; but rather it is a channel through which weekly, additional, increasing treasure comes to us to abide with us continually, if we will receive and hold it fast by faith. 19. The same showbread, continuing through the week and then being eaten by the priests, would typify what experience? “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end,” Heb. 3:14. The previous blessing is then appropriated more fully, and becomes a part of us, and as we thus partake of Christ’s nature, the transforming process is hastened. Each week is thus a life experience in miniature. The same faith which can endure through the week can endure to the end. Until we reach the place where we hold the Sabbath blessing all through the week, from Sabbath to Sabbath, we have not that growing, overcoming experience which always “causes us to triumph in Christ,” and through his continual presence enables us to “hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end,” and become full and final partakers of his nature. 20. So what should each Sabbath be to us? “In thy presence is fulness of joy.” Ps. 16:11. “For I shall yet praise him, for his presence is salvation.” Ps. 42:5, margin. Each Sabbath should mean to us a larger measure of his salvation, a fresh disclosure and an unfolding of his sacred presence and blessed companionship, a closer and more intimate association with him, an increasing rest of soul, leading us to look forward to and welcome each coming Sabbath with increasing joy and delight in the Lord. “The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord.” Isa. 29:19. 21. What daily continual offering was made in the sanctuary service? “This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering.” Num. 28:3. 22. What was typified by this? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. This typified a daily consecration. 23. What other offering was made? “And on the Sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot. . . . This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering.” Num. 28:9, 10. Over and above the daily, the continual offering of one’s self, there should be on the Sabbath an additional, a redoubled offering, of consecration, thanksgiving, and praise, in response to the double blessing received. As each Sabbath should lift us to a higher plane in the life of faith and walk with God, which should be maintained through the week, and each succeeding Sabbath elevated higher and still higher, what will be the result? One author has said of Enoch: “For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had longed for a closer union. Nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until God took him to himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest, and now the portals opened, the walk with God so long pursued on earth, continued, and he passed through the gates of the holy city.” So also will it be with those now living who will be translated when Jesus comes. And the Sabbath occupies a most important place in the preparation for this experience. 24. Then what will still continue? “And it shall come to pass, that . . . from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 66:23. Through unending ages the enduring memorial will continue to be a sign of what God is to us, and of what his people are to him. And as each Sabbath brings a double disclosure and revelation of what he is, and a redoubled12 measure of love, gratitude, and consecration from his people, so through the ages, each recurring Sabbath will have a deeper, richer, fuller meaning and significance; each will shine with increasing beauty and glory; each will bring a deeper, higher joy in the mutual and ever-increasing companionship between God and his people. 25. So in these last days, in raising up the foundations of many generations, and again making known his holy Sabbath, to what is the Lord inviting those who will keep his holy day? “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within mine walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters.” Isa. 56:5. To every nation, kindred, tongue, and people is this wondrous invitation now sounding in the message, “Fear God and give glory to him, . . . and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14:6, 7. Some Bible Numerals
By George W. Draper
The Bible employs many symbols. Especially is this true of the prophetical portions, and also the Levitical law, which from one point of view, was prophetical. No one takes the beasts and images of Daniel and Revelation to be other than symbolical. But there is also in the Bible a symbolism of numbers. Less attention has been paid to these symbols, perhaps, than to others, but they are none the less a part of the revealed Word, and reveal to the earnest seeker most important views of divine truth. This should not seem strange to us if we consider that the visible universe, God’s first revelation, was constructed throughout upon mathematical principles, from the smallest atom in a chemical compound to the mightiest globe which wheels in space. Only a few of the symbolical numbers of the Bible can be considered in this article. The most prominent numeral used in the Bible as a symbol is the number seven, which appears over and again in the types and shadows of the Levitical law, as well as in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Seven is the symbol of earthly perfection. As the Creator rested on the seventh day from the work of creation, and pronounced everything that he had made perfect and good, so the number seven became the symbol of perfection or completeness. It is in this sense of completeness that the symbol is used in the Apocalypse, the seven churches, for instance, symbolizing the complete church of Christ from the beginning to the close of the Christian dispensation. The days of the week are themselves types of those larger days of a thousand years each, which comprise the history of the world. “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years,” and after six thousand years of labor and suffering the earth will have rest from its turmoil and strife for a thousand years. This is in many ways foreshadowed in the types, of which the sabbatical year is a prominent example. “Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord.” Lev. 25:3, 4. As the number seven represented a perfect creation,—this world as it came from the hand of its Maker,—the number six represents this world marred by sin, imperfect, and hence the utmost limit of man’s efforts to attain perfection. A most impressive use of this symbol occurs in Rev. 13:18. The “number of a man” is stated to be 666. Mathematicians will recognize in the form of this number a repeating decimal, which, if continued indefinitely, constantly approaches in value, but even if continued to infinity can never equal, the number seven. How fittingly this represents man’s futile efforts to attain righteousness or perfection of character by his own works. He invents innumerable observances, he multiplies prohibitions and requirements, he cuts off an indulgence here, he adds another requirement there, but his efforts are in vain. His number is 666, and though he continue to strive to all eternity, he can not make it equal seven. And what more appropriate symbol could be devised of that system of religion which more than any other has taught men to trust in their own works for salvation? The critical reader will have noticed that seven was said to be the number of earthly perfection. It represents the perfection of this world before it was marred by Adam’s sin. But seven is not the number of the Christian. The number seven pertains to this world, and he is “not of this world.” He claims for the goal of his endeavors more than the perfection of the newly created Adam. He is a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), and when Christ shall appear, “shall be like him.” 1 John 3:2. Now the number of the new creation is not seven, but eight. Seven is the number of the old creation, which closes its history with the thousand years of Revelation 20. The beginning of the eighth millennium ushers in the new creation, of which we are a part. Hence our symbolical number is not six, endlessly repeating itself in a vain endeavor to reach perfection; it is not seven, the number of earthly perfection, which Adam had, but lost; but it is eight, the number of the new creation, more glorious than the old. The number eight appears prominently in the types as a symbol of the new creation. Thus, after seven sabbatical years there was to be a year of jubilee, when all land returned to the family of its original owner. Lev. 25:8-13. So, the seventh millennium ended, the eighth begins with the earth made new, which becomes the home of the redeemed. Also in the tabernacle service, the yearly round of offerings having been completed in the seventh month, the eighth month began a new round of service. In all the various purifications required by the Levitical law, such as the cleansing of the leper and of men and women in all their natural, accidental, and ceremonial defilements, it was always upon the eighth day that they became clean. See Lev. 14:1-10, 23; 15:13-15, 28, 29; etc. The diligent student will find in the types other examples of this number used as a type of the new creation. It is significant that while the number of the Antichrist, the “number of his name,” is 666, the numerical value of the Greek letters composing the name of Jesus is 888. One is the crowning effort of man to exalt himself and the value of human works; the other is the head of the new creation of God, which is aptly symbolized by “the number of his name.” WHAT shall I wish thee this new year—
Health, wealth, prosperity, good cheer,
All sunshine, not a cloud or tear?
Nay! only this: That God may lead thee his own way,
That he may choose thy path each day,
That thou mayst feel him near alway,
For this is bliss! I dare not ask aught else for thee.
How could I tell what best would be?
But God the end of all can see;
His will is best. To know he rules, come loss or gain,
Sorrow or gladness, sun or rain;
To know he loves, in ease or pain,
Is perfect rest.
— Selected. “LET us take the Life Book new
With its leaves unspotted,
And with nobler purpose write,
Leaving it unblotted!
Let us trust and not despair;
Hope comes with the morning.
‘Peace on earth, good will to all’
With the new year’s dawning.” The Art of Comfort
By Anna E. Hamilton
Ask God to give thee skill
In comfort’s art,
That thou mayest consecrated be
And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy;
For heavy is the weight of ill
In many a heart,
And comforters are needed much
Of Christlike touch.
— Anna E. Hamilton.