Earlier text: The Blessed HopeThe Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund
By Arthur G. Daniells
For Special Work at Home and Abroad Plans for Raising This Fund
At the late General Conference Committee Council held in Washington, very careful consideration was given to the best plan for raising the $150,000 fund. After a most thorough discussion of various suggestions, the conference presidents submitted the following recommendations:— “In harmony with the action taken to raise $150,000, to prosecute various enterprises, we recommend,—
“1. That to accomplish this work the General Conference Committee immediately establish an active agency at headquarters to disseminate information to forward the raising of this amount, with such auxiliary agencies in other publishing centers as the committee may deem advisable.
“2. That each union conference provide a man to directly engage in this work.
“3. That each union and local conference be free to adopt such measures as in its judgment are best suited to its locality.
“4. That as conference presidents we pledge ourselves to do all in our power to accomplish the raising of this fund as soon as practicable.
“5. That the publishers of the REVIEW AND HERALD be requested to publish the donations by conferences, and in aggregate only.”
The first recommendation advises the General Conference Committee to establish an active agency at headquarters to disseminate information that will assist in raising this fund. In harmony with this counsel, the committee appointed the officers of the General Conference Committee and the editor of the REVIEW to send out from the General Conference office the information required. As calls for definite statements regarding various phases of the enterprise are beginning to come in from conference presidents, we shall soon be able to send out the desired information, which we hope will be helpful to all. The second recommendation urges that “each union conference provide a man to directly engage in this work.” We learn from the Southern Union Conference that in connection with the president of the conference, Elder J. S. Washburn has been selected to push the work in that union. Although the brethren and sisters in the South are not generally in as good financial condition as our people are in other parts of the States, the leaders are taking hold of this enterprise with courage and energy to raise their share of this large fund. We believe they will succeed, and we shall watch the developments with deep interest. From his long and very intimate connection with the general work of this cause, Elder Geo. I. Butler, the president of the Southern Union, will do more than to aid in raising the amount that it is thought should be secured in the South. Brother Butler will speak to all our people through the REVIEW. Brother Washburn will also furnish articles for the REVIEW regarding the situation in the South and the work generally. The third recommendation provides that each union and local conference shall be left free to adopt such measures as each may consider best suited to its locality. While all will work earnestly and harmoniously for the one great purpose, all are free to form and carry out such plans as local conditions may suggest. Number four in the list of recommendations is a splendid, assuring covenant on the part of the presidents. It reads as follows: “As conference presidents we pledge ourselves to do all in our power to accomplish the raising of this fund as soon as practicable.” This pledge means the success of the enterprise. These men hold important official positions in this cause. They have the confidence of the people. They have confidence in the undertaking. They mean what they say, and will keep their pledge. As soon as these recommendations were adopted, it was plain to all that the presidents had planted their feet for lifting the load. It has been very encouraging ever since to see them shaping their plans for earnest, successful work. By this action of the conference presidents, a great burden is lifted to a large extent from the shoulders of the General Conference officers, and laid upon many strong shoulders. This distribution of this kind of responsibility is in harmony with the whole plan of organization which we have adopted. And now the responsibility assumed by the presidents should be shared by all the church officers in every local conference. If the officers of every church will do their best to raise their share of the whole amount, this burden will be still further distributed, and thus made lighter for all. The fifth recommendation is that the contributions be acknowledged through the REVIEW from conferences instead of from individuals. In raising the $100,000 fund the names of all persons as far as secured were printed in the REVIEW with the amount given. There was more or less objection to this. It is understood that each local conference will keep a faithful record of all donors, and will send receipts for all money received. As the conferences forward their sums from time to time, these will be printed in the REVIEW. After the name of the conference is once entered in the REVIEW, it will remain until the entire fund is raised, and each week will show just what has been received at the General Conference treasury from the various conferences. Thus the plans are all well laid for harmonious, earnest, successful work. Some have already begun. Soon the reports will begin to come in, and in a short time the whole amount will be raised. There is no doubt about this. Without this special organization for general effort, $115,000 was raised in eighteen months. This large amount was given by many; no one is poorer today for having raised that sum. And so it will be in the present case. But what a help it will be to our glorious cause which is ever struggling to make advancement! The hearts of the workers in many fields will be encouraged. A Great Missionary Movement
By W. J. Stone
The raising of this $150,000 has now resolved itself into a great forward missionary movement to establish our work more firmly in the regions beyond. While I felt that I could heartily throw my whole soul and energy into the raising of our portion of this sum in Indiana as it stood at first, on account of the great needs at Washington and the South, I now feel, since the division of this fund, so much of which is to go to strengthen our mission posts in different parts of the world, that I can push the matter with even greater zeal; and I am confident that all our brethren and sisters will feel the same. And now as our plans are fully perfected, and the field divided, shall we not take hold and make this a quick work? Plans have been laid which will lay the burden of raising the Indiana portion of this sum upon the officers of our conference first, then upon all our workers, our church officers, and then upon our lay brethren. Every Seventh-day Adventist in the conference will be asked to get under this load and lift all he possibly can, until the fund is raised. May God give us all willing minds and liberal hearts to give, and give now. W. J. STONE. My life-bark swings on the billow That rides o’er a boundless sea, And the sea-gull rocks on the pillow That is only for him and me. My vessel is drifting, drifting, To a land that is dim and gray, O’er a tide that is shifting, shifting, But aye to myself I say: Hope for the long to-morrow; Strength for the brief to-day; Faith to guide o’er the waters wide, And love in my heart alway. Ah well I know the haven, And whither the journey tends, Though my soul at times is craven When the storm-wraith raves and rends. Then a whisper comes to cheer me: “Peace! For the winds obey The One who is ever near thee,” And again to myself I say: Hope for the long to-morrow; Strength for the brief to-day; Faith to guide o’er the water wide, And love in my heart alway. ’Tis a simple refrain only, Unknowing the schoolman’s lore, Yet still when my heart is lonely, It haunteth me more and more; Till I turn to the One who heeds us, Where he sits in the blue divine, And tenderly guides and leads us, And he knows that the prayer is mine: Hope for the long to-morrow; Strength for the brief to-day; Faith to guide o’er the waters wide, And love in my heart alway. A Solemn Message to the Church
By Ellen G. White
We are rapidly nearing the close of this earth’s history. The end is very near, much nearer than many suppose, and I feel burdened to urge upon our people the necessity of seeking the Lord earnestly. Many are asleep, and what can be said to arouse them from their carnal slumber? The Lord would have his church purified, before his judgments shall fall more signally upon the world. “Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Christ will remove every pretentious cloak. No mingling of the true with the spurious can deceive him. “He is like a refiner’s fire,” separating the precious from the vile, the dross from the gold. Like the Levites, God’s chosen people are set apart by him for his special work. Every true Christian bears priestly credentials. He is honored with the sacred responsibility of representing to the world the character of his Heavenly Father. He is to heed well the words, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and the judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” I am instructed to urge upon our people most earnestly the necessity of religion in the home. Among the members of the household there is ever to be a kind, thoughtful consideration. Morning and evening let all hearts be united in reverent worship. At the season of evening worship, let every member of the family search well his own heart. Let every wrong that has been committed be made right. If, during the day, one has wronged another, or spoken unkindly, let the transgressor seek pardon of the one he has injured. Often grievances are cherished in the mind, and misunderstandings and heartaches are created that need not be. If the one who is suspected of wrong be given an opportunity, he might be able to make explanations that would bring relief to other members of the family. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another,” that ye may be healed of all spiritual infirmities, that sinful dispositions may be changed. Make diligent work for eternity. Pray most earnestly to the Lord, and hold fast to the faith. Trust not in the arm of flesh, but trust implicitly in the Lord’s guidance. Let each one now say, “As for me, I will come out, and be separate from the world. I will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart.” “For we are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more (for they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake): but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which can not be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.” Shall we heed the warnings that God has given? The Lord will show his loving favor to those who will keep his commandments. The Word, the living Word, received and obeyed, will be a savor of life unto life. The reception of the truth will regenerate and cleanse the sinful soul. This work of individual purification of character can not be safely delayed. Let our brethren and sisters take hold diligently of this work, co-operating with him who “loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Put away all deception. Let no one idolize his own opinions. Take your position decidedly to be fully consecrated to truth and righteousness. Christ is ready to receive all who will come to him. Exercise a firm faith in all the promises of God. With confession and prayer, take your stand to be wholly the Lord’s henceforth and forever. To my ministering brethren I would say, Unite in a work of humbling your souls before God. Some have lost their first love, and need a new experience. Be determined that you will not yield to the enemy. Be patient toward all men, remembering that Christ has died for them. Improve every capability for the Lord’s work, and labor faithfully, untiringly, to save souls. Seek to arouse the churches by your own zeal. Thus you may be the Lord’s helping hand, laborers together with him. We all have a part to act in the Lord’s great plan for his work in the earth. We shall all have something to do, though it may be in jots and tittles, as opportunities present themselves. If these warnings are not heeded, if diligent work is not made to overcome and put away defects of character, God will soon have finished the work of judgment, and many will be found wanting. Shall we now, at once, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God? We can not afford to delay this9 work of confession and humbling of soul, that our offerings may be acceptable unto God. Fulness of joy is to be found in an entire surrender to God. The Cause of Our Disappointment
By John Nevins Andrews
WHY were those disappointed who looked for Jesus in 1844? This important question, we believe, can be answered in the most satisfactory manner. Our disappointment did not arise from mistaking the beginning of the seventy weeks. The argument by which the original date is sustained, is, as we have seen, invulnerable. Nor did our disappointment arise from a mistake in believing that the seventy weeks form a part of the twenty-three hundred days; for every part of that argument, as we have shown, still stands good. These two points being susceptible of the clearest proof, we were not mistaken in believing that the twenty-three hundred days would terminate in the seventh Jewish month, 1844. Neither did our disappointment arise from believing that at the end of the twenty-three hundred days the work of cleansing the sanctuary would take place. For it is plainly stated, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” But when we said that this earth, or a part of this earth, was the sanctuary, and that Christ must descend from heaven at the end of the twenty-three hundred days, to purify the earth by fire, we looked for that which the Bible did not warrant us to expect. Here was the cause of our disappointment. For we have seen that there is no Scriptural authority to support the view that any part of the earth is the sanctuary, or that the burning of the earth, and the melting of the elements, is the cleansing of the sanctuary. 2 Peter 3. By a multitude of witnesses, we have proved that the tabernacle of God is the sanctuary to be cleansed, and that its cleansing is a work performed in that sanctuary, with blood, and not with fire. Our disappointment, then, arose from a misunderstanding of the work to take place at the end of the days. Our evidence established the fact that the sanctuary should be cleansed at the end of the twenty-three hundred days, and that they would terminate in the seventh month, 1844. The types in the example and shadow of heavenly things, set before us the work of the high priest in the seventh month; namely, his act of passing from the holy place to the holiest of all, to cleanse the sanctuary. We reasoned that as the paschal lamb, which was slain on the fourteenth day of the first month, met his antitype in the death of the Lamb of God, on that day (Ex. 12: 3-6; 46; 1 Cor. 5: 7; John 18: 28; 19: 36); and the offering of the first-fruits on the sixteenth day of that month, met its antitype in the resurrection of Christ, on that day, the first-fruits of them that slept (Lev. 23: 10-15; 1 Cor. 15: 20, 23); and the feast of the Pentecost met its antitype on the day of its occurrence (Lev. 23: 15-21; Acts 2: 1, 2); so the cleansing of the sanctuary in the seventh month (Leviticus 16) at that time of the year when the twenty-three hundred days would end, we believed would meet its antitype at the end of that period. Could we then have understood the subject of the sanctuary, our disappointment would have been avoided.—J. N. Andrews. Our Prophetic Responsibility
By J. L. McElhany
“He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.” Isa. 42: 4. In the days of Isaiah the knowledge of geography, as compared with the present time, was small indeed, but in prophetic vision he looked down the stream of time and saw the great island fields, and in prophesying of the work of Christ, makes the statement given above. The prophecy, “The isles shall wait for his law,” calls for a definite fulfilment. In direct response to this there must be some movement having as one of its chief aims the proclamation of the law of God. There is one, and only one, direct answer to this prophecy, and that is found in the threefold message of Revelation 14. In these three messages we have combined every phase of the everlasting gospel, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. These messages must be proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Verse 6. This, of course, includes every island, as foreseen by Isaiah. The third angel’s message (verses 9-12) is that part of the everlasting gospel which deals with God’s law, and the result of preaching this message to every nation is the development of a people who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” This is the only message given in prophecy, applicable to the last days, that is to work a reform in obedience to God’s law. The context shows that this is the very last message of warning that will be given to the world, and as soon as the message has accomplished its work, Christ will come to reap the harvest of the earth. Isaiah saw the isles waiting for this last message; he saw the repairing of the breach (Isa. 58: 12, 13), and beheld the redeemed in the new earth, coming up from one Sabbath to another to worship the Lord. Isa. 66: 22, 23. Let us notice the nature of the third angel’s message. It is a positive warning against a certain power, the beast. This beast, we are told, has power given to him “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13: 7, 8. Can the message warning against this power be less extensive in its proclamation than the power and influence exercised by the beast?—Certainly not; therefore it follows that the third angel’s message must be proclaimed to “all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” The revelator saw, in vision, a company who had gotten the victory over the beast (Rev. 15: 2), in which all nations were represented. As there is no other warning given against this power, it is evident that this company will “stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God,” because they have obtained the victory through the third angel’s message. Our responsibility in giving the message becomes a matter of the utmost importance. To do the work the Lord has given us to do, we can not stop short of giving the message to every kindred, tongue, and nation. Whether we, as individuals, have a place finally among that victorious company depends on the attitude we sustain to the work of proclaiming this definite message to all nations. There is a special commandment to which we desire to call attention, in connection with our responsibility in giving the message: “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.” Matt. 28: 19, 20. In obeying this commandment, Isaiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled, and the waiting isles will receive his law. How many have considered that to be commandment-keepers they must obey this commandment? The responsibility rests equally upon every believer. But is it possible for all to go?—Yes, it is possible, to the extent of fulfilling the obligation of this commandment. Age and other reasons keep some from crossing the seas to distant waiting lands, but their prayers and their means can go to sustain the work, and thus they have a part. Many, more than have thought it possible, can actually go. How much longer must millions of perishing souls be kept waiting? How many are ready to keep this commandment? “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” The answer to your prayer may be a call to go yourself. Are you ready if the Lord should say, “Go work to-day in my vineyard”? Jesus was a commandment-keeper, and if we would see him as he is, we must be like him, in order to share in the commandment-keeper’s reward. Rev. 22: 14. “Here am I, Lord, send me.” “Far and near the fields are teeming
With the sheaves of ripened grain;
Far and near their gold is gleaming
O’er the sunny slope and plain.
“O thou whom thy Lord is sending,
Gather now the sheaves of gold!
Heavenward then at evening wending
Thou shalt come with joy untold.” Manila, Philippine Islands. Church Etiquette
By W. M. Crothers
Of the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, it is said in the Holy Scriptures that he is holy, righteous, perfect, infinite in power, might, goodness, love, mercy, compassion, pity, and every other quality of good. Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. He “sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass-hoppers.” Before him “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.” His greatness is incomprehensible to man. David says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” Of the ineffable glory and majesty of his person, much has been written in the Word of truth, but little comprehended. Paul writes of him, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see.” In his unveiled presence man would perish, and from his presence, by and by, the heavens and the earth will flee away. He can be approached only through a mediator. His presence in any place or thing makes it holy. At the burning bush he said to Moses, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” His presence in the Sabbath makes it holy, and his presence in man makes him holy. He is the Lord, our righteousness. His presence in the tabernacle and the temple hallowed those places of worship so that the unclean and the sinner could not enter; while the righteous, the pure in heart, and even the consecrated priest, must draw near to worship and do service with the greatest reverence and adoration for him “who inhabiteth eternity,” and before whom angels and arch-angels prostrate themselves and do homage. The worshipers also gave scrupulous care to their persons and dress, and all the services were regarded with awe and solemnity. When a house has been builded for, and dedicated to, the worship of God, it is no longer a common place, and can not be treated as such without dishonoring and showing disrespect, if not contempt, for the One who is invited to meet with us therein. The Lord and holy angels are there, and the worshipers should deport themselves with reverence and godly fear, as in their presence. To do otherwise is to dishonor the Lord and grieve away the Holy Spirit. Paul writes to the leaders of the Christian churches which were under his care, “that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God;” and he gives careful instruction to the Corinthians on the same subject (1 Corinthians 14), and exhorts that all things be done decently and in order. Verse 40. Notwithstanding all these considerations, many are careless, and thoughtlessly offend. The following suggestions, most of which appeared recently in a secular paper, if studied and practised with a true sense of their appropriateness by all who attend the house of God, would make the place of worship more inviting to both angels and men, and the services would produce deeper, more lasting, and more helpful impressions upon all:— 1. If possible, be on time. You need at least a few minutes after coming in, to get warm or cool, to compose your body and mind, and to whisper a prayer before the service begins. 2. Find your seat before the minister enters the pulpit, and bow your head while he breathes a silent prayer for help. 3. Never pass up the aisle during prayer or Scripture reading. If you do, your action will distract the minds of many in the audience. 4. Be devout and reverential in attitude. All whispering, or making other noises, should be studiously avoided. Find the hymn, and sing if you can. Share your book with your neighbor if he has none. 5. If the sermon has begun, take a seat near the door, so as not to divert the attention of others. 6. Be thoughtful for the comfort of others. Take the inside of the pew, if you are the first to enter, and leave all vacant space at the end of the seat. 7. If in your own church, sit up front, if there is room. Sitting on the back seat, when there are vacant ones in front, shows lack of interest, and disrespect for the speaker. 8. In a quiet way, speak a bright, cheery word to as many as possible at the close of the service, especially to strangers, but never visit. 9. Never put on your coat, overshoes, or wraps during the closing hymn, nor make your way to the door. 10. Do not engage in loud talking or make a rush for the door immediately after the benediction is pronounced. Laughing or jesting are not to be tolerated in the house of worship. DURING the siege of Port Arthur, a Japanese soldier lost both his eyes by a cruel bullet. Again and again he begged his comrades to kill him, but, of course, they would not. He was brought to one of the military hospitals in Tokyo to be cared for until able to return home. Here also he pleaded with the other soldiers to end his life, and as he began to recover his health, he became more and more sad. One day he said: “Well, I will go home and let my family see me just once, then no one can prevent my killing myself. No harm in putting an end to my own misery.” Every few days a missionary visited this hospital, taking the soldiers flowers, Gospels, tracts, etc., and taught them about Jesus. Some of the officials of the hospital said to her: “There is a man there who has lost his eyes and seems quite lonely. If you have time, we should like to have you visit him.” They did not tell how he had wanted to die, and how he had threatened to kill himself. This missionary went to his bedside and talked to him several times. At first he did not take very much interest in anything she said, but gradually he became quite friendly. Finally she asked him if he would not like to learn to read, and he was so surprised at such a question, for while he could read before going to battle, how could he ever do so again? But the missionary taught him to read the blind man’s Bible, just as blind people in America are taught to read, and he was just as happy as the blind man whom Jesus healed. Day by day he read the Bible, and became a happy Christian. The other soldiers could not believe that he could read, and tried to tease him, so he said: “You may pick out any verse you please, and I will show you that I can read.” So they kept selecting, and to their astonishment he could read everything and enjoyed doing so, all the more because he wanted to teach the Bible to the other men. When this blind soldier was able to return home, some one said to him, just as he was leaving the hospital, “Are you going to kill yourself after you have seen your family?” and he replied, “No, I am going home to teach my wife and children Christianity; I am glad that I was wounded, for now I am a Christian.”—Selected. Raising Swine for Market
By T. E. BOWEN
SOMETIMES the query is raised by our brethren on farms as to whether it is right to raise hogs for the market. They reason that the people will use pork anyhow, and that to save the milk that would go to waste, by feeding it to the growing pigs, and then turn the hogs into cash in the fall, would be a perfectly proper thing to do. Some live on rented farms, and the landlord wants swine to be raised. This question consequently, often becomes a very live one. And it is one that should be carefully considered and wisely dealt with. It is possible that no set rule could be laid down to be arbitrarily carried out in every instance, but we do believe that God has given his people so clear direction in this matter, that all, if they truly purpose in their hearts to obey him, may be guided aright. The only point that can be raised by our people to sustain this practise is to obtain the gain to be derived financially from the sale of the hogs; for God's people were expressly commanded not to eat the flesh of swine. Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8; Isa. 65:4. And Jesus left on record just one instance where his rebuke was upon this very identical point of gain to his people in the raising of swine for flesh food for those who use it. This occasion was his visit to Gadara, across the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. Two men dwelt on this coast who were possessed by a strong company of demons—fallen angels.11 Their name was legion. Through the mighty power of Christ's word, these men were delivered, and sat at Jesus' feet subdued, gentle, with intelligence beaming from their eyes. “But the demons were permitted to sweep a herd of swine into the sea; and to the dwellers of Gadara the loss of these outweighed the blessings which Christ had bestowed, and the divine Healer was entreated to depart. This was the result which Satan designed to secure. By casting the blame of their loss upon Jesus, he aroused the selfish fears of the people, and prevented them from listening to his words. Satan is constantly accusing Christians as the cause of loss, misfortune, and suffering, instead of allowing the reproach to fall where it belongs, upon himself and his agents. “But the purposes of Christ were not thwarted. He allowed the evil spirits to destroy the herd of swine as a rebuke to those Jews who were raising these unclean beasts for the sake of gain. Had not Christ restrained the demons, they would have plunged into the sea, not only the swine, but also their keepers and owners.”—“Great Controversy,” page 575. To the obedient child of God this rebuke of Christ's upon this practise of raising swine “for the sake of gain” will be sufficient for them to decide as to what they ought to do regarding this matter. The Lord changes not; and if his rebuke was upon this practise when he was here upon the earth, he would rebuke it among his people to-day. There are many ways which are open before the followers of Christ to gain a livelihood without engaging in that which is questionable, or that which can be construed by the enemy to lessen the power and influence of the truth upon the hearts of others. The Work in the Cities
By M. W. DE LHORBE
“I MUST write something in regard to the way in which our cities in America have been passed by and neglected,—cities in which the truth has not been proclaimed. The message must be given to the thousands of foreigners living in these cities in the home field. “I can not understand why our people have so little burden to take up the work that the Lord has for years been keeping before me,—the work of giving the message of present truth in the Southern States. Few have felt that upon them rested the responsibility of taking hold of this work. “Our people have failed to enter new territory, and to work the cities in the South. Over and over again the Lord has presented the needs of this field, without any special results. . . . But the Lord has a controversy with our ministers and people, and I must speak, placing upon them the burden of the Southern work, and of the cities of our land.” “Let not the fields lying in the shadow of our doors, such as the great cities in our land, be lightly passed over and neglected. These fields are fully as important as any foreign field. God’s encouraging message of mercy should be proclaimed in the cities of America.” “Men and women living in these cities, are rapidly becoming more and still more entangled in their business relations. They are acting wildly in the erection of buildings whose towers reach high into the heavens. Their minds are filled with schemes and ambitious devisings. . . .” “The work in the home field is a vital problem just now. The present time is the most favorable opportunity that we shall have to work these fields. In a little while the situation will be much more difficult. . . . Are those who should appreciate the value of souls, carrying, with Christ, a burden of heaviness and constant sorrow, mingled with tears, for the wicked cities of the earth? The destruction of these cities, almost wholly given up to idolatry, is impending.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, pages 30-35. God’s judgments are now, one after another in quick succession, being visited upon the wicked cities of our world. Since Jan. 1, 1906, about fifty thousand persons have lost their lives by earthquake, fire, and storm. The loss in destruction of property by the same causes, has reached the enormous sum of nearly one billion dollars. These judgments are permitted that those who lightly regard God’s law, trample upon his authority, and spurn his love and goodness, may be led to tremble before his power, and realize their need of a preparation for the kingdom of God so soon to come. These judgments are also designed to arouse the people of God to action, and lead them to sense the great responsibility resting upon them of warning the inhabitants of these doomed cities to flee from the wrath to come. The Lord is not willing that even one of these poor neglected souls should perish. What answer, then, can we give in the great day of final reckoning, for neglecting to warn these cities now? Brethren and sisters, we have delayed the finishing of God’s work in the earth and the coming of the Lord many years by our indifference and lack of love and sympathy for those who are perishing in darkness. “And the angel which I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there should be delay no longer.” Rev. 10: 5, 6, margin, R. V. And the message was again given through the spirit of prophecy a short time ago, in a Special Testimony: “There shall be delay no longer.” And again, “The work of the Lord shall no longer be delayed by the listless indifference of God’s people.” My brethren, if we do not arouse to action, God will raise up others to take our places in the work. The cities must be worked, and that without delay. There are millions in our cities who have never heard the truth, and many of them are prepared to receive the message, but no one carries it to them. Among these are the representatives of many nations. O, may God arouse us to see the situation! We must proclaim the message of the soon-coming Saviour to the ends of the earth. A message similar to that given by John the Baptist must be given. I would be glad to hear from any who are especially interested in city work. If brethren and sisters have copies of the Signs, Watchman, REVIEW, Life and Health, or tracts in their homes that they can spare, I would be glad to have them sent to me at Greenville, S. C., and I will see that they are placed in homes in our Southern cities, where they will be read. These papers and tracts containing present truth must and will be scattered “like the leaves of autumn” in all the cities in our land. Who will engage in this work? BEWARE of the first evils, for as sure as you are living, the first step taken will make the second seem to become necessary. The first drop will be followed by a bigger second, and the second, at a shorter interval, by a more copious third, until the drops become a shower, and the shower becomes a deluge. The course of evil is ever wider and deeper and more tumultuous. The little sins get in at the window, and open the front door for the big house-breakers. One smooths the path for the other. All sin has an awful power of perpetuating and increasing itself. As the prophet says in his awful vision of the doleful creatures that make their sport in a desolate city, “None shall want her mate.” “The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island.” Every sin tells upon character, and makes the repetition of itself more and more easy. “None is barren among them.” And all sin is linked together in a slimy tangle, like a field of seaweed, so that the man once caught in its oozy fingers is sure to drown.—Maclaren.