Earlier text: Consider the LiliesThe Sabbath
By E. L. Cardey
III. An Attempt to Change the Sabbath
It is a well-known fact, that the observance of the first day of the week has largely taken the place of the seventh day as a sabbath of rest among professed Christian people. In obtaining the true cause of this change of practise, we are confronted with the questions, Was the change right? Was it of divine or human origin? Let the reader bear in mind, that from the very beginning of time, and during Israel’s existence as the representatives of God’s work in the world, the seventh-day Sabbath was the weekly memorial of Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. No wonder then, that Satan should devise a plan to cover up the seventh-day institution with all it stands for, and put in its place a sabbath that could not claim the Creator’s seal of authority in blessing, sanctifying, and resting upon that day. For ages before the first advent of Christ, Satan was continually hammering at the foundations of the Sabbath institution. Baal worship—the worship of the sun—was predominant throughout heathenism. The Israelites were led to worship Baal during the reign of Ahab, and Elijah said they had “forsaken the commandments of the Lord” in following Baal. The prophets foretold the apparent triumph of sun-worship, and the trampling underfoot of the stronghold of Jehovah’s authority—the Sabbath. Eze. 22: 24-31; Isa. 58: 12, 13. In the seventh chapter of Daniel is recorded a vision the prophet had of the rise and fall of kingdoms. Through it all is seen the working of Satan in opposition to the work of God in man’s behalf; until at last we behold his masterpiece of deception when he shall “think to change times and laws” of the Most High. Dan. 7: 25. According to this prophecy, it would be in the days of the divided condition of the fourth universal kingdom, when this attempt to change the times and laws of the Most High would take place. Rome, the fourth kingdom of Daniel’s prophecy, and the fourth universal kingdom to bear rule over the then known world, was established 168 B.C. Under the iron rule of this mighty empire, the whole world was subjected to its sway, and bound to its chariot wheels. Luke 2: 1. When Rome had reached the zenith of her power, and paganism—demon worship—seemed to be supreme, Jesus Christ appeared and raised high the fallen banner of the worship of the true God. Within three centuries thereafter, paganism had been crumbled in the dust under the mighty advance and influence of Christianity. Constantine was converted in 312 A.D. Shortly after this began the conflicts with the barbarians of the north, which resulted in the final breaking up of Pagan Rome into ten kingdoms, A.D. 351-476. In the meantime, as concerning the truth of God, a strange revolution was taking place. When, because of the great light that Christianity had flashed upon the world, Satan could no longer hold and enslave the minds of men by the falsehoods and superstitions of paganism, he worked out a bolder plan of deception—that of corrupting Christianity itself. The sway of paganism having been broken, another power was seen lifting its head in the ancient capital of the world, which was destined to wield the scepter over the nations with greater power than Pagan Rome had ever dreamed of. This power was Papal Rome, or the Papacy. Barry speaks of this power as follows: “Rome is the meeting place of all history; the papal succession, oldest and newest in Europe, filling the space from Caesar and Constantine to this democratic world of the twentieth century, binds all ages into one, and looks out toward a distant future in many continents.” (“The Papal Monarchy,” Story of the Nations series, p. 428.) By the eye of prophecy, Paul the apostle clearly foresaw this work of Satan when he wrote that there should “come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2: 3, 4. Herein is seen the master-stroke of Satan; the falling away first, leaving the pure principles of the gospel; the next step he exalts himself—through human instrumentalities—above God, while sitting in the temple of God, claiming to be the minister of Christ. D’Aubigné in describing this time aptly remarks: “The semblance of an identical and exterior organization was gradually substituted for that interior and spiritual communion which is the essence of the religion of God. Men forsook the precious perfume of faith, and bowed down before the empty vessel that had contained it. They sought other bonds of union, for faith in the heart no longer connected the members of the church; and they were united by means of bishops, archbishops, popes, miters, canons, and ceremonies. The living church retiring gradually within the lonely sanctuary of a few solitary hearts, an external church was substituted in its place, and all its forms were declared to be of divine appointment.” (“History of the Reformation,” Book 1, pp. 39, 40.) How could this system of worship, this apostasy, as here described by Paul exalt itself above God? It would likely attempt to destroy the authority of God. And this is just what the prophet Daniel declared it would do—think itself able to change times and laws of the Most High. How artfully Satan works! His attack was made upon the very heart of the law, the fourth commandment which alone designates the true God, and the Creator. In its place he put an institution—the first day observance—that has stood for sun-worship, paganism, and idolatry for thousands of years. Let us notice the history of the first day of6 the week, in contrast to the seventh day. Since the very beginning, the seventh day has been the Sabbath of the Lord. On the other hand, the first day of the week has been a day dedicated to the worship of the sun. “Sunday (the sun’s day) is originally the title of a pagan holiday, which the Christian holiday supplanted, and is the common designation of the day.” (“The Century Dictionary,” Art. “Sabbath.”) But to return to the prophecy of Daniel 7; not one letter of that prophecy has failed. In history, we behold the rise of Rome, and its breaking up into ten kingdoms. From the ashes of Pagan Rome we see the Papacy arise, sitting as a queen among the nations; declaring herself to be a follower of the meek and lowly Man of Galilee, yet commanding kings to bow at her feet. The self-esteemed protector of the church, yet wearing out the “saints of the Most High.” Claiming to be the depository of the truth of God, yet thinking herself able to change the law of God. The deed is done, the Sabbath has been professedly changed, and the Christian world bows down—ignorantly, largely—in obedience to that change as made by the Papacy. She admits, not only her supposed right to change the law, but says she did change it in respect to the Sabbath. Thus we read: “Q. Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept? A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” (“Doctrinal Catechism,” p. 174.) “Protestants have no Scripture for the measure of their day of rest;—that they abolish the observance of Saturday without warrant of Scripture; that they substitute Sunday in its place without Scriptural authority,—consequently, that for all this they have only traditional authority.” (Id., p. 354.) Protestant historians agree that the change took place some hundreds of years this side of Christ’s death. “There is no evidence that in the earlier years of Christianity there was any formal observance of Sunday as a day of rest, or any general cessation of labor.” (“Encyclopædia Britannica,” Art. “Sabbath.”) “The first law, either civil or ecclesiastical, that was made respecting the observance of Sunday as a Christian day of worship, was made by Constantine, emperor of Rome, in 321 A.D. (Id., “Sabbath and Sunday.”) To sum up, then, we find four potent facts. First, an attempt has been made to change the Sabbath; second, the prophecy of Daniel 7 declares the “little horn”—the Papacy—would do it; third, the Papacy claims she has done it, and fourth, Protestants agree that the Bible does not authorize the change, and admit it is the work of the church on its own authority. What further evidence do we need? can truth be more plain? Reader, let us take heed to what we are building upon. Is your worship founded on the shifting sands of the commandments and traditions of men? “They that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Only he who has built on the rock of truth will be able to pass the demands of the judgment. Islam’s Message to Christianity as Voiced by One of Her Sons
By Hajim, Son of Ibrahim
Pertinent Questions to Christians
By “Hajim, Son of Ibrahim” NOW, hear me further, O ye nations, so great, so good, and yet not greatly good; so Christian, and yet so sadly unchristian, if Christianity stands for peace on earth and good will to men—hear me, I say, for yet a fleeting moment: The palms in my native land lift their heads bathed in the sunshine and bring forth dates sweet to the taste and most nourishing for food. Along the hills the crimson grapes cluster, or on the plains the rustling grain or olive-trees give earthly blessing by heaven’s grace and miracle. But if those dates mean poison, if those grapes mean death, and if the rustle of the corn or the branches of the olive-tree sing the chorus of disease, what then? In a few short days your Christian world will celebrate its great Noel, the birthday of the Man ye revere and even deify. His message was: Peace on earth and good will to men. Does that message mean the poison of sham international brotherhood, the death of false international honor, the diseases of international hatreds, prejudice, intolerance, and injustice? Is your Christianity Christ-ianity, or is it a mockery—a deliberate, a dastardly, a deadly mockery of the message you pretend to revere? How can you sing your anthem of peace on earth and good will to men when your war-ships are ready to belch their death and your armies to sing their chorus of gun-crash and of shrieking shell? And why are they ready, and why must they be kept ready, if it is not that each Christian nation distrusts the other and believes that Christian honor, Christian reason, Christian love, Christian justice are but fancies, dreams, wisps of straw for fools to twist and wear, and cry, “O, look at my crown of glory!”—if this is Christianity, then why complain of Islam? One word more and I have done. I have traveled far and wide. I studied in the halls of learning that rise beside the Thames. I have walked where Berlin’s science and Paris’s thought lead mankind’s minds to higher things. With the ideals of Italia I have been in touch, and where the lowlands are defended from the Northern Sea, there also have I wandered. Yea, far beyond across the Atlantic have I lived and thought, where stretches snow-land to the north, the young giant of Canada, and where stretches the greater land to the south, where industry is throned amid the boundless glories of natural resources. And what have I learned? That there is not a single Christian country where the Founder of Christianity is not set aside and the honor and respect due to the God He worshiped denied. I mean the first-day Sabbath. As a son of Islam I have never understood why the Christian world does not keep the true Christian Sabbath—the Sabbath that was kept by the Founder of Christianity, the Sabbath which He ordered to be kept until the end of Time, the crack of doom, until the day when the heavens should vanish as smoke, until “earth grow old and the sun grow cold and the stars shall cease to be!” Who dared decree that the seventh day should no longer be the Sabbath? Was it Constantine, that infamous wretch who smothered his wife in a steam bath, who killed his own son, who slew his nephew, who fooled his people—pagan and pseudo-Christian alike? Was it the clerics who composed that Council of Nicea?—I have read of it! What is the reputation of the clerics of that age but a reputation for such ignorance that few could read and fewer still could write? What was the reputation of the clerics of that era but a reputation for crime and for immorality among the crimes, so that saintly men were few and holy men at times were moved by lust and passion most unholy? When in a few short days the Christian world will bend in homage to Him who kept the seventh-day Sabbath, to Him who never would have tolerated the insult to His divine Father of setting aside His command that the seventh day is the Sabbath, to Him who commanded that the law and the prophets should be obeyed to every jot or tittle—I say, when the Christian world bends its knee at next Noel, or Christmas, shall not all true Christian men and Christian women say: It is time that we vindicate the honor of Him whom we revere and keep the Sabbath which He Himself kept, follow His example and obey the lessons of His life as He lived it? Is it not time that we should go back to the original Sabbath, or shall we continue to respect more a Constantine or faulty clerics? Whom shall we respect—Jesus or Constantine? Whom shall we obey—the prophets of the Bible or the clerics of Nicea? Oft, as I have wandered in many lands, I have thought of these and other such developments of Christianity. When will men and women begin to think for themselves? When will men and women make Christianity Christ-ianity; or, a religion that shall mean respect for the life and example of Him who founded it, a religion that shall stand for peace on earth and good will to men? When will the Christian nations join us of Islam: “Come, let us meet and adjust our differences, where Right shall be Might and where Reason shall dethrone Treason”? The time is now. Far greater events impend than the seizure of a Tripoli or a war in the Balkans. The echo of Christendom girding for the fray is the one word “Jehad” from Islam’s throat. When that echo awakes the world, then we to the world from the banks of Meinam to the shores of Casa-Blanca. I say to you, make the Hague Court a reality. I say to you, make Christianity Christ-ianity. I say to you that Islam has the right to live as well as Christianity. The crimes of the one are the crimes of the other. The glories of the one are the glories of the other. Both were called into existence for some eternal purpose. The history of both is stained with7 blood and blurred with tears, shame to us both! But if now we are awakened to a consciousness of better things, can we not unite to make the world better, holier, happier? What if our Crescent wanes? Shall it not again grow to a glory that shall help to shed peace on earth? What if the Cross is marred with the story of many a war, many a persecution, many an insult to the memory of Him who fainted upon it? Let us both cleanse away the past and be just and upright with each other. Comes the end for Islam! Not yet are the signs fulfilled which we are taught announce the death of Islam. For the sun riseth not in the west; Mecca’s earth not yet hath birthed the brute, and Stamboul’s walls not yet are breached by Cross and shattered by its thunder. Not yet Irak beholds Messiah ed Dajah, nor yet does the Nazarene, revered by Cross, preach from the minarets of Damascus. Not yet is Lydda’s gate red with blood of ed Dajal, or is Galilee drunk dry by Gog-u-Magog host. Doth not our Koran teach us these? Signs of the end—we see them not. When comes the end, smoke shall fill the earth and Phrat give up its treasures; then, holy Caaba, shattered by the son of Chanum, shall be destroyed; then, stones shall speak and tongues of fire shall be eloquent; the son of Kahton shall wield his rod, and ice-winds, sweeping from Damascus, shall carry the Koran to the heavens above—then, the sons of Islam shall know the end is come, that it is Yom ed Din! Then will we bow to Kismet! But then, and not till then. O, my brothers, for brothers are we all, let us think, let us pray, let us forgive, let us make peace on earth and good will to man a reality! Or shall your Noel, your Christmas, be a mockery to yourselves, an insult to Him you adore?—Selected. Questioner to Ancient Israel:
By Mabel Craker
Courage Brother! Home Is Nearing!
Questioner to Ancient Israel:
Captives from the Holy City—
Fair Jerusalem of old—
Why that look of sad desertion,
Why so faithless?—Once so bold. Nestled by that lonely river,
Harps of gold on willows hung;
Hear we no sweet praise ascending,
Why your lips so strangely dumb? Beauty now surrounds your dwellings,
Pomp and grandeur one beholds;
Why not in its foreign revel
Feed your faint, desponding souls? Ye, the peer of Bab'lon's nobles,
Kingly honors oft receive.
In the richest of the kingdoms
How can you so keenly grieve? You of music know its sweetness,
Lips and fingers wisely trained
Why when asked for songs of Zion,
Wailings crush the old refrain? Ask us not why fall the tear-drops,
Why our hearts by grief are wrung.
Strains that nobles style a paean
Are to us but requiem tones— For we're strangers now, and pilgrims,
Far from home and native shore.
Think you that, heart-sick and weary,
We can sing of wand'rings o'er? Let us not, to-day, dear comrade,
Lose our courage, and our song.
Let us praise with songs of triumph,
Tho we painfully march on. For we're journeying not, dear brother,
Captives to a foreign land;
We are nearing home! Take courage!
Soon our pilgrimage will end! The Sabbath in the New Testament
1. What was the custom of Christ concerning the Sabbath? “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about. And He taught in their synagogs, being glorified of all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagog on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Luke 4: 14-16. 2. What was the Master’s admonition to His disciples when predicting the overthrow of Jerusalem? “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” Mat. 24: 20. 3. What did Christ say was His position with reference to the Sabbath? “And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Mark 2: 27, 28. 4. On what day did the Christian women at Philippi hold their prayer meeting? “And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” Acts 16: 13. 5. What was the custom of the Apostle Paul with reference to the observance of the Sabbath? “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagog of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.” Acts 17: 1, 2. 6. On another occasion where did Paul and Barnabas go on the Sabbath? “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagog on the Sabbath day, and sat down.” Acts 13: 14. 7. What courtesy was extended to these visitors by the rulers of the synagog? “And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagog sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” Acts 13: 15. 8. Following the discourse of Paul in answer to this invitation, what request was made by the Gentile portion of the congregation? “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagog, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” Acts 13: 42. Religion Not Emotion
By Finney
TEACH young converts that religion does not consist in raptures, ecstasies, or high flights of feeling. There may be a great deal of these where there is religion. But it ought to be understood that they are all involuntary emotions, and may exist in full power where there is no religion. They may be the mere workings of the imagination, without any truly religious affection at all. Persons may have them to such a degree as actually to swoon away with ecstasy, even on the subject of religion, without having any religion. I have known one person almost carried away with rapture, by a mere view of the natural attributes of God,—His power and wisdom, as displayed in the stormy heavens,—and yet the person had no religion. Religion is obedience to God—the voluntary submission of the soul to the will of God.—Finney. The Enthusiasm of Christ
By James Martineau
FROM the moment of His self-dedication, when He threw His cares away, and went forth not knowing where to lay His head, the whole energy which others spend on interests of their own was poured into His human and divine affections, and filled His life with an enthusiasm resistless and unique. However quiet His words, it is impossible not to feel the tender depths from which they come.—James Martineau. Strength From On High
By Delvin Rees Buckner
The leavened strength which puffs our muscles out And makes our frames responsive as they move, Derives its virtue from a Source above, The same which giveth to the timid trout Her lithe, resistless energy to rout Fierce, frothing waters dashing through the grove, And putteth in the dreamy, purring dove Her power to wing in buoyant flight about. God gives this gift unto His creature, man, Not to expend—as he might often choose— In idle lines of wasteful energy, But to employ the very best he can, Increasing its effectiveness by use, To hand to God His own with usury. Most wondrous Book, bright candle of the Lord,
Star of eternity! the only star
By which the bark of man could navigate
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss
Securely; only star which rose on time,
And, on its dark and troubled billows still,
As generation, drifting swiftly by,
Succeeded generation, threw a ray
Of Heaven's own light, and to the hills of God,
The everlasting hills, pointed the sinner's eye.
This Book, this glorious Book, on every line
Marked with the seal of high divinity:
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry
And signature of God Almighty stamped
From first to last, this ray of sacred light,
The lamp from off the everlasting throne,
Mercy took down, and in the light of time
Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow;
And even now beseeching men, with tears
And earnest sighs, to read, believe, and live. Lo! from his Eastern heights sublime,
I hear the herald’s joyous warning;
Day’s glory deepens; far upclimb
The rosy splendors of the morning;
See yon triumphant steeds of light
Chase the retreating hosts of night;
The valleys sing, the hills rejoice,
And sounds aloft one cheering voice,
“’Tis coming: yes, ’tis coming!” ’Tis coming! Yes, our night of tears
Shall fade before Immanuel’s glory,
Which now to gild our earth appears,
Foretold in ancient song and story;
Foretold in that seraphic strain,
With notes which haunt our world again;
For traveling through the shadowy years
The Just, the Merciful, appears,
Behold! the Lord is coming. “The Cities of the Nations Fell”
By T.
UNDER the pouring out of the seventh one of the “seven last plagues,” a description of which is given in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Revelation, the announcement is made that “the cities of the nations fell.” There seems to be the definite declaration that the cities of earth are especially singled out for the retributive judgments of divine justice. The fact that the wicked cities of earth will be the subjects for especial punishment as the reign of sin is drawing to a close is still further told by Jeremiah in these words: “I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jer. 4:26. “All the cities” are singled out to be broken down by the presence of the Lord. Of course there is general destruction and calamity, but the cities are made a special object of visitation. There is a reason for this; and, when we read a number of the other verses that are in connection with the foregoing quotation from Jeremiah, this reason is very apparent. The verses are: “Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For My people is foolish, they have not known Me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; and yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.” Jer. 4:20-31. The wickedness of the times that calls for the destruction of the cities of earth is set forth in the preceding text in very strikingly strong language. The people are “sottish” and they are “wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” They have exerted their abilities in doing wrong things until they have lost all knowledge for anything else and have become “wise” in their evil course. And again, at the close of the quotation the prophet is made to hear the wail that is going up “because of murderers.” When one thinks of the cities in this time, and considers that they are all becoming great centers of crime and wickedness; and when he thinks of the cities like Sodom and Gomorrah of old that were destroyed because of their vile immoralities, the question comes irresistibly to mind, How long can the judgments from God on the wicked cities be delayed? The late Joaquin Miller set forth in one of his most vivid poems that the destruction of San Francisco by earthquake and fire was a visitation from God. Men and women who were here on the ground at the time and who knew of the gross wickedness and crime of the place irresistibly exclaimed that the city went down before the indignation of Him of whom His Word declares: “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” Strong men and women are working to purge the cities from their iniquity, and conditions would be much worse if it were not for some of the good work that is being done. But the unfailing Word has declared that this evil can not be put down until the Master comes in person to do it. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13. This waxing “worse and worse” will continue until the conditions will become such, particularly in the cities, the great centers of wickedness, that God will be compelled to strike them down with destruction. This is to be done at His second coming, and who that knows anything of the conditions that exist in our cities will believe that the time can be long delayed? We are not philosophizing about theories. We are stating fact that should cause men to meditate. A just God can not allow things to continue long in the way they are going. This Gospel of the Kingdom
WHILE the Master was here in person, He made the prediction, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14. This is a marvelous prophecy and calls for a world-wide movement in order for it to be fulfilled. Of course it is clear that the gospel of the kingdom could not be preached in all the world if the Bible which tells the message were not sent on ahead. Hence the Master’s prediction, that the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached in all the world so that the end may come, is equivalent to saying that the divine Book of the gospel will also be sent into all the world. The prophet Daniel is bidden to make a statement that is very similar in import to the foregoing words of Christ. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Dan. 12:4. On the words, “many shall run to and fro,” Doctor Adam Clarke makes the comment, “Many shall endeavor to search out the sense; and knowledge shall be increased—by these means.” Without question, the knowledge that the prophet assures us shall be increased is the knowledge of the Word of God, and particularly the knowledge of the prophecies. It would not be possible for many “to search out the sense” unless the Book that contains the prophecies was circulated widely. The prophecies of the Bible make it possible for us to recognize that the end of which the Master spoke is approaching. And the “many” who search out the sense will have to have copies of the Book in order to do the searching. With these facts before us, it is interesting to know what is being done by our great Bible societies, and particularly the British and Foreign Bible Society of London. For instance, in the last issue of their monthly publication, they tell us that they are receiving a manuscript of a new translation of the Bible or some of its portions on an average of every six weeks. This means in many instances that some faithful missionary has been laboring for years among some half savage tribe, studying its language and reducing that language to written speech. Then just as soon as the task is accomplished, the work of translating the Book of God is begun, and the first printed matter the tribe gets is the Bible. The devoted men and women of this Bible Society keep the task before them night and day of learning every language and dialect on the face of the earth and giving the Bible to the people in their own native tongue. The Master calls for just such a work as this. He has said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” His word is out, and we see how marvelously it is being fulfilled. One of the greatest miracles of the ages is the determined work that is being done to give the Bible to every creature in all this world, and the success of the effort is alike truly marvelous. Think of a manuscript coming to the London Bible Society every six weeks! Think of the faithful work of the missionary during all the years9 of study and toil and privation required for the production of the completed work! And yet all this work is necessary in order for the Lord’s words to be fulfilled. Who will say that the Lord did not have all this work of the Bible society’s missionaries and workers before Him when He made the prediction? And who can not see the mighty work that is in progress which is bearing the witnessing of the Word of God to all the nations? And we should not overlook the fact that the One who had the foreknowledge which enabled Him to make the marvelous prediction has also made the sublime announcement that when the witnessing is finished, “then shall the end come.” This is only one of the voices of prophecy that are speaking to the people of this time. A mighty prophetic chorus is proclaiming that the end of all things earthly and sinful is at hand, and we are exhorted to be ready to meet the issue. LOVE comprehends the all of the character of God. His justice and mercy are but constituent elements, perfectly blended. “God is love,” and “he that loveth not, knoweth not God.” 1 John 4:8. Yet on the contrary, “every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” Verse 7. “Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10); that is, the doing of it; “for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3. Love is often spoken of as one of the fruits of the Spirit; whereas it is the fruit. For “the fruit [singular] of the Spirit is love;” and “joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith [or, rather, faithfulness], meekness, temperance,” are all but manifestations and characteristics of love. Such love, obedient love (and there is no other true love exercised by a loyal subject, servant, or son), will give boldness in the day of judgment; for “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.” It all comes through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. “We love Him because He first loved us.” Describes the Condition of To-Day
By T.
“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land. And they have cast lots for My people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.” Joel 3: 1-3. THE foregoing is taken from one of the little books of prophecy, a book which shows all the way through it that the prophet is viewing and describing scenes that are to occur in the last days of earth’s history. For instance, the fifteenth verse of the first chapter says: “The day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come;” and again, the first verse of the second chapter reads: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;” and verses thirty and thirty-one of this second chapter tell us: “I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come;” and then, in the third chapter, verses twelve to fourteen, we have this added statement: “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Comment on the foregoing is not necessary to show that the prophet is viewing the “day of the Lord” and the scenes of the judgment. The book of Joel as a whole is a vivid story of the calamities and distresses that will mark the last generation of this earth before the coming of the Lord. In the midst of this graphic account of last day scenes, observe again what is said, in the verses quoted at the head of these paragraphs, of the selling of a boy for a harlot, and of the girl that is sold for wine. How clearly do these words of divine inspiration tell of the sad and awful fact that we have reached the very time when the Sodomite is selling the boy for unspeakable vileness and when the “whiteslaver” is capturing and selling the girl. At least 60,000 girls are bought and sold in this country alone each year for the white slave trade. The awful traffic has become one of the great international issues. In the light of the facts who can say that the prophets do not foretell accurately?