The Bible Echo and Signs of the Times Articles (1886-1906)

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 1 (1886)

May 1886

"'Written for Our Learning'" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 1, 5 , p. 74.

THE apostle says that "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning." We may draw a very useful lesson from the case of the Rechabites, who were commendably tenacious of the commandments of their fathers.

There is always a disposition in man to do as his ancestors do, without ever inquiring whether it is right or wrong. If among professed Christians there was the readiness to obey strictly what the word of God commands that there is to be content with barely doing what our fathers did, or what is enjoined by tradition and the precepts of men, it would be only a little while till the earth would be full of the glory of God. God commands that we shall be baptized, but the majority of professed Christians are willing to do almost anything in the world but to render faithful obedience to the word. The Lord commands that men shall do no work on the seventh day, but the great majority of professed Christians are willing to do anything at all but to obey the plain commandment of God in this matter. In honor of a wholly man-made institution, they are willing to do all that would be required by the Lord in honor of His own heaven-born institution. This choice has been made, and is being made by thousands as the days go by. If there were about this man-made institution the merit of the precept of Jonadab, there might be some shadow of excuse, but about this there is not one redeeming quality; it is wholly iniquitous, erected in defiance of the commandment of God. And the children of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, will arise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they obeyed the commandment of their father, and these will not obey the plain commandment of God.

The Lord has given his commandments, precept upon precept, and line upon line; he now sends a message to all nations, saying with a loud voice: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. . . . Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:9-12.

How many of the people of our day are going to be condemned by "faithful Rechabites," as were the people of God? How many will still refuse to obey the commandments of God? And upon how many in our day will come all the evil that the Lord has pronounced, "because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered"? "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith."
A. T. JONES.

September 1886

"Question and Answer" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 1, 9 , p. 131.

IN the first verse of Rev. 21, are we to understand that there is literally to be "no more sea," in the earth made new?
J.C.H.

ANSWER.óWe think not. You will see by Rev. 20:11, that the heaven and the earth fled away from the face of him who sat on the great white throne, "and there was no place found for them;" they were no more. In the verse to which you refer this is stated again, but in contrast with the new heaven and new earth. "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." In other words, the first heaven and the first earth were no more. And as there is to be a new heaven and a new earth, it is only reasonable to suppose that there will be a new sea. Especially as we read of the river of life and that its waters go "down into the plain, and go into the sea." Eze. 47:8. Besides this, we read in Isa. 35:6 of the new earth; "in the wilderness shall water break out and streams in the desert." Now it there shall be rivers and streams flowing through the new earth, it is only natural to suppose that there is some place to which they flow, and that place a new sea.

More than this, when God made the heaven and the earth, in the beginning, he also said: "Let the waters be gathered together unto one place; . . . and the gathering together of the waters called he seas." Gen. 1:9, 10. Now if there had never been any sin on the earth, certainly this sea would have remained as long as the earth and its paradise remained, which of course would have been forever and ever. But sin entered, and grew so great that the flood came, and by that the quantity of water was greatly increased upon the earth, because the "windows of heaven were opened," and the fountains of the great deep were broken up." Gen. 7:11. In 2 Esdras 6:42 we have a hint of what the ancients thought of this; "upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in the seventh par of the earth."

And so when "the earth and the heaven" because of sin shall flee away from the face of him who shall sit upon the great white throne, then this sea, which has been so great, increased because of sin, will also flee away with them, and like them there will be found no place for it; it will be no more. Then when he who sits upon the throne says: "Behold I make all things new," the sea must be made new or it will not be true that he makes all things new. And so there will not be only a new heaven and a new earth, but a new sea also. All new.

Therefore we conclude that when John says, "and there was no more sea," he has reference exclusively to that sea that belongs with the earth and the heaven which he had just seen flee away, and for which no place was found.

Dr. Clarke says on this passage: "The sea no more appeared than did the first heaven and earth. All was made new."

The "Bible Commentary" says: "(2) The former 'sea' has passed away like the former 'earth,' but this does not produce a 'new' sea, any more than a new 'earth.'"
A. T. JONES.

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 2 (1887)

January 1887

"An Utter Impossibility" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 2, 1 , p. 16.

There is, however, a way, and only one conceivable way, in which the Sabbath could be changed; that is, as expressed by Alexander Campbell, by creation being gone through with again. Let us take Mr. Campbell's conception and suppose that creation is to be gone through with again for the purpose of changing the Sabbath; and suppose that the present creation is turned once more to chaos. In creating again, the Lord could of course employ as many, or as few, days as he pleased, according to the day which he designed to make the Sabbath. If he should employ nine days in the work of creation, and rest the tenth day, then the tenth day would be of course the Sabbath. Or if he should employ seven days or eight days in creation, and rest the eighth or the ninth, as the case might be, that day would be the Sabbath. Or he might employ five days in creation and rest the sixth, then the sixth day would be the Sabbath; or employ four days, and rest the fifth; or three days, and rest the fourth; or two days, and rest the third; or one day, and rest the second; then the fifth, the fourth, the third, or the second, day, as the case might be, would be the Sabbath.

But suppose, to please the Sunday-keepers and to conform to their will, it be designed by the Lord to change the Sabbath to the first day of the week. Could he do it? NOT POSSIBLY! For suppose all things were created in one day, the day on which creation was performed would necessarily, and of itself be the first day, and the rest day, the Sabbath, therefore, could not possibly be earlier than the second day. The first day could not possibly be both a working day and a rest day. It matters not though only a portion of the day should be employed in the work, it would effectually destroy the possibility of its being a rest day. For that could not be truthfully called a rest day when a portion of it had been employed in work. So upon the hypothesis of a new creation, and upon that hypothesis alone, it is conceivable that the Sabbath could be changed; but even upon that hypothesis, it would be literally impossible to change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day.

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 3 (1888)

March 1888

"True Temperance Is Self-control" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 3, 3 , p. 36.

TRUE temperance is temperance in all things. To be temperate in one thing and intemperate in others is not temperance at all. This will be the more readily seen when it is understood, as it always ought to be, that temperance is self-control. Whatsoever it may be in which a person has not the control, the mastery, of himself, just so far he is intemperate. Thus it will be seen at a glance that the practice of temperance is not completed when a person has only renounced the use of strong drink. A person may never have touched a drop of spirituous or of malt liquors, yet at the same time he may be intemperate in many ways. In many things he may not have control of himself.

Some there are, yes, a multitude, who have not control of their temper. They are as quick-tempered as a flash. In this respect they have hardly any control of themselves at all. They are intemperate. Others there are by the thousands who are ruled by their passions. Such was Felix, before whom and with whom Paul reasoned of righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come. Such are intemperate. Others again are ruled by their appetitesóthings which in themselves are perfectly lawful, but by which thousands of people allow themselves to be controlled, instead of assuming the mastery themselves, and acting with self-control. These are intemperate. Others yet again allow the desire of gain to rule, and to drive them onward into many foolish and hurtful things. All such are intemperant.

So it is in all things, in every phase of life. Instead of ruling themselves they allow themselves to be ruled by some wicked, sinful thing. One is controlled by strong drink, another is controlled by impure thoughts and lustful desires, another by a gluttonous appetite, and so on through the long list of human frailties. All are intemperate. Each one lacks something of that self-control which he owes himself, in filling the place of a real manly man, or womanly woman, in the world. No one of us has much in which he can boast himself over his fellow-mortals.

"Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth," saith the Lord. Rom. 14:22. It is perfectly allowable to eat and to drink. How could any live without it? But the human race from the first pair onward through the world's history has condemned itself in that thing which in itself is one of God's good gifts to men. God created men and women in the world together. He himself established the marriage relation and surrounded it with his own holy sanctions. He created men and women with social qualities, capable of enjoying and mutually profiting by the social relation with the sanctions which he established. But for men and women to condemn themselves in these relations, which in themselves are perfectly allowable, has been not the least of the banes of human existence. The Lord directs that men shall be diligent in business, and prosperity is the inevitable result of such a course. But instead of holding the course with an even hand under God, men allow prosperity to lead them into the love of it for its own sake, and so condemn themselves in the thing which in itself is not only strictly allowable, but highly commendable. In all these things we must needs keep ourselves the subjects of our own control, or else we shall always be what we always have been, and that is, very slaves sold to serve under the arbitrary and cruel mastery of a perverted appetite or an unholy ambition.

It is for this cause that in the Scriptures we are so often exhorted to the practice of self-control, that is, temperance. Does the great apostle tell of "the faith in Christ"? He does it by reasoning of "righteousness, temperance [self-control], and judgment to come." Acts 24:24, 25. Does he call men to a race for the heavenly crown? He lays down the one great rule of the contest, "every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." 1 Cor. 9:24, 25. Does he give directions as to who shall be intrusted with the care of the flock of God? One of the necessary qualifications is that he shall be "temperate." Titus 1:8. Does he enumerate for us the fruits of the Spirit of God? One of these precious fruits is "temperance." Gal. 5:23. Does Peter show us how we shall obtain an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? It is by adding to "faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance," etc. 2 Peter 1:5, 6, 11. Does Jesus himself tell us who shall be his follower? He says: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself [control himself, master himself], and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23.

This is true temperance. Without it man is not himself. Without it he is not the whole man that God wants him to be, and which he must be to enjoy the full, symmetrical measure of all his powers.

It follows from this that if a man will be master of himself in all things, he must have the full use of his own will. Paul simply expressed the experience of the human race when he said, "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." Rom. 7:18. Every man is ready to, and does, will to do certain things, but he cannot hold himself up to the height of his will. He resolves to do many things, but cannot hold himself to his resolution. To will to do better is ever present with every man, but they do not do better. How to perform that which their own better judgment, and their honest convictions, tell them is the right thing to do, is what they do not find.

The sole trouble about all this failure is that men have not the full use of their own will. Evil habits and intemperate practices destroy the will; they render impotent the power to perform that to which the mind readily assents as being right and proper. To convince men of what is right is ever the easiest task of the reformer, while the hardest task is always to bring them up to the place where they will do that which they know to be right. With temperance workers it is not at all difficult to convince men that the use of alcoholic drinks is injurious, and that the only right thing to do is to let it entirely alone; but the great task is to get them to let it entirely and forever alone. It is not at all difficult to convince men that the use of tobacco is only injurious and that continually, without one redeeming quality; but it is the hardest kind of a task to get them to quit it, even when they themselves confess that they ought to quit it. It is so also with the man or woman who uses opium or arsenic or morphine, or who is addicted to any wrong habit whatever.

And yet all are ready to say, "Oh, I could quit it if I only would!" Yes, that is true, but they don't. As one old gentleman expressed it, who had been an inveterate user of tobacco, and had at last really quit: "I always said I could quit it if I would, but I couldn't would." In that single expression there lies couched whole volumes of philosophy. Men can quit evil habits if they will, but they can't will. Men can do right if they only will, but they can't will. They can say "I will," but they can't do "I will." This truth was excellently illustrated in an article in the sanitary columns of the New York Independent a few years ago. In discussing the subject of "Stimulants and Narcotics as Related to Health," the writer referred to those who have become enslaved by the use of these things, and then remarked:ó

"If ever we have seen sadness in this world, it is in the case of those who are conscious of this enthralling enchantment and yet feel unable to extricate themselves from the wiles of the adversary. . . We do not believe anything has happened to us over and above the experience of most practitioners; yet we almost shudder to recall instance after instance where life has been burdened with this direful deceit, and whole families involved in the secret malady. The remedies are few unless the will itself is rallied to a high determination, and then for a time fortified and affiliated with another will stronger than itself."

This is true. And whether the remedies be many or few, this is the only one that is sure. But it is also true that with no human will can any will be fortified or affiliated in any adequate degree whatever. A stronger human will may be found, and by it the weak will may be fortified in a certain sense by personal encouragement and watchful influence, and this only while that stronger will is present. But even then there can be no affiliation of wills so that the weaker will shall be really vitalized from the energy of the stronger. That is an impossible relationship between human wills. Under such circumstances the most that can possibly be done is that the weaker will shall be encouraged and guarded by the stronger until it shall of itself recover its wasted energies. But that is not enough, by far, and therefore such a remedy can never be certain in its results.

Far more than that is required if the wasted energies of the will are ever to be restored. As we have stated, what is required is that the stronger will shall be one that can be ever present, and which, at the same time, can be so affiliated with the weakened will that the weaker shall be actually vitalized and renewed by the very energy itself imparted from the stronger. It is evident that such a remedy would prove effectual and permanent. And there is such an one offered willingly to every enthralled soul. It is found alone in the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a will with which by faith every weakened and enthralled will on earth may be fortified and affiliated, and that to such a degree that whereas it was a struggling, despairing victim, it may be transformed and translated into the glorious liberty of a conqueror, to such a degree that whereas the enthralled soul could only cry, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me form the body of this death?" he may freely and gladly exclaim, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And then, and so, God, in Christ, "worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Jesus is the great Physician, who will supply strength for every weakness, a remedy for every ill, freedom to every slave, and victory to every warrior. Through Jesus Christ alone every man may become master of himself, and so, alone, can we be temperate in all things.

But out of Christ none can attain to it. Christ filled the measure of every perfection. He did it as a man, that in him man might do it. Out of Christ man is not himself, as he ought to be, nor as God wants him to be; he is handicapped with the weight of his own wrong tendencies, entailed upon him or acquired by him, and of himself he cannot rise to the complete dignity of a man. But in Christ his lapsed powers are restored, he recovers the strength that he must have to control himself completely. In Christ, and in him alone, can man surely acquire the mastery of himself, and so succeed in the practice of true temperanceóself-control. Then he will be his own free man and Christ's servant forever.
A. T. JONES.

May 1888

"Not Without Witness" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 3, 5 , p. 70.

WHEN Paul and Barnabas were trying to persuade the people of Lystra to turn from the vanities of idolatry, they said unto them that although God "suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." These are some of the means by which God witnesses of himself to all nations. When the prophet Isaiah sets forth the absurdity and inexcusableness of idolatry, by simply showing how a god is made, a man who plants a tree, which the rain nourishes until it has grown large enough to be used; then he cuts it down, and with part of it he makes a fire, by which he warms himself and cooks his food, and the residue he makes into a god, and falls down to it and worships it, and cries to it, "Deliver me; for thou art my god." Isa. 44:14-17. Then the prophet shows where such people fail to use the common sense that belongs with nature itself. As it is that the rain nourishes the tree from which he makes his god, if he does not know who is the God, why don't he worship the Power that gives the rain? If he would but do that he would be walking in the light of common sense, of reason, and of faith, and would soon find out God. Men can, by searching find out God. But God expects him to search, and in the search to use the common sense and the faculties generally that God has given to him. And men are without excuse who do not do it. Rom. 1:20.

But it is not alone by the giving of rain and fruitful seasons that God has "left not himself without witness." He has done it by revelation, and through living testimony. When Egypt stood at the head of the world in power, wisdom, and influence, God made manifest in that land his power and his glory in such a way that all the nations heard of it. The Canaanites heard of it, and knew that the God that delivered Israel was God of Heaven and earth. Josh. 2:9-11.

The next nation that arose to power and influence in the world was Assyria. And when Assyria had grown corrupt and had gone far away from God, the Lord graciously sent a Hebrew prophet to the people, and called them to repentance. Jonah 1:2, 3. After this, again and again, he bore witness to Assyria that he is God above all, the most notable instance, perhaps, being the slaughter of the host of Sennacherib. Isa. 37.

Babylon next spread her empire over all nations, and to them God left not himself without witness. He bore witness directly to Nebuchadnezzar, in the dream of the great image, and its interpretation by Daniel, the captive Hebrew. Again, in the affair of the three Hebrews and the fiery furnace, God bore witness of himself to all the power and all the provinces of that mighty empire, both by the representatives that were present (Dan. 3:3), and also by the decree of the king, which followed. Verse 29. Again when Nebuchadnezzar, after being warned of God (Dan. 4:4-27), was driven out from the presence of men to run wild for seven years, he learned by it that Jehovah rules in the affairs of men, and that he is above all gods; and when he recovered his understanding, he published "unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth," that he "thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God" had wrought. Verses 1, 2. Again, when that empire was on the brink of ruin, God, by the handwriting on the wall of the palace, bore a last parting witness to the lascivious king, that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and that his kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians. Dan. 5:27, 28.

The power of Media and Persia came after, and through that power, also, God again bore witness of himself "unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth." For Daniel, the servant of God, was cast into a den of lions, and came forth unhurt, because God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths that they should do him no hurt. "Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth," that the God of Daniel "is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end." Dan. 6:25, 26. When Darius was dead and Cyrus reigned, he also "made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God)."

When Alexander the Great was in the full tide of his career of conquest, he stood at the temple of the Most High in Jerusalem, and heard the witness of God concerning himself read from the Hebrew Scriptures. And through the Greek language, which the career of Alexander was instrumental in spreading throughout all the Eastern world, God chose to give witness of himself in the salvation wrought for man in the death and resurrection of his own dear Son.

And when Rome ruled the world, God not only left not himself without witness, in the preaching of the gospel to every nation under heaven, but also by the apostle Paul he bore witness more than once to the head of the Roman world himself. And from that day to this, God has left not himself without witness to all nations.

Nor was it only to these great empires and nations that the Lord bore witness of himself. In Jer. 27:2-11 is the copy of a message from the Lord that was written by the prophet Jeremiah, and was sent "to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem." And the time would fail us to tell of all the testimonies that God bore by Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Joel, and Amos, and Obadiah, and Zephaniah, and Zechariah, not only to Assyria, and Babylon, and Egypt, and Medo-Persia, but also to Edom, and Moab, and Ammon, and Tyre, and Zidon, and Syria, and Arabia, and all the nations round about. It is literally true that God has "left not himself without witness" unto "all nations" in all ages. And when in that great day of the Lord the great trumpet shall be blown, there shall gather before the glorious throne of the most high God, "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," and will cry "with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."
A. T. JONES.

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 4 (1889)

June 3, 1889

"The Church the House of God" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 4, 11 , pp. 162, 163.

A. T. JONES

IN one of the views which the Scripture gives of the Church of Christ it is called "the house of God." Said Paul to Timothy: "These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. 3:14, 15. And again, in the letter to the Hebrews, we read: "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Heb. 3:5, 6. Peter also adopts the same figure, and, speaking of the Lord, says, "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house." 1 Peter 5:4, 5. [sic.]

Christ is the "living Stone," and they who believe on him become "lively" stones because they live by him who is life; for it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, previous; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." These persons therefore who by believing on the living Stone become lively, or living, stones, are built up a spiritual house, and this house is the church of the living God. Paul further speaks of it as God's building. Speaking of himself and Apollos as ministers by whom the brethren had believed on Christ, he says: "For we are laborers together with God: ye are god's husbandry, ye are God's building." 1 Cor. 3:9. That is to say, By their labors in preaching the gospel of Christ, these brethren had been brought to believe on Christ, the living Stone, and, by believing on him, had become imbued with life from him, and had thus become in the figure living stones. These then built up that spiritual house, became God's building. Now Paul carries the thought further: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 3:10, 11.

Christ is the foundation and chief cornerstone, the very foundation of the foundation, and in the letter to the Ephesians, Paul carries the thought yet further and completes this conception of the church as the house or building of God. Of Christ he says: "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:18-22.

Here, then, is the Lord's view of the church as the house or building of God: Christ, and the apostles and prophets are the foundation, and the membership at large is the superstructure. But Christ himself is the chief cornerstone, the foundation of the whole structure, the foundation of the foundation itself. Because it is only in Christ that either the apostles or prophets were ever what they were, or that any member is what he is. Christ is the living Stone, to whom the apostles and prophets and all others must come that they might be made lively stones, fit for the building of God. In Jesus Christ, and upon Jesus Christ, the church of Christ, the church of the living God, is built. And the purpose of this building is "for an habitation [a dwelling place] of God through the Spirit." "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you," and "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom. 8:9. And said Jesus, "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23. Thus it is, and of these "God hath said, I will dwell in them; and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor. 6:16. As he saith also in another place, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Cor. 3:16. "For ye are the temple of the living God." When these in whom the Spirit of God dwells are "fitly framed together," and built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ, they grow unto an holy temple, in the Lord, and are "an habitation of God through the Spirit." And that is the house of God, the church of the living God.

Peter said, as before quoted, "To whom coming as unto a living stone, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house." Now it is a characteristic of a living stone that it can be polished to such a height that it will reflect the image of the one looking upon it. Thus Christ is the living stone, to whom we come, and upon whom we look, and to whom we come, and upon whom we look, and as we look we see ourselves. And there "we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18. And thus, being changed into the same image, we also become lively stones, reflecting in turn the image of Christ as he looks upon us; for then God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6. Then the church is indeed the light of the world, a city set on a hill which cannot be hid. It is written of the city of God, the New Jerusalem, that it has twelve foundations "garnished with all manner of precious stones." The first foundation is jasper, clear as crystal; the second, a sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, a sardonyx; the sixth, a sardius; the seventh, a chrysolite; the eighth, a beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst; and are surmounted by a wall great and high, "and the building of the wall

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of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." And the glory of God does lighten the city, and the Lamb is the light thereof; and her light is like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Rev. 21:10-23. Eye has never seen except in holy vision such a scene of glory and beauty as is here pictured of the city of the living God, and the home of the redeemed.

Now the new Jerusalem is not the church. It is not the house, the building, the habitation, the church, of God, referred to in the texts which we have quoted in this article. But from this description of the glorious city of God, we may gather from this image of the church as a house, a building, and an habitation of God, an idea of what the Lord desires that the glorious church of God shall be. Christ is a living stone, the chief cornerstone, most precious. He is the first, the chief foundation of the church. Upon him as part of the foundation also, rest the apostles and prophets, made from him lively stones. Then upon this foundation are built all the saints, as gold, silver, and precious stones. 1 Cor. 3:12. Then the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ, shining through and reflected from all these, makes the church indeed the light of the world, giving to men the knowledge of the glory of God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Oh, that each one who professes to be a member of the church of Christ were really so! Oh, that everyone who is professedly joined to the church, were really joined to Christ! that each one were indeed a lively stone reflecting the precious image of the dear Redeemer, and thus conveying to them that are in darkness the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as it is manifested in Jesus Christ our Lord. Then indeed would the world believe that God did send Jesus Christ.

July 15, 1889

"Moral and Civil Law" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 4, 14 , p. 210.

As God is the only moral governor, as his is the only moral government, as his law is the only moral law, and as it pertains to him alone to punish immorality, so likewise the promotion of morality pertains to him alone. Morality is conformity to the law of God; it is obedience to God. But obedience to God must spring from the heart in sincerity and truth, or it is not obedience; for the law of God takes cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart. But "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." By transgression, all men have made themselves immoral. "Therefore by the deeds of the law [by obedience] there shall no flesh be justified [accounted righteous, or made moral] in his sight." Rom. 3:20. As all men have, by transgression of the law of God, made themselves immoral, therefore no man can, by obedience to the law, become moral; because it is that very law which declares him to be immoral. The demands, therefore, of the moral law, must be satisfied, before he can ever be accepted as moral by either the law or its Author; but the demands of the moral law can never be satisfied by an immoral person.

If ever men shall be made moral, it must be by the Author and Source of all morality. For "now the righteousness [the morality] of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness [the morality] of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned [made themselves immoral], and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:21-23. It is by the morality of Christ alone that men can be made moral. And this morality of Christ is the morality of God, which is imputed to us for Christ's sake; and we receive it by faith in him. Then by the Spirit of God the moral law is written anew in the heart and in the mind, sanctifying the soul unto obedienceóunto morality. And there is no other in this world. Therefore, as morality springs from God, and is planted in the heart by the Spirit of God, through faith in the Son of God, it is demonstrated by proofs of Holy Writ itself, that to God alone pertains the promotion of morality.

God, then, being the sole promoter of morality, what body has he made the conservator of morality in the world, the church, or the civil power?óThe church, and the church alone. It is "the church of the living God." It is "the pillar and ground of the truth." It was to the church that he said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;" "and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." It is by the church, through the preaching Jesus Christ, that the gospel is "made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." There is no obedience but the obedience of faith; there is no morality but the morality of faith. Therefore it is proved that to the church, and not to the state, is committed the conservation of morality in the world. This at once settles the question as to whether the state shall teach morality, or religion. The state cannot teach religion. It has not the credentials for it. The Spirit of God and the gospel of Christ are both essential to this teaching, and neither of these is committed to the state, but both to the church.

But though this work be committed to the church, even then there is not committed to the church the prerogative either to reward morality or to punish immorality. She beseeches, she entreats, she persuades men to be reconciled to God; she trains them in the principles and the practice of morality. It is hers by moral suasion or spiritual censures to preserve the purity and discipline of her membership; but hers it is not either to reward morality or to punish. This pertains to God alone. Morality or immorality have their springs in the secret counsels of the heart; and as God alone knows the heart, he alone can measure either the merit or the guilt involved in any question of morals.

By this it is demonstrated that to no man, to no assembly or organization of men, does there belong any right whatever to punish immorality. Whoever attempts it, usurps the prerogative of God. The inquisition is the inevitable logic of any claim of any assembly of men to punish immorality; because to punish immorality it is necessary in some way to get at the thoughts and intents of the heart.

By all these evidences is established the plain, common-sense principle that to civil government pertains only that which the term itself implies,óthat which is civil. The purpose of civil government is civil, and not moral. Its function is to preserve order in society, and to cause all its subjects to rest in assured safety, by guarding them against all incivility. Morality belongs to God; civility, to the state. Morality must be rendered to God; civility, to the state "Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

But it may be asked, Does not the civil power enforce the observance of the commandments of God, which say, Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, and thou shalt not bear false witness? Does not the civil power punish the violation of these commandments of God? The civil power does not enforce these, nor does it punish the violation of them, as commandments of God. The state does forbid murder and theft and perjury, and some states forbid adultery, but not as commandments of God. From time immemorial, governments that knew nothing about God have forbidden these things. If the civil power attempted to enforce these as the commandments of God, it would have to punish as a murderer the man who hates another; it would have to punish as a perjurer the man who raises a false report; it would have to punish as an adulterer the person who thinks impurely; it would have to punish as a thief the man who wishes to cheat his neighbor; because all these things are violations of the commandments of God. Therefore if the state is to enforce these things as the commandments of God, it will have to punish the thoughts and intents of the heart; but this is not within the province of any earthly power, and it is clear that any earthly power that should attempt it, would thereby simply put itself in the place of God, and usurp his prerogative.óA. T. Jones, in Civil Government and Religion.

August 1, 1889

"The Powers that Be" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 4, 15 , p. 228.

GOD has shown that although the power that be are ordained of God, they are not ordained to act in things that pertain to men's relation towards God. Christ's words are a positive declaration to that effect, and Rom. 13:1-9 is a further exposition of the principle.

Let us look a moment at this question from a common-sense point of view: "When societies are formed, each individual surrenders certain rights, and as an equivalent for that surrender, has secured to him the enjoyment of certain others appertaining to his person and property, without the protection of which society cannot exist."

I have the right to protect my person and property from all invasions. Every other person has the same right; but if this right is to be personally exercised in all cases by every one, then in the present condition of human nature, every man's hand will be against his neighbor. That is simple anarchy, and in such a condition of affairs society cannot exist. Now suppose a hundred of us are thrown together in a certain place where there is no established order; each one has all the rights of any other one. But if each one is individually to exercise these rights of self-protection, he has the assurance of only that degree of protection which he alone can furnish to himself, which we have seen is exceedingly slight. Therefore all come together, and each surrenders to the whole body that individual right; and in return for this surrender, he receives the power of all for his protection. He therefore receives the help of the other ninety-nine to protect himself from the invasion of his rights, and he is thus made many hundred times more secure in his rights of person and property than he can be without this surrender.

But what condition of things can ever be conceived of among men that would justify any man in surrendering his right to believe? What could he receive as an equivalent? When he has surrendered his right to believe, he has virtually surrendered his right to think. When he surrenders his right to believe, he surrenders everything, and it is impossible for him ever to receive an equivalent; he has surrendered his very soul. Eternal life depends upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the man who surrenders his right to believe, surrenders eternal life. Says the Scripture, "With the mind I myself serve the law of God." A man who surrenders his right to believe, surrenders God. Consequently, no man, no association or organization of men, can ever rightly ask of any man a surrender of his right to believe. Every man has the right, so far as organizations of men are concerned, to believe as he pleases; and that right, so long as he is a Protestant, so long as he is a Christian, yea, so long as he is a man, he never can surrender, and he never will.

Personal sovereigns in themselves are not those referred to in the words, "The powers that be are ordained of God." It is the governmental power, of which the sovereign is the representative, and that sovereign receives his power from the people. Outside of the theocracy of Israel, there never has been a ruler on earth whose authority was not, primarily or ultimately, expressly or permissively, derived from the people. It is not particular sovereigns whose power is ordained of God, nor any particular form of government. It is the genius of government itself. The absence of government is anarchy. Anarchy is only governmental confusion. But says the Scripture, "God is not the author of confusion." God is the God of order. He has ordained order, and he has put within man himself that idea of government, of self-protection, which is the first law of nature, and which organizes itself into forms of one kind or another, wherever men dwell on the face of the earth. And it is for men themselves to say what shall be the form of government under which they shall dwell. One people has one form; another has another. This genius of civil order springs from God; its exercise within its legitimate sphere is ordained of God; and the Declaration of Independence simple asserted the eternal truth of God, where it said: "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed." It matters not whether it be exercised in one form of government or in another, the governmental power and order thus exercised is ordained of God. If the people choose to change their form of government, it is still the same power; it is to be respected still, because it is still ordained of God in its legitimate exercise,óin things pertaining to men and their relation to their fellow-men; but no power, whether exercised through one form or another, is ordained of God to act in things pertaining to God; nor has it anything whatever to do with men's relations towards God.

August 15, 1889

"Training Children" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 4, 16 , p. 243.

PAUL, says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Eph. 6:1. A child is often taught to value more highly the opinion of the world than the teachings of God's Word, and parents often teach a child to do a thing because of the construction the world will put upon it, rather than to do an act because it is right to do it. When a child is taught to live out what he knows to be right because it is right, he is already far along in that training which God commends, and which makes of him a commandment-keeper. Insist upon a child's obeying because it is right and pleasing to God (not man) that he should do so. When such a course is taken, and the child comes to maturity, his life will be governed by the principle received in his early youth, and he will be certain to act from convictions of right. How early, then, should a parent begin instruction? is an important question. A physician was once asked the same question, and immediately inquired the age of the child. On being told that it was a year old, he replied, "You have lost just one year." It might well be said, however, that two years had been lost, because pre-natal influences often cause the bringing of a child into the world handicapped with a multitude of influences the tend to drag it downward.

"And ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21. Let not the correction be given in such a way as to provoke, torment, or make the child angry, because this might result in discouraging him. Use no extravagant language, such as, "I'll cut your ears off!" "I'll put you in a dark cellar where a black man will catch you!" Such things are shameful, and should never be indulged in. A traveller upon a hot, dusty road in a broiling sun once came upon some children playing by the side of a cool cave. "Children," he said, "why do you not go into the cave to play, where it is cool and shady?" "Oh," replied a little one, "mamma says there are bears in there, that will eat us up." "Why, my child," said the traveller, "there are no bears there, nor any animal that will hurt you." In astonishment, the little one looked up in his face, and in a puzzled, startled way said, "Why, then mamma lied!" The harm done by the falsehood uttered by that careless mother will never be known until the day of Judgment! Let your aim be to have your children realize that you always speak the truth. Never forfeit their confidence. If stories are told, let them be such as will raise the child's thoughts to God, and help it to understand that God is a good and merciful Father. May it ever be our study, how to bring up our children in the fear, the nurture, and the admonition of the Lord.

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 5 (1890)

August 15, 1890

"Is It Peace and Safety?" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 5, 16 , p. 242.

A. T. JONES

IN spite of the rapid increase of crime and violence on every hand; in spite of the most gigantic preparations for war that the world has ever seen; in spite of the increasing worldliness of the church,óthe pulpit and the religious press continue to talk of peace and safety, of a millennium in which there shall be no war, and in which the world will be converted. In the midst of violence and crime, it seems a strange proceeding to talk of peace and safety. In the presence of the greatest possible preparations for war, it seems rather incongruous to announce the speedy approach of a time when there shall be no war. In the face of the increasing worldliness of the church, and the loss of her power of godliness, the prospect does not appear very flattering for the conversion of the world to Christ. Yet under these very circumstances, in these very times, these very things are preached.

There are certain scriptures quoted to prove that these things are so. Let us read them.

Psa. 2:7, 8: "I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." There, does not that say that the world shall be converted? Well does it?óPlainly it does not. It says that the heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth shall be given to the Son of God. But it does not say that this shall be by conversion nor for conversion. Before the conversion of the heathen or the uttermost parts of the earth can be found in that scripture it has to be put into it by the one who wants to find it there. And that is not the best way to interpret Scripture. It is not the best way to read into Scripture what we want there, rather than to read the Scripture to find what really is there. But it may be asked, Is not conversion the necessary conclusion from the text?óIt is not, because the next verse shows the contrary: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." That is certainly anything else then their conversion. This is shown further by the remaining verses: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little."

Another scripture quoted in proof of the conversion of the world is Rev. 11:15: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." But this text is much the same as the other. It does not say that these kingdoms become his by conversion nor for conversion. It is evident that this text bears the same meaning as that in the second psalm. Read the two together: "I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ." These two texts certainly speak of the same time and the same event, and we have seen that these heathen are given Him to be dashed in pieces. And that this is the same with "the kingdoms of the world," is evident from the context. The whole verse reads: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

Now as the seventh trumpet is accompanied by the third woe, and as it is under the seventh trumpet that the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, it is certain therefore that it is in the midst of a time of woe that the kingdoms of this world do become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

This is further shown by verse 18: "And the nations were angry [precisely the attitude of the nations at this moment], and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which corrupt [margin] the earth." The time of reward of the saints, etc., is at the coming of the Lord, for he says, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. Then it is that his wrath is kindled, and the angry nations are given him, and in the midst of a time of woe they are dashed in pieces and destroyed because they corrupt the earth.

This is confirmed by the prophecy in Dan. 2:31-45. There was a great image seen, with head of gold, breast and arms of silver, sides of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. Then a stone was seen to smite the image upon his feet, "and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them." And in explanation of this the Word says: "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."

It is evident that in none of these texts is the conversion of the world, nor a millennium of peace, spoken of at all nor even suggested. Instead of the nations being at peace, they are "angry;" instead of there being safety on the earth there is "woe;" instead of the conversion of the world there is to be destruction that shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. And yet in the face of these plain declarations of the Word of God, and of the events that mark their fulfillment, men will preach directly the opposite. But even this is shown by the Word of God as that which will be at this time. In the last verse of 1 Thessalonians 4, the coming of the Lord is spoken of. Then in the first verses of the fifth chapter it is said: "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."

This shows that at the time when destruction is impending there will be men saying, "Peace and safety," and then sudden destruction comes upon them. Therefore, if there is any one thing that men should disbelieve, it is the preaching of peace and safety, the preaching of a millennium of peace and the conversion of the world. The very preaching of it is evidence of its falsity, because the word of God says that then "destruction cometh."

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 6 (1891)

August 1, 1891

"Human Nature and Its Restraints" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 6, 15 , pp. 228, 229.

A. T. JONES

LET anyone compare the two pictures drawn by Paul, the one in Rom. 1:28-31, of the iniquity of ancient heathenism, the other in 2 Tim. 3:1-8, of the iniquity of the last days, even among those who have "a form of godliness," and he will see that they are exactly alike. Human nature, unrestrained, is the same in all ages. Whether in the days of Christ, or two thousand years before, or two thousand years after; whether manifested in the habitants of Canaan, or in the inhabitants of the United States, it is always the same. It is for this very reason that the Bible fits men, wherever on the earth it may find them. It is a book not for one tribe only, nor for one class, nor for one nation, but for the human race. And it is the only book in the world that is. The reason for that is, that the book was given by One who knows human nature in its very essence.

God made man upright. But he turned from the bright course which God set before him; he sinned, and so sold himself to do evil; and not the sublime powers which the Lord bestowed upon him, to be exerted in the way of righteousness, are prostituted to evil; his "course is evil," and his "force is not right." If ever, then, man shall be raised from his fallen state, if ever his lapsed powers shall be restored, it is indispensable that the tendency of every faculty be restrained, turned into the right course, and trained to follow it. The Bible meets this necessity; it meets it in every part, and satisfies it to the full. Therefore, this of itself is proof that the Creator of man is the Author of the Bible.

Human nature being the same everywhere, the only thing that makes one person to differ from another is the degree of restraint each one recognizes in his own case. If, in a person, all the restraints of the law of God are recognized, he will be a man fitted for the society and fellowship of the angels. If, on the contrary, none of these are recognized, he will be a man fit only for the society and fellowship of demons. Upon many persons, and in many ways, these restraints exert themselves unconsciously, as in the case of the infidel, who denies the authority or the existence of God, and despises his word. Yet the principles of that word are so imbedded in the society of which he is a member that he yields obedience to them, while he thinks he is defying them; but transplant him to the state of society which he advocates, where none of these principles are recognized, and none exerted, and he will run as readily in the way of iniquity as the veriest heathen that ever dwelt in the land of Canaan. And that other class of persons who call themselves "Christians", or even "Christian ministers," who, in their opposition to the obligations of the ten commandments, can hardly frame sentences that will sufficiently express the bitterness of their contempt for the law of God, only let the time come when such seed shall have borne its fruit, when society in following such teaching shall have reached that condition which would be defined in the very opposite of the ten commandments, and they will go as greedily in that evil way as did Balaam of old.

Again, many will restrain themselves from doing evil through fear of punishment; but take away the prospect of punishment, or satisfy them that there will be none, and they will go to any length that circumstances may allow. Henry VIII., although he regarded not God, as long as he feared the Pope did not dare to divorce his wife, but when he had broken through that restraint, he cut off the heads of three wives, and only a witty speech saved the head of the fourth.

There is another course by which men reach the same state of cruelty. That is, not by denying the existence of God, but by making themselves the depositaries of what they choose to define as his will, and then holding themselves as the sole expositors and executors of that will. As in every single instance it is only their own will which is thus exalted to the supremacy, and therefore is of only human authority, the only way in which it can be enforced is by human enactment; and then instead of being simply executors, they make themselves executioners in carrying into effect their arbitrary will. Making their own will supreme, and themselves the sole interpreters of that will, even though they claim it to be the will of God, they just as veritably put themselves beyond restraint as do the men who deny God outright. Both classes reach the same point, and both commit the same enormous crimes, the one illustrated in the fearful orgies of the Reign of Terror, the other illustrated in the terrible torments of the Inquisition.

The Scriptures confirm all that this investigation suggests. In the beginning of this article we cited Rom. 1:28-31 as the description of the ancient heathendom, and 2 Tim. 3:1-8 as the description of the last days of modern Christendom, and we find them exactly alike. It is by resistance to the truth of

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God that men loosen its restraints upon them, and deliver themselves up to the sway of Satan. In the last days it is only those who "received not the love of the truth that they might be saved," in whom Satan works "with all power and signs and lying wonders." It is only those "who believe not the truth" but have "pleasure in unrighteousness," who become so deluded that they "believe a lie."

Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 7 (1892)

May 15, 1892

"Freedom Indeed" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 7, 10 , p. 160.

JESUS CHRIST came into the world to set men free, and to plant in their souls the genuine principle of liberty,óliberty actuated by love,óliberty too honorable to allow itself to be used as an occasion to the flesh or a cloak of maliciousness,óliberty led by a conscience enlightened by the Spirit of God,óliberty in which man may be free from all men, yet made so gentle by love that he would willingly become the servant of all, in order to bring them to the enjoyment of this same liberty. This is freedom indeed; for whom the Son makes free is free indeed. In giving to men this freedom, such an infinite gift could have no other result than that which Christ intended; namely, to bind them in everlasting, unquestioning, unswerving allegiance to him as the royal benefactor of the race. He thus reveals himself to men as the highest good, and brings them to himself as the manifestation of that highest good, and to obedience to his will as the perfection of conduct. Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh. Thus God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, that they might know him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he sent. He gathered to himself disciples, instructed them in his heavenly doctrine, endued them with power from on high, sent them forth into all the world to preach this gospel of freedom to every creature, and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them.óA. T. Jones, in Two Republics.

October 15, 1892

"The Huguenots and St. Bartholomew's Day" The Bible Echo 7, 20 , pp. 308, 309.

A. T. JONES

THE Huguenots were the French Protestants of the Reformation period, a people who bore the wrath of the Papacy for more than two hundred and seventy years; yet who at times became so numerous and powerful as to endanger the supremacy of the Catholic religion in France. In fact, the means by which France was held under the sway of the Catholic religion, was that of which the fullest illustration is furnished in that dreadful scenes of St. Barthomew's day, August 24, 1572. Charles IX. Was nominally king of France. He was scarcely more than an imbecile, and his mother, the terrible Catherine de Medici, ruled the kingdom in the spirit of a second Jezebel. Philip II. was king of Spain, and, through the Duke of Alva, was carrying on a perpetual St. Bartholomew's in the Netherlands. Gregory XIII. was Pope at the time of the massacred, but it had been plotted under the instructions of his immediate predecessor, Pius V. Catherine and the Duke of Guise were the leaders of the Catholics; Henry of Navarre, afterward King Henry IV. of France, and Admiral Coligny were the leaders of the Huguenots. As Catherine, by years of open war, had failed to destroy, or even to very much weaken, the Protestant cause, she determined to compass the destruction of the Huguenots by treachery and massacre. It was a deeply laid scheme. It had to be, for the object was the total extirpation of Protestantism in France. The first thing was to disarm the suspicion of the Huguenots. A very plausible means presented itself.

Two year before, a war of three years had closed so favorably to the Huguenots that it was in their power to indicate the terms of peace, and the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye was made August 8, 1570, by which they were guaranteed liberty of worship outside of Paris. Catherine now proposed a close alliance of the two parties, and they united to make an armed intervention in the Netherlands in aid of the Prince of Orange, and to relieve the Netherlands from the scourge of Philip of Spain. To seal the alliance, she proposed that Henry of Navarre should marry Margaret of Valois, Catherine's own daughter, sister to Charles IX.; and that Admiral Coligny should head the united expedition to the rescue of the Netherlands. This scheme was the most taking to the Huguenots because the marriage had been actually talked of while as yet Henry and Margaret were but children; and if by this they could secure peace in France, they would gladly help to bring deliverance to their Protestant brethren in Holland.

The Huguenots were thoroughly deceived. The marriage was accomplished August 18, 1572. The massacre was to begin Sunday morning, August 24, at daybreak. What followed, we shall tell in the words of Dr. Wylie, "History of Protestantism," book 17, chap. 16:

"It was now 11 o'clock of Saturday night, and the massacre was to begin at daybreak. Tavannes was sent to bid the Mayor of Paris assemble the citizens, who for some days before had been provided with arms, which they had stored in their houses. To exasperate them, and put them in a mood for this unlimited butchery of their countrymen, in which at first they were somewhat reluctant to engage, they were told that a horrible conspiracy had been discovered, on the part of the Huguenots, to cut off the king and the royal family, and destroy the monarchy and the Roman Catholic religion. The signal for the massacre was to be the tolling of the great bell of the Palace of Justice. As soon as the tocsin should have flung its ominous peal upon the city, they were to hasten to draw chains across the streets, place pickets in the open spaces, and sentinels on the bridges. Orders were also given that at the first sound of the bell torches should be placed in all the windows, and that the Roman Catholics, for distinction, should wear a white scarf on the left arm, and affix a white cross on their hats.

"'All was now arranged,' says Maimbourg, 'for the carnage;' and they waited with impatience for the break of day, when the tocsin was to sound. In the royal chamber sat Charles IX., the Queen-mother, and the Duke of Anjou. Catherine's fears lest the king should change his mind at the last minute would not permit her to leave him for one moment. Few words, we may well believe, would pass between the royal personages. The great event that impended could not but weigh heavily upon them. A deep stillness reigned in the apartment; the hours wore wearily away; and the Queen-mother feeling the suspense unbearable, or else afraid, as Maimbourg suggests, that Charles, 'greatly disturbed by the idea of the horrible butchery, would revoke the order he had given for it,' anticipated the signal by sending one at two o'clock of the morning to ring the bell of St. Germain l'Auxerois,' Above all were heard the terrible words, 'Kill, kill!'

"The massacre was to begin with the assassination of Coligny, and that part of the dreadful work had been assigned to the Duke of Guise.

"The authors of the plot having respect to the maxim attributed to Alaric, that 'thick grass is more easily mown than thin,' had gathered the leading Protestants that night, as we have already narrated, into the same quarter where Coligny lodged. The Duke of Guise had kept this quarter as his special preserve; and now, the admiral being dispatched, the guards of Anjou, with a creature of the duke's for their captain, were let loose upon this battu of ensnared Huguenots. Their work was done

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with a summary vengeance, to which the flooded state of the kennels, and the piles of corpses, growing ever larger, bore terrible witness. Over all Paris did the work of massacre by this time extend. Furious bands, armed with guns, pistols, swords, pikes, knives, and all kinds of cruel weapons, rushed through the streets, murdering all they met. They began to thunder at the doors of Protestants, and the terrified inmates, stunned by the uproar, came forth in their night-clothes, and were murdered on their own thresholds. Those who were too affrighted to come abroad, were slaughtered in their bed-rooms and closets, the assassins bursting open all places of concealment, and massacring all who opposed their entrance, and throwing their mangled bodies into the street. The Huguenot as he fled through the street, with agonized features, and lacking the protection of the white scarf, was easily recognized, and dispatched without mercy.

"For seven days the massacres were continued in Paris, and the first three especially with unabating fury. Nor were they confined within the walls of the city. In pursuance of orders sent from the court, they were extended to all provinces and cities where Protestants were found. Even villages and ch‚teaux became scenes of carnage. For two months these butcheries were continued throughout the kingdom. Every day during that fearful time the poniard reaped a fresh harvest of victims, and the rivers bore to the sea a new and ghastly burden of corpses. In Rouen above 6,000 perished; at Toulouse some hundreds were hewn to pieces with axes; at Orleans the Papists themselves confessed that they had destroyed 12,000; some said 18,000; and at Lyons not a Protestant escaped. After the gates were closed they fell upon them without mercy; 150 of them were shut up in the archbishop's house, and were cut to pieces in the space of one hour and a half. Some Roman Catholic, more humane than the rest, when he saw the heaps of corpses, exclaimed, 'They surely were not men, but devils in the shape of men, who had done this.'

"The whole number that perished in the massacre cannot be precisely ascertained. Mezeray computes it at 25,000; De Thou at 30,000; Sully at 70,000; and Perefixe, Archbishop of Paris in the seventeenth century, raises it to 100,000; Davila reduces it to 10,000. Sully, from his access to official documents, and his unimpeachable honor, has been commonly reckoned the highest authority. Not a few municipalities and governors, to their honor, refused to execute the orders of the king. The reply of the Vicompte d'Orte has become famous. 'Sire,' wrote he to Charles IX., 'among the citizens and garrison of Bayonne, you have many brave soldiers, and loyal subjects, but not one hangman.'

November 15, 1892

"Mortal or Immortal?" The Bible Echo 7, 22 , p. 340.

A. T. JONES

IN the thoughts of man there are a great many questions which arise concerning himself. Some of these are highly important. So important indeed are they that the Word of God itself has revealed them. Nor is that all. This Word has not only recorded the questions, but it has also recorded the answers to the questions. And when the Word of God asks a question and answers it, then in the answer we have the absolute truth on that question, and there is an end of all dispute. There is left no room for controversy; for "thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldst go." Isa. 48:17. Therefore, whatever the Lord teaches is profitable teaching. Whether we believe it, or whether we like it or not, makes no difference so far as the teaching is concerned. The teaching is profitable, and everything that conflicts with it is unprofitable. The way the Lord leads is the way that we should go, and to follow any other leading is to go in the way that we should not.

In the eighth psalm and the fourth verse is this question, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Of course there are more ways than one in which this question can be referred to man; but the thing about man upon which we wish now to bring it to bear is that of immortality. "What is man?" is he mortal or immortal? We have not far to go for an answer. "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17. "O Lord, Thou art our God; let not mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17. "O Lord, Thou art our God; let not mortal man prevail against Thee." 2 Chron. 14:11, margin. Thus we find, in answer to the question, that the Word of God calls man mortal, and everything that the Bible says directly about immortality is consistent with this answer.

Says this Word in 1 Timothy, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." Chap. 1:17. Here it is shown that immortality is an attribute of God, equally with eternity, wisdom, honor, glory, etc. None of these belong to man as he is.

Again, speaking of the appearing of Jesus Christ, the Word says, "In his times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see." 1 Tim. 6:15, 16.

Christ has brought this immortality to light. The purpose and grace of God, says the Word, "is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished deasth, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10. What the gospel is is shown in a few words by 1 Cor. 15:1-4: "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you. . . . for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Thus, then, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is summed up the gospel; and "through the gospel" it is said Christ "brought life and immortality to light." Certainly it was not by dying nor being buried that either life or immortality was brought to light, for both these things were familiar to all men; but to rise again from the dead, and bring with Him a multitude of the dead, who also appeared unto many (Matt. 27:52, 53), that was to bring to light something that had never been seen before; that was to bring life and immortality to light indeed. Therefore it is through the resurrection that Christ has brought immortality to light.

Again, the Scripture says that God will render eternal life "to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality." Rom. 2:6, 7. Now as immortality is to be sought for, and as God is the only one who has it, and as Christ is the only one who has brought it to light, it follows that immortality must be sought of God through Christ. Even so says Scripture, "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Rom. 6:23; 1 John 5:11, 12.

Having then sought and found that immortality comes only through Christ, we ask, When is it bestowed upon us as our own? "Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. . . . Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 15:51-57.

Thus the story which the Word of God tells about immortality is this: Man, being mortal, has it not; God has it; Christ has brought it to light through the gospel; man is to seek for it of God, through Christ, and will obtain it at the resurrection of the dead; for then it is that this mortal puts on immortality; then it is that death is swallowed up in victory. This comes "at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible," and the living shall be changed. But when is it that the last trump sounds?óIt is when the Lord Jesus comes in his glory. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

Immortality is obtained of God, through Christ, at the resurrection of the dead. It is the sound of the last trump that awakes the dead. That trump is sounded at the coming of the Lord. Therefore without the second coming of the Lord Jesus, we shall never receive immortality. For this reason we long for his glorious appearing. We watch, we wait for Him, who shall change our "vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body;" for "we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

December 1, 1892

"Christ and the Resurrection" The Bible Echo 7, 23 , pp. 355, 356.

A. T. JONES

THE only hope of future life which the Word of God presents is in the resurrection of the dead. This is the hope of the righteous; it is the Christian's hope. Paul, in discussing this subject of the resurrection of the dead, proves first that Christ is risen, and then says, "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Buty if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." 1 Cor. 15:12-14. It is evident that there were some at Corinth, even as there are some now, who professed to believe in Christ, and at the same time believed not in the resurrection of the dead. But Paul settles that at once by saying, "If there be no resurrection of the dead," your faith in Christ is vain. This proves plainly that our hope and faith in Christ meet their fruition only at and by the resurrection of the dead.

This is so important that the Spirit of God, by the apostle, repeats it. Again he says, "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." Here it is declared that to deny the resurrection of the dead is to deny the resurrection of Christ, is to leave the professed believer yet in his sins; and therefore it subverts the gospel and the salvation of Christ. This is followed by another most important conclusion, and that is, If the dead rise not, "then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." It would be impossible to more forcibly show that all hope of future life depends upon the resurrection of the dead. If there be no resurrection of the dead, then the dead are perished. And this is stated, not of the wicked dead, but of the righteous dead: "they also which are fallen asleep in Christ," even these have perished, if there be no resurrection of the dead. In verse 32 this is repeated in another form: "If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

The hope of life by Christ at the resurrection of the dead, is the hope in which Paul lived, the hope in which he exercised himself, the hope which he preached. When he stood before the council, he said, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." Acts 23:6. And afterwards, when he answered the accusers before Felix, he said, I "have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. . . . Let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me while I stood before the council, except it be for this one voice that I cried

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standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called to question by you this day." Acts 24:15-21. Again, when he stood before Agrippa, he said, "And now I stand an am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a think incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" Acts 26:6-8.

Now put these things together: (a) He stood and was judged for the hope of the promise made of God. (b) This was the promise made unto the fathers. (c) Unto this promise the twelve tribesóall Israelóhope to come. (d) For this hope he was accused of the Jews. (e) But he was accusedócalled in questionóof the Jews "touching the resurrection of the dead." (f) Therefore the hope of the promise of God, made unto the fathers, is the hope of the promise of the resurrection of the dead. (g) This is made emphatic by his question to Agrippa, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" When Paul was at Athens, "he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection." Acts 17:18.

Therefore it is plainly proved that the hope which God has set before us in Christ and his blessed gospel, is the hope of the resurrection from the dead unto everlasting life and eternal glory. And as this resurrection all depends upon the glorious appearing of our Saviour, therefore the second coming of our Saviour is inseparably connected with this, the Christian's "blessed hope." Thus saith the Lord, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:11-13.

This is that for which Job looked. He says, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." Job 14:14. This change is at the resurrection; for Paul says, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52. Again says Job, "If I wait, the grave is mine house; I have made my bed in the darkness. . . . And where is now my hope?" Chap. 17:13-15. Here it is: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold and not a stranger. My reins within me are consumed with earnest desire for that day." Chap. 19:25-27, margin.

Time and space would fail us to quote the words of this hope, expressed by David, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Hosea, and Micah, and all the prophets and apostles. We can only cite again the words that this is the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise we instantly serving God day and night hope to come. Why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead? The righteous dead shall live again at the coming of the Lord, and therefore we look at anxiously wait for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus. Like faithful Job, our reins within us are consumed with earnest desire for that glorious day. And as He assures us, "Surely I come quickly," our hearts reply, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

The Bible Echo, Vol. 8 (1893)

November 15, 1893

"The Sabbath a Sign of Creation" The Bible Echo 8, 23 , pp. 361, 362.

A. T. JONES

IT is written: "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your GOD." Eze. 20:20. Notice, He does not say, It is a sign that I am the LORD, but "a sign that ye may know that I am the LORD your GOD." There is that in the Sabbath of the LORD which makes it to man the means

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of finding the true knowledge of the true GOD. For men only know GOD truly when they know not that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Heb. 11:6. In answer to the question, "What is his name?" He said, "I AM THAT I AM." Ex. 3:14. Not only "I am," but "I am what I am." Not merely "I am" in point of existence, but "I am what I am," in point of character. For when He proclaimed his name more fully He proclaimed it: "The LORD, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." Ex. 34:5-7. This is the LORD, the true GOD; and the Sabbath of the LORD is the sign by which, when it is hallow! men may know that He is such.

Again, GOD is known as He is, only in JESUS CHRIST, for "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Matt. 11:27. "They shall call his name EMMANUEL, being interpreted is, GOD with us." Matt. 1:23. He is the Wordóthe expression of the thoughtóof GOD. So that practically and really He is GOD to us, as well as GOD with us. Therefore as GOD is known as He is, only in and through JESUS CHRIST, and the Sabbath of the LORD being the sign by which men may know that the LORD is GOD; it is plain that the Sabbath of the LORD is the sign of what JESUS CHRIST is to men, and by which men may know what JESUS CHRIST is to them.

It is a sign, says He, "that ye may know that I am the LORD your GOD." Wherein is it a sign? The first of all things that GOD is to anything or any person in the universe is Creator. Therefore of the Sabbath it is written: "It is a sign, . . . for [because] in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshedó[took delight]." Ex. 31:17. It is a sign, therefore, by which men may know the Creator of all things, and that the LORD JEHOVAH is He. And in these days when "science" is taking the place of GOD, and evolution the place of creation, it is time that men should know GOD and his creative power for themselves. And now is the time as never before, when the signóthe Sabbath of the LORDóby which men may know Him, shall be exalted that men may find Him and know Him for themselves. It is not strange, therefore, that the enemy of all righteousness should take supreme measures to shut away from the world the sign by which men may know the creative power of GOD in JESUS CHRIST.

For it was through JESUS CHRIST that the power of GOD was manifested in the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. For "GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds." Heb. 1:1, 2. "GOD . . . created all things by JESUS CHRIST." Eph. 3:9. And this is why He challenges all false gods upon the point that they have not made the heavens and earth. Jer. 10:1-15. It was JESUS CHRIST who spoke, when "by the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For He [JESUS CHRIST] spake, and it was done: He commanded, and it stood fast." Ps. 33:6, 9. It was JESUS CHRIST who rested the seventh day at the close of creation. It was He who blessed the seventh day; it was He who hallowed it, and sanctified it. It was He, JESUS CHRIST, who thus made the Sabbathóthe restóof the LORD on the seventh day. And the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Creator, is to man. And this is why it is so emphatically true that they who repudiate and put away the seventh day, the Sabbath of the LORD, do in effect repudiate and put away JESUS CHRIST. This is what the Sabbath was to man before he sinned. This is what it would have still been to him if he never had sinned.

November 22, 1893

"The Sabbath a Sign of Redemption" The Bible Echo 8, 24 , pp. 369, 370.

A. T. JONES

LAST week we saw what the Sabbath would have been to man, had he never sinned. But he did sin. He did not remain faithfully a part of the LORD'S original creation. Through sin, man gave himself and all his dominion over to the enemy of GOD. All was wholly lost. But though man and all was lost, yet GOD in JESUS CHRIST freely and willingly became his Saviour. The Creator became the Redeemer. He by whom GOD created all things, is He by whom GOD would save all. He through! whom the power of GOD was manifested in creation, creation, is the same one through whom

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the power of GOD is manifested in salvation. And the power of GOD, whenever, or wherever, or unto whatever purpose it may be manifested, is the same power: for He is the same yesterday and to-day and forever, He changeth not, with Him is no variableness nor shadow of turningóit is ever the same power, the power of GOD, creative power. And the power of GOD manifested through JESUS CHRIST unto salvation is not the same power that was manifested through JESUS CHRIST unto creation. Therefore salvation is only creation over again. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which GOD hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10. "Create in me a clean heart, O GOD." Ps. 51: 10. "If any man is in CHRIST, he is a new creation." 2 Cor. 5: 17, R. V., margin. It is yet further evident that salvation is nothing more nor less than creation over again, because the work of salvation, of redemption, when completed is only the accomplishment, in spite of sin of the original creation as it would have been and remained had there been no sin. Therefore, salvation, redemption, being creation, it follows inevitably that in the nature of things the sign of creation is the sign of salvation. Redemption being the same power the power of GOD manifested through the same oneóJESUS CHRIST, unto the accomplishment of the original purpose, in the nature of things the sane sign, the sign of the power of GOD manifested in the beginning of the original purpose, is still the sign of that same power in the final accomplishment of the original purpose. Therefore it is the everlasting truth that the Sabbath of the LORD, which He set to be the sign of his power manifested in creation is also the sign of his power manifested in redemption. The Sabbath of the LORD, which He set to be the sign by which men may know that He is the LORD, is that indeed; and it is the sign by which men may know Him in redemption as in creation; for redemption is creation, the Creator is the Redeemer. See John 1:1-3, 14; Col. 1:12-18; Heb. 1:1-3; Eph. 3:8-12; Isa. 40:25-29.

As salvation is creation, as the Creator is the Saviour, so likewise He challenges all false gods upon the point that they cannot save, as well as upon the point that they cannot create. Thus: "They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the LORD? and there is no GOD else beside Me: a just GOD and a Saviour: there is none beside Me. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Isa. 45:20-22. Thus it more and more appears from every consideration of Scripture that He who created is He who saves, and that therefore that which is the sign of Him who created is also the sign of Him who, saves; that the sign which He has given that men may know that He is the LORD our GOD, is also the sign by which men may know that He is the LORD our Saviour; for He is Saviour because He is GODó"a just GOD and a Saviour, and there is none else. And the Sabbath of the LORD, the seventh is this sign. The LORD made it so, He says so, and it is so. For again it written: "I gave them my Sabbaths to be sign between Me and them that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them." Eze. 20:12. And as certainly as there is no other true GOD, no other true Saviour, no other true Creator, and no other true sanctifieróas there is no other and can be no other, so certainly there can be no other sign by which men may know as He is, the true GOD and Saviour, the true Creator and sanctifier, than the sign which He has namedóthe seventh day, the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD.

Therefore this Sabbath question is not a question of days as such; it is not a question merely as to whether we shall have one day or another as such; it is a question as to whether we shall worship the one true GOD, or another, and whether we shall have Him, the one true Saviour or another. It is a question as to whether we shall honour the one true Creator, and have Him for our Sanctifier, or another. It is a question as to whether we shall wear the sign of the true GOD, and of his power to save, or whether we shall wear the sign of another and of his powerlessness to save. Which sign do you wear?

The Bible Echo, Vol. 9 (1894)

April 2, 1894

"The Logic of Religious Legislation" The Bible Echo 9, 13 , p. 103.

IF the principle be admitted that the state has the right to legislate in regard to religion, and to enforce religious observances, then no blame can ever be attached to the Roman empire for putting the Christians to death. Nor can it be admitted that such dealings with the Christians was persecution.

The enforcement of right laws can never be persecution, however severely the law may deal with the offender. To hang a murderer is not persecution. To hunt him down, even with blood-hounds, to bring him to justice, is not persecution. We repeat, therefore, that the enforcement of right laws never can be persecution.

If, therefore, religion or religious observances be a proper subject of legislation by civil government, then there never has been and there never can be any such thing as religious persecution. Because civil governments are ruled by majorities, the religion of the majority must of necessity be the adopted religion; and if civil legislation in civil things be right, the majority may legislate in regard to their own religion. Such laws made in such a case must be right laws, and the enforcement of them therefore can never be persecution.
A. T. JONES.

"True Liberty" The Bible Echo 9, 13 , p. 104.

JESUS CHRIST came into the world to set men free, and to plant in their souls the genuine principle of liberty,óliberty actuated by love,óliberty too honourable to allow itself to be used as an occasion to the flesh or a cloak of maliciousness,óliberty led by a conscience enlightened by the Spirit of God,óliberty in which man may be free from all men, yet made so gentle by love that he would willingly become the servant of all, in order to bring them to the enjoyment of this same liberty. This is freedom indeed. This is the freedom which Christ gave to man; for whom the Son makes free is free indeed.

In giving to men this freedom, such an infinite gift could have no other result than that which Christ intended; namely, to bind them in everlasting, unquestioning, unswerving allegiance to Him as the Royal Benefactor of the race. He thus reveals Himself to men as the highest good, and brings them to Himself as the manifestation of that highest good, and to obedience to His will as the perfection of conduct.
A. T. JONES.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 10 (1895)

January 14, 1895

"Living Faith" The Bible Echo 10, 2 , pp. 9, 10.

THE term "living faith" is strictly proper; because faith indeed is a living thing. The just live by faith, and no man can live by what has no life in it. As we can live only by that which brings life to us, and as we live by faith, it is plain that faith is a living thing.

Again, faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8) and He is a living God; Jesus is its Author (Heb. 12:2), and in Him is lifeóHe is the life. In the nature of things, that which comes from such a source must be of itself imbued with life. and as faith does come wholly from Him who only is the living God, from Him who alone is life, and not from ourselves (Eph. 2:8), it is certainly imbued with life, and so brings life to men, by which we may live indeed.

Again, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17); that word is "the faith word" (Titus 1:9), that is, the word full of faith; and that word is "the word of life." Phil. 2:16. Therefore as the word of God brings faith, and is full of faith; and as that word is the word of life, it is evident that faith is life, is a living this, and brings life from God to whom who exercises it.

What life is it, then, which faith brings to men?óComing as it does from God, through Jesus Christ who is the "Author of life," the only life with which it is imbued and which it could possibly bring to men is the life of God. The life of God is what men need and what we must have. And it is the life that God wants us to have; for it is written: "Walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God." Eph. 4:17, 18.

Jesus came that men might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12. And Christ is received by faith, and He dwells in the heart by faith. Eph. 3:17. Therefore as the life of God only, eternal life, is in Jesus Christ, and as Christ dwells in the heart by faith, it is as plain as anything can be

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that faith brings the life of God to him who exercises it.

It is the life of Jesus Himself that is to be made manifest in our bodies: "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." 2 Cor. 4:11. And the life of Jesus is manifested in us, by Christ himself living in us; for "Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." Gal. 2:20. This is living faith.

Again He says, "I will dwell in them and walk in them;" "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you;" and "because I live, ye shall live also." John 14:18, 19. It is by the Holy Spirit that He dwells in us; for He desires you "to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts." Eph. 3:16, 17. And "at that day"óthe day that ye receive the gift of the Holy Ghostó"ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." John 14:20. "And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us." 1 John 3:24. And we "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3:14.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." We must have the blessing of Abraham in order to receive the promise of the Spirit. The blessing of Abraham is righteousness by faith. See Rom. 4:1-13. Having this, Abraham "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had." And we, having this, can freely receive the promise of the Spirit circumcising the heart unto holiness and the seal of the righteousness of the faith which we had. Having the blessing of Abraham, and so being sons of God, God sends forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. Gal. 3:26; 4:4-6. Having the blessing of Abraham, that you may receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, then ask that ye may receiveóyea, ask and ye shall receive. For the word of God has promised, and faith cometh by hearing the word of God. Therefore ask in faith, nothing wavering, "for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Such is living faithóthe faith that comes from the living God; the faith of which Christ is the Author; the faith which comes by the word of God; the faith which brings life and power from God to men, and which works the works of God in him who exercises it; the faith which receives the Holy Spirit that brings the living presence of Jesus Christ to dwell in the heart and manifest Himself still in mortal flesh. This and this alone is living faith. By this Christians live. This is life itself. This is everything. Without this, everything is simply nothing or worse; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

With such faith as this, that is, with true faith, there never can arise any question as to works; for this faith itself works, and he who has it, necessarily works. It is impossible to have this faith and not have works. "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love." Gal. 5:6. This faith being a living thing, cannot exist without working. And coming from God, the only works that it can possibly work are the works of God.

Therefore anything that professes to be faith which of itself does not work the salvation of the individual having it, and which then does not work the works of God in him who professes it, is not faith at all, but is a fraud that that individual is passing off upon himself, which brings no grace to the heart, and no power to the life. It is dead, and he is still dead in trespasses and sins, and all his service is only a form without power, and therefore is only a dead formalism.

But on the other hand, the faith which is of God, which comes by the word of God and brings Christ, the living word, to dwell in the heart and shine in the lifeóthis is true faith which through Jesus Christ only lives and works in him who exercises it.

Christ Himself living in us; Christ in you the hope of glory; God with us; God manifest in the flesh now, to-day in our flesh, by the faith of Jesus Christóthis and this only is living faith. For "every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:2-4.

Therefore, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." Jesus said unto them and to us all: "Have the faith of God." Mark 11:22, margin.
A. T. JONES.

January 21, 1895

"A Dead Formalism" The Bible Echo 10, 23 , p. 20.

A. T. JONES

IT is eternally true that the only way in which we can ever possibly be separated from this world or from the people of this world, is by the presence of God going ever with us. "So shall we be separated from all the people that are upon the face of the earth."

Just here is the point where a dead formalism enters and takes the place of living faith. People want to be the Lord's; they want to serve the Lord; they want to go to heaven; and knowing that this requires separation from the world, they "try to give up the world." But instead of finding the living presence of the Lord by having faith, which of itself would accomplish all that is required and all that the heart can rightly desire, they undertake to separate themselves from the world and from the things that are in the world. This they hope to do by professing religion, joining the church, practicing the forms of religion, and "doing their best" to keep the commandments and obey the Scriptures. Not having the living presence of Christ in the heart to accomplish of itself the will of God and to work the works of God, they hope to supply the lack by practicing of themselves the forms of religion. But all this is only the form of godliness without the power, and can never bring peace to the mind nor rest to the heart.

The profession of religion without the living presence and power of Christ in the heart and manifested in the life, is only a dead formalism. It matters not though it be profession of Christianity itself, and a practice of all the forms of service and of worship that pertain to Christianity; if Christ Himself is not a living presence and power in the heart and life, giving life to all the forms of service and of worship in which we engage, then it is all simply an outward service of mere forms and is therefore only a dead formalism.

The forms even of Christianity can never give life to the observer of them. No; life is found only in Christ Himself, by a living faith. And having by living faith found Him who alone is life, He then is life to us and to all the forms too. Then all the service, and all the forms of service of Christ are always a delight. But to practice the forms of God's service with the hope of getting life, instead of because we have the life of God, is a wearisome and vain procedure and a profitless business.

The Lord gave the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness which was obtained by faith without being circumcised. But they not having the righteousness which is by faith, sought to obtain it by circumcision itself. The outward sign of the presence of the Lord and his righteousness within, they made to take the place of that which it only signified. Circumcision was thus put in the place of Christ. And therefore in the nature of things, circumcision was looked upon and counted as the greatest of all things. And it was strictly logical that the rabbis should teach, as they did, that circumcision alone was "as great as all the other commandments;" and indeed that it was greater than creation itself, because God had created heaven and earth in order that men might be circumcised. See Farrar's "Life and Work of Saint Paul," pp. 226, 428.

Again, the Lord gave His lawóthe ten commandmentsófirst to give the knowledge of sin and cause it to "become exceeding sinful" that they might appreciate Christ, the Saviour from sin (Rom. 7:13; 5:20, 21); and secondly, to witness to the righteousness of God obtained without the law and by the faith of Jesus Christ. Rom. 3:20-22. Therefore the tabernacle in which the law was preserved was called "the tabernacle of witness" (Acts 7:44); the ark in which the law rested was "the ark of the testimony;" and the tables on which the law was written were called "the tables of the testimony." Testimony is the evidence which a witness gives; and therefore the ark of the testimony was the ark of witness, and the tables of the testimony were the tables of witness, as the tabernacle was the tabernacle of witness, and all because they held the law of God which was the witness to the righteousness of God which they were to obtain by faith in the mediation of Him whom all the services of the tabernacle typified.

But they not having righteousness by faith of Christ, sought to obtain it by works of the law. Not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God, they went about to establish their own righteousness. Rom. 10:3. Not having the presence of Christ in the heart to work the righteousness of God in the life and so fulfill the righteousness of the law in them, and seeking to accomplish righteousness themselves by the law, they perverted the law from the purposes for which God gave it, to purposes of their ownópurposes for which God never gave it and never intended it at all.

The ten commandments as men see them in the letter are but "the form of knowledge and of the truth"óthe form of righteousness. Rom. 2:20. He who looks at the law itself, and seeks to do it as he sees it, is seeking but a form of righteousness at the best. It is true that the law, even in the letter, is the perfect form of knowledge and of truth; but still it is thus only the form of it. And though a man conform perfectly to it as he sees it, still his service would be but a perfect formalism and he but a perfect formalistósuch as was Saul of Tarsus. Phil. 3:16.

But in Christ as the perfect life of the perfect form. As it is written, "The law was given by the hand of Moses; but the reality and grace was by the hand of Jesus Messiah." John 1:17. (Syriac). That is, while in the law as it is in the letter and as men see it, is the form of knowledge and truth, in Christ is the very reality. Finding Him we find the very life of the law; for He is the living law itself. In Him we find all the depth and meaning of the law as it is in truthóthe very righteousness of God Himself, which the law demands and which alone it will accept of us, but which it can never find in us till it finds Christ there. And finding Him in us, it witnesses to the righteousness of God which we have in Him.

January 28, 1895

"A Dead Formalism" The Bible Echo 10, 4 , p. 28.

UNBELIEVING Israel, not having the righteousness which is of faith, and so not appreciating the great sacrifice that the Heavenly Father has made, sought righteousness by virtue of the offering itself, and because of the merit of his offering of it.

Thus was perverted every form of service, and everything which God had appointed to be the means of expression to a living faith, and which could not have any real meaning except by the living presence and power of Christ Himself in the life. But not having Him by living faith, His place was sought to be supplied with these things which were meaningless and lifeless without Him. And that which His presence alone could accomplishótheir separation from self and from the worldówas sought to be wrought by themselves in a rigid conformity to these, in their hands, meaningless and lifeless forms. And even this was not enough. For, not finding the peace and satisfaction of an accomplished righteousness in any of this, nor in all of it together, they heaped upon these things which the Lord had appointed for another purpose but which they had perverted to purpose of their own invention,óthey heaped upon these things, ten thousand traditions, exactions, and hair-splitting distinctions of their own invention; and all, all, in a vain hope of attaining to righteousness. For the rabbis taught what was practically a confession of despair, that, "If but one person could only for one day keep the whole law and not offend in one pointónay, if but one person could but keep that one point of the law which affected the due observance of the Sabbathóthen the troubles of Israel would be ended, and the Messiah at last would come."óFarrar Id., p. 37. See also pp. 36, 83. What could possibly more fittingly describe a dead formalism than does this? And yet for all this conscious dearth in their own lives, there was still enough supposed merit to cause them to count themselves so much better than other people that all others were but as dogs in comparison.

It is not so with those who are accounted righteous by the Lord upon a living faith freely exercised. For when the Lord counts a man righteous, he is actually righteous before God. And in this he is really better than other people; and by this very fact is separated from all the people of the world. But this is not because of any excellence of his own, nor of the "merit" of anything that he has done. It is altogether because of the excellence of the Lord and of what He has done. And the man for whom this has been done, knows that in himself he is no better than anybody else; but rather in the light of the righteousness of God that is freely imparted to him, he in the humility of true faith willingly counts others better than himself. Phil. 2:3.

This giving themselves great credit for what the themselves had done, and counting themselves better than all other people upon the merit of what they had doneóthis was at once to land them fully in the complete self-righteousness of Phariseeism. They counted themselves so much better than all other people that there could not possibly be any basis of comparison. It seemed to them a perfectly ruinous revolution to preach as the truth of God that "there is no respect of persons with God."

And what of the actual life of such people, all this time?óO, it was only a life of injustice and oppression, malice and envy, variance and emulation, backbiting and talebearing, hypocrisy and meanness; boasting of their great honour of the law, and through breaking the law dishonoring God; their hearts filled with murder, and their tongues crying loudly for the blood of One of their brethren, yet they could not cross the threshold of a Roman tribunal "lest they should be defiled!" Intense sticklers for the Sabbath, yet spending the holy day in spying treachery and conspiracy to murder.

What God thought and still thinks of all such ways as this, is shown plainly enough for our present purpose, in just two short passages of scripture. Here is his word to Israelóthe ten tribesówhile yet their day lingered:ó

"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." Amos 5:21-24.

And to Judah near the same time He said the same thing, in these words:ó

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isa. 1:10-18.

The Lord Himself had appointed these feast days, and solemn assemblies, these burnt offerings, meat offerings, and peace offerings; but now He says He hates them and will not accept them. Their fine songs, sung by their trained choirs, and accompanied with instruments of music, making a grand display,óall this that they got off for wonderfully fine music, He called "noise," and wanted it taken away.

He had never appointed any feast days, nor solemn assemblies, nor sacrifices, nor offerings, nor songs, for any such purpose as that for which these were being used. He had appointed all these as the means of worshipful expression of a living faith by which the Lord Himself should abide in the heart and work righteousness in the life, so that in righteousness they could judge the fatherless and plead for the widow; and so that judgment could run as waters down, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Songs sung in the pomp and stylish intonation of a vain show, is but "noise;" while the simple words, "Our Father" flowing from a heart touched by the power of a true and living faith and "spoken in sincerity by human lips, is music" which enters into the inclining ear (Ps. 116:2) of the Heavenly Father and brings divine blessing in power to the soul.

This and this alone is what He had appointed these things for; and never, never to be used in the hollow pretense of a dead formalism to answer in righteousness for the iniquity of a carnal heart. Nothing but the washing away of the sins by the blood of the Lamb of God, and the purifying of the heart by living faithónothing but this could ever make these things acceptable to Him who appointed them.

February 4, 1895

"A Dead Formalism" The Bible Echo 10, 5 , p. 37.

EVEN this side of the cross of Christ, which itself should be the everlasting destruction of it, this same evil thing has exalted itself and has been the bane of the profession of Christianity everywhere. Very soon, unconverted men crept into the church and exalted themselves in the place of Christ. Not finding the living presence of Christ in the heart by living faith, they have ever since sought to have the forms of Christianity supply the lack of His presence which alone can give meaning and life to these forms.

In this system of perverseness, regeneration is through the form of baptism and even this by a mere sprinkling of a few drops of water; the real presence of Christ is in the form of the Lord's supper; the hope of salvation is in being connected with a form of the church. And so on throughout the whole list of the forms of Christianity. Not content with thus perverting the divinely appointed forms of Christianity, they have heaped upon this, ten thousand inventions of their own, in penances, pilgrimages, traditions, and hair-splitting distinctions.

And, as of old and always with mere formalists, the life is simply and continually the manifestation of the works of the fleshóstrife and contention; hypocrisy and iniquity; persecution, spying, treachery, and every evil work. This is the papacy.

This evil spirit of a dead formalism, however, has spread itself far beyond the bounds of the organised Papacy. It is the bane of the profession of Christianity everywhere to-day; and even the profession of the Christianity of the third angel's message has not entirely escaped it. It is to be the world-wide prevailing evil of the last days clear up to the very coming of the Lord in glory in the clouds of heaven.

For, "this know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

This all-prevailing form of godliness without the power, and which even denies the power, is the dead formalism against which we are to fight the good fight of living faith. The living faith which is brought to the world in the third angel's message, is to save us from being swallowed up in this worldwide sea of a dead formalism.

How is it with you individually to-day? Is yours a dead formalism, or a living faith? Have you the form of godliness without the power? or have you by living faith the living presence and power of the living Saviour in the heart giving divine meaning, life, and joy to all the forms of worship and of service which Christ has appointed; and working the works of God and manifesting the fruits of the Spirit in all the life?

Except as the means of finding Christ the living Saviour in the word, and the living faith of him, even this word itself can be turned to a dead formalism now as it was of old when he was on the earth. He said to them then (Revised Version), "Ye search the Scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me. And ye will not come unto me that ye may have life." John 5:39, 40.

They thought to find eternal life in the Scriptures without Christ, that is, by doing them themselves. But "this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son,"óas we find him in the Scriptures, and not in the words of the Scriptures without Him. For they are they that testify of Him. This is their object. Therefore, "he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12.

"True godliness elevates the thoughts and actions; then the external forms of religion accord with the Christian's internal purity; then those ceremonies required in the service of God are not meaningless rites, like those of the hypocritical Pharisees."ó"Spirit of Prophecy," Vol. II, p. 219.

February 11, 1895

"The Sure Interpreter" The Bible Echo 10, 6 , p. 44.

A. T. JONES

THE spirit of prophecy is the means through which Christ Himself gives the true understanding and right interpretation of His word. Christ is the Author of the written word of God. This word "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." It was "the Spirit of Christ" in these holy men, which testified the things that are written and now preached unto us with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 1 Pet. 1:11, 12.

It being the word of Christ Himself, signified and testified by His own Spiritóby Himself through his Holy Spiritóit follows that He alone by that same Spirit is qualified to interpret that word and infallibly give the right meaning of it. The only absolutely sure interpreter of any writing is the author of it Himself. All others are liable to mistake, or fail to catch the real thought which the author intended to convey. How much more, then, is it so with the word of Godóthat word which is in meaning of eternal depth! How much more with this than with any other writing, are all others liable to mistake or to fail to catch the real thought of the Author! And how certainly therefore is the Author of this word the only one qualified to interpret it and to set forth its meaning! Christ alone, in His own proper person by his Holy Spirit, is the interpreter of His word. And that interpretation is infallible; because Christ alone possesses infallibility. Whoever else would presume to interpret the Bible and declare its meaning, would thereby put himself in the place of Christ. And this is the papacy.

Christ alone is the interpreter of His word. And the evidence which He gives, the testimony of Christ, as to the meaning of His word, that is the meaning of it as He thinks it. That is the truth itself as it is in Jesus. And he who receives it thus receives the thought of Christ. And "the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy."

Consequently the one chief object of the gift of prophecy is to draw us to the word of God, and enable us to see there the "deep things of God;" to enable us to find there the precious hidden treasures; and to bring to understanding the things "that are hard to be understood."

February 18, 1895

"What Is Due to God, and What to Cesar" The Bible Echo 10, 7 , pp. 50, 51.

ALONZO T. JONES

"Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Matt. 22:21.

IN these words Christ has established a clear distinction between Cesar and God,óbetween that which is Cesar's and that which is God's; that is, between the civil and the religious power, and between what we owe to the civil power and what we owe to the religious power. That which is Cesar's is to be rendered to Cesar; that which is God's is to be rendered to God alone. With that which is God's, Cesar can have nothing to do. To say that we are to render to Cesar that which is God's, or that we are to render to God, by Cesar, that which is God's, is to pervert the words of Christ, and make meaningless. Such an interpretation would be but to entangle him in his talk,óthe very thing that the Pharisees sought to do.

As the word Cesar refers to civil government, it is apparent at once that the duties which we owe to Cesar are civil duties, while the duties which we owe to God are wholly moral or religious duties. Webster's definition of religion is,ó

"The recognition of God as an object of worship, live, and obedience."

Another definition, equally good, is as follows:ó

"Man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God."

It is evident, therefore, that religion and religious duties pertain solely to God, and that which is God's is to be rendered to him, and not to Cesar; it follows inevitably that civil government can never of right have anything to do with religion, with a man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God.

Another definition which may help in making the distinction appear, is that of morality, as follows:ó

"Morality: The relation of conformity or non-conformity to the true moral standard or rule. . . . The conformity of an act to the divine law."

As morality, therefore, is the conformity of an act to the divine law, it is plain that morality also pertains solely to God, and with that, civil government can have nothing to do. This may appear at first sight to be an extreme position, if not a false one; but it is not. It is the correct position, as we think any one can see who will give the subject a little careful thought. The first part of the definition already given, says that morality is the relation of conformity or non-conformity to the true moral standard or rule," and the latter part of the definition shows that this true moral standard is the divine law. Again: moral law is defined asó

"The will of God, as the supreme moral ruler, concerning the character and conduct of all responsible beings the rule of action as obligatory on the conscience or moral nature." "The moral law is summarily contained in the decalogue, written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, and delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai."

These definitions are evidently according to Scripture. The Scriptures show that the ten commandments are the law of God; that they express the will of God; that they pertain to the conscience, and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and that obedience to these commandments is the duty that man owes to God.

Obedience to the moral law is morality; it pertains to the thoughts and intents of the heart, and therefore, in the very nature of the case, lies beyond the reach or control of the civil power. To hate is murder; to covet is idolatry; to think impurely of a woman is adultery;óare all equally immoral, and violations of the moral law, but no civil government seeks to punish for them. A man may hate his neighbour all his life; he may covet everything on earth; he may think impurely of every woman he sees,óhe may keep it up all his days; but so long as these things are confined to his thought, the civil power cannot touch him. It would be difficult to conceive of a more immoral person than such a man would be; yet the state cannot punish him. It does not attempt to punish him. This demonstrates again that with morality or immorality the state can have nothing to do.

But let us carry this further. Only let that man's hatred lead him, either by word or sign, to attempt an injury to his neighbor, and the state will punish him; only let his covetousness lead him to lay hands on what is not his own, in an attempt to steal, and the state will punish him. Yet bear in mind that even then the state does not punish him for his immorality, but for his incivility. The immorality lies in the heart, and can be measured by God only. The state punishes no man because he is immoral. If it did, it would have to punish as a murderer the man who hates another, because, according to the true standard of morality, hatred is murder. Therefore it is clear that in fact the state punishes no man because he is immoral, but because he is uncivil. It cannot punish immorality; it must punish incivility.

This distinction is shown in the very term by which is designated state or national government; it is called civil government. No person ever thinks of calling it moral government. The government of God is the only moral government. God is the only moral governor. The law of God is the only moral law. To God alone pertains the punishment of immorality, which is the transgression of the moral law. Governments of men are civil governments, not moral. Governors of men are civil governors, not moral. The laws of states and nations are civil laws, not moral. To the authorities of civil government pertains the punishment of incivility, that is, the transgression of civil law. It is not theirs to punish immorality. That pertains solely to the Author of the moral law and of the moral sense, who is the sole judge of man's moral relation. All this must be manifest to every one who will think fairly upon the subject, and it is confirmed by the definition of the word civil, which is as follows:ó

"Civil: Pertaining to a city or state, or to a citizen in his relations to his fellow-citizens, or to the state."

By all these things it is made clear that we owe to Cesar (civil government) only that which is civil, and that we owe to God that which is moral or religious. Other definitions show the same thing. For instance, sin, as defined by Webster is "any violation of God's will;" and as

51

defined by the Scriptures, "is the transgression of the law." That the law here referred to is the moral law, the ten commandments, is shown by Rom. 7:7:ó

"I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

Thus the Scriptures show that sin is the transgression of the law which says, "Thou shalt not covet," and that is the moral law.

But crime is an offense against the laws of the state. The definition is as follows:ó

"Crime is strictly a violation of law either human or divine; but in present usage the terms is commonly applied to actions contrary to the laws of the state."

Thus civil statutes define crime, and deal with crime, but not with sin; while the divine statutes define sin, and deal with sin, but not with crime.

As God is the only moral governor, as His is the only moral government, as His law is the only moral law, and as it pertains to him to punish immorality, so likewise the promotion of morality pertains to Him alone. Morality is conformity to the law of God; it is obedience to God. But obedience to God must spring from the heart in sincerity and truth. This it must do, or it is not obedience; for as we have proved by the word of God, the law of God takes cognisance of the thoughts and intents of the heart. But "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." By transgression, all men have made themselves immoral. "Therefore by the deeds of the law [by obedience] there shall no flesh be justified [accounted righteous, or made moral] in his sight." Rom. 3:20.

As all men have, by transgression of the law of God, made themselves immoral, therefore no man can, by obedience to the law, become moral, because it is that very law which declares him to be immoral. The demands, therefore, of the moral law, must be satisfied, before he can ever be accepted as moral by either the law or its Author. But the demands of the moral law can never be satisfied by an immoral person, and this is just what every person has made himself by transgression. Therefore it is certain that men can never become moral by the moral law.

From this it is equally certain that if ever men shall be made moral, it must be by the Author and Source of all morality. And this is just the provision which God has made. For "now the righteousness [the morality] of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness [the morality] of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned [made themselves immoral], and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:21-23.

It is by the morality of Christ alone that men can be made moral. And this morality of Christ is the morality of God, which is imputed to us for Christ's sake; and we receive it by faith in Him who is both the author and finisher of faith. Then by the Spirit of God the moral law is written anew in the heart and in the mind, sanctifying the soul unto obedienceóunto morality. Thus, and thus alone, can men ever attain to morality; and that morality is the morality of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ; and there is no other in this world. Therefore, as morality springs from God, and is planted in the heart by the Spirit of God, through faith in the Son of God, it is demonstrated by proofs of Holy Writ itself, that to God alone pertains the promotion of morality.

May 27, 1895

"Catholicism V. Christianity" The Bible Echo 10, 21 , pp. 162, 163.

A. T. JONES

"HOW SHALL a man be just with God?" At each of the three great religious epochs of the world's historyóthe deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, the apostolic age, and the era of the Reformationóthis has been the one great question at issue; and in our day it is again to be the great question at issue in the great controversy which is to be the culmination of all questions and of all earthly ages.

EVERY MAN HIS OWN SAVIOUR

How, then, are men made righteousójustified, saved from sinóaccording to the way of the Papacy?óIt is by penance. Proof?óHere it is: "Penance, by which the sins that we commit after baptism are forgiven." "The sacrament of penance, in which the forgiveness of sins is granted to the penitent."óCatholic Belief, pp. 80, 366. One of these says that penance is the means by which the sins that we commit "after baptism" are forgiven. It is, therefore, important to know when, according to that system, baptism is to be administered; and by this to know how many sins can be committed before baptism. Here is the authoritative statement on that point:ó

"From what has been said, you may well judge how reprehensible is the conduct of Catholic parents who neglect to have their children baptized at the earliest possible moment, thereby risking their own souls, as well as the souls of their innocent offspring."óFaith of Our Fathers, p. 313.

WHAT IS PENANCE

Penance being the means of justification, the way of salvation from sin, what then is penance? Here is the authoritative answer:ó

"In the case of those who have fallen into mortal sin after baptism, when the guilt of such sin and the everlasting punishment due to it are forgiven, there still very often remains a debt of temporal punishment, to be paid by the sinner. This debt remains, not from any imperfection in the power of absolution in the sacrament of penance, nor from any want of efficacy in the atonement of Jesus Christ; but because by God's will, chastisement for past sins helps us to compensate for the imperfection in our repentance, and serves as a correction.óCatholic Belief, p. 191.

Now, what does the sinner's salvation turn? and who is his saviour?óPlainly his salvation turns altogether upon the punishment; and as this debt of punishment is to be paid by the sinner himself, it just as certainly follows that the sinner is his own saviour. And thus penance, punishment, is the papal way of salvation.

Nor is this all; but the Lord Himself is made responsible for it, so that it is literally set forth as the divine way of salvation and the divine means of justification. For it is plainly said that this debt of punishment, to be paid by the guiltless sinner, remains "because by God's will chastisement for past sins helps us to compensate [to pay] for the imperfection in our repentance, and serves as a correction." As the Lord forgives both the guilt and the everlasting punishment of the sin, and yet by his own will has fixed it that the sinner must still pay a debt of punishment in order to be justified and saved, then it is certain that according to the papal system, God has made punishment, which is penance, the means of justification and the way of salvation.

And indeed this is also further stated by this same authority, as follows:ó

From this we see that . . . He has not dispensed us from doing with the help of His grace what we can to punish ourselves for the offences and outrages we have offered to God. Good sense tells us that this is both right and just."óp. 192.

Everybody who will think on the subject can easily enough see that instead of its being good sense, it is an utter lack of every element of sound sense that tells a man that it is in any sense either right or just that he should punish himself to save himself from himself. So essentially is punishmentópenanceóthe papal way of salvation that even the dying thief, whom the Lord Jesus himself pardoned on the cross, is made to do penance. Here are the words:ó

"The pardon granted to the penitent thief in the saving words: 'Amen, I says to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise' (Luke 23:43), can not be taken as proof that we are dispensed by God from doing works of penance. That was a wonderful and special grace granted under extraordinary circumstances, namely, when the blood of redemption was actually being shed upon the cross; moreover, the dying thief, besides bearing testimony to the divinity of Jesus Christ, confessed his guilt, and, in the spirit of penance, suffered the torment of his crucifixion, and the cruel breaking of his limbs, as penalties justly due to his sins.óp. 193.

A DOCTRINE THAT MISREPRESENTS GOD

This doctrine that men must punish themselves to save themselves springs from the utterly false, even heathenish, idea that God is harsh, stern, forbidding, and exacting, instead of gentle, loving, winning, and merciful. It looks

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upon him as so ill-tempered and stern that He has to be "moved" by men's doings so well that they get Him into a good humour, and by punishment making themselves such pitiable objects that he can finally be persuaded to yield and "save" them. And here is that thought authoritatively expressed:ó

"We stand in continual need of actual graces to perform good acts, both before and after being justified. . . . The good acts, however, done by the help of grace before justification, are not, strictly speaking, meritorious, but serve to smooth the way to justification, to move God."ópp. 76, 77.

Thus by her own showing, the god of the Papacy is of such a disposition and character that it is necessary for men, wicked men, to do "good acts" in order to move him; and then, after they have thus moved him, it is still essential that they shall pay "a debt of temporal punishment," in order to induce him to allow them the justification which they have so hardly earned. To such a god as that it is no wonder that the Inquisition is a pleasing tribute.

This is self-salvation as set forth by the Papacy. We will in our next article consider a few scriptures setting forth God's way of saving men.

June 3, 1895

"Catholicism V. Christianity" The Bible Echo 10, 22 , pp. 170, 171.

A. T. JONES

THE article on the Catholic doctrine of penance, which makes every man his own Saviour, closed last week with the statement: Thus by her own showing, the god of the Papacy is of such a disposition and character that it is necessary for men, wicked men, to do "good acts" in order to move him; and then, after they have thus moved him, it is still essential that they shall pay "a debt of temporal punishment" in order to induce him to allow them the justification which they have so hardly earned.

THE FREE SALVATION OF GOD

But such is not the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such is not his way of justifying men, His way of salvation. Here is His own announcement of His name, which is simply the proclamation of His character and His disposition toward all mankind: "I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. . . . And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." This is the true God.

GOD A MERCIFUL BEING

"Merciful"ófull of the disposition to treat people better than they deserve. It is not to treat people as they deserve. It is not to treat people better than they deserve, in an outward way. It is not to wait till one is "moved" by good deeds and punishments to grant what has been thus already caused. No, no. It is the disposition, the very heart's core of the being, to treat all persons better than they deserve.

This is the Lord, the true God. "He doth not afflict from the heart, nor grieve the children of men." Lam. 3:33, margin. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." Ps. 103:10-14. His mercy is great above the greatness of the heavens. Ps. 103:4.

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH

"Gracious"óextending favour. And that without measure; for it is written: "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7. And the measure of the gift of Christ is but the measure of "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And this is the measure of the full and free favour that God has extended to every soul on this earth, just where he is, and just as he is. And this boundless grace to every one, brings salvation to every one in the same measure as is given the grace, which is the measure of the gift of Christ. For again it is written: "The grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men." Titus 2:11. The salvation of God is full and free gift to everyone; but He will compel no one to take it. The receiving of the free gift of God is the exercise of the faith which He has also freely given to every man. "For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Eph. 2:8. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed." Rom. 4:16.

This is God's way of justification; by grace, through faith; and of faith, that it might be by grace. "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Rom. 3:24, 25. Justification is the free gift of God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who is altogether the free gift of God. For "as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life." Rom. 5:18. And the receiving of this gift of justification, this gift of righteousness, as the free gift of God, which it is, this is the exercise

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of the faith which God has given. And this is justification, this is righteousness, by faith. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference." Rom 3:22. The faith being the gift of God, the righteousness which it brings and which it wrought by it is the righteousness of God. And this is righteousness, justification, by faith alone, of which, by her own boast, the Catholic Church knows nothing; and in so boasting advertises her utter lack of Christianity.

TRUE REPENTANCE

True, men are to repent, and they will repent when they find God as He is in truth, as He is revealed in Jesus Christ. For "it is the goodness of God" that leads men to repentance; and repentance itself is the gift of God. Rom. 2:4; Acts 5:31. True repentance, being the gift of God, is perfect in itself, and needs no punishing of ourselves to compensate for the imperfection in it. But when the repentance is of ourselves, it has no merit that can bring to us any good, and all the punishment of ourselves that could ever be inflicted by ourselves or in ten thousand purgatories never could compensate for the imperfection of it. For it is simply impossible for any man to save himself by punishment or in any other way.

The salvation, the justification, offered to mankind by Christianity is altogether of God by faith. The salvation, the justification, offered to mankind by the Papacy, is altogether of self by penance. The salvation offered by Christianity saves to the uttermost all who will receive it. The salvation offered by the Papacy brings to utter destruction all who follow after it. And yet the professed Protestantism of to-day recognises "Christianity" in the Papacy! Than this, nothing could possibly show more plainly how completely apostate such Protestantism is, not only from true Protestantism, but also from true Christianity.

June 10, 1895

"Catholicism v. Christianity" The Bible Echo 10, 23 , pp. 179, 180.

A. T. JONES

LAST week we considered the free salvation of God by the faith that is the free gift of God, the faith that works by love.

THE CATHOLIC DENIAL OF FAITH

Now of this faith it is the boast of the Catholic Church that she knows nothing. This is the very doctrine of faith, and of justification by faith, which produced the Reformation and made original, genuine Protestantism. And of this faith, and of the Reformation which was produced by it, the Catholic Church speaks thus:ó

"As in revolutions the leaders try to gain the people over by the bait of promised independence, so at the time of the so-called Reformationówhich was a revolution against church authority and order in religionóit seems that it was the aim of the Reformers to decoy the people under the pretext of making them independent of the priests, in whose hands our Saviour has placed the administering the seven sacraments of pardon and of grace.

"They began, therefore, by discarding five of these sacraments. . . . They then reduced, as it appears, to a matter of form, the two sacraments they professed to retain, namely, holy baptism and the holy eucharist. To make up for this rejection, and enable each individual to prescribe for himself, and procure by himself the pardon of sins and divine grace, independently of the priests and of the sacraments, they invented an exclusive means, never known in the church of God, and still rejected by all the eastern churches and by the Roman Catholics throughout the world. . . . They have framed a new dogma of justification by faith alone, or by faith only.

"Luther invented, as we have said, the doctrine, and was the first to affix such a meaning to the word faith. . . . And from that period only there existed man who saw in the word faith, occurring so frequently in Holy Scripture, that which has never been seen by the fathers, doctors, saints, and by the whole Church of God.óCatholic Belief, pp. 365, 366, 374.

THE FAITH OF THE CREED

These extracts are enough to show, and they declare plainly enough, that the Catholic Church does indeed know nothing of the faith which is of God, and which, because it is of God, bears in itself sufficient power and merit to justify and save the sinner who will allow it to work in him the righteousness of God. What meaning then does she affix to the word "faith"? Here it is:ó

"These texts, all of which refer to saving faith, prove beyond a doubt that not trust in Christ for personal salvation, but the faith of the creed, . . . is the faith availing for justification.óp. 370.

But who made the creed?óMen, and men only. Constantine was the chief agent in the making of the original Catholic creed, the Nicene Creed. Men being the sole authors of the creed, and "faith" being "the faith of the creed," it follows at once that that faith is solely of themselves, of their own manufacture, and not the gift of God at all, and is therefore not true faith at all. For the true faith, the faith that really saves, is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." And it is as certain as anything can be that the Catholic faith is a base counterfeit that she would pass off upon all the world, and by force, too, to supplant the true faith.

It is not enough, however, to say that it is a mere human invention; it comes from lower down than that. And she herself has given us the means of tracing it to its original. Here it is:ó

"By faith is not meant a trust in Christ for personal salvation, but evidently a firm belief that Jesus is the Messias, the Christ, the Son of God, that what is related of Him in the gospel is true, and that what he taught it true.óp. 369.

EXAMPLES OF THIS FAITH

Now there are recorded in the Scriptures several examples of this same identical "faith" here defined. Here is one:ó

"And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him." Luke 4:33-35.

Here is another:ó

"And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known." Mark 3:11, 12.

And here is another:ó

"And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Matt. 8:28, 29.

And yet another:ó

"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" Acts 19:13-15.

In these examples there is every element of the "faith" above defined and set forth as the "saving faith" of the Catholic Church. Every one of these devils showed "evidently a firm belief," and actually proclaimed it, "that Jesus is the Messias, the Christ, the Son of God"! And that legion of them that found a home with the hogs and set the whole two thousand of them crazy, showed also "evidently a

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firm belief that what is related of him in the gospel is true." For from the beginning of the gospel in this world, it had been related of Him that He should bruise the devil's head; and it was indeed related of Him that He should destroy the devil. And that this legion of devils had "evidently a firm belief" that this is true is clearly shown by their terrified inquiry, "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" They thoroughly believed that this time of torment was coming, as it had been related; and what they feared now was that it was to befall them "before the time."

The Scripture plainly states that that is just the kind of faith that it is. Here are the words: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19. There is the plain word of the Lord, that this "faith" that is proudly set forth as the Catholic faith is simply the faith that the devils have. And it does not save them. It has no power to change their lives. They are devils still. And, moreover, Jesus forbade them to preach this "faith."

June 17, 1895

"Catholicism v. Christianity" The Bible Echo 10, 24 , pp. 187, 188.

A. T. JONES

TRUSTING A DEAD FAITH

THIS is precisely "the faith of the creed." It is of themselves and not of God. And being only of themselves, it is impotent to bring to them any virtue to change the life; it is powerless to work in them any good. Being incapable of working, it is a faith that is dead. And those who hold it, realising that it is lifeless and so unable to do anything for them, are obliged to give it the appearance of life by doing great things for it in the multiplication of dead works. For works that are not of faith, that are not wrought by the faith itself, are dead works. They are worse than valueless, for "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Any faith that is not able to itself to produce, to work, but works of God in him who professes it, is a dead faith. It is "the faith of the creed." It is the "faith" of the devils. It is the "faith" of the Papacy. And when such "faith" is passed off for Christianity, it is the mystery of iniquity, wherever it is found. And therefore it is that the Scripture, immediately after describing this "faith" of the devils, exclaims: "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" And then cites Abraham and calls to all, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" James 2:20, 22. Thus the works by which faith was made perfect, were wrought by the faith itself. When the faith is living, the works of faith appear just as certainly as when the tree is living the fruit appears in its season.

The only thing that will be accepted in the judgment is works. The only works that will be accept in the judgment are works of righteousness. And the only righteousness that will be accepted or countenanced in any way whatever in the judgment is the righteousness of God. And

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this righteousness is a free gift to men, and is wrought in man by faith aloneó"even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference."

It is true that "the church" says that "this faith," "the faith of the creed," this faith of the devils, "leads to trusting in Christ, and to all other virtues." But it is a notable fact that it has not done this for the devils. And it is just as notable and just as apparent that "this faith" has not, in all these hundreds of years, led the Catholic Church to trusting in Christ nor to any other virtues.

FAITH ILLUSTRATED

Rome gives an illustration to show the difference between the faith of Christ and "the faith of the creed," and here it is:ó

"To show the unfairness of taking the word faith, occurring in the Holy Scripture, in this new Protestant sense of trust in Christ for pardon, to the exclusion of any other dispositions or means, and not in the Catholic sense of belief in revealed truths, . . . allow me to use the following illustration: Suppose a man afflicted with a grave disease sends for a physician of repute. The physician comes and prescribes, and to inspire the patient with more confidence, tells him, 'Only believe in me and you will be cured.' Can we suppose that the poor sufferer, on the departure of the physician, would say: 'I shall take no medicine, for the physician said: Only believe and you will be cured?' This way of reasoning and acting seems impossible to be adopted in regard to the cure of the body, but respecting the cure of the soul it is an unhappy matter of fact that thousands of persons fall into this sad mistake.óCatholic Belief, pp. 374, 375.

Now there is not the least doubt that this statement perfectly illustrates the difference between the faith of Christ and Catholic faith, for it proceeds altogether upon the view that there is no more power or virtue in the word of God than there is in the word of a man; that the word of Christ, the heavenly Physician, has no more power to cure than has the word of an earthly physician. And that is indeed just the difference between true faith, the faith of God, and Catholic faith, "the faith of the creed."

THE FAITH A POWER TO WORK

True faith finds in the word of God, the word of the heavenly Physician, the living, creative, power of God to accomplish all that that word says. When the centurion asked Jesus to cure his sick servant, Jesus said, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." And Jesus himself decided this to be "faith," and even "so great faith" as he had not found in Israel, and then said to the centurion, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." Matt. 8:5-13.

A nobleman also came to Jesus beseeching him: "Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." And when the man neared his home "his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth; and himself believed, and his whole house." John 4:46-53.

This is faith, genuine faith. It finds in the word of God itself all sufficiency to accomplish all that the word expresses. And over and over again, in fact in all the cases recorded in the New Testament, it was believing the word spoken and thus receiving the power of that word to accomplish of itself the thing that was spokenóit was this faith that healed the sick, restored the palsied, made the impotent to talk, and forgave the sinner. This is believing God. This is faith.

But when the word of God is held to be as powerless as the word of a man; when the word of Jesus Christ is held to be as empty of healing virtue as is the word of a mere human physician; when the word of the living God is thus reduced to the level of the word of men, and to all intents and purposes is received as the word of men, and the words of men themselves, formulated into a creed, are really put in the place of the word of God; then such belief, such faith, is only of themselves and is as powerless and as empty of saving virtue as are the men themselves. It is the same story over again, of the effort of men to save themselves by themselves from themselves. And this "faith" that is altogether from men themselves, that stands only in the words and wisdom of men, this "faith of the creed" that is identical with the "faith" of the devilsóthis, by her own showing, by her own boast, and by her own illustration, is the faith of the Catholic Church. Very good. We accept her showing in the case. Undoubtedly it is the truth. The illustration is perfectly satisfactory.

June 24, 1895

"Catholicism v. Christianity" The Bible Echo 10, 25 , pp. 195, 196.

SELF TO WORK OUT RIGHTEOUSNESS

THERE is another statement that the Catholic Church makes which so clearly reveals again the essential nature of the "faith" which is held, and the salvation that is offered, by the Catholic Church, that it is worth quoting. Here it is:ó

"We seem to hear Jesus, our heavenly Physician, say: I died for all, and thereby prepared in My blood a remedy for all. If you would have the merits of My passion and death applied to you, to free your souls from sin, you must . . . believe that I am what I declare Myself to be, and believe what I teach. Do also what I have told you to do, and then you shall have the merits of My passion and death applied to you and you shall be justified."

This is in very substance, and even in terms, the old covenant. It is identical with the covenant "from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage." Gal. 4:24. Here are the terms of the old covenant, the covenant from Sinai. "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." "And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." Ex. 19:4-6, 8.

Their agreement to obey His voice indeed, was an agreement to keep the ten commandments indeed. For when His voice was heard from Sinai the ten commandments alone were spoken. And of these it is written: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12:13.

So that in substance this covenant from Sinai, just as certainly as this Catholic statement, says, I have done this great thing for you. Now, if you would have the benefit of it, believe what I teach, do also what I have told you to do, and then you shall have it and you shall be justified. And the people all said they would do it, and this, too, with the hope of being justified. These two statements are identical in substance and in doctrine. The thought of both is that man must do righteousness in order to be righteous, instead of first being righteous in order to do righteousness.

MEANING OF THE OLD COVENANT

It will not do though to say that as the Lord made the statement from Sinai, therefore this statement from Rome is truth. The Lord had a purpose in this covenant from Sinai even though it did then "gender to bondage." That covenant from Sinai corresponds to Hagar in the family of Abraham. The children of that covenant, the people who entered into it, correspond to Ishmael, the child of Hagar. As Hagar was a bondwoman, so the child that was born of her was a bondchild. And thus she gendered to bondage. As Hagar represents the covenant from Sinai, and her child was a bondchild, so the covenant from Sinai gendered to bondage and the children of that covenant were bondchildren.

Moreover, Ishamael was "born after the flesh." And as Ishmael represents the children of the covenant, so they were "after the flesh" and knew only the birth of the flesh. Knowing only the birth of the flesh, and minding only the things of the flesh, they thought themselves capable of fulfilling all the righteousness of God. The Lord knew full well that they could not do it; but they did not know it, and they would not believe that they could not do it. In order to convince them that

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they could not do it, and enable them to see it so plainly that they themselves would confess their inability to do it, the Lord gave them a full and fair opportunity to try.

Within forty days they had fully demonstrated their utter inability to do what the Lord had told them, and what they had freely promised to do. They were in deeper bondage than ever. They were then willing to have the Lord deliver them from the bondage of sin to the liberty of righteousness by his own power, through His own word, in His own promise, even as He had delivered their father Abraham. In a word, they were then willing to attain to righteousness, to be justified, by faith, instead of trying to obtain it by works. They were willing to be children of promise, instead of children of the flesh.

Having found by this experience that "the minding of the flesh is enmity against God, and it not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," they were willing to be born again and of the Spirit of God, rather than to trust longer to the ways of the birth of the flesh. Having found that by this old and temporary covenant they were lost, they were willing to be saved by the new and everlasting covenant, which is this:ó

"I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people; and they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

In this covenant there is no "if." It depends not upon what we shall do, but upon what God will go "unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

A WICKED PERVERSION

Such was the covenant from Sinai, such was its nature, and such its purpose. And that the recording of it, with the nature and experience of those who caused it to be made and who entered into it, was necessary for future ages, is demonstrated by this repetition of it in the Catholic system of "faith." That covenant was faulty, as it rested upon the promise of the people to obey God's law without faith in Jesus Christ; but this repetition of it is infinitely faulty and altogether bad, as compared with the original example. For there, although it was their own sinfulness and self-righteousness that led to the making of it, yet through the sad experience of it God would draw them away from themselves to the knowledge of Christ; while here and in this, the Papacy takes the very revelation of the gospel of Christ itself and perverts it into the old covenant, and through this perversion draws men away from Christ to the exaltation of self. It puts the old covenant in the place of the new. It puts works in the place of faith. It puts bondage in the place of freedom. It puts ceremonies in the place of Christ. And it puts man in the place of God.

This is the Papacy, and this her doctrine of "faith." And as God said of Hagar and Ishmael in the family of Abraham, and of the covenant from Sinai and its children in the family of Israel, so He says of this same wicked thing as it would be in the family of Christianity: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." Gal. 4:30.

There never was a truer description of the Papacy than that it is "a method of forgetting God, which shall pass as a method of remembering Him."

July 15, 1895

"The Pope's Letter to the English People" The Bible Echo 10, 28 , pp. 217, 218.

POPE LEO XIII. has written a letter to "the English people who seek the kingdom of Christ in the unity of the faith." All professed Christians seek the unity of the faith, and therefore the pope addresses all the professed Christians of England.

This is not the first time the Papacy has attempted to persuade the English people to return to the "unity of the [Roman Catholic] faith." A notable attempt was made just three hundred and seven years ago.

In May, 1588, the Papacy sent one hundred and fifty messengers to England to argue with the English people and persuade them to return to the Roman Catholic faith. Twelve of these messengers were named after the twelve apostles, and others were named after the "saints."

While these messengers were apostolic in name, and were commissioned by the professed vicar of Christ, Pope Sixtus V., they were not apostolic men armed only with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," but instead they were huge battle ships, armed and equipped with 2,088 galley slaves, 8,000 sailors, 20,000 soldiers, 2,650 cannon, 123,790 rounds of shot, and 517,500 pounds of powder. ¹1

Beside being equipped with these ordinary death-dealing arguments of war, these papal messengers, which history calls the "Spanish Armada," ²2 and which Roman Catholics were pleased to call the "Invincible Armada," were equipped with still other papal arguments which were to be used to restore the unity of the faith in special cases, wherein the ordinary war arguments failed. These special arguments were the torture instruments ³3 of the "Holy Office of the Inquisition;" and to insure the effective application of these arguments, Don Martin Allacon, Administrator and Vicar-General of the "Holy Office," accompanied these satanic instruments of cruelty.

However, this Armada argument was but one in a series of papal measures intended to persuade the English people to return to their allegiance to the pope. Before sending the Armada, and with a view to weakening the loyalty of the English people to the queen of England as a preparation for it, the pope hurled a bull of excommunication against the queen, from which the following is extracted:ó

"We do, out of the fullness of our apostolic power, declare the aforesaid Elizabeth, being a heretic, and a favorer of heretics, and her adherents in the matter aforesaid, to have incurred the sentence of anathema, and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ. And, moreover, we do declare her to be deprived of her pretended title to the kingdom aforesaid, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege whatsoever. . . . And we do command and interdict all and every the noblemen, subjects, people, and others aforesaid, that they presume not to obey her or her monitions, mandates, and laws; and those that shall do the contrary, we do strike with the like sentence of anathema. ⁴4

This excommunication was followed by papal attempts to assassinate the queen, and then came the pope-blessed "Invincible Armada," which was heroically fought and finally defeated and driven off by the much inferior navy of England. One of the stratagems used by the English to save themselves from the choice of a terrible death or unity with Rome. On the night of August 7, the English loaded eight ships with combustible material, smeared their masts with tar, sailed them near the Spanish fleet and then set them on fire, with the hoped-for result that the Spaniards took flight and sailed away, after which the English ships and a terrible storm completed their defeat and almost complete destruction.

WHY PRESENT TACTICS DIFFER

This is a brief description of the failure of an old papal method of securing the unity of the faith. But why does not Pope Leo XIII. now use the methods of his "infallible" predecessor, Pope Sixtus V.? Why don't he send an Armada instead of an "Apostolic Letter"? It cannot be because the papacy has discarded these antichristian methods, for this is impossible, since Pope Leo X. "infallibly" condemned Luther's proposition that "to burn heretics is contrary to the will of the Holy Ghost," thus "infallibly" sanctioning the practice of burning heretics. Again, Pope Pius IX., the immediate predecessor of the present pope, as late as 1851, "infallibly" condemned the proposition, "The church has not the power of availing herself of force or any direct or indirect temporal power."

No; the Papacy has not disavowed and

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cannot disavow the methods used in the Middle Ages to secure the "unity of the faith," without destroying the doctrine of "infallibility" which is has "infallibly" proclaimed.

Why is it then that Leo XIII. now speaks to the English people with "the deep tones of sympathetic feeling" ⁵5 instead of with the deep-toned roar of Spanish cannon?

Since it cannot be because of a change in the papacy it must be because of a change in circumstances. Here lies the truth. When the Spanish Armada attempted the destruction of Protestantism in England, the papacy controlled the greater part of Western Europe. Spain was a great naval power, while England was much inferior in naval resources, with only about four million people. To-day the Papacy is shown of its temporal power, Spain though still Roman Catholic has lost its naval prestige, while England is the strongest naval power in the world.

THE OLD PRINCIPLE STILL ACTIVE

That Rome would do the same now as she did in the sixteenth century is also made evident by present papal practices in Catholic countries. In Roman Catholic South America Protestant missionaries are persecuted. And when the Methodist ministers of Chicago petitioned Satolli a few months ago to petition the pope to secure religious liberty for Protestant missionaries in that country, Satolli coolly replied by sending them a copy of the pope's letter calling the governments and people of the world back into the Roman Catholic Church, thus in reality saying, "You can have religious freedom in Catholic South America only by joining the Catholic Church."

Again, Protestant missionaries have been mobbed and driven from the Caroline Islands by Roman Catholics; and only a few weeks ago, Roman Catholic Spain peremptorily denied the request of the Government of the United States that American missionaries be allowed to return to the Caroline Islands.

And almost simultaneously with the pope's letter to England, he sent one to Hungary commending the organization of a distinct Roman Catholic political party with the object of securing the repeal of liberal measures recently passed in that country, placing all religious denominations on an equal footing before the law. But the pope, acting in that country in accordance with his recent encyclical to America, demands "in addition to liberty, the favor of the laws and the patronage of the public authority."

For these and other reasons that might be cited, the English people ought not to be deceived by this letter which the New York Sun's Rome correspondent, himself a Roman Catholic says is written "with delicate tact, in the most flattering tone," and "drawn at long sight" with "infinite ecclesiastical ambition." It is the papal policy to use force when in power, and flattery when seeking power; and it is astonishing that so many Protestants are so credulous and short sighted as not to see in the flattery and the "deep-toned sympathy" of the pope, a deep-laid plot "drawn at long sight," to regain the supremacy of the world.

And it is only a false charity that would silence the cry of warning because the plottings of the pope for the world' supremacy are carried on with "delicate tact" instead of defiant temerity; with the "flattering tone," instead of the "Invincible Armada."

May God save the Protestants of England and the world from being deceived by this siren song and flattering tone of the pope into compromising with Rome. And may the same God save Roman Catholics themselves from the tyranny which will follow the triumph of their own system. To this end we labor and pray.óAmerican Sentinel.

October 7, 1895

"Purifying Politics" The Bible Echo 10, 40 , pp. 316, 317.

A. T. JONES

SPEAKING of an amendment to the Constitution that should purify American politics by giving the religion of Jesus Christ a place in the Government, Dr. McAllister says:ó

"Finally, the proposed Amendment will draw to the administration of the Government such men as the law of God requires,ónot the reckless, the unprincipled, the profane but able men, who fear God and hate covetousness."óChristian Statesman, Dec. 27, 1888.

This thing has been tried several times, and always with the same result, namely, to make corruption more corrupt. Given, human nature what it is, and make profession of religion a qualification for governmental favor, or political preference, and the inevitable result will always be that thousands will profess the required religion expressly to obtain political preferment, and for no other reason; and so to dishonest ambition is added deliberate hypocrisy.

CONSTANTINE'S EXAMPLE

The first to employ this method was he to whom can be traced almost every ill that Christianity has suffered (this last one being by no means the least),óConstantine. He made the bishop of Rome a prince of the empire, and clothed the inferior bishops with such power that they not only ruled as princes, but imitated the princes in pride, luxury, worldly pomp, and hateful haughtiness,óimitated the princes in these, and imitated the emperor in persecuting with relentless vigor all who differed with them in faith. And the bishop of Rome, above all in rank, held the supremacy also in pride, arrogance, and profusion of luxury, to such a degree that one of most eminent of the heathen writers exclaimed, either in envy or indignation, "Make me bishop of Rome and I will be a Christian."

Nor were the governmental favors of Constantine confined to the bishops; they extended to all orders; and by the promise of a white garment, and twenty pieces of gold to every convert, there was secured in a single year the baptism of no fewer than twelve thousand men, besides a proportionate number of women and children. See Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of Rome," chap. 20, par. 17. And the inevitable consequence was that "formalism succeeded faith, and religion fled from a station among the rulers of Christendom to shelter in her native scenes among the suffering and the poor." Was politics purified there? No! religion was corrupted and faith debased; and amidst and by it all, were taken the widest and most rapid strides of the Church of Rome toward that fearful height of power and depth of degradation which was the astonishment and the shame of the world.

A LESSON FROM LOUIS XIV

Another notable instance was Louis XIV. of France. The early part of his reign was a time of much license; "but in his old age he became religious; and he determined that his subjects should be religious too. He shrugged his shoulders and knitted his brows if he observed at his levee, or near his dinner table; any gentleman who neglected the duties enjoined by the church. He rewarded piety with blue ribands, pensions, invitations to MarlÈ, governments, and regiments. Forthwith Versailles became in everything but dress, a convent. The pulpits and confessionals were surrounded by swords and embroidery. The marshals were much in prayer; and there was hardly one among the dukes and peers who did not carry good little books in his pocket, fast during lent, and communicate at Easter. Madame de Maintenon, who had a great share in the blessed work, boasted that devotion had become quite the fashion."

And was politics purified?óWith a vengeance! We read on: "A fashion indeed it was; and like a fashion it passed away. No sooner had the old king been carried to St. Denis than the whole court unmasked. Every man hastened to indemnify himself, by the excess of licentiousness and impudence, for years of mortification. The same persons who, a few months before, with meek voices and demure looks, had consulted divines about the state of their souls, now surrounded the midnight table, where, amidst the bounding champagne corks, a drunken prince, enthroned between Dubois and Madame de Parabere, hiccoughed out atheistical

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arguments and obscene jests. The early part of the reign of Louis XIV. had been a time of license; but the most dissolute men of that generation would have blushed at the orgies Regency."óMacaulay's Essay on Leigh Hunt.

THE PURITAN PARLIAMENT

But undoubtedly the most notable instance of all is that of the Puritan rule, of the Commonwealth of England. "It was solemnly resolved by Parliament "that no person shall be employed but such as the House shall be satisfied of his real godliness." The pious assembly had a Bible lying on the table for reference. . . . To know whether a man was really godly was impossible. But it was easy to know whether he had a plain dress, lank hair, no starch in his linen, no gay furniture in his house; whether he talked through his nose, and showed the whites of his eyes; whether he named his children Assurance, Tribulation, and Maher-shalal-hash-baz; whether he avoided Spring Garden when in town, and abstained from hunting and hawking when in the country; whether he expounded hard scriptures to his troops of dragoons, and talked in a committee of ways and means about seeking the Lord. These were tests which could easily be applied. The misfortune was that they proved nothing. Such as they were, they were employed by the dominant party. And the consequence was that a crowd of impostors, in every walk of life, began to mimic and to caricature what were then regarded as the outward signs of sanctity."óIbid. Thus has it ever been, and thus will it ever be, where governments, as such, attempt to propagate a religion.

LESSONS OF THE FIRST CENTURIES

Yet in the very face of these plainest dictates of pure reason, and these most forcible lessons of history, and in utter defiance of all the teaching of universal history itself, men, with that persistence which is born of the blindness of bigoted zeal, are working, and will continue to work, with might and main, to bring upon this dear land all this fearful train of disorders. Their movement reminds us of nothing so much as of these quack medicines that are so abundant, warranted to cure every ill that is known to the human body; while at the same time they will create a thousand ills that the human system has never known before. As with these, so with this movement to purify politics say making religious qualification a test for holding office; it is warranted to cure all the ills of the body politic, while, as anyone with half an eye can see, it bears in its hands a perfect Pandora's box, wide open, to inflict its innumerable evils upon our country. And, as they will learn when it is too late, they will have no power to retain even hope. She herself will have flown away, and nothing remain but utter, irretrievable, awful ruin.

December 16, 1895

"Theory and Principle" The Bible Echo 10, 49 , p. 387.

A. T. JONES

THE theory of separation of church and state, the theory of true religious liberty, is accepted almost universally, but the principle is very little held. There is a vast difference between the theory and the principle. And until men get the principle in its purity, they cannot be prepared for the application of it.

Now to illustrate what I mean by the statement that the principle of the separation of church and state is not largely accepted and held by men, while the theory of it is as a matter of fact almost universally accepted: men will say that they do no believe in the union of church and state . . . over and over positions are taken and things are done by them which are as directly a union of church and state as anything any Papist or Puritan ever did.

Why, do you not know that it is the literal truth that you cannot find a churchman anywhere, and scarcely a Catholic even, who will not tell you that he does not believe in "a union of church and state"? Even the pope does not believe (?) in the union of church and state. He has said so in his encyclical. Yet religio-political reformers and Catholics, up to the pope, in every position that they take and in everything they do, directly involve and carry into effect the union of church and state. these all have a theory of separation of church and state; but not one of them has any idea of the principle. In saying they "do not believe in union of church and state," they do not know what they are talking about. It is a universal truth that every man who has only the theory of a thingówhether it be this or any other matterówill constantly violate the principle, however loudly he may profess and proclaim the theory. Nothing but the essential principles of things will ever hold a man straight, and these will do it.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 11 (1896)

January 6, 1896

"'My People Shall Know My Name'" The Bible Echo 11, 1 , pp. 3, 4.

A. T. JONES

THIS word is spoken of the people of God at the time when the church is to be clothed with the "beautiful garments" of His righteousness and endued with His power (Isa. 52:1); when she is entirely separated from the world and all worldliness; and when she is entirely loosed from the captive bonds of sin (verse 2); and when she is to know the full redemption of the Lord. Verse 3.

It is the time when, again, as in Egypt, his people will be "oppressed without cause" (verse 4); when "they that rule over them make them to howl," and themselves "continually every day blaspheme" the name of the Lord. Verse 5. It is at such a time as this, and "therefore" that the Lord declares, "My people shall know My name." Verse 6.

And that time is now. Those who obey Him now, as in Egypt, are oppressed without cause. There, they were oppressed for the keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, and here, they are oppressed for the same thing. And now God will be revealed in power as He was then. Now as then the Lord will make "bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Verse 10. "Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He that doth speak; behold, it is I."

WHAT IT IS TO KNOW HIS NAME

His name is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." To know His name is to know all this. It is not merely to know about it, but it is to know it. It is not to know of it by the hearing of the ear; it is to know it, by the "hearing of faith"óto know it with the heart. As His name expresses what He is, to know His name is to know Himónot merely to know about Him; but to know Him. His name expresses His nature, and to know His name is to know His nature.

He is merciful. This is His name; and to know His name is to know mercy. It is to know what it is always to manifest from the heart treatment better than they deserve to all offenders. It is only by knowing Him, the fountain of mercy that this can be done. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Luke 6:36.

He is gracious. This is His name; and to know His name is to know what it is to be extending favour always to all people. Not favour for favour; but pure favour. Not selfishness; but graciousness.

He is long-suffering. His name, even as He says, is continually every day blasphemed; His law is trampled underfoot; His authority is defied; He Himself is abused and outraged; yet He suffers it long, He endures it long, and is still abundant in goodness and truth even toward all those who are doing all these evil things. He is long-suffering thus toward all, because He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is His name; and to know His name is to know what it is wrongfully and unjustly to suffer contempt, injury, abuse, and outrage, to suffer these things long and still manifest abundance of goodness and truth to all, that if by any means they may be brought to repentance. "Charity suffereth long, and is kind." And "if I have not charity, I am nothing." "Charity is the bond of perfectness."

And now that the time of suffering, of contempt, of oppression, of abuse, and of outrage, is upon us, how precious the promise that we shall know His name, so that His holy disposition and character shall be manifest on all occasions! And how important it is that every one who has a name and place among His people, shall receive this promise in its fulness, that we may indeed know His name, and that the savour of His knowledge may be made manifest by us in every place!

He is forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is His name; and to know His name is to know the forgiveness of iniquity and transgression and sin. It is to know this, each one for himself in his own, individual case; and then because of this, manifesting it to all people always. "Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:37. It is not condemnation that men in this world need. They have that already in abundance. It is not condemnation but salvation that the people of this world need. "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." And "as My Father sent Me, so send I you." He does not send us to condemn anybody; but that they may be saved. His name is "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," and His people are to know His nameóthey are to know what it is to be this to all.

God is love. This is His name; and to know His name is to know loveóHis love. It is to know Him as He is Himself. And "he that loveth not, knoweth not God."

THE PROMISE OF THE DIVINE NATURE

It is not in human nature of itself to manifest the disposition and character

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here outlined. It is not in human nature of itself always to treat people better than they deserve. It is natural for men to treat people only as they deserve; to extend favors only for favours; to resent injustice and resist oppression; to harbour enmity rather than to be forgiving.

This promise that the Lord's people shall know His name, is therefore in reality a promise that they shall know another nature. His name expresses His nature. To know His name is to know His nature.

"My people shall know My name." His name shall be manifest in His people. His nature shall be manifest in His people. God will again be manifest in the flesh. This is the everlasting gospel, and thus it is to be preached with a loud voice to every nation and kindred and tongue and people.

May 18, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 1.óA Look at the Past" The Bible Echo 11, 19 , pp. 147, 148.

NO RESPECT OF NATIONS WITH GOD

"THERE is no respect of persons with God." And there is likewise no respect of nations with God. There being no respect of persons with God, and nations being composed only of persons, it is impossible that there should be respect of nations with God. Now everybody who has ever read the Bible knows full well that in ancient times God dealt with nations, calling them by name, and sending them direct and special messages. Who does not know the story of Jonah and Nineveh? But Nineveh was the great capital of the mighty nation of the Assyrians.

Read carefully the following passage: "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; and command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein." Jer. 27:1-11.

There are no less than five nations distinctly called by name, and a definite message sent to each one as to His purposes concerning them and a sixth nation, Babylon. And no one can deny that in these messages the Lord, the God of Israel, made a perfectly fair proposition. He having made all things, His is the right to bestow any or all as seems best to Him. In the wisdom of His own counsels, for the accomplishment of His own great purpose, He had given all the nations to the control of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Accordingly He sends to the people concerned the announcement of this fact, and calls upon them for their own good to accept this arrangement. He tells them that if they will willingly accept it and voluntarily submit to the government of the king of Babylon, it will be well with them,óthey can remain in their own land in peace. But if they refuse to submit, then they will not only be subdued by the power of Nebuchadnezzar, but will be carried away from their own native country into a strange land.

Certainly no one could ask for a fairer proposition than this. But those people were like too many others, and thought their own way the best, and refused to believe the Lord, that it might he well with them and that they might so abide in peace; and so they were obliged by sorrowful experience to learn that they had better have believed the Lord, and in their sorrowful experience continually wish that they had believed the Lord. Even Jerusalem, the Lord's chosen city, and Judah, the Lord's own people, refused to believe the word of the Lord, and so refused to yield to the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar. They rebelled, joined in alliance with Egypt, and sustained a long and terrible siege before they would submit. But by Jeremiah the Lord repeated to them His purpose with the king of Babylon, and continually called upon them peaceably to submit, and assured them that Egypt and every other resource would be absolutely unavailing. For thus saith the Lord, "Behold Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt, into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. Thus saith the Lord: Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. Jer. 37:8-10.

GOD'S OVERRULING PURPOSES IN THE AFFAIRS OF NATIONS

ONE point in the great purpose of God in bringing all nations under the sway of Nebuchadnezzar, was that He might the better bring to them the knowledge of Himself and His great power and wisdom to lead men in the right way. For after Nebuchadnezzar had subdued all the kingdoms and nations unto himself, he published to "all people, nations and languages, that dwell in all the earth" "the signs and wonders which the high God" had wrought toward him. Read Daniel 4. God knew long before, to what point Nebuchadnezzar would come in the knowledge of Himself, and what use He could make of this king in spreading to the nations the knowledge of God. And for this cause He brought the nations in subjection to him. The nations did not know this, but God knew it, and the nations should have believed the message of the Lord when He sent to them the word that even for their own temporal good they should willingly submit to the authority of the king of Babylon. In all this God was showing to the nations in that time, and it is written to show to the nations in all time, that "God rules in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will;" and that God has His own wise purpose to accomplish with the nations and kingdoms, even though the people may not know it, and though they will not believe it.

Now it is impossible to think that God dealt so personally with the nations of old, and yet that He has nothing to do with the nations now. It is certainly true that, as God is no respecter of persons, He is no respecter of nations, and He has His thought upon the nations of to-day, and has His purposes concerning, these as really as of old, or at any other time in the world's history. God's ways have not changed; but the people and nations have forgotten or will not believe that God still rules in the kingdoms of men and works out through them His own deep counsels and wondrous purpose.

THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY

And now the Government and people of England, yes of all the nations of Europe and even America, have, and have long had, their attention fixed upon the Government of Turkey. The Government of Turkey is a perplexity to the powers of Europe; and the powers of Europe, in their dealings with this perplexity, are a puzzle to the people. Is it

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true then that in this great question that vexes the mightiest powers and puzzles the peoples of the world, God has no part? Is it true that this world-absorbing question is outside the attention of God who of old time always ruled in the affairs of men?óNo; it is not true. God is "the same yesterday and to-day and for ever." With Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." His love and care is as great for the great nations of to-day as it ever was for nations great or smell in all time. His particular attention is not slacked with reference to these now any more than with those of old. In the words by His prophets were His counsels made known concerning the nations of old, and in these likewise are His counsels concerning the nations of to-day. And His purposes with the nations of to-day can be read in the books of the prophets of God, as certainly as they can be read there concerning the nations of old.

The only organised nation within the bounds of history when the Bible record was closedóA.D. 98ówas the Roman Empire. The one only nation therefore above all others that could be considered first of all was the Roman Empire and the Roman power. This power (and such as might succeed it in the course of time) was the only one that could be directly dealt with, because Rome was not only the one great power of the world, but within its bounds was also the very centre and pivot of God's work and purpose concerning the whole world for all time. The Roman Cesar Augustus had decreed that "all the world should be taxed," when Christ the Saviour of the world was born. By the authority of Rome in the Roman governor of Judea Christ was delivered to be crucified. Roman soldiers watched the tomb, and the Roman seal was upon the tomb, that was burst at the resurrection of the Prince of Life. Rome therefore being the great power of the world, and being also the centre of God's cause and purpose in the world for all time, it, and, and in the nature of things, the nations which should billow it to the end of time. A. T. JONES.

May 25, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 2.óThe Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" The Bible Echo 11, 20 , pp. 155, 156.

THE BREAKING UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

THREE distinct portions of Scripture are devoted to the Turkish power. Let us carefully and candidly examine these, that we may see what word the Lord has for us in this our day.

God had in old time foretold the fall of Babylon and the succession of Medo-Persia to her place of power in the world. He had told of the passing of this power from Persia and Media to Grecia, and from Grecia to Rome. And now, before closing the book of His counsels He would tell of the fall of Rome and the passing of power from her to others who should succeed. In the line of the seven trumpets of the book of Revelation is given the breaking up of the might, empire and power of Rome. There are three great lines of prophecy in the book of Revelation, that run by sevens, and all extend to the end of timeóthe seven churches, the seven seals, and the seven trumpets. The line of the seven churches is the Lord's messages to the seven stages of the church to the end of time, and treats only of the church. The line of the seven trumpets marks the great events in the ruin of the Roman power, and what should follow to the end of time, and thus treats only of the world; while the line of the seven seals treats of the church and the world as they would be related to the end of time, and thus treats of both.

The trumpet itself is the symbol of war. And in this alone is a suggestion that the seven trumpets would announce wars. But as the Roman power was the centre of all, it would have to announce wars with Rome. The first four trumpets give the fall of the Western Empire of Rome. The fifth and sixth trumpets give the fall of the Eastern Empire of Rome. And the seventh trumpet gives the fall of all nations and of the world itself. Let anyone read Revelation chapters 8 and 9, and chaps. 11:15ñ19; 16:18ñ20, and he can see for himself that the seventh trumpet ends all things of earth.

The best exposition of the first six of the seven trumpets is Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," in the accounts of the Goths, the Vandals and the Huns; and of the Mohammedan Arabs and the Turks. By reading of the first trumpets in the eighth chapter it will be seen that a dreadful state of things is contemplated. Yet the last three are so much worse than the first ones that "Woe" is the chief characteristic of these. "I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels which are yet to sound." Rev. 8:13.

THE RISE OF THE TURKISH POWER IN PROPHECY AND HISTORY

THE fifth trumpet, the first woe, marks the rise and spread of the Mohammedan power; and the history that most clearly shows the fulfilment of the prophecy is found in chapters 50 and 51 of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Anyone reading together Rev. 9:1-4, 7, 8, and these two chapters of the history, cannot fail to see that the history is but the complement of the prophecy, especially Rev. 9:4 and Gibbon, chapter 51, par. 10. This portion of the Scripture, it will be seen, views the rise of Mohammedanism and the time when they had a king over them, and then there is appointed a period of "five months"óone hundred and fifty days, and each day for a year (as used in symbolic prophecy, Eze. 4:6), one hundred and fifty yeasóin which they were to hurt men. And from this time when they had a king over them they take on a specially destructive character, for the word says, "They had a king over them . . . whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." Verse 11. The margin of the verse gives the meaning of this name in both tongues, which is "A Destroyer." And as the Roman Empire is the leading thing contemplated in the prophecy, it is this, or what remained of it, which was to be destroyed by this destroyer.

In speaking of the events preceding the time when these men "had a king over them" the historian says:ó

"In this shipwreck of nations, some surprise may be excited by the escape of the Roman Empire, whose relics . . . were dismembered by the Greeks and Latins."óChap. 64, par. 13.

But now that they have a king over them, and take upon them more than ever the character of a destroyer, the empire can no longer escape. Consequently, in the very next paragraph, the historian continues in the following important words:ó

"lt was on the 27th day of July, in the year 1209 the Christian era, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia, and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster."óChap. 64, par. 14.

Several points in this quotation must be noticed.

1. Othman was the man who succeeded in bringing the disjointed elements of the Mohammedan power, into compact and distinctly organised governmental shape. From him consequently comes the term which still attaches to the government of the Turks, namely, the Ottoman Empire. From him dates the time when as never before "they had a king over them."

2. Note the expression of the historyó"the destructive growth" of this monster. Thus distinguishing the very characteristic which is the one given in the Scripture concerning this very power of the destroyer.

3. The historian emphasises "the singular accuracy of the date"óa thing almost if not altogether without parallel in historical writing. In the original documents from which the historian drew his material, he found this date made so specific that he himself is forced to remark its "singular accuracy." Yet to chose who recognise God's dealings with the nations and kingdoms, and who consider that from the time when these had a king over them a period of a hundred and fifty years is given in which to do a certain work, It is not surprising that the date should be signified with such singular accuracy as to excite the particular attention and remarks of the historian.

FULFILLED TO THE VERY DAY

JULY 27, 1299, then, this period in this "woe" began. One hundred and fifty years from this singularly accurate date, extends to July 27, 1419. Then the word continues, "One woe is past and behold there come two woes more hereafter." And now yet other elements of destruction are to be let loose. "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."

An hour, and a day, and a month, and a year. Counting thirty days to the month, a year is 360 days, and "each day for a year" is 360 years. A monthó30 daysóis 30 years. A day is one year. These together give 391 years. From July 27, 1149 the 391 years reach to July 27, 1810. But there is "an hour" yet. An hour is the twenty-fourth part of a day. And (a day for a year) this would be the twenty-fourth part of a year, or fifteen days. Fifteen days from July 27 extends to August 11. Therefore on August 11, 1810, this period of an hour,

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and a day, and a month, and a year, would expire. For this length of time and to this date, the power of the Ottoman Empire was to continue. And on that very day, the actual power of the Turkish Government passed into the hands of the great powers of Europe, and from that day to this, the very existence of the Ottoman Empire has been, and is now, solely by the support of these great powers. Several times since 1810 the Turkish government would have ceased to be, had it not been upheld specifically by those other powers. In a little pamphlet on the Turkish-Armenian question, lately published by the Armenian Society in London, we find the following statement concerning England's connection with this matter:ó

"We are responsible for Turkey. We saved the Turk twice at least from the doom which he richly merited. The Duke of Wellington sixty years ago lamented that the Russians had not entered Constantinople in 1829 and brought the Ottoman Empire to an end. We have much more reason to lament that it was not destroyed in 1853 and again in 1878. On both these occasions we interfered to save it. But for us there would be no Sultan on the Bosphorus."óPage 17.

Again on the same page is a quotation from an article by the Duke of Argyle in the Times in which the Duke says:ó

"It is not too much to say that England has twice saved Turkey from complete subjection since 1853. It is largelyómainlyódue to our action that see now exists at all as an independent Power. On both these occasions we dragged the powers of Europe along with us in maintaining the Ottoman Government."

We do not reproduce these statements for the purpose of attaching blame to England or to any other power; but solely for the purpose of making clear the fact that the Ottoman Empire since 1840 has not existed by its own power but wholly by the action of the other powers. In accordance with this fact teas pamphlet truly says:ó

"It is impossible to balk of the Ottoman Empire as if it were a nation like the United States or like Holland. It is an artificial . . . creation of treaties, that is kept in existence by the Powers for their own convenience."

Thus on the 11th day of August 1810, the time set by the Scripture for the existence and work of the Ottoman Empire as such, expired. On that day the sixth trumpet ceased to sound, and the second woe ended; and of the seventh trumpetóthe third woeówe read: "The second woe is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of the Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wert, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."
A. T. JONES.

June 1, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 3.óThe Events of the End" The Bible Echo 11, 21 , pp. 163, 164.

THE IMPENDING CONFLICT

WE broke off the study last week in the midst of our consideration of the events of the seven trumpets of Rev. 8, 9, and 11:15-19, which reach from the breaking up of the Roman empire to the end of the world. The last three trumpets (the symbol itself suggesting war) are distinguished by the special announcement of woe in connection with them. Rev. 8:13.

The fifth trumpet (the first "woe"), we found, signalised the rise and spread of the Mohammedan power, while the sixth trumpet (the second "woe") covers the 391 years (of chapter 9:15), which terminated in July 1840, when the independence of the Ottoman Empire passed away, and it became a ward of the Great Powers. Continuing, the prophet says in chapter 11:14, "The second woe is past; and behold the third woe cometh quickly." We quoted the rest of the chapter to show that it reached to the end. Please read these verses again as we consider them further.

Every expression in this record of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, proclaims the end of all things of this world. Look at them again in detail:ó

1. The kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ; His reign begins, in His own kingdom, upon His own throne, by His own power; of which kingdom and reign there shall be no end.

2. "The nations are angry:" the nations and rulers admit this, and each one is constantly fearful of any move on the part of the others, and is continually making its power stronger against the time when war will begin, which they all are sure must soon come. And they all dread the slightest step that might involve actual hostilities, because of the danger that if war is actually begun at any spot, it will suddenly spread and involve all in one horrible and universal war, of which no one can see any end except in universal ruin.

Indeed it is plainly stated by one of the leading authorities of the world that it is as a bulwark against this great danger of universal war that the Ottoman Government has been maintained these last fifty years.

Read now the following lines from the speech of Lord Salisbury, at the Mansion House, November 9, 1895:ó

"Turkey is in that remarkable condition that it has now stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman Empire should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they have altered it now. The danger if the Ottoman Empire fall, would not merely he the danger that would threaten the territories of which that empire consists; it would be the danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations, and should involve all that is most powerful and civilised in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was a danger that was present to the mind of our fathers when they resolved to make the integrity end independence of the Ottoman Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger WHICH IS NOT PASSED AWAY.

No more plain, positive, and emphatic fulfilment of prophecy could be given, than is thus given in that speech, that the world stands trembling in the times of the seventh trumpet, when "the nations are angry." And while, in the presence of this appalling danger, rulers, kings, and emperors are earnestly endeavouring by every possible means to maintain the peace of the world, what blundering blindness it is, what fatuous blindness it is, that the churches and the pulpits and the religious press should be exciting and stirring up the spirit and elements of war, calling for armies and navies to wipe out suddenly and without further consideration the Ottoman Government, and thus to break down the bulwark which the Powers have set on against the horrible flood of a universal war. Read also the following words from the Prime Minister's Mansion House speech:ó

"Throughout these negotiations nothing has pressed itself more strongly in my mind than the disposition of the great powers to act together, and their profound sense of the appalling dangers which any separation of their action might produce. Even those among them who in popular report have the reputation of being restless, have vied with the others in anxiety to conduct this great difficulty to a favourable issue, and to conduct it in a manner that shall keep all the powers together in line, moved by the common motive and with the common aim, THE NOBLE AIM, of the peace of Christendom as the one spirit that governs their action.

AN ASTONISHING REVERSAL OF THINGS

WHAT an awful reversal of things it is, that, while warriors and rulers, to whom God has given to bear the sword, are doing their utmost day and night to maintain the peace of the world; churches and pulpits and religious papers, to whom God has given to preach "peace on earth,"

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should be day and night crying for war! When the very profession of the gospel of peace itself has become thus perverted to the proclamation of war, what but mischief and ruin can be the end of it all?

In view of the danger of the situation as it is in fact amongst the nations; and in view of this awful reversal of the order of things, and this fearful perversion of the right way, by the professors of the Gospel of peace, is it to be wondered at that the President of Robert College at Constantinople should write as follows of "The Present State of Europe"?ó

"I believe that there is a general impression among thinking men in Europe that we are approaching a great crisis in the world's history. It is certainly within the bounds of possibility that this year may see the great Christian nations engaged in a universal war. I am by nature and choice an optimist (one who looks for good). I like to find out the good rather than the evil in men and nations; but a man must either shut his eyes, or fall back upon an unwarranted faith in God, to be an optimist in Europe to-dayóso far as the immediate future is concerned. . . . It is perfectly plain that the civilisation of Europe is rotten to the core; and if we can learn anything from the lessons of history, it must pass through the throes of death before it can rise again to a new and higher life. If it were only the Governments which were corrupt the people might rise in their strength and overthrow them; but with a degenerate people there is no hope."óNew York Independent, February 6, 1896, pp. 9, 10.

But it is not only that the nations are angry and that war must come, dreadful and universal; this is not all. What is to be the end of it? Read on in the events of the seventh trumpet. Rev. 11:18.

THE WORLD'S CRISIS

3. "THY wrath is come." The wrath of God is defined (Rev. 15:1) as "the seven last plagues." The nature and effects of these are recorded in Rev. 16:1ñ21; and they end precisely at the point and in the very things, that are marked in chapter 11:19 as the ending of the seventh trumpet, and which indeed is nothing less than the ending of all things.

4. "And the time of the dead that they should be judged." And therefore in this time the proclamation not of war, but of the "everlasting gospel" of peace is to be made "to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:6, 7.

5. "And that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth." It is at the resurrection of the just that the saints are to be rewarded, and this is by the coming of the Lord in glory. For He says, "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. And them that are wicked will be "destroyed by the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8. For "The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, bid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

6. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." The complement of this expression as to the thunderings, etc., is found in Rev. 16:17-21: "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."

All these things which we have traced by these numbered pointsóall these things were by the Word of God to "come quickly" after August 11, 1840; quickly after the date when the time of the rule of the Ottoman Empire by its own power passed away; quickly after that Empire was by the great powers set as a bulwark against the anger of the nations breaking out in an "appalling" and universal war. Half a century has passed since that time: and now in view of the undeniable facts and dangers that are vexing the governments and puzzling the people,óin view of all these things that are hanging over the worldóhow much more certainly is it now true that it assuredly "cometh quickly"! Get ready, get ready, get ready! Who will be ready? Who is ready?
A. T. JONES.

June 8, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 4.óThe Events of the End" The Bible Echo 11, 22 , pp. 171, 172.

HOW DANIEL'S PRAYER WAS ANSWERED

HOLDING in view now the field which we have so far surveyed, let us turn to another portion of the word of God and inquire concerning the present time, and the place of Turkey and the nations.

"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia," B. C. 536, Daniel was greatly troubled for the work and cause of God in the world. Dan. 10:1. In the first year of Cyrus that king had issued a decree for the return of Israel to their own land and to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. When the heathen who were in the land were not allowed for their own bad purposes to join in the building of the house and city, they hired counsellors at the court of Cyrus to prevent the building of the Temple at all. And these counsellors were kept at the court of Persia all the days of Cyrus. See Ezra 4.

Daniel himself was a principal officer in the government of Cyrus; and soon discovered these intriguers and their purposes there. But instead of beginning any counter-intrigue, he set his heart to seek God and to know His counsels, and have Him frustrate the intriguers and make His own cause a success in the world. Three full weeks was Daniel engaged in seeking, by fasting and prayer and supplication, a knowledge of the will of the God of heaven in the difficulties of the time. When three weeks were expired, the angel Gabriel came to him in vision, and said: "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words." Verse 12.

As Daniel had been at this three full weeks, and yet "the first day" his words were heard and the angel was sent, what had delayed the angel all this time? The next verse tells why. "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days."

This is precisely the three full weeks. To answer Daniel's prayer the angel had to go to the court of Cyrus and deal with the king in his counsels, against those hired counsellors there. The angel continues:ó

"But lo! Michael one of the chief princes came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. . . . Then said he: Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I am gone forth, to the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth; and there is none that holdeth with me in these things but Michael your prince."

FROM DARIUS TO ALEXANDER

THESE are the last verses of Daniel 10, and in chapter 11 the angel gives his message concerning what should come "in the latte days." In doing this the angel begins at the time where he and Daniel then were, and follows events straight through to the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead. The eleventh chapter of Daniel is all the words of the angel. He says: "Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia [Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes], and the fourth [Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther] shall be far richer than they all, and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." Xerxes led an army of five millions across the Hellespont and against Greece.

As soon as the angel mentions Grecia he skips the remaining history of Persia and sketches Greece, saying, "And a mighty king shall stand up [Alexander the Great] and shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will [See also Dan. 8:20, 21.] And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven [See Dan. 8:22]; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those."

At Alexander's death there was a period of confusion for about twenty years among the many able governors and generals of his great dominion. Finally, a four-fold division was accomplished, as in the words of the angel "toward the four winds of heaven"óthe east, the west, the north, and the south. Seleucus secured the eastern portion extending from Syria to the river Indus. Cassander obtained Macedon and other Greek territory on the west. Lysimachus held Thrace and Bithynia on the northóterritory of which Byzantium was then, and Constantinople is now, the centre. And Ptolemy had Egypt on the south.

"AT THE TIME OF THE END.

AFTER stating how Alexander's dominion should thus be divided into its four parts, he turns his attention to the two kingdomsó"the king of the south" and "the king of the north." And from verse 5 to verse 14 he treats solely of the succession of principal events occurring between these two. At verse 14 the Roman poweró"the children of robbers," marginóenters the field and occupies the angel's attention for a large space and for a long time, "even to the time of the end." Verse 35. Finally in verse 40 he comes again, and at the time of the end," too, to "the king of the south" and "the king of the north." The territories of the northern and of the southern division of Alexander's dominion remain respectively the kingdoms of the north and the south unto the end, and from beginning to end, whatever power might occupy these respective territories would be the king of the north or of the south. Whatever power therefore which, at the time of the end, occupies the territory of Thrace and Bithynia, originally held by Lysimachus, will be the king of the north as certainly as was the power of Lysimachus itself.

It is not necessary to repeat here the evidences so fully given last week, that we are now, and the world has been since 1840, in "the time of the end." And now, as Constantinople is the centre of the territory originally held by Lysimachus the first "king of the north;" and as the power that now reigns in Constantinople holds the identical territory held by Lysimachus himself; it is plain enough that this power is "the king of the north" of the last verses of the eleventh chapter of Daniel, and of our own day. And as it is the Turkish power that now occupies Constantinople and holds the territory originally held by Lysimachus, the first king of the north, it is also plain enough that the Turkish power is the power referred to in the words "the king of the north" in the last five verses of Daniel 11.

THE KING OF THE NORTH AND HIS END

IN the 44th verse the angel says of this king of the north,óthe Turkish power,ó"tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him and he shall go forth with fury to destroy and utterly to make away many." This was accomplished in the Crimean war when Russia from the north and east warred against the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish Power was saved only by the support and power of Great Britain and other allies.

And now the last verse of Daniel 11 tells of the two events that all Europe are constantly expecting to see; the events that many people in mass meetings and other assemblies are loudly calling for; the events which are certain soon to take

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place; namely, the expulsion of the Turkish power from Constantinople, and the wiping out of the Ottoman Empire. These are the words of the angel as to this looked-for event: "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him."

Constantinople itself is "between the seas." But this does not meet the word of the angel. No, but he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas "in the glorious holy mountain." This can be no other place than Jerusalem; even as Jerusalem is even now called in the Turkish and Arabic "The Holy." It is certain therefore that the seat of the Ottoman power will be removed from Constantinople, and will finally be planted in Jerusalem, and then it is just as certain that that power comes to an end.

Yea, "he shall come to his end and none shall help him." This expression shows that he would before have come to his end unless somebody had helped him. We have seen how fully this has been so since 1840. And in the autumn and winter of 1895-96, we have again seen that power standing for months on the very brink of expulsion from Constantinople; how that each morning as we arose and bought the daily paper we expected to read despatches telling that this had been accomplished. But in this crisis again somebody has helped him, and he still abides in his place. But the day is certain to come, and to come soon, when the Ottoman power will be removed from Constantinople and will be planted in Jerusalem, and then he shall come to his end and none shall help himóand indeed he will come to his end simply because none will help him.
A. T. JONES.

June 15, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 5.óThe Events of the End" The Bible Echo 11, 23 , pp. 179, 180.

WHEN HE COMES TO HIS END

YET this is not all. The angel did not end his discourse here. No, no. He continues: "And at that time [when Turkey shall come to his end] shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time Thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." Dan. 12:1, 2.

Whether the Turkish power shall leave Constantinople, and when? whether it shall be wiped out, and if so, when? these are great and interesting questions, and multitudes are anxiously studying these questions. Yet great and interesting as these questions are in many ways, there is yet beyond all these the infinitely greater question of what comes when these things are done,óof what shall come at that time?

The Word of God is that "at that time" there shall be such a time of trouble upon the earth as never was since there has been a nation. This very thing we have seen by positive and highest proofs, is the very thing which the great nations are dreading; and against this universal woe of world-wide war and tumult, these great powers are holding the Ottoman power as long as possible as a bulwark, knowing that when that bulwark shall have been broken down this appalling torrent must spread over all. In this matter the word of God and the word of the great powers of the world, are in exact and perfect accord.

Who is ready for this "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation"? Who? Whoever on the earth is not ready for the spreading over all nations of such a time of trouble as never was since there was a nationówhoever on earth is not ready for this, is not ready for the wiping out of the Ottoman power. Therefore instead of churches and pulpits and religious papers calling for war, and urging the wiping of the Turkish power off the earth, they would better, far better, be preaching the gospel of peace, which they profess, and which they are so basely perverting; and by the sincere preaching of the gospel of peace be preparing to stand in peace and quietness in God when this time of trouble shall break upon the world at the time of the ending of the Ottoman Empire. Who is doing this work? Who is ready for the time of trouble?

For this is not simply a great time of trouble by war amongst the nations; it is even more than this. It is a time of trouble caused by this, and also by the judgments of God upon the earth, and the coming of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of all things. This is emphasised by the other portion of Scripture which treats of the Ottoman power. In the sixteenth chapter of Revelation from beginning to end is the Lord's record of the seven last plagues in which "is filled up the wrath of God" to be poured upon the earth, and which in itself is the greatest element of this time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.

THE PLAGUES OF GOD'S WRATH

IN this chapter, the story of the sixth plague is this: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared."

Now as for the real flowing river Euphrates, which rises in the mountains of Armenia and empties into the Persian Gulf, kings both of east and west have crossed and re-crossed it at will from the days of Chedorlaomer until now, without its ever having to be dried up that they might pass. This expression therefore cannot refer to the water of the literal river. What then? In the next chapter, verse 15, it is stated that "waters are peoples." The water of the Euphrates then, being dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared, is clearly the ending of the power and people that occupies the country of the Euphrates. What power is this?óThe Turkish power alone.

This, then, is another plain declaration of the word of God announcing the certain ending of the Turkish power. And according to this scripture, what comes at the ending of that power? What are the kings of the east going to do when the way for them shall be thus prepared? Read on.

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

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For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they we his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

"And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings: and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."

NEED FOR WATCHING AND PRAYING

WE have now considered the three portions of Scripture which treat of the Turkish power. We have seen that in all three of them the end of that power is announced by the sure word of God. We also see that in all three places not only is the end of that power marked, but with this, and following swiftly upon it, there is also marked in unmistakable language universal world-destroying trouble, the coming of the Lord in glory, and the end of all things of this world.

This cannot be denied. It may not be believed; but it cannot be denied. No man therefore is ready for the ending of the Ottoman Empire who is not ready for the end of the world. And who is ready for this? Oh! let every one who names the name of Christ turn his whole attention to this. Let all such be sure that they themselves are ready for all these things, and then let them never rest, let them never hold their peace, till the warning of it is sounded to all people that whosoever will may come, whosoever will may be ready also, and that all may be watching and praying always "that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36.

We see that the sure word of God announces that upon the ending of the Ottoman Empire there comesó"at that time"óa time of universal war, woe, and trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. We see also the great powers of earthóthe very ones which have this question constantly to deal withóexpecting and dreading the "appalling danger" of this very thing, and in their uneasy expectancy doing everything in their power to hold back as long as possible the tide of woe which they know must come.

There is yet one other element to be noticed in this connection. And that is that the Turks themselves expect this very thing also. The Turks themselves expect to be removed from Constantinople. They expect then the seat of their power to be in Jerusalem. They expect then that the nations will come even there to war against them, and that then the end of all things comes.

In Constantinople in September and October last, I met a reliable Christian man, who told me that in a conversation which he had with a Turkish judge, the judge told him that they expected as the outcome of the dealings of the powers that they would be dispossessed of Constantinople; that after that their capital would be Jerusalem; that against them there at last they expected the "Christian nations" to come to light; and that then Messiah and Mahomet would come. With the exception of Mahomet, this explanation as stated by the Turkish judge is precisely the thing that is spoken of this same time in the Scripture of truth. And the time of trouble thus brought as described in the word of God, is precisely the "appalling danger" that is dreaded by the great powers, and against which they agree in holding the Ottoman Empire as a bulwark.

When the word of God three times declares it; and when the Turks themselves, as well as all the other powers concerned, are expecting and dreading it; is it not high time that all the people should believe it? May the Lord in His mercy help all the people to hear it, to believe it, and then to proclaim it to earth's remotest limits that the world may be prepared and fully ready for that which by every evidence on the question is hanging ready to burst in fury upon a devoted world!
A. T. JONES.

June 22, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 6.óIs the Trouble Religious or Political?" The Bible Echo 11, 24 , pp. 187, 188.

A SHORT-SIGHTED POLICY

IN studying the career of Turkey as set forth in the Bible, we have seen that it is an exceedingly short-sighted thing to do to call, as many have lately been doing, for the abolition of the Ottoman power. In looking at it also from the side of this world only, and as the situation is in reality, we have seen likewise that it is a most unwise thing to demand of the great powers that the Turkish power shall be obliterated without any further question.

From every consideration of Scripture, and the best interests of the whole world, we have seen that the mere setting aside, or bringing to an end, of the Ottoman power, is the smallest part of the great subject involved. We have seen that beyond this and wrapped up in it lie, both in the word of God and in the fate of the nations, events of infinitely greater importance than that thing in itself could be, considered in and by itself alone.

All this we have seen is strongly emphasised in the repeated statements of the Scriptures of truth and in the plain statements of the leading authorities among the nations. And yet there are other questions that may be asked, and other points that may properly be considered, in this connection.

There is no room for any sort of denial that particularly in England and America there have been made for a number of months, loud and repeated calls for the "blotting out," "the wiping off the earth," etc., of the Ottoman power, without any kind of delay, and without regard to any other consideration.

CALLING FOR WAR

OF course none of those making such call, expected for a moment that the thing could be done without war. Yet the most urgent of these demands for the employment of armies and navies in such war, have come from churches, from pulpits, and from professedly Christian papers. We have in former articles called attention to the serious incongruity in professors of the gospel of peace calling for war. We have pointed out what an awful reversal of things it is, and what a sad perversion of the right way, when the professed representatives of the gospel and the Prince of Peace, to whom the sword is forbidden, should be calling for war; while warriors, emperors, and rulers, to whom the sword is committed, were employing every possible means to preserve peace.

WAR AND CHRISTIANITY

BUT now aside from all this, why should war be made upon Turk above all other powers? It is said that Turkey is making war, and killing many people? Granted. But will making more war, and killing a great many more people, be any better? Is it wrong for the Turkish power to make war, yet perfectly right for "Christian" powers to make war? is it wrong, and a dreadful thing, for some or many people to be killed in a Turkish way; but perfectly right, and a blessed thing, for more people to be killed if only it be done in it "Christian"? This seems to be the theory upon which those "Christians" proceed who are demanding that war shall be made on Turkey.

But there is no Christian way of killing people. There is no Christian way of making war. The Author of Christianity who was ushered into the world with the proclamation of "Peace on earth, good will to men," has declared that "The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." One of the greatest warriors of this age, declared that "War is hell." And as he himself lived in it for years, certainly he was qualified to express an opinion. Is there, then, not enough of that kind of "hell" in the world but, that professedly Christian people shall be loudly demanding that "Christian" powers shall make more of it, with prospect of its engulfing all the world?

A year and more ago, and for a long time, France made war on the people of Madagascar, and the people of Madagascar are "Christian" too. There was no demand that the French power should be "wiped off the earth." At this present time, and for some time back, Italy has been making war in Abyssinia. And the Abyssinians are "Christian" too. Yet nobody is calling that the Italian Government shall be wiped off the earth.

But, is it said that Turkey is making war on its own subjects?óGranted again. At this hour Spain is making war on her own subjects in Cuba, and has been doing so for a long time, Yet who is calling for the Spanish power to be blotted out?

IS IT BECAUSE THE ARMENIANS ARE CHRISTIANS

BUT it is said that Turkey is unlike all these, and worse than all these, in that it is making war on its subjects on account of their religionóbecause they are Christians. It is not true that Turkey is making war on its subjectsóon the Armeniansóbecause they are Christians. Of this there is abundance of evidence,óin fact, all the evidence. Let us examine this evidence as it is.

1. There are thousands of other subjects of Turkey who are Christians as much as the Armenians, yet none of these are molested. If it be true that Turkey is making war on the Armenians because of their Christianity, why does it not make war on all Christians alike? Why does it make this marked distinction of one people only? There are thousands of Greeks who are born subjects of TurkeyóGreeks who have never been subject to the Greek kingdom, but are descended from the ancient Greeks of Asia Minor, and have been subject to the Turkish power ever since its conquest of that country. These Greeks all profess the Christian religion, yet they are not warred upon nor molested by the Turkish power on account of their religion. These Turkish subjects are as free and as safe under Turkish rule as they would be if they were ender British rule.

2. I myself aid another Christian minister went to Turkey last September, arriving at Constantinople September 10, and remaining there till October I7 (except five days in the neighbourhood of Nicomedia). It will thus be seen that we were there at the time of the riot and the great disturbance in that city. We went to preach Christianity there, and we did it all the time we were there.

We went under the protectorate of no earthly power. No ambassador and no consul knew we were there until we were ready to come away. We not only went ender the protectorate of no earthly power; but we went without any intention of calling for the protection of any such power.

AN OPEN BIBLE SCHOOL AMIDST RIOT

WE went expressly to hold a Bible school in Constantinople for six weeks; and we held it as intended, the full length of time, including the five days' meetings near Nicomedia. We asked no governmental permission, even from Turkey, to bold the Bible institute in Constantinople, nor to hold the meetings near Nicomedia.

We held our Bible School in the Armenian quarter in Stamboul, and in the house of an Armenian family. Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Jewsówhosoever choseóattended the school throughout. The school was held daily, forenoon and afternoon, and some of the time in the evening also. It was held on the first floor of a house, whose door opened into the street; and in a room whose bay-window overhung the street with a large former window on each side of the bay-window. And as the weather was warm and pleasant so that the win-

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dows were open most of the time, the room in which the Bible school was daily held was practically open upon the street. This house was within three minutes' walk of the Armenian Patriarch's church where the mischief was hatched which culminated in the riot of September 30, where those who started the riot took refuge and shut themselves in when they fled from the Turkish troops, and where Turkish troops were stationed round the church and passing to and fro day and night from the day of the riot until we had regularly closed the Bible school and departed from the city according to our original purpose.

In such a room, in such a house, in such a place, and at such a time, we held a Christian Bible school openly and daily for fifteen days before the riot, on the day and at the hour of the riot itself, and eleven days after the riot, and all without any sign of molestation on the part of the Turkish authorities or anybody else, except one Armenian woman who was opposed to her daughter's attending the school, and who came one day into the street in front of the house and delivered a long tirade, shaking her fists and beating her breast, and acting generally as if she were mad. She succeeded in attracting quite a crowd, and the Turkish police came down, but some one succeeded in getting her to go away barely in time to escape the police. And even then, when the police inquired at the house as to the cause of the disturbance, they neither then nor at any time afterward made any attempt in any way to molest us or to interfere with our school.

Now, if the Turkish Government is so much opposed to Christians as is so much declared in England and America, how could all this be as it was?

FREE FROM INTERFERENCE

3. AS BEFORE stated, the house in which our Bible school was held was only about three minutes' walk from the Patriarch's church, where was the centre of all the trouble, and on a street traversed by the troops as they went to and from that church on guard duty.

In a house next to the Patriarch's church, there were about eight menóArmenians and Greeksówho had come to Constantinople from the provinces to attend the school. They rented this building and boarded themselves there. And these men passed from that house to the school and back twice a day, on the day of the riot and afterwards in the presence of the troops, just as before the disturbances began, and no Turk ever challenged them nor offered any of them any molestation at any time.

Our school faced one of the streets along which the troops passed, and the windows of the classroom opened on the street. And as the troops were always on horseback they could look into the windows and see at least the teacher as he stood at a table in the bay window. Yet no one of them ever made any sign either by look or motion that would suggest any dissatisfaction at what was going on there.

4. There was a Greek, a Christianónot of the Greek Church, but of "a sect"ówho came to our school and meetings frequently, who is a decorative stone-worker. On the day of the riot he was working on a building with a company of Turks, and continued to do so on days following the riot, and he told us that no one offered to molest him in any way, or at any time.

While our Bible school was held, and in the "restless times" following the day of the riot, two persons were baptized in the sea not more than five or six minutes' walk from the Patriarch's church, in the daylight too, and though there were Turks who saw it, not one of them showed any disrespect for it nor attempted to molest the administration of this Christian rite.

THE EVIDENCE OF ACTUAL EXPERIENCE

IF the Turks are so desperately opposed to Christians and Christianity as is represented by so many in England and America, how is it that all this work and these people could pass along there without any molestation or disrespect?

Certainly these points of actual experience are evidence that the Turkish Government is not opposed to Christians or to Christianity as such. Confirming this is the statement by Sir Philip Currie in the latest Blue Book up to February 18, that "Non-Armenian Christians were spared."

6. It is yet further true that the Turkish Government is not opposed even to all Armenian Christians. I personally know it to be a fact that there is a Christian sect there, composed largely of Armenians, and who are Christians only, taking no part whatever in politics, either Armenian or Turkish, nor yet of the great powers. They believe and follow the Scripture instruction, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers." They therefore are subject and respectful to the Turkish power, paying the tribute and respecting the laws.

They are not only largely Armenians, but the leading teacher and preacher of them is a native Armenian, a born Turkish subject. Yet these Armenians are neither persecuted nor opposed by the Turkish power. On the contrary the Turkish authorities have more than once protected them from the violence of the Armenians.

When one of them was stoned nearly to death by Armenians, and bruised and bleeding was making his painful way to a neighbouring village, the Turkish soldiers learning of his ill treatment went out on the road and met him and helped him into the village where other friends cared for him. At other times when some of these have been arrested by mistake, they have been released immediately upon learning who they were.

"A GOOD DOCUMENT"

AMONG the publications of this sect is a lithograph chart of the ten commandments with several other Scripture verses concerning faith in Christ, etc., printed in a decorative way around the ten. These they sell in the streets of Constantinople. One Armenian who was selling them was arrested by the police and put in jail. As soon as the chief of the Imperial Police learned of it he ordered him instantly released, saying to the superintendent, "That is a good document to be circulated, even in such a time as this." This occurred about the month of October or November, 1895. More than once when by false representation the professed Protestant Christians there had compassed the arrest of the leading teacher of this sect, the Turkish authority has released him upon mere inquiry.

I shall occupy no more space with facts such as these, though there are more. These points show plainly enough that the Turkish Government is not only not opposed to Christians or Christianity, but that it is not opposed to Armenian Christians. In its actions it not only distinguishes between Armenians and other Christians but it distinguishes between Armenians and Armenians. And all this makes it plain enough that the Turkish-Armenian difficulty and troubles are not on account of religion at all. The evidence establishing the real origin of the trouble will be our next and concluding article on this subject. A. T. JONES.

June 29, 1896

"The Eastern Question. What Its Solution Means to All the World. No. 7.óOrigin of the Present Trouble" The Bible Echo 11, 25 , pp. 195, 196.

"NOT RELIGION BUT REVOLUTION"

WHAT, then, is the real cause of the difficulty and of these great troubles? The answer is: It is not religion, but revolution. Whatever people in England or America may believe, or say, the truth is, and all the evidence shows it, that it is solely on account of their revolutionary practices that the Armenians are involved in this great trouble. Anyone who will spend a little time amongst them, can know this, and those who are there do know it. It is for this reason that Russia would not consent that the other powers should use force in dealing with the Porte. In the second Parliamentary Blue Book on this question, is given the correspondence, and there it is stated by Prince Lobanoff tható

"The fact is that the Armenian committees in London and elsewhere aim at the creation in Asia Minor of a district in which the Armenians shall enjoy special privileges, and which will form the nucleus of a future independent Armenian kingdom; and to this Russia will not and cannot agree."

That this view is correct is further shown by a statement by the editor (J. M. Buckley, D.D) of The Christian Advocate, of New York, the leading paper of the Methodist Church in America, January 23, 1896. The editorial is on "Bleeding Armenia," and after stating that there is "a small revolutionary body" operating both "outside of Turkey" and "within its bounds," there is the following passage:ó

"One of the representatives of this body said to Cyrus Hamlin: 'We are determined to be free. Europe listened to the Bulgarian horrors and made Bulgaria free. She will listen to our cry when it comes up in the shrieks of women and children.' To this Dr. Hamlin said: 'This scheme will make the very name of Armenia hateful among all civilised people.' He replied: 'We are desperate, and we will do it.' Dr. Hamlin communicated these facts to the world in an article in The Congregationalist in December, 1893."

This scheme was thus announced in December, 1893, and it was not till the summer of 1894 that the troubles began which have continued to the present. As early as May, 1893 a revolutionary agitator named Damatian since. August 20, 1895, the British Consul at Erzeroum in a despatch to the British Ambassador at Constantinople wrote as follows:ó

"The party of action among the Armenians have kept very quiet of late, having been persuaded that a contrary course would only prejudice the Armenian cause, and impede diplomatic action for the introduction of reforms. It is, however, more than probable that, if disappointed in their expectations, they will renew their agitation with increased violence, and endeavour to provoke reprisals on a scale certain to involve European intervention.

THE RIOT IN CONSTANTINOPLE

IN perfect accord with this fore-cast of August 20, there came the outbreak in Constantinople, September 30, which originated wholly in two thousand Armenians marching in a body from the Patriarch's church to the Porte to demand diet the Sultan should sign the propositions of the powers. These "Armenians carried revolvers and knives, all of one pattern," says the British Ambassador in his report. The first shots were fired by the Armenians, killing a Turkish officer. Then the Turkish troops returned the fire, and with such effect that the Armenians soon fled, and, says the British Ambassador, "one thousand armed Armenians, with women and children, took refuge in the church of the Patriarchate."

Now I personally know that this movement in Constantinople, September 30, 1895, was made for the purpose of bringing on such a crisis as would necessitate armed intervention of the powers to restore order, and in the hope that thus they might be delivered from the Turkish rule and find a protectorate in the British power. Our Bible school was in session at the hour when this armed force started from the Patriarch's church to the Porte. I myself was conducting the lesson of the hour. Suddenly the doors in the houses along the street were opened, and out rushed, all at once, the people,ómen, women and children,óand poured along the street to a point where they could see the force as it marched toward the Porte. The sudden rush of so many crested something of a sensation in the school, though only for a moment, when we continued till the regular time for the close of the session.

When the session had closed, and those in attendance went into the street to go to their homes, they asked those who were in the street what was the cause of the sudden rush of all the people. The answer, and the only answer that was given, was: "The British fleet is coming in, and they a [referring to the Armenians who had gone up to the Porte] have gone up to compel the Sultan to sign." And it was their daily expectation for more than a week afterward that the British fleet would then come in, and take them under its protection.

Five days afterward, October 5, the British Ambassador reported to the Government at London, that, "Grave fears are entertained that the Armenian Committee is organising some further demonstrations." And not long after this the Armenians of Zeitun suddenly arose and captured the Turkish garrison of nearly six hundred troops, destroyed the barracks, and took possession of the city, where they sustained a considerable siege.

ORGANISED POLITICAL REVOLUTION

THESE facts present evidence sufficient to show beyond dispute that there is a widespread revolutionary movement amongst the Armenians, and that it is carried on altogether for the purpose, and in the hope, of creating such a condition of affairs even at the deliberate expense of "the shrieks of women and children," that the great powers will intervene and make them and the country free. And as a part of this plan, it is plain to those who know the facts, that many of the reports to the English and American papers have been exaggerated out of all semblance of the truth, and some indeed have not had a vestige of truth upon which to base even an exaggeration.

For instance: When the English papers reached Constantinople giving the accounts of the riot there, we read that "Stamboul is a desert;" "the shops are closed;" "the churches are filled with men, women, and children, refugees, to keep from being massacred."

The truth is, that Stamboul was no more of a desert than it usually is, except for the closing of the Armenian shops; and after two days after the riot even these were not closed for fear of the Turks, but for fear of the Armenians.

I myself saw a circular letter sent by the Armenian Revolutionary Society to the Armenian shopkeepers. This letter was written in Armenian, and was interpreted to me by an Armenian. It called for money for the Armenian cause, and told them not to "dare" to open their shops; that "thousands of eyes which they did not know" were watching them with the certainty of reprisal if they did disregard this warning. And the letter was not signed by the president, nor the secretary of the society, nor by the society itself, but it was signed with a smoking revolver and a drawn sheath-knife.

Under these circumstances, is it strange that the Armenian shops were closed long after all danger was past? and long after the time when the shop owners would have been glad to open their shops?

As for the churches being filled with men, women, and children, refugees, my etc., as though there was a general resort of

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the Armenian populace to the churches, this also is not true. Of the armed body that left the Patriarch's church to compel the Sultan," those of them that escaped did take refuge in the church from which they started. But as for the Armenian people generally, they were in their homes and are about their daily work as usual, and without any molestation. There may have been, there probably were, some women also in the Patriarch's church. For there were some women there she before the riot, inciting the men to arise and avenge their injuries.

The day before the riot, in the midst of the assembly in the church, a woman sprang to her feet and exclaimed, "Woe, woe, to the Armenians! Why do you sit still? Why do you not an arise and avenge your injuries?"

"FOR THE FAITH"

ANOTHER woman came into the house of the Armenian family where I was living, the next day after the riot. As she seated herself the handle of a large knife was exposed in the folds of her dress. The lady of the house asked her, "What have you that great knife for?" She replied: "To kill Turks with." Then she drew it forth and showed how it must be used so as certainly to kill. Suiting actions to words, she said, "You take it in your hand this way; and then turn it, so. If you only drive it in straight and pull it oat again, they may live. But if you give it such a turn as that they are sure to die."

The lady of the house then said to her: "How is it that you know so much about it? Have you been doing it?" She answered: "Not here in Constantinople; but in Armenia I have."

Then said the lady of the house, "Why, you silly woman, what can you hope to accomplish by that? What can you do but get yourself killed?" Exultingly the woman exclaimed: "Suppose I do get myself killed! Is it not the best death to die? What is more glorious than to die for the faith!"

There may have been some such women as these, refugees in the churches. But in that part of the city where I was, and near to the Patriarch's church, too, it is certain that the women and children in general were at home as before, and were in safety there, as we all were. Again, for days long despatches were published, telling of the capture of Zeitun by the Turks and the "massacre of ten thousand Christians." When in truth the only capture was its capture by the Armenians.

At Harput it was reported that "thousands of Christians" had been slaughtered. But the report of the missionary who was through it all at Harput, says there were "one hundred killed in the whole city."

At Sassoun it was reported "ten thousand" killed. It is now allowed even by the Armenian society that there were "nine hundred killed."

At Trebizond it was said there were many thousands wiped out. The British consul's official report says "not much above five hundred."

Now I do not say that 900 or 500, or even 100 killed, is a small thing. Any number killed is vastly too many. One person killed is far too many. But as compared with tens of thousands several times repeated, 900 and 500, and 100 all put together are not many.

Now in all this I have only stated the case as it is, and the facts as I personally know them to be, in truth. Yet let me not be misunderstood. I have said nothing, and I have nothing to say against the Armenians gaining their freedom, or even their independence, if they can. No subject people is to be blamed for desiring to be free and independent. All that I have attempted to say, and all that I do say is, that when the Armenians, or any other people, start out to gain their freedom, and have to fight for and do fight for it, and get beaten, and have a harder time than they expected, then let them not raise the cry that they are oppressed and persecuted and massacred, on account of their religion. This cry raises an entirely false issue.

Again, I would not say a word against any effort of societies to relieve the privations and miseries of the Armenians. They are suffering greatly, the innocent with the guilty. Let anybody, and everybody, send means as he chooses to relieve their distress. But when calls are made in their behalf, and the people are appealed to, to furnish relief, because the Armenians are martyrs for Christianity, it is all a mistake, and a wholly false issue.

That many Armenians who are not revolutionists, some of whom may possibly be Christians, have suffered, is undoubtedly true; but let it be remembered that this is what the revolutionists planned for. They calculated that if they fomented sedition the innocent would suffer with the guilty, and far more, and that "the shrieks of women and children" would rouse the world to assist them in securing independence.

Nor have I attempted to make any apology for, or any special showing in favour of the Turkish Government. I have simply written the facts as they are, and as I found them by experience to be; and that is all. As to the merits of the political controversy between the Armenians and the Turkish Government, I have nothing to say one way nor the other, I know that it is wholly political, and not religious at all. And merely to give what I know to be the truth of the case as to that point is what I have done and all that I intended to do.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT QUESTION

BUT above it all, and back of it all, lies the much greater question as it lies in the word of God, at to the Turkish Empire and its standing in the world and the end of it which must certainly come soon. And when the Turkish Government does come to its end, then comes that "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation." Who is prepared for this? And at that time comes the deliverance of God's people, "every one that shall be found written in the book." Who is ready for this? Is your name in the book of life? Are you ready for all these things that must shortly collie to pass?
A. T. JONES.

August 10, 1896

"Spiritualism in America" The Bible Echo 11, 31 , pp. 242, 243.

THE Catholic Mirror, of May 23, (Cardinal Gibbons' organm in America), devotes a column of editorial comment to the prevalence of Spiritualism in Baltimore. "Every morning," says the Mirror, "in the [Baltimore] Sun we find half a column of announcements of where wonderful mediums are to be seen and sÈances are to be held, and all over town one hears of signs and wonders. Last week Spiritualism even figured in a murder trial, and at least one juryman was governed in his contribution to the verdict by his belief in the reality of certain incidents that were sworn to as having occurred at a sitting where spirits were called up. . .

"Everybody, it is said, attends these sÈances, and many do beyond doubt; otherwise the mediums, who, while dealing in unsubstantial things otherwise, handle only hard cash, would not flock here in such numbers. Some of them are declared to be coining money, and in their waiting rooms, as described to us, are gathered, morning after morning, crowds of visitors of all classes, the scene not unlike that at some fashionable physician's."

What seems to have called forth this comment from the Mirror, is the fact that Roman Catholics are included among these visitors to the haunts of professed intercourse between the living and the dead; and at this the Catholic organ professes some surprise. "Catholics among the rest," it says, "are said to go to these places; but one naturally wonders what sort of Catholics. By the church, dabbling in Spiritualism is distinctly forbidden, and Father Clarke, S. J., of England, in an interesting pamphlet, has pointed out why. Any one who consults mediums positively imperils his or her spiritual welfare. The sincere Spiritualists frankly admit that at least nine-tenths of the operators are frauds and their exhibitions the dreariest sort of humbuggery. . . . But if any part of the exhibitions given belongs to the other world, what world is it? Father Clarke plainly tells us that such manifestations can only come from a diabolic source, with which any God-fearing and sensible person wishes as little to do as possible."

This view given by "Father" Clarke and indorsed by the Mirror is undoubtedly true; but what consistent ground has either of these Catholic authorities for

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advocating it? Do they not both believe in communication between the living and the dead? Is not the Roman Catholic religion based upon the doctrine of prayers to the dead, which bring aid from the latter to the living? Does that religion not hold that prayers to the Virgin Mary and a large number of "saints" who have been many years dead, are of vital importance to our welfare? Does it not also countenance many tales of the miraculous appearances of the Virgin and these dead "saints" to the living? There can be no denial upon these points. How then can Roman Catholics consistently oppose the idea that the dead appear and communicate with the living in the manner which Spiritualism sets forth?

We think it not at all strange that the city which is the seat of the highest papal authority in this country, should also be distinguished as a center of the manifestations of Spiritualism. The two religions are founded upon the same idea, and naturally belong together.

The time will come,óhas indeed all but comeówhen false religions and religious bodies which have fallen away from God and retain merely the forms of godliness, will join hands with Spiritualism for mutual support and advancement. The testimony of the dead, who are supposed to know so much more than do even the wisest of the living, and especially of men noted for their high moral standing in this life, is a source of power which the politico-religious "reformers" of our time cannot much evidence(?) of this nature may have come to the surface as yet, it is as certain as that Scripture is true that there will be plenty of it forthcoming when these "reform" movements shall have progressed a little further. It is in such communications that Sunday "laws" and other oppressive enactments against such as adhere to God's moral code, will yet find one of their chief sources of support.óAmerican Sentinel.

August 17, 1896

"How to Know that the Bible Is the Word of God" The Bible Echo 11, 32 , p. 250.

THE Bible comes to men as the word of God. In every part it speaks to men as from God and upon the authority of God. But how shall men who do not know God know that it is the word of God? This is the question that thousands of people ask. They ask, "What proof is there of this? Where is the evidence, that it is the word of God?"

There is evidenceóevidence that every man can haveóevidence that is convincing and satisfactory. Where is it, then? Let us see.

WHOM SHALL WE ASK

Being the word of God, where could evidence be found that it is such? Where should we expect to find such evidence? Is there any one of greater knowledge than God, or of greater authority than He, of whom we may inquire?óCertainly not. For whoever God may be, there can be no higher authority, there can be none of greater knowledge.

Suppose, then, we were to ask God whether this is His word, and suppose He should tell us, in so many words, "The Bible is My word," we should then have only His word for it. But we have already, over and over; so that even then we have no more evidence than we now have in abundance: and the evidence would be in nowise different; for it would be the evidence of His word, and that we already have.

The word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God. It is impossible that it could be otherwise. If God had never yet spoken a word to the human family, and should this day send a message to all people at once, and in their own native tongues, that word, being the word of God, would have to bear in itself the evidence of its being the word of God; for the people could not possibly inquire of any other, because there is no person whose knowledge or authority is equal to this. Bearing in itself the evidence of its being the word of God, all the people could obtain this evidence by accepting it as the word of God. Each one who did this would know that it was the word of God; for he would have the evidence in the word, and by accepting it, also in himself.

HOW TO GET THE EVIDENCE

This is precisely the position that the Bible occupies toward the people of this world. It comes as the word of God. As such, it must bear the evidence in itself; for there can be no higher, no better, evidence. Whoever receives it as the word of God receives in it and in himself the evidence that it is the word of God. And so it is written, "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 17:12. And again: "A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you." 1 John 2:8. And again: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will [is willing to] do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." John 7:16, 17. Thus he who accepts the word as the word of God has the evidence that it is the word of God. He who will not accept the word can not have the evidence. In rejecting the word, he rejects the evidences, because the evidence is in the word.

To make this yet plainer, if possible, especially to those who do not know that the Bible is the word of God, we may, for the sake of the case, suppose that the Bible were not the word of God, and that the God of the Bible were not the true God. Suppose, then, that we should find the true God, and ask him whether the Bible is the word of God; and suppose he should say, "It is not the word of God." We should then have only His word; and the only way that we could know whether or not this answer were true would be by believing it, by accepting it as the word of God.

So, then, the only possible way in which any person could surely know that the Bible is not the word of God would be by the word of God. And even though he had the word of God to this effect, the only way that he could be sure of itóthe only evidence he could haveówould be by believing that word. But there is no word of God that the Scriptures are not the word of God, while there is the word of God that the Scriptures are the word of God. That word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God; and every soul who will receive it as it is, will have the evidence. The evidence will be plain to him who believes the word.
A. T. JONES.

October 12, 1896

"Living Faith" The Bible Echo 11, 40 , p. 315.

THE term "living faith" is strictly proper; because faith indeed is a living thing. The just live by faith, and no man can live by what has no life in it.

Again, faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8), and He is the living God; Jesus is its Author (Heb. 12:2), and in Him is lifeóHe is the life. In the nature of things that which comes from such a source must be of itself imbued with life.

Again, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17); that word is "the faith word" (Titus 1:9), that is, the word full of faith; and that word is "the word of life." Phil. 2:16. Therefore as the word of God brings faith, and is full of faith; and as that word is the word of life, it is evident that faith is life, is a living thing, and brings life from God to him who exercises it.

THE LIFE OF FAITH

What life is it then which faith brings to men? Coming as it does from God, through Jesus Christ who is the "Author of life," the only life with which it is imbued and which it could possibly bring to men is the life of God. The life of God is what men need and what we must have. And it is the life that God wants us to have; for it is written: "Walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God." Eph. 4:17, 18.

Jesus came that men might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12. And Christ is received by faith, and He dwells in the heart by faith. Eph. 3:17. Therefore as the life of God only, eternal life, is in Jesus Christ, and as Christ dwells in the heart by faith, it is as plain as anything can be that faith brings the life of God to him who exercises it.

It is the life of Jesus Himself that is to be made manifest in our bodies, "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." 2 Cor. 4:11. And the life of Jesus is manifested in us, by Christ himself living in us; for "Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." Gal. 2:20. This is living faith.

THE BLESSING OF THE REAL PRESENCE

Again He says, "I will dwell in them and walk in them;" "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you;" and "because I live, ye shall live also." John 14:18, 19. It is by the Holy Spirit that He dwells in us; for He desires you "to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts." Eph. 3:16, 17. And "at that day"óthe day that ye receive the gift of the Holy Ghostó"ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." John 14:20. "And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us." 1 John 3:24. And we "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3:14.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." We must have the blessing of Abraham in order to receive the promise of the Spirit. The blessing of Abraham is righteousness by faith. See Rom. 4:1-13. Having this, Abraham "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had." And we having this, can freely receive the promise of the Spirit circumcising the heart unto holiness and the seal of the righteousness of the faith which we had. Having the blessing of Abraham, and so being sons of God, God sends forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. Gal. 3:26; 4:4-6. Having the blessing of Abraham, that you may receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, then ask that ye may receiveóyea, ask and ye shall receive. For the word of God has promised, and faith cometh by hearing the word of God. Therefore ask in faith, nothing wavering, "for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Such is living faithóthe faith that comes from the living God; the faith of which Christ is the Author; the faith which comes by the word of God; the faith which brings life and power from God to men, and which works the works of God in him who exercises it; the faith which receives the Holy Spirit that brings the living presence of Jesus Christ to dwell in the heart and manifest himself still in mortal flesh. This and this alone is living faith. By this, Christians live. This is life itself. This is everything. Without this, everything is simply nothing or worse; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
A. T. JONES.

November 2, 1896

"Shall It Be Grace or Sin?" The Bible Echo 11, 43 , p. 338.

IT can never be repeated too often, that under the reign of grace it is just as easy to do right, as under the reign of sin it is easy to do wrong. This must be so; for if there is not more power in grace than there is in sin, then there can be no salvation from sin. But there is salvation from sin; this no one who believe in Christianity can deny.

Yet salvation from sin certainly depends upon there being more power in grace than there is in sin. Then, there being more power in grace than there is in sin, it cannot possibly be otherwise than that wherever the power of grace can have control, it will be just as easy to do right as without this it is easy to do wrong.

No man ever yet naturally found it difficult to do wrong. His great difficulty has always been to do right. But this is because man naturally is enslaved to a poweróthe power of sinóthat is absolute in its reign. And so long as that power has sway, it is not only difficult but impossible to do the good that he knows and that he would. But let a mightier power than that have sway, then is it not plain enough that it will be just as easy to serve the will of the mightier power, when it reigns, as it was to serve the will of the other power when it reigned?

But grace is not simply more powerful than is sin. If this were indeed all, even then there would be fulness of hope and good cheer to every sinner in the world. But this, good as it would be, is not all; it is not nearly all. There is much more power in grace than there is in sin. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." And just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, just so much more hope and good cheer there are for every sinner in the world.

How much more power, then, is there in grace than there is in sin? Let me think a moment. Let me ask myself a question or two. Whence comes grace?óFrom God, to be sure. "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Whence comes sin?óFrom the devil, of course. Sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. Well, then, how much more power is there in grace than there is in sin? It is as plain as A B C that there is just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, as there is more power in God than there is in the devil. It is therefore also perfectly plain that the reign of grace is the reign of God; and that the reign of sin is the reign of Satan. And is it not therefore perfectly plain also, that it is just as easy to serve God by the power of God as it is to serve Satan with the power of Satan?

Where the difficulty comes in, in all this, is that so many people try to serve God with the power of Satan. But that can never be done. "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt." Men cannot gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. The tree must be made good, root and branch. It must be made new. "Ye must be born again." "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Let no one ever attempt to serve God with anything but the present, living power of God, that makes him a new creature; with nothing but the much more abundant grace that condemns sin in the flesh, and reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Then the service of God will indeed be in "newness of life;" then it will be found that his yoke is indeed "easy" and his burden "light;" then his service will be found indeed to be with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."
A. T. JONES.

November 9, 1896

"The Easy and Only Way to Do Right" The Bible Echo 11, 44 , p. 348.

DID Jesus ever find it difficult to do right? Every one will instantly say, No. But why? he was just as human as we are. He took flesh and blood the same as ours. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." And the kind of flesh that he was made in this world, was precisely such as was in this world. "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." "In all things"! It does not say, In all things but one. There is no exception. He was made in all things like as we are. He was of Himself as weak as we are; for He said, "I can of Mine own self do nothing."

Why, then, being in all things like as we are, did He find it always easy to do right?óBecause He never trusted to Himself, but His trust was always in God alone. All His dependence was upon the grace of God. He always sought to serve God, only with the power of God. And therefore the Father dwelt in Him, and did the works of righteousness. Therefore it was always easy for Him to do right. But as He is, so are we in this world. He has left us an example, that we should follow His steps. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure," as well as in Him. All power in heaven and in earth is given unto Him; and He desires that you may be strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" and He strengthens you with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you may be "filled with all the fulness of God."

True, Christ partook of the divine nature, and so do you if you are a child of promise, and not of the flesh; for by the promises ye are partakers of the divine nature. There was nothing given to Him in this world, and He had nothing in this world, that is not freely given to you, or that you may not have.

All this is in order that you may walk in newness of life; that henceforth you may not serve sin; that you may be the servant of righteousness only; that you may be freed from sin; that sin may not have dominion over you; that you may glorify God on the earth; and that you may be like Jesus. And therefore "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. . . . Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." And I "beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."
A. T. JONES.

November 30, 1896

"'Ministers of God'" Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 11, 47 , pp. 370, 371.

FROM 2 Cor. 6:1-10, it is plain that there is nothing that can ever come into the life of the believer in Christ, but that the grace of God will take it and turn it to the good of the believer, and make it serve only to his advancement toward perfection in Christ Jesus. This the grace of God will do always, and nothing but this, if only the believer will allow the Lord to have His own way in his life; if only He will allow grace to reign. Thus it is that "all things are for your sakes;" and this is how "all things are for your sakes;" and this is how "all things work together for good to them that love God." This is grand. It is indeed glorious. It is salvation itself. This is how the believer is enabled "always" to "triumph in Christ."

This, however, is but half the story. The Lord proposes not only to save him who now believes, but He will use him in ministering to all others the knowledge of God, that they also may believe. We are not to think that the Lord's grace and gifts to us are only for us. They are for us first, in order that not only we ourselves shall be saved, but that we may be enabled to benefit all others in communicating to them the knowledge of God. We ourselves must be partakers of salvation before we can lead others to it. Therefore it is written: "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Thus every man who receives the grace of God, at the same time receives with it the ministry of that grace to all others. Every one who finds himself reconciled to God, receives with that reconciliation the ministry of reconciliation to all others. And thus the Lord proposes not only to cause us always "to triumph in Christ" on our own part, but also to make "manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." That is, He proposes to make known to others by us, and in every place, the knowledge of Himself.

We cannot do this of ourselves. He is to do it by us. We are to co-operate with Him.

It is true that there is a mystery about how this can be. It is a mystery how God can make manifest the knowledge of himself by such persons as you and I are, in any place, much less in every place. Yet mystery though it be, it is the very truth. But we do not believe the mystery of God?óAssuredly we do believe it. Then never forget that the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh. And you and I are flesh. Then the mystery of God is God manifest in you and me, who believe. Believe it.

Do not forget that the mystery of God is not God manifest in sinless flesh, but God manifest in sinful flesh. There could never be any mystery about God's manifesting himself in sinless fleshóin one who had no connection whatever with sin. That would be plain enough. But that he can manifest himself in flesh laden with sin and with all the tendencies of sin, such as ours isóthat is a mystery. Yea, it is the mystery of God. And it is a glorious fact, thank the Lord! Believe it. And before all the world, and for the joy of every person in the world, in Jesus Christ he has demonstrated that this great mystery is indeed a fact in human experience. For "as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same." "In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren." And therefore God "made Him to be sin for us." "He hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Thus, in our flesh, having our nature, laden with iniquity, and Himself made to be sin, Christ Jesus lived in this world, tempted in all points like as we are; and yet God always caused Him to triumph in Him, and made manifest the savor of his knowledge by Him in every place. Thus God was manifest in the flesh,óin our flesh, in human flesh laden with sin,óand made to be sin in itself, weak and tempted as ours is. And thus the mystery of God was made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. O, believe it!

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And this is the mystery of God to-day and foreveróGod manifest in the flesh, in human flesh, in flesh, laden with sin, tempted and tried. In this flesh, God will make manifest the knowledge of Himself in every place where the believer is found. Believe it, and praise His holy name!

This is the mystery which to-day, in the third angel's message, is again to be made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. This is the mystery of God, which in this time is to be "finished,"ónot only finished in the sense of being ended to the world, but finished in the sense of being brought to completion in its grand work in the believer. This is the time when the mystery of God is to be finished in the sense that God is to be manifest in every true believer, in every place where that believer shall be found. This is, in deed and in truth, the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,"óI have revealed God in the flesh. Our faith is the victory that has overcome the world. Therefore, and now, "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."
A. T. JONES.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 12 (1897)

January 11, 1897

"Kept by the Word" The Bible Echo 12, 2 , pp. 11, 12.

IN the Christian life everything depends upon the Word of God. It is true that God is able, and desires, to keep us from sinning; but this must be done through His word. So it is written, "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." This is the way that God has appointed, and there is no other way to have this thing accomplished.

Nor is this way appointed merely because He arbitrarily chose that this should be the way, and then laid it upon men that this must be the way that they should go. His word is the way of salvation and the way of sanctification (Christian living), because this is the way that the Lord

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does things; because this is the way that He manifests Himself. It was by His word that He created all things in the beginning; it is by His Word that he creates men anew; and it will be by His word that He will re-create this world and all things pertaining to it. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." "Being born again, . . . by the word of God." "And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . And He said unto me, It is done."

It is not only that the worlds were created by the word of God; but they are also sustained by the same word. "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby [by the word of God] the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store." So also it is not only that the Christian is created by the word of God, but by that same word he is sustained, nourished, and caused to grow. God holds up "all things" by His powerful word. And the Christian is among this "all things" no less than any or all the worlds.

There can be no question whatever that all the worlds are held up, and held in their places, by the Lord. But it is not only all the worlds, it is "all things" that are held up and held in place by the Lord. And it is as true of the Christian as it is of any star in the firmament or any world on high. And as there can be no question that the stars and the world are held up and held in their courses by the word of the Lord, so there can be no question that the Christian is held up and held in his right course by the word of the Lord.

This is to be believed and depended upon by every one who professes the name of Christ. You and I can no more hold ourselves up and in the right way than can the sun or the earth. And as certainly as the worlds are dependent upon his word, so certainly is the Christian to depend upon his word. And when this is so, the Christian is kept in the way of the Lord as certainly and as easily as is any planet in the universe. It is written that He "is able to keep you from falling." And He says, "I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." "Yea, he shall be holden up; for God is able to make him stand."

O struggling, failing Christian, is not that word which holds up great worlds able also to hold up you? Trust that word. Depend implicitly upon it. Rest wholly upon it: and they you will find rest in it. Trust the Lord to hold you up, just as you trust him to hold up the sun. His word holds up the sun, and His word is over and over to you, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee." "I will uphold thee." I will keep thee, thou art Mine. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." I will never leave thee till I have done that thing which I have spoken to thee of.

"The word of God is quick ['living,' R.V.] and powerful." "Powerful" means "full of power." The word of God is living and full of power, to do for you, with you, and in you, all that that word says. Believe that word, trust it: for it is the word of the living God. It is the word of the pitying Saviour. "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." "I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up." You "are kept by the power of God through faith." The power of God is manifested through His word, and therefore it is His powerful word. Faith comes by hearing the word of God; therefore it is the faithful word, the word full of faith. Therefore when He says, you "are kept by the power of God through faith," it is only saying in another way, You are kept by the word of God, "unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Believe that word, trust it, and find its keeping power.
A. T. JONES.

March 29, 1897

"Is Religion a Proper Subject of Legislation?" The Bible Echo 12, 13 , pp. 99, 100.

IN the first centuries of the Christian era, when the Roman Empire filled and ruled the world, to profess the name of Christ a person was compelled to renounce every other relationship in life. He could not attend a wedding or a funeral of his nearest relatives, because every ceremony was performed with reference to the gods. He could not attend the public festival, for the same reason. More than this, he could not escape by not attending the public festival, because on days of public festivity, the doors of the houses, and the lamps about them, and the heads of the dwellers therein, must all be adorned with laurel and garlands of flowers, in honour of the licentious gods and goddesses of Rome. If the Christian took part in these services, he paid honour to the gods as did the other heathen. If he refused to do so, which he must do if he would obey God and honour Christ, he made himself conspicuous before the eyes of all the people, all of whom were intensely jealous of the respect they thought due to the gods; and also in so doing, the Christian disobeyed the Roman law, which commanded these things to be done. He thus became subject to persecution, and that meant death, because the law said:ó

"Worship the gods to all respects according to the laws of your country, and compel all others to do the same. But hate and punish those who would introduce anything whatever alien to oar customs in this particular."óNeander, Church History. Vol. I. Section First. Part I. Div. III, par. 2.

And further:ó

"Whoever introduces new religions, the tendency and character of which are unknown, whereby the minds of men may be disturbed, shall, if belonging to the higher rank, be banished; if to the lower, punished with death."óid.

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This was the Roman law. Every Christian, merely by the profession of Christianity, severed himself from all the gods of Rome, and from everything that was done in their honour. And everything was done in their honour. The great mass of the first Christians were from the lower ranks of the people. The law said that if any of the lower ranks introduced new religions, they should be punished with death. The Christians, introducing a new religion, and being from the lower ranks, made themselves subject to death whenever they adopted the religion of Christ. This is why Paul and Peter, and multitudes of other Christians, suffered death for the name of Christ. Such was the Roman law, and when Rome put the Christians to death, it was not counted by Rome to be persecution. It would not for an instant be admitted that such was persecution. It was only enforcing the law. The State of Rome was supreme. The state ruled in religious things. Whoever presumed to disobey the law must suffer the penalty; all that Rome did, all that it professed to do, was simply to enforce the law.

If the principle be admitted that the state has the right to legislate in regard to religion, and to enforce religious observances, then no blame can ever be attached to the Roman Empire for putting the Christians to death. Nor can it be admitted that such dealings with the Christians was persecution. The enforcement of right laws can never be persecution, however severely the law may deal with the offender. To hang a murderer is not persecution. To hunt him down, even with bloodhounds, to bring him to justice, is not persecution. We repeat, therefore, that the enforcement of right laws never can be persecution. If, therefore, religion or religious observances be a proper subject of legislation by civil government, then there never has been, and there never can be, any such thing as religious persecution. Because civil governments are ruled by majorities, the religion of the majority must of necessity be the adopted religion; and if civil legislation in religious things be right, the majority may legislate in regard to their own religion. Such laws made in such a case must be right laws, and the enforcement of them therefore can never be persecution.

But all this, with the authority and all the claims of the Roman Empire, is swept away by the principle of Christ, which everyone then asserted who named the name of Christ, that civil government can never of right have anything to do with religion or religious observances,óthat religion is not a subject of legislation by any civil government,óthat religion, religious profession, and religious observances must be left entirely between the individual and his God, to worship as his own conscience shall dictate,óthat to God only is to be rendered that which is God's, while to Cesar is to be rendered only that which is Cesar's. This is the principle that Christ established, and which, by His disciples, He sent into all the world, and which they asserted wherever they went; in behalf of which they forfeited every earthly consideration, endured untold torments, and for which they freely gave their lives. It was, moreover, because of the establishment of this principle by Jesus Christ, and the assertion of it by His true disciples, that we have to-day the rights and liberties which we enjoy.
A. T. JONES.

"Numbers and Rights" The Bible Echo 12, 13 , pp. 100, 101.

NUMBERS and rights no relation to each other. This is contrary to the general idea; but it is nevertheless true.

Rights are God-given. They do not pertain to men because men are associated together in large numbers; nor are they determined by that fact. The rights of man have their basis in the purpose of the Creator; and that purpose is independent of the number of those to whom it pertains.

Every individual is bound by his relation to his Creator and to his fellowmen. But his relation to his fellows is not independent of his relation to God. In other words, it is a duty which man owes to God, to love his neighbor as himself. It is a part of the law of God that a man should not steal, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness, or do anything that would invade the rights of his fellowmen. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

THE BASIS OF NATURAL RIGHTS

In fulfilling the purpose of God in our creation, we must of necessity fulfill every obligation which we owe to mankind. And to fulfil that divine purpose, it is necessary that we should possess and exercise certain rights. An all-wise Creator has accordingly endowed all men with those rights; and these rights, being thus inherent in the individual, are unalienable.

The purpose of the Creator is that every being whom he has made should be upright and perfect in all his ways, a free agent, and should live a life of unmarred happiness. Because of the fall, this purpose can never be fully realized in this world, but it will be perfectly accomplished in the world to come.

In this world progress is made toward the attainment of this purpose by development of character. God does not want automatons, nor slaves. God would stultify his own name if he should create beings of such a nature. He could not do less than create beings of the highest and most perfect type; nor could he be satisfied with anything else. He will have no one love and serve him from fear, or because he could not do otherwise. Such a tribute would be of an inferior nature, and therefore entirely unsuitable as an offering to the infinite God.

THE BASIS OF LIBERTY

In order that man may develop a perfect character, he must have liberty. In order that his tribute to God may be voluntary, he must have freedom of choice. Accordingly men are left free by the Creator either to love and serve Him, or to ignore Him and serve themselves.

This individual freedom of choice comprises within its limits the inalienable rights of mankind. When this freedom is denied, the highest interests of the individual are attacked; and if the attack be successful, the gravest injury to mankind results.

It matters not, also, whether this freedom be denied by some individual despot, or by the doctrine that rights are determined by the judgment of majorities. The so-called "public conscience" cannot take the place of the individual conscience. The individual who surrenders his conscience surrenders his very soul. He surrenders faith; for Christian faith is not mere assent to the truth, but it is belief which is manifested by works. See James 2:14-20. And with the surrender of faith, goes also the right to eternal life itself.

THE BASIS OF A DESPOTISM

The doctrine of the "greatest good to the greatest number" when so applied as to demand the yielding of the individual conscience to the will of the majority, becomes but the means of erecting a despotism. The theory that the majority must rule, is a very plausible one in this day, and a correct one so far as concerns those matters in which all have a common interest, and which are subject to human control. But it does not apply within the sphere of rights. And it is a fact also that the majorities in this world are made up not of leaders, or persons of independent judgment, but of followers: so that what appears to be the judgment of the majority, is very often only the will or opinion of the few by whom the majority are led. This is especially true in mat-

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ters where the people do not feel their immediate interests to be directly affected, as in questions of religion. A religious despotism can be all the more readily established by a few influential bigots because the public are generally willing to let others (their spiritual advisers) think for them in religious matters, and thus be spared the trouble of investigating and deciding for themselves. This is human nature; and the religion of human nature is popery.óAmerican Sentinel.

May 10, 1897

"Power Wanted for the Church" The Bible Echo 12, 19 , pp. 146, 147.

THE church to-day wants power. That is evident enough from her own testimony. She realises that she is not making that stand against the world's tide of sin and corruption that she should, and in various ways she makes confession of this truth. But no less true than this is it that there is unlimited power in readiness for her use. To deny this is to deny the very foundation of Christianity.

This power is the power of God. To His disciples Jesus said, as He commissioned them for their divine work moat mankind: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. . . . And lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:18-20. "All power" is certainly as much power as the church can want.

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There is no necessity, then, that the church should scheme to get possession of more power. She has but to take the power that God provides. And as God as provided "all power" for His church, it is certain that the church needs nothing less than this. And it is equally certain that when the church schemes and bargains for power from earthly sources, she gets only that which is infinitely less than the power she must have to be successful.

But God does not grant His power as an unconditional gift. He cannot allow His own omnipotence to be exercised independently of omniscient wisdom. To allow the church to use omnipotent power as she might herself think best to employ it would produce the worst state of affairs that could be imagined. Finite wisdom directing infinite power would be a thing fearful to contemplate.

The possession of this power, therefore, depends upon the connection of the church with God. And this is indicated by the words of Christ, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." He is the head of the church, and by the head all the body is directed. The power which operates through the body is also His. But it is possible for the church to disconnect herself from her divine Head, and substitute another head in His place, even as has been done by the Papacy. It is possible for the church to become united to the world and thus separated from Christ. But as decapitation means death, the church in such a case becomes a dead church, so far as concerns the purposes of Christianity, and being dead to Christ she is without the power of Christ.

It is Christ, the Head of the church, who works in the church when it is united to Him. But Christ is God; and Christ in the individual, or in His church, means "godliness." The divine power of the church is the "power of godliness." But there is a "form of godliness" which the church may have separate from the power of godliness. Thus is as the apostle Paul said it would be "in the last days.

This know also, that to the last days perilous times shall some. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, Iovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

All the sins enumerated in this text may go with a "form of godliness;" in other words, may exist in the professedly Christian church; but with them the church cannot but deny the power of godliness. Like Peter denying his Lord, she says of this power, I know it not. And she says this by her failure to manifest this power to the world. Claiming to be the church of Christ, yet having not the power of Christ, she virtually says to the world, that no such power exists.

If, then, the church finds herself lacking power, what is the reason? There can no other reason than that, having become worldly, she has separated herself from Christ. For it is certain that so long as He is with the church, she has all power" "in heaven and in earth."

The church is now seeking political power; but political power is not the power of God. In a sense, all power is of God but the power of God in His church must be manifested in godliness. To be seeking for political power is a denial of the power of godliness.

But why will the church seek for political power? Why will the Christian seek for such power? The church and the individual Christian are commissioned to preach the gospel, which is "the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth." Rom. 1:16. Nothing but the power of godliness can suffice for the church in any undertaking pursuant to her divine calling; and nothing but the "power of God unto salvation" can suffice to save any individual from sin. There is no lack of this divine power: and God is no less willing to bestow it now than He was to pour it out on His church at Pentecost. The only question is, Will the church give Him the opportunity.
A. T. JONES.

"Note" The Bible Echo 12, 19 , p. 152.

WHEN the Church intermeddles in the affairs of the State, she forfeits the right of protest if the state intermeddles in the affairs of the Church.óAmerican Sentinel.

June 14, 1897

"The Two Sides in the Great Controversy" The Bible Echo 12, 24 , p. 188.

SELF-SACRIFICE OR SELF-DEFENCE

"SELF-PRESERVATION is the first law of nature."

But self-sacrifice is the first law of grace.

In order to self-preservation, self-defense is essential.

In order to self-sacrifice, self-surrender is essential.

In self-defense, the only thing that can be employed is force.

In self-surrender, the only thing that can be employed is love.

In self-preservation, by self-defense, thru the employment of force, force meets force, and this means only war.

In self-sacrifice, by self-surrender, thru love, force is met by love, and this means only peace.

Self-preservation, then, means only war; while self-sacrifice means only peace.

But war means only death. Self-preservation, then, meaning only war, means only death; while self-sacrifice, meaning only peace, means only life.

Self-preservation being the first law of nature, nature then means only death; while self-sacrifice being the first law of grace, grace means only life.

But death only is the wages of sin; nature, then, meaning only death, it is so only because nature means sin; while life, being only the reward of righteousness; grace, meaning only life, it is so only because grace means righteousness.

Sin and righteousness, nature and grace, are directly opposite and antagonistic elements. They occupy realms absolutely distinct. Nature, self-preservation, self-defense, force, war, and death, occupy only the realm of sin; grace, self-sacrifice, self-surrender, love, peace, and life occupy only the realm of righteousness.

The realm of sin is the realm of Satan. The realm of grace is the realm of God. All the power of the domain of grace is devoted to saving men from the dominion of sin. This in order that, "as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

On which side do you stand in this great controversy?
A. T. JONES.

June 21, 1897

"The Science of Salvation" ⁶1 The Bible Echo 12, 25 , pp. 193, 194.

EVERYBODY knows that this is a very scientific age, at least in name, in profession, and in aspiration. God wants His people always to be up with the age. More than that: He wants His people always to be ahead of the age. Particularly He wants them to be reformers, and for a person to be a reformer, he must be ahead of the age. Then, as this is a particularly scientific age, in profession and otherwise, God's cause, His people, must be scientific to meet the demands of the age. That is the statement of the proposition to the study to which I invite your attention.

But you say, Salvation is the work of God's people, the one cause of the Lord; and the Scriptures say we are not to know anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You say that: yes, and I say that. I say that the work of the people of Godóall that the cause of God is in the worldóis the work of salvation. But salvation is science.

More than that: salvation is not simply science, it is not simply a science: It is the chief, the key, the centre of all sciences. It the most scientific of all things that are dealt with by the minds of men in this world. So that when God's people take the salvation of God as it is in God: when His cause of salvation in the world shall stand as representing indeed His ideas of salvation, then there will be revealed to the world the science that is above all other sciences. Then God's people can stand before the very kings of science, and not be ashamed, in a scientific age.

Now, I am thoroughly committed to that truth. And I want you to see how completely it is the truth. I want you to see by the Bibleóthe book of all truthóthat salvation is science.

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First, then, I want you to think soberly, and see for yourself not only that salvation is science: but that it is the highest of all sciences.

WHAT SCIENCE IS

The word "science" means, literally, knowledge. The science of botany is the knowledge of botany. The science of astronomy is the knowledge of astronomy. So that one scientist has defined science to be "the product of thinking." All the knowledgeóthe scienceóthat the world has is the product of the world's thinking.

Now salvation is the knowledge of God: "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the living and true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." It is therefore science. But this knowledge is not the product of man's thinking: it is the product of God's thinking. For "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Therefore salvation, being the product of God's thinking, is not only science, but is the highest of all sciences.

Again: That which is recognised by the world as science is the product of men's thinking. It is with the mind that men think. It is with the mind, then, that men deal with all these sciences. But salvation deals with the mind itself. Which, then, is the higher, that which deals with all other things, or that which deals with that which deals with all other things?óThe latter, to be sure. Then as with the mind men deal with all other sciences, and salvation deals with the mind itself, it is perfectly plain, not only that salvation is science as certainly as any other science, but that it is higher science than all other sciences. It is the highest science that can be known to the mind of man.

And who is it that in salvation deals with the mind?óIt is God Himself. Then as it is God Himself who works out, who makes known, this science; and as this science is the product of God's thinking; it follows again that the science of salvation is the highest, the deepest, the broadest, science that is known, not only to the mind of man, but to the whole universe.

Let us read a few Scriptures. "Be not conformed to this world : but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Rom. 12:2. "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God." Rom. 7: 25. "We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us a mind." "We have the mind of Christ." The only way the Lord can reach us is through the mind. He deals with us only through the mind. He governs us only through our minds. Look: "With the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." And the first of all the commandments is this: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." "The carnal mind enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The carnal mind that cannot be subject to the law of Godócannot beómust be changed, must be exchanged for another mind which always serves the law of God. That change of mind is salvation. That renewing of the mind is wrought by God in the work of His salvation, and it can be wrought by no other. Therefore it is the highest of all sciencesóthe highest that is known to the mind of man, the highest that is known to the universe.

Do you not begin to see why it is that the Testimonies ⁷2 speak of "the science of salvation"?

HIGH AUTHORITY

I want you to see that I am not alone in this; that for this position we have authorityóscientific authorityóthe authority of persons who understand science.

If I could bring to you evidence that those who understand all other sciences testify that they see more in it worthy of their consideration than in all the other sciences, would you not say then that I am safe in talking as I doófrom a scientific standpoint? Well, I have just such authorityóa company that understands all other science, and, as stated, that they are more interested in this science than in all the others put together.

In 1 Pet. 1:10-12, the apostle is speaking of salvation and there I read follows:ó

"Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the ANGELS DESIRE TO LOOK INTO."

What things do the angels desire to look into?óThe salvation of God when it is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The Greek word for "desire," here means "to set ones heart upon." And the Greek word for "look into" means, "to look carefully into, to inspect curiouslyóof one who would become acquainted with something." Such is the attitude of the angels toward the subject of salvation.

Now, it is perfectly safe to say that all the angels understand all other sciences infinitely more thoroughly than any man understands, or ever understood, any one single science. But the angels are more interested in the subject of salvation than in all the other sciences. They who know the most of all others, are most interested in this one. We are in the best of companyóyes, the best of scientific company; and I am not making a play on the word "science." The salvation of God is truly a scientific thing, not falsely so-celled, but genuinely, supremely scientific.

WHAT THE ANGELS LEARN

But this is not all: not only do the angels desire to look into this, as those who would become acquainted with something; but they do learn by looking into this and studying it. Turn to Eph. 3:8-11, and you will see this thought expressed:ó

"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all [I leave out the word men, because that is supplied] see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent [Look, now, I am to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ in order to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which has been hid in God, and that is to the intent, for the purpose] that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The angels, the principalities, and powers, earnestly desire to look into this Gospel of salvation when it is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. And as they study the power of God in saving men they learn new revelations of the wisdom of Godóthe manifold wisdom of Godóaccording to His eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A STUDY FOR ETERNITY

But God is from eternity to eternity. Now, from eternity to eternity there was, there is, a purposeóHis eternal purpose which is purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. How long will it take the angels to get to the depth, to exhaust the study, of that eternal purpose?óTo eternity. That is plain enough. Then as that purpose is revealed in the Gospel, is made known through the mystery of God, which is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory," it is plain enough that the angels are studying it. And as they look into it, they see there revealed the manifold wisdom of God, according to His eternal purpose. They desire to look into it. They do so, and thus learn.

Well, then, as they understand all other sciences more than any man understands any one, when they are more interested in this than in all the others, and learn from this; is not that a fact upon which you and I can with safety trust ourselves? Then is not this, too, a subject more worthy of our thought, our highest thinking, than all others put together? And cannot we set our hearts upon this, and give our whole soul to it without being unscientific? Yes, we can! Let us do it.
A. T. JONES.

(To be Continued.)

June 28, 1897

"The Science of Salvation. (Continued.)" The Bible Echo 12, 26 , pp. 202, 203.

(Continued.)

DO NOT misunderstand me. I am not making an attack on other sciences. I am not saying that all other sciences should be ignored, and counted as unworthy of any attention. No: I am saying that this is greater than all of them; and that whatever we study in them must be studied in subjection to this which is greater than they. All others must take a secondary place to this one. Would any man be strictly scientific to put his best and highest thinking on a science, when he had the highest possible authority that there was a higher one at his hand? Would that be scientific?óNo. Then any man who does not put his highest thinking and all his powers, upon this science first of all, and allow it to lead all other sciences, is not scientific. And he is not wise either; for this science is salvation. It is eternal life. Suppose I put all my life on other sciences, to the neglect of this, do I get salvation? do I get eternal life?óNo. How long in such a case will I have to study the other sciences?óAt most only a few years. Then my work upon these sciences will be done forever, and I shall never have a chance to study them any more. But if I take this one first of all, and let the others take the inferior place until I get this one secure, then I will have a chance to study the others to eternity. Ah, is not that the wise course then? Is not that the only scientific and sensible course?óCertainly it is. Very well, then, let us be scientific.

Now let us look a little further. In that first passage that we looked at about the angels, it began with the prophets, thus: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, and prophesied of the grace that should come unto you," when they testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

By the prophets, then, was brought forth in writing this science of salvation, this product of God's thinking on the subject of salvation. This book of science, this science of salvation, came by the prophets. And did they know anything about the other sciences?óYes. We can find this in a number of placesómore than we have time now to notice. But we will look at two or three points, that we may see that they did have a knowledge of these.

AN ASTRONOMICAL STATEMENT

In the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians there is a scientific statement that was made about seventeen hundred years before it was discovered by science. It was there all these ages, but the scientists in whose field it was did not know it by the process of their thinking. It is the statement of a truth in astronomy. Whoever believed the statement in the Bible knew it all the time, of course, even though he never heard the word astronomy; but the science of man did not know it, and discovered it only after seventeen hundred years, when it was found to be scientifically correct. The passage is 1 Cor. 15:41:ó

"There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory."

That was not known one hundred years ago, because about that long ago a man who considered himself considerable of an astronomer, and was so considered amongst his fellows, criticised that statement as being incorrect, and as being an evidence of the ignorance of Bible writers; because he thought that the Bible writer thought that one star differs from another star in glory, in brightness, instead of in distance. That is the statement of this critic about it. His idea was that the only reason why one starts to us brighter and more beautiful than another, is that one is nearer to us than another, so that we get more of its light. But to-day in all the realms of science it is known to be the truth that there is as much difference in the stars themselves, in their grandeur and beauty and varied tints as in the flowers upon the earth. So that if we could see the flowers on the earth set before us in a grand field, with all their glory and variety of tints, and then could see the stars of the heavens as plainly as we see these, we should see one just as variegated and beautiful as the other. This is known now; but it was not known when that passage was written to the Corinthians.

Now, I ask, was not that a scientific statement, was it not the statement of a truth in science, the day that Paul wrote it and sent it to Corinth, just as certainly as it is now? The discovery that science made that it was the truth did not make it the truth, nor did it add a particle to its weight as the truth. Their discovery simply showed that they had found out something that was true, but which they did not know before, because they did not believe the Bible. If they had only read that in the Bible, and believed it and accepted it, that point in science they would have known long before any scientists had discovered it.

GRAVITATION AND THE BIBLE

There is another science comes in here. Sir Isaac Newton one day was sitting under an apple tree. An apple fell from a branch near him. Many times apples had fallen from trees before. He had sees apples fall from trees before. But that day he was in a meditative mood, and he began to think. Why did that apple fall. It must be because the earth had some influence on it to draw it to itself. The earth being larger than the apple, would draw it to itself when it came loose from the tree. He said, If I take that apple, and throw it as high as I can, it falls again to the earth. Then if it was the influence of the earth that brought it this little distance, when I throw it as high as I can and it comes back again, that it proof that the influence of the earth reaches that far away from the earth, and holds to itself and brings it back. If I could throw it a mile high, and it should come back, then it would be plain that that influence reached a mile away to bring it back. Then, he said, If that is the truth, that influence ought to reach to the moon. I wonder if it does reach to the moon? I will go and see. He went tc his house and sat down there, took the astronomical calculations upon the orbit of the moon in its place, and worked a long series of figures. But they didn't fit. He tried it over and over again, but they didn't fit; he couldn't get that influence to reach to the moon.

He laid the thing aside for about ten years, if I remember correctly, before he took it up again. One day there was published a new calculation of the of the moon, correcting some inaccuracies in former figures. When that was pub-

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fished, Newton said, I wonder whether that will supply what I want. He got the figures, went to work, and worked a long series of figures that you and I would be astonished at, of course. But he came down at last within two or three figures of the end, and he saw that it was going to fit. He was so overwhelmed with the wonderful fact that he could not finish his figures. The pen dropped from his hand, and be had to ask a friend to carry it out for him. The friend did so, and Sir Isaac Newton had demonstrated a scientific fact, or rather, a new science, called gravitation. And he has been immortalised ever since.

That was indeed a great thing. Yet that was in the Bible twenty-five hundred years before Sir Isaac Newton discovered it in nature. Here it is. Isa. 40:12:ó

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure. and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in balance?"

Who set the balance of the universe?óGod. Isaiah stated it nearly twenty-five hundred years before Sir Isaac Newton discovered it. It was a scientific fact then. It was a scientific truth all the time, and, ea; no more scientific because Newton discovered it. No; scientists simply learned something they did not know before, but which had stood in the Bible all those ages.

Gravitation is simply the balancing of the universe. It is that principle, that law, as scientists would say, by which the balance of the universe is maintained. That is, each body is the universe influences every other body, and is balanced with it. Not only each body, but each particle of matter in the universe, attracts and influences every other particle of matter in the universe.

In the physical world that is simply the corresponding fact to what the Bible teaches in regard to the matter of life. You cannot touch anybody or anything without its being known throughout the universe. A sparrow does not fall without your Father, and that sparrow does not fall without its fall being felt throughout the universe. This is simply a corresponding fact with that.

And there is a spiritual fact here also corresponding to these two.

"Whither shall I go," asks David, "from Thy presence? or whither shall l flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." Ps. 139:7-10.

When you and I think a right thought, is it discerned anywhere else? We think a wrong thought. What is a wrong thought?óSin. Where does the sin begin, then? In the thought. Is my sin discerned any place else in the universe besides myself? Who discerns it?óGod, by His Spirit. Yes, there is not a spiritual fact in our universe that is not discerned, is not felt, or a thought for good or ill that is not known. Do you not see then that gravitation as a divine science? Sir Isaac Newton simply discovered a truth in the universe which corresponds to other truths of the universe.
A. T. JONES.

(Concluded next week.)

July 5, 1897

"The Science of Salvation. (Concluded.)" The Bible Echo 12, 27 , pp. 210, 211.

A GREAT SCIENTIST

ONE man named in the Bible was thoroughly versed in universal scienceóall the natural sciences of this world. Here is the Scripture:ó

"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes." Kings 4:29-33.

He spoke of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that sringeth out of the wall. What is that called in science?óBotany. He understood botany better than anyone else in the world.

He spoke also of beasts. What would be the scientific word if it were put there to-day?óZoology. Solomon understood zoology better than any man that lives in the world to-day. He taught for it says he spoke of all these things. He taught these sciences.

"And of fowl." What is that science?óOrnithology. Then Solomon taught in the sciences of botany, zoology, ornithology.

What next? "And of creeping things." What science is that?óEntomology.

"And of fishes." What science is thatóIchthyology.

People who read this passage of Scripture, do not usually think of Solomon as a universal scientist. But if it had been said that Solomon spoke of botany, zoology, ornithology, entomology, and ichthyology, they would be ready to say, What a wonderful man Solomon was!

Yet though he so thoroughly understood all these sciences, here is what he says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter;" the sum of all that hath been said, is: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man: for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil."

In his estimation, what took precedence of all sciences put together?óThe salvation of God.

This science that Solomon understood and taught was not such science as that of Huxley, Darwin, and the other scientists of this age. With the natural mind man can delve into natural sciences, and make many discoveries. And though they are not all correct, yet they can discover some points that are true. But that was not Solomon's way. God gave to Solomon wisdom, so that he saw into all this by the light of God. He spoke of this by the wisdom of God. Thus the science which Solomon taught was God's science. The botany that he taught was genuine, Divine botany. The zoology that he taught was Divine zoology. It was God's views, God's truth, God's science in all these things. It was not science falsely so-called.

THE WORLD'S NEED

That being God's science, and it being Divine in itself, why did not the Lord give it all to us? Why did He not give to the world Solomon's treatise on botany, and on all these other subjects?óBecause that is not what the world needs first of all. A man might have all that, he might understand all that, as did Solomon. Yet what good would it do him, if he did not have the science of salvation first of all? Solomon had it all; yet when he turned his heart from God, from the science of salvation, and from the study of that with all his heart, what good did his knowledge of the other sciences do him? How much power was there in it to keep him back from his natural self, and from the corruption that was in him.

When he turned his heart from the science of salvation, though he had all the others, he was just as bad, just as wicked,

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swallowed up as thoroughly in idolatry and every profane thing, as, though he did not know the A B C of anything.

Thus we can see why it is that the Lord did not preserve to man all there is of science. Suppose they had it all, as Solomon did, and could teach it as Solomon taught it. With the heart not surrendered to God, with the soul not saved, what good would science do them? It could not restrain them from any kind of wickedness and corruption that is in the heart.

These sciences are not what the world needs to-day, first of all. The heart needs to he purified, the soul needs to be saved, the whole character rebuilt, the mind transformed into the very image and glory of God, so that the life shall reflect His righteousness, to make manifest the knowledge of God alone to all the world. Though we have all that all the sciences can give, it will profit nothing without salvation; for it will be but a little while till we shall have none of it at all. This is worth thinking about for ourselves to-day, in all our studies; readings, and researches.

There are men to-day thinking on all these scientific subjects, but they do not think right. They get so far along that they find no place for God at all. And the man without God, without the guidance of the thought, the mind of God, is not able to think right on these other subjects. But the mind is not right until it is renewed in the image of Him who created it. The mind is to be transformed, renewed. We are to have another mind altogether. Every thought is to be brought into obedience, in subjection, to Christ.

That is the work of salvation. It is to restore the image of God in the soul; to bring the mind where it will be but the reflection, the outshining, of the righteousness, the thought, of the living God. When that is done, and the work of God is finished in this world, in making known the knowledge of God to all people, then the Lord will open the universe and eternity to us.
A. T. JONES.

July 26, 1897

"Society and the State, or the Origin of Civil Governments" The Bible Echo 12, 30 , pp. 235, 236.

"THE First of all the commandment is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all the soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

"And the Second is like, namely. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

"There is none other commandment greater than these."

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

It is certain that if these two commandments had been always observed by all men, there never could have been a state on the earth.

There would have been government but no state. The government would have been altogether the government of God; He, the only king, the only Governor, on earth even as in heaven.

There would have been society, but no state. Because, men loving God with all the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and all the strength, and their neighbours as themselves, the will of God would have been done on earth even as in heaven. All would have been one united harmonious, happy, holy, family.

There is an essential distinction between society and the state.

"SOCIETY is the union which exists between men without distinction of frontiersówithout exterior restraintóand for the sole reason that they are men.

"The civil society or STATE is an assemblage of men subject to a common authority, to common laws,óthat is to say, a society whose members may be constrained by public force to respect their reciprocal rights. Two necessary elements enter into the idea of the state: laws and force."óJanet: "Elements of Morals, p. 143.

This distinction, however, though clear and easily evident, is seldom recognized. Indeed, it is not recognised at all by those who are anxious to secure the union of religion and the state.

But men did not observe these two "first of all the commandments." They would not love God with all their heart; they would not love their neighbours as themselves. They rejected God as the only Ruler, their only Sovereign, and became ambitious to rule over one another. And thus originated politics and the state.

The Scripture outlines the story of this:ó

"When the knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind."

Note, that at the first, men did know God. But they chose not to glorify Him, not to honour Him, not to give Him the first place in all their thoughts and actions. Knowing God, they did not like to retain Him in their knowledge.

The next step was that they became vain in their own imaginations. They professed themselves to be wise, of themselves. The consequence was that they became fools: and their foolish heart was darkened.

In their vain imaginations they made gods of their own. And then to assist them in their worship, they made images of the gods which they had imagined. The image was always the outward, tangible form of the god which they had already conceived in the imagination. Imagining is simply mental image-ing. The outward form of the god, whether it be the shining sun in the heavens or a hideously shaped block of wood or stone, is only the outward form of the image-ing that has already been performed in the imagination.

Thus, from the knowledge of the true God, they went to the worship of false gods. From the light they went into darkness. From righteousness they went to wickedness.

This is the truth. And the records of the earliest nations witness to it. The earliest recordsóthose of the plain of Shinarówitness that the people at first had a knowledge of the true God. The records of the neat two of the earliest nations, Egypt and Assyria, bear witness to this same thing.

In all these places the earliest records testify that the gods were their first rulers and the real kings, while men in the places of authority, were but the servants, the viceroys of the god who was held to be the real king.

For instance, one of the earliest records from Shinar runs thus:ó

"To the god, Ninridu, his king, for the preservation of Idadu, viceroy of Ridu, the servant, the delight of Ninridu." Another: "To [the god] Ninip the King, his King, Gudea, viceroy of [the god] Zirgulla, his house built." Another: "To Nana the lady, lady splendid, his lady, Dudea, viceroy of Zirgulla . . . raised."

These are not only the earliest of the records that have been found in that land, but they themselves show that they are of the earliest records that were made in that land. And they clearly testify of the time when as yet there were no kings amongst men. The gods were the kings; and the men in authority claimed only to be the viceroys of the gods who were held to be the real kings.

And all this testifies of a time further back, when the people knew and recognised God as the only King and rightful Rule, of men. They show also that this knowledge of God was so recent, and still so strong upon the minds of the people, that men who stood in places of authority had not the boldness to assume the title of king, even though they held the power.

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The records of Egypt and Assyria testify precisely to these same things. And so far there was as yet no state. There was society.

There came a time, however, when even this lingering knowledge of God as King and only rightful Ruler was cast off; and the man assumed the full title and prerogatives of king himself.

The first man to do this was Nimrod. Nimrod was the first man in the world who had the boldness to take to himself the title and prerogative of king, in the face of the yet lingering idea of God as king. And the name which he bears, itself testifies to the fact that his action in this was considered by men and also by the Lord as precisely the bold thing which we have indicated. The name Nimrod "signifies rebellion, supercilious contempt, and is equivalent to the extremely impious rebel."

The Bible record of Nimrod is that "he began to be a mighty one in the earth;" or, as another translation gives it, "He was the first mighty one in the earth."

That is, Nimrod was the first one to establish the might, the power, the authority, of human government, in the form of an organised state. He was the first man to assert the power and prerogatives, and assume the title, of king over men. "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar."

Consequently, "With the setting up of Nimrod's kingdom the entire ancient world entered a new historical phase. The oriental tradition which makes that warrior the first man who wore a kingly crown, points to a fact more significant than the assumption of a new ornament of dress, or even the conquest of a province. His reign introduced to the world a new system of relations between the governor and the governed. The authority of former rulers rested upon the feeling of kindred; and the ascendency of the chief was an image of parental control. Nimrod, on the contrary, was a sovereign of territory, and of men just so far as they were its inhabitants, and irrespective of personal ties. Hitherto there had been tribesóenlarged familiesóSociety: now there was a nation, a political communityóthe State. The political and social history of the world henceforth are distinct, if not divergent."

Such was the true origin of the state. It was the result of the apostasy of men from God. Such only could possibly be its origin; for if all men had always observed the two "first of all the commandments," it would have been impossible for there ever to be any state. There could have been no human authority exercised. All would have been equally subject to God; He would have been the only Sovereign.

Before Nimrod there was society. Respect of the rights of persons and of their property was maintained. It was only when the apostasy grew, and men got farther and farther from God, that the monarchical idea was established and personified in Nimrod.

Let us not now be misunderstood. We do not say, nor do we intend to imply, that there should now be no human government, that there should be no state, nor even that there should be no monarchy. We simply say that which is the truth, that if there never had been any apostasy from God, there never could have been on earth any of these.

It is true that these things are the consequences of the apostasy from God. But men having apostatised from God, these things all, even to such monarchy as that of Nimrod or of Nero, became necessary, just in proportion to the degree of apostasy.

It is better that there should be a government, bad as it may be, than that there should be no government at all. Even such a government as Nimrod's of Nero's is better than none at all. But without apostasy having gone to a fearful length, there never could have been any such government as Nimrod's or Nero's.

Nimrod's example was eagerly followed by all the nations around, until they were all absorbed in it. Society had passel away, and only states remained; and these universally idolatrous. In all that region, only Abraham believed God; and even his own parents were idolaters "They served other gods."

God chose Abraham then to be the father of all them that believe God; the father of all who will have God alone to be their God. Abraham represented then the religion of God, the beginning of the church of God.

And from that state God separate Abraham. He said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house into a land that I will show thee."

And in thus separating Abraham from that state, from his country, God taught the people then, and through all him, the separation of religion and the state the separation of church and state.
A. T. JONES.

August 2, 1897

"Why Abraham Was Separated from His Country and Kindred" The Bible Echo 12, 31 .

WHEN God said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee," Abraham "went out, not knowing whither he went."

God had not yet showed to him the land or country into which he was to go, and which was to be his. So far, the Lord had only promised to show it to him.

There were three things, however, which Abraham must do before he could fairly expect God to show him the country which He had promised, and which was to be his.

First, he was to get out of his country; secondly, from his kindred; thirdly, from his father's house.

He left his country; but when he did so, his father and his kindred went with him to Haran, and dwelt there. There his father died; and now, separated from his father's house, he went on to the land of Canaan.

But there accompanied him yet one of his kindredóLot, his brother's son. While Lot was with him, and he was thus not separated from his kindred, though separated from his country and his father's house, the time could come for God to show to him the land, nor the country which He would give him.

But there came a day when Lot should be separated from him. Lot chose all the plain of the Jordan, and journeyed east, and "they separated thus, one from the other."

And just then it was that God showed to Abraham the land which He had promised to show him, the country which should be his.

"And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever."

And the country which the Lord then showed to Abraham, and which He there promised him should be his for an everlasting possessionóthat country embraced the worldófor "The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

Therefore, when at the word of the Lord Abraham lifted up his eyes to see what the Lord would show him, he saw "the world to come," which is to be the everlasting possession of all them which be of faith. For "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

And from that day forward Abraham "sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country," looking for "a better country, that is, an heavenly," and looking "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." For, though God promised that He would give to Abraham that land, and to his seed after him, yet as long as he was in this world God really "gave him none inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on."

Now note: God had called Abraham out of his original country, and thus had separated him from that. Then He gave him not even so much as to set his foot on in any other country in this world.

Abraham at that time represented the religion of God. The Lord in His dealing thus with Abraham and in recording it, has shown, for all time and to all people, that it is His will that there should be an absolute separation of His religion from any state.

Abraham, representing at that time the church of Christ, being thus totally sepa-

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rated by the Lord from every state and country on the earth, there is thus shown to all people, as an original truth of the gospel of Christ, that there should be total separation of church and state, and that the church of Christ can never have any country in the world.

So also dwelt Isaac and Jacob, heirs with Abraham of the same promise, accepting with Abraham separation from every earthly State and country, confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, looking for the country which God had prepared for them, and the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

And that they accepted this freely of their own choice, by faith in God, is shown by the fact, as recorded, that, "Truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city."

This dealing of God with Abraham, and the record of it, were for the instruction of all the people who would believe God, from that time to the world's end. For Abraham was the called, the chosen, the friend of God, the father of all them that believe. And all they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. And not the least element of instruction in this account of God's dealings with Abraham, is the great lesson it teaches that the religion of God means separation of religion and the state.

Further: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not, unto seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Therefore the promises recorded and referred to in the scripture, "To Abraham and his seed," are always to Abraham and Christ, and to Abraham in Christ. And, therefore, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

And when Christ, that promised seed, came into the world a man amongst men, then in Him, as formerly in Abraham, there was represented the religion of God and the church of Christ. And as such He ever maintained the same principle of separation of religion and the state which He Himself had set before the world in the life and record of Abraham.

He refused to recognize, even by a sign, the wish of the people to make Him king. He refused, when requested, to act the part of a judge or a divider over men as to the rights of property. He refused to recognise the national lines of distinction, the wall of partition, which Israel in their exclusiveness had built up between themselves and other nations. He refused to judge, or to allow any others to judge, any one for not believing on Him. He distinctly declared that, though He is a king, yet His kingdom is not of this world, and that it is not in any way connected with this world.He distinctly declared the separation of His religion from the State. "Render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And when He sent forth His disciples with His heavenly commission to preach the gospel of His kingdom, He sent them not to one particular nation, but to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." He sent them to preach the gospel; not to one particular, favoured, exclusive people, but "to every creature."

Thus it is seen again that in every phase of the fundamental principle of the religion of God and the church of Christ, from the beginning to the end of the world, there is required the absolute separation of religion and the state; the total disconnection of His church from every State and country in the world, and from the world itself.
A. T. JONES.

August 9, 1897

"The Bible as It Reads; Or Does God Mean What He Says" The Bible Echo 12, 38 , pp. 249-251.

THE Bible is not difficult to understand when it is taken as it says.

Whoever will allow the Bible to mean what it says, will never have any difficulty in knowing what it means.

And whoever will allow that the Author of the Bible is capable of knowing what He wants to say, and that He has clearness of mind enough to say what He wants to say, just as He wants to say it, will have no difficulty in taking the Bible as it says, and consequently will have no difficulty in understanding it.

The Bible comes to us as the word of God. In itself it claims to be the word of God. It is the word of God. And whoever will receive it as the word of God, will find it to be that. Then to allow that the Author of the Bible had sense enough to know exactly what He wanted to say, and ability to say it just as He wanted to say it, is only to allow that God had sense enough to know what He wanted to say, and had sufficient clearness of mind to say it as He wanted to. In other words, it is only to allow that God in giving his word knew what He meant, and meant what He said.

When the Bible is taken this way and treated thus, no one will have any difficulty whatever in understanding it. And for any man not to take it this way, and not to treat it thus: that is for any man to say that the Bible does not mean what it says, and that it is left for the man himself to say what it meansóthis is only to claim that he knows better than God just how it ought to have been said, and just what should have been meant. In other words, he puts himself in the place of God.

But when the Bible is taken just as it says, and is allowed to mean exactly what it says because the Author of it knew well enough what He wanted to say to be able to say just what He meant, it is all plain enough. Even a child can understand it then, for it is written, "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no case enter therein." Now the word of God is the word of the kingdom. Through that word we enter into the kingdom. And as whosoever does not receive that kingdom as a little child, cannot have it, it is perfectly plain that it is intended by the word that a little child shall understand the Word, and that a little child can understand it. Even grown people must receive it as little children, and must become "as little children" in order to receive it.

Any system, therefore, any writing, any way that is taken, by any body, that has a tendency to mystify the sayings of the Bible, to turn them into hard problems or to make them difficult to understand, can never be the right way. And anything offered as an exposition of any doctrine that presents a problem difficult to be understood cannot be the truth. Therefore again, it is written, "I fear lest as the serpent beguiled Eve through his

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subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from simplicity that is in Christ."

The word of Christ is simple. His word is plain. It is as simple as A, B, C. And anything that tends to make it anything else than plain and simple, cannot be the right way. The simplicity that is in Christ is the perfection of simplicity. When He was on earth He taught all classes of people at once. The common people heard Him gladly because He spoke with such simplicity of language, and such directness of meaning that they could understand Him. And it was only the subtlety of the serpent in the Scribes and Pharisees that pretended not to be able to understand Him.

It was so in the very beginning. When God placed in the Garden the first human pair, He said to them plainly, "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Yet there came the serpent with his subtlety and proposed that the Lord did not mean what He said, that it was necessary that it should be explained, and that He was the one who was qualified to explain it and convey to them the true meaning. He therefore said, "Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil."

Thus Satan proposed that God had not said exactly what He meant, and had kept back the real meaning, and had left his saying dark and problematical. That is the first explanation that was ever offered: the first comment that was ever made upon the word of God. And everything since, that has ever tended to make problematical the word of God, to make it mean otherwise than exactly as it says, is following the same lead. It is of the subtlety that beguiles from the simplicity that is in Christ.

It has been well written of Moses that "He gave God credit for wisdom to know what He meant, and firmness of purpose to mean what He said; and therefore Moses acted as seeing the invisible." And it was "By faith that Moses endured as seeing the invisible." It is therefore faith to give God credit for wisdom to know what He means, and firmness of purpose to mean what He says. And "without faith it is impossible to please Him."

NOW it is a fact that there is much discussion of the Sabbath question. Many people seem to have great difficulty in knowing just what day is the Sabbath; yet the word of God says plainly "the seventh day is the Sabbath." Any person who will simply accept that statement as it stands, taking it simply as it says, will never have any difficulty at all in knowing exactly what day is the Sabbath. And the Bible throughout speaks just as plainly and is as easily understood in all its statements with reference to the Sabbath, as it speaks in this sentence quoted.

The people who accept the Bible statements exactly as they are on this subject, never do have any difficulty at all in knowing what day is the Sabbath. But those who will not accept it have endless confusion and difficulty: and in fact, never do get the question settled to their perfect satisfaction.

He who knows most can always make plainest and simplest what he has to tell, however deep the subject he may be discussing. God, knowing all things, and being the embodiment of all wisdom, is capable of making subjects that are of eternal depth so plain that a little child can receive them and understand them. But when anybody, whether it be the devil or a man, not believing what the Lord says just as he says it, undertakes to interpret it and by subtle distinctions to tell what the Lord means, he produces only infinite and eternal confusion. And all who allow themselves to be so beguilded from the simplicity that is in Christ, inevitably find it to be so.

WHEN the Scripture is read that says plainly, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," those who do not believe it and will not accept it as the truth of God, and will not allow that He knew what He wanted to say and then said just what He meant, put on an air of child-like innocence and inquire "The seventh day of what?" or "What seventh day is the Sabbath?"

In the very first chapter of the Bible the word of God is, that in six days the Lord created the heavens and the earth and all things that are in them. Then the same word follows with a statement that on the seventh day He rested, and that He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested form the work which He had created and made. And that particular seventh day, that rest day is the Sabbath, for Sabbath is rest.

That six days of creative work followed by the seventh day of rest, formed the first week of time that this world knows anything about. And from that record just as it stands, without any interpretation or explanation whatever, it is perfectly plain that the seventh day, which is God's rest day; the seventh day, which is the Sabbath of the Lord, is the seventh day of the week.

Such is the record that the Lord himself has given of His own creative acts through the first six days of the world's existence, and of His rest on the seventh day of the world's existence. These together compose the original week of the world's existence. And every one who will believe the record just as it stands and simply as it says, will know for himself and to his perfect satisfaction what seventh day it is that is meant in the Bible, when it says that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.

THEN if any one wants to have another statement of the case, he needs only to turn to the 20th chapter of Exodus and read what the Lord himself said with His own voice, speaking from the top of Sinai. To His people there assembled and for all people for all time who will be His people, the Lord Himself said, "Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work; . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and allowed it."

Here the Lord says that the people are to work six days and rest the seventh, because at creation He Himself had worked six days and then rested the seventh day. Now any one who is willing to allow that the Lord tells the truth, and was able to remember at Sinai what He had done at creation, will have no difficulty whatever in understanding what seventh day it is that is referred to in this language. For it is the identical day of his rest at the close of the six days of creation, which cannot possibly be any other than the seventh day of the week; for there was no other existing period of which it could possibly be the seventh day.

The people who stood at the base of Sinai that day and heard that voice, have continued, through their descendants, unto this day; and are scattered over the whole earth, amongst all the nations. And the day that there God gave them, upon His own count, by His own voice, in connection with the facts in which He Himself was the actor, they have never lost.

IF any one wants yet further evidence, come fifteen hundred years still further down. Then He who made the heavens and the earth, who rested that seventh day at the close of the work of creation, He who spoke form the top of Sinai the word which we have just quoted, stood upon the earth Himself in the form of a man as a teacher sent from God. He observed this same seventh day as the Sabbath. He ever called it the Sabbath.

And it was the same day that the people of Israel had observed as the Sabbath, from the day that He Himself had spoken from the top of Sinai. And though there was constant criticism of all His words and ways on the part of the Scribes, Pharisees, Lawyers and Rabbis, yet there was never any shadow of a question raised as to whether he observed the proper day as the Sabbath. There was always agreement between day as the Sabbath. There was always agreement between him and them as to that. Their objections against him were solely with reference to his manner of observing the day. And He in this as in everything else was the grand exemplar of the right way for all mankind forever.

THUS three separate times the Lord himself has stated the facts concerning

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the origin and basis of the Sabbath, and has made plain exactly what seventh day it is. First, in the record of the original creation in the first and second chapters of Genesis. Secondly, in repeating with His own voice the record of the original creation. Thirdly, when upon the earth He repeated with His own voice and manifested in His own life the living truth as the example for all mankind.

O that men would believe the word of the Lord which He has taken all this pains to make plain to their understanding. Why will men continue to allow the same serpent that beguiled Eve, and in the same way, through his subtlety, to corrupt their minds from the simplicity that is in Christ?
A. T. JONES.

August 16, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. The Catholic Church Established Under Constantine" The Bible Echo 12, 33 , pp. 257-259.

THE CATHOLIC CHRUCH ESTABLISHED UNDER CONSTANTINE

[The "falling away," predicted by the apostle Paul (2 Thess. 2), very soon alter the apostles' days resolved the great body of the professed church into warring factious. Through the second and third centuries rival bishoprics strove for the supremacy. At the opening of the fourth century the last great effort of the old Paganism to overthrow the now was made under Diocletian. The common resistance of this persecution restored a semblance of outward unity to the churches. Following Diocletian there was for eighteen years continuous discord in the Roman State. Rival emperors intrigued and fought one another to get sole control. It was in this struggle that Constantine, who was a pagan, conceived the idea of securing the support of the bishops and the church party. In return for this help he was to favour the churches. The worldly churches, bereft of the power of the Gospel, and ambitious for political power, hailed him as a Divine deliverer. By their help, and by his own ability and unscrupulous use of power, he soon his cause and became sole emperor. And, although guilty of every crime and treachery, even to the murder of his own wife and son, the bishops flattered him in life and deified him at his death, and be is set down in church history as the first Christian emperor.]

IF the mutual flattery of Constantine and the bishops had concerned only themselves, it would have been a matter of very slight importance indeed; but this was not so. Each side represented an important interest. Constantine represented the state, and the bishops the church; and their mutual flattery was only the covering of a deep-laid and far-reaching scheme which each party was determined to work to the utmost, for its own interests. "It was the aim of Constantine," says Draper, "to make theology a branch of politics; it was the hope of every bishop in the empire to make politics a branch of theology." Consequently, in their relations were involved the interests of both the church and the state, and the welfare of human society for ages to come.

Therefore, "To the reign of Constantine the Great oust be referred the commencement of those dark and dismal times which oppressed Europe for a thousand years. It is the true close of the Roman Empire, the beginning of the Greek. The transition from one to the other is emphatically and abruptly marked by a new metropolis, a new religion, a new code, and, above all, a new policy. An ambitious man has attained to imperial power by personating the interests of a rapidly growing party. The unavoidable consequences were a union between the church and the state, a diverting of the dangerous classes from civil to ecclesiastical paths, and the decay and materialisation of religion." ("Draper's Intellectual Development of Europe.")

WHAT CONSTANTINE EXPECTED

WHEN the alliance was formed between Constantine and what was represents to him as Christianity, it was with the idea on his part that this religion formed a united body throughout the empire. This was true in a certain sense, because the persecution as carried on under the edicts of Diocletian, was against Christianity as a profession, without any distinction whatever as to its phases, and this caused all the different sects to stand together as one in defence of the principles that were common to all. Therefore the essential unity of all the professions of Christianity he supposed to be a

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fact; and from all his actions and writings afterward it is certain that representations had been made to him by the bishops in a stronger measure than was true, and in an infinitely stronger measure than he found it in practice to be. The alliance with Christianity on his part was wholly political, and merely a part of the political machinery by which he designed to bring together again the divided elements of the empire into one harmonious whole.

It had been easy enough for all the sects in which Christianity claimed at that time to be represented, to stand together against an effort of the imperial power to crush out of existence the very name, as well as the right to profess it. It was not so easy for these same denominations to stand together as one, representing the charity and unifying influence of Christianity, when imperial support, imperial influence, and imperial power, were the prizes to be gained.

THE STATE DECIDING RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES

THEREFORE, although the alliance was formed with what was supposed to be Christianity as a whole, without any respect to internal divisions, it was very soon discovered that each particular faction of the Christian profession was ambitious to be recognised as the one in which, above all others. Christianity was most certainly represented. The bishops were ready and willing to represent to Constantine that Christianity was one. They did so represent it to him. And although he entered the alliance with that understanding, the alliance had no sooner been well formed than it devolved upon him to decide among the conflicting factions and divisions just where that one was to he found.

An edict issued at Milan had ordered that the church property confiscated by the edicts of Diocletian should be restored to "the whole body of Christians," without any distinction as to particular sects or names.

This was proper enough in itself. But Constantine and the bishops had formed an alliance for political purposes. The bishops had lent to Constantine their support, the fruit of which he was enjoying; and now they demanded that the expected return should be rendered. Accordingly, the restoration of the property of the Christians, under the Edict of Milan, had no sooner begun, than the contentions which had been raised before the late persecution, between the church of Rome and the churches of Africa, were not only made to assume new and political significance, but were made an issue upon which to secure the imperial recognition and the legal establishment of the Catholic Church. As the rule had already been established that all who did not agree with the bishops of the Catholic Church were necessarily heretics, and not Christians, it was now claimed by the Catholic Church that therefore none such could be partakers of the benefits of the edict restoring property to the Christians. The Catholic Church disputed the right of heretics to receive property or money under the Edict of Milan, by disputing their right to the title of Christians.

This forced an imperial decision upon the question as to who were Christians. The question was raised in Africa. To settle this question, Constantine issued an edict in which he declared:ó

"It is our will, that when thou shalt receive this epistle, if any of those things belonging to the Catholic Church of the Christians in the several cities or other places, are now possessed either by the decurious, or any others, these thou shalt cause immediately to be restored to their churches. Since we have previously determined, that whatsoever these same churches before possessed, shall be restored to their right."

By this it was made evident that the imperial favours were only for the Catholic Church. Nor was it enough that Constantine should decide that his favours were for the Catholic Church; he must next decide which was the Catholic Church. This was brought about by a division which was created in the church at Carthage, having its origin in the late persecution.

HOW RIVAL BISHOPS INTRIGUED FOR PATRONAGE

THE edict issued by Diocletian had commanded the magistrates everywhere to compel the Christians to deliver up the Scriptures. Some did so; others refused and suffered. When Constantine formed his alliance with the bishops, Mensurius was bishop of Carthage, and some of his enemies had falsely accused him of being one of those who had delivered up the Scriptures rather than to suffer. They were supported by a certain Donatus, bishop of a city in Numidia, and they separated themselves from communion with Mensurius. When Mensurius died, as the "primacy of the African church was the object of ambition to these two parties," and as this primacy carried with it imperial patronage, there were several candidates. A certain Cecilianus was elected, however, "in spite of the cabals and intrigue of Botrus and Celesius, two chief presbyters who aspired to that dignity."

Botrus and Celesius were now joined by Donatus and his party, and these all were further joined and supported by a certain Lucilla, a woman of great qualities, wealth, and interest, and an avowed enemy to Cecilianus. This faction gathered together about seventy of the bishops of Numidia for the purpose of deposing Cecilianus as one having been illegally chosen. When they came together at Carthage, they found that the great majority of the people were in favor of Cecilianus; nevertheless. They summoned him to the council. He refused to go, and it was well that he did so, because one of them had already said of him, "If he comes among us, instead of laying our hands on him by way of ordination, we ought to knock out his brains by way of penance." A council composed of men of this character, it is easy to believe, were readily susceptible to whatever influence might be brought to bear upon them to bring them to a decision. Lucilla, by the free use of money, succeeded in persuading them to declare the election of Cecilianus void, and the bishopric of Carthage vacant. They pronounced him and all who held with him separated from their communion, and proceeded to elect and ordain a certain Majorinus, who had formerly been one of Lucilla's servants, but was now a reader in the church.

Thus matters stood in the church in Africa when in March, A.D. 313, Constantine sent to the proconsul Anulinus the following edict declaring that, as it appeared that the exercise of the "legally adopted" religion afforded prosperity to the state, it was his willó

that these men within the province entrusted to thee in the Catholic Church over which Cecilianus presides, who give their services to this holy religion, and whom they commonly call clergy, shall be held totally free and exempt from all public offices, to the end that they may not, by any error or sacrilegious deviation, be drawn away from the service due to the Divinity, but rather may devote themselves to their proper law, without any molestation. So that, whilst they exhibit the greatest possible reverence to the Deity, it appears the greatest good will be conferred on the State.ó(Eusebius's "Ecclesiastical History.")

As will be seen later, this exemption was a most material benefit. And when the party of Majorinus saw themselves excluded from it, they claimed that they were the Catholic Church, and therefore really the ones who were entitled to it. Accordingly, they drew up a petition to the emperor, entitled, "The petition of the Catholic Church, containing the crimes of Cecilianus, by the party of Majorinus." This petition requested the emperor to refer to the bishops of Gaul the controversy between them and Cecilianus.

CHURCH COUNCILS CALLED

WHEN Constantine received the petition and the accompanying papers, he appointed three of the principal bishops of Gaul to meet with the Bishop of Rome to examine the matter. When the council met, there were nineteen members of it. Melchiades, Bishop of Rome, presided in the council, and thus began to reap in imperial recognition and joint authority, the fruit of the offers which he made when, in A.D. 311, he sent that letter and delegation of bishops to Constantine in Gaul, inviting him to the conquest of Rome and the deliverance of the church.

The council met in the apartments of the empress, in the Lateran Palace in Rome, Oct. 2, 313. Cecilianus appeared in person, and Donatus came as his accuser. The council decided that none of the charges were proved, pronounced Cecilianus innocent, and Donatus a slanderer. The Donatists appealed

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from the council to the emperor, demanding a larger council, on the plea that the bishops who composed this one were partial, prejudiced, and had acted hastily, and besides this, were too few in number properly to decide a matter of so great importance. Constantine ordered another council to be held at Arles, to be composed of "many bishops."

This council met according to appointment, August, A.D. 314, and was composed of the bishops from almost all the provinces of the Western division of the empire. Sylvester, who was now bishop of Rome, was summoned to the council but declined on account of age, sending two presbyters and two deacons as his representatives. This council also declared Cecilianus innocent of the crimes laid against him by the Donatists. The council also decided that whoever should falsely accuse his brethren should be cut off from the communion of the church without hope of ever being received again, except at the point of death. It further decided that such bishops as had been ordained by the Donatists should officiate alternately with the Catholic bishops till one or the other should die.

LEGISLATING IN DISCIPLINE AND EXALTING THE ROMAN BISHOPRIC

BUT the council did not stop with the consideration of the question which it was summoned to consider. The bishops in council now took it upon themselves to legislate in matters of discipline for the world, and to bestow special preference and dignity upon the bishop of Rome. They "ordained that Easter should be kept on the same day, and on a Sunday, by all the churches in the world" (Bower's "History of the Popes"), and that the Bishop of Rome should announce to the churches the particular Sunday upon which it should be celebrated. Before adjourning, the council sent to the Bishop of Rome an account of their proceedings, with a copy of the decrees which they had adopted concerning the discipline of the churches, that he might publish them to all the churches.

The Donatists appealed again, not for a council, but to the emperor himself. Constantine held a consistory and heard their appeal, and in harmony with the council already held, pronounced in favor of Cecilianus and against the Donatists. Upon this the Donatists claimed that the emperor had been influenced by Hosius, one of his favourite bishops, and denied that he had any jurisdiction in the matter at all, because it was not right for civil magistrates to have anything to do with religion!

This claim was true enough, if they had made it at the beginning, and had refused from the first to allow their controversy to be touched upon in any way by the imperial authority. Then they would have stood upon proper ground; but when they themselves were the first to appeal to the civil authority, when they had asked the emperor to consider the matter again and again, with the hope of getting the imperial power on their side, and when they had carried to the last extreme their efforts in this direction,ówhen they had done all this in vain, and then turned about to protest, their protest was robbed of every shadow of force or merit.

The question as to which was the Catholic Church having now been decided, Constantine, in his next epistle, could add yet another distinguishing title.

SUCCESSIVE STEPS IN ESTABLISHING THE STATE RELIGION

AS WE have seen, the Edict of MilanóMarch, A.D. 313óordered that the churches should be restored to the Christiansó"the whole body of Christians"ówithout distinction. When the Catholic Church asserted its sole right to the designation "Christian," and backed its assertion with political reasons which were then peculiarly cogent, the imperial epistle ranóMarch, A.D. 313ó"to the Catholic Church of the Christians." When the emperor wrote to Melchiades appointing the first council under the imperial authority, his epistle ranóautumn, A.D. 313ó"the holy Catholic Church." When he wrote to Chrestusósummer, A.D. 314ósummoning him to the second council under imperial authority, he referred to the doctrine of the Catholic Church as embodying the "most holy religion." When it had been decided which was "the most holy Catholic religion," he addressed an epistle to CecilianusóA.D. 316óannouncing imperial favours to "the legitimate and most holy Catholic religion," and empowering Cecilianus to assist the imperial officers in preventing any diversion from the most holy Catholic Church.

RESULT OF IMPERIAL PATRONAGE, IN CHURCH AND STATE

When the Donatists rejected the decision of the emperor himself, and denied his right to say anything in the controversy in which they had invited him and over again to participate, as announced in the above letter to Cecilianus he carried against themóA.D. 316óthe interference which they had solicited, to the full extent to which it would undoubtedly have been carried against the Catholics if the Donatists had secured the decision in their favor. The Donatist bishops were driven out, and Constantine ordered that all their churches be delivered to the Catholic party.

As this was done in the interest, and by the direct counsel, of the Catholic party, through Hosius, the emperor's chief counselor, the imperial authority thus became wholly partisan, and to both parties was given a dignity which was far, far beyond any merit that was in the question at issue. To the Catholic party it gave the dignity of an imperial alliance and the assurance of imperial favor. The Donatist party it elevated to a dignity and clothed with an importance which placed it before the world as worthy of imperial antagonism. Into the Catholic party it infused more than ever the pride of place, power, and imperial favor. To the Donatist party it gave the dignity and fame of a persecuted people, and increased the evil which it attempted to destroy.

More than this, when the governmental authority, which should be for the protection of all alike from violence, became itself a party to the controversy, it forsook the place of impartial protector, and assumed that of a partisan. This only deepened the sense of injury felt by the defeated, and magnified the triumph felt by the victorious party; and the antagonism was only the more embittered. "The implacable faction darkened into a sanguinary fend. For the first time, human blood was shed in conflicts between followers of the Prince of Peace." (Milman's "History of Christianity.")

And the government, by becoming a partisan, had lost the power to keep the peace.

By becoming a party to religious controversy it had lost the power to prevent civil violence between religious factions. "Each party recriminated on the other, but neither denies the barbarous scenes of massacre and license which devastated the African cities. The Donatists boasted of their martyrs, and the cruelties of the Catholic party rest on their own admission; they deny not, they proudly vindicate, their barbarities: 'Is the vengeance of God to be defrauded of its victims?' and they appealed to the Old Testament to justify, by the examples of Moses, of Phineas, and of Elijah, the Christian duty of slaying by thousands the renegades and unbelievers." (Milman.) This, though a shameful perversion of Scripture, was but the practical working out of the theocratical theory of government, which was the basis of the whole system of the union of church and state which had been created by Constantine and the bishops.

Constantine issued an edict commanding peace, but it was all in vain. The tumult went on, constantly increasing in violence, until the only alternative was for the imperial authority either to enter upon the horrors of a protracted war with its own subjects, or openly refuse to go any further. The latter step was taken. In A.D. 321, upon the advice of the civil officers of Africa, Constantine "repealed the laws against the Donatists, and gave the African people full liberty to follow either of the contending parties, as they liked best." (Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History.")
A. T. JONES.

August 23, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. Character of the Church Under Imperial Patronage" The Bible Echo 12, 34 , pp. 265-267.

THE Donatist controversy, that strife for supremacy between church factions, each claiming to be the Catholic Church, touched no point of doctrine, but of discipline only, and was confined to the provinces of Africa. The result in this case, however, ought to have convinced Constantine that the best thing for the imperial authority to do was to return, and strictly adhere, to the principles announced in his Edict of Milan, namely to let religious questions and controversies entirely alone, and allow each individual "that privilege of choosing and professing his own religion." Yet, even if this thought had occurred to him, it would have been impossible for him to do so and attain the object of his ambition.

The principles of the Edict of Milan had no place in the compact entered into between Constantine and the bishops. As yet he possessed only half the empire; for Licinius still held the East, and Constantine's position was not yet so secure that he dared risk any break with the bishops. He had bargained to them his influence in religious things for theirs in politics. The contract had been entered into, he had sold himself to the church influence, and he could not go back even if he would. The empire was before him, but without the support of the church party it could not be his.

FRUITS OF CLERICAL PRIVILEGE

IT is necessary now to notice the material point in that edict issued in A.D. 313 (a portion of which was quoted last week), exempting from all public offices the clergy of the Catholic Church. As a benefit to society and that "the greatest good might be conferred on the State," the clergy of the Catholic Church were to "be held totally free and exempt from all public offices."

At this time the burdens and expenses of the principal offices of the State were so great that this exemption was of the greatest material benefit. The immediate effect of the edict, therefore, was to erect the clerical order into a distinct and privileged class. For instance, in the days of the systematic governing of the empire, the decurionate was the chief office of the State. "The decurions formed the Senates of the towns; they supplied the magistrates from their body, and had the right of electing them. Under the new financial system introduced by Diocletian, the decurions were made responsible for the full amount of taxation imposed by the cataster, or assessment on the town and district." (Milman's "History of Christianity.")

As the splendour and magnificence of the court display was increased, and as the imperial power became more absolute, the taxation became more and more burdensome. To such an extent indeed was this carried that tenants, and indeed proprietors of moderate means, were well-nigh bankrupted. Yet the imperial power demanded of the decurions the full amount of the taxes that were levied in their town or district. "The office itself grew into disrepute, and the law was obliged to force that upon the reluctant citizen of wealth

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or character which had before been an object of eager emulation and competition." (Milman.)

The exemption of the clerical order from all public offices opened the way for all who would escape these burdens, to become, by whatever means possible, members of that order. The effect was, therefore, to bring into the ministry of the church a crowd of men who had no other purpose in view than to be relieved from the burdensome duties that were laid upon the public by the imperial extravagance of Constantine. So promptly did this consequence follow from this edict, and "such numbers of persons, in order to secure this exemption, rushed into the clerical order," that "this manifest abuse demanded an immediate modification of the law." It was therefore ordered that "none were to be admitted into the sacred order except on the vacancy of a religious charge, and then those only whose poverty exempted them from the municipal functions." (Milman.)

Nor was this all. The order of the clergy itself found that it was required to pay for this exemption a tribute which it had not at all contemplated in the original bargain. Those already belonging to the clerical order who were sufficiently wealthy to exercise the office of decurion, were commanded to "abandon their religious profession" (Milman), in order that they might fill the office which had been deserted because of the exemption which had been granted to their particular order. This of course was counted by the clergy as a great hardship. But as they had willingly consented at the first to the interference of the authority of the State when it was exercised seemingly to their profit, they had thereby forfeited their right to protest against that same interference when it was exercised actually to the denial of their natural rights. Yet the resources of dishonest intrigue were still left to them,óespecially the plea that their possessions belonged not to themselves but to the church,óand this subterfuge was employed to such an extent as virtually to defeat the purpose of this later law. Thus the evil consequences of the original law still flowed on, and "numbers, without any inward call to the spiritual office, and without any fitness for it whatever, now got themselves ordained as ecclesiastics, for the sake of enjoying this exemption, whereby many of the worst class came to the administration of the most sacred calling." (Neander's Church History.)

THE STATE MAKES IT EASY TO BE A "CHRISTIAN.

ANOTHER scheme adopted by Constantine was fraught with more evil in the same direction. As he had favoured the new religion only on account of its value to him as a political factor, he counted it to his advantage to have as many as possible to profess that religion. He therefore used all the means that could be employed by the State to effect this purpose. He made the principal positions about his palace and court a gift and reward to the professors of the new imperial religion; and "the hopes of wealth and honors, the example of an emperor, his exhortations, his irresistible smiles, diffused conviction among the venal and obsequious crowds which usually fill the apartments of a palace. . . . As the lower ranks of society are governed by imitation, the conversion of those who possessed any eminence of birth, of power, or of riches, was soon followed by dependent multitudes. The salvation of the common people was purchased at an easy rate, if it be true that in one year twelve thousand men were baptized at Rome, besides a proportionable number of women and children, and that a white garment, with twenty pieces of gold, had been promised by the emperor to every convert." (Gibbon's "Decline and Fall.")

It will be observed that in this statement Gibbon inserts the cautious clause, "if it be true," but such a precaution was scarcely necessary; because the whole history of the times bears witness that such was the system followed, whether this particular instance was a fact or not. This is proved by the next instance which we shall mention of Constantine's efforts in gaining converts to the new religion. He wrote letters offering rewards both political and financial to those cities which, as such, would forsake the heathen religion, and destroy or allow to be destroyed their heathen temples. "The cities which signalised a forward zeal by the voluntary destruction of their temples, were distinguished by municipal privileges, and rewarded with popular donatives." (Gibbon.)

In cities that would accept this offer, he would build churches at the public expense, and send there "a complete body of the clergy and a bishop" when "there were as yet no Christians in the place." Also upon such churches he bestowed "large sums for the support of the poor; so that the conversion of the heathen might be promoted by doing good to their bodies." (Neander.) And that this was simply the manifestation of his constant policy, is shown by the fact that at the Council of Nice, in giving instruction to the bishops as to how they should conduct themselves, he said:ó

"In all ways unbelievers must be saved. It is not every one who will be converted by learning and reasoning. Some join us from desire of maintenance, some for preferment, some for presents; nothing is so rare as a real lover of truth. We must be like physicians, and accommodate our medicines to the diseases, our teaching to the different minds of all."

He further enacted "that money should be given in every city to orphans and widows, and to those who were consecrated to the divine service; and he fixed the amount of their annual allowance [of provisions] more according to the impulse of his own generosity, than to the exigencies of their condition." (Theodoret.) In view of these things it is evident that there is nothing at all extravagant in the statement that in a single year twelve thousand men, besides women and children, were baptized in Rome.

In addition to all this, he exempted all church property from taxation, which exemption, in the course of time, the church asserted as of divine right; and the example there set is followed to this day, even among people who profess a separation of Church and State.

RESULT: THE CHURCH A MASS OF PAGANS

THE only result which could possibly come from such proceedings as these, was, first, that the great mass of the people, of the pagans, in the empire, with no change either of character or convictions, were drawn into the Catholic Church. Thus the State and the church became one and the same thing; and that one thing was simply the embodiment of the second result; namely, a solid mass of hypocrisy. "The vast numbers who, from external considerations, without any inward call, joined themselves to the Christian communities, served to introduce into the church all the corruptions of the heathen world. Pagan vices, pagan delusions, pagan superstition, took the garb and name of Christianity, and were thus enabled to exert a more corrupting influence of the Christian life. Such were those who, without any real interest whatever in the concerns of religion, living half in paganism and half in an outward show of Christianity, composed the crowds that thronged the churches on the festivals of the Christians, and the theatres on the festivals of the pagans. Such were those who accounted themselves Christians if they but attended church once or twice in a year; while, without a thought of any higher life, they abandoned themselves to every species of worldly pursuit and pleasure." (Neander.)

It could not be otherwise. The course pursued by Constantine in conformity with the political intrigues of the bishops, drew into the Catholic Church every hypocrite in the Roman Empire. And this for the simple reason that it could draw no other kind; because no man of principle, even though he were an outright pagan, would allow himself to be won by any such means. It was only to spread throughout all the empire the ambiguous mixture of paganism and apostate Christianity which we have seen so thoroughly exemplified in the life of Constantine himself, who was further inspired and flattered by the ambitious bishops.

There were some honest pagans who refused all the imperial bribes and kept aloof from the wicked system thereby established. There were some genuine Christians who not only kept aloof from the foul mass, but protested against every step that was taken in creating it. But

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speaking generally, the whole population of the empire was included in the system thus established. "By taking in the whole population of the Roman Empire, the church became, indeed, a church of the masses, a church of the people, but at the same time more or less a church of the world. Christianity became a matter of fashion. The number of hypocrites and formal professors rapidly increased; strict discipline, zeal, self-sacrifice, and brotherly love proportionally ebbed away; and many heathen customs and usages, under altered names, crept into the worship of God and the life of the Christian people. The Roman State had grown up under the influence of idolatry, and was not to be magically transformed at a stroke. With the secularising process, therefore, a paganising tendency went hand in hand." (Schaff's "History of the Christian Church.")

ALL POWER TO WITNESS FOR CHRISTIANITY LOST

THE effect of all this was further detrimental to true Christianity in that it argued that Christianity consists in the mere profession of the name, pertaining not to the essential character, nor implying any material change in the general conduct. Consequently those who had been by this means brought into the church acted worse, and really were worse, than those who remained aloof. When the bishops or clergy of the church undertook to exhort the heathen to become Christians, the pagans pointed to the hypocritical professors who were already members of the church, and to the invitation replied: "'We lead good lives already; what need have we of Christ? We commit no murder, theft, nor robbery; we covet no man's possessions; we are guilty of no breach of the matrimonial bond. Let something worthy of censure be found in our lives, and whoever can point it out may make us Christians.' Comparing himself with nominal Christians: 'Why would you persuade me to become a Christian? I have been defrauded by a Christian, I never defrauded any man; a Christian has broken his oath to me, I never broke my word to any man.'" (Neander.)

Not only was the church thus rendered powerless to influence those who were without, she was likewise powerless to influence for any good those who were within. When the vast majority in the church were unconverted, and had joined the church from worldly and selfish motives, living only lives of conscious hypocrisy, it was impossible that church discipline should be enforced by church authority.

The next step taken by the bishopric, therefore, was to secure edicts under which they could enforce church discipline. This, too, not only upon the members of the church, but likewise upon those who were not members. The church having, out of lust for worldly power and influence, forsaken the power of God, the civil power was the only resource that remained to her. Conscious of her loss of moral power, she seized upon the civil. The account of this further wickedness will be given in the next paper.
A. T. JONES.

August 30, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. The Church Uses Civil Power to Enforce Dogmas" The Bible Echo 12, 35 , pp. 275, 276.

THE church was fully conscious of her loss of the power of God before she sought the power of the state. Had she not been, she never would have made any overtures to the imperial authority, nor have received with favour any advances from it. There is a power that belongs with the gospel of Christ, and is inseparable from the truth of the gospel; that is, the power of God. In fact, the gospel is but the manifestation of that power; for the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Rom. 1:16.

As long, therefore, as any order or organisation of people professing the gospel of Christ maintains in sincerity the principle of that gospel, so long the power of God will be with them, and they will have no need of any other power to make their influence felt for good wherever known. But just as soon as any person or association professing the gospel loses the spirit of it, so soon the power is gone also. Then and only then, does such an organisation seek for another kind of power to supply the place of that which is lost.

Thus was it with the church at this time. She had fallen, deplorably fallen, from the purity and the truth, and therefore from the power, of the gospel. And having lost the power of God and of godliness, she greedily grasped for the power of the state and of ungodliness. And to secure laws by which she might enforce her discipline and dogmas upon those whom she had lost the power either to convince or to persuade, was the definite purpose which the bishopric had in view when it struck that bargain with Constantine, and lent him the influence of the church in his imperial aspirations.

Jesus Christ had declared, "My kingdom is not of this world," but the bishops had conceived the idea of establishing the kingdom of the Lord on earth by alliance with the state. Thus they would have a government of God, or a theocracy. And now that they had secured the alliance of church and state, they persuaded themselves that the kingdom of God was come. But they did not suppose for a moment that the Lord Himself would come and conduct the affairs of this kingdom in person. They themselves were to be the representatives of God upon the earth, and the theocracy thus established was to be ruled by the Lord through them.

The falsity of this theory of the bishops of the fourth century has been clearly seen by but one of the church historians, that is, Neander. And this, as well as the scheme which the bishops had in mind, has been better described by him than by all the others put together. The design of the bishops with respect to the civil power is seen in the following statement:ó

"There had in fact arisen in the church . . . a false theocratical theory, . . . originating not in the essence of the gospel, but in the confusion of the religious constitutions of the Old and New Testaments, which . . . brought along with it an unchristian opposition of the spiritual to the secular power, and which might easily result in the formation of a sacerdotal state, subordinating the secular to itself in a false and outward way."

That which they had in mind when they joined their interests to Constantine's, was to use the power which through him they would thus secure, to carry into effect in the state and by governmental authority their theocratical project. The state was not only to be subordinate to the church, but was to be the servant of the church to assist in bringing all the world into the new kingdom of God. The bishops were the channel through which the will of God was to be made known to the state. Therefore the views of the bishops were to be to the government the expression of the will of God, and whatever laws the bishopric might deem necessary to make the principles of their theocracy effective, it was their purpose to secure. Says Neander:ó

"This theocratical theory was already the prevailing one in the time of Constantine; and . . . the bishops voluntarily made themselves dependent on him by their disputes, and by their determination to make use of the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims."

MAKING PEOPLE RELIGIOUS

AS WE saw in last week's paper, the church had become filled with a mass of people who had no respect for religious exercises, and now it became necessary to use the power of the state to assist in preserving respect for church discipline. As the church-members had not religion enough to lead them to do what they professed was their duty to do, the services of the state had to be enlisted to assist them in doing what they professed to believe it was right to do. In other words, as only worldly and selfish interests had been appealed to in bringing them to membership in the church, and as they therefore had no conscience in the matter, the services of the state were employed as aids to conscience, or rather to supply the lack of conscience.

Accordingly, one of the first, if not the very first, of the laws secured by the bishops in behalf of the church, was enacted, as it is supposed, about A.D. 314, ordering that on Friday and on Sunday "there should be a suspension of business at the courts and in other civil offices, so that the day might be devoted with less interruption to the purposes of devotion." (Neander.)

To justify this, the specious plea was presented that when the courts and public offices were open and regularly conducted by the state on these church days, the members were hindered from attending to their religious exercises. It was further argued that if the state kept its offices open, and conducted the public business on those days, as the church-members could not conduct the public business and attend to church services both, they could not well hold public offices; and that, therefore, the state was in fact discriminating against the church, and was hindering rather than helping the progress of the kingdom of God.

This was simply to confess that their Christianity was altogether earthly, sensual, and selfish. It was to confess that there was not enough virtue in their profession of religion to pay them for professing it; and they must needs have the state pay them for professing it. This was in fact in harmony with the whole system of which they were a part. They had been paid by the state in the first place to become professors of the new religion, and it was but consistent for them to ask the state to continue to pay them for the continued profession of it. This was consistent with the system there established; but it was totally inconsistent with every idea of true religion. Any religion that is not of sufficient value in itself to pay men for professing it, is not worth professing, much less is it worth supporting by the state. In genuine Christianity there is a virtue and a value which make it of more worth to him who professes it than all that the whole world can affordóyea, of more worth than life itself.

CONSTANTINE'S SUNDAY EDICT

THIS, however, was but the beginning. The state had become an instrument in the hands of the church, and she was determined to use it for all it was worth.

One of the first aims of the apostate

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church was the exaltation of Sunday as the chief sacred day. And no sooner had the Catholic Church made herself sure of the recognition and support of the state, than she secured from the emperor an edict setting apart Sunday especially to the purposes of devotion. As the sun was the chief deity of the pagans, and as the forms of sun-worship had been so fully adopted by the apostate church, it was an easy task to secure from the sun-loving and church-courting Constantine, a law establishing the observance of the day of the sun as a holy day. Accordingly, March 7, A.D. 321, Constantine issued his famous Sunday edict, which reads as follows:ó

"Constantine, Emperor Augustus, to Helpidius: On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time.)

The title which is given to the day by Constantine in the edict, is venerabili die solisóvenerable day of the Sunday. This was the pagan religious title of the day, and to every heathen was suggestive of the religious character which attached to the day as the one especially devoted to the sun and its worship.

It was by virtue of his office and authority as Pontifex Maximus, or supreme pontiff of the Roman religion, and not as emperor, that the day was set apart to this use; because it was the sole prerogative of the Pontifex Maximus to appoint holy days. As Duruy says in his "History of Rome:"ó

A law of the year 321 ordered tribunals, shops, and workshops to be closed on the day of the sun, and he [Constantine] sent to the legions to be recited upon that day, a form of prayer which could have been employed by a worshipper of Mithra, of Serapis, or of Apollo, quite as well as by a Christian believer. This was the official sanction of the old custom of addressing a prayer to the rising sun. In determining what days should be regarded as holy, and in the composition of a prayer for national use, Constantine exercised one of the rights belonging to him as Pontifex Maximus; and it caused no surprise that he should do this.

The Council of Nice a few years later, in A.D. 325, gave another impetus to the Sunday movement. It decided that the Roman custom of celebrating Easter on Sunday only should he followed throughout the whole empire. The council issued a letter to the churches, in which is the following passage on this subject:ó

"We have also gratifying intelligence to communicate to you relative to unity of judgment on the subject of the most holy feast of Easter: for this point also has been happily settled through your prayers; for that all the brethren in the East who have heretofore kept this festival when the Jews did will henceforth conform to the Romans and to us, and to all who from the earliest time have observed our period of celebrating Easter."

This was followed up by a letter from "Constantine Augustus to the Churches," in which upon this point he said:ó

"The question having been considered relative to the most holy day of Easter, it was determined by common consent that it would be proper that all should celebrate it on one and the same day everywhere. . . . And in the first place it seemed very unsuitable in the celebration of this sacred feast, that we should follow the custom of Jews, people who, having imbrued their hands in a most heinous outrage, and thus polluted their souls, are deservedly blind. . . . Let us then have nothing in common with that most hostile people the Jews.

"But to sum up matters briefly, it was determined by common consent that the most holy festival of Easter should be solemnised on one and the same day; for in such a hallowed solemnity any difference is unseemly, and it is more commendable to adopt that opinion in which there will be no intermixture of strange error, or deviation from what is right. These things therefore being time. ordered, do you gladly receive this heavenly and truly Divine command: for whatever is done in the sacred assemblies of the bishops is referable to the divine will."

This throws much light upon the next move that was made, as these things were made the basis of further action by the church, as we shall see in further papers.

At every step in the course of the apostasy, at every step taken in adopting the forms of sun-worship, and against the adoption and the observance of Sunday itself, there had been constant protest by all real Christians. Those who remained faithful to Christ and to the truth of the pure word of God, observed the Sabbath of the Lord according to the commandment, and according to the word of God, which sets forth the Sabbath as the sign by which the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is distinguished from all other gods. These accordingly protested against every phase and form of sun-worship. Others compromised, especially in the East, by observing both Sabbath and Sunday. But in the West, under Roman influences and under the leadership of the church and the bishopric of Rome, Sunday alone was adopted and observed. A. T. JONES.

September 6, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. Laying the Foundations of the Inquisition" The Bible Echo 12, 36 , pp. 283-285.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE INQUISITIO

LAST week we saw how quickly the enactment of Sunday laws followed the union of the churches with the imperial power. The Sunday was made the means of asserting the power of the clergy over the lives of the people, and over the Word of God.

EARLY PROTESTANTS

AGAINST this Church and State intrigue throughout, there had been also as against every other step in the course of the apostasy, earnest protest by all real Christians. But when it came to the point where the church would enforce by the power of the State the observance of Sunday, this protest became stronger than ever.

And additional strength was given to the protest at this point by the fact that it was urged in the words of the very arguments which the Catholic Church had used when she was antagonised, rather than courted, by the imperial authority, the argument that God alone is sovereign of the conscience, and that religion, being a matter of the heart and conscience cannot of right be within the realm of the civil ruler.

This, with the strength of the argument upon the merit of the question as to the day which should be observed, greatly weakened the force of the Sunday law. But when, in addition to these considerations, the exemption was so broad, and when those who observed the Sabbath positively refused to obey the Sunday law, its effect was virtually nullified.

In order, therefore, to the accomplishment of her original purpose, it now became necessary for the church to secure legislation extinguishing all exemption, and prohibiting the observance of the Sabbath so as to quench that powerful protest. And now, coupled with the necessity of the situation, the "truly divine command" of Constantine and the Council of Nice that "nothing" should be held "in common with the Jews," was made the basis and the authority for legislation utterly to crush out the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord, and to establish the observance of Sunday only in its stead.

SABBATH-KEEPING ANATHEMATISED

ACCORDINGLY, the Council of Laodicea enacted the following canon:ó

"CANON 29. Christians shall not Judaise and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaising, they shall be shut out from Christ." ⁸1

The report of the proceedings of the Council of Laodicea is not dated. A variety of dates has been suggested, of which A.D. 364 seems to have been the most favored. Hefele allows that it may have been as late as 380. But whatever the date, before A.D. 380, in the political condition of the empire, this could not be made effective by imperial law. In A.D. 364 Valens and Valentinian became emperors, the former of the East, and the latter of the West. For six years Valens was indifferent to all parties; but in A.D. 370 he became a zealous Arian, and so far as in him lay, established the Arian doctrine throughout his dominion.

Valentinian, though a Catholic, kept himself aloof from all the differences or controversies among church parties. This continued till 375, when Valentinian died, and was succeeded by his two sons, one aged sixteen, the other four, years. In 378 the reign of Valens ended, and Theodosius, a Spanish soldier, was appointed emperor of the East. In 380 he was baptized into the Catholic Church, and immediately an edict was issued in the name of the three emperors, commanding all subjects of the empire, of whatever party or name, to adopt the faith of the Catholic Church, and assume the name of "Catholic Christians."

As now "the state itself recognized the church as such, and endeavoured to uphold her in the prosecution of her prince-

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ples and the attainment of her ends" (Neander); and as Theodosius had already ordered that all his subjects "should steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans, which faithful tradition" had preserved, and which was then "professed by the pontiff Damasus" of Rome; and that they should all "assume the title of Catholic Christians;" it was easy to bring the imperial power to the support of the decrees of the church, and make the Laodicean Canon effective.

THE SUNDAY LAW MADE GENERAL

NOW was given the opportunity for which the church had waited so long, and she made use of it. At the earliest possible moment she secured the desired law; for, says the historian Neander:ó

"By a law of the year 386, those older changes effected by the emperor Constantine were more rigorously enforced; and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden. Whoever transgressed was to be considered, in fact, as guilty of sacrilege."

As the direct result of this law, there soon appeared an evil which, under the circumstances and in the logic of the case, called for further legislation in the same direction. The law forbade all work. But as the people had not such religion as would cause them to devote the day to pious and moral exercises, the effect of the law was only to enforce idleness. Enforced idleness only multiplied opportunity for dissipation. As the natural consequence was that the circuses and the theatres throughout the Empire were crowded every Sunday.

But the object of the Sunday law, from the first one that was issued, was that the day might be used for the purposes of devotion, and that the people might go to church. But they had not sufficient religion to lead them to church when there was opportunity for amusement. Therefore, as given by Neander, the record is:ó

Owing to the prevailing passion at that time, especially in the large cities, to run after the various public shows, it so happened that when these spectacles fell on the same days which had been consecrated by the church to some religious festival, they proved a great hindrance to the devotion of Christians, though chiefly, it must be allowed, to those whose Christianity was the least an affair of the life and of the heart."

Assuredly! An open circus or theatre will always prove a great hindrance to the devotion of those Christians whose Christianity is the least an affair of the life and of the heart. In other words, an open circus or theater will always be a great hindrance to the devotion of those who have not religion enough to keep them from going to it, but who only want to use the profession of religion to maintain their popularity, and to promote their selfish interests.

On the other hand, to the devotion of those whose Christianity is really an affair of the life and of the heart, an open circus or theater will never be a particle of hindrance, whether open at church time or all the time. With the people there, however, if the circus and theater were open at the same time as the church, the church-members, as well as others, not being able to go to both places at once, would go to the circus or the theater instead of to the church.

TRYING TO LEGISLATE PEOPLE INTO CHURCH

BUT this was not what the bishops wanted. This was not that for which all work had been forbidden. All work had been forbidden in order that the people might go to church; but instead of that, they crowded to the circus and the theater, and the audiences of the bishops were rather slim. This was not at all satisfying to their pride; and they took care to let it be known. Neander says:ó

Church teachers . . . were, in truth, often forced to complain that in such competitions the theater was vastly more frequented than the church."

And the church was now in a condition in which she could not bear competition. She must have a monopoly. Therefore the next step to be taken, the logical one, too, was to have the circuses and theaters closed on Sundays and other special church days, so that the churches and the theatres should not be open at the same time.

There was another feature of the case which gave the bishops the opportunity to make their new demands appear plausible, by urging in another form the selfish and sophistical plea upon which they had asked for the first edict respecting church days. In the circuses and the theatres large numbers of men were employed, among whom many were church-members. But, rather than give up their places, the church members would work on Sunday. The bishops complained that these were compelled to work, and were prohibited to worship: they pronounced it persecution, and demanded more Sunday laws for "protection."

"PROTECTING" THE DAY

As a consequence, therefore, and in the logic of the situation, at a council held at Carthage in June, A.D. 401, the following canon was enacted:ó

"CANON 5. On Sundays and feast-days, no plays may be performed."

That this canon might be made effective, the bishops in the same council passed a resolution, and sent up a petition to the emperor Honorius, prayingó

"That the public shows might be transferred from the Christian Sunday and from feast-days, to some other days of the week."

The reason given in support of the petition was not only, as above, that those who worked in government offices and employments at such times, were persecuted, but tható

The people congregate more to the circus than to the church.

The church members had not enough religion or love of right to do what they professed to believe was right; therefore the state was asked to take away from them all opportunity to do wrong; then they would all be Christians! The devil himself could be made that kind of Christian in that wayóand he would be the devil still!

The petition of the Council of Carthage could not be granted at once, but in 425 the desired law was secured; and to this also there was attached the reason that was given for the first Sunday law that ever was made; namely,ó

"In order that the devotion of the faithful might be free from all disturbance."

It must constantly be borne in mind, however, that the only way in which "the devotion of the faithful" was "disturbed" by these things was that when the circus or theatre was open at the same time that the church was open, the "faithful" would go to the circus or the theatre instead of to church, and therefore their "devotion" was "disturbed." And of course the only way in which the "devotion" of such "faithful" ones could be freed from all disturbance, was to close the circuses and the theatres at church time.

THE LOGIC OF RELIGIOUS LEGISLATION

IN the logic of this theory, there was one more step to be taken. To see how logically it came about, let us glance at the steps taken from the first one up to this point.

First, the church had all work on Sunday forbidden, in order that the people might attend to things divine; work was forbidden, that the people might worship. But the people would not worship; they went to the circus and the theatre instead of to church.

Then the church had laws enacted closing the circuses and the theaters, in order that the people might attend church. But even then the people would not be devoted, nor attend church; for they had no real religion.

The next step to be taken, therefore, in the logic of the situation, was to compel them to be devotedóto compel them to attend to things divine. This was the next step logically to be taken, and it was taken.

The theocratical bishops were equal to the occasion. They were ready with a theory that exactly met the demands of the case; and one of the greatest of the Catholic Church Fathers and Catholic saints was the father of this Catholic saintly theory. Augustine wrote:ó

"It is, indeed, better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment or by pain. But because the former means are better, the latter must not therefore be neglected. . . . Many must often be brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal suffering, before they attain the highest grade of religious development."

Of this theory, the author who of all the church historians has best exposed the evil workings of this false theocracy, justly observes:ó

"It was by Augustine, then, that a theory was proposed and founded, which . . . contained

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the germ of that whole system of spiritual despotism of intolerance and persecution which ended in the tribunals of the Inquisition."

The history of the Inquisition is only the history of this infamous theory of Augustine's. But this theory is only the logical sequence of the theory upon which the whole series of Sunday laws was founded.

In closing his history of this particular subject, the same author says:ó

"In this way the church received help from the State for the furtherance of her ends."

This statement is correct. Constantine did many things to favor the bishops. He gave them money and political preference. He made their decisions in disputed cases final, as the decision of Jesus Christ. But in nothing that he did for them did he give them power over those who did not belong to the church, to compel them to act as though they did, except in the one thing of the Sunday law.

HOW THE CHURCH SECURED CONTROL

IN the Sunday law, power was given to the church to compel those who did not belong to the church, and who were not subject to the jurisdiction of the church, to obey the commands of the church. In the Sunday law there was given to the church control of the civil power, so that by it she could compel those who did not belong to the church to act as though they did. The history of Constantine's time may be searched through and through, and it will be found that in nothing did he give to the church any such power, except in this one thingóthe Sunday law. Neander's statement is literally correct, that it was "in this way the church received help from the State for the furtherance of her ends."

That this may be set before the reader in as clear a light as possible, we shall here summarise the facts stated by Neander in their direct bearing. He says of the carrying into effect of the theocratical theory of the apostate bishops that they made themselves dependent upon Constantine by their disputes, and "by their determination to use the power of the State for the furtherance of their aims." Then he mentions the first and second Sunday laws of Constantine, the Sunday law of A.D. 386, the Carthaginian council, resolution, and petition of 401; and the law of 425 in response to this petition; and then, without a break, and with direct reference to these Sunday laws, he says: "In this way the church received help from the State for the furtherance of her ends."

She started out with the determination to do it; she did it; and "in this way" she did it. And when she had secured control of the power of the State, she used it for the furtherance of her own aims, and that in her own despotic way, as announced in the inquisitorial theory of Augustine. The first step logically led to the last. And the theocratical leaders in the movement had the cruel courage to follow the first step unto the last, as framed in the words of Augustine and illustrated in the horrors of the Inquisition during the fearful record of the dreary ages in which the bishopric of Rome was supreme over kings and nations.

The lesson in all this for this time is plain. Again, in Protestant lands, there is a disposition among religious leaders to secure control of the state in the interests of religion. They say they want to bring the kingdom of heaven upon earth. The Sunday is the rallying point in the crusade, and the churches are calling for stricter Sunday laws. They are going over the same path, and the logic of their false theory must lead them to the same end.
A. T. JONES.

September 13, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. The Great Trinitarian Controversy" The Bible Echo 12, 37 , pp. 291-293.

THE GREAT TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY

THE Donatist dispute had developed the decision, and established the fact, that it was "the Catholic Church of the Christians" in which was embodied the "Christianity" which was to be recognized as the imperial religion. Constantine had allied himself with the church only for political advantage. The only use he had for the church was in a political way. Its value for this purpose lay entirely in its unity. If the church should be all broken up and divided into separate bodies, its value as a political factor would be gone.

The Catholic Church, on her part, had long asserted the necessity of unity with the bishopric, a unity in which the bishopric should be possessed of authority to prohibit, as well as power to prevent, heresy. The church had supported and aided Constantine in the overthrown of Maxentius and the conquest of Rome. She again supported, and materially aided, him in the overthrow of Licinius and the complete conquest of the whole empire. She had received a rich reward for her assistance in the first political move; and she now, in the second and final one.

The Catholic Church demanded assistance in her ambitious aim to make her power and authority absolute over all; and for Constantine's purposes it was essential that the church should be a unit. These two considerations combined to produce results, both immediate and remote, that proved a curse to the time then present and to ages to follow. The immediate result was that Constantine had no sooner compassed the destruction of Licinius in A.D. 323, than he issued an edict against the Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulians, Cataphrygians, and "all who devised and supported heresies by means of private assemblies," denouncing them and their heresies, and commanding them all to enter the Catholic Church. The edict runs as follows:ó

"Let those of you, therefore, who are desirous of embracing the true and pure religion, take far better course of entering the Catholic Church, and uniting with it in holy fellowship, whereby you will be enabled to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. In any case the delusions of your perverted understandings must entirely cease to mingle with, and mar the felicity of, our present times. . . . And in order that this remedy may be applied with effectual power, we have commanded (as before said) that you be positively deprived of every gathering point for your superstitious meetings; I mean all the houses of prayer (if such be worthy of the name) which belong to heretics, and that these be made over without delay to the Catholic Church; that any other places be confiscated to the public service, and no facility whatever be left for any future gathering, in order that from this day forward none of your unlawful assemblies may presume to appear in any public or private place. Let this edict be made public."

Some of the penal regulations of this edict "were copied from the edicts of Diocletian: and this method of conversion was applauded by the same bishops who had felt the hand of oppression, and had pleaded for the rights of humanity."

The Donatist dispute had resulted in the establishment of the Catholic Church. Yet that dispute involved no question of doctrine, but of discipline only. Just at this time, however, there sprang into prominence the famous Trinitarian Controversy, which involved, and under the circumstances demanded, an imperial decision as to what was the Catholic Church in point of doctrineówhat was the Catholic Church in deed and in truth, and which plunged the empire into a sea of tumult and violence that continued as long as the empire itself continued, and afflicted other nations after the empire had perished.

WARNING ABOUT HUMAN DEFINITIONS

A CERTAIN Alexander was bishop of Alexandria. Arius was a presbyter in charge of a parish church in the same city. Alexander attempted to explain "the unity of the Holy Trinity." Arius dissented from the views set forth by Alexander. A sort of synod of the presbyters of the city was called, and the question was discussed. Both sides claimed the victory, and the controversy spread. Then Alexander convened a council of a hundred bishops, by the majority of which the views of Alexander were endorsed. Upon this, Arius was commanded to abandon his own opinions, and adopt Alexander's. Arius refused; and Alexander excommunicated him and all who held with him in opinion, of whom

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there were a considerable number of bishops and other clergy, and many of the people.

The partisans of Arius wrote to many bishops a statement of their views, with a request that if those views were considered correct, they would use their influence to have Alexander receive them to communion again, but that if they thought the views to be wrong in any particular, they would signify it, and show them what were the correct opinions on the question. Arius for himself wrote a book entitled "Thalia,"óSong of Joy,óa collection of songs in which he set forth his views. This expedient took well, for in the excited state of the parties, his doctrinal songs were hummed everywhere. Alexander on his part, likewise, sent circular letters to the principal bishops round about. The controversy spread everywhere, and as it spread, it deepened.

One of the chief reasons for the rapid and wide-spread interest in the controversy was that nobody could comprehend or understand the question at issue. "It was the excess of dogmatism founded on the most abstract words in the most abstract region of human thought." (Stanley's "Eastern Church"). There was no dispute about the fact of there being a Trinity, it was about the nature of the Trinity. Both parties believed in precisely the same Trinity; but they differed upon the precise relationship which the Son bears to the Father.

With the exception of a single point, the two views were identical, only being stated in different ways. Alexander held that the Son was begotten of the very essence of the Father, and is therefore of the same substance with the Father; while Arius held that the Son was begotten by the Father, not from His own essence, but from nothing; but that when He was thus begotten, He was, and is, of precisely the like substance with the Father.

Whether the Son of God, therefore, is of the same substance, or only of like substance, with the Father, was the question in dispute. The controversy was carried on in Greek, and as expressed in Greek the whole question turned upon a single letter. The word which expressed Alexander's belief, is Homoousion. The word which expressed the belief of Arius, is Homoiousion. One of the words has two "i's" in it, and the other has but one; but why the word should not have that additional "i," neither party could ever exactly determine. Even Athanasius himself, who succeeded Alexander in the bishopric of Alexandria, and transcended him in every other quality, "has candidly confessed that whenever he forced his understanding to meditate upon the divinity of the Logos, his toilsome and unavailing efforts recoiled on themselves; that the more he thought, the less he comprehended; and the more he wrote, the less capable was he of expressing his thoughts." (Gibbon.)

TRYING TO PUT GOD INTO A FORMULA

IT could not possibly be otherwise, because it was an attempt of the finite to measure, to analyse, and even to dissect, the Infinite. It was an attempt to make the human superior to the Divine. God is infinite. No finite mind can comprehend Him as He actually is. Christ is the Wordóthe expression of the thoughtóof God; and none but He knows the depth of the meaning of that Word. "He had a name written, that no man knew but He himself; . . . and His name is called the Word of God." Rev. 19:12, 13.

Neither the nature, nor the relationship, of the Father and Son can ever be measured by the mind of man. "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Matt. 11:27. This revelation of the Father by the Son can not be complete in this world. It will require the eternal ages for man to understand "the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:7.

Therefore, no man's conception of God can ever be fixed as the true conception of God. God will still be infinitely beyond the broadest comprehension that the mind of man can measure. The true conception of God can be attained only through "the Spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him." Eph. 1:17. Therefore the only thing for men to do to find out the Almighty to perfection, is, by true faith in Jesus Christ, to receive the abiding presence of this Spirit of revelation, and then quietly and joyfully wait for the eternal ages to reveal "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God."

An ecclesiastical historian who lived near the time, and was well acquainted with the whole matter, Socrates, has well remarked that the discussionó

"seemed not unlike a contest in the dark; for neither party appeared to understand distinctly the grounds on which they calumniated one another. . . . In consequence of these misunderstandings, each of them wrote volumes, as if contending against adversaries; and although it was admitted on both sides that the Son of God has a distinct person and existence, and all acknowledged that there is one God in a Trinity of persons, yet, from what cause I am unable to divine, they could not agree among themselves, and therefore were never at peace."

That which puzzled Socrates need not puzzle us. Although he could not divine why they should not agree when they believed the same thing, we may very readily do so, with no fear of mistake. The difficulty was that each disputant required that all the others should not only believe what he believed, but they should believe this precisely as he believed it, whereas just how he believed it, he himself could not define. And that which made them so determined in this respect was that the strife was not merely for a doctrinal statement, but for supremacy and for political power.

STRIFE INCREASES AND A COUNCIL IS CALLED

THE controversy spread farther and farther, and raged more fiercely as it spread. "All classes took part in it, and almost all took part with equal energy. . . . So violent were the discussions that they were parodied in the pagan theatres; and the emperor's statues were broken in the public squares in the conflicts that took place. . . . Sailors, millers, and travellers sang the disputed doctrines at their occupations or on their journeys. Every corner, every alley of the city [this was said afterward of Constantinople, but must have been still more true of Alexandria] was full of these discussionsóthe streets, the market places, the drapers, the money-changers, the victuallers. Ask a man 'how many oboli?' he answers by dogmatising on generated and ungenerated being. Inquire the price of bread, and you are told, 'The Son is subordinate to the Father.' Ask if the bath is ready, and you are told, 'The Son arose out of nothing.'" ( Stanley.)

Constantine's golden dream of a united Christendom was again grievously disturbed. The bow of promiseóof the bishopsówhich had so brilliantly irradiated all the political prospect when his alliance was formed with the church party, was rudely dissipated by the dark cloud of ecclesiastical ambition, and the angry storm of sectarian strife. He wrote a letter to Alexander and Arius, stating to them his mission of uniting the world under one head, and his anxious desire that there should be unity among all, and exhorted them to lay aside their contentions, forgive one another, use their efforts for the restoration of peace, and so give back to him his quiet days and tranquil nights.

This letter he sent by the hand of Hosius, whom he made his ambassador to reconcile the disputants. But both the letter and the mission of Hosius were in vain; and yet the more so by the very fact that the parties were now assured that the controversy had attracted the interested attention of the imperial authority. As imperial favour, imperial patronage, and imperial power were the chief objects of the contest, and as this effort of the emperor showed that the reward was almost within the grasp of whichever party might prove successful, the contention was deepened rather than abated.

It had already been decided that the imperial favor and patronage were for the Catholic Church. Each of these parties claimed to be the orthodox and only Catholic Church. The case of the Donatists had been referred to a council of bishops for adjudication. It was but natural that this question should be treated in the same way. But whereas the case of the Donatists affected only a very small portion of the empire, this question directly involved the whole East, and greatly concerned much of the West. More than this, the Catholic religion was now the religion of the empire. This dispute was upon the question as to what is the truth of the Catholic religion.

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Therefore if the question was to be settled, it must be settled for the whole empire. These considerations demanded a general council. Therefore a general council was called, A.D. 325, which met at the city of Nice, the latter part of May or the first part of June, in that year.
A. T. JONES.

September 20, 1897

"How the Catholic Creed Was Made. The Council of Nice" The Bible Echo 12, 38 , pp. 299, 300.

THE number of bishops that composed the council was three hundred and eighteen, while the number of "the presbyters and deacons in their train, and the crowd of acolytes and other attendants, was altogether beyond computation" (Eusebius), all of whom travelled, and were entertained to and from the council and while there, at the public expense. "They came as fast as they could run," says Stanley; ⁹1 "in almost a frenzy of excitement and enthusiasm; the actual crowd must have been enough to have metamorphosed the place." And "shrill above all other voices, vehement above all other disputants, 'brandishing their arguments like spears against those who sat under the same roof and ate off the same tables as themselves,' were the combatants from Alexandria."

The emperor did not arrive at Nice for several days after the others had reached that place; but when he came, "he had no sooner taken up his quarters in the palace of Nicea, than he found showered in upon him a number of parchment rolls, or letters, containing complaints and petitions against each other from the larger part of the assembled bishops. . . . We are expressly told both Eusebius and Sozomen that one motive which had drawn many to the council was the hope of settling their own private concerns, and promoting their own private interests. . . . There, too, were the pent-up grudges and quarrels of years, which now for the first time had an opportunity of making themselves heard. Never before had these remote, often obscure, ministers of a persecuted sect come within the range of imperial power. . . . Still after all due allowance, it is impossible not to share in the emperor's astonishment that this should have been the first act of the first Ecumenical Assembly of the Christian Church." ¹⁰2

OPENING OF THE COUNCIL

THE council met in a large hall in the palace of the emperor, which had been arranged for the purpose. In the centre of the room, on a kind of throne, was placed a copy of the gospels; at one end of the hall was placed a richly carved throne, which was to be occupied by Constantine. The day came for the formal opening of the assembly. The bishops were all assembled with their accompanying presbyters and deacons; but as it was an imperial council, it could not be opened but by the emperor himself; and they waited in silence for him to come.

"He entered. His towering stature, his strong-built frame, his broad shoulders, his handsome features, were worthy of his grand position. There was a brightness in his look and mingled expression of fierceness and gentleness in his lion-like eye, which well became one who, as Augustus before him, had fancied, and perhaps still fancied, himself to be the favourite of the sun-god Apollo. The bishops were further struck by the dazzling, perhaps barbaric magnificence of his dress. Always careful of his appearance, he was so on this occasion in an eminent degree. His long hair, false or real, was crowned with the imperial diadem of pearls. His purple or scarlet robe blazed with precious stones and gold embroidery. He was shod, no doubt, in the scarlet shoes then confined to emperors, now perpetuated in the pope and cardinals."

He paraded thus up the whole length of the hall to where the seat of wrought gold had been set for him; then he turned, facing the assembly, and pretended to be so abashed by the presence of so much holiness, that he would not take his seat until the bishops had signaled to him to do so; then he sat down, and the others followed suit. Then Eusebius arose and delivered an oration in honour of the

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emperor, closing with a hymn of thanksgiving to God for Constantine's final victory over Licinius. Constantine then delivered to the assembly an address exhorting them to remove all grounds of difference.

Thus the council was formally opened, and then the emperor signified to the judges of the assembly to go on with the proceedings. "From this moment the flood-gates of debate were opened wide; and from side to side recriminations and accusations were bandied to and fro, without regard to the imperial presence. He remained unmoved amid the clatter of angry voices, turning from one side of the hall to the other, giving his whole attention to the questions proposed, bringing together the violent partisans."

To end their personal spites, and turn their whole attention to the question which was to come properly before the assembly, he took from the folds of his mantle the whole bundle of their complaints and recriminations against one another. Then, after stating that he had not read one of them, he ordered a brazier to be brought in, and at once burned them in the presence of the whole assembly, declaring that the bishops sat as gods, and should neglect these common matters.

And as the libels vanished into ashes, he urged them, "Never to let the faults of men in their consecrated offices be publicly known to the scandal and temptation of the multitude." "Nay," he added, doubtless spreading out the folds of his imperial mantle as he spoke, "even though I were with mine own eyes to see a bishop in the act of gross sin, I would throw my purple robe over him, that no one might suffer from the sight of such a crime."

THE FRAMING OF THE CREED

THEN the great question that had caused the calling of the council was taken up. There were three parties in the councilóthose who sided with Alexander, those who sided with Arius, and those who were non-committal. The party of Alexander and Athanasius (Alexander's chief advocate) soon discovered that they could depend upon the majority of the council.

The draft of a creed was brought in, signed by eighteen bishops of the party of Arius; but it was not suffered to exist long enough for anybody ever to obtain a copy. Their opponents broke into a wild uproar, tore the document to pieces, and expelled Arius from the assembly.

Next, Eusebius of Cesarea,óConstantine's panegyristóthought to bring the parties together by presenting a creed that had been largely in use before this dispute ever arose. He stated that this confession of faith was one which he had learned in his childhood, from the bishop of Cesarea, and one which he accepted at his baptism, and which he had taught through his whole career, both as a presbyter and as a bishop. As an additional argument, and one which he intended to be of great weight in the council, he declared that "it had been approved by the emperor, the beloved of heaven, who had already seen it."

As soon as this was read in the council, the party of Arius all signified their willingness to subscribe to it. But this did not suit the party of Alexander and Athanasius; it was rather the very thing that they did not want, for "they were determined to find some form of words which no Arian could receive." They hunted about, therefore, for some point or some word, upon which they could reject it. It will be noticed that this creed says nothing about the substance of the Son of God, while that was the very question which had brought the council together. Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, was chief of the Arians who held seats in the council. At this point a letter was brought forth, which he had formerly written, in which he had stated that "to assert the Son to be uncreated, would be to say that He was 'of one substance'óHomoousionówith the Father, and to say that 'He was of one substance' was a proposition evidently absurd."

"The letter produced a violent excitement. There was the very test of which they were in search; the letter was torn in pieces to mark their indignation, and the phrase which he had pledged himself to reject, became the phrase which they pledged themselves to adopt."

THE EMPEROR SUPPORTS THE MOST POWERFUL

AS CONSTANTINE had approved the creed already read by Eusebius, the question of the party of Alexander now was whether he would approve it with the addition of this word; and the hopes of both parties now hung trembling upon the emperor. Hosius and his associates, having the last consultation with him, brought him over to their side. At the next meeting of the assembly, he again presented the creed of Eusebius, approved it, and called upon all to adopt it. Seeing, however, that the majority would not accept the creed of Eusebius as it was, Constantine decided to "gain the assent of the orthodox, that is, the most powerful, part of the assembly," by inserting the disputed word.

The party of Alexander and Athanasius, now assured of the authority of the emperor, required the addition of other phrases to the same purpose, so that when the creed was finally written out in full, it read as follows:ó

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things both visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is to say, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things in earth; who for us man, and for our salvation, came down, and was made flesh, and was made men, suffered, and rose again on the third day went up into the heavens, and is to come again to judge the quick and dead.

And in the Holy Ghost.

But those that say, "There was when He was not," and "Before He was begotten, He was not," and that "He came into existence from what was not," or who profess that the Son of God is of a different "person" or "substance," or that He is created, or changeable, or variable, are anathematized by the Catholic Church.

Thus came the original Nicene Creed. Constantine's influence carried with it many in the council, but seventeen bishops refused to subscribe to the creed. The emperor then commanded all to sign it under penalty of banishment. This brought to terms all of them but five, and further imperial persuasion and explanation and threats reduced the number to two. These absolutely refused from first to last to sign the creed, and they were banished. As for Arius, he seems to have departed from Nice soon after he was expelled from the council. Sentence of banishment was pronounced against him with the others. But as he was the chief expositor of the condemned doctrines, Constantine published against him an edict commanding the destruction of all his books on pain of death. The decree banishing Arius was shortly so modified as simply to prohibit his returning to Alexandria.

When the council finally closed its labours, Constantine gave, in honour of the bishops, the grand banquet before mentioned, in which it was pretended that the kingdom of God was come, and at which he loaded them with presents. He then exhorted them to unity and forbearance, and dismissed them to return to their respective places.

It was intended that the decision of this council, in the creed adopted, should put an end forever to all religious differences. "It is certain that the Creed of Nicea was meant to be an end of theological controversy." Constantine published it as the inspiration of God.

"From this period," says Milman, "we may date the introduction of rigorous articles of belief, which required the submissive assent of the mind to every word and letter of an established creed, and which raised the slightest heresy of opinion into a more fatal offence against God, and a more odious crime in the estimation of man, than the worst moral delinquency or the most flagrant deviation from the spirit of Christianity."

MAJORITIES CANNOT DECIDE THE TRUTH

IN the unanimity of opinion attained by the council, however, the idea of inspiration from any source other than Constantine, is a myth, and even that was a vanishing quantity; because a considerable number of those who subscribed to the creed did so against their honest convictions, and with the settled determination to secure a revision or a reversal just as soon as it could possibly be brought about; and to bring it about they would devote every waking moment of their lives.

Yet more than this, this theory proceeds upon the assumption that religious truth and doctrine are subject to the decision of the majority, than which nothing could possibly be further from the truth. Even though the decision of the Council of Nicea had been absolutely, and from honest conviction spontaneously, unanimous, it never could rest with the slightest degree of obligation or authority upon any soul who had not arrived at the same conclusion from honest conviction derived from the free exercise of his own power of thought. There is no organisation nor tribunal on earth that has any right to decide for anybody what is the truth upon any religious question. "The head of every man is Christ." 1 Cor. 11:3. "One is your Master, even Christ." Matt. 23:8. "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth . . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Rom. 14:4, 12.

In the quest for truth every man is free to search, to believe, and to decide, for himself alone. And his assent to any form of belief or doctrine, to be true, must spring from his own personal conviction that such is the truth. "The truth itself," Neander well says, "forced on man otherwise than by its own inward power, becomes falsehood." And he who suffers anything to be so forced upon him, utters a lie against himself and against God.

The realm of thought is the realm of God. Whosoever would attempt to restrict or coerce the free exercise of the thought of another, usurps the dominion of God, and exercises that of the devil. This is what Constantine did at the Council of Nice. This is what the majority of the Council of Nice itself did. In carrying out the purpose for which it was met, this is the only thing that it could do, no matter which side of the controversy should prove victorious. What Constantine and the Council of Nice did, was to open the way and set the wicked precedent for that despotism over thought which continued for more than fourteen hundred dreary years, and which was carried to such horrible lengths when the pope succeeded to the place of Constantine as head over both Church and State.

To say that the Holy Spirit had any part whatever in the council, either in discussing or deciding the question, or in any other way, is but to argue that the Holy Spirit of God is but the subject and tool of the unholy passions of ambitious and wicked men.
A. T. JONES.

November 22, 1897

"The Teacher and the Text-book" The Bible Echo 12, 46 , pp. 361, 362.

GOD has revealed Himself to the world as a teacher. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself; and in Him He says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." When He thus calls us to take the place of learners, in that very call He Himself occupies the place of teacher.

Again He says, "They shall be all taught of God." In this also He reveals Himself as occupying the place of the teacher of men. "I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit." And it is written that "none teacheth like Him."

How could any teach like Him? Is He not God? And as certainly as He is God, so certainly is He the greatest and best teacher there can possibly be. He is truly the Teacher of all true teachers.

How could any teach us can He who is "perfect in knowledge?" And again it is written: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." "He that is perfect in knowledge is with thee; He is with thee to teach, He is with thee evermore." Nothing but unbelief, then, can ever hinder anybody from being taught always in the perfection of knowledge.

God teaches by His Spirit. Therefore it is written, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things."

He teaches by His Spirit through His word. "The Spirit of truth will guide you

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into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself; but what He shall hear that shall He speak. . . . He shall take of Mine and show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore I said, He shall take of Mine and show it unto you."

God teaching, in Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit through His wordóthis is Christianity, this is true education, this is Christian education.

The Bible is the book of Christianity. It is the book of wisdom and knowledge of God, by which men are to be restored and made that which man was made to be. It is the book of revelation of Jesus Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;" and in whom alone men can ever be complete.

As in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and as the Bible is the revelation of Christ, it is perfectly plain that in the Bible are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In Christian education, then, the eternal Spirit is the great teacher; and the Bible is the great text-book.

Who that believes at all in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, can ever choose any other teacher in anything? Who that believes the Bible to be His word, can ever allow it to be second to any other book in any line of study?

How can any education, how can any school, be recognised as Christian, in which the Spirit of God as the one great teacher is not courted and deferred to by a living faith in Jesus Christ, and in which the Bible is not given the leading place in every subject and line of study?
A. T. JONES.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 13 (1898)

January 3, 1898

"Note" The Bible Echo 13, 1 , p. 8.

OF Charles A. Dana, who was the maker of the New York Sun, and who died lately, it is said that "he never had an idle day since he left college." This was not because he was against his will deprived of idle days, but because he did not want any such days. He would rather be busy than to be idle. And yet he lived to the age of more than seventy-eight years. It is all nonsense about work's shortening life. Idleness will shorten life far more than will steady, busy work. Any Christian would rather work than to be idle. The Christian so loves work that he will work for nothing rather than to do nothing. And whoever would work for nothing rather than to do nothing, will never need to work for nothing.óA. T. Jones.

January 10, 1898

"We Must Be Before We Can Do" The Bible Echo 13, 2 , p. 11.

IT is not what is outside of us, but what is inside, that makes us Christians and keeps us so.

If you think you could be a better Christian if they were better brethren and sisters in the church, you greatly mistake. It is just the other way; if you were a better Christian, you would find better brethren and sisters in the church.

If you think you could do better if only you had better neighbours, you greatly mistake. The truth is that if you would do better, you would have better neighbours. And if you were a better Christian, you would do better. You must be better before you can do better.

Christianity does not come from ourselves, nor from anybody nor anything that is around us. It comes down straight from heaven to every soul who will receive it. And having its source in heaven, it is not, and cannot be, affected by anything that is of earth.

Thus the Christian has joy in sorrow, peace in perplexity, riches in poverty, society in loneliness, and friendship among strangers and even enemies.
A. T. JONES.

February 14, 1898

"Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit" The Bible Echo 13, 7 , p. 49.

THE time to favour Zion, yea, the time, is come. This is the truth to-day. The time has come to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is freely given, and is now waiting to be received.

Correspondence from all over the work plainly reveals that God is moving upon the minds of His people to seek, and pray, and believe, for the Holy Spirit. This can be only of the Spirit Himself He Himself is creating a longing, a hungering and thirsting, for the Holy Spirit, which He alone can satisfy with His fulness. He leads in a way to show that a certain thing is the one thing to do, and that it must be done at once. And when the step is taken, light in, blessing an I progress attend it. And we can only say, "Lead thou me on."

For twenty-three years I have been studying the Bible, and must say that to me that book never said so much about the Holy Spirit as it does now. It seems now that most precious teaching with reference to the Spirit of God stands out everywhere. The word is freighted with it. And all this wealth of instruction only creates a longing for more of that blessed Spirit, and more of His gracious and gentle teaching.

The Holy Spirit has come. He is given. He "awaits our demand and reception," and "brings all other blessings in His train." Joy, joy, to every soul! Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to Him.
A. T. JONES.

February 21, 1898

"That Broken Heart" The Bible Echo 13, 8 , pp. 57, 58.

JESUS died of a broken heart. Ps. 69:20. This is intensely significant.

It was the ingratitude and the reproach of those for whom he endured the cruel suffering of the cross, that broke his heart.

And when, in that great and awful day that is to come, all those who hold to ingratitude or reproach see what they have really done, and what they have lost, reproach will also break their heartsóthough with them it will be self-reproach. Who can bear it! O then please do not any longer be ungrateful or reproachful in the presence of the cross of Christ.

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A deeper truth than this is that it would be the same with those persons if they were in heaven itself instead of in hell. To them heaven would be the same as hell; for it will not be what is outside of them, but what is inside, that will hurt.

And a yet deeper truth is that even though their ingratitude and reproach did not return upon them, and they were placed in heaven, yet they would die of a broken heart. For to take these persons, wholly unacquainted with true and lasting joy, and place them in the transcendent and eternal bliss of heaven, with the assurance that it was all and eternally theirsóthe overwhelming consciousness of this fact would break the heart.

Do you not know that the heart can be broken by joy as truly as by sorrow? Do you not know that such a thing has occurred in this worldóthough of course in this world of trouble and sorrow, a heart broken by joy is far less usual than hearts broken by sorrow!

The one great consideration in all this is that it is not all of heaven to be in heaven, nor is it all of hell to be in hell. The all of either place is in being fit for it.

To be fit for heaven is what will find heaven to be all of heaven. Andóawful truth!óto be fit for hell is what will find hell to be all of hell. No one can possibly find either place without the fitness for it; and there is no other place.

O then, dear friend, do not, against the cross of Christ, heap up ingratitude and reproach that fits for hell, and that will surely break the heart. Receive him, yield yourself to him, that now you may become acquainted with and enjoy the true and everlasting joy of heaven, that fits for heaven, so that when heaven itself, with all its glory, with all its transcendent bliss, with its fulness of eternal joy, is placed upon the hearts of the redeemed, your heart will not be broken by it.

Everything that occurred in the life of Christ on earth is laden with meaning. And this oneóthe most awful of allóis freighted with a most awful meaning. That broken heart! Think of it carefully, study it reverently.
A. T. JONES.

March 7, 1898

"The Church of To-day" The Bible Echo 13, 10 , pp. 72, 73.

"THROUGH Jesus Christ, God has made every provision that his people may connect with divine agencies, and that these agencies may co-operate with human instrumentalities. They may reveal to a world that is dead in trespasses and sins the power and sufficient of Christ. They will present before the world another world, of higher, holier

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laws than worldly wisdom can invent or earth obey,óa purer happiness and joy than earth can give to its votaries, coming through a service that is independent of all human inventions.

"Christ's church on earth is to resemble heaven,óa temple built after the pattern of things shown in the holy mount. Man must give up his ideas, his plans and devices, and let God work out his original intentions. The great Designer must not be impeded in his work by human wisdom. His work and purpose have not been understood. Through the miscalculations of man, the church to-day is so misshapen that it cannot be accepted by the great Builder. Human counsel has been so abundant that individual experience is rare. Men are placed where God should be; God's plans are turned aside, and men's measures brought in to fashion and mold. But the great and perfect Designer pronounces the work imperfect. The temple that he is building after the pattern of things in the heavens must have the exact proportions assigned it by the great Architect, whose pattern is without a flaw. He has brought the golden measuring rod from heaven, and every worker is employed only as he works under his superintendence and according to his plans.

"There must be no human calculations. God will have only those as workers who will be laborers together with him, who will yoke up with Christ, and learn of him his meekness and lowliness of heart. His directions are, 'Make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.' Then a temple of heavenly design will be presented to the world, where the divine presence is manifested, and to which is affixed God's seal."

In order for us to see the pattern, and to have it ever present for reference, we must be where the pattern is. But the pattern is showed only in the mount. Then it is certain that the only thing for us to do is to go up into the mount.

Is that true? Can we do that? Is there any word for it?óRead this: "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain." It says so, doesn't it? Thank the Lord! Then let us go up to Him into the mount, and He will meet with us there; He will make all His goodness pass before us; He will put us in the cleft of the rock, and cover us with His handóthat blessed hand that was pierced for us; and He will proclaim the name of the Lord before us, revealing Himself to us.

Then knowing Him thus, the rest of the verse will be fulfilled: "O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God." Isa. 40:9.

And that will be the loud cry of the third angel's message. "Arise," "get thee up into the high mountain" where His glory is: then "shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. . . . The Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Thus "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed," "the earth shall be lightened with His glory," "and all flesh shall see it together."

He wants us toówe mustóbe in the mount, in order to see the pattern so that we may make all things according to it. He wants us also to be up in the high mountain, in order that when the voice is lifted up with strength in the loud cry, it may be heard far, far away, even to the ends of the earth, and by every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Then, too, upon us, and because of His own completed work in us, there will be affixed the Lord's own sealó"the seal of the living God."
A. T. JONES.

March 14, 1898

"The Secret and Open Life" The Bible Echo 13, 11 , p. 81.

"WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Note, this does not say that He will reward you in secret. No; He sees you in secret, He hears you in secret; but He rewards you, He answers you, openly.

In this, then, He teaches you and me that we are to care for the secret life, and He will care for the open life. And as certainly as we are watchful upon our secret life, and keep it straight with God, so certainly will He be watchful upon our open life, and will keep it straight with men.

Yet man's way is the reverse of this: he is inclined to be ever watching his open life, trying to correct a wrong impression here, to straighten a crooked influence there, all the while neglecting the secret life, of which these outward things are but b the reflection.

Can a crooked stick cast a straight shadow?óNo more can a life that is crooked in secret be straight openly. When a crooked stick has cast its crooked shadow, is it the sensible thing to go tinkering the shadow to make it straight?óNo; correct the stick, make it straight; then there will be no difficulty with the shadow; all who see it will see that it is straight. No more is it sensible to be tinkering your outward life to have it straight; straighten the secret life, and God has certified that your open life shall be straight.

Then put your time and attention upon your secret life; keep your time and attention there; spend much time with Him who seeth in secret: and He will put His time and attention upon your open life; He will keep His time and attention there, and will spend much time with you openly, and before those who see only openly; and will see to it that your open life tells only of the good, the pure, and the true,óthat it tells only of God.
A. T. JONES.

March 21, 1898

"How Shall We Do His Will?" The Bible Echo 13, 12 , pp. 91, 92.

WE pray often, some of us every day, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." But how many have ever taken the time to find out just how His will is done in heaven? Yet where can there be any real point in our prayer, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," so long as we do not know how His will is done in heaven?

Such a prayer is certain to be vague and indefinite, a mere generalization, unless we know how His will is done in heaven. But when we do know that, our prayer can be definite, positive, and full of faith, and thus with the sure result that, so far as we are concerned, his will will be done on earth precisely as it is in heaven.

What a wonderful thought that is,óthat the will of God will be done in us on earth just as it is done in heaven! Yet it is certainly true, or else that prayer is all in vain, and the giving of it to us by him is but a vain and tantalising thing.

But the Lord does not present to men vain things. It is intended, and it can be so, that that word shall be accomplished as certainly as it is prayed. Though, again, we say, How can this be unless we know how His will is done in heaven, so that this prayer by us can be definite, positive, and full of faith?

Who are in heaven to do the will of God there?óThe angels, to be sure. Then when we know how the will of God is done by them in heaven, and what they do that the will of God may be done in them in heaven, we can know how to pray this prayer so that it shall mean to us just what it says,ówe shall know just how the will of God shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What, then, of the angels?

First: In heaven the angels "do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven." Matt. 18:10.

Second: His angels harken to the voice of His word. Ps. 103:20. And they "do His commandments" through "harkening unto the voice of His word."

Third: The will of God, as in His word,ó"as it is in heaven,"óis conveyed to the knowledge of the angels by the Spirit of Godó"Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went." Eze. 1:20.

Fourth: When the Spirit of God thus conveys to their knowledge the will of God, as it is in His word, to which the angels are "harkening," instantly their spirit responds, and thus His will becomes at once their will, too,ó"Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, . . . thither was their spirit to go." Verse 20.

Fifth: When, by the instant submission of their spirit to his Spirit, His will has become their will, the thing is done; His word is fulfilled, His will is accomplished, quick as the lightning's flashó"Withersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go." "And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Verses 20, 14.

That is the way that the will of God is done in heaven. And that is the way that it is to be done in the earth. That is what is in the prayer, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." And that is the way that His will will be done on earth, in every one who, knowing how His will is done in heaven, puts him self in the same attitude with those in heaven, and makes the prayer in an intelligent faith.

And this attitude of the angels in heaven is precisely the attitude which it is intended that we shall hold on earth. Read, then, of ourselves:ó

First: We are always to behold the face of God, "in the face of Jesus Christ." "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image." 2 Cor. 4:6; 3:18. "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God." Ps. 123:1, 2.

Second: We are to harken to the voice of His wordó"Mine ears hast thou opened." Ps. 40:6. "The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back." "He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." Isa. 50:5, 4.

Third: The will of God as in His word, is to be conveyed to our understanding by the Spirit of God. We are to be ever dependent upon the Spirit of God for this. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." 2 Tim. 2:7. "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, . . . whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26. "He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak." John 16:13.

Fourth: When the Spirit of God does convey to our understanding the will of God as it is in His word, instantly our spirit is to respond, and yield submission to His Spirit, that His will may be our will. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Rom. 8:14, 16. And "the minding of the flesh is death; but the minding of the Spirit is life and peace." Rom. 8:6, margin.

Fifth: When we thus harken to His word and receive, by His Spirit, the understanding of His will as it is in his word,ó"as it is in heaven,"óand our spirit responds to his Spirit so that His will becomes our will, then the thing is done; His word is fulfilled, His will is accomplished, in us on earth as it is in those in heaven: and it is done just as quicklyó"as the appearance of a flash of lightning"óin our innermost, secret life, and shines through all time, openly, before those who are without. For "My word. . . shall accomplish that which I please." Isa. 55:11. And the word of God always acts instantaneouslyó"He spake, and it was." Ps. 33:9. The leper said, Lord, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The Lord replied, "I will; be thou clean. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the

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leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-42.

Do you now see more clearly, do you understand better, how the will of God is done in heaven, and how it is to be done on earth? Can you now pray more intelligently, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven?" And will you now pray directly, positively, and in full faith, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"?
A. T. JONES.

March 28, 1898

"The Lord's Wish" The Bible Echo 13, 13 , pp. 98, 99.

TEMPERANCE is self-control. Evangelistic temperanceóChristian temperanceóis self-control in all things,óof body, soul, and spirit. For he which "striveth for the mastery is temperate [controls himself] in all things." This is the only true temperance. And this is in order that we may glorify God in both body and spirit,óglorify Him, and Him alone, in all things, and so meet the object of our creation and of our redemption.

The Lord has created and redeemed the body as really as He has the soul. He cares for the body as really and as fully as He does for the soul. And He wants us to care for the body as really and as fully as we care for the soul. Therefore He has said, "I wish above all things

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that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Thus it is certain that the wish of the Lord is that our prosperity in health shall be evenóevenly balancedówith our prosperity of soul, or spirit.

No one will for a moment question that God has given directions and prescriptions abundant to assure the prosperity of the soul. Every one knows that every one who will sincerely accept the word of God as to the good of his soul will assuredly find his soul prospering abundantly. Yet as the Lord has recorded His wish, "above all things," that our health may prosper evenly with our souls, it certainly follows that he has given directions and prescriptions assuring prosperity in health evenly with the directions and prescriptions assuring prosperity of soul.

Yet this is very little thought of, even by professed Christians; and by many who happen to think of it, it is not believed sufficiently to lead them to an honest study of the word of God to know what He has said on the subject, and then give it a place in the life. Many will bear great concern about the prosperity of their souls, to the utter neglect of their health, when if only they would take thought and care as to how they are living, and correct that by the word of God, the prosperity of their souls would be so abundant that there would be no room for anxiety in the matter.

Many people will ask for prayers that they may enjoy the blessing of God, when all that is needed is that they quit using some pernicious thing in food or drink. Many will "call for the elders of the church" to pray that they may not be sick, when all that is needed is simply a good bath, or perhaps only a good hot foot-bath. They will ask for prayers for recovery from sickness, when a bath, or perhaps only a foot-bath, would have entirely prevented the sickness.

Now we are not saying anything against calling for the elders of the church or praying for the sick; but we do say that the Lord never intends that prayers shall take the place of thought and common sense in every-day, simple things. He does not intend that he and miracle shall be substituted for individuality and intelligence. He has given us responsibility, intellect, and judgment. He has given us His word and his Spirit to be our knowledge and guide. In his word he has told us that "above all things" he wishes that we may be in health; in His word and our own bodies He has made every possible provision that, by the co-operation of His word and ourselves, we may indeed, "above all things," prosper and be in health according to his wish.

That we may do all that is possible to help in this great thing, we shall publish, in this department of Evangelistic Temperance, the Bible principles of evangelistic health, which are essential to evangelistic temperance, and the development of perfect Christian character.
A. T. JONES.

June 6, 1898

"'That Ye May Know'" The Bible Echo 13, 23 , p. 179.

"REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

"Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

Note, the Scripture does not say only that the Sabbath is a sign that He is the Lord God; it says the Sabbath is a sign, "that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." There is a difference between His being the Lord and men's knowing that He is the Lord. Thee is a difference between men's knowing that He is the Lord and knowing that He is their Lord.

God is the Lord, whether men know it or not. He would still be the Lord, and always the Lord, though not a man on the earth ever knew it. The Sabbath is not a sign only that He is the Lord, but that men may know that He is the Lord. Men might know that the Lord is somebody else's God. Many of the idolatrous kings and nations in old time knew, by personal calamity and sad experience, that the Lord was another people's God; but they did not know that He was their God. The Sabbath is not a sign by which men may know that the Lord is somebody else's God, but that they may know that the Lord is their God.

There are many people who do not know that the Lord is God: and many more who do not know that He is their God. Yet there is no need whatever of this: for God has given to themóto all the worldóa sign by which all men may know that He, the Lord, is their God: "Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

This is true, whether men believe it or not. By not believing it, they simply shut themselves off from the blessed knowledge. And when they do that, God is clear, and they are without excuse. God wants every soul to know that the Lord is his God. And in the Sabbath the Lord has given a sign by which all men may know this. All that is needed is that they hallow the Sabbath, and they will know it. And "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." A. T. JONES.

June 13, 1898

"The Sleep of Death" The Bible Echo 13, 24 , p. 188.

TO HIS disciples, Jesus said: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep."

Lazarus had been sick; and the disciples, thinking that now he was "taking rest in sleep," answered, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well."

"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead."

First Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth." Then He said, "Lazarus is dead."

When He said, "Lazarus sleepeth," Lazarus was dead; and it was with direct reference to Lazarus dead that Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth."

It is, therefore, perfectly plain that the direct teaching of the Lord Jesus is that when a man is dead, he is asleep.

When Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth," Lazarus was dead. In saying to His disciples, "Lazarus sleepeth," He was informing them that Lazarus was dead. In so saying, He meant that Lazarus was dead; for He so explained His word.

It was only the misconception of His meaning by His disciples that caused Jesus to say anything further than that Lazarus was asleep. But seeing this misconception, He said, further, "Lazarus is dead."

It is, therefore, perfectly plain not only that Jesus definitely taught, and intended definitely to teach, that the dead are asleep; but that He taught, and intended to teach, His disciples to think and speak of the dead as being asleep.

It is, therefore, perfectly plain that, upon the authority of Christian truth, the dead are asleep, and that the sleep of the dead is distinctively a Christian conception.

That many peopleóeven professed Christiansódo not believe this does not in the slightest affect the truth of it. Jesus taught it, and it is the truth. He taught it that men, and of all people His own disciples, should believe it. Those who do not believe it simply rob themselves of a great Christian truth.
A. T. JONES.

June 27, 1898

"Christian Manliness. No. 1" The Bible Echo 13, 26 , pp. 201, 202.

THE third angel's message, that mighty threefold message of the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6-12), is the only salvation for men that there is in this world. That is the only thing that can save men from the evil tide, which, under the very profession of Christianity, is against Christianity,ówhich, under the profession of Protestantism, is against Protestantism,óthe evil tide that is sweeping the world into the vortex of wickedness and weakness, where, knowing their wickedness, they are so unmanned that they have not the ability to stand up and oppose their own wickedness, but depend upon a figment to save them.

The third angel's message is to be given with a loud voice to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people in the world, to convey to them the only genuine principle of manliness that there is, and to "establish Christianity upon an eternal basis." It is to persuade men everywhere to accept that principle of manliness, and by it to stand up in the midst of the wickedness of the world, and conquer it, however deeply they may have gone into it them-

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selves. It is to bring to men this principle of Christian manliness that will cause them to stand up face to face with themselves, and put underfoot the weakness that is in themselves, and make them strong, manly man. That is what the third angel's message is put into the world to do, and that is what it will do.

Now, this third angel's message, this message of Christianity for this day, which is needed in this day, and which alone can meet the issue in this day, is to be preached to just this kind of people,óto people who have been taught to look to, and to trust in, a figment. Of course when the everlasting gospel is preached to them, many of them will see the principle involved, they will see the tide that is running the wrong way, and what it is doing for themselves and everybody who has paid any attention to it, and they will accept this call to Christianity, and will turn away from that evil thing.

Then when they have accepted this call to Christianity, it is essential that they be taught to allow that principle of Christianity to be their life all the way that they are to go. They must be taught to depend upon Jesus Christ, that manliest of men, to make, and to keep, them manly men. They must not be babied nor allowed to become weaklings, but must be taught to depend upon God alone. It is just as essential to teach them this after they have turned away from the other, as it is to teach them the true principle to get them to turn away from the other; because people whose lives and minds have been molded upon that false model must, when they turn away from it, be built up, educated, and caused to grow according to the right Model. If this is not done, they will become formal Christians; they will be Seventh-day Adventists by name and profession, but will be just as babyish Seventh-day Adventists as they ever were any other kind of people. If this true Christianity, this true Christian manliness, is taught to them in the beginning, and kept before them all the way along, so that this shall be the only kind of Christianity they will adopt, they will develop into real Christian, manly men. They will despise the very idea of depending upon anything or anybody but Christ, and he will be in themselves the hope of glory.

Now nine tenths of the brethren of the ministry, if not all, will recognize as the truth what I am going to tell you,óthat many timesónot every timeówhen the third angel's message is first preached to the people, and they are convinced by it of what they should do, about the first thing they say it: "I know that I ought to serve the Lord; I ought to be a Christian; I ought to keep the Sabbath. But if I do, I shall lose my place; I shall be thrown out of work. If I shut up shop on the Sabbath, I shall lose my business. Do you know of any place where I can get a position, or a place for my business, so that I can be a Christian, and keep the Sabbath?" You know this is so. And the answer to it is, and always should be: "No; there is no place in this world where you can get a position so you can be a Christian. You are to be a Christian, anyhow. Your Christianity is not to depend upon position, but upon Christ. Your Christianity is not to depend upon your position; your position is to depend upon your Christianity. And what I mean by Christianity is Sabbath-keeping Christianity. Your Sabbath-keeping is not to depend upon position nor upon work, but upon Christ. Your Sabbath-keeping must not depend upon position; but your position must depend upon Sabbath-keeping. If you cannot be a Christian where you are, you cannot be a Christian anywhere else."

I am not saying that when people do lose their situations,óas many times they do when they accept the third angel's message,óno care should ever be taken to put them in the way of work, if it is possible to do so; but I am saying that until they have Christian manliness enough to be Christians, work or no work, position or no position, they are not manly enough to be Christians when they have work, upon that issue. In that case their Christianityótheir Sabbath-keepingódepends upon their having work, and then when their work is gone, their Christianity is gone. Therefore, the only answer we can make to these personsóthese weaklingsóis: "No; there is no place in this world where you can secure work so that you can be a Christian. Be a Christian, and keep the Sabbath; then there will be plenty of work for you. And if somebody else does not furnish it, you yourself will make it."

It is Christianity itselfóit is the very property, and power of life, of Christianity itselfóto take people who are unable to make a living in this world, and make them such independent, free, manly, Christian men that they will make a living right along anywhere. We are not to judge Christianity by the people who profess it: we are to measure the people who profess it by Christianity. There are many people who cannot make a living any better after they have accepted Christianity than they did before; but this shows that with them Christianity is only a profession. But any profession of Christianity that does not make a man more than he was before he made it, is a fraud. He may have it professionally, but he has not the real thing. What he has is a fraud, by which he is deceiving, not others, but himself. I know this is so. Christianity, when a man really gets it, is able to take him and make him such a manly man in the world that he can make his way in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Such a Christian never goes around complaining that he cannot get work. If he cannot get it, he will bestir himself and make it. That is Christianity.

"But stop," says one; "have you considered this point? Does not the Bible say that the gospel is to be preached to the poor?"óOf course it does; but it does not say that they shall forever remain poor. Listen: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." It is equally true, though, that while they will never be poor as the world regards poverty, they will never be rich as the world regards riches.

Yes, Christianity is preached to the poor,óto those who are in poverty because they have been so weakened and unmanned by the evil tendencies and teachings of the world that they have not been able to hold their own against the world. And because of their unfortunate position, the Lord singles them out first; he looks upon them in pity, and says, "Join yourselves to me, and win against the world." And there is nobody who has any respect for God or Christianity, who will for a moment think that when such a one joins himself to God, he is not stronger than ever he was before, and stronger than he ever could be without joining himself to God. If I have been robbed of my manliness, so that I cannot hold my own against the world, and my children are in want, and I am in absolute need of help from others, I want to know what kind of God that would be who would call me to himself, and yet give me no more than I had before. No, sir; I will not disgrace the Lord by any such way of thinking.

God has chosen the poor of this world, that is true. He sees them beaten back, and cast off, and unable to make their way; and in his loving manliness he wants them to have a chance. He therefore calls them to join him. And he does so for a purpose. That purpose is that he may implant and cultivate in them that genuine principle and power of manliness that will enable them to go through the world dependent upon no man, but depending altogether upon God.

Understand, again, that this is not to say that all poverty will be done away with,óthat there will be no such thing as a poor man any longer, among Christians. No; for constantly the gospel will be preached to the poor, and they will be coming in. But it is to say that after the poor who have joined themselves to Christ have learned how to make a living for themselves, they will help others who are still coming in to do as they have done. All will be constantly growing from helplessness to helpfulness. Whether you believe that or not, it is everlastingly true. It is a basic principle of Christianity. A. T. JONES.

July 4, 1898

"Christian Manliness. No. 2" The Bible Echo 13, 27 , pp. 220, 221.

IN that passage where Christians are spoken of as poor (2 Cor. 6:8-10), it is said that they are chastened and not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; "as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." George M¸ller was more than a seven-times millionaire, yet he possessed nothing. That is just what the genuine Christian experience is.

Read the first psalm. There it is said of the godly man, "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." He will be a prosperous man in business, in work, everywhere. Of course it will take time, because his former training has been the other way; he must grow into the true way. We are to be merciful and kind to him, because he is poor. But at the same time we must be sure that he gets true Christianity in his soul. And when he has that grace, he will soon grow into a prosperous man; for "whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Now let me read from Job 22:21-25: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver."

In these times of controversy over the question of money,ówhether it shall be gold or silver,óyou see that Christianity is what the people need. Whether the money shall be gold or silver is neither here nor there. Get genuine Christianity, and then the other will come; you will "lay up gold" and "have plenty of silver." The message for Seventh-day Adventists to preach is neither gold nor silver, but Christianity, which means both gold and silver. All must be taught, however, and must be trained in, this kind of Christianity.

Now do not get a wrong idea here of what is "plenty." If I need nothing, even though I have nothing, I have a plenty. If I need what costs a nickel, and have the nickel, have not I a plenty? So it is with that which costs a dollar, or any amount. There is a misconception and a wrong education as to what is a plenty, which comes from depending upon what is of the world. People of this world think that a certain

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amount is a plenty; but when they get that, they have not even enough,óthey must have more and yet more, until the amount reaches thousands, and even millions, and yet they are not satisfied. The Christian has a plenty all the time, because his dependence is upon God. God is with him,óhe is one with him,óthey are joined together. God knows what his need it; and when his dependence is upon God, and his energies are springing from God, he will work the works of God, and the fruit will be to the glory of God. And though as poor, he will be making many rich; though as having nothing, he will be possessing all things. That is true prosperity.

Again I read: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Prov. 3:5-10.

What are all these verses in the Bible for?óThey are there to tell to you and me that the man who is a Christian is all right. They are not intended to tell that he will be rich as the world calls rich, but he will have plenty, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. That is Christianity.

The whole philosophy of Christianity is God manifest in the flesh. God says that he is our strength, he is our wisdom, his Spirit guides the mind. He himself is there. He is all in all to the Christian. When a man who has gone all his life without God, joins himself to God, and God's life becomes his life, God's strength becomes his strength, God's wisdom becomes his wisdom, then has not he ability that he did not have before? and is not this ability given to him to use? When he has received God, and has Christ dwelling within, the very life of his life, his strength, his wisdom, has not he a power, a wisdom, an intellect,óability of every sort,óthat will make him more than he ever could have been without Christ? Then do you not seeóit is as plain as A B Cóthat the man who professes to be a Christian, and does not make a better success in this life than before, has not Christianity? He is cheating himself by a mere outward profession of the thing, and is simply robbing himself of what belongs to him in this world and in the next.
A. T. JONES.

July 11, 1898

"Christian Manliness. No. 3. (Concluded.)" The Bible Echo 13, 28 , p. 232.

(Concluded).

IT is proper now to treat a matter of fact respecting the point I mentioned as to those people who say, "Well, if I can get a situation where I can keep the Sabbath, I will do so." Just as certainly as they do that in order to be Christians, they will be babies right along. They will simply be baby Seventh-day Adventists. If one of them should get a position in one of our publishing houses, or tract societies, or conferences, he would go to it because the institution or the conference wants Sabbath-keepers or course forever; and as his Sabbath-keeping depends upon his having a position, it follows, logically enough, that he must have that place forever, as if it were an infirmary, and expect to remain there forever. And going there expecting that he will remain forever, and being a baby anyhow, his Christianity being only a form, he does not put forth divine energy so that his work is efficient, and does not pay for his keeping in whatever position he may be placed.

Now, these babyish people, when they see the trnth [sic.] and want to accept it, think if they can only get a position in one of our institutions, or where they can make a living off the rest, so that they "can keep the Sabbath," they will accept it. Recently I received a letter from a man who said he had a shoe store in which there was a £1,000 stock of goods. He said he had heard the message preached last year, and said he was converted, but that he could not keep the Sabbath and carry on his business where he is, because he is obliged to keep his store open on the Sabbath. And he wanted to find a place where he could shut his store on the Sabbath, and "so keep the Sabbath." He wanted to know if there was not an opening for a shoe store in some place where there were a large number of Sabbath keepers, also what was the prospect for success with a grocery. I was obliged to tell him that in the part of town in the part of town where I live, there are two shoe stores; that between the publishing office and my home, four blocks away, there are six groceries, and that in a radius of five blocks there are six other groceries, making at least twelve groceries in a radius of five blocks; and therefore he might judge for himself as to the openings for either the shoe or the grocery business.

And I told him more than this. I told him what I would tell to everybody,óthat his whole idea was a mistaken one. I told him that if he could not keep the Sabbath where he is, he could not keep it if he were in the town where I live; that if he should come here as he proposed, and set up a business, so that he "could keep the Sabbath," he would not be keeping the Sabbath when it was done. His religion would be only a form, and his "Sabbath-keeping" only Saturday-keeping, with no Christianity and no virtue of any kind in it.

I told him yet more than this, and still what I would tell to everybody of that kind,óthat his letter showed that he was mistaken about his conversion. I told him that if he had been really converted last year, he would have closed his store rightly the first Sabbath after he was converted, and that it would have been closed every Sabbath since. I told him that if he was really converted, he would be keeping the Sabbath just where he is, and would not be looking around for some other place where he "could kept it;" and he would make his Sabbath-keeping regulate his business, and not his business regulate his "Sabbath-keeping," which in that case would not be Sabbath-keeping at all.

When people of this kind come into the truth, they come in as babies, and they will remain babies as long as they live in this way. Therefore I say that it is essential that this kind of Christianityóthis true Christian manlinessóbe preached to all in every place.

I state as a vital principle that no man is qualified for any position of any kind in any conference or institution of Seventh-day Adventists until he is able to make his way prosperously outside of it. When he can do that, he does not care whether he gets a position in Seventh-day Adventist institutions or not: he is independent of them,óhe is independent of everybody and everything but Christ; and Christ within himself is his life, his strength, his wisdom, his all iu [sic.] all. He does not have to fawn and palaver, for fear he may not have the favor of the president of the Conference, and so lose his "place." If he works in the office of publication, he will not always have his eye on the foreman, and swing this way or that way, in order to keep his favor, for fear of being discharged. No; he is there, and expects to remain there, solely because of the value of his services. He is just as independent of that place after he gets it as he was before, and just as independent out of it as in it. He does not care whether the president of the Conference, or the foreman, or the general manager looks askance at him or not. He is not working for the president of the Conference, nor for the foreman, nor for the general manager. He is working only for God, with the eye of God upon him. And he cares not whose eye may inspect is work. He will not be so jealous of his "place" that he is constantly apprehensive that some one else will get his "place." The man who puts his dependence only in God, and serves God, and goes into Christianity because God is in it,óthat man is never afraid of losing his place. His place is with God, and no man can take it. He is not afraid of losing his place; for wherever he is, he is with God, and that is his place. If God calls him to another part of his great workshop, and gives him another piece of work, he still has his place. He is where God has called him, he is where God wants him, and he can not lose his place. He does not get his place from any man, and no man can take it away from him.

Therefore, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, BE STRONG."
A. T. JONES.

July 18, 1898

"Who Is Doing It?" The Bible Echo 13, 29 , pp. 228, 229.

"HE that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith."

Seven times this command is given in only two chapters of the Bible.

All people have ears, but not all have ears to hear. And of all who have ears to hear, not all have ears to hear what the Spirit saith.

Have you ears to hear what the Spirit saith?

This hearing by which we recognize what the Spirit saith, is the hearing of faith.

There is a hearing of faith, as well as a seeing of faith, a walking of faith, and a living of faith.

Therefore it is written, "Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith."

Receiving the Spirit by the hearing of faith, the hearing of what the Spirit saith, is only by faith.

We are commanded these seven times not only to hear what the Spirit saith, but also to hear what the Spirit saith "unto the churches."

When the Spirit has spoken distinctly seven times to the churches, and when He who is the head of the church has commanded seven times that we hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, then how can we prosper spiritually unless we do hear this?

But how shall they hear without a preacher? Is it not, then, perfectly plain

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that both preachers and people shall carefully consider what the Spirit saith unto the churches, in order that we all may indeed hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches?A. T. JONES.

August 1, 1898

"Sanctification and Its Sign" The Bible Echo 13, 31 , p. 245.

"REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."

There is no genuine Christianity without sanctification. There is no genuine sanctification but that which is accomplished by the Lord Himself. And the genuine keeping of the Sabbath is a sign that the Lord does sanctify the believer, and that he may know that the Lord does sanctify him.

To profess sanctification without the keeping of the Sabbath is to come short. To profess to keep the Sabbath without sanctification is a contradiction. Sanctification is perfected in keeping the Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath attains its perfect aim in sanctification.

"I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Verily, therefore, "My Sabbaths ye shall keep." And "the seventh day is the Sabbath."
A. T. JONES.

August 15, 1898

"The Servants of Righteousness" The Bible Echo 13, 33 , p. 257.

"BEING then made free from sin, ye become the servants of righteousness."

We can be made free from sin, then: the word of God says so. "Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." "He that is dead is dead from sin."

But our blessedness does not stop with being made free from sin: "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

We can not be the servants of sin and the servants of righteousness, both at the same time; for "when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness."

We must be freed from sin before we can become the servants of righteousness.

And "he that is dead is freed from sin."

We must be "dead with Christ" before we can "live with him." "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God."

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." And just as Christ lives unto God since his death to sin, so we live unto God when we are dead with him. When we are "dead with him" "unto sin," we "live with him" "unto God."

Have you been made free from sin? If not, why not?

Have you become the servant of righteousness? If not, it is because you have not been made free from sin.

Have you been trying, and failing, to be the servant of righteousness? Have you grieved over failures until you were almost, if not entirely, ready to think that there is no such thing in this world as being indeed a servant of righteousness?

O toiling, discouraged soul, "be of good cheer; I have overcome the world"! There is, in truth, in this world, in Him, the service of righteousness. But it comes only through "being made free from sin;" and only "he that is dead is freed from sin."

Have you "endured the cross" of Christ with Christ? Are you crucified with him? Have you given up to destruction the body of sin, in order that henceforth you should not serve sin? Are you dead with him, and, so, freed from sin?

Be sure that all this is accomplished with you: then, and so, being "made free from sin," you will become the servant of righteousness as surely as the Lord has spoken that glorious promise.
A. T. JONES.

August 29, 1898

"A Blessing on the Man and a Blessing on the Day" The Bible Echo 13, 35 , p. 274.

WHEN God had created man "in his own image," then "God bless them." This was on the sixth day.

Then came the seventh: "and God blessed the seventh day."

God blessed the man, and God bless the seventh day.

That blessing upon man was a reality. It was a substantial thing which was put upon the man by the Lord for the benefit of the man.

That blessing upon the seventh day was likewise, and just as certainly, a reality. That, too, was a substantial thing which was put upon that day by the Lord.

That blessing upon the seventh day was also for the benefit of man; because the seventh day is the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man, and that blessing is one of the things that made the seventh day the Sabbath for man.

No one who knows that there is such a thing as the blessing of God, can deny that the blessing with which God blessed the man was a reality. No one who knows what God's blessing is can deny that when he blessed the man, there entered the life of the man a substantial good,óone which the man could not possibly disregard without substantial loss.

And the blessing with which God blessed the seventh day was just as real, just as substantial, and just as much for the good of man, as was the blessing with which he blessed the man. This can not possibly be denied.

In that blessing which God put upon the seventh day, there was a substantial good for the man, which the man could not possibly disregard or forfeit, any more than he could the blessing upon himself; and forfeited also the blessing of the seventh day, because only the blessed man can share the blessing of the blessed day.

Yet the Lord did not leave the man in his lost condition. He creates him new in Christ Jesus again, "after the image of him that created him." And man, being again "in the image of God," is blessed of God. Acts 3:26; Eph. 1:3.

And the blessed day "remaineth" for this blessed man. Heb. 4:3-9. The blessed man can enjoy the blessed day. And only the blessed man can enjoy the blessed day, because that blessed day "remaineth" "to the people of God."

Yet said it is that so many people who claim to be, and who indeed are, such blessed men, and to enjoy the blessings of the blessed man, utterly disregard, and even reject, the blessed day, which was made, and which "remaineth," for these very blessed men. They wholly lose, and seem content, and even determined, to lose, the blessing of the blessed day, which was made, and which "remaineth," especially for blessed men. Surely, they know not what they do. They know not what they are losing.

Why will blessed people, why will any people, reject the blessing of God because he placed it for them upon the seventh day?
A. T. JONES.

"We Would See Jesus," ¹¹1 The Bible Echo 13, 35 , p. 281.

We Would See Jesus.óWe would see Him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and would hear His might voice saying to His angels, "Gather My Saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." And then and there in the midst of the church would we see Him and hear His glorious voice singing that song of promised praise to the Father. Heb. 2:12. Oh, 'tis thus that "we would see Jesus"!

And we thank God, not only for the hope that we shall see Him as He is, but also that the signs are abundant all about us that show this "blessed hope" shall be fulfilled.
A. T. JONES.

September 12, 1898

"The Joy of the Lord" The Bible Echo 13, 37 , pp. 289, 290.

"THE joy of the Lord is your strength."

Did you know that there is real reviving strength in the joy of the Lord? It is really so, as every one can certify from experience, who knows the joy of the Lord. How could it be otherwise? Is there not reviving and strength in mere human joy? How much more, then, in divine joy,óin joy that is the Lord's, and that comes direct from him to the believer!

When a person is worn, and weary, and ready to faint, and just then receives a bit of joyful news, is not all his thought of faintness at once dissipated by the joy? and is not all his weariness supplanted by freshness and strength, which the joy has brought?

And when that is true in affairs altogether human, how much more must it be true in affairs divine! It is so, as every one knows who know the joy of the Lord.

But how shall we be partakers of the joy of the Lord? The joy of the Lord in human life is the fruit of the Spirit of God. "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy." And we can not have the fruit without the root. "The kingdom of God is . . . joy in the Holy Ghost;" and "the kingdom of God is within you." Therefore, the joy of the Lord in human life is only by the Holy Ghost. And "the joy of the Lord is your strength."

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Is the joy of the Lord your strength? Are you worn, and weary, and ready to faint? "The joy of the Lord is your strength;" and this comes only by the Holy Spirit. Have you received the Holy Ghost? "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
A. T. JONES.

September 19, 1898

"How Shall We Know That the Bible Is the Word of God?" The Bible Echo 13, 38 , p. 298.

THE Bible comes to men as the word of God. In every part it speaks to men as from God and upon the authority of God.

But how shall men who do not know God know that it is the word of God? This is the question that thousands of people ask. They ask, "What proof is there, where is the evidence, that it is the word of God?"

There is evidence,óevidence that is convincing and satisfactory. Where is it, then? Let us see.

Being the word of God, where could evidence be found that it is such? Where should we expect to find such evidence?

Is there any one of greater knowledge than God, or of greater authority than He, of whom we may inquire?óCertainly not. For whoever God may be, there can be no higher authority, there can be none of greater knowledge.

Suppose, then, we were to ask God whether this is His word, and suppose He should tell us, in so many words, "The Bible is My word," we should then have only His word for it.

But we have already, over and over; so that even then we have no more evidence than we now have in abundance: and the evidence would be in nowise different; for it would be the evidence of His word, and that we already have.

The word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God.

It is impossible that it could be otherwise.

If God had never yet spoken a word to the human family, and should this day send a message to all people at once, and in their own native tongues, that word, being the word of God, would have to bear in itself the evidence of its being the word of God; for the people could not possibly inquire of any other, because there is no person whose knowledge or authority is equal to this. That word, though, bearing in itself the evidence of its being the word of God, all the people could obtain this evidence by accepting it as the word of God. Each one who did this would know that it was the word of God; for he would have the evidence in the word, and by accepting it, also in himself.

This is precisely the position that the Bible occupies toward the people of this world. It comes as the word of God. As such, it must bear the evidence in itself; for there can be no higher, no better, evidence. Whoever receives it as the word of God receives in it and in himself the evidence that it is the word of God. And so it is written, "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 17:12.

And again: "A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you." 1 John 2:8.

And again: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will [is willing to] do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." John 7:16, 17.

Thus he who accepts the word as the word of God has the evidence that it is the word of God. He who will not accept the word can not have the evidence. In rejecting the word, he rejects the evidences, because the evidence is in the word.

To make this yet plainer, if possible, especially to those who do not know that the Bible is the word of God, we may, for the sake of the case, suppose that the Bible were not the word of God, and that the God of the Bible were not the true God. Suppose, then, that we should find the true God, and ask him whether the Bible is the word of God; and suppose he should say, "It is not the word of God." We should then have only his word; and the only way that we could know whether or not this answer were true would be by believing it, by accepting it as the word of God.

So, then, the only possible way in which any person could surely know that the Bible is not the word of God would be by the word of God. And even though he had the word of God to this effect, the only way that he could be sure of itóthe only evidence he could haveówould be by believing that word.

But there is no word of God that the Scriptures are not the word of God, while there is the word of God that the Scriptures are the word of God. That word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God; and every soul who will receive it as it is, will have the evidence. The evidence will be plain to him who believes the word.
A. T. JONES.

October 3, 1898

"Filled with the Holy Ghost" The Bible Echo 13, 40 , p. 318.

IN the time of the "early rain" of the gospel year, the believers were more than once "filled with the Holy Ghost."

On Pentecost "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."

There was in Jerusalem much, and powerful, opposition to the gospel and to the preaching of it.

Therefore "the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees" arrested Peter and John, and "put them in hold."

The next day Peter and John were brought before the national council, and were questioned as to what they had done.

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel," etc.

However, the council, after inquiry and answer and consultation, let them go.

"And being let go, they went to their own company," and prayed. "And when they had prayed, . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."

We are in the "time of the latter rain," when we are to ask for rain. The message of God now is, therefore, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" "Be filled with the Spirit."

Have you received the Holy Ghost? Have you been filled with the Spirit? If not, you are losing everything.

But even thou you have received the Holy Ghost, even though you have been filled with the Spirit, please do not think for a moment that that is the end and all. Please do not settle back contentedly folding your hands and saying, Now I have got it, and that is all.

No; even to you the message still is, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." There is more than one filling with the Spirit. Go on unto perfection.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."
A. T. JONES.

October 10, 1898

"Believing the Word of God" The Bible Echo 13, 41 , pp. 327, 328.

ONE of the leading preachers of the United States has published a book on the "puzzling" books of the Bible, of which he has found seven. This book is written not so much to tell how puzzling these Bible books are to him, nor why their puzzling to him, as it is to make it appear to other people that these Bible books are puzzling books to them. Another thing that may be noted is that in this book he has dealt only with the booksóold booksóthat are puzzling to him, and therefore, as a matter of course, are, or ought to be, puzzling to everybody else; he has not touched the particular passages or verses of the Bible, outside of the special books, which are puzzling.

But why should even a preacher think that because certain books of the Bible are puzzling to him, this fact can be of so much importance to other people as to call for the publication of a book on it? Does it certainly follow that because something is puzzling to him, it must be puzzling to everybody elseóespecially as soon as it is known that it is puzzling to him?

Now the only possible way that any book, or any passage, of the Bible can be puzzling to anybody, is by his not believing it. And there are many things, even outside of the Bible, that puzzling to the person who does not believe them. The A B C's are exceedingly puzzling to any man who does not believe them. And neither the Bible, nor any book or passage in the Bible, is any more puzzling to the person who believes it, than are the A B C's to the person who believes them.

But that is just the trouble with all these "critics,"óthey do not believe the Bible, they do not accept it as the word of God. They are critics of the word of God, not believers of the word of God. They do not receive the word of God for what "it is in truth, the word of God." They hold it off, and criticize it, and puzzle over it; and so it can not work effectually in them, because they do not believe it.

That they do not accept it as the word of God, even when they believe it to be true, is clear from this: Ever since 677 B.C. the Bible has said that "the captains of the host of the king of Assyria took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." One of the critics have said that until lately "this passage have always been a stumbling-block to the critics." And the only means by which it was ever a stumbling-block to the critics was solely because they did not believe it.

The stumbling-block that they found in this passage was in that it says that the Assyrians brought Manasseh to Babylon; while it was known that Nineveh was the capital of the kingdom of Assyria. The critics thought that it should have said that they brought Manasseh to Nineveh; and because it did not say what they thought, it was a stumbling-block.

But what caused this passage to cease to be a stumbling-block?óWhy, the records of Esar-haddon, who was then king of Assyria, were discovered; and these records told that Babylon was subdued and possessed by Assyria, and that Babylon was his residence in those years.

But now the point,óthey did not believe, before, that the passage told the truth, and of course did not believe it to be the word of God. Now, however, they admit that the passage tells, and always did tell, the exact truth; but why do they believe this now?óNot because it is the word of God, but only because of what Esar-haddon said. If they had not yet found these words of Esar-haddon, or others to the same effect, they would not yet believe that the passage tells the truth; it would still be to them a stumbling-block. Therefore, as they believed it now only on the authority of Esar-haddon, and not on the authority of God, it is perfectly plain that though they now believe it to be true, they do not so believe it because it is the word of God. The authority which they accept rest upon for the truth of the passage is the authority of a man, not of God.

And whoever accepts the word of God on the authority of a man, has only the word of the man; to him the word of God is only the word of the man: the word of the man is put above the word of God; the man is put in the place of God.

To the person who accepts the Bible as the word of God, that passage never was, and never could be, a stumbling-block. It was the truth. And it was the truth because it was the word of God. True, he might not be able to explain it to the critics, or even to himself; nevertheless, he knew that it was the truth; and he

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rested there. And now he is no more sure of the truth of that passage than he was before. Now he knows exactly how it was done; but that it was done, he knew as well before as now or ever, because he had the word of God for it, and "the word of our God shall stand forever." A. T. JONES.

October 24, 1898

"When's and Why's" The Bible Echo 13, 42 , pp. 340, 341.

WHEN the word of God speaks of the resurrection day as "the first day of the week," and says that when that day came, "the Sabbath day according to the commandment" "was past," why should anybody who has any respect for the word of God call that day the Sabbath? Luke 23:56; 24:1; Mark 16:1, 2.

When the word of God says that "the Sabbath day according to the commandment" was past before the resurrection day, the first day of the week, came at all, why should anybody who has any respect for the word of God say that the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week?

By reading Luke 24:1-37 and Mark 16:9-14, we learn that the disciples did not believe that Jesus had risen on that first-day, when the day was almost gone. It was nearly ten days later before Thomas was convinced that Jesus was indeed risen. John 20:24-28. Then why should Christian people say the disciples kept the first-day "from the resurrection of Christ"?

When Paul held his meeting at Troas (Acts 20:7), on a First-day evening (corresponding to our Saturday night), why did Luke and his companions put in their time sailing the vessel to Assos, if the first day of the week had become a sacred day?

When there is not one command in the New Testament to regard the first day of the week as a sacred day, why do Christians observe it in the place of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment?

When there is not one passage of Scripture in the whole New Testament that in any way mentions the first day of the week as the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation, why should the followers of Jesus call it a holy day?

The majority of Christians who observe Sunday as a holy day keep it as a memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why should they do so when Bible baptism (immersion) was instituted as a memorial of that event? See Rom. 6:1-3; Col. 2:12.

In Rev. 1:10 John speaks of being "in the Spirit of the Lord's day." Why should any one assume that this was the first day of the week, when there is no scripture in the whole Bible that speaks of that day as the Lord's day, and WHEN there are passages that speak of the Sabbathóthe seventh dayóby that term? See Ex. 20:8-11; Isa. 56:13; Mark 2:27, 28.

When the Sabbath command is just as plain as any other commandment in the Bible, why should we not receive it just as we do the others? See Matt. 5:17-20.

When there is no record of a change of the Sabbath by Christ, who made the Sabbath, why should Christians seek to find a record of the change in early church history?

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When the church at the time of the apostles had no more authority to change God's law than at the present time, why should people say that the church of that time changed the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, and deny the right of the church of this time to change any other commandment of God?

When Protestants claim that "the primitive church" could and did of right change the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, and when the church at Rome was of that primitive church, why should they (and how can they) deny the right of the later church, of which the church at Rome is a part, to change any part of the word of God that she may choose to change, when they admit that the church at Rome is still "a part of the true church," and especially when the church at Rome can show a direct descent from primitive time?

In short, when Protestants plant themselves on papal ground at the beginning, why should they not stay on it at the end? A. T. JONES.

November 21, 1898

"A Religious Delusion" The Bible Echo 13, 47 , p. 372.

IN the columns of the daily press of this city [New York] recently, space was given to a description of "the impressive ceremony of the taking of the black veil" by sixteen young women, in the chapel of the convent of the "Sisters of St. Dominie," Archbishop Corrigan officiating. By undergoing this "impressive ceremony" these young women are understood to have formally "renounced the world" and taken upon themselves the vows of a life of "charity." This is but one of many similar occasions which are reported from time to time in all parts of the land.

Let us look a moment at this idea of consecration and the religious life.

These young women have withdrawn themselves from all social intercourse with their fellow-beings in the world. They have really renounced their fellow-mortals. Is this renouncing the world?

Certainly not. The world cannot be renounced in that way. Worldliness is in the heartóin the principles of the life. The principles of the world, not the people, are to be renounced.

A person may separate himself from all his sinful fellow-mortals, as did the old hermits, and yet carry with him into his seclusion, as they did, the very worldliness which they think thus to escape. For worldliness, full and complete, is in every heart that is carnal, unrenewed by the power of divine grace.

To "renounce the world" by going off into the seclusion of the convent or monastery, is like a person trying to escape from his own shadow. The one is exactly as wise a proceeding as the other.

And this separation from human society is not only powerless to promote consecration; it is altogether contrary to the will and purpose of the Creator.

God put people in this world to be together. He knew the nature of the beings whom he created, and knew that society was necessary to their welfare. He brings people into this world for their happiness, to enjoy themselves together, not to be miserable somewhere in seclusion. But aside from the enjoyment to be derived from human companionship, he puts people together for their spiritual good. His own work in the earthóthe proclamation of the gospel truthóso far from demanding the exclusion of its adherents, demands the exact opposite. God's servants are the "salt of the earth;" and to be this they must be in the world, mingling freely with all classes of society, and with world-loving people especially. God sends his servants to sinners, not away from them.

A ship is built to go in the water. There is danger that the water may get into the ship, and if it does, in sufficient quantities, the ship sinks and is lost. The ship at sea is in the very element, all surrounded by it, which under certain circumstances will prove its sure destruction. There may be a collision, or the ship may run on a reef, or be shattered by a storm, and in any of these ways become filled with water and sent to the bottom of the sea. Ships are being lost by such casualties all the time. The sea is the one great agent of their destruction.

What, then, shall be done to preserve the ship? Oh, we will pull it up out of the sea upon the dry land; we will put it where the water cannot get to it! Or, we will seclude it in some quiet undisturbed creek or inlet along the shore, where the perils of the sea can never reach it! That would save the ship from the sea, and also render it useless; but even the seclusion of the convent cannot save a soul from the world.

The idea that consecration, that holiness of life, requires the renunciation of society, a life of celibacy, and the sombre garb of the convent, is as contrary to the truth as anything could possibly be. It is a travesty upon divine truth, and designed as such by the opponent of truth who invented it. Robert Ingersoll has uttered many falsehoods concerning religion; but he spoke the truth, the gospel truth, in saying that the mother with her babe presented a far nobler and holier picture than the nun with her cross and beads.

Jesus said, in his prayer for His disciples, "I pray not that Thou wouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou wouldest keep them from the evil." The grace of God keeps His children from evil in the midst of the world. As the channels of divine light and truth to the world, the world is their proper place. When God wants them removed from the society of sinners He is coming Himself to take them away. But now, while probation for the world continues, he wants them in the world and amongst world lovers as His witnesses, witnessing by their words and lives to His power to save people from sin, simply by a change of heartóby a new birth, a new creation in Christ.

The "sisterhoods" and "brotherhoods" which are gotten up in this world in the name of religion, with their vows and regulations which set at defiance the laws of nature in order to save the soul, are a sham and a delusion. They represent the worldly and heathen idea of consecration. They are contrary to God and to nature, to revelation and to reason. They lead only to wretchedness and ruin. True happiness, true religion, true charity and holiness, and true success in life, can be found only in the order of life which God has established.óAmerican Sentinel.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 14 (1899)

April 3, 1899

"What Is Faith?" The Bible Echo 14, 14 , pp. 113, 114.

WHEN Abraham and Sarah had cleared themselves of all the scheme of unbelief which had produced Ishmael, and had stood upon faith alone,óIsaac, the true child of the promise, was born.

In hearkening to the voice of Sarai (Gen. 16:1), Abram had swerved from the line of strict integrity to the word of God, from the strictness of true faith; and now that he had returned to the word only, to true faith, he must be tested before it could be certainly said of him that his faith was counted for righteousness.

He had trusted the naked word of God as against Ishmael, and had obtained Isaac, the true child of the promise of God. And now, having obtained Isaac, the question must be determined whether he would trust the naked word of God as against even Isaac himself.

Accordingly, God said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

Abraham had received Isaac from God, by trusting the word of God only. Isaac alone was the seed promised by the word of the Lord. After Isaac was born, God had confirmed the word by declaring, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Gen. 21:12. And now came the word of God, Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, and offer him for a burnt-offering.

God had declared to Abraham, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude; "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;" "In Isaac shall thy seed be called;" and now, Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering!

But, if Isaac is offered for a burnt-offering, if Isaac is burned up, what will become of the promise of the blessing of all nations in him? What will become of the promise, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven innumerable? Yet there stood the word, Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering. Abraham had trusted the word of God only, as against Ishmael; but this is more than trusting the word of God as against Isaacóit is trusting the word of God as against the word of God!

And Abraham did it, hoping against hope. God had said: Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven; In Isaac shall thy seed be called; Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering. Abraham did not insist that God should "harmonise these passages." It was all-sufficient for him to know that the statements were all the word of God. Knowing this, he would trust that word, would follow that word, and would let the Lord "harmonise these passages," or "explain these texts," if any such thing were needed.

Said Abraham: God has said, Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering. That I will do. God has said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called;" and, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. I interfered once in the promise, and hindered it till I repudiated all that I had done, and came back to the word only. Then, by a miracle, God gave me Isaac, the promised seed. Now He says, Offer Isaac, the promised seed, for a burnt-offering. I will do it: by a miracle God gave him at the first; and by a miracle God can restore him. Yet when I shall have offered him for a burnt-offering, he will be dead; and the only miracle that can then restore him is a miracle that will bring him back from the dead. But God is able to do even that, and he will do it; for His word is spoken, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And even the bringing back of Isaac from the dead will be to God no more than He has already done; for, as to offspring, both my body and Sarah's were as good as dead, and yet God brought faith Isaac from us. He can raise Isaac from the dead, and He will. Bless the Lord!

It was settled. He arose, and took his servants and Isaac, and went three days' journey "unto the place of which God had told him." And when on the third day he "saw the place afar off," "Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Gen. 22:5. Who will go?ó"I and the lad will go." And who will come again?ó"I and the lad will go, . . . and come again to you." Abraham expected to have Isaac come back with him as certainly as that he went with him.

Abraham expected to offer Isaac for a burnt-offering, and expected then to see Isaac rise from the ashes and go back with him. For the word of God had gone forth, In Isaac shall thy seed be called, and, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. And Abraham would trust that word only, believing that it could never fail. Heb. 11:17-19.

THIS IS FAITH. And thus "the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham

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believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." James 2:23. But yet above this, "It was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him: but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed: if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead: who was delivered for cur offences, and was raised again for our justification." Rom. 4:23-25.

To trust the word of God only: to depend upon the word of God only: to depend upon the word of God, even as against the word of God,óthis is FAITH. This is the faith which brings the righteousness of God.

This is what it is to exercise faith. This is "what the scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of exercising faith." And "understanding how to exercise faith," is the science of the gospel.
A. T. JONES.

May 22, 1899

"Faith and the Word" The Bible Echo 14, 14 , pp. 171, 172.

THE knowledge of what the scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than other knowledge that can be acquired."

The centurion desired that the Lord should do for him a certain thing. The Lord said, "I will came," and do it. The centurion said; "No," speak the word only," it shall be done.

The centurion, then, expected "the word only" to do the work. He depended upon "the word only" for the fulfillment of his desire. And Jesus said that that is "faith" even "great faith.

And by all this it is perfectly plain that faith is the expectation that the word of God will do what the word says; and that the depending upon that word to do what it says.

The centurion did not expect, himself,

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to do what the Lord said. That would not have been faith; because it would have been to deny any power, or life, in the word, and would have been to depend altogether on himself.

Yet you have said, many and many a time, that you would do what the word of God says. Often you have depended on yourself to do what the word says, instead of depending on that word to do what it says. And then you wondered why you did not succeed better in the Christian life. There is no place for wonder. You did not exercise faith: it was all yourself, and none of God.

Yet more: the centurion did not expect even the Lord to do what the word said; that is, he did not expect the Lord to speak the word, and then, apart from that word and by some other means, himself do what the word said. Even that would not have been faith, because it would have been to ignore the word as the living and powerful thing that it is, and would have been to deny that God is able to do what He wishes, simply by His word.

Yet many and many a time you, having the word of God before your eyes, and earnestly desiring in yourself what the word says, have turned away from that word, and have asked the Lord to do for you, and in you, what the word says. Instead of expecting the word itself to do what it says, because it is the word of God, you expected the Lord to do, apart from the word and by some other means, what the word says.

And then you wondered and were perplexed that what you asked was not done. But there was no place for any wonder or perplexity. Your expectation was vain. Your asking was not of faith: it ignored the word of God.

You were without excuse, too, in both these ways; for, all the time, there stood your Lord's plain showing of what is faith; and you had read it many a time. You have read that the centurion said to the Lord, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." It was there plainly shown that the centurion expected "the word only" to do what he wished, and depended upon "the word only" to do it. You had read the word of Jesus that this was "great faith" and that therefore he did "speak the word only," and the "servant was healed in the selfsame hour." You had also read a number of other instances showing that the Lord did everything by speaking the word only.

Would you exercise great faith? Then receive the word of God as it is in truth, the word of God; expect that word only, to do what it says; depend upon the word only, to do for you, and in you, what that word says.

Then, asking in faith, you will receive what you ask; and being justified by faith, you will have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
A. T. JONES.

June 5, 1899

"God's Message to the World" The Bible Echo 14, 23 , pp. 186, 187.

IN the book of Daniel there are four announcements, or proclamations, of God's truth to the world, all by kings of the world. All this was brought about through the faithfulness of the people of God in captivity. And the people of God being in captivity was simply the consequence of their failure to be faithful out of captivity.

If the people of God had been as faithful in Judea as they were in Babylon, they never would have seen Babylon; and if the people of God being as faithful in Judea as they were in Babylon, the light shining through them in their faithfulness in Judea as in Babylon, God would never have needed to use the kings of the kingdoms aside from the special people

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of God to spread His truth to the world. That is true yet, and in this the book of Daniel is present truth now. It is, and has been, in the people always to be most faithful only under the greatest disadvantages.

Do not forget that God's church and God's people are the light of the world, whether they are free and in peace, and dwelling as He longs for them to do; or whether they are in the darkness and the gloom of a dungeon and captivity. They are the light of the world, and the light shines through them. If they will bedim it, if they will not let it shine during peace and quietness, and through all the advantages which He gives, and which He longs for us to enjoy; then it will shine anyhow, and it will have to shine through the disadvantages of distress and captivity. But it will shine; and it will reach the people of the world, whom it should reach; and they will receive it and glorify God. In captivity, whatever is done, is preaching the gospel, and is reaching souls. We have that comfort always. Yet we would do all that without the captivity if we were only as faithful to God out of captivity as we always will be in captivity.
A. T. JONES.

July 10, 1899

"The Son of Man" The Bible Echo 14, 28 , pp. 227, 228.

ADAM "was the son of God." Luke 1:38.

As the son of God, he was endowed to perfection with every faculty and every power that the Creator could bestow upon him.

As the son of God, he was favoured with every advantage of nature. There perfection was before him on every hand; everything reflected the glory of God, and spoke to him of the wisdom of God.

Yet, endowed with all these powers, and surrounded with all these advantages, Adam, the son of God, failed.

He sinned; and so brought the world under the curse, and filled the world with woe.

With the tide of sin steadily flowing for four thousand years, the sons of man had reached such a point in degeneracy and wickedness that neither demons nor men, nor even angels, could see any way but that God must inevitably let loose His justice, and at once blot out the whole.

And just as that point Christ became the Son of MAN.

He became the Son of man as MAN WAS at that point.

As the Son of MAN, He was subject to all the weaknesses that had been entailed upon the race through the degeneracy, personal and hereditary, of the successive generations of evil-doers.

As the Son of man He was also surrounded, and opposed on every hand, by all the disadvantages of a world laden with the ever-increasing curse.

As the Son of MAN, in addition to all this, there was "laid on Him the iniquity of us all;" He "took our infirmities, and bear our sicknesses;" He was "made a curse for us."

Thus, under all the disadvantages of the curse, and under the curse Himself, laden with the weaknesses, the degeneracy, and the sins of the race when at the brink of ruin, Christ, The Son of MAN, triumphed, just where, with all the advantages of the unhindered blessing of God, with all the advantages of open and full communion with angels, and even with the Lord Himself, and with all the advantages of perfection in himself and in all creation about

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him, Adam, the son of God, FAILED.

And in this triumph, Christ, the Son of MAN, brought this same triumph to ever other son of man in the world. Bless the Lord!

O believe Him, O receive Him.

"The Lion of Judah

Can break every chain

And give us the victory,

Again and again."

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" of Christ to be "the Son of man."
A. T. JONES.

July 17, 1899

"Conversion and Translation" The Bible Echo 14, 29 , pp. 234, 235.

THERE is a serious and very bothersome mistake, which is made by many persons.

That mistake is made in thinking that when they are converted, their old sinful flesh is blotted out.

In other words, they make the mistake

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of thinking that they are to be delivered from the flesh by having it taken away from them altogether.

Then, when they find that this is not so, when they find that the same old flesh, with its inclinations, its besetments, and its enticements, is still there, they are not prepared for it, and so become discouraged, and are ready to think that they never were converted at all.

And yet, if they would think a little, they ought to be able to see that that is all a mistake. Did you not have exactly the same body after you were converted as that of which it was composed before? To these questions everybody will promptly say, Yes. And plainly that is the truth.

And now there are further questions: Was not that flesh also of exactly the same quality as before? Was it not still human flesh, natural flesh, as certainly as it was before?óTo this also everybody will say, Yes.

Then also a still further question: It being the same flesh, and of the same quality,óit still being human flesh, natural flesh, is it not also still just as certainly sinful flesh as it was before.

Just here is where creeps in the mistake of these many persons. To this last question they are inclined to think that the answer would be "No," when it must be only a decided "Yes." And this decided "Yes" must be maintained so long as we continue in this natural body.

And when it is decided and constantly maintained that the flesh of the converted person is still sinful flesh, and only sinful flesh, he is so thoroughly convinced that in his flesh dwells no good thing that he will never allow a shadow of confidence in the flesh. And this being so, his sole dependence is upon something other than the flesh, even upon the Holy Spirit of God; his source of strength and hope is altogether exclusive of the flesh, even in Jesus Christ only. And being everlastingly watchful, suspicious, and thoroughly distrustful of the flesh, he never can expect any good thing from that source, and so is prepared by the power of God to beat back and crush down without mercy every impulse or suggestion that may arise from it and so does not fail, does not become discouraged, but goes on from victory to victory and from strength to strength.

Conversion, then, you see, does not put new flesh upon the old spirit; but a new Spirit within the old flesh. It does not propose to bring new flesh to the old mind; but a new mind to the old flesh. Deliverance and victory are not gained by having the human nature taken away; but by receiving the divine nature to subdue and have dominion over the human,ónot by the taking away of the sinful flesh, but by the sending in of the sinless Spirit to conquer and condemn sin in the flesh.

The Scripture does not say, Let this flesh be upon you, which was also upon Christ; but it does say, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Phil. 2:5.

The Scripture does not say, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your flesh; but it does say, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Rom. 12:2. We shall be translated by the renewing of our flesh; but we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The Lord Jesus took the same flesh and blood, the same human nature, that we have,óflesh just like our sinful flesh,óand because of sin, and by the power of the Spirit of God through the divine mind that was in Him, "condemned sin in the flesh." Rom. 3:3. And therein is our deliverance (Rom. 7:25), therein is our victory. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." "A new heart will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you."

Do not be discouraged at sight of sinfulness in the flesh. It is only in the light of the Spirit of God, and by the discernment of the mind of Christ, that you can see so much sinfulness in your flesh; and the more sinfulness you see in your flesh, the more of the Spirit of God you certainly have. This is a sure test. Then when you see sinfulness abundant in you, thank the Lord that you have so much of the Spirit of God that you can see so much of the sinfulness; and know of a surety that when sinfulness abounds, grace much more abounds in order that "as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." A. T. JONES.

July 24, 1899

"Satanic 'Reform,'" The Bible Echo 14, 30 , pp. 242, 243.

SOME time ago a leading Salvation Army man in Wichita, Kan., made a campaign for the office of mayor of that great city. And among some of the great things that he proposed to do in the way of reform if he should be elected, were the abolition of all plays and games of all sorts on Sundays; policemen to be requested to carry Bibles; ladies wearing bloomers to be fined one pound for the first offence, and to be put ten days in jail for the second offence; the city to pay the street-car fare of all who desire to attend church on Sundays; religious services to be held in the city hall on Sunday, all public officials expected to be present; the meetings of the common council to be opened and closed with prayer; a public library made up wholly of Bibles to be added to the library already existing; all stores except drug stores to be closed on Sunday; and all poor people to be supplied with drugs and medicines free of charge.

We have not heard how this man fared in the election, nor do we care, as he is only a typeóone of a vast number of such. The basis of this man's theory, as that of the whole National Reform system, is "that every one is born with moral instincts, and would not go wrong, did not opportunities beset him on all sides."

That has been the religio-political reformer's theory from the beginning. It is the theory upon which the Papacy was built, and, consistently enough, is the characteristic of the building of the image to the Papacy. It places outside of men all the responsibility for their wrong-doing. So in order that all men may be perfectly good, all that is needed is to take away all opportunities for them to do anything bad. Now if that principle be correct, then Satan himself can be made a saint by that process.

The truth is, however, that this principle is as false as any other one of Satan's inventions. By thus denying to men responsibility for any bad actions, men are also robbed of all virtue; because when men are good only by being deprived of the opportunity to be otherwise, all such goodness is altogether of a negative sort, an empty nothing.

Such is not Christianity. Such principles and such methods of reform never can come from God. The truth is that man is responsible, altogether responsible, for any wrong thing that he does. And recognising this truth, the Lord extends to all men the virtue by which to love and choose the good, and the power to do the good in the face of all the opportunities to evil that this world of evil can present.

Such are the true principles and the true methods of reform. The principle and method of Satan can be carried out, and that "reform" wrought only by the power of the state. The principle and method of the Lord, and thus true reform, can be carried out only by the power of God. All who adopt the principle of Satan depend upon legislation and the power of the state. All who adopt the principle of the Lord depend upon the power of God.

The principle and method of Satan are far developed, and are fast developing in the world, and this satanic reform is being largely put into operation all over the land

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by means of the churches and religious organisations and combinations, etc., of the whole country.

The Lord's principle and method also are growing, and true reform is being put into operation by true Christians throughout the land. And it is time that every man should be intelligently looking at this matter, and choosing on which side he will standówhether with Satan or with Christ. There is no middle ground. The enemy has come in like a flood. The Spirit of the Lord is lifting up a standard against him, and will put him to flight. This alone is the safe side.
A. T. JONES.

August 14, 1899

"WaróThe True and the False Estimate" The Bible Echo 14, 33 , p. 268.

VERESTCHAGIN is a Russian artist who paints war scenes so horribly real that rulers and generals do not like to have either the soldiers or the people see the pictures, lest they refuse to go to war. This artist has been in battle himself, and fought so well as to be honoured with the highest military decoration known to Russia. This man, who has been in it, who knows so well exactly what it is, and who can so powerfully reproduce it on canvas, thus defines war:ó

"War is the loss of all human sense, under its influence men become animals entirely. The artist looks always for passion, and passion is seen at its height on the battle-field. . . . Every hour war brings something new, something never seen before, something outside the range of ordinary human life; it is the reversal of Christianity."

And yet to-day in the United States, actually the great majority of professed ministers of the gospel hold war to be perfectly compatible with Christianityóthat Christians can go to war and still be Christians!

Read the following from a sermon on Sunday, April 30, by Rev. Frank C. Brunner, of Grace M. E. Church, Chicago, on "The Sword in American Civilisation":ó

"The sword is a great history-maker. There is such a thing as a Christian war. Such to-day is the case in the Philippines. Nothing can check the advance in the Philippines. It is the hand of God in history. The pessimists may howl about the slaughter of the innocent, and hold their anti-expansion meetings. It will avail nothing. They mistake the signs of the times. God is marching on. Some of these timid souls forget the hero is the stuff out of which divine history is made. The thunder of George Dewey's guns had the roar of a marked civilisation in them. Manila, the Venice of the Orient, is to become the hub of a new civilisation. It is to radiate the light of American intelligence to the uttermost ruin of the 1,000 islands. The crack of the rifles of General Ortis' advancing army has in it the music of the coming of the Son of man. In a hundred years that territory, equal in English miles to Great Britain and Ireland, will be under the sway of the Son of God, the fruit of the triumph of the American sword. Nothing can change the sovereignty of human history. The purpose of God is ripe in the present conflict. He who opposes the struggle hits the providence of God in the face."

Is it not high time that there was a revival of the preaching of the gospel of peace? Is there not a loud call for the message of that angel of the Revelation, "flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."

Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace, not war. His gospel is the gospel of peace, not war. The preachers of His gospel are sent to preach "peace by Jesus Christ."

These preachers that preach war are not the ministers of Christ, whatever their profession may be. General Sherman, one of the greatest warriors of modern times, in the quiet of times of peace, soberly declared that "War is hell." How can any Christian, then, go to war? How can any Christian preacher preach in favour of war? "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, has overtaken the church.
A. T. JONES.

August 21, 1899

"The Power of God" The Bible Echo 14, 34 , p. 276.

THE one great thing that all people in this world need is peace.

And the only power that can ever be sufficient, the only power that can ever satisfy, is the power of God.

The Lord knew this, and therefore sent to mankind the one great thing needed,ópower, even His own power.

This power He sent only in the gospel, for "the gospel . . . is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."

The gospel He sent only in Christ crucified; for "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

"The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but to them which are called . . . Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
A. T. JONES.

September 18, 1899

"Walking Now with Angels" The Bible Echo 14, 38 , p. 307.

Ministering SpiritsóThe Unseen MultitudeóBlind Eyes OpenedóA Divine Revelation

IN the third chapter of Zechariah, one was seen who was "clothed with filthy garments."

To those who stood before him it was said, "Take away the filthy garments from him."

Then to him it was said, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."

The prophet then said, "Let them set a fair mitre upon his head."

Then "they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments."

"And the angel of the Lord stood by."

Then said the Lord to the one who had been clothed with the garments, "If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then . . . I will give thee faces to walk among these THAT STAND BY."

AS IT WAS THE ANGELS OF THE Lord that stood by, this is but to say that to all such He will give places to walk among the angels of the Lord.

And this is not only to be so in the world to come; it is so now.

To every one who is reconciled to God, there is given "the ministry of reconciliation; as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Thus to every Christian there is given the ministry of salvation.

The angels also are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

And this is true not only of some of the angels, but of all the angels of the Lord.

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth?" etc.

And how many are there of the angels?óThere are "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." There is "an innumerable company" of them.

There are certainly many times more of the angels of the Lord than there are of the inhabitants of the earth.

And as they are all sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, it is certain that there are many of the angels where there is one individual who is an heir of salvation; there was a "mountain full" of them round about Elisha. And did not Jesus say of His little ones, "Their angels do always behold the face of My Father"?

Therefore, when we are ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, and the angels of the Lordóallóare ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, and when there are many more of them than there are of us, then are we not walking among them EVEN NOW?

Certainly we are; that is just as plain as that two and two make four.

That we do not see them with our natural eyes, as we walk and work among them, is nothing against the fact.

Elisha's servant did not see them until his eyes were opened. But they were there just as really before his eyes were opened as they were afterward. And he was among them, he was walking among them, and did not know it.

Elisha was walking among them, too, and knew it. He saw them, though they were invisible.

Therefore it is true that as certainly as we are ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, so certainly we are walking among the angels of the Lord; for they "all," "an innumerable company," are also ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

This is true whether we recognise it or not.

Then let us have the benefit of this blessed truth as we walk and work among the angels of the Lord. Let us not be as Elisha's servant, who walked among them, and did not know it. Let us rather be as Elisha, the servant of the Lord, who walked among them, and knew it.

We do know it; for the Lord says it, and it is so. Then let us enjoy it as we go.
A. T. JONES.

November 6, 1899

"Note" The Bible Echo 14, 45 , p. 363.

Alonzo T. Jones, author of "The Great Empires of Prophecy," says:ó

"In Constantinople in September and October, 1895, I met a reliable Christian man, who told me that in a conversation that he had with a Turkish judge, the judge told him that they expected as the outcome of the dealings with the powers, that they would be dispossessed of Constantinople; that after that their capital would be Jerusalem; that against them there at last they expected 'the Christian nations' to come to fight; and that then Messiah and Mahomet, would come. With the exception of Mahomet, this explanation as stated by the Turkish judge, is precisely, the thing that is spoken of this same time in the Scripture of truth."

November 20, 1899

"Christ the Example" The Bible Echo 14, 48 , pp. 378, 379.

JESUS CHRIST came into the world to bring to men the true knowledge of God; for "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." He came to reveal to men the kingdom of God,óto enunciate its principles, to manifest its spirit, to reveal its character. Of it He said: "My kingdom is not of this world." "Except

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a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." And His apostles declared: "The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."

Why was it that Jesus persistently kept aloof from all affairs of politics and the State? Was it because all things political, judicial, governmental, were conducted with such perfect propriety, and with such evident justice, that there was no place for anything better, no room for improvement such as even He might suggest?óNot by any means. Never was there more political corruptionógreater perversion of justiceóand essential all-pervasive evil of administration, than at that time. Why, then, did not Jesus call for "municipal reform"? Why did He not organise a "Law and Order League"? Why did He not disguise Himself and make tours of the dives and the gambling-dens, and entrap victims into violation of the law, and employ other spies to do the same, in order to get against the representatives of the law evidence of maladministration by which to arraign them and to compel them to enforce the law, and thus reform the city, regenerate society, and save the State, and so establish the kingdom of God? Why? The people were ready to do anything of that kind that might be suggested. They were ready to co-operate with Him in any such work of reform. Indeed, the people were so forward and so earnest in the matter that they would have actually taken Him by force and made [sic.] Him king, had He not withdrawn Himself from them. Why, then, did He refuse?

The answer to all this is, Because He was Christ, the Saviour of the world, and had come to help men, not to oppress them; had come to save men, not to destroy them. The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abusesóextortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our Example kept aloof from earthly governmentsónot because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually and must regenerate the heart.

"Not by the decisions of courts, or councils, or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established; but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. 'As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practising of the Word of God."

Now Christ is the true Example set by God for every soul in this world to follow. The conduct of Christ is Christianity. Conformity to that example in the conduct of the individual believeróthis and this alone is Christianity in the world. The conduct of Christ, the Example, was totally separate in all things from politics and the affairs of the State. Christianity, therefore, is the total separation of the believer in Christ from politics and all the affairs of the State, the total separation of religion and the State in the individual believer.

Accordingly, Jesus said to His disciples forever, "Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." John 15:19. And to His Father He said of His disciples forever, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." John 17:16. Every Christian in this world, then, must be in the world as Christ was in the world. "As He is, so are we in this world." 1 John 4:17. "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master." Matt. 10:25. The Master was always, and in all things, and by fixed design, completely separated from all affairs of politics and the State. And it is forever enough "that the disciple be as his Master."

This is the Christianity of Jesus Christ, as respects the great question of religion and the State. And, as in all the instruction from God from the beginning of creation down, it calls always for the complete separation of religion and the State in all things and in all people.
ALONZO T. JONES.

December 11, 1899

"Christian Patriotism" The Bible Echo 14, 50 , pp. 402, 403.

PATRIOTISM is the love of one's countryóthe country of one's birthóbecause it is the land of his fathers.

Christian patriotism, then, is the love if the country of the Christian's birth, because it is the land of his Christian Fathers.

What country, then, is the land of the Christian's fathers? People are Christians only because they are Christ's people. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29.

Abraham was once a Gentile, was of the nations; but he was born again, was born from above. He was once an alien; but he was naturalised into the kingdom of God, and became a fellow citizen with the saints.

In becoming naturalised into the kingdom of God, on being admitted into the heavenly citizenship, Abraham was required to get out of his country. Gen. 12:1. This requirement he at once accepted, and he "then did absolutely and forever renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty whatsoever." He obeyed and went out, "not knowing whither he went:" only knowing that be went with God, which was enough for him; and so he became the father of all them that believe.

When God called Abram out of that country, be also called him into another country, a better, even a heavenly. At that time also God promised to show to Abram that country which he had espoused, and which was henceforth his: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee."

Abram at once left his former country, but there went with him his father and his kindred. They came into the land of Haran, and dwelt there, and there Abram's father died. Now he was separated from his "country" and from his "father's house;" but Lot, his

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nephew, was yet with him, and so he was not yet separated from his "kindred."

With Lot, his kindred, Abram came into the land of Canaan. But still the Lord could not show to Abram the land that he bad promised to show him; because he was not yet separated from all. God could not show Abram the land until Abram had fulfilled all the word of the Lord: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee."

Finally, however, their substance became so great that "the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together." Abram said to Lot, "Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go the [sic.] to left. . . . Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other."

And just then God showed to Abram the land that he had promised him. "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to they seed forever." Gen. 13:14, 15. That land which was then shown to Abram was the whole world of the new earth; for it is written, "The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4:13.

Ever after that day, Abraham looked to that country. That is Abraham's country. Wherever be was in this world, he was "in a strange country;" and in this strange count he dwelt "in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." And "these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen then afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is AN HEAVENLY: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for be hath prepared for them a city." Heb. 11:9-16.

We "are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." "And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." As Abraham is the father of all them that believe, and as that heavenly country is Abraham's country, then that heavenly country is the Christian's country. As Christian patriotism is love of the Christian's country, the country of the Christian's fathers; and as that country alone is the Christian's country, the I country of the Christian's fathers; so Christian patriotism is love of the country of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and CHRIST,óthe heavenly country, "the world" of the new earth, the country which God gave in faithful promise to our father.

Are you, now, a true Christian patriot? Is that truly your country? Do you love that country above all other countries that can ever be named or thought of?

And what a country! The wilderness like Eden, and the desert as the garden of the Lord: with only joy and gladness found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. A country in which the inhabitants shall never say, I am sick; for the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. A country where the people shall all be righteous; and where the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. A country where the eyes of the blind are opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; where the lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; where in the wilderness, waters break out, and streams in the desert, A country so quiet and so secure that the people can dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. A country where the very land itself shall rejoice even with joy and singing; where for very joy the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. A country in which the tabernacle of God shall he with men, and "He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and their shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." A country where "we shall ever feel the freshness of the morning, and shall ever be far from its close."

That is the Christian's country. That is the country of our Christian fathers. Christian patriotism is love of that country.

Who would not be a Christian patriot?
A. T. JONES.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 15 (1900)

February 5, 1900

"Divine Healing" The Bible Echo 15, 6 , pp. 91, 92.

WE say again, and it cannot be said too often, Disease has its causes. And to think of getting rid of the disease without diligently and conscientiously seeking out and putting away the cause is a delusion and a snare. And any means employed to remove the disease without honestly inquiring for, and seeking to remove, the cause only deepens the delusion, and more securely fastens the snare.

Also we say again, and this cannot be said too often, God does heal disease. He does it even by a miracle. But He does not do it, and He ought not to be asked to do it, regardless of principle. He ought not to be asked to touch the disease when we refuse to touch the cause.

A woman came once to ask for prayers for healing, when the following conversation occurred:ó

"Will you please come with some others of the brethren, and pray for me that I may be healed?"

"What is the matter with you?"

"I have taken a severe cold, and it has settled on my lungs, and they pain me much."

"How long have you had the cold?"

"About a week."

"Have you done anything for it?" "No."

"What! nothing?"

"No.

"Then, my sister, prayer is not what you need at all; but a good hot bath rather. Please go at once and put yourself through a thorough course of treatmentóhot bath all over, a fomentation, a compress, or even both, over your lungs. Do that honestly, and then if necessary, we can offer the prayers that you have asked. Of course we can pray that the Lord shall make this treatment effective; but the treatment is the thing needed now."

She went and did as directed, and was not seen again for two or three days. Then, when met, she was asked,ó

"How are your lungs now?" "Oh! all right."

That was, and such as that is, Christian healingódivine healing. And if it be so that the cause of disease is beyond human reach, then, with proper Christian regard for principle, the Lord can in faith and full confidence be asked to make "every win whole," and to give perfect soundness in the presence of all. And that, too, is Christian healingódivine healing. Then, too, with proper Christian regard for principle, that person can remain well. Yet it is the truth that there are thousands of persons who will dose themselves with drugs and patent medicines, or put themselves under the power of satanic influences to be "healed," rather than put themselves through a hot bath, and take simple and sensible treatment. Only about a month ago a little baby was taken dangerously ill. The doctor prescribed such simple but effective treatment. And he was met by the mother's, "Oh, can't you give some medicine that will do it quicker than that? That is so much

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trouble!" That single incident tells the true story of multitudes.

How can such persons have God's saving health? How can they be kept from the snares of Satan, which are now laid everywhere to meet this sentiment with signs, and lying wonders, and deceiving miraclesóall to "heal" without "so much trouble."
A. T. JONES.

June 4, 1900

"After the Millennium" The Bible Echo 15, 23, pp. 363, 364 .

AFTER the wicked are destroyed, as shown in Revelation 20, He that sits upon the throne will say, Behold, I make all things new."

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea;" and the new Jerusalem, the holy city, having already come down from God out of heaven, and being thus upon the earth, it is written: "I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:3, 4.

And thus is fulfilled the promise made of old:ó

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." Isa. 65:17-19.

"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." Rev. 21:23-25.

And there the wilderness shall be "like Eden," and the desert as "the garden of the Lord." "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." Isa. 51:3.

There "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days." And even "then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." Isa. 30:26; 24:23.

There "the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick;" for "the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isa. 33:24.

There the people "shall be all righteous" (Isa. 60:21), and "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing." Isa. 35:1, 2.

There the eyes of the blind shall have been opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. There the lame man shall "leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with sons and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35:5, 6, 10.

There all shall be so quiet and so secure that the people can dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And the people, and the very places round about, shall be a blessing; yea, "there shall be showers of blessing." Eze. 34:25, 26.

There the very land itself shall rejoice even with joy and singing; and there, for very joy, "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isa. 55:12.

There "we shall ever feel the freshness of the morning, and shall ever be far from its close."

"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are I the sea, and all that are in them," are heard "saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13.

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see his face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. 22:3-5.

"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, He hath

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cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. . . . The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, He will joy over thee with singing."

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name." "And let all the people say, Amen" and Amen.
A. T. JONES.

September 17, 1900

"The Healing of Disease" The Bible Echo 15, 38, pp. 603, 604 .

THERE are to-day presented to the public many means of healing. Besides the dreadful drug medications, there are pretended faith healings, magnetic beatings, hypnotism, Christian science healings, etc., etc.

There are thousands of persons to-day who have diseases, and who so long to get rid of them that they will willingly apply anything that gives them the promise of doing away with the disease, without asking any questions as to any consequences. The only question with them is, How can I get rid of this, and in the quickest way? There are thousands of persons who are diseased,ópersons who have brought disease upon themselves, and who are keeping disease upon themselves, by their wrong methods of living; and who will adopt, and give themselves up to, anything that will relieve them of the suffering, rather than to set anything else than that they will fall under the deceptive power of the enemy, who, by curing, or apparently curing, their bodies, gets a hold upon both soul and body that nothing but the power of God Himself can break. Then why not have God to deliver them at the first?óSimply because the way of the Lord is not the thing of supreme importance with them.

And when you do go to God to be healed of disease, do not ask nor expect Him to take away the disease while you continue the cause of that disease. Bear in mind for ever that disease does not come without cause. Diseases have their causes: every one of them has its causes. Seek for the cause, and conscientiously correct that, and God will invariably co-operate with you.

To ask the Lord to heal you of disease while you are continuing the cause, is only to ask the Lord to set Himself against Himself, and work contrary to His own eternal laws and established principles: and all for your sake. For if a person is not willing to put away the cause of the disease,óyea, if a person is not willing to seek diligently and study faithfully to find out the cause, that be may honestly and decidedly put it away,óthen it is plain that his own pleasure, and not the glory of God, is his chief aim in asking the Lord to heal him. And it is plain that in asking the Lord to do so, he does it, not for the Lord's sake, but for his own sake.

It is a perfectly safe proposition that when a person has done all in his power to search out and put away the causes of his disease, and it should be found after all that the cause is beyond all human effort to remove, then if the one sole aim of his healing is the glory of God and the keeping of the commandments of God, he may with perfect confidence and full assurance of faith, ask the Lord to heal him.

And in your searching, remember that sin Is the first of all causes of disease; for if there had never been any sin, there never could have been any disease. Accordingly in the Bible, forgiveness of sin is connected with the healing of disease. "Bless the Lord, O my soul ... who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases." "The prayer

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of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." "That ye may know that the Son of man bath power upon earth to forgive sins (He saith unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."

Therefore as sin is the first of all causes of disease, all plans or means of getting rid of disease utterly miss the mark if they do not take into consideration the getting rid of sin; and the getting rid of sin as the principal thing.

For as sin is the very foundation of all the causes of disease, surely there can be complete deliverance from disease only in complete deliverance from sin. Therefore it is written of those who shall inhabit that glorious land, "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick;" and why? óBecause "the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isa. 33:24.

Again: as sin is the first of all the causes of disease, the getting rid of sin must be the chief thing in putting away the causes of disease. And as sin is the transgression of the law of God,óthe ten commandments,óthe putting away of sin as the chief of all things in putting away the causes of disease, inevitably brings every soul face to face with the keeping of the commandments as the chief of all things to be had in view in all efforts made to get rid of disease. Accordingly all efforts made to be rid of disease must be made in conformity with the commandments of God. And loyalty to the commandments of God will utterly discountenance and repudiate everythingómiracles and allóthat is offered as a means of getting rid of disease, if in any way it draws away from the keeping of the commandments of God.
A. T. JONES.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 16 (1901)

June 10, 1901

"The Power of Life" The Bible Echo 16, 24 pp. 370, 371 .

THE righteousness of God is the very essence of His character; and that is the source of the power of the gospel. It is the power of God, because thereinóin the gospelóis the righteousness of God. The ministry of the gospel is the ministry of the character of God. To you and me, as ministers of the gospel, God has given by His grace that commission to preach the gospel, to preach the power of God, to preach the very essence of the character of God, unto men; so that they shall find the essence of the character of God; and in that find the salvation which God works in the lives of men, in human flesh.

In the way of righteousness is life. It is the life of God. Is it not true that He has said that in former times we, as Gentiles, were alienated, separated from the life of God? But in Christ we are joined to the life of God: and that is eternal life. And so it is written, in John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hearth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life." Hath itónot shall have it, but hath it. As to the future it is: "Shall not come into condemnation." "But is"ónow it swings back to the presentó"but is passed from death unto life." And now we are with Him in lifeóthe life of God. Joined to Him, even as it is written, "With Thee is the fountain of life." And when we thus find His life, those connected with His life, joined to it, so that this life is our life, and there is the revealing of His power. For Jesus Christ is made an High Priest, after the power of an endless life.

I call your attention now to just that thought. There is power in life. In endless life there is more power. Our every-day life, the natural life, that is but a vapour, which appeareth for a time, and then vanisheth away. We let it go, and receive the endless life, which never vanishes away. Then since there is power in this life, power in life itself, what power is it that is of an endless life?óOnly an endless power.

So I say, the gospel is the power of God, because that in it the righteousness of God is revealed, and in the way of righteousness is life. And there is the hiding of His power, the endless power. And this endless life of God that comes in the boundless righteousness of God, is revealed in the gospel which He has given to us to preach.

Now another word about that life. Oh that I couldóand I pray God that He will cause it to be soóenable you to see this thought that I now call your attention to, of being joined to the life of God. That life of God is in Jesus Christ. He is the source of life. Brethren, there is a higher calling for us than to think that we as Christians get our life through the breath which we breathe here, as all men breathe, and the food which we eat, as all men eat. We had all that before we were Christians at all. We would have had all that if we had never been Christians. We would have breathed, ate, drank, and lived; but when God calls us to Him, to become connected with the life of God, we are lifted above the place we were before, and are joined to that boundless sea of the life of God. And there is the source of our life as Christians. God proposes so to connect us with Himself that we shall be conscious day by day, and all the time, that there is an inflowing of life from the throne of the living God to the heart and life of the believer in Jesus. Then when we have allowed ourselves to be lifted up to that place, and to receive that flow of the life of God into our lives day by day,óOh, then the power of God will be upon us! Then the power of God will be manifested in our ministry, even the endless power that belongs to the endless life of God.

But why is that given to us?óOh, for the work of the ministry. But to whom do we minister?óTo mankind. What do we minister?óO, Jesus Christ has thus brought us to the fountain of life, and connected us therewith, that we may be indeed those who shall stand between the dead and the living, to convey to the dead the life that shall cause them to live. That is what we are in the world for. It is that Jesus Christ, the living, may, by us, reach the dead with the life that measures with the life of God.

So we are ministers of life. We are called, correctly, truly, ministers of Christ. But what is Christ? Let us turn and read that beautiful passage in first John: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we

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have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." And that should be all true of you and me to-day. True, John spoke of the time when they looked upon Him in the flesh; but John did not stop with that. John looked upon Jesus Christ in the Spirit after He had left the flesh and gone to heaven; and it belongs to you and me to look upon Jesus Christ, to behold Him with our eyes as He is to-day at the right hand of God, to give forth repentance, remission of sins, to shed life to the dead.
A. T. JONES.

September 16, 1901

"Note" The Bible Echo 16, 38 pp. 600, 601 .

Speaking of a young lady who was very careful of her words, a young man said, "You know she won't talk nonsense. If you can get a girl to do that you can lead her on to almost any length. But you cannot get a start with her."

Young ladies, be careful of your words. Be pleasant, but when anyone attempts to lead you

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into small talk, don't go. A young man may like you to talk nonsense with him, or even to give him "cheek," but he doesn't respect you for it. "Let your speech be always with grace."
A. T. J.

The Bible Echo, Vol. 17 (1902)

March 17, 1902

"Sweden" The Bible Echo 17, 12 pp. 89, 90.

BY A. T. J.

Sweden is a country remarkable for the number of its lakes. Separating it from Norway runs the continuous mountain range called Kolen, or "The Keel," in which rise a great number of rivers and streams. The surface of the country falls away from Kiolen to the coast in a series of terraces, on whose level surfaces the rivers frequently spread out and form lakes, while over the edges they rush and foam and roar in the immense waterfalls for which Sweden is famous.

The lakes serve the very useful purpose of regulators to the rivers. In times of flood the water, instead of rushing at once with irresistible and destructive force to the ocean, has room to spread out over the broad bosoms of the lakes, where it is held in the immense reservoirs, to flow more gradually on its onward way, and work the numerous turbines and waterwheels that move much of the industrial machinery of the country.

The scene presented in our illustration calls to mind some of the most important industries of Sweden. There are the cows, which form a large proportion of the national wealth. And the tree,s under whose shade they are grazing, remind us of the immense sawmills that are run by the water-power furnished by the rivers, the match-making industry, and the wood pulp and paper manufactures. It is a saying in Sweden that "a tree in the morning is a newspaper in the evening." In this way the whole of the tree is turned to advantage, the sawdust, so often regarded as a nuisance, and thrown away as useless, being converted into paper and other articles.

Sweden has often figured conspicuously in European politics. She early espoused the cause of the Reformation; though, as must invariably be the case when any religion is nationalised, she failed to imbibe the spirit and principles of Protestantism. This she early showed by enforcing the Refor- () mation upon Norway, which was then a subject State.

When Protestantism in Germany was in danger of being extinguished, her adherents sent an urgent request for help to Gustavus Adolphus, the greatest of Sweden's kings. In acceding to this request, Gustavus had to face the furious fanaticism of the Emperor, Ferdinand II., backed up by the skill and cruelty of his generals, Tilly and Wallenstein. Tilly ranks with the foremost generals of history, regarded war as his business, and was indifferent to worldly honour; but his motives in this campaign are made clear when we remember that it was said of him, "The Roman Catholic Church never had a more devoted servant." Wallenstein had been brought up a Catholic, but appears to have had no faith of any sort save in astrology and in himself and his fortunes. He led an immense army, which was supported, not by salary from the emperor, but by the plunder of conquered provinces.

It was to meet these formidable antagonists that Gustavus left his country with a small army of 15,000 men. But though small it was the best drilled, best trained, and best equipped army of the time. The king had himself made improvements in the muskets and cannon, which made it possible to load and fire with much greater rapidity. By the aid of their terrible artillery they forced the passage of the Lech in the teeth of the foe, and TIlly fell, mortally wounded. But Gustavus furnishes a sad illustration of the truth that those "that take the sword, shall perish with the sword;" for, though defeating the terrible Wallenstein in a desperate battle at Lutzen, he rode almost alone into a party of the enemy, and was killed.

The area of Sweden is about 171,000 square milesóabout twice the area of the State of Victoria. The population is more than 4,500,000. The winter is long and cold, the summer short and hot. In the north, owing to the sun's shining uninterruptedly for weeks, there is an accumulation of heat that brings barley to maturity in ninety daysóexactly the time it takes on the banks of the Nile.

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. I" The Bible Echo 17, 12 p. 92 .

(Founded on Fact.)

A. T. J.

Friday night. The sound of singing near by told that a meeting had begun. But Harry Irvine, assistant teacher in the local State School, did not feel disposed to postpone the study of an interesting mathematical problem to attend the service conducted by these people.

But on this occasion a stern sense of duty impelled him to go. Had not Mr. Hart in his lecture the previous night taught a doctrine in connection with the scape-goat of Lev. 16 that was a dishonor to Christ? Harry Irvine was a theological student, and had in view as his final goal the ministry of a popular church. He must certainly defend the doctrine of his denomination against such a pernicious error. He would take advantage of the speaker's offer to answer questions.

So taking a piece of paper, he thought for a while and framed two questions as pointed and as awkward as possible. Then he left his room, passed along the street into the lecture room, and placed his question on the speaker's table before taking his seat.

The lecture began. The subject was the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But Harry kept his eye on that scape-goat question. The speaker told of the origin of the Sabbatic institution at the very beginning of history. Yes, that was all right. Mr. Hart had a voice whose softness and gentleness told of association and fellowship with Jesus, and Harry listened with real pleasure. But when the Sabbath in the New Testament was referred to, and it was shown that Christ had never hinted at a change, that He and the apostles observed the Sabbath, and that the New Testament closes without even a hint that Sunday had become the Sabbath, or that anything of sacredness had become attached to it, Harry almost ceased to breathe, and the matter of the scape-goat gradually faded from his mind.

But worse was to come. The lecturer went on to show that a base system of fraud had attempted to prove that the modern Sunday Lord's day was the Lord's day of Rev. 1:10 and that the Early Fathers kept the Sunday as the Sabbath. it was demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that the observance of Sunday was only a human ordinance.

But the worst of all was coming. Step by step the lecturer led his hearers along till they could see that the unmingled wrath of God would be poured out upon those who wilfully trampled upon His sacred day, and honoured, in its palce, the ordinance of man. It was not the words of the lecturer, but the words of the Bible, that carried conviction to Harry's mind. His hope of attaining to the work of the ministry was wrenched from him, and those only can understand the pain of the process who have passed through a similar experience.

The lecture came to a close at last, and Harry's two questions were answered. But he hardly listened. The answers were clear and convincing, but it was not the question of the scape-goat, ¹²1 but that of the Sabbath that was of supreme interest just then.

He went home and to bed, but not to sleep. For hours he lay thinking of the crisis that had come in his life. On the one side there appeared the comfortable and useful life that he hoped to pass in the ministry. This seemed nearly within his grasp. On the other, what was there? The path of obedience looked barren enough. It would be a life of toil and reproach. He would be deserted and despised by his friends. What would his parents think of it? He could scarcely see the crown of life that would be his at the end of the journey.

Could he not disregard the duty thus unexpectedly brought to his notice? That thought did not once enter his mind. God had spoken through His word. The Voice that must be obeyed said, "The seventh day is the Sabbath," and Harry did not question as to whether he should obey. But could he not obey secretly, and yet carry out his cherished plans? No; Harry could see that what he believed he must preach, and it was with a vision before his mind of his wrecked hopes that he at last fell into a troubled slumber.

(To be Continued.)

"Modern Divination" The Bible Echo 17, 12 p. 92.

A. T. J.

We take the following from the "Age" of February 26:ó

SUCCESS WITH A DIVINING ROD.

SWAN HILL, Tuesday.

Some time ago Mr. Morish, of Avoca, offered his services, free of cost, to the Kunat Progress committee to search for fresh water in this district. The offer was accepted, and Mr. And Mrs. Morish are now visiting Kunal, Goschen, and the surrounding country. Mrs. Morish has a divining rod, and by its means has indicated good water in several places. At Goschen Mr. S. M'Innes sunk a shaft 140 feet, and struck salt water. Mrs. Morish visited the places, and indicated fresh water ten chains further north. As a result of her indications several of the settlers are putting down bores.

Nebuchadnezzar wrote on arrows the names of towns to be taken, shook them together in the quiver, and drew them out one by one. This decided the order in which the towns were to be besieged. Among the ancient Britons, the priest would approach the victim of a human sacrifice, cut him down at one blow, and then according to the rule of his ancestors, would gather from the posture of his fall, the flow of blood, and the contortions of face and body, the prediction for which he was seeking. And in Victoria hidden streams of water are sought for, and discovered by the aid of the "divining rod."

We do not undertake to ridicule this plan for the relief of the drought-stricken districts. Neither do we ridicule the divination of the king of Babylon, or the priest of Briton. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar it was certainly a success. But after reading what is God's mind as revealed in Deut. 18:10-12, concerning all such means for obtaining information, the lover of God's word will have no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that the business of finding water by means of a divining rod is best let alone.

March 24, 1902

"St. Petersburg" The Bible Echo 17, 13 p. 97.

BY A. T. J.

St. Petersburg, "the window by which Russia looks," is built in a swamp surrounded by desolate wastes. Cities usually develop gradually from thickly populated districts, become villages, towns, cities, through the necessities of the people and the openings for trade or manufacture. It was not so with St. Petersburg. She stands in the midst of a dreary wilderness that stretches for hundreds of miles to the north and east, while in the south lie the marshes and forests of the Valdai Heights. You travel for 400 miles in each of these three directions without finding a single city of any importance.

But Peter the Great wanted a harbour more certain and more regularly accessible than the frozen port of Archangel on the White Sea. It is to this that St. Petersburg owes its origin, and to his iron will that it was made the city that it is to-day.

It was in 1703 that Peter began the execution of his plan. He had at that time only partially conquered the district. For hundreds of weary miles he drove a whole army of serfs, and by them foundations were laid, and piles were driven in the swampy banks of the Neva before a building could be erected. And now its population of 1,000,000 places it fifth among the cities of Europe, and it is still growing rapidly. In its palaces and government offices it possesses some of the largest buildings in the world; while its principal street, Nevski Prospekt (Neva View), three miles long, it the grandest street in Europe.

But while the swampy ground was a difficulty in the erection of buildings that could be overcome at an enormous expense, it offered a condition detrimental to health that has never been overcome. The climate is very unhealthy. The frosts are accompanied by bitter winds, and in the winter, gales laden with moisture blow from the west and keep the city miserably damp. The summer, lasting for only five or six weeks, is very hot, and a fall in temperature of 35 degrees within a few hours is not uncommon. Chest diseases are very prevalent, and deaths from this cause average over 9,000 annually. Cholera, typhus, diphtheria, and scarlet fever are common. Peter himself though possessed of a vigorous constitution, worn out by his arduous labours and the severity of the climate, died in 1725 at the comparatively early age of fifty-three years.

St. Petersburg stands a monument to the qualities of this man, but he has an even great monument in the empire itself. Russia did not amount to much when he ascended the throne. He added six provinces to her dominions. She had a disorderly, inefficient militia; he left her with a regular army well trained in European tactics: she had no port worth anything; he left her with an outlet in two seas: she had not fleet; he learned how to build one, and built it. He worked with his own hands in the dockyards of Zaandham and Debtford. He took back with him from England the most ingenious men that he could procure, to enable him to carry out his projects.

But his determination to improve the kingdom was the only thing that was allowed to influence his life. Natural affection was crushed when it came between him and his object. During his absence on a European tour, his son Alexis did all he could to undo his father's work of reform and progress. Upon Peter's return, Alexis was sentenced to death, and in recent years it has been . . . tained that the unfortunate victim was

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killed by repeated inflictions of torture.

From such a character, great in its genius, but terrible in its cruelty, it is a relief to turn to the contemplation of such a character as that of Paulóintense mental energy, indomitable perseverance, a complete sacrifice of himself to the carrying out of his plans, and with it all the spirit of gentleness that he received from Christóthe tender but powerful influence of divine love. And without this last no man is really entitled to the epithet, "Great."

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. 2" The Bible Echo 17, 13 p. 100.

(Founded on Fact)
A. T. J.

The morning dawnedóHarry's first Sabbath. He had not yet learned that the Sabbath is a delight. It came to him as a crushing, compelling force. He saw some of the members of his church pass the window, and his heart sank as he contrasted the friendly smile and salutation with which they always greeted him, with the coldness and reserve that he knew would meet him when it became known that he had begun to keep what was contemptuously spoken of as the "Jewish Sabbath."

He was not able to keep his convictions secret. True, he did not have any duties to perform on Saturday, but he had been in the habit of helping the head teacher dig his garden in the morning, and as he had been very regular in this matter he realised that his absence would be sure to cause remark. He shut himself up in his room and proceeded to study his Bible. He reviewed the argument in "Field's Handbook of Christian Theology" on the change of the Sabbath, and saw how unsatisfactory it was. Yet it seemed to him that to observe the seventh day was to go backward instead of forward. Then he remembered that Christ was the "One Lawgiver" who had spoken from Sinai. This he had learned from "Field's Handbook," pages 81 and 82. And therefore it was his Saviour who had spoken the fourth commandment, and therefore the Sabbath must be the Lord's day.

A little of the beauty and the "delight" of the Sabbath was thus revealed to him. It was beginning to appear less of a burden.

There was a knock at the front door. The mistress of the house answered the knock, then came and put her head in at Harry's door.

"Mr. Hart wants to see you," said she, looking very stern.

Harry was at the door in a moment.

"I called to see if you would like to study with me, to-day," said Mr. Hart.

That took away much of the feeling of loneliness. For two or three hours Harry sat in Mr. Hart's lodgings, while Mr. Hart opened to him the Scriptures. When he went back to dinner there was a note waiting for him, requesting his attendance at the head teacher's residence.

Harry went in fear and trembling.

"I suppose, sir," said Harry, when the teacher came to the door, "that you wonder why I did not come to dig in the garden this morning."

"Oh, no," he answered kindly.

"The fact is, sir," said Harry, "I have learned that the seventh day is the Sabbath, and I believe there is no authority in Scripture for Sunday observance; so, of course, I could not do any work to-day."

"Indeed!" said the head teacher, "that is a very serious step to take. Just come in, and I will see what my authorities have to say on the matter."

So Harry followed him into his library. Several works were consulted, but "Smith's Ecclesiastical History" was the one that was most to the point.

After reading its argument for the change of day, the head teacher said, "I will admit, Mr. Irvine, that that is very unsatisfactory." He closed the book. "But study about this matter, get advice upon it, pray about it, before you finally decide; for it will seriously injure your prospects if you decide to keep Saturday for the Sabbath."

And Harry went back to his lodgings to study and to pray.

The sun set, and brought Harry Irvine's first Sabbath to a closeóa Sabbath that had been too much filled with perplexities and harassing thoughts to be a real day of rest.

After tea Harry heard a voice at the door asking the master of the house, "Is Mr. Irvine in?"

Harry recognised it at once as the voice of his minister. "Now for it!" he said to himself as he went to the door.

"Mr. Irvine," said the minister, "at the local preachers' meeting held yesterday it was voted that you be given work in this circuit as a local preacher. I came to see if that is in accordance with your wish."

"Yes, sir," said Harry, "it was the dearest wish of my soul. But I fear I cannot take I now. Last night I learned that the seventh day is the Sabbath."

"Yes, I heard about it," said the minister. "Your chief came to me and told me of the trouble you are in. Don't think of this as a breach of confidence on his part, for he loves you as he would if you were his own son." He placed his hand affectionately on Harry's shoulder. "Young man," said he very earnestly, "look after the good of your soul, and don't bother your head about that old Jewish Sabbath."

And with this advice the minister left him.

(To be Continued.)>

"The Scapegoat" The Bible Echo 17, 13 p. 101.

A. T. J.

The service that was established in the wilderness by Moses was only a picture. In itself it was nothing. "It is not possible," says the writer of Hebrews," that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins."

This picture was produced under the direction of God Himself. To Moses He said, "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mnount." And in Heb. 8:5 (20th Cent.) we read, "These priests, it is true, are engaged in a service which is only a sketch and shadow of the heavenly realities." So whatever we see in that picture is a representation of something real in the heavenly service.

The most important feature in this ceremonial was the Day of Atonement. On that day two goats were brought (see Lev. 16), and lots were cast upon them, "one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat" (Heb. Azazel). The first was slain for a sin-offering, his blood was brought in within the vail and sprinkled on the mercy-seat; the other, laden with the sins of the nation, was led away into a land not inhabited, where it was let go. The first is a fitting picture of Christ, "who His own self bare our sins in His body on the tree"óbore them while dyingóand whose blood is ministered in the heavenly sanctuary on behalf of His people. But what of the other, the scapegoat? That could not represent Jesus too, for lots were cast to separate from the scapegoat the one that was to represent Him. And no part of His work could be pictured by a goat being led into an uninhabited land and let go there.

And where, in the plan of God as revealed in His word, can we find anything pictured by this "land not inhabited"? In the fourth chapter of Jeremiah a powerful picture of war and destruction is presented. In the twenty-fifth verse he says, "I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were fled." This was what was revealed to Jeremiah as the condition that would exist after the cities of the earth are broken down "at the presence of the Lord," that is, at the second coming of Christ. Here we have in reality that which, in the picture, is called "a land not inhabited."

In Rev. 20 we have other features of this time presented. The fifth verse gives its duration as one thousand years, and tells that the wicked are dead all that time. The fourth verse tells of the faithful in Christ, who are in heaven (Rev. 19:1). The third verse uses "the bottomless pit" as a figure for the desolate, uninhabited earth. And who is it that is let go in this "land not inhabited"? The previous verse tells us. It is "that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan." True, he is represented as being bound, but only in that "he should deceive the nations no more." From this he is bound by the circumstance of their being dead. The angel lays hold of him, but that he is free to move, that he is "let go" in the bottomless pit, is shown by the statement that he is shut up and a seal set upon him.

Satan, then, answers to the scapegoat in the picture. This is further proved by the fact that the word in the original, Azazel, is a name of the devil. (See Kitto's Biblical Cyclopedia, or any similar work.)

Jesus bore all your sins on Calvary, He bore the penalty of every sin; and if you confess them He takes them from you and you have nothing more to do with them forever. But Satan has had his part in them, and those that he has led you to commit will be visited upon him during that thousand years when he wanders up and down in the wreck that his rebellion has produced. But we must confess our sins; otherwise they will remain with us. We must give them to Christ, and leave the final disposing of them to Him. He "gave Himself for our sins." Let us make the exchange, part with the sins, let Him do as He pleases with them, and receive Him forever.

March 31, 1902

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. 3" The Bible Echo 17, 14 p. 107.

(Founded on Fact)

A. T. J.

But the battle was only begun. Next Sunday when, as usual, Harry went to church, he met the curious glances of the members with some uneasiness, though some treated him as formerly. At the close of the evening service the minister invited Harry to come to his house to study over the Sabbath question. He came, and the minister dosed him with Canright. But the worst result that followed was an attack of physical and mental indigestion.

It was a tougher fight at home. He received letters from his father and mother expressing regret at the step he had taken. After a few weeks came the usual summer vacation, and he went home. No harsh words were used; no upbraiding. It was just the expression of regret of a father and mother that their son should turn his back upon his prospects and his church. There were no Scriptural arguments used, but his parents' sorrow touched his heart and shook his allegiance to what he believed to be God's command.

Then his eldest brother presented an argument drawn from one of Dr. Cumming's works, to prove that one day was just as good as another. It was this: Adam was created on Friday, the sixth day of the creation week. This would be Adam's first day; and, therefore, Adam's seventh day, or Sabbath, would be the fifth day of creation's week. Harry did not remember that it was not Adam's work and rest that measured off the week and sanctified the Sabbath, but that it was God's. He did not know that the word "sanctify" carries with it the idea of a proclamation. (This he learned since by reference to man scriptures where the word is used in the original; e.g., Joshua 20:7; Joel 1:14; 2:15; 2 Kings 10:20, 21; Zeph. 1:7.) And as a proclamation was made, it must have been made to the only people concerned, Adam and Eve. And he did not know that when God blesses a thing, no man, nor any number of men, can do anything to change that blessing. And, therefore, every seventh day of time, reckoned from the standpoint of the week marked off by the Creator's work and rest, is blessed and sanctified, no matter what Adam may have done, or what men have done during six thousand years of rebellion against God.

Harry did not know these facts; but he did know that his parents loved him, and he loved them; he did know that they grieved over his threatened leaving of their church; he did know that it was painful to be at variance with his family, and cut off from his ambitions. And as he did not know that he loved God less than he loved is parents, he yielded.

Soon the church opened her arms to him; soon he was preaching over a very wide district where his work was always appreciated. Soon the church began to look to him as a young man who was developing into a good minister, when the current of his life, which seemed moving with certainty in that direction, was again changed. He was on a visit to a friend who was working in the same church when he picked up Mrs. E. G. White's work entitled, "The Great Controversy." He soon struck the controversy on the Sabbath. With terrible clearness the issue was again brought before him: The Sabbath of the Lord; or the sabbath of the enemy. Again the structure that ambition had raised tumbled about his ears. And the Lord led him on and disciplined him sometimes in prosperity, but often in adversity, till he was able to turn his back on selfish ambition forever. Then he was prepared to use all the energy that God had given him in any way that God would direct. He found the way often rough and thorny, and met with little ease, little applause, little temporal prosperity. But God had taught him to be content, to live for the good of others, and to look for his highest personal good in the companionship of Jesus now and eternally.

THE END

"The Contest with Baal.óNo. I" The Bible Echo 17, 14 p. 109.

A. T. J.

God was with Israel. There could be no doubt about it. Had they not drunk water that nightly flowed from the hot, dry, desert rock? Had they not seen their enemies smitten down before them by a power that was infinitely superior to their own? Had they not seen the fortifications of "the city of palm trees" fall in one mighty crash when in obedience to the Divine direction they shouted? The history of the nation from the time when their great ancestor was separated from his people was marked by unquestionable signs of the presence of God.

The people believed that they were faithful to the Lord. In very few instances could there be a sudden, determined resolve to rebel against Him. When the influence of Joshua, which had guided the nation in the path marked out by God through years of warfare and conquest, was about to be removed by his death, he warned the people against the idolatry of the nations around them. The people would not allow that it was even possible that they should ever be unfaithful to Jehovah. In earnest, firm, sincere tones there rose from the heads of that vast assemblage the answer to Joshua's warning: "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods." And they recounted the wonderful acts of mercy that their God had performed, how they had been preserved in the desert, and how their enemies had been driven out before them. They concluded with the solemn declaration, "Therefore will we also serve the Lord; for He is our God;" and they meant it. They knew that Jehovah was the only God; they loved Him for what He had done for them; they feared at the thought of His power, and they really intended to serve Him.

The service to which they there pledged themselves was the exercise of the highest manhood. It involved denial of indulgence in unnatural pleasures, and they must sternly set their faces against those excesses in which the majority of mankind have indulged or desired to indulge since the introduction of sin into this world. But in place of that which is coarse God gave them pleasures that satisfied, joys that knew no bitterness, mirth that had nothing of folly and sin, gladness, happiness, all connected with the service of God. They had sinned; but in the sacrifice of the sanctuary they beheld a picture of One who would die for their sins, and in the blood of the innocent victims whose death was caused by their sin they saw the promise of the final extermination of the pain and death that sin has caused.

But this pure religion, carried by Israel with irresistible power into the midst of nations of idolaters, was confronted by a system whose adherents covered the world, whose temples were thronged by millions of worshippers beside whom the thousands that answered the trumpet-call of God's anointed priest would scarcely be seen. The great feature of Israel's religion was love; in place of this, idolatry offered lust. Israel's God called for self-denial; Baal offered indulgence. The one system set forth purity as virtue; the other proclaimed virtue to consist in the most abandoned sensuality.

When men ceased to give glory to God they "became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Ceasing to worship God they found in their own hearts a god to worship. It was not a matter of choice, it was the operation of inexorable law upon fallen human nature. The lust that was dearest to the corrupt heart made itself appear as the originator of all things. It seemed to them that the sun was the mightiest representative of procreative power, and to him, under the name of Baal, they rendered homage. But whether as Baal among the Canaanites and Zidonians, or as Apis among the Greeks, what received their homage was not the sun, nor an animal, nor a statue, but the strongest passion of their corrupt hearts.ólust.

"Greed and Hatred" The Bible Echo 17, 14 pp. 110, 111.

A. T. J.

The world presents a spectacle of everything that should not be. The spirit of covetousness rules the nations. Every nation looks with jealous eye at the trade and the success of every other nation. And every individual (Christ's people excepted) of every nation, is looking with jealous eye at the success of every other individual. The only bond of union is the desire to get the help of others against a common foe. And so the world is divided into nations which are joined together only by national hatred. The settled policy of one these nations is told in the following statements of an eminent writer in a German magazine:ó

Everybody is for the Boers; everybody feels that the next great fateful trial amongst the peoples will be fought at sea, and that Germany will be armed for that. . . . We have no choice but by observing strict neutrality to abandon the Boers to themselves and their bravery. . . . We do no wrong to the Boeers thereby. On the contrary it will be to their future advantage. For even if they should now succumb, they are by no means dead and done with for all that. The Dutch element in South Africa will long retain its vital force, and will play a part in future world struggles which may yet bring it to the front. It is Germany's turn to-day to make profit out of the martial bravery of the Boers, and the day will come when a powerful Germany, mighty on the sea, will stand by the Afrikanders.

There is one principle recognised in this; and that principle is not sympathy, not a desire to help the weaker against the stronger, butóselfishness. And that principle dominates the German press and makes it publish fabulous stories of Britain's cruelty in the Boer war. It aims to educate the German people into an intense hatred of Britain, so that the energies of the whole nation may be turned to the development of a fleet that will rival the fleet of Britain, injure her trade, and thus leave the world's trade in the hands of Germany to the satisfying of her greed.

We are not holding up Germany as the paragon of covetousness among the nations. Every nation is animated by this principle. Almost every individual in every nation is ruled by the power of selfishness. And that power is never conquered till it submits to Jesus Christ. There is no obstruction that will stop it from carrying out its plans, if it can be removed by diplomacy, deception, and even murder. The mind cannot realise what may take place when this universal national race hatred reaches white heat. And it is daily growing hotter all over the earth.

A minister in his Sunday morning sermon recently, after reviewing the condition of things among the nations expressed himself as being glad to be able to say that he was an Englishman. He felt safe when he thought of England's ironclads and big guns and highly trained sailors. But what one nation has done, another may do. Germany's desire is for a powerful fleet with which to contend with Britain. What may result from the next great sea fight is a matter of painful uncertainty to every nation.

But while every power on earth may, and will go down, and every one that shelters himself behind their armies and navies will be destroyed, there is a shelter that is eternal. It may not at all times give the pro-

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tection that we wish, but it gives the protection that is best when judged not by the standpoint of time only but of eternity also. "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress." And when the clash of contending armies, and the roar of contending navies are heard all over the earth, then the man whose trust is in the Most High will pass the night of danger and wrath and destruction "under the shadow of the Almighty."

July 28, 1902

"Health and Temperance" The Bible Echo 17,31 pp. 241, 242.

BY ALONZO T. JONES

Without the Bible the true principles of health and temperance can no more be taught than can the true principles of anything else that pertains to man's greatest good.

God has made man that He may be glorified. He made man in His own image. He made him to be immortal, in body as well as in spirit. he has promised that the bodies of those who trust Him shall be brought from the dead, or, if living when He comes in His glory, they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and made immortal, even like the glorious body of the Son of God. "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." Phil. 3:20, 21.

Christ has bought us bodily. His salvation is a salvation of the whole man. We do not believe in that religion that looks only to the salvation of the soul separated from the body, and even at the expense of the body. In the early monasticism it was thought most meritorious to despise, to neglect, to degrade the body. He who would do this was regarded the greatest saint, because it was evidence of the supremacy of the soul. The hair went uncombed, the nails untrimmed, the body unwashed, made as filthy as possible, and tortured in different ways. All this was the way to saintship, and to the exaltation and salvation of the soul, But such is not the way of the follower of Christ; for He says, "Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

In harmony with this view, another scripture says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." God does not want anybody to be weak and sickly; He does not want any one to be sick, even. No; He wishes "above all things" that we may "be in health." But

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above all things, temperance is most conducive to healthónot temperance in the generally accepted meaning of the term, not simply abstinence from strong drink. There are thousands of people who might be considered strictly temperant so far as strong drink is concerned, but who at the same time are sadly intemperate in other things. There are thousands of intemperate temperance people. That sort of temperance which is most conducive to health is temperance in all things; and this is the temperance that the Bible demands. The Lord's wish that we may be in health is supported by the Lord's command to be temperate in all things. The Bible doctrine of health goes hand in hand with the Bible doctrine of temperance. We cannot have either without the other.

The Bible is ahead of the world on the subject of health and temperance, as it is on every other subject; and it always will be ahead. Every genuine advance that the science of temperance, hygiene, or medicine shall ever make will only be to approach nearer to the principles of health and temperance laid down in the Bible. We know that some may think this a hard saying, and perhaps may not be prepared to believe it, but it is the truth, whether or not anybody believes it. God made man, and He knows what is best for him; and in the Bible God has told man what is best for him. The closer man conforms to the directions laid down in the Bible, the more nearly he acts in accordance with his own best interests, whether moral, physical, spiritual, or intellectual.

August 11, 1902

"'How Shall We?'" The Bible Echo 17, 33 pp. 261, 262.

BY A. T. JONES

"How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

How shall we? Can you tell?

Can a man live in what he dies of? When any person dies of any disease, can he live any longer in it?óNo; that is why he diedóhe could not live any longer in it.

Having died of that disease, were he even brought back from the dead into that very disease, could he live any longer in it?óNo; he would certainly and immediately die again. A person simply can not live any longer in the thing of which he has died. This is perfectly plain to everybody.

Very well, then, have you died to sin? Have you grown so sick of sin that you died of it? Have you grown so sick of it that you could live no longer in it, and so died to it?

If you have, do not be afraid; you can not live any longer therein. Were you even taken back from that death, and put once more in the presence of sin, you would certainly and immediately die again. You could not live any longer in it, when you were there before; and because you could not live any longer in it, you died; and if you were brought back to it again, you could not live any longer in it any more than you did before.

Remember, this is being sick unto death, of sin; not sick of a few or even many particular sins, while at the same time you choose others because they are pleasing to you, and become fat and flourishing on them. In this way you can live in sin forever, and then die in it, and then die the second death for it.

No; it is not sins, so that we can die to one and live to another, that are contemplated in the Scripture; it is sin,ósin in the essence,óso that when

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you die to it, it is death indeed to sin, in every phase and of every sort. Then, being thus dead to sin, you simply can not live any longer therein. The very presence of the thing, the very suggestion of it, is death to you.

And being thus dead to sin, the Lord intends that we shall not live any longer in it. And intending that we shall not live any longer in it, He intends that we shall live ever longer without sinning.

There is power in Jesus Christ to keep the believer from sinning. There is virtue in the grace of God to hold back the believer in Jesus from serving the sinful propensities and passions that dwell in the human flesh. Praise His holy name forever and ever.

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

Are you dead to sin? Then how shall you live any longer therein?

November 24, 1902

"The Coming of Our Lord" The Bible Echo 17, 48 pp. 377, 378.

BY A. T. JONES

"And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast; the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired of him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus."

The desire of these Greeks was certainly a very natural one. They had come up to Jerusalem to worship, and had found the name of Jesus upon everybody's lips. From the highest to the lowest, from the proud and courted Pharisee to the outcast leper, from the highest priest and the chief priests, supposed to be the purest in the nation, to the abandoned sinner, all, all were talking about Jesus. Of course not all praising Him, not all glorifying Him; the chief priests and the Pharisees were most bitterly opposed to Him, and were only waiting impatiently for an opportunity to kill Him, while the common people were anxious to make Him a king. But whether it was to praise or to condemn, whether it was to kill or to make a king, the sole subject of it all was Jesus, and it was the most natural thing in the world that these Greeks should want to see the person about whom so much was made.

From that day to this, the name that has been used most in this world is the name of Jesus. The one person about whom more has been said, and of whom more has been made, than of any other person this world ever saw, is the Man Christ Jesus. True, as at the first, some have praised Him, and some have cursed Him; some have worshipped Him, while others have sought to kill Him, crying, "Crush the wretch," and often he has been wounded in the house of His friends; still the name more than all others that is used in the wide world to-day is the name of Jesus. And with those Greeks of old, we now say, "We would see Jesus."

Not, however, as they, simply because much is said of Him, neither for or against Him. But we would see Him as He is, for what He is. For even as saith the scripture, having not seen Him, we love Him (1 Peter 1:8); and because we love Him we would see Him. Having not seen Him, we love Him because He first loved us. We love Him because He loved us and gave Himself for us. We love Him for His gentle pity for sinners such as we. We love him because in "the great love wherewith He loved us" He, "His own self, bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." We love Him for his lofty humanity. We love Him for His "profound reverence for infinite goodness and truth." We love Him for

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the moral force and the benign influence of His mighty character. We love Him for his perfect goodness. For this cause would we see Him. We would see Him because ofó

"the character He bears,
And all the forms of love He wears."

Yet we would not now see Him as He is. We would not now see His visage so married more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men. We would not now see Him a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We would not now see Him oppressed and afflicted. We would not now see Him taken as a lamb to the slaughter. We would not now see Him in his travail of soul. We would not now see Him in his dreadful agony on the cruel tree.

No; we would see Him as He is. We would see Him "that liveth," though once dead, but now "alive forevermore, Amen," and who has "the keys of hell and of death." We would see Him as the disciples saw Himó"His face did shine as the sun," "and His raiment became shining," "white as the light," "exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them." We would see Him as Stephen saw Himóin glory, "standing on the right hand of God." We would see Him as Paul saw Himóshining in light "above the brightness of the sun." We would see Him as John saw Himó"His head and His hair white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters;" "and His countenance as the sun shineth in its strength." We would see Him as Isaiah saw Himó"sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," and the train of His glory filling the heavenly temple, about Him standing the bright seraphim shading their glorious faces from His ineffable glory, and crying one unto another, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isa. 6:1-4 with John 12:41. We would see Him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and would hear His might voice saying to His angels, "Gather My saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." And then and there in the midst of the church would we see Him and hear His glorious voice singing that song of promised praise to the Father (Heb. 2:12). Oh, 'tis thus that "we would see Jesus"!

And we thank God, not only for the hope that we shall see Him as He is, but also that the signs are abundant all about us that show this "blessed hope" shall be fulfilled. And the blessed promise is that we shall not only "see Him as He is," but "we shall be like Him." "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." We would see Jesus. But while so living and walking, we would never for a moment forget that he "that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." 1 John 3:3. And, even so, we would indeed see Jesus.

Australasian Signs of the Times, Vol. 18 (1903)

May 4, 1903

"What to God?óWhat to Cesar?" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 18 pp. 207, 208 .

Civil government is civil, and has nothing to do in the matter of legislation, with religious observances in any way. The basis of this is found in the words of Jesus Christ in Matt. 22:27. When the Pharisees asked whether it was lawful to give tribute to Cesar or not. He replied: "Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

In this the Saviour certainly separated that which pertains to Cesar from that which pertains to God. We are not to render to Cesar that which pertains to God; we are not to render to God by Cesar that which is God's. When Cesarócivil governmentóexacts of men that which is God's, he demands what does not belong to him; in so doing Cesar usurps the place and the prerogative of God, and every man who regards

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God, or his own rights before God will disregard all such interference on the part of Cesar.

This argument is confirmed by the apostle's commentary on Christ's words. In Rom. 13:1-9 is written:ó

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is the minister of God, a avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another for he that loveth another limb fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself.

It is easy to see that this scripture is but an exposition of Christ's words, "Render therefore unto Cesar the things that are Cesar's." In the Saviour's command there is plainly a recognition of the rightfulness or civil government, and that it has claims upon us which we are in duty bound to recognise, and that there are things which duty requires us to render to the civil government. This scripture in Romans 13 simply states the same thing in other words, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God."

The passage refers to civil government, the higher powersóthe powers that be. Next it speaks of rulers, as bearing the sword, and attending upon matters of tribute. Then it commands to render tribute to whom tribute is due, and says, "Owe no man anything; but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Then he refers to the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth commandments, and says, "If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

There are other commandments of this same law to which Paul refers. There are the four commandments of the first table of the law which say, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me;" "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image;" "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;" "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Then there is the other commandment in which are briefly comprehended all these, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

Paul knew full well these commandments. Why, then, did he say, "If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself?"óBecause he was writing concerning the principles set forth by the Saviour, which relate to our duties to civil government. He thus showed conclusively that the powers that be, though ordained of God, are so ordained simply in matters of man with his fellow-men, and to those things alone.

Further: as in this divine record of duties that men owe to the powers that be there is no reference whatever to the first table of the law, it therefore follows that the powers that be, although ordained of God, have nothing whatever to do with the relations which men bear toward God.

Therefore, it is true that the state can never of right legislate in regard to any man's religious faith, or in relation to anything in the first four commandments, a man invades the rights of his neighbour, as to life, family, property, or character, then the civil government says it is unlawful. Why? Because it is irreligious or immoral?óNot at all; but because it is uncivil, and for that reason only. It never can be proper for the state to ask any question at [sic.] to whether any man is religious or not. The sole question must ever be, Is the action civil or uncivil?

"Christian Patriotism" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 18 pp. 212, 213 .

A. T. JONES

In the second year of his reign alone, to King Nebuchadnezzar there was shown to a dream a great image, whose head was of gold, his breast and arms of silver, his sides of brass, his legs of iron, and his feet and toes part of iron and part of clay. By the word of the Lord through Daniel this was explained to Nebuchadnezzar as signifying the course of empire from that time until the end of the world.

This dream was given to Nebuchadnezzar because that, while upon his bed, thoughts had come into his mind as to "what should come to pass hereafter." From what came to pass afterward, it is evident that his thoughts upon that question were to the effect that the mighty kingdom of Babylon, which he ruledóthe head of goldówould in its greatness and glory continue on and on indefinitely. To correct this view, and to show him the truth, was the purpose of the dream.

The instruction in the dream, through the divine interpretation, was that the golden glory of his kingdom would continue but a little while, and then another would arise, inferior to his, and another, and another, and then there would be division, with all these descending in a regular scale of inferiority; and then, at last, "the God of heaven" would "set up a kingdom," and this alone would be the kingdom that should stand forever, and not be given to other people.

But Nebuchadnezzar would not accept this view of the subject accordingly, he formulated his own idea in a great image, about a hundred feet tall, all of gold fron head to feet. This image he set up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, to be worshipped, and called all his princes governors, sheriffs, captains rulers of the provinces, and people generally, to worship it.

This was a positive setting up of his own idea against that of God. This was to declare to all people that his golden kingdom was to endure forever, that there was to be no such thing as another kingdom arising separate from his and inferior to it, and after that others, descending so low as iron mixed with miry clay. No! there should be only his golden kingdom of Babylon, and it should never be broken not interrupted: but should stand forever.

In a number of points this was an open challenge to the Lord. It was the assertion that Nebuchadnezzar's idea of the kingdoms of men should be accepted as the true and divine idea, as against that of God's, which had been given. It was the assertion that the embodiment of this opposing idea should be worshipped as God. As the idea and the embodiment of it was altogether Nebuchadnezzar's, this was simply the putting of Nebuchadnezzar himself in the place of God, as the ruler in the kingdom of men, the head of all religion, and the director of all worship.

A great day was set for the dedication of Nebuchadnezzar's idea, and the inauguration of the universal worship of it. A great multitude was assembled of many peoples, nations, and languages of his wide realm. When all were assembled, a herald proclaimed:

To you it is commanded, O people, rations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, he fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

In the great assembly were three young JewsóShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And when all the others fell down and worshipped, these stood bolt upright, saying no attention to the law that had just then been proclaimed, nor to the image. They were at once reported and accused to the king. Then the king "in his rage and fury" commanded them to be brought before him. It was done. He asked them if it was true and of purpose that they had not worshipped. He then repeated his decree and the dreadful penalty. But they answered:ó

O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver as from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hands, O king. But if not, be it known onto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The furnace was heated seven times hotter than usual, and they were bound and cast into it. But suddenly the king rose up in astonishment from his throne, and cried to his counselors,ó

Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king." But he exclaimed. "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Then the king called them forth, and said in the presence of all:ó

Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent Hin angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God

God had commanded all nations to serve King Nebuchadnezzar, and that whatsoever nation would not serve him, that nation the Lord would punish. Yet here He wrought a wondrous miracle to deliver the men who had openly and directly refused to obey a plain and direct command of the king. How could this consistently be?óEasily enough. This command, this law, of the king was wrong. He was demanding a service which he had no right to require. In making him king of the nations, the Lord had not made him king in the religion of the nations. In making him the head of all the nations, God had not made him the head of religion.

But being an idolater, and having grown up amid idolatrous systems, Nebuchadnezzar did not know this. With idolaters, religion always has been, and still

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is, a part of the government. In heathen systems, religion and the governments are always united; while in the true system, the genuine Christian system, they are always separate.

And this was the lesson which God there taught to Nebuchadnezzar. In a way in which it was impossible not to understand, the Lord showed to that king that he had nothing whatever to do with the religion, nor with the directing of the worship, of the people. The Lord had brought all nations into subjection to King Nebuchadnezzar as to their bodily service; but now, by an unmistakable evidence, this same Lord showed to King Nebuchadnezzar that He had given him no power nor jurisdiction whatever in their souls' service.

The Lord thus showed to King Nebuchadnezzar that, while in all things between nation and nation, or man and man, all people, nations, and languages had been given to him to serve him, and he had been made ruler over them all, yet in things between men and God, the king was plainly and forcibly given to understand that he had nothing whatever to do. The God of heaven there taught to that king, and through him to all kings, rulers, and people forever, that in all matters of religion and worship, in the presence of the rights of conscience of the individual, the word of the king must change; the decree of the ruler is naught.

And this was written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. This is important instruction and present truth to-day. For throughout the whole English-speaking world to-day King Nebuchadnezzar's example of arrogance is being followedóand that even by those who profess to know God and to be guided by the Bible. Nebuchadnezzar's offence was in setting up his own idea, and forming it into a decree, and then enforcing it as the late. And throughout these nations to-day there are people who profess to know God and to be guided by the Bible, who have set up their own or some other one's altogether human idea of the Sabbath against God's idea of the SabbathóSunday against the Sabbath of the Lordóand have secured the framing of it into a decree, and are having it enforced as the law. But it is all wrong just as Nebuchadnezzar's assumption was wrong. And every man who will be faithful to God must say. We will not serve thy gods nor worship the image of the Sabbath which thou hast set up. And in the presence of the rights of conscience of the individual to day, the word of the ruler must change; such laws are simply naught.

Nebuchadnezzar learned his Iesson. And this truth was spread to all the nations and languages in that day and it must he spread to all in this day. Will all who to-day are following his wrong course, learn this lesson and correct their ways, as did he.

June 15, 1903

"The Millennium" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 24 pp. 284, 285 .

The word "millennium" is composed of two Latin words, mille, "a thousand," and annus, "a year," and signifies "a thousand years." Any period of a thousand years is a millennium; but that period of a thousand years designated and understood universally as "the millennium" is a certain thousand years mentioned and measured off in the Scriptures.

The particular scripture which defines the thousand yearsóthe millenniumóis Rev. 20:1-7. The connection in which this thousand years is set is such that from it can be certainly known, not the date of its beginning, but the event that marks its beginning. Also the connection in which it is set is such that from it can be certainly known what the character of that millennium is to be.

In that scripture it is said that Satan is to be bound and shut up for a thousand years, and that the saints live and reign with Christ a thousand years. "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This (living of the saints) is the first resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

By these words we know that the event that marks the beginning of the millennium is "the first resurrection,"óthe resurrection of the "blessed and holy."

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And this resurrection of the saints, this "first resurrection," is at the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for it is written: "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:15-17.

And again: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.

And again: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." Verses 22, 23.

There are many other scriptures to the same purpose, but these are enough to settle it as the truth of God that the second coming of Christ marks the beginning of the millennium, because the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection of the just, of the blessed and holy; and this resurrection, the first one, marks the beginning of the thousand yearsóthe millennium.

Here, then, at the beginning of the millennium, is the resurrection of all the righteous dead; the translation of all the righteous living; and these all are caught away from the earth. They meet the Lord, not on the earth, but "in the air;" and as all the resurrected and translated ones hitherto have done, they ascend to heaven with Christ their Lord, where they reign with Him upon the thrones of judgment for a thousand years.

What, then, of the wicked at the beginning of the thousand years, and during the thousand years? What occurs to them at the coming of the Lord? Read: "You who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8. They call for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them "from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:14-17. They are slain by the "sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Rev. 19:11-21. As it is written in another place: "The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jer. 25:30-33.

Now, since it is the truth of the word of God that the resurrection of the righteousóthe first resurrectionómarks the beginning of the millennium; since that resurrection is caused by the second coming of the Lord; and since at His coming all the righteous, dead and living, are taken away from the earth, and all the wicked upon the earth are slain, it is certain that the earth is at that point left desolate. And as the saints do not return to the earth for a thousand years, and the wicked dead do not live again until the thousand years are finished, it is certain that the earth is left desolate during that thousand years. And that is to say that, during the millennium, this earth is to be utterly desolate.

(Concluded next week.)

June 22, 1903

"After the Millennium" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 25 pp. 297 .

A. T. JONES

After the wicked are destroyed, as shown in Revelation 20, and in the previous study on this subject, "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . It is done."

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea;" and the new Jerusalem, the holy city, having already come down from God out of heaven, and being thus upon the earth, it is written: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:3, 4.

And thus is fulfilled the promise made of old: "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." Isa. 65:17-19.

"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." Rev. 21:23-25.

And there the wilderness shall be "like Eden," and the desert as "the garden of the Lord." "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." Isa. 51:3.

There "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days." And even "then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously." Isa. 30:26; 24:23.

There "the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick;" for "the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isa. 33:24.

There the people "shall be all righteous" (Isa. 60:21), and "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing." Isa. 35:1, 2.

There the eyes of the blind shall have been opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. There the lame man shall "leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with sons and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35:5, 6, 10.

There all shall be so quiet and so secure that the people can dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And the people, and the very places round about, shall be a blessing; yea, "there shall be showers of blessing." Eze. 34:25, 26.

There the very land itself shall rejoice even with joy and singing; and there, for very joy, "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isa. 55:12.

There "we shall ever feel the freshness of the morning, and shall ever be far from its close."

"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are I the sea, and all that are in them," are heard "saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13.

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. 22:3-5.

"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, He hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. . . . The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing."

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." "And let all the people say, Amen" and Amen.

July 6, 1903

"The Immortality of the Soul" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 27 pp. 319, 320 .

BY A. T. JONES

The doctrine of the natural immorality of the soul is one of the oldest and one of the most widespread doctrines that have ever been in this world. It was preached in the world before ever faith in Christ the Saviour was preached. "The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not sure die:" and from that day to this that doctrine has been believed more generally by the children of men than has the truth of God. Indeed, in our day the doctrine of the immorality of the soul has gained such favour among even those who profess the word of God as their standard of belief, that to deny it is considered by the majority of them as equivalent to a denial of the Bible itself. But, instead of such denial being in any way a denial of the truth of revelation, the fact is that the truth of revelation can be logically and consistently held only by the total and unequivocal denial of the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. This, the Scriptures plainly show.

THE RESURRECTION

There is no truth more plainly taught nor more diligently insisted upon in the Bible than this: That the future existence of men depends absolutely upon either a resurrection of the dead or a translation without seeing death at all. Paul's hope for future existence was in the resurrection of the dead. In speaking of his efforts to "win Christ," he says: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death: if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil. 3:10, 11. It was of "the hope and resurrection of the dead" that he was called in question by the council (Acts 23:6); and when he had afterward to make his defence before Felix, he declared that the resurrection of the dead was the end of his hope, saying: "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. Time and again Paul thus expresses his hope of future life.

BIBLE TESTIMONY

Nor is Paul the only one of the writers of the Bible who teaches the same thing. The resurrection of the dead is that to which Job looked for the consummation of his hope. Job 14:14, 15; 17:13-15; 19:23-27. David says: "Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken [give life to] me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Ps. 71:20. And, "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness." Ps. 17:15. And what shall we more say? For the time would fail us to tell of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Hosea, and Micah, and all the prophets and apostles, and of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for Jesus

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Himself declared that it was the resurrection of the dead of which God spake when He said, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." More than this, Jesus pointed His disciples always to the resurrection of the dead, through which alone they could obtain the reward which He promised. In John 6:39-54 we find that no less than four times the Saviour, in giving promise to those who believe in Him, sets it forth as the consummation of that belief that "I will raise him up at the last day." And in Luke 14:13, 14 we read: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and . . . thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

A LOGICAL ARGUMENT

Paul, however, gives us, upon this subject, a straightforward, logical argument, which leaves the doctrine of the immortality of the soul not a particle of ground to rest upon. The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is devoted entirely to an argument in proof of the resurrection of the dead. The apostle first proves, by hundreds of living witnesses who had seen Him after He was risen, that Christ arose from the dead. Still there were some who said, "There is no resurrection of the dead," and in refutation of that idea, he introduces three points of argument, any one of which utterly excludes the doctrine of the immortality of the soul from any place whatever in Christian doctrine.

In verse 16, his premise is, "If the dead rise not." The first conclusion from that is, "Then is not Christ raised;" then upon this conclusion follows the logical sequence. "Your faith in vain," and upon that another, "Ye are yet in your sins." From his premise,ó"If the dead rise not,óthe second conclusion is, verse 18. "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." Nothing can be plainer than that this statement and the doctrine of the immortality of the soul cannot both be true. For if the soul be immortal, as is held, it cannot perish, and, therefore, so far as its existence is concerned, it is utterly independent of the resurrection of the dead. Is it not supposed by all those who believe the soul to be immortal that all who have passed from this world in the faith of Christ, have gone to heaven, and are now enjoying its bliss?óAssuredly it is. Then, if that be the truth, upon what imaginable principle can it be conceived that they "are perished," if there be no resurrection? What need have they of a resurrection? Have they not, without a resurrection, all that heaven can afford?óUpon that theory they certainly have. Then it just as certainly appears that not one of them has perished, even though there never be a resurrection.

Over against this theory stands the word of God, that "if the dead rise not, then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." That word is the truth. Therefore it follows that if there be no resurrection of the dead, there is no hereafter for any who have ever died, or who shall ever die.

But God has given assurance to all men that there shall be a hereafter, and that assurance lies in the fact "that He hath raised Him [Christ] from the dead." Heb. 9:27; Acts 17:31. The resurrection of Christ is the God-given pledge that there shall be a resurrection of all the dead: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," and, "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Therefore it is by virtue of the resurrection of the dead, and not by the immortality of the soul, that there will be any hereafter for the dead, whether just or unjust.

(To be continued.)

July 13, 1903

"Relation of Immortality to the Resurrection" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 28 pp. 331, 332 .

The second point that the apostle Paul makes in this connection is in 1 Cor. 15 is in verse 32: "If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." On this nothing can be better than to present Dr. Adam Clarke's comment upon this same passage. He says, and the italics are his:ó

"I believe the common method of pointing this verse is erroneous; I propose to read it thus; 'If, after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it advantage me? If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.' What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgmentóno future state of rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline? Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can; for to-morrow we die, and there is an end of us forever."

That is sound exegesis, and a just comment upon the words of the apostle. As we have shown, that is the point of Paul's argument throughout, and it is the thought of the whole Bible upon this subject. But if the soul be immortal, neither Dr. Clarke's comment nor Paul's argument is sound. For if the soul be immortal, whensoever it may be that we die that is not the "end of us forever," resurrection or no resurrection. By this it is plain that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul nullifies the plainest propositions of Scripture, and is therefore false.

This view fully explains the query which Dr. Clarke propounds in his remarks at the close of his comments on 1 Corinthians 15. He says:ó

One remark I cannot help making; the doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And their successors in the present day seldom mention it! . . . There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!

From the doctor's insertion of exclamation points and his query,

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"How is this?" It would appear that he was surprised that it should be so. It is indeed surprising that it should be so. But it is easily enough explained. The fact is that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul has become so all-pervading "in the present system of preaching," that there is no room for the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. If the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be true, then the doctrine of the resurrection is indeed of no consequence. If that doctrine be true, then all need of laying stress upon the gospel doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. And although "the apostles were continually insisting on" the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and although there is indeed "not a doctrine of the gospel upon which more stress is laid," yet through the insidious, deceptive influence of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul it is that the preachers of the present day "seldom mention it," and that in the present system of preaching there is indeed "not a doctrine that is treated with more neglect." And nothing is needed to show more plainly than does this, the irreconcilable antagonism between the truth of God and the mischievous doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

THE RESURRECTION A BIBLE DOCTRINE

Paul continues his argument in verse 36: "That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." To quicken is "to make alive." What Paul says, therefore, is, "That which thou sowest is not made alive, except it die." That this is spoken directly of man and his resurrection, is plain by verses 42-44. "It is sown a natural body," etc. Now the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is, that the body properly has no life, living, sentient man; that it is that about man which alone possesses real life. In other words, the body is only the house in which the real man lives; i.e., the real "I" dwells within the "me;" and death is simply the separation of the soul from the body. Death breaks down the house, and lets the real occupant free.

According to this doctrine, there is no such thing as real death; because the body properly has no life, consequently it does not die; and the soulóthe real manóis immortal, and it cannot die; therefore there is in reality no such thing as death. If this be true, there is not only no such thing as death, but there is, likewise, no such thing as a resurrection of the dead. For, upon the apostle's premise that "That which thou sowest is not quickened [made alive] except it die," it follows that, as the body, having no life, does not die, it cannot be quickened (raised from the dead); and as the soul does not die, it cannot be raised from the dead; consequently there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead.

Therefore it stands proved to a demonstration that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is utterly subversive of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. But the resurrection of the dead is a Bible doctrine; it is the very truth of God. So then it is plain that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the truth of God; and is therefore false, deceptive, and destructive.

In a future article we will show the relation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to the second coming of Christ.

August 3, 1903

"Immortality at the Second Coming of Christ" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 31 pp. 371, 372 .

A. T. JONES

There is another doctrine of the Bible which holds just as important a place in the divine scheme as does that of the resurrection: and that is, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This likewise is subverted by a belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The subversion of this truth is, in a measure, involved in that of the resurrection, because without the second coming of Christ there would be no resurrection, and anything that destroys belief in the resurrection of the dead, by that means destroys faith and hope in the second coming of the Lord.

That the event of the resurrection of the dead depends wholly upon the second coming of Christ, is easily shown by the Scripture, which, of course, in these things is the only authority. We have before shown that the righteous are rewarded only at the resurrection; and to show plainly the connection, we will repeat a verse before quoted: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:13, 14. And of His own coming, Jesus says: "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.

WHEN DOES THE RESURRECTION TAKE PLACE

The coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the righteous dead are directly connected by Paul thus: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. And again: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:51-55.

"Then shall be brought to pass the saying." When? "At the last trump," certainly; "for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." When is it that the trump shall sound? "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord. . . . The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven . . . with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise." "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then it is, and not till then, that men shout, "O death, where is thy

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sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" But through belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, it is now sought to be made to appear that this "saying" is "brought to pass" when men die! There can be no more direct perversion of the word of God than to represent this saying as being brought to pass when men die. The first time that that doctrine was ever uttered, it was in direct contradiction of the express word of the Lord Himself. The Lord said, in the event of man's disobedience, "Thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17); and the devil said, "Ye shall NOT surely die." Gen. 3:4; Rev. 20:2.

It is not alone a perversion of Scripture to so apply the "saying" in question: it is alike a perversion of the plainest principles of reason and experience. For instance, here are death and a saint of God struggling for the mastery. Presently death obtains the mastery. The saint lies lifeless; death has the victory. When he is dead, is that a time to claim victory over death? When he is being lowered into the grave, is that a time to shout the victory over the grave? Nay, verily. But it is not to be always so. There is One who exclaims, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [the grave] and of death." Rev. 1:18. And when that glorious one "shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God," and with power that bursts the bars of the cruel grave and destroys the strength of death; then the saint arises triumphant over death, and "THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then the saint can shout exultingly, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" And, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And thrice thanks, yea, "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3.

Next week we will try to show when the righteous receive their reward.

"Not the Outside But the Inside" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 31 pp. 373 .

BY A. T. JONES

It is not what is outside of us but what is inside, that makes us Christians and keeps us so.

If you think you could be a better Christian if there were better brethren and sisters in the church, you greatly mistake. It is just the other way; if you were a better Christian, you would find better brethren and sisters in the church.

If you think you could do better if only you had better neighbours, you greatly mistake. The truth is that if you would do better, you would have better neighbours. And if you were a better Christian, you would do better. You must be better before you can do better.

Christianity does not come from ourselves, nor from anybody nor anything that is around us. It comes down straight from heaven to every soul who will receive it. And having its source in heaven, it is not and cannot be affected by anything that is of earth.

Thus the Christian has joy in sorrow, peace in perplexity, riches in poverty, society in loneliness, and friendship among strangers and even enemies.

August 10, 1903

"When the Righteous Are Rewarded" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 32 p. 385 .

BY A. T. JONES

It is not alone through the subversion of the doctrine of the resurrection, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul strikes against the coming of the Lord. The issue is directly joined. For by those who believe in the natural immortality of the soul, it is held that those who die in the Lord go straight to heaven; that they go direct to the place where the Lord is; and so they sing,ó

"Then persevere till death
Shall bring thee to thy God;
He'll bring thee, at thy parting breath,
To his divine abode."óGospel Hymns, No. 112.

And obituaries are actually written by them such as the following, which we read not long since in the "Christian Cynosure": "Alvah Palmer went to Heaven from" a certain place in New York; and then the notice went on to tell when and of what he died, etc. And Dr. Talmage, in relating how a certain saintly woman was "emparadised," tells how the chariot of Elijah was outdone; for there it must have taken some little time to turn out the chariot and hitch up the horses; but here, in this instance, the transition was all made instantaneously, without waiting for either horses or chariot! And all this when a person died! These are only notable expressions of the common idea of those who believe in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul.

Now, if these things be true,óif it be true that death brings people to God; that men and women go direct to heaven from their homes in this world, and this so instantaneously that there is no time to get ready the chariot of God, as was done when Elijah went without dying at all,ówe say if these things be true, then there is literally no place left for the coming of the Lord. It would be simply the height of ridiculous absurdity to talk about the Lord's coming to this world after people who are not here at all, but are, and have been, for years and hundreds of years, in heavenóin the very place which he leaves to come here! This is why the doctrine of the coming of the Lord is so neglected, so despised, in fact. Believing this, there is no need to believe in the coming of the Lord; indeed, it is a palpable inconsistency to believe in it. Believing this, there is no need to look, or wait, for the coming of the Lord; all there is for such to do is to wait till death shall come and take them, and so deathó"the last enemy," "the king of terrors"óis given the place and the office of Him who is altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand, of Him "that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood."

But this belief is not the "belief of the truth." There is no element of truth, in any form, in the idea of people going to God or to heaven when they die. Christ Himself said as plainly as tongue can speak, "Whither I go, ye cannot come." John 18:33. Then when His disciples were troubled because of these words He told them, in words equally plain, of the event upon which they must place their only hope of being with Him where He is, and that event is, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. And that word "that" shows positively that that is the only way in which men may ever be with Him where He is. Therefore the coming of the Lord is the Christian's hope. And the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, in supplanting, as assuredly it does, the doctrine of the coming of the Lord, supplants the Christian's hope. Then when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul sends men to heaven before the end of the world, before the sounding of the last trump, before the time when the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven and raise the dead, before He appears in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and sends His angels to gather together His electówe say when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul puts men into heaven before the occurrence of these events, it does it in defiance of the word of Christ, which liveth and abideth forever. Therefore we say it stands proved, that the belief of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, and, in that, is subversive of the truth of God.

Next week we will consider the relation of the immortality of the soul to the judgment.

August 17, 1903

"Immorality and the Judgment" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 33 pp. 395, 396 .

The judgment is one of the certainties of Bible doctrine. Time and again Jesus sets before us the awful scenes and the all-important decisions of the judgment. "I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36. "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." Luke 11:31, 32. In the parable of the wheat and tares, in the parable of the marriage of the marriage of the king's son (Matt. 22:1-14), in the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), in fact, in all his teaching, the judgment was made prominent. In Matt. 25:41-46, he sets before us a view of the very judgment itself.

The Old Testament as well as the New tells of the judgment. Solomon says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14. Daniel says: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him;

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thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10. Isaiah, David, Job, and other prophets speak of this as well as Solomon and Daniel. Even "Enoch, the seventh from Adam," prophesied of this, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15.

JUDGMENT FUTURE

This is not a judgment that is constantly going on during men's lives and completed at their death, so that then their reward is given whether for good or ill. "It is appointed unto me once to die, but after this the judgment." Heb. 9:27. Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25), not judgment already come, nor constantly going on. There is a time appointed for the judgment. "Because he hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." Acts 17:31. "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;" "in that day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to My gospel." Rom. 2:12, 16. And again: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10. It is not that alone that he has done in his direct personal acts for which he must account; he must answer for the fruit of his doings. "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jer. 17:10.

TIME OF JUDGMENT

The time when men shall receive for that which they have done, whether it be good or bad, is at the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of the world. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." "And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 11:15, 18.

Again we quote the words of Jude: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 14, 15.

With this agree exactly the words of Christ: "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. And Paul in his charge to Timothy, and to all ministers of Christ, says: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word." 2 Tim. 4:1, 2. Peter also says: "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9.

More texts might be given on these points, but these are sufficient. From these it is plain,

1. That there is a time "appointed" for the judgment.

2. That this is after death.

3. That it is the time of reward to all, for good or evil.

4. That this is called the "day of judgment."

5. That it is at the appearing and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. That then, and not till then, it is that the righteous receive their reward.

7. That the "unjust" are "reserved" until that time to be punished, that they are not punished before that great day of judgment.

Yet however plain all this may be, it is equally plain that there is not a single principle of it that the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul does not tend to subvert. For if, at death, righteous men enter immediately into their reward, and the unrighteous go immediately to the place of punishment, then where is there any possible room for the judgment? (unless perhaps the absurd idea be adopted, that men should spend hundreds of thousands of years in happiness or misery, and then be brought to the judgment to see whether they be worthy of that which they have enjoyed or suffered!!)?

This phase of the subject will be considered further next week.

August 24, 1903

"Are Men Judged at Death?" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 34 pp. 407, 408 .

BY A. T. JONES

If at death men enter immediately into their reward or punishment, as the case may be, then it follows, if there by any Judgment at all, that instead of there being a time "appointed" (Acts 17:31) for judgment, constantly going on in the life of each individual, and that that judgment closes at his death, and that he in consequence of judgment passed, enters then upon his destiny, whether for good or for ill.

It can be seen at a glance that such a view is utterly subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment. If such be the truth, then there can be no such thing as a day of judgment when the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all, because all are judged as fast as they die; there can be no such thing as Christ judging the living and the dead at His appearing and his kingdom, because all the dead have been judged when they died; there can be no such thing as the "time of the dead that they should be judged" when the seventh angel sounds, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, for all the dead will have been judged before the seventh angel shall have

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sounded; and there can be no such thing as reserving "the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished," because by this theory they are sent to punishment as soon as they die. In short, if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be the truth, the Bible doctrine of the judgment cannot be the truth.

That we do not misrepresent the popular doctrine of the immortality of the soul when we say that it puts men into Heaven or hell at death, can be proved by any one who will consult the hymn books, or the papers of the religious denominations who believe that doctrine, or listen to the average funeral discourse or revival sermon.

But that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment is not all. By virtue of that doctrine, men have usurped the seat of the Judge of all, and have arrogated to themselves the prerogative of reading into heaven whomsoever they see fit. How often we read that such and such a person is in heaven! But what right has any man to say who is worthy of a place in that bright world? Who knows the heart? None but God alone. He alone it is who pronounces upon the worthiness of men "to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead," and when men take upon themselves to read into heaven this man or that man, they are simply usurping the awful prerogative of the Most High. And only for belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, no man would ever think of it.

We repeat: It is God alone to whom belongs the right to pronounce that decision. He will pronounce it in every case, but it will be in the judgment; not at death, but at the resurrection of the dead, and before the assembled universe, and by the voice of the glorious Son of God, who hath loved us and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood; for He "hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man." John 5:27-29. Any doctrine that will lead men to thus usurp the prerogative of the Judge of all the earth cannot be the truth. This is exactly what the doctrine of the immortality of the soul does, therefore it cannot be the truth; and as it is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment, it is not only not the truth, but it is subversive of the truth.

Next week we will consider the relation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to the mission of Christ.

August 31, 1903

"Immortality and the Mission of Christ" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 35 pp. 419, 420 .

BY A. T. JONES

To put away sin and plant righteousness in its stead, is the mission of Christ to this world. That He might accomplish this, He had to make the awful sacrifice of Himself, the Creator of the universe. "Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Heb. 9:26. By the greatness of the sacrifice we may judge of the enormity of sin, and how abhorrent it is in the sight of God, and also how widely contrary it is to every principle of the government of the King of eternity. To deliver man from its thralldom He spared not His own Son. Rather than to see the blight and stain of sin upon the fair face of his universe, God gave up the "Son of His love" to die the cruel

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death of the accursed tree. John says: "He that committed sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8. The work of the devil is sin; for He says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil." Therefore when it is said that the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, it is simply expressing, in other words, that which we quoted from Paul, that Christ appeared to put away sin.

As therefore Christ's mission is to destroy the works of the devilóto put away sinóit follows that as long as there is a vestige of sin remaining, his mission is not accomplished. Whatever therefore tends to perpetuate sin, tends just so far to delay the accomplishment of the mission of Christ. And if by any means sin were made eternal, the inevitable result would be to nullify and subvert the mission of Christ.

Now that is exactly what is done by the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The very meaning of the word immortal being "not subject to death," it follows that if the soul be immortal, it must live eternally, whatever its condition may be; and from this again it follows that when the awful sentence is pronounced, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," whatsoever soul it be that shall then be unjust must live so to all eternity; which is simply to make sin eternal, and so to subvert the mission of Christ.

That sin is to be eternal is strenuously maintained by those who believe that the soul is immortal. This is shown positively in the doctrine of the eternal torment of the wicked. In fact, the belief in the eternal torment of the wicked is simply the necessary consequence of the belief in the immortality of the soul. We know, for the word of God says it, that the wicked will be punished. We know likewise, by the same authority, that they will be punished as long as they live. Now if they live eternally, it is evident that they will be in pain eternally. But the word of God says just as plainly that the wicked shall die, as it says anything at all about them. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4.

That word tells us of a time when, "Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them," shall be heard saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. This scripture can never be fulfilled if the doctrine of eternal suffering be true, or, in other words, if the doctrine of immortality of the soul be true. Again, we read of a time when "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4. If the doctrine of eternal suffering be the truth, it is literally impossible that there can ever come a time when there shall be "no more pain."

But there stands that faithful word, that there is coming a time when there shall be no more pain; there is coming a time when every voice in the universe will ascribe "Honour, and glory, and power," "unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." This is the truth of God; he has given his only begotten Son that it might be accomplished; and we have seen that the mission of the Son is declared to be "to put away sin," to "destroy the works of the devil." And the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, in making sin eternal, and in immortalising the works of the devil, frustrates the purpose of God and subverts the mission of Christ.

Next week we will consider the relation of death of immortality.

September 7, 1903

"Immortality and Death" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 36 p. 432 .

BY A. T. JONES

The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul makes the body only worthless clay, formed into a prison that binds, and fetters, and clogs the free action of the soul; while death is the friendly messenger that bursts the prison bars, and sets free the aspiring soul to seek its native sphere. One of the most influential of American preachers said lately, of one who had died, that that person was living, and more thoroughly living, to-day than any of us who are clogged and hampered and chained down by earthly impediment." This is simply the expression of the common belief of those who hold to the idea that the soul is immortal. Embodied in metre so that it can be sung, it runs on this wise:ó

"Why should we start and fear to die?

What timorous worms we mortals are!

Death is the gate to endless joy;

And yet we dread to enter there."

Now we read in the word of God, as follows: "O death, I will be thy plagues." Hosea 13:14. And again we read that "death" "shall be destroyed." 1 Cor. 15:26. Can it be that God is going to visit with plagues, and destroy, the gate to endless joy? Is He so displeased to have His creatures entering into endless joy that He is determined to destroy the very means by which they enter that blissful state? If the words of this preacher and the language of this hymn, and the doctrine upon which these are founded, be the truth, then the Lord is going to do just the thing that is here pointed out, that is, he is going to visit with plagues, and destroy, the gate to endless joy.

But this is not all. We read further of Christ: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14. Granting the claim that death is the gate to endless joy, then from this scripture it follows just as absolutely as logic can demonstrate, that the devil, having the power of death, is the gate-keeper. And so the Lord is not only going to destroy this "gate to endless joy," but He is going to destroy him that keeps it.

Nor yet is this all. Granting not only the claim, based upon the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, that death is the gate to endless joy, but also that the soul is clogged, and hampered, and imprisoned by its confinement in the body, and that it is released by death, it follows that if there had never been any death in the world no soul could have ever been set free, and there never would have been any gate to endless joy. And as it was the devil who brought death into the world, therefore, under that doctrine, to him must be accorded the honour of setting men free from this world, and of creating and opening to men the gate of endless joy. But this is the very thing that Christ says that He Himself came to do. He says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6. "I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." John 10:9. Therefore when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul makes death the gate to endless joy, and the friendly messenger that releases men from this world, it supplants the Saviour of the world, and bestows upon Satan the honor that is due to Christ.

And by all this, we lay against the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul the legitimate and logical charge that it frustrates the purpose of God, that it nullifies the mission of Christ, and that it supplants the Saviour of the world. There is a difference wide as eternity between that doctrine and the truth of God.

Next week we will try to show from what source we obtain the life.

September 14, 1903

"Christ Our Life" Australasian Signs of the Times 18, 37 pp. 443, 444 .

BY A. T. JONES

"For the wages of sin is death: and but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23. "Sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and to "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But when man had sinned, and thus brought himself under the doom of death, then Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, presented Himself, and was accepted of God, in man's behalf. God had before pronounced the penalty of death against transgression. And Adam would have died the day he sinned had not the Son of God interceded in his behalf, and presented Himself in satisfaction of the demands of the broken law of God.

But by the love of Christ and by the mercy of God, man was given the second probation, a second opportunity to attain to righteousness. Only for the mediation of Christ, the race of man would have ceased the day that Adam sinned.

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This is shown in the words of Christ: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10. Christ offering Himself in behalf of Adam is the only means by which men have life at all.ó"I am come that they might have life." But this life is only temporal. It is only extended as an opportunity for man to approve himself worthy of eternal life, that he may show himself worthy of having life more abundantly; for as Christ said, He is come that they might have life, "and that they might have it more abundantly."

The way in which men use the life which is already given, will decide whether they shall have life more abundantly, or whether they shall have life at all. The man who shows himself abusive of the trust of God, and ungrateful for His favour shown in granting this life, only shows himself unworthy of that which he already has, and much less can he be intrusted "more abundantly" with anything certaining to life.

In this view is contained the very basic principle of the lesson inculcated in the parable of the unjust steward: "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous riches, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give yon that which is your own?" Luke 16:10-12. And also in the lesson of the parable of the talents: "Unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Matt 25:29.

If men will turn to purposes of iniquity, and transgression, and sin, a life which is committed to them for a time, how can the Lord commit to them this gift for eternity? If this life, which is not their own, they will devote simply as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, to rebellion, and unfaithfulness to Him who giveth it, how shall He give to such immortal lifeóa life which, not being subject to cessation, may properly he called their own? To do so would be only to subvert His own authority and the principles of His government. Such a thing He will never do. But such as devote this life to the honour of Him who giveth it, and to righteousness before Him, to them will be given life "more abundantly" even eternal life, in which to honour and glorify Him; while from all who do not so, shall be taken away even that which they have. "Of a truth . . . God is no respecter of persons but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." Acts 10:34, 35.

Nest week we will examine some scriptures which teach what the fate of the wicked will be.

September 21, 1903

"The Fate of the Wicked" Australasian Signs of the Times 18 p. 456 .

The righteousness which is acceptable with God is the righteousness "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:22, 23. "He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." Heb. 3:9. And "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

Christ's coming to this world was not in vain. He came for a purpose, and that purpose is that those who will believe in Him may not perish, but have eternal life; and as surely as those who believe in Him shall have eternal life, just so surely those who do not believe in Him shall perish. If not, if those who do not believe in Him do not perish, then this record which He has given cannot be true. If, by virtue of the immortality of the soul, those who do not believe in Christ live as long as those who do, then where is there any point in these scriptures?

We know full well the meaning that is put upon the word "perish" by those who believe in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul; that is, that is means eternal life in misery. But no such idea is contained in the Scriptures. Eternal life is the heritage of those who believe in Christ, and of those alone. Nor will language allow any such meaning to be put upon the word "perish." That word is defined thus: "To be destroyed; to go to destruction; to pass away; to come to nothing; to be blotted from existence; to die; to lose life." This is Webster's definition of perish; and every part of it can be duplicated time and again from the Scriptures. But no part of this definition can be true if the soul be immortal.

In Ps. 37:10 we read: "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Again, in Isa. 41:11, 12, we read a promise of what the Lord will do with those who contend with the "seed of Abraham," "the friend of God;" "Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught." But to the meek, to those who learn of Christ, it is promise: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves sin the abundance of peace." "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Ps. 37:11, 28, 29. All is summed up by the Lord Jesus in one sentence, as follows: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." John 3:36. And again: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53.

If these scriptures, from the first to the last, do not show that future life is obtained only in Christ, then it would be impossible for the Lord Himself to put words together that would show such a thing. If the Lord wanted to tell men that without believing in Christ they could have no life; that without believing in Him they should perish; if He wanted to tell them that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, how would it be possible to tell them so more plainly than He has already told, in the words quoted? Yet in defiance of these plain, positive scriptures, and in direct subversion of them, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which gives to all men immortal life irrespective of Christ, is held by many professed Christians as a veritable article of Christian faith. Why is it that men will not believe the record that God has given on this subject? Why is it that they will not believe that future life is given alone through Christ? It is no light thing to disbelieve this. Many seem to think, and will even so express themselves, that it makes no difference particularly whether this be believed or not. But it does make a difference.

One more article will conclude this series.

September 28, 1903

"Will We Believe God?" Australasian Signs of the Times 18 pp. 467, 468 .

We state it as the simple truth that not to believe that eternal life for man is in Christ alone, is one of the greatest insults that can be offered to the God of heaven.

Please read carefully the following scripture, and see whether we have stated more than the exact truth:ó

"He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath risen to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Be that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:10-12.

Here is the plain statement that to believe not a certain "record" is to make God a liar. That record is just as plainly stated to be that the eternal life that is given us "is in the Son" of God, and that "he that hath not the Son of God bath not life."

Now the doctrine of the immortality of the soul causes men not to believe that record. They who believe the doctrine of the immortality of the soul do not believe that they who have not the Son of God have not life. Therefore the doctrine of the immortality of the soul "hath made God a liar," because it causes men to "believe not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God bath not life." Therefore we any that not to believe that future life is given us in Christ alone, is to insult the God

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of heaven by making Him "a liar." It does make a difference how we believe on this question for when God is made a liar, He ceases to be Jehovah. He ceases to be God.

Nor is that all; for when the Lord is thus removed from His throne Satan is put into His place. See here: In the event of man's sinning,ó

GOD SAID
"Thou shalt surely die."

SATAN SAID
"Ye shall not surely die"

Which of these told the truth? It is impossible for both to be true. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul teaches that the devil told the truth, for that doctrine teaches that there is no death, and if there be no death, then every man has life, independent of belief in Christ, which, as we have read from the word, makes God a liar. Therefore, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul sets God aside as a liar, and exalts Satan as the one who tells the truth, and as the one who is to be believed.

Here we close our investigation of this subject. These evidences certainly show that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the truth of God. We have proved by logical deduction from sound Scripture premises that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; that it is subversive of the doctrine of the coming of the Lord; that it is subversive of the doctrine of the judgment; that it is subversive of the mission of Christ; that it supplants Christ in the honour of opening the way from this world to another, and bestows that honour upon Satan; and finally, that it puts God aside as a liar, and exalts Satan to His place as the one who tells the truth.

The logical summary of all this is contained in one wordóSpiritualism. The immortality of the soul is the foundation of Spiritualism: and through the already prevalent belief of that doctrine, Spiritualism will yet lead the world to the active acceptance of every point which we have charged. Therefore, we pray all to flee this thing, and believe "the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

Australasian Signs of the Times, Vol. 19 (1904)

March 7, 1904

"Literary Value of the Bible" Australasian Signs of the Times 19 pp. 113, 114 .

BY A. T. JONES

The English language and English literature must be studied in Christian schools: "Our own tongue, second to that of Greece alone in force and copiousness:" "our own literature, second to none that ever existed." And in this field, as in every other proper one, the Bible stands preeminent.

As to the language, the English of the Bible is the purest and best English that there is in the world. There are in the Bible more pure English words, and better English words, than in any other book in the English language. Then, whoever would become acquainted with the purest and best English must study the English of the Bible.

In the English of the Bible there is more said in fewer words than in any other writing in the world. This directness and force-fulness, this true weightiness, is the characteristic of the language of the Bible above that of all other writings. And the person whose vocabulary is composed most fully of the words, the phraseology, and the forthrightness of the Bible, will be the most direct and forcible speaker or writer, will be able to say most in fewest words.

The Bible holds such an immense advantage over all other matter in English that to it it belongs by true merit to be the beginning of all study in English literature, and the basis and guide of all study of English literature in other books. Yet this is not all. To say that the Bible is deservedly the beginning, basis, and guide in the study of English literature is not enough. The Bible in itself alone is a whole English literature. This truth has been best expressed by Macaulay, in his allusion to the Bible as "that stupendous work, the English Bibleóa book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power."óEssay of Dryden.

No one who is acquainted with the English Bible, and the spirit of it, and with other literature in English, will question for a moment this estimate of the wealth of the Bible as English literature. In the Bible there is every phase of literature that is involved in the art of human expression, or in the portrayal of human feeling. And the transcendent merit of the Bible in all this is that it is all true. Its scenes are all adopted from real life, and are drawn to the life. They are not "founded on fact;" they are fact.

Truth and Fiction

Or the other hand, bow much of that which is studied to-day as English literature, in the schools, colleges, and universities, is true? Is not nine-tenths of if fiction? And is it not the fictional that stands the highest in these schools, as literature? What can give a man prominence to-day in the world of English literature more quickly than the writing of a popular novel? Even a minister of the gospel, an earnest, godly, powerful minister of the gospel, never can gain the prominence, even among people who profess the gospel, by simply preaching the gospel of the word of God, that he is assured of by the writing of a popular novel; and especially if he writes two or three, and so demonstrates that he has special ability as a novelist. That is to say, his standing as a minister of the word of Cod, which is truth, is made to be dependent on his popularity as a producer of fiction!

Now which is better, which is the more Christian for Christians, or for a Christian schoolóto study English literature that is inferior in quality, and is fictional besides, or to study it in that "book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power," and which, in addition, is all the very perfection of truthóthe truth of God? To ask the question is certainly only to answer it, in the mind of every Christian and in the mind of every person who would receive a Christian education.

When this can all truly be said of the Bible as compared with the literature of Christendom, what shall not be said of it in contrast to the literature of paganism? "It has come to be generally recognised that the classics of Greece and Rome stand to us in the position of an ancestral literatureó

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the inspiration of our great masters, and bond of common association between our poets and their readers. But does not such a position belong equally to the literature of the Bible? If our intellect and imagination have been formed by the Greeks, have we not in similar fashion drawn our moral and emotional training from Hebrew thought? Whence, then, the neglect of the Bible in our higher schools and colleges?

Save Professor Moulton:ó

"It is one of the curiosities of our civilisation that we are content to go for our liberal education to literatures which, morally, are at an opposite pole from ourselves: literatures in which the most exalted tome is often an apotheosis of the sensuous, which degrade divinity, not only to the human level, but to the lowest level of humanity. Our hardest social problem being temperance, we study in Greek the glorification of intoxication. While in mature life we are occupied in tracing law to the remotest corner of the universe, we go at school for literary impulse to the poetry that dramatises the burden of hopeless fate. Our highest politics aim at conserving the arts of peace; our first poetic lessons are in an Iliad that can not be appreciated without a bloodthirsty joy to killing. We seek to Incas a character in which delicacy and reserve shall be supreme, and at the same time are training our taste in literatures which, if published as English books, would be seized by the police.

"I recall these paradoxes, not to make objection, but to suggest the reasonableness of the claim that the one side of our liberal education should have another side to balance it. Prudish fears may be unwise, but there is no need to put an embargo upon decency. It is surely good that our youth, during the formative period, should have displayed to them, in a literary dress as brilliant as that of Greek literatureóin lyrics which Pindar can not surpass, in rhetoric as forcible as that of Demosthenes, or contemplative prose not inferior to Plato'sóa people dominated by an utter pass on for righteousness, a people whose ideas of purity, of infinite good, of universal or er, of faith in the irresistible downfall of all moral evil, moved to a poetic passion as fervid, and speech as musical, as when Sappho sang of love or Eschylus thundered his deep notes of destiny."

It has been truly said of the book of Isaiah alone, that "It may be safely asserted that nowhere else in the literature of the world hate so many colossally great ideas been brought together within the limits of a single work." This can be extended to include the whole Bible, and it still be equally true.

So also the following:ó

"Even in literary form the world bas produced nothing greater than Isaiah, and the very difficulty of determining its literary form is so much evidence how cramped and imperfect literary criticism has limn made by the confinement of its antitank to the single type of literature which has tome to monopolise the name 'classical.' But when we proceed to the matter and thought of Isaiahóthe literary matter, quite apart from the theology founded on itóhow can we explain the neglect of such a masterpiece in our plans of liberal education?

"It is the boast of England and America that their higher education is religious in its spirit. Why is it, then, that our youth are taught to associate exquisiteness at expression, force of presentation, brilliance of imaginative picturing, only with literatures in which the prevailing matter and thought are on a low moral plane? Such a paradox is part of the paganism which came in with the Renaissance, and which our higher education is still too conservative to shake off."óModern Reader's Bible," Isaiah, preface, p. xxiv.

Shall it be that Christians in their education will still refuse to shake off this paganism? Shall not the supreme Christian literatureóthe Bibleóhave its own supreme place alone at every stage and in every phase of Christian education?

May 30, 1904

"Truth in a Nutshell" Australasian Signs of the Times 19, 22 p. 265 .

BY A. T. JONES

The church and the state occupy two distinctly different realms. The realm of the church is the realm of morals; the realm of the state is the realm of civics. The realm of the church is the inner life of man, and the world to come: the realm of the state is the outward life of man, and the world that is.

The state rightly constituted, and abiding within its own realm, never can interfere with the affairs of the church; and as a matter of fact, no state ever has interfered with the affairs of the church, except when it went outside of its proper realm, and assumed to itself the garb of religion. The church, abiding in its own realm, can never interfere in any way with the interests of the state; and, as a matter of fact, the church has never done so, except where she left her own realm, ascended the throne of civil power, and presumed to wield the sword of the state.

The state, within its own realm, and for itself, has a right to establish a system of education which in the nature of things must be only of this world. The church, in her own realm, must maintain Christian education.

The state, in establishing and conducting such system of education as may seem to it best, can not ask that the church shall abandon Christianity. The church, in her own realm, in maintaining Christian education, can not ask that the state shall abandon such system of education as it may have adopted; and must not antagonise the state in its chosen system of education, any more than in any other affair or act of the state within its own realm.

June 6, 1904

"'Ye Must Be Born Again'" Australasian Signs of the Times 19, 23 pp. 276, 277 .

BY A. T. JONES

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit." "A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Matt. 12:33; 7:18.

So long, and just as certainly, as a person is a child of the wicked one, the lusts of his father will he do. And just as certainly as a person is a child of God, the virtues of his Father will he show.

It all depends upon what you are. And what you are depends upon whose child you are. Look to your parentage; whose child are you?

Do you do evil things? Do you fulfil the lusts of the flesh? It is all because of your parentage and birth. But do not be discouraged: get a new parentage: get a new birth. Then, being of a new parentage, being born again, being; a new creature, being a child of God, you will "show forth the virtues of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light."

Nor is it enough to have been born again. We must be born again. It is well to have been born again, if we are born again. But for a person to have been

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born again, and yet he be not now born again,óthis counts nothing.

No; "Ye must be born again." The new birth must be continued in all its newness and power. We must be born into newness of life,ólarger experiences, new experiences, and greater grace, every day, and every hour of the day.

This is what it is to be born again, in truth. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." 2 Cor. 5:17. Are you in Christ? If so, then you are a new creature. Not you were a new creature: but you are. And being a new creature, it is easy to do new things: indeed, new things are only what are done: for "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Born of the Spirit, living in the Spirit, led of the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit, ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. This is Christian experience.

June 13, 1904

"What Christianity Really Is" Australasian Signs of the Times 19, 24 pp. 288, 289 .

BY A. T. JONES

IT is entirely too much supposed that Christianity has to do with a sort of etherialised existence, apart from the real occupations and practical things of the every day life. But this is the farthest possible from the truth.

Christianity belongs in the deepest and widest sense as a vital working force in all that can ever rightly go to make up the sum of the daily human life upon the earth. Christians are true to their name and profession when their practical conduct in all affairs of the daily life demonstrate the all pervading presence and power of the Spirit in uprightness, righteousness, and truth.

It cannot be denied that the life of Christ in the flesh on earth is the demonstration of Christianity. His was the normal Christian life, the demonstration of what it is easy for every Christian to be. Christ in human flesh put Himself in vital connection with every true and right relationship of human life on the earth. He grew up from infancy to manhood as the children of men grow; He met all that human beings in this world meet as they grow up, "for in all things it behoved Him to be made like His brethren." "He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities." He experienced human suffering, for "He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." "He was in all points tempted like as we are, so that in that He suffered being tempted He might also succour

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them that are tempted." Nor was it in the spiritual life alone that He met and identified Himself with the daily experience of human life. He worked daily as a carpenter all through the days of His youth and early manhood. This work as a carpenter brought Him into vital connection with mankind in the practical, material things that make up the daily life of the common people. He was just as truly the Saviour of the world when He was sawing boards as He was when preaching the sermon on the mount or walking on the sea. This simply demonstrates that Christianity just as truly and vitally enters into the mechanical or other physical things of daily life as it does into the divinest sermon that was ever preached.

All this was for our sakeófor us. He did it to show to us how we are to do it; to show to us exactly what Christianity is; how all-embracing is the life of faith, and how entirely it sanctifies every occupation as well as every thought of the daily life. It is the daily life of the Christian or else it is nothing to him.

Such was the Christianity of Christ, and that is the only true kind. Every soul can have it, and every Christian must have it, for only that is what Christianity really is.

The Signs of the Times, Vol. 20 (1905)

December 4, 1905

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. 1" The Signs of the Times 20, 49 , p. 592.

By A. T. J.
Founded on Fact.

Friday night. The sound of singing near by told that a meeting had begun. But Harry Irvine, assistant teacher in the local State school, did not feel disposed to postpone the study of an interesting mathematical problem to attend the service conducted by these people.

But on this occasion a stern sense of duty impelled him to go. Had not Mr. Hart in his lecture the previous night taught a doctrine in connection with the scape-goat of Lev. 16 that was a dishonour to Christ? Harry Irvine was a theological student, and had in view as his final goal the ministry of a popular church. He must certainly defend the doctrine of his denomination against such a pernicious error. He would take advantage of the speaker's offer to answer questions.

So taking a piece of paper, he thought for a while, and framed two questions as pointed and as awkward as possible. Then he left his room, passed along the street into the lecture room, and placed his question on the speaker's table before taking his seat.

The lecture began. The subject was the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But Harry kept his eye on that scape-goat question. The speaker told of the origin of the Sabbatic institution at the very beginning of history. Yes, that was all right. Mr. Hart had a voice whose softness and gentleness told of association and fellowship with Jesus, and Harry listened with real pleasure. But when the Sabbath in the New Testament was referred to, and it was shown that Christ had never hinted at a change, that He and the apostles observed the Sabbath, and that the New Testament closes without even a hint that Sunday had become the Sabbath, or that anything of sacredness had become attached to it, Harry almost ceased to breathe, and the matter of the scape-goat gradually faded from his mind.

But worse was to come. The lecturer went on to show that a base system of fraud had attempted to prove that the modern Sunday Lord's day was the Lord's day of Rev. 1:10, and that the Early Fathers kept the Sunday as the Sabbath. It was demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that the observance of Sunday was only a human ordinance.

But the worst of all was coming. Step by step the lecturer led his hearers along till they could see that the unmingled wrath of God would be poured out upon those who wilfully trampled upon His sacred day, and honoured, in its place, the ordinance of man. It was not the words of the lecturer, but the words of the Bible, that carried conviction to Harry's mind. His hope of attaining to the work of the ministry was wrenched from him, and those only can understand the pain of the process who have passed through a similar experience.

The lecture came to a close at last, and Harry's two questions were answered. But he hardly listened. The answers were clear and convincing, but it was not the question of the scape-goat, but that of the Sabbath that was of supreme interest just then.

He went home and to bed, but not to sleep. For hours he lay thinking of the crisis that had come in his life. On the one side there appeared the comfortable and useful life that he hoped to pass in the ministry. This seemed nearly within his grasp. On the other, what was there? The path of obedience looked barren enough. It would be a life of toil and reproach. He would be deserted and despised by his friends. What would his parents think of it? He could scarcely see the crown of life that would be his at the end of the journey.

Could he not disregard the duty thus unexpectedly brought to his notice? That thought did not once enter his mind. God had spoken through His word. The voice that must be obeyed said: "The seventh day is the Sabbath," and Harry did not question as to whether he should obey. But could he not obey secretly, and yet carry out his cherished plans?óNo; Harry could see that what he believed he must preach, fled it was with a vision before his mind of his wrecked hopes that he at last fell into a troubled slumber.

December 11, 1905

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. 2" The Signs of the Times 20, 50 , pp. 602, 603.

By A. T. J.

The morning dawnedóHarry's first Sabbath. He had not yet learned that the Sabbath is a delight. It came to him as a crushing, compelling force. He saw some of the members of his church pass the window, and his heart sank as he contrasted the friendly smile and salutation with which they always greeted him, with the coldness and reserve that he knew would meet him when it became known that he had begun to keep what was contemptuously spoken of as the "Jewish Sabbath."

He was not able to keep his convictions secret. True, he did not have any duties to perform on Saturday, but he had been in the habit of helping the head teacher dig his garden in the morning, and as he had been very regular in this matter, he realised that his absence would be sure to cause remark. He shut himself up in his room and proceeded to study his Bible. He reviewed the argument in "Field's Handbook of Christian Theology" on the change of the Sabbath, and saw how unsatisfactory it was. Yet it seemed to hint that to observe the seventh day was to go backward instead of forward. Then he remembered that Christ was the "One Lawgiver" who had spoken from Sinai. This he had learned from "Field's Handbook," pages 81 and 82. And therefore it was his Saviour who had spoken the fourth commandment, and therefore the Sabbath must be the Lord's day.

A little of the beauty and the "delight" of the Sab-

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bath was thus revealed to him. It was beginning to appear less of a burden.

There was a knock at the front door. The mistress of the house answered the knock, then came and put her head in at Harry's door.

"Mr. Hart wants to see you," said she, looking very stern.

Harry was at the door in a moment.

"I called to see if you would like to study with me, to-day," said Mr. Hart.

That took away much of the feeling of loneliness. For two or three hours Harry sat in Mr. Hart's lodgings, while Mr. Hart opened to him the Scriptures. When he went back to dinner there was a note waiting for heal, requesting his attendance at the head teacher's residence.

Harry went in fear and trembling.

"I suppose, sir," said Harry, when the teacher came to the door, "that you wonder why I did not come to dig in the garden this morning."

"Oh, no," he answered kindly.

"The fact is, sir," said Harry, "I have learned that the seventh day is the Sabbath, and I believe there is no authority in Scripture for Sunday observance; so, of course, I could not do any work to-day."

"Indeed!" said the head teacher, "that is a very serious step to take. Just come in, and I will see what my authorities have to say on the matter."

So Harry followed him into his library. Several works were consulted, but "Smith's Ecclesiastical History" was the one that was most to the point.

After reading its argument for the change of day, the bead teacher said:"I will admit, Mr. Irvine, that that is very unsatisfactory." He closed the book. But study about this matter, get advice upon it, pray about it, before you finally decide; for it will seriously injure your prospects if you decide to keep Saturday fur the Sabbath."

And Harry went back to his lodgings to study and to pray.

The sun set, and brought Harry Irvine's first Sabbath to a closeóa Sabbath that had been too much tilled with perplexities and harassing thoughts to be a real day of rest.

After tea Harry heard a voice at the door asking the master of the house, "Is Mr. Irvine in?"

Harry recognised it at once as the voice of his minister. "Now for it!" he said to himself as he went to the door.

"Mr. Irvine," said the minister, "at the local preachers' meeting held yesterday it was voted that you be given work in this circuit as a local preacher. I came to see if that is in accordance with your wish."

"Yes, sir," said Harry, "it was the dearest wish of my soul. But I fear I cannot take it now. Last night I learned that the seventh day is the Sabbath."

"Yes, I heard about it," said the minister. "Your chief came to me and told me of the trouble you are in. Don't think of this as a breach of confidence on his part, for he loves you as he would if you were his own soul." He placed his hand affectionately on Harry's shoulder. "Young man," said he very earnestly, "look after the good of your soul, and don't bother your head about that old Jewish Sabbath."

And with this advice the minister left him.

December 18, 1905

"His Life's Crisis.óNo. 3" The Signs of the Times 20, 51 , pp. 614, 615.

By A. T. J.

But the battle was only begun. Next Sunday when, as usual, Harry went to church, he met the curious glances of the members with some uneasiness, though some treated him as formerly. At the close of the evening service the minister invited Harry to come to his house to study over the Sabbath question. But the worst result that followed was an attack of physical and mental indigestion.

It was a tougher fight at home. He received letters from his father and mother expressing regret at the step he had taken. After a few weeks came the usual summer vacation, and he went home. No harsh words were used; no upbraiding. It was just the expression of regret of a father and mother that their son should turn his back upon his prospects and his church. There were no Scriptural arguments used, but his parents' sorrow touched his heart, and shook his allegiance to what he believed to be God's command.

Then his eldest brother presented an argument drawn from one of Dr. Cumming's works, to prove that one day was just as good as another. It was this: Adam was created on Friday, the sixth day of the creation week. This would be Adam's first day; and, therefore, Adam's seventh day, or Sabbath, would be the fifth day of creation's week. Harry did not remember that it was not Adam's work and rest that measured off the week and sanctified the Sabbath, but that it was God's. He did not know that the word "sanctify" carries with it the idea of a proclamation. (This he learned since by reference to many scriptures where the word is used in the original; e.g., Joshua 20:7; Joel 1: 14; 2:1; 2 Kings 10:20, 21; Zeph. 1:7.) And as a proclama-

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tion was made, it must have been made to the only people concerned, Adam and Eve. And he did not know that when God blesses a thing, no man, nor any number of men, can do anything to change that blessing. And, therefore, every seventh day of time, reckoned from the standpoint of the week marked off by the Creator's work and rest, is blessed and sanctified, no matter what Adam may have done, or what men have done during six thousand years of rebellion against God.

Harry did not know these facts; but he did know that his parents loved him, and he loved them; he did know that they grieved over his threatened leaving of their church; he did know that it was painful to be at variance with his family, and cut off from, his ambitions. And as he did not know that he loved God less than he loved his parents, he yielded.

Soon the church opened her arms to him; soon he was preaching over a very wide district where his work was always appreciated. Soon the church began to look to him as a young man who was developing into good minister, when the current of his life, which seemed moving with certainty in that direction, was again changed. He was on a visit to a friend who was working in the same church when he picked up Mrs. E. G. White's work entitled, "The Great Controversy." He soon struck the controversy on the Sabbath. With terrible clearness the issue was again brought before him: The Sabbath of the Lord; or the sabbath of the enemy. Again the structure that ambition had raised tumbled about his ears. And the Lord led him on and disciplined him sometimes in prosperity, but often in adversity, till he was able to turn his back on selfish ambition forever. Then he was prepared to use all the energy that God had given him in any way that God would direct. He found the way often rough and thorny, and met with little ease, little applause, little temporal prosperity. But God had taught him to be content, to live for the good of others, and to look for his highest personal good in the companionship of Jesus now and eternally.

The Signs of the Times, Vol. 21 (1906)

January 22, 1906

"Freedom of Choice" The Signs of the Times 21, 3 , p. 25.

"One man esteemeth one day above another." Romans 14:5.

THAT touches a question that is rife everywhere to-day: the question of compelling people to observe a certain day and in a certain day, the regarding of one day above another, God says to all people, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." So you see any day regarded not to the Lord is not truly regarded at all: for there is nothing in it truly to regard. Therefore, since the observance of a day is a matter that pertains to God, and lies between God and the individual's faith and conscience, any observance of a Sabbath or rest-day enforced by law, by statute, by police, judge, court, or prosecution, is an invasion of the province of God and the realm of faith and conscience in the first instance; and in the second instance, is not the observance of the day and never can be.

That repeats the original truth that is expressed in Genesis and all the way through the book. The observance of a day, the observance of a Sabbath or a rest-day, pertains to God; and to the relationship between God and the individual faith and conscience. God has appointed a day, that is true. He calls upon all people to observe that day, that is true. But in the original freedom in which He has created man, any man is free to choose not to do it just as he is free to choose not to believe His word.

And when any man chooses not to regard the day that God appointed, his responsibility for it is to God alone, and not to any man, to any set of men, to any legislature, or to any court on earth. Therefore by the word of God all this campaign that covers the whole land, yes, covers all Christendom, that is seeking for law, more and more law, to compel the observance of a day, whether it be Sunday or any other dayóeven if it were the day that God has appointedóis a direct invasion of the province of God and of the realm of faith and conscience; and must be repudiated by every Christian; by every one who would respect the sovereignty of God and the freedom of faith and conscienceóin a word, by every soul who would regard religious liberty.

Service to God must be chosen to be true and acceptable. When it is not freely chosen and is compelled, such compulsory and constrained service is only sin. As the leading church historian has expressed it, "The truth itself forced on man otherwise than by its own inward power, becomes falsehood." Thus the truth cannot be forced upon men. For it to be to men the truth that it really is, it must be received upon their personal choice freely made: and when men simply cannot be compelled to obey the truth, much less should they be compelled to obey lies.

Friends and people all, let us open our eyes and look at things as they are, in the light of the truth as God has given it. Let us recognise God in His true place, and the freedom which He has given to every soul. And let us ever remember in behalf of all people that charter of religious liberty from God: "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master be standeth or falleth." Let us all seek ever the true way of the love of God shed abroad in the heart for all people in the world: seeking by all means of loving-kindness and long-suffering to truly represent Him who introduced Christianity into the world with the divine watchword: "On earth, peace: good will toward men," and thus be true representatives of true religious liberty.óA. T. Jones.

"Note" The Signs of the Times 21, 3 , p. 31.

When any nation, any state, any people or government, puts itself between men and God, and undertaken to decide in the matter of religion and faith, and presumes to put upon man against his choice what some men say that the recognised religion shall be, then such is not religion at all: it is iniquity.óA. T. Jones.

April 30, 1906

"'In All Things Like'" The Signs of the Times 21, 17 , pp. 198, 199.

BY A. T. JONES

IT should be particularly noted that in the first and second chapters of Hebrew the thought and discussion concerning the person of Christ is especially as to nature and substance. In Phil. 2:5-8, there is presented the thought of Christ's relationship to God and to man, especially as to nature and form. Thus: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:5-8, and R.V.

When Jesus emptied Himself, He became man; and God was revealed in the Man. When Jesus emptied Himself, on the one side man appeared, and on the other side God appeared. Thus, in Him God and man meet in peace, and become one; "for He is our peace, who hath made both [God and man] one. . . . having abolished in His flesh the enmity. . . . to make in Himself of twain [God and man] one new man, so making peace." Eph. 2:14, 15.

He who was in the form of God took the form of man.

He who was equal with God became equal with man.

He who was Creator and Lord, became creature and servant.

He who was in the likeness of God, was made in the likeness of man.

He who was God, and Spirit, was made man, and flesh. John 1:1, 14.

Nor is this true only as to form; it is true as to substance. For, Christ was like God in the sense of being of the nature, in very substance, of God. He was made in the likeness of men, in the sense of being like men, in the nature and very substance of men.

Christ was God. He became man. And when He became man, He was man as really as He was God.

He became man in order that He might redeem man.

He came to man where man is, to bring man to Him where He was and is.

And in order to redeem man from what man is, He was made what man is:ó

Man is flesh. Gen. 6:3; John 3:6. "And the Word was made flesh." John 1:14; Heb. 2:14.

Man is under the law. Rom. 3:19. Christ was "made under the law." Gal. 4:4.

Man is under the curse. Gal. 3:10; Zech. 5:1-4, "Christ was made a curse." Gal. 3:13.

Man is sold under sin (Rom. 7:14) and laden with iniquity. Isa. 1:4. And "the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isa. 53:6.

Man is "a body of sin." Rom. 6:6. And God "hath made Him to be sin." 2 Cor. 5:21.

Thus, literally, "in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren."

Yet it must never be forgotten, it must be borne in mind and heart constantly and forever, that in none of this as to man, the flesh, sin, and the curse was Christ ever of Himself or of His own original nature or fault. All this He "was made." "He took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."

And in all this Christ was "made" what, before, He was not in order that the man might be made now and forever what he is not.

Christ was the Son of God. He became the Son of man that the sons of men might become the sons of God. Gal. 4:4; 1 John 3:1.

Christ was Spirit. 1 Cor. 15:45. He became flesh in order that man, who is flesh, might become spirit. John 3:6; Rom. 8:8-10.

Christ, who was altogether of the divine nature, was made partaker of human nature in order that we who are altogether of the human nature "might be partakers of the divine nature." 2 Peter 1:4.

Christ, who knew no sin, was made to be sin, even the sinfulness of man, in order that we, who knew no righteousness, might be made righteousness, even the righteousness of God.

And as the righteousness of God, which, in Christ, the man is made, is real righteousness, so the sin of men, which Christ was made in the flesh, was real sin.

As certainly as our sins, when upon us, are real sins to us, so certainly, when these sins were laid upon Him, they became real sins to Him.

As certainly as guilt attaches to these sins, and to us because of them, when they are upon us so certainly this guilt attached to these same sins of ours and to Him because of them, when they were laid upon Him.

As the sense of condemnation and discouragement of our sins was real to us when these sins of ours were upon us, so certainly this same sense of condemnation and discouragement because of the guilt of these sins was realised by Him when these sins of ours were laid upon Him.

Thus the guilt, the condemnation, the discouragement of the knowledge of sin were Hisówere a fact in His conscious experienceóas really as they were ever such in the life of any sinner that was ever on earth. And this awful truth brings to every sinful soul in the world the glorious truth that "the righteousness of God," and the rest, the peace, and the joy, of that righteousness, are a fact in the conscious experience of the believer in Jesus in this world, as really as they are in the life of any saint who was ever in heaven.

He who knew the height of the righteousness of God, acquired also the knowledge of the depth of the sins of men. He knows the awfulness of the depths of the sins of men, as well as He knows the glory of the heights of the righteousness of God. And by this "His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many." Isa. 53:11. By this His knowledge He is able to deliver every sinner from the lowest depths of sin and lift him to the highest height of righteousness, even the very righteousness of God.

Made "in all things" like unto us, He was in all points like as we are. So fully was this so that He could say, even as we must say the same truth, "I can of Mine own self do nothing." John 5:30.

Of Him this was so entirely true that, in the weakness and infirmity of the flesh,óours which He tookóHe was as is the man who is without God and without Christ. For it is only without Him that men can do nothing. With Him and through Him, it is written: "I can do all things." But of those who are without Him it is written: "Without Me ye can do nothing." John 15:5.

Therefore, when of Himself He said, "I can of Mine own self do nothing," this makes it certain forever that in the flesh,óbecause of our infirmities which He took; because of our sinfulness, hereditary and actual, which was laid upon Him and imparted to HimóHe was of Himself in that flesh exactly as is the man who, in the infirmity of the flesh, is laden with sins, actual and hereditary, and who is without God. And standing thus weak, laden with

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sins and helpless as we are, in divine faith He exclaimed, "I will put My trust in Him." Heb. 2:13.

He came to "seek and to save that which was lost." And in saving the lost, He came to the lost where we are. He put Himself among the lost. "He was numbered with the transgressors." He was "made to be sin." And from the standpoint of the weakness and infirmity of the lost, He trusted in God, that He would deliver Him and save Him. Laden with the sins of the world; and tempted in all points like as we are, He hoped in God and trusted in God to save Him from all those sins and to keep Him from sinning. Ps. 69:1-21; 71:1-20; 22:1-22; 31:1-5.

And this is the faith of Jesus: this is the point where the faith of Jesus reaches lost, sinful man to help him. For thus it has been demonstrated to the very fulness of perfection, that there is no man in the wide world for whom there is not hope in God, no one so lost that he can not be saved by trusting God in this faith of Jesus. And this faith of Jesus, by which in the place of the lost, He hoped in God and trusted God for salvation from sin and power to keep from sinningóthis victory of His it is that has brought to every man in the world divine faith by which every man can hope in God and trust in God and can find the power of God to deliver him from sin and to keep him from sinning. That faith which He exercised and by which He obtained the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devilóthat faith is His free gift to every lost man in the world. And thus "this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith;" and this is the faith of which He is the Author and Finisher.

This is the faith of Jesus that is given to men. This is the faith of Jesus that must be received by men in order for them to be saved. This is the faith of Jesus which, now in this time of the Third Angel's Message, must be received and kept by those who will be saved from the worship of the "beast and his image," and enabled to keep the commandments of God. This is the faith of Jesus referred to in the closing words of the third angel's message: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

December 10, 1906

"Critical Situation at Constantinople" The Signs of the Times 21, 49 , pp. 601, 602.

PREVIOUS studies in these columns on the Eastern Question have made it very plain that Constantinople is the chief centre of interest on the earth and in the affairs of the world, and it is one purpose of this paper to keep the people informed with reference to the progress of the great question of which Constantinople is the centre.

Correspondence of the Chicago Tribune in recent issues reveals a situation in Constantinople that is full of meaning even in the very least that may come of it; and that is fraught with possibilities that would easily and quickly end Turkish possession of Constantinople, and Turkish rule in Europe. The letter says:ó

"Although the Sultan has recovered sufficiently from his serious illness to enable him to drive once more in state to public prayers at the mosque on Fridays and to grant audience to some of the foreign ambassadors, yet he is in an alarming condition of health, being afflicted with a complication of incurable ailmentsóone of which is of a venal characteróand which are likely to bring about his death at an early date, suddenly and without much warning. To such an extent is this fact known and appreciated abroad that the principal naval powers are holding their Mediterranean squadrons in readiness to sail for Constantinople at a moment's notice, in order to be hand to protect foreign life and property during the popular disturbances which are certain to break out in the Turkish capital as soon as ever Abdul Hamid breathes his last.

"Protection of the foreign residents of Stamboul is the plea on which the foreign warships will sail through the straits to the Bosporus, regardless of the prohibitory pro visions of the Dardanelles treaty. But a still more important object of this move will be the anxiety by each one of the foreign powers concerned to prevent the others from gaining any advantage by the landing of armed forces or the seizure of strategical points from which it would be difficult subsequently to dislodge them.

"That disturbances will ensue on the death of the Sultan is inevitable, in view of the complications that are certain to arise in connection with the succession to his throne. It is no secret that he is bent upon bequeathing his sceptre to his favourite son, Prince Burhaneddin, and there is every reason to believe the stories current to the effect that he has secured the support of the Sheikh-ul-Islamóthe principal ecclesiastical and judicial dignitary of the Ottoman Empireóand of a number of the leading Turkish statesmen to the project. That the latter can be executed without bloodshed is well-nigh impossible. For Burhaneddin's accession would entail the exclusion from the succession of no less than twelve other princes, some of them his own elder brothers, and all of whose rights are prior to his own.

"According to Koranic requirements and to Ottoman law the heir apparent is the eldest surviving son or grand-son of any one sultanóthat is to say, not necessarily the offspring of the reigning padishahóand thus it happens that the heir apparent is usually the latter's younger brother or his nephew. Thanks to this rule, the prince who now stanch next in the line of succession is Reschad Effendi, a younger brother of the present Sultan, and who is stated to have lately resigned his rights to the throne in consequence of his suffering from acute diabetes. Next to Reschad comes young Prince Ahmed Youssouf, son of the late

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Abdul Assiz, and therefore a first cousin of the present ruler. Then comes another younger brother of the present sultan, namely, Suliman Effendi, then two other sons of the late Sultan Abdul Assiz, then a couple of sons of the late Sultan Murad, and several elder sons of the present Sultan."

When the situation becomes so critical that, openly against treaty provisions of the concerted Powers, the warships of these same Powers pass the Dardanelles and anchor in front of Constantinople, then that will be the most startling development that could arise short of the fall of Constantinople itself. And it is difficult to conceive how such a movement could end without the passing of Constantinople from Turkish dominion.

If this should occur while the Russian government is held powerless in the vortex of her internal troubles, it could easily come about that Constantinople would fall to some other power than Russia. And if that should occur, the general war that is certain to come would only be so much the more hastened, because of the sense of injury that would be felt by Russia in what she could hardly consider as anything else than a betrayal of her interests in the taking advantage of her helplessness. This would inevitably stir Russia to the depths of bitterness against all the other Powers, and to fierce determination to be revenged.

But whatever may come, the present situation, revealed in the correspondence here quoted, further illustrates the interminable tangle in which Constantinople and the Eastern Question are involved; and shows how ready Constantinople is to her inevitable passing from the Turkish power.
A. T. JONES.

December 31, 1906

"Sunday Enforcement is Ruinous" The Signs of the Times 21, 51 , pp. 645, 646.

By A. T. Jones

THE leaders in the Sunday movement make one of the foundation claims of their work the preservation of society, the state, the nation." It is for this that they insist upon the enactment of Sunday laws. Accordingly they are always calling for more Sunday laws. It matters not what far-reaching Sunday laws may be already on the statute books, they call for still more Sunday laws, and the more vigorous enforcement of them all round.

Yet this whole thing is one of the most pernicious of fallacies. It is not only such pernicious fallacy in principle; but it has been abundantly demonstrated to be such in practice. Every point advocated by the Sunday-law workers to-day has been weighed in the balances of practice and of experience; and has been found utterly wanting. The whole thing has been tested on a world-theatre, and has been found absolutely vain and ruinous.

The greatest example of national ruin, the most complete destruction of the State, the most thorough annihilation of society, that has ever been seen on this earth, occurred where there were the most and the most far-reaching Sunday laws. That was in the Western Empire of Rome.

In A.D. 313 the Western Empire became "Christian." In 314 the first State favour was shown for Sunday. In 321 the first direct Sunday law was enacted. And so it went on with one Sunday law after another, till by 425 every kind of secular work or amusement was strictly for bidden on Sunday. By that time, too, wickedness and corruption of every sort had multiplied in this "Christian" empire to such an extent that the judgment of God in destruction had already begun to fall unchecked.

In 351 the Franks and Alemanni swept like a fire, a space of one hundred and twenty miles from the source to the mouth of the Rhine.

In 400-403 the Visigoths carried destruction and devastation through Roumania and into Italy as far as to Milan.

In 405-429 a mighty host of Suevi, Vandals, and Burgundians ravaged Italy as far as to Florence, the

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greater part of Gaul, all of Spain, and all of Africa to Carthage.

In 408-419 the Visigoths overflowed the whole of Italy, allI south-western Gaul, and all of Spain.

In 449 the Angles and Saxons entered Britain, and never rested until "the arts and religion, the laws and language, which the Romans had so carefully planted in Britain, were extirpated;" nor until "the practice and even the remembrance of Christianity were abolished."

In 451-453 the Huns under Attila carried fire and slaughter, from the Danube to Chalons, and to Milan.

In 453 the Ostrogoths took possession of the province of Pannonia, and the Lombarus of Noricum.

In 476 Udoacer and his barbarian followers took possession of Italy and abolished the office of emperor of the West; and the Western Empire of Rome--the State, and even societyóhad been swept away by ruin upon ruin.

And that was the "Christian" Empire of Rome. That was the empire that had exhausted the subject of Sunday laws and enforced Sunday observance. That was the State that had done all this on behalf of the kingdom of God, and for the preservation and even the salvation of the State.

There is not a method of Sunday enforcement either mild or cruel that has not been in that "Christian" Roman Empire, There is not a phase of Sunday laws that has not been employed by the clerical managers of affairs in that "Christian" Roman State. There is nothing on that subject left by those for the Sunday-law clergy of to-day to discover. And the Sunday-law clergy of to-day must hide their eyes not only from the principles, but also from the practical effects of Sunday legislation of every kind, before they can go on in their pernicious Sunday-law course.

For, pernicious that course is even to the ruin of the greatest nation and State in the world. This has been thoroughly demonstrated to the last detail, and in the demonstration it has been made plain that enforced Sunday observance is the worst thing that can ever be put upon a nation or practised in society.

¹ See American Encyclopedia, article, "Armada;" also History of Protestantism, by Wylie, Vol. 3, chap. 17.

² "The great expedition sent out against England in 1511 by Philip of Spain. His principal motive for this enterprise was the desire to strike a decisive blow at the Protestant faith of which England was then the bulwark."óEncyclopedia Britannica.

³ Some of these torture instruments captured from the defeated Armada can be seen in the British Museum.

⁴ History of Protestantism, Vol. 3, chap. 16.

⁵ This expression is used by the New York Sun's Romans Catholic correspondent, writing from Rome in that paper of May 5, in praise of the pope's letter to the English people.

⁶ An address delivered at the recent General Conference.

⁷ Writings of Mrs. E. G. White.

⁸ Hefele's "History of the Church Councils," Laodicea. In both the Greek and latin copies of this canon, the word "Sabbath" is used instead of "Saturday;" and the word "anathema"óaccursedóis the one which Hefele translates "shut out." The following is the Latin: "Quod non oportet Christianos Judaizere et otiare in Sabbato, sed operari in eodem die. Preferentes autem in veneratione Dominicum diem si vacare voluerint, ut Christiani hoc faciat; quod si reperti fuerint Judaizere Anathema sint a Christo."

⁹ Quotations in this article, except when otherwise indicated, are from Dean Stanley's "Lectures on the Eastern Church."

¹⁰ I take this occasion to remark that which has already become apparent, and which becomes more and more emphatic as the history proceeds, that the term "Christian," in such connection as it is here used by Stanley, is totally misapplied. This was not an assembly of the Christian church; it was not the Christian church that united with the State. This was an assembly of the Catholic Church; it was the Catholic Church that formed the union with the State. The history of "the church" is not the history of Christianity. The history of Christianity has not been written except by the rack, by sword, and by flame; in tears, in sufferings, and in blood,óand in the books that shall be opened at the last day. Faithfulness to the authors quoted will require, in a few instances, the printing of this misapplication of the word "Christian." But the reader will need merely to note the connection, to see that the word is sadly misused; and this note will be the assurance in every such case that, though it is so printed, it is not endorsed in any such connection.

¹¹ [The above is an extract from page 4 of the tract "The Coming of the Lord" by A. T. Jones and M. C. Wilcox. 8 pages, Ωd]

¹² An article on this subject will appear in next week's ECHO.