Editorial by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jun 16, 1904

Editorial

By Editor

The Crowning Day

THE days come and go. Days multiply into weeks, and weeks into months, and months into years. Men become absorbed in the affairs of this world. The things which are seen shut out consideration of the things which are unseen. Infidel, scientists and scientific theologians proclaim “the natural order” as the ruling principle, and scoff at the idea of any such interference with natural law as would be involved in the coming of the Lord and the destruction of the world. Voicing this sentiment, the Independent (New York) prints an editorial entitled “Postponing the End of the World.” Nevertheless “the day of the Lord will come.” The scoffing of the scoffers and the increasing wickedness of the wicked are signs of the nearness of the coming day.

“Let all that look for, hasten The coming joyful day, By earnest consecration, To walk the narrow way; By gathering in the lost ones For whom our Lord did die, For the crowning day that’s coming by and by.”

Pious Selfishness

THE glory of God is the one worthy object of concern for man created in the image of God. Man was created for the glory of God. “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” The gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God,” and it restores the receiver to the place of privilege where he can glorify God. Professed Christians sometimes seem to forget these principles, and to attempt to make God glorify themselves. They think of their own salvation almost to the exclusion of working for the salvation of others. They pray for blessings upon themselves. They thank the Lord for tokens of special favor to them. They forget that all the blessings of heaven, included in the gift of Jesus that we might be turned away from our iniquities, are bestowed that the glory of God may be enhanced, and that the highest good of all created beings is found in seeking that glory. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Only the anointing of the eyes with the heavenly eyesalve will enable us to perceive the thread of selfishness which under the inspiration of Selfish-Satan is sometimes woven into our experiences of apparent humility and self-sacrifice. He who forgets self does not advertise even his humility. He who is truly seeking the glory of God will find it, and it will be found upon him. Selfishness is the dry rot of Christianity. “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” “If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

An Organized Campaign

THOSE who are viewing the trend of present-day events in the light cast upon them by the sure word of prophecy can but be impressed with the evidence of an organized campaign to overthrow the foundations of the gospel, to sow broadcast the seeds of doubt and unbelief concerning the fundamentals of the plan of salvation, and to prepare the way for the crowning deception of Satan when he will appear in person claiming to be the long-looked-for Saviour. The indications of such a campaign are to be found on every hand. The warfare against genuine Christianity is not a desultory one, with an untrained straggler here and there shooting at random, but on the contrary both in the Old World and in the New the attacks upon the Christian faith supplement each other in such a marked manner as to make it clear that it is an organized campaign under the inspiration of the master mind of Satan himself. The proof of this is not found in any public announcement of the fact, but the evidence is similar to that which was adduced by Abraham Lincoln in his answer to the denial of Douglas that there was any pro-slavery conspiracy. With his characteristic keenness of perception and ability to reduce a heavy argument to the compass of the common mind, he said: “When people saw Stephen and Franklin and Roger and James each working independently, as they proclaimed, turning out mortised timbers which fitted perfectly together to complete the framework of a house, with not a stick wanting and not a stick superfluous, it was natural to conclude that Stephen and Franklin and Roger and James were operating according to a common plan.” In like manner when we see men attempting to remove, one after the other, the timbers which support the platform of truth, and especially the special message for this time, we may know that a definite purpose is being carried out. This purpose is to cast down the eternal Son from his rightful place in the gospel, and to substitute the god of this world in his place. Apparently diverse efforts all aim at this one thing. They seek to prevent lost sinners from beholding “the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world,” and from preparing for the coming of our rightful King. “The sophistries regarding God and nature that are flooding the world with skepticism, are the inspiration of the fallen foe, who is himself a Bible student, who knows the truth that it is essential for the people to receive, and whose study it is to divert minds from the great truths given to prepare them for what is coming upon the world.” The third angel’s message is God’s answer to this organized campaign. Hope for ourselves and for others centers in the giving of this definite message in such clear presentation of it that there can be no misunderstanding of our meaning. God has organized a campaign in this generation, and our Leader has issued the command, “Come into line.” Faithful soldiers of the cross will now obey this command.