This being the fourth Sabbath of the month, the missionary Sabbath, I am to speak on the subject of missionary work. There can be no stronger incentive, no more earnest persuasion, to missionary work than simply to look at what is before us, and study the meaning of it; and all that I shall do, or attempt to do, in this missionary talk will be to call your attention to what is before us, as it is before the eyes of all the people, that of which you yourselves are a part, in which, indeed, you are engaged at present, and call your attention to the meaning of these things. And if that will not persuade you to missionary work, then, even if an angel from heaven should come, he could not do it.
Last fall there was organized and begun the work of the Missionary Reading Circle. It was organized in order that all persons who profess to know the Third Angel’s Message may have a part in it, may enter into that work of missionary reading so as to know what is now to be done. I think that, generally speaking, all who profess to believe the Third Angel’s Message are engaged in that reading of the Missionary Circle.
Surely there can be no doubt in the mind of any one who is observing, or who will think, that the organization of that Missionary Reading Circle and work is of God; that the Lord led out the ones who have the charge of it, to speak of it, to call together those who could engage in the organizing of it, in the setting of the machinery to work, and in the laying out of the plan of work.
And since the Lord has so manifestly started this; since it is for all the people; and the object of it is to have all the people engage in missionary work, there can be no doubt whatever that this Reading Circle enterprise itself is a call of God to all this people to engage in missionary work as they have never done before.
The object of the organizing of that Reading Circle, the plan of the readings, all in connection with it, was solely to get people to engage in missionary work. The only sure way to get the people to engage in missionary work intelligently is to have them read the things that they are to use in their missionary work, so far as circulating literature is concerned, so that they may get a fresh and intelligent and up-to-date knowledge of the literature, in order that they may intelligently bring it before all people to whom they may go.
The books of Daniel and Revelation contain the special, systematized present truth for the world at this time. “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation” is the only book, outside of the Bible, that gives a comprehensive, simple, plain, and clear view of the whole field of the truth covered by the Third Angel’s Message and comprehended in it. Therefore “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation” was chosen as the beginning book of study, in order that all the people might have a renewed view of the great prophetic field. With the reading of the books, there was also planned the Reading Circle lessons, bringing in that which is occurring to-day in fulfillment of what is spoken in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and which was outlined long ago in “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation.”
This being brought before the people, it was supposed—and the supposition is correct, whether the fact proves it or not—that this would be the best opening, the surest means, of getting the people intelligently informed upon the issues of the day with regard to the literature that must be put into the hands of the people, that they may know what is going on to-day, that they may know the truth, that they may understand it, and that they may be won to the Lord and to the ways of righteousness, and so escape the evil that is fast coming upon the earth. All that was planned, and contemplated in the plan, in arranging the Missionary Reading Circle.
Therefore any one who studies these lessons in the Missionary Reading Circle studies, or thinks of the lessons, or reads the book, simply to be HIMSELF informed, that HE shall know more than he did before, and pride himself upon knowing more than other persons, and confine this to himself,—that person is missing all that was intended in the organizing of that work. He will miss all that is intended by the Lord in calling the people unto that work. And he will not only miss all that, but will miss all the rest that there is, whether in the Bible or out; because God never gave to anybody, and he never will give to anybody, anything to be held fast to himself.
Whoever takes what God gives, and shuts it unto himself, and himself in with it, will lose that and all else; even as Jesus said: “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he thinketh that he hath.” That was spoken to those to whom God had given talents. He gave them these talents to be used. And the one who received the talents, and did not use them, is the one who did not have them when the end came. The one that received them and used them is the one who in the end had them; and he also got what the other one had and did not use.
So whatever is given in the Missionary Reading Circle work, whatever comes to any of this people in the book that has been put at so low a price that anybody can buy it, not only for himself, but can afford to give it away,—this that has thus been brought to all people, was brought to the people only in order that they might pass it on to those who have it not. And if it should be that those to whom this work has come should study this for their own sakes, and then shut it in to themselves, and themselves in with it, then there could be no surer token that that people have forfeited all the light and the truth that God ever gave, or ever can give, to that people; and the kingdom of God will be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. This is some of the meaning that lies in the organizing of the Missionary Reading Circle.
Now in a study of the meaning of the Missionary Reading Circle work, I do not know of anything that could emphasize that meaning as I have outlined it to you just now, any more than would a glance at the lessons that have so far been studied in the book of Daniel in the Reading Circle lessons.
This thought that we have just noticed—that God gives nothing to anybody to be shut in to himself, but only that it shall be passed on to other persons—is emphasized in these studies. I do not say that it has been brought out and made a lesson in the studies; but that it is made plain in the situation from which the things came that have been studied.
Why was it that Daniel or any others of Israel were in Babylon?—It was because they had confined to themselves the things that God had given them for all the nations. Everything that God gave to Israel when they came out of Egypt, or at any other time, was that they might pass it on to all the nations who did not know God. But they made the mistake of thinking, and acting thoroughly upon the thought, that God gave these things to them because they were much better than all the other people in the world. And since he gave these things to them because they were much better than everybody else, the other nations could not have any of these things unless they became as good “as we are.”
And since, in that conception, Israel separated herself from all the people of the nations, and despised them, all the nations, being so much like Israel, simply said, All right; you can separate yourselves from us if you wish to; you can despise us if you wish to; what do we care? And the result was that all the nations despised Israel. And that will always be so. Just as certainly as you are like me, and I despise you, you will despise me. Just as certainly as you are like me, and I separate myself from you, you will say, All right; go it, I don’t care. And you will separate yourself from me.
That was Israel and the nations. But where was the separation? By whom was it made?—Not by the nations, but by ISRAEL; not by the heathen, but by THOSE WHO KNEW GOD. And by that they lost all the knowledge of God, to such an extent that when he came into the world, and presented himself to them in all his fullness, they did not know him, and crucified him out of the world.
That is why Israel was in Babylon. It was because they would not pass on to the nations, in the light of God, to the glory of God, that which God had given to them in light and glory. They had shut themselves away from the nations, and by that means had become worse than all the nations. Yet they had the truth: God had given it to them. Even though they had shut it away from the nations, and had abused it, and had trampled it underfoot, yet they had the light, and by them it must be given to the nations. And as they would not give it freely as God gave it to them to give, as they separated themselves from the nations, and thus hindered all the nations from having it, God scattered them among all the nations, in captivity, in distress, in bondage, in slavery; and thus he caused them to give to the nations that which he had given to them to give to the nations. But how infinitely better it would have been for Israel and all the world if Israel had given to the nations the truth, in the light, the blessing, the joy, and the peace in which God gave it to her.
And when those people found themselves scattered among the nations, they were actually surprised to find there were persons among the nations, even kings, kings of the mightiest empires of the world, who were hungering and longing for the truth, and were ready gladly to receive it as soon as it came to their attention.
Israel had thought all the time that those people were so bad, so hard hearted, and so much in the dark, that they did not care for the truth. But the Lord had given them, all the way along, lessons that that view was not100correct. He called Jonah, and had him go that long, long journey to Nineveh,—that great city, so wicked that it was about to perish,—to tell its inhabitants of their danger. And even Jonah, the prophet of the Lord, raised objection; and when he had really gone there and preached, and the Ninevites had repented, he thought strange that the Lord should forgive such persons as they. But the Lord taught Jonah the truth that he cared for other people as well as for Israel. And then that whole experience was written out, and was put into the literature of Israel as a living lesson that God cared for the other nations just as he did for Israel; and that Israel was in the world to take to the nations round, dark as they were, heathen as they were, that which God had given to her.
Yet, for all this, Israel would not learn that lesson. And the Lord had to pick them up bodily, and fling them out as seed in the wind, to fall where they might among the nations.
Then, in their distress, in their loneliness, with no temple of worship, no sacrifices, no offerings,—with all these taken away, they sought God without them, and found him, as they ought to have sought him with them, and found him. And when they sought him without them, and found him and his blessing, then they became a blessing to all those where they were scattered.
Now that is the philosophy of Israel’s being in Babylon. And the book of Daniel is a last-day book, you know. It says so over and over. Then the book of Daniel is written to teach the people in the last days—the people of God, to whom God has given his truth—that unless they pass this truth on to all the nations, in peace, in quietness, in light and blessing, they will do it in distress, in poverty, in the confusion and contention of the nations as the curse falls upon the earth and spreads over it everywhere.
And all this teaches to the people of God in the last days that there are persons in the world, in the darkness of heathenism, everywhere outside of the circle of the people of God, who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness; who long for the knowledge of God; who have hearts just as honest as any saint’s heart,—only they have not the knowledge. They have not yet received the light. But they long for it, they wait for it. And if it shall not be given to them by the people who now have it, and who are dwelling in undisturbed peace, prosperity, and happiness, under their own vine and fig tree, then these honest souls among the nations will get the light and truth by means of these people who have it being scattered to the ends of the earth, and doing in poverty and distress what they would not do in peace and quietness.
And when that time comes, there will be found again among kings, the greatest of earth’s kingdoms, of mighty world empires, those who long for the truth, and who will welcome it when it comes. This, in order that all the peoples and languages may know the truth: even as it was before. For what was done with the truth when Nebuchadnezzar received it! Why was it given to him?—First, of course, it was given to him because he longed for it, because he desired to know what was the way of light and truth in the world. But when he had received it, immediately it was spread to all the nations. It was given to him to be spread to all the nations. And the last thing in Nebuchadnezzar’s experience—you know, you have had it in your lesson—was that experience recorded in the fourth chapter of Daniel, in which King Nebuchadnezzar confessed his pride and his foolishness, and what came of it in judgment to him, and also what came out of it in blessing and glory to him, from God. And that experience was published to every nation and language and people in all the world as it then was, of which Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler.
Thus, these people outside of Israel, when they received the truth of God, did with it exactly what Israel ought to have done with it when she received it; and which if she had done with it, Israel would not have gone into captivity to the nations,—would have been blessed instead of being cursed.
Nebuchadnezzar is only one. Darius was another; Cyrus was another. These mighty rulers, all heathen to begin with, were all the servants of God to end with; and all this, through the instrumentality of the people of God who were scattered in the kingdoms which these men ruled.
And all this is one of the things that illustrate the deep meaning of the Missionary Reading Circle. This is one of the mighty thoughts that God is giving to us now, and to the carrying out of which he is calling his people, in the Missionary Reading Circle studies.