Your ShelfYour Projects

To Correspondents

8%

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 18, 1876

FromThe Review and Herald, Review and Herald, Vol. 47, No. 20.

Read the full edition

To Correspondents.

By Uriah Smith

“WILL any of the redeemed know a greater degree of happiness than others?                                                                                                                                     J. S.”
We will answer this by an illustration. Suppose a number of glass goblets of different sizes, but all filled with some liquid to the very brim. Query: Do any of these have a greater degree of fullness than others? Daniel, in chapter 12: 3, and Paul in 1 Cor. 15:41, seem plainly to teach differences in position, in exaltation and glory, among the redeemed in the heavenly world. But each will have that measure of enjoyment which will meet the full capacity of his being. Every one will enjoy just as much as he is capable of enjoying.
“How many of the seven days of the week are observed by different nations as days of rest and worship? Can you give the days so observed, and tell what nations observe them?                                                                                                                                     W. L.”
ANSWER. We noticed a few weeks ago a paragraph going the rounds of the papers, which asserted that every day in the week was observed by different nations as the Sabbath, as follows:— Christian nations generally,        Sunday. Greeks,                                     Monday. Persians,                                 Tuesday. Assyrians,                             Wednesday. Egyptians,                             Thursday. Turks, Arabs, & Mahommedan nations,        Friday. Jews, & S. D. Baptists,             Saturday.
How true this may be respecting the second, third, fourth and fifth days, we are unable to say.
J. K. B.: 2 Cor. 3, has no reference whatever to the abolition of the ten commandments. The apostle is speaking of ministrations, not of laws. The former ministration was glorious, but the glory of it has passed away in the greater glory of the present ministration. The expression in verse 7, “ministration of death written and engraven in stones,” is elliptical. It means, ministration of, or the ministry then connected with, that which was engraven on stones. See Bloomfield, Alford, and Olshausen.
J. P. KNOWLTON: See exposition of Dan. 12:2, in Thoughts on Daniel, pp. 350–353.
J. M. E.: If a person can devote to the cause more than a tenth of his income, provision is made for such contributions, in free will offerings, thank offerings, &c., and he can devote them to such branches of the Lord’s work as he chooses.
W. L.: We think there are many in the different denominations trying to live up to the best light they have. They will become guilty, if when the light is brought to them, they reject it.
M. J. R.: In the new earth state, the former things shall not be remembered nor come into mind to cause pain or distress; but there are many scriptures which indicate that the contrast which the saints are able to realize between that state and this, is one of the causes of the great joy they then experience. See Isa. 35:4–6, 10; 65:17–25; Rev. 21, &c. We think Matt. 24:19, refers to the destruction of Jerusalem. Just when the 6000 years from creation end, is a point that cannot be determined.
ANSWERED BY LETTER: J. B. Benbow, W. B. Bedgood, Wm. A. Richardson, E. H. Root, A. T. Jones, S. C. Perry, M. Affolter, C. K. Drury, A. Walter, C. W. Stone, I. Olive, P. R. De Ford, C. Felch.
Correspondents will please take notice, that we wish both their name and address. We cannot undertake to answer anonymous communications, and we sometimes prefer to answer by letter, which we cannot do without the address. This will explain to some why they hear nothing from their communications.                                                                                                                                     U. S.