The Transmutation of Light
By Editor
The Transmutation of Light
SCIENTISTS use the phrase “transmutation of energy” to express “the theory that any one of the various forms of physical force may be converted into one or more of the other forms.” In contrast with this theory we wish to consider the actual experience of the transmutation of light. All light is the outward manifestation of the very being and character of God, no matter in what specific way the manifestation may be made to us. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Life is simply the shining of that light through the flesh. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” When the Word, which is both light and life, became flesh and dwelt among us, the eternal Son was a beam of light direct from the throne of God, shedding light amid the darkness of the world. “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Speaking to his disciples of every age, Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” It is thus evident that those upon whom “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” has shone are to be a sort of human lens through which that light is to shine to the world, and that in shining through the lens of humanity the light is to be transmuted into good works. The purpose of this transmutation is that the world may be able to see the light. Thus it was that when Jesus “went about doing good,” then “the people which sat in darkness saw great light.” Since Jesus took his bodily presence from the earth, the same light is to shine to the world through the flesh of those who believe on him, manifesting itself in the same works which were wrought by Jesus. When the true believers are found in all parts of the earth, doing such works of faith as will reveal the indwelling of the true Light, then the earth will be lightened with the glory of the character of God, and every one will be left without excuse for refusing to accept the gospel. Let your light shine. IN reply to the inquiry of the disciples, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus used the experience of Jerusalem as a prophetic picture of what would come in the last days. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” From the record of this prophecy as given by Luke it is plain that the event to which the Saviour was referring was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains.” It was the rejection of the truth as revealed in Jesus which caused the overthrow of Jerusalem. When the Jews crucified Christ, they sealed the doom of Jerusalem. For such a rejection of light there was no remedy, and the inevitable result was the fall of that nation. And the generation which crucified the Messiah saw the end of the Jewish nation, in A. D. 70. “The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God’s mercy and trampled upon his law.” And as a sign was given which marked the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so there are signs given to mark the second fulfillment of this prophecy in the destruction of the world. “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.” The fulfillment of this prophecy in the darkening of the sun and moon on May 19, 1780, and the falling of the stars in the month of November, 1833, marks the time when the destruction of the world is near; but the direct cause of that destruction is the same now as before—the rejection of the light of truth. In the proclamation of the advent message to the world there is the revelation of such a light as has not shone upon the world since the first advent, and for the rejection of this light there will be no remedy. Then, the light was given to the Jewish nation, and its rejection resulted in the destruction of that nation. Now, this light is to be given “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” and its rejection will result in the destruction of all the nations. Then, the Jewish nation refused the Light of the world, and crucified him; now, the world is crucifying him afresh in the rejection of the threefold advent message. The generation which crucified him then lived to see the end of that nation; the generation which is crucifying this threefold message now will live to see the end of the world. “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” BEFORE the end comes, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached “for a testimony unto all the nations.” No one will be cut off who has not heard and rejected the gospel message. The need of the hour is for witnesses who will go to all the nations to bear the testimony. It is not sufficient that the ordinary gospel message shall be given in all parts of the world, but there must be a presentation of the gospel of the coming of the King, a warning of the approach of the great day of the Lord. We are in the time of the promise, and the advent of our Lord and the end of this reign of sin may be ushered in speedily by a spirit of consecration to the work of spreading this last message. Do we believe in the coming of the Lord in this generation? If so, then let us live for the coming of the Lord in an earnest devotion to the work which will bring the coming of the Lord. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” Whole nations are still waiting for this message, and there are others where only a beginning has been made with it. O for a burning zeal in the hearts of the people of God which would never be satisfied until there were witnesses for this truth scattered among all the nations! “Ye churches of the living God, . . . consider how your lack of faith, of4spirituality, of divine power, is hindering the coming of the kingdom of God. . . . Were every one of you a living missionary, the message for this time would speedily be proclaimed in all countries, to every people and nation and tongue. This is the work that must be done before Christ shall come in power and great glory.”