Answers to Correspondents.
By James White
To W. H.—It is not the faith of S. D. Adventists that there is probation after the second advent, or that any will be saved after that time who are not saved at that time. There are many different phases of the Age-to-Come theory. Some teach that the Jews will be restored to their national pre-eminence; some, that all the nations will be placed on a more favorable probation than the present; some, that the dead will be raised and placed upon a new probation. This, as far as we now understand it, is Geo. Storrs’ present views. And some teach that a small part only of the saved will be raised in the first resurrection, that is, those having special faith; while a large number of the saved will come up in the second resurrection. This is the faith of Mormonism. But we think it is very easy to show that all these views are pernicious errors, conflicting with plain declarations of Scripture, and the plainest principles of the gospel. They are all humanly-devised means of averting the penalty of a failure to meet the requirements of God in the present age. To J. H.—The words from which breath and spirit are translated in Eccl. 3:19; 12:7; and Ps. 104:29, is the same. But this is not, of itself, evidence that they all have precisely the same meaning, or that it would be better to translate it always by the same English word. A given English word might not properly be translated the same way in all cases of its use; and so of words in other languages. You ask if it should be read breath in each of the above cases. We should rather read it spirit in each of these cases. To J. M.—The prophecy of Joel is not consecutive; that is, it is not fulfilled in the order of the writing as Dan. 7, and some few others. C. O. T.—We will give, in another place, Dr. Clarke on 1 John 5:7. Is it right for an S. D. Adventist to condemn unbelievers for eating swine’s flesh, and at the same time raise swine and sell them to others? G. W. M. We must be consistent in order to have any influence over others; and certainly it does not appear to be consistent to raise pork and sell it to our neighbor, and then denounce him for eating it. Some are so situated that they do not know what to do for support except to raise swine. We might differ with them in regard to the profitableness of various kinds of business. But aside from that the influence of pork raising can never be much in favor of health reform. And we believe it would not be to the benefit of the reform to have such very forward to advocate that part of it, or to condemn others for living on that which they live by. We should be inclined to be very charitable toward the man who ate the pork which we sold to him, if we depended on the sale of it for our bread. During the camp-meeting season the great number of appointments has limited our space for answers, so that questions are accumulating; we will try to attend to more of them soon. J. H. W.