THE GREAT LIGHT-TOWER by Erik Arnesen

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Oct 31, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 42.

THE GREAT LIGHT-TOWER.

By Erik Arnesen

IF the Bible did not exist at all, the space of time allotted to mankind on earth would be one long and dreary night. It would be as if all the shining orbs in the heavens were suddenly extinguished, and humanity left to grope on as best they could in the deep darkness of a spiritual night not penetrated by a single ray of light.

What would we know if we did not have the Bible and hence any of the knowledge which originates from this peerless Book, and of which all in Christendom possess more or less, whether they acknowledge it or not? What would be known about the beginning of all things? What would we know about ourselves,—about our origin, our present true condition, the purpose of our existence, our goal, our final destiny? What awaits us after this life—shall we live again, or is there no more life? What is the end of all things? Will our earth always remain? Or is it, like all else terrestrial, subject to destruction and decay? Does it matter how we live and behave while here, or shall we ever be called to give an account of our deeds? And if so, to whom—what is His name? where does He dwell? and what is His character and His disposition? What is His relation to us, and ours to Him? Is He friend or foe? What is He doing for us? Do we owe Him anything?

Thus we might, wondering and pondering, ask one question after another, and never obtain a definite and trustworthy answer if we did not have the Bible, which gives us the key to that which would otherwise remain insoluble mysteries. But this precious Book, this divine searchlight, throws its strong rays into the great space we call time, or the world's history, or that period of eternity which makes the connecting link between the creation of this earth and the restoration of all things. Yes, it also throws an occasional ray into eternity, past and future. But not many; for here the human mind is too weak to enter—it can not grasp, it can not comprehend, anything so vast and so exalted. It faints, and can only admit its impotence. The Bible changes darkness into light, reveals the hidden things, and solves mysteries.

It tells us that the Lord God who is from everlasting, created the earth and placed man thereon. It also tells that man fell and lost the right of eternal life. It reveals that He who created all things is a God of grace who delights in doing mercy. It relates how the Lord saw the lost condition of man and prepared a way by which he might regain that which he had lost. It teaches us the Lord's will and the way of salvation, showing us how to live. It presents before us the way of life and the way of death, and leaves the choice with us. It depicts in exalted language how God's own Son left the courts above and came to earth, where He lived in lowliness and poverty, despised by those to whom He brought healing, salvation, and forgiveness of sin; until at last His enemies nailed Him to the cross where He suffered the ignominious death—died that we might live.

It tells, further, how He again came forth from the grave and ascended to His Father in heaven, where He now as our High Priest makes atonement for our sins, and as our Advocate and our Representative pleads our cases before the Supreme Court of the universe. Then it assures us that this same Jesus who was here, and who ascended on high, will come again to take His faithful followers home to the eternal mansions that He is preparing, the splendor and glory of which no earthly language can describe. And, finally, it gives a very explicit and careful description of the signs which are to precede this great event and testify to God's waiting ones that the day is nigh at hand, and of the condition of things in the world at the time of the Saviour's return.

This is, in brief, what the Bible is, and what it tells us. Take it away, and we will be flickering helplessly about in the deepest spiritual darkness, not knowing where we are. When man deserts the sure and impregnable foundation, he is at sea without anchor, chart, or compass. He drifts farther and farther away from truth and reality, gives himself up to uncontrolled speculation and philosophic reasoning until he, in his folly,—he calls it wisdom,—at last wanders off into the hazy regions of Spiritualism, Theosophy, or a similar modern delusion.

Thy Word, O Lord, is our only sure guide. Thy Word alone is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path. Yes, the Bible only! ERIK ARNESEN.