COMMUNICATIONS by Jesse Dorcas

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 4, 1856

COMMUNICATIONS.

By Jesse Dorcas

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another."

From Bro. Dorcas.

BRO. SMITH:—I realize that we are truly living in perilous times. Everything seems to be triumphing over truth. The different sects have powerful revivals of religion again; (as they call them;) so much so that some of our Sabbath-keeping friends' faith seems to be shaken. And the Devil seems to be taking a new turn in his affairs, with many, in the so-called Christian churches, who will not believe in Spiritualism! Modern Spiritualism, I mean; but who seem to be under revival influence! He is classing us, who believe in the near coming of the Lord, with Spiritualists, calling it devilism. For, with this class, as long as he can succeed in keeping the truth associated with a lie, and have them reject all together, he is as sure of his prey as if he succeeded in taking them away into that phase of false religion called Spiritual reform.

"We are troubled on every side, without are fightings, and within are fears." The Methodists are throwing in our way, in this region, a mass of stuff; to wit, Acre's Chronology, and McOwen's Book on the Christian Sabbath. The first teaches that the present First-day, or Sunday, is really the original Sabbath, the first seventh day. The other teaches that the day was changed by the apostles. I will give his own words verbatim:

"Infidels and Jews are not more forward to charge us with having made this change, than we are to admit that it did take place."

And still farther down on the same page, (54th page,) speaking of the apostles changing the day, he says, "They only transferred it from the seventh to the first day of the week; and by thus conjoining the new creation with the old, and the rest of God our maker with that of God our Saviour," &c. Notice the contradiction here; for "our Saviour" rested on the same day that our Father, and his Father, our God and his God, rested; namely, the seventh day; and how can we talk of "conjoining" a unit. Luke xxiii, 3-6. The women rested the same day that Jesus rested in the grave, which day was one day previous to the first day of the week, the resurrection day, which these say is the Lord's day.

If Acre's work is true, then truly, the Bible, as well as Methodism, must undergo a complete overhauling and revision. But this looks to me as if it savored considerably of the Pharaoh and Herod spirit. The enemies of truth lose nothing by inconsistency, for the masses go with the leaders. They only lose a few honest souls.

Yours in love. JESSE DORCAS. Fremont, Ohio, Aug. 28th, 1856.