Signs of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 5. (1/30/1901)

Signs of the Times

Jan 30, 1901

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 30, 1901

“COME AND SEE.”

By T.

ANY one who really sees the Saviour as He so plainly reveals Himself in His Word, has found the one complete satisfaction of his soul. There is no want that is not fully supplied in Him.

As soon as the individual finds the Saviour for himself, his first thought is for some one else. There is some friend who needs just the consolation and help that come thru believing, and we long to have him see Jesus. Theories about the Saviour do not reveal Him, neither can any person see the real Son of God thru some one’s “ideal” of Him. To seek to present merely our “ideas” about Him is to fall far short. He is infinite in all His attributes and perfections, hence human “ideals” can not present Him. We must see Him as He is revealed in His Word and works, else we do not see the real Christ. It is quite possible for us to be worshiping at the shrine of a god formed in our own minds while we think that we are followers of Jesus.

NATHANAEL had his ideas about how Christ should make His appearance in His first advent. Those ideas were based upon the doctrines and traditions of the Jews. But when Philip led him to the real Saviour, he was made to see the error he had held. His exclamation upon becoming acquainted with the Man of Nazareth was, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” John 1:49.

THE record tells in these words how Nathanael was led to the Saviour: “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” John 1:45, 46. Philip did not make the attempt to give his ideas of Christ. He was so impressed with His wonderful personage and character that the only answer he knew to make to Nathanael’s query was, “Come and see.”

WE do not have the Saviour with us in person so as to see Him now in just the same way that Philip saw Him; but thru His Word and the manifestations of His Spirit, He has made it so that we may become even more intimately acquainted with Him than those who saw Him as He came and went from His earthly home in Nazareth.

THOSE who had the privilege of meeting and associating with Christ when He was upon earth as a man among men, failed to become

truly acquainted with Him. They had theories about the Messiah, and some vague notions concerning the prophecies that foretold the manner of His advent, but they had not definitely and carefully studied to have a correct knowledge of the Saviour as He was presented in the Scriptures. Instead of allowing the Bible to tell its own story in its own clear language, the Book of God was interpreted and explained by the rabbis from the standpoint of national prejudices, and these prejudices were often intensified by the hatred exercised by the Jewish race toward the nations about them. So when Nathanael was told that Jesus was of Nazareth, his first question was, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” But the prophets had said, “He shall be called a Nazarene;” and if Nathanael had followed those prophecies closely, he would not have been so much in the dark on so important a subject. His failure to know just what the Word of God said might have kept him from finding the real Messiah had not Philip come to him with his earnest invitation, “Come and see.”

THERE is a wonderful lesson in all this for us at the present time. We can not go out to the little village of Nazareth, nestled in the hills of Galilee, to find Jesus in person. But in all parts of the world He may be found thru the representation of His Word, and His Spirit, and His works.

WHEN we would desire to present Jesus to any one, we make a great failure if we try to present our ideas of Him. We will be constantly groping about, and doing nothing more perhaps than to raise the query, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” As followers of the Man of Nazareth, we should be able to say to every one, “Come and see.” We should be so definitely acquainted with the Saviour thru a knowledge of His Word that we can present Him as He really is in the words that He has caused to be written; for that Word presents Him so perfectly that we may be enabled thru its reverential study to say, “I have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,” and, “I know whom I have believed,” and, furthermore, “We have not followed cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

HAVE we been to the Word of God for ourselves to see its clear presentation of our personal Saviour? When any one gives us the opportunity to tell of this Saviour, do we have such a personal knowledge of Him that we can say, as did Philip, “Come and see”? Is our acquaintance with Christ so intimate that He is to us as personal and real a friend as our own father or mother, or the one who of all others is the cherished associate of our life? If not, we have failed to get out of the Word of God what our heavenly Father has placed there for us.

HOPE FOR THE INTEMPERATE.

By Ellen G. White

I WOULD point the intemperate to a power out of and beyond themselves,—the power of Jesus. Flee to your Saviour. He has overcome in behalf of just such helpless, sinful ones as you. In His strength you may be honest, faithful men, true to your Maker. But no half-way work will suffice. You must be thoro. And do not think that you can do the work of abstaining gradually. Leave the accursed thing once and forever. “Touch not, taste not, handle not.” Drink not a drop of the liquor which sets depraved appetite on fire.

Do not rob God of the powers He has given you for high and holy purposes. Remember that you speak and act in the presence of God and the holy angels. Think, O, think of the superiority of a Christian man over a poor votary of sin! See the difference between a man sunken in vice, the victim of his own passions, and a man reclaimed by the truth of God’s Word, ennobled by beholding Jesus. Look at the condition of those who give themselves up to intemperance. Degraded and belittled, they are without God and without hope in the world. This is the result of their own course. The Word of God declares, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” God does not will that man shall be lost. He has made every provision for his salvation. He gave His beloved Son to save men from misery. But too often they refuse to accept the gift. There are men who, had they accepted the Gospel of Jesus, might be standing among their fellows, their countenances not as they now appear, bloated, depraved, and coarse, but radiant with intelligence, their hopes bright, and their whole demeanor indicating the dignity and self-possession derived from intercourse with good men and the study of God’s Word.

Drunkards choose the way of sin, a path strewn with thorns and ending in death. They have no acquaintance with God or His Word. They remember not their high origin, but debase their God-given powers to the level of the brute. Shall these degraded, besotted beings charm you? Shall they induce you to degrade your powers? Would you become besotted like them? Will you allow yourself to sink into debauchery? Shall those who bear scarcely a trace of the moral image of God be your pattern? Will you follow their example in evil-doing? Is not the picture of their condition enough to make you shun the first step in intemperance?

Gladly would I write something to lead the intemperate to fasten their grasp by faith upon the mighty Helper. Heaven may invite them, presenting its choicest blessings; but all will be useless unless they are willing to help themselves. They must put forth their powers to overcome, or they will sink lower and lower.

We can hardly conceive what man may become, what God can do thru him. Tho fallen and degraded, he may, thru the merits of Christ, be an heir of immortality, his thoughts elevated and ennobled, his heart purified, his conversation in heaven.

Let me say to him who is struggling to overcome, God presents before you a strong hope that you may lay hold on eternal life. Lose not your opportunity for becoming a man. When you look at yourself, and think of the strength of temptation, you say, “I can not resist.” I tell you that you can resist. Tho you are weak and degraded, you may be a child of God. Tho self-indulgence has marked your path, it need not always be thus. You can resist temptation. Jesus is your Helper. In His strength you can overcome the power of appetite. Summon will-power to your aid; for unless your will is placed on the Lord’s side, you can never be successful in overcoming, in trying to elevate yourself. Do not think that you can not say, I can and I will. God has pledged Himself to help you in every determined effort you make to regain your manhood. If you accept His help, you will become a bright and shining light in the world, and will at last hear the benediction, “Well done.”

God created Adam pure and noble, but thru the indulgence of appetite he fell. Yet notwithstanding the great gulf thus opened between God and man, Christ loved the hopeless sinner. He left His royal throne, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to our world to bridge the gulf which sin had made, and to unite divine power with human weakness, that in His strength and grace man might wrestle against Satan’s temptations, overcome, and stand in his God-given manhood, a victor over perverted appetite and degrading passions. The last words of David to Solomon, his son, who was soon to be seated on the throne of Israel, were, “Be strong, and show thyself a man.” To the weak and tempted one I address the same words, “Show thyself a man.” I point him to the cross of Calvary. In the name of Jesus I bid him look and live. Destroy not yourself. It is possible for you to gain the ascendency over appetite and passion. Jesus is reaching over the battlements of heaven to lift you in His strong arms and set you upon your feet.

Life is in all cases burdened with weighty responsibilities, and happy will it be for those who brace themselves to meet it manfully, with Christ-like steadfastness resisting every temptation, with Christ-like fortitude bearing every trial, and overcoming in the name of the Redeemer. God has made man capable of constant progress in mental and moral worth. No other creature of His hand is capable of such advancement. Man can reach an eminence in self-control that will place him above the slavery of appetite and passions, where he can stand before God with thankfulness and rejoicing.

To those who are contending with the power of habit, God says: “Would you walk by and by the streets of the holy city? Then obey the command, Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. I, the infinite God, the Creator of the universe, will receive you. I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters.” “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Connect with Heaven. Thus you may become children of the heavenly King. Do you want higher honor, greater exaltation? Riches God has in abundance for those who overcome; for the streets of the holy city are paved with gold. It is your privilege to enter this city, to partake of the tree of life, to listen to the voice that is sweeter and richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ears. There is strength in the arm of the Lord. Take hold upon it, and you will one day stand victors in the city of God, each wearing on his brow a crown of immortal glory. MRS. E. G. WHITE.

The Relation of Law to Government

By Cyrus Simmons

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. No. 3.

The Relation of Law to Government.

GOVERNMENT is the act of ruling or governing according to the forms or usages of law. The authoritative administration of the affairs of State, and the physical and moral control, must be in obedience to some law. Without law as an expression of what is right and a prohibition of what is wrong, there can be no government. All kinds of governments, therefore, must have a law by which their affairs are directed. The governments of the world and the kingdom of God are alike in this particular.

The Powers.—“There is no power but of God.” Rom. 13:1. He is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” Heb. 1:3. “Power belongeth unto God.” Ps. 62:11. In fact, by Jesus all “powers” were created. Col. 1:16. “The power of God” for salvation is the Gospel. Rom. 1:16. And the “power of God” is Christ. 1 Cor. 1:24. When we preach the Gospel, we preach Christ; and when we preach Christ, we preach the Gospel. Gal. 3:8. In opposition to the “power of God” is the “power of darkness.” Luke 22:53. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Eph. 6:12. The kingdoms, empires, republics, and other forms of governmental powers regulating the affairs of State in an organized capacity, may be denominated “the powers that be.” These powers are ordered, or “ordained, of God.” Rom. 13:1.

Notwithstanding the Machiavellism of politicians, the conquests of kings, the acquisitions of emperors, and the usurpation of tyrants, the Lord has a hand in the government of the world. “He ruleth by His power forever; His eyes behold the nations.” Ps. 66:7. Even the heathen are not exempt from His sovereignty. “And rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?” 2 Chron. 20:6. When “the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand” (2 Kings 19:35), Sennacherib was taught, and all reigning monarchs, kings, and rulers are made to know, that “Thou art the God, even Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.” Verse 15. The Lord made Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom universal and mighty. The king attributed all his greatness to the might of his power and for the honor of his majesty. Dan. 4:30. “While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven” condemning his self-exaltation, and separating him from his kingdom, and sentencing him “to eat grass as oxen.” Verses 31, 32. This experience was given the king that he might “know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.” Verse 25. About twenty-three years before this event the king had an opportunity to learn this selfsame lesson from the mouth of Daniel, the servant of God. “Wisdom and might are His: . . . He removeth kings, and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.” Dan. 2:21, 22. It was necessary to abase him to the level of a beast before Nebuchadnezzar was willing to extol and to honor the King of heaven. Dan. 4:34-37.

The words of Jesus are, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18. The conferring of the power of government upon man is a sacred trust, for the righteous and equitable exercise of which God holds the trustee responsible. When rulers and potentates recognize that they are but agents of a divine Principal, they will be very careful that they do not transcend the authority delegated to them. They will pause before they essay to make or uphold laws which purport to regulate the liberty of conscience with the same impunity as they make laws to regulate the affairs of the State.

Subjection.—If the powers that be are ordained of God, it is in harmony with the divine will for every soul to “be subject unto the higher powers.” Rom. 13:1. This is a logical sequence. The same word that enjoins the subjection defines in what the subjection consists: “Render therefore to all their dues.” Only such obligations are due from one to another as are rightfully owing. The Roman letter proceeds to prescribe these duties: “Tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” Verse 7. The reader is then directed to the law of God. He is shown that the divine law will not be fulfilled by a formal obedience of one’s duty as a Christian to the State. To satisfy God this subjection must not only demand an obedience of the hand, but it must enter the precincts of the heart. It finds its expression in love. “Owe no man anything, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Verse 8. What law? That none may misunderstand the writer, he quotes from the law spoken by God on Sinai’s trembling peak (Ex. 20:1-17); that law which its Author wants to write on “the fleshy tables” of the heart: “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment [regulating our duty to our fellows], it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Rom. 13:9.

Subjection to the “higher powers” is not in contravention to, but it is, in fulfilment of, the law of God. Any statutory requirement in violation of God’s law demands a subjection that God does not require. The custom, the tribute, the fear, and the honor that are due the State, the Christian should render. But in the doing he should not neglect the fear and the honor he owes his God. The Saviour paid tribute. Matt. 17:24-27. The miraculous way in which the coin was produced evidenced to all that He was the Creator of the very powers He was obeying. This example, and other scriptural teachings, show that it is the duty of every Christian to recognize governmental powers as of divine institution. If it were not for the protection that the Christian receives by virtue of these powers, he would be unable to enjoy what religious and personal liberties he has. When the “fear of God” does not sway the conscience and constrain one to do good, the fear of the law of the land restrains him from doing many things in violation of personal rights and privileges that he otherwise would do. We are told to pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness.” 1 Tim. 2:1-3.

The Two Legislations.—There are two law-making powers with which the Christian comes in contact. The one is the Legislature of the government under which he lives; the other is the Lord “our Lawgiver.” Isa. 33:22. The laws of the State are inscribed in statute-books subject to amendment and repeal. God puts His unchangeable and everlasting law in the mind and writes it in the heart. Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10. The spiritual administration of the law of God, or the Ten Commandments, in the hearts of His children is the foundation of the everlasting or the new covenant. This is “the better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” Heb. 8:6. The “better promises” are all made by God. The old covenant was faulty, because it was established upon the promises of man. God spake the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel from heaven. Ex. 20:1, 22. They were written by Moses in the book of the covenant. Ex. 24:4, 7. The people promised, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Verses 3, 7. In other words, the people promised to keep the Ten Commandments. Fifteen hundred years’ trial proved their utter inability to do so. He therefore found fault with them,—the people, not His law. So He says, “I will make a new covenant with them,” established on “better promises;” “I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” Heb. 8:8-11. The “better promises” rest upon the Word and the power of God: “I will put My laws into their mind,” etc. “I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes.” Eze. 36:27. To become a party to this new and everlasting covenant is simply to believe that God will do what He says. The epistles of Christ, the recipients of the spiritual administration of the law in the fleshy tables of the heart, are those who rest from their own works and allow God to work in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Part of that law which God wants to write on the heart reads thus: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Ex. 20:8, 10. This is one legislation. The State says, “Remember Sunday, the first day, to keep it holy; in it thou shalt not do any secular labor; it is the Lord’s day.” This is the other legislation.

Here is evidently a great conflict. Which authority better knows which is the Lord’s day, the Creator, who made the day, or the creature? Salvation depends upon becoming parties to the covenantal conditions. These conditions are to let God put His law in our mind and write it in our hearts. Can we keep Sunday, the first day, and be parties in the new covenant? Can we do this and let God write, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God”? We are told, “One jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.” Matt. 5:18. If we keep Sunday, are we not breaking the law of God? Are we not refusing to accept the “better promises” of the new covenant? Are we not endangering our salvation? Between these two legislations we must choose which we will obey. When Peter and the other apostles were arraigned for teaching in the name of Jesus contrary to the commandment of those in authority, they said, “We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29, R.V. CYRUS SIMMONS.

WHY THE SEED OFTEN FAILS TO BRING A HARVEST.

By Chas. T. Everson

In the parable of the sower, Jesus shows that the reason that some seed failed to produce a harvest was because it was sown on unfavorable soil or destroyed by unfavorable conditions.

In the case of the stony ground, the soil was poor, and the seed died as a natural consequence. The seed sown by the wayside produced no harvest, as the soil was given no opportunity to act upon it. The seed that sprang up among thorns no doubt had good soil in which to thrive, but surrounding influences destroyed it.

It therefore follows that a seed sown in good soil but surrounded by evil influence, is not any more capable of producing a good harvest than a seed sown in a poor soil under favorable circumstances. To have a good harvest, one must have good soil and favorable surroundings.

“The seed sown in stony ground naturally dies, and consequently the individual is not responsible,” may be the thought that presents itself to some one's mind. Yes, but the sower who expects to reap a good harvest takes care to remove the stones before he sows, and God has promised to put a heart of flesh in the place of the heart of stone.

“As my surroundings are unfavorable, I can not produce a good harvest,” may be the objection of another. The surroundings that count against producing a good harvest are not the outward surroundings that you are contemplating, but they are the conditions that come from the thorns that are sown in the heart. Job's outward conditions became the most unfavorable imaginable, and yet he could stand firm for God. Paul says that “tho the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” And this inward condition that crowds out the good seed, God will provide against, if it is desired, for He says that He will create a clean heart for the individual, free from the thorns of sin.

But the good soil may fail to produce a harvest under favorable conditions if the wrong kind of seed is sown in it. The seed may be ever so good and full of life, but it will not thrive in every soil. Some soil that has lain for years and been considered worthless suddenly becomes valuable because the seed that is capable of growing in it has at last been sown there.

The Bible has been written by men of all the walks of life and of a diversity of gifts, that it might meet the demands of all the people, as they are brought up under such different conditions and have such varied mental capacities. The part of God's Word that will interest one and lead him to seek God, may not appeal to another at all. God recognizes this in the fact of His giving the entire Bible. Otherwise He might have given only a few verses, or at most one of the Gospels, but He has given the entire Bible, that there may be a seed to fit every soil.

The reason that we fail to produce a harvest in the soil in which we are sowing may be because we are using the wrong kind of seed. In the southern part of California various attempts have been made to grow bananas, but they have always proved unsuccessful, for the soil and conditions are not such as will produce them, but yet the same soil will produce oranges abundantly. Perhaps in the field in which we are laboring we are attempting to sow a seed that will not grow in that soil, and therefore we are failing.

One gentleman once stated to me that prophecy appealed to many people, but not to him. So there is one truth that will appeal to one hearer, and another to another hearer. Therefore God says, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” We should not therefore be discouraged in our sowing, but if one seed fails, try another; for the harvest is sure if we persevere; for the Lord says, “And let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Gal. 6:9). The following incident will serve to show how soil that looked apparently hopeless, brought forth a good harvest:—

There was a little tract inserted in the envelope with the letter sent to a man noted for his impiety and ungodly life. It was entitled, “Prepare to Meet Thy God.” “What's that?” said he as he opened the letter. “Prepare to meet thy God. Who has had the impudence to send this tract?” And with an angry exclamation he was about to put it into the fire, when he said, “No, I won't do that; I'll send it to my friend B., and it will be a good joke to hear what he'll say about it.” So saying, he put it into a fresh envelope and sent it off. Mr. B. was a man of his own stamp, and received the tract as his friend had done, with an oath at the humbug; and his first impulse was to tear it to pieces. “No, I'll not tear it either,” said he to himself. “Prepare to meet thy God” at once attracted his attention and smote his conscience. The arrow of conviction entered his heart as he read, and he became converted. Almost his first thought was for his ungodly associates. “Have I received such blessed light and truth, and shall I not strive to communicate it to others?” He again folded the tract and sent it to one of his companions, who also read it and became converted. They are both now rejoicing in the peace that comes in being God's children.

When we think of the passage that “whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,” we are apt to look at it only from the standpoint that the evil a man sows that shall he reap. But it is just as true that the good a man sows that shall he also reap. When the farmer sows his seed he expects to reap many fold more than he sows; and this is also true in spiritual sowing. The evil seed sown brings a harvest many fold larger than the seed sown, as the influence of it spreads in every direction. But this is also true of the good seed sown. It spreads far and wide, and eternity only will reveal the good accomplished by a good seed. We bring the truth to one, and immediately he sets about to give it to his friends and neighbors, and then it goes and keeps increasing the farther it travels.

Therefore, how careful we should be that we are not sowing bad seed, which will spread like wild-fire! But good seed we can afford to sow bountifully, for then we shall also reap bountifully.

CHAS. T. EVERSON.

AN OLD TEMPTATION.

By C. M. Snow

At a recent “conference on religion” held in New York City, during which the “church in politics” was discussed and strongly advocated, much worldly counsel was given the church in regard to its duty. Perhaps the most unique piece of advice in this respect was contained in the following words:—

When the church enters politics, let it study the methods of the practical politicians and imitate that which is good and serviceable. . . . Let the church lift the masses up a little by the ladder of practical ways and material things, and when you have made them better citizens, they will save you from bad government, and you will find it much easier to save their souls.

Of course for the church to make a success in the politics of to-day, she must do as the successful politicians do. If she is to play the game successfully, she must learn it from the men who are masters in it. Men do not learn the intricacies of whist and poker by following the plow and harrow or by reading the Psalms and the Sermon on the Mount. If the Christian would overcome the worldly man in a worldly way for a worldly purpose, he must study the world and the ways of the world; but if he would bring the Gospel to that man with convicting and converting power, he must study the Gospel and connect with the Source of its power. Now which is the business of the church and the individual members of the church? Is it to learn and practise the wicked, selfish intrigues of politics, or is it to go forth and “teach all

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things” that Christ had commanded His disciples? The successful work of the Christian is to be followed by the baptism of those for whom he labors, and the church holds no commission for any work in which baptism is out of place; but will the church baptize, in that holy name, the unregenerate politicians of every stripe whom it meets and overcomes in the game of politics?

Christ said, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” The creed of the church in politics is, this is political success, to know the methods of the practical politicians and imitate them. How far from the lessons of Nazareth, Calvary, and the mount of transfiguration, is this conception of the work of the church!

The excuse for such a dogma is that by first making the masses “better citizens” it will then be easier “to save their souls.” That is man’s revision of God’s plan. It is the repetition of Satan’s offer to Christ. The church is to have the world if only she will worship at the shrine of politics. Will the church yield to the tempter? or will she “imitate” her Master and spurn the dangerous bribe?

The plan of the political church is to make men better by law; to teach them first how to keep the law of the land as a preliminary step to teaching them how to keep God’s law, thereby teaching them that God’s law can be kept, as man’s law can be kept, by the unaided effort of man—that they learn how to keep God’s law by first keeping man’s. Having learned this deception, they are ready for that other one which teaches that personal, individual salvation must give way to social, state, and national salvation.

God’s plan is to cleanse the heart, give us the mind of Christ, and make us new creatures in Christ Jesus. Then we will be good citizens indeed, subject to the law of God and all the laws of men that are not contrary thereto. Which is the better plan? He whose heart is wholly submitted to the will of God will not be at a loss to answer.

C. M. Snow.

TWO DEATHS.

By G. B. Thompson

THRU sin death entered into the world. Had man never disobeyed God, and thus sinned, he would never have died, but would have continued to live forever in the beautiful earth the Lord created to be inhabited. But because of disobedience, the sentence of death rests upon all the race. “We must needs die,” whether righteous or wicked.

But we read in the Bible of another death, called the “second death.” Rev. 20:6. This none of the righteous will experience. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power.” “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Rev. 20:6, 14. By means of the lake of fire, the gehenna into which all the wicked will finally be cast, the second death is inflicted upon all whose names are not found written in the book of life. Verse 15.

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” “When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.” Eze. 18:4, 26. Two deaths are here plainly brought to view; those who die in sin shall, for the sins committed, die again.

Reader, this shows that “the wages of sin is death,” not life in misery. Rom. 6:23. Life and death are placed before all (Deut. 30:19), and those who have made the choice of death will receive from the Lord that which they have done. Thru Christ only can any have life, and those who have not come to Him for life will receive their portion in the lake of fire, “which is the second death.”

Rome, N. Y. G. B. THOMPSON.

ARE THE TEN TRIBES TO RETURN?

By Wm. Sheldon

[By Wm. Sheldon, in World's Crisis.]

ALLOWING that the ten tribes were ever “lost,” where are they now? And who are they? We deny that they were ever lost except by being merged with the Gentile nations, being thus obliterated as distinct tribes, and so can not return as such. But to prove that they were lost, the claim is made in two different publications brought to me by mail recently, that Jesus recognized them as “lost” in speaking of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matt. 15:24. Jesus said to the twelve, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles; . . . but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matt. 10:5, 6. If He really meant the ten tribes, then they had previously returned, and were then where the apostles preached to them; then why talk about their future return, as they were not to return twice? So much for that assumption.

But who are they? We are gravely told, without proof, “They are the English-speaking people—Englishmen and Americans—often called Anglo-Saxons.” “The Anglo-Saxons are the actual descendants of the lost ten tribes.” No proof given, only that they “are a multitude.” Well, if they are the class, there are over a hundred millions of them to return to Palestine, aside from the twelve millions of the two tribes called Jews; and such a return would overpopulate Palestine at the start.

Then it is claimed that deaths will be rare in that “millennial age,” and human longevity great, so that a person will be counted a child at the age of one hundred years, and the inhabitants be fruitful even in old age. So 1,000 Palestines would not hold them at the end of the “millennial age”!

With such a return of Anglo-Saxons and Jews to Palestine—a little country about the size of New Hampshire—there would be at the very start over ten thousand population to the square mile, while this little State averages only about forty-two to the square mile. These figures show overpopulation at the beginning! Then think of the increase annually, with but slight decrease by death, owing to the longevity then due—the thing is self-explosive!

Then, too, what a task we Anglo-Saxons will have in tracing our pedigree! What a host of ships needed to carry us! Let it not be said that a mere part will meet the demand; for when we prove from the Bible that Cyrus offered them all a chance to go under his decree, and prove from history that a part of the ten tribes did return with the two, we are told that all must go, to fill the prophecy; if this is so, then all the Anglo-Saxons must go, if they are the lost tribes, even if they pack Palestine ten deep! If the claim is good, these absurdities follow.

Other future-age believers are less certain who or where the ten lost tribes now are, but feel equally certain that they are yet to return to Palestine as tribes. An English work entitled “Israel Gathered,” thus speaks:—

For upwards of 2,600 years have the ten tribes been scattered abroad, their dispersion taking place B.C. 721. From Assyria and Media they went into various parts, and no one now can tell with certainty where they are. “Many conjectures,” as a writer in the Restitution says, “have been made with reference to them. Some think they are in an open country at the North Pole. Others locate them in Africa, in China, in Afghanistan. Some say they are the Anglo-Saxon race. God knows where they are and who they are; and as the time is at hand for Jehovah to recover them, He will gather them from all the lands thru which they are now scattered, and bring them into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

That they were not lost as late as the third century before Christ, is made clear by Josephus, who tells us that Ptolemy Philadelphus then requested “Eleazar, the high priest” in Jerusalem, to send six of the elders out of every tribe, to translate the law of Moses into Greek—seventy-two in all—that the high priest sent the law and the required number of translators from each tribe, saying, “Send back the law when it is translated; and return those to us that bring it in safety.” So six out of each tribe went from and returned to Jerusalem. So the ten tribes were not then lost; and a part of them at least lived in the region of Jerusalem, to which region they went at the return from Babylon; for Josephus tells us that copies of Cyrus’ edict were sent to the ten tribes, offering them the opportunity of returning, and also that “many” of them did then return with the two tribes, while the bulk rejected the offer, as well as some of the two tribes—and their posterity in time were amalgamated with the Gentile nations, and their tribeship was thus obliterated, so as distinct tribes they can never return. In no other sense have they ever been lost. Their age, furthermore, ended long ago, and they have no further claim on their original land as a distinct people. Now Gentiles and Jews stand on a level, “the middle wall of partition being broken down,” never to be rebuilt. So God has put “no difference” between us and them; we shall all return, if worthy, in the immortal state, but none as fleshly claimants.

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