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Review and Herald, Vol. 54, No. 16.

THE UTILITY OF COMMENTARIES

Review and Herald

Oct 9, 1879

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 9, 1879

THE UTILITY OF COMMENTARIES

By William H. Littlejohn

IN THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
No book has ever been published concerning which so much has been written and said as has been done with reference to the Holy Scriptures. Were we to employ the exaggerated language of the East, as did the “beloved disciple” on one occasion, we might well say that should all these productions be in existence at any one time, the world would not contain them.
Concerning the value and character of these writings there is a wide difference of opinion. While some regard them as altogether indispensable, others look upon them not only as useless, but actually pernicious. The one class would, perhaps, be in danger of exalting them even above the Bible itself; while the other would not only treat their authority with contempt, but also inculcate the idea that the use of them on any occasion would be culpable.
Between these two extremes of opinion, it seems to me, the golden mean of truth will be found. He who would accept the opinion of any given commentator as authoritative in settling questions of Scripture teachings, forgets that the individual whose authority he thus receives so implicitly is, like himself, a mere man, writing without the aid of Divine Inspiration, and, consequently, liable to come to wrong conclusions and inculcate unsound views of that which he is seeking to elucidate. If, therefore, he would be freed from the illusion which has taken possession of his mind, he will find the remedy in a larger acquaintance with the works of learned men upon these subjects; for he will thereby ascertain that they differ very widely in their opinions of any given passage; consequently that they cannot all be right. He will readily discover, furthermore, that it is no easy task to determine who are right and who are wrong. On the other hand, if those who have entertained a superstitious fear of consulting the writings of others upon such subjects would take pains to become more familiar with those writings, they would discover that when properly used they can be made of great service to one who labors to avail himself of all the information they can impart. While it is not to be admitted that commentators have in any sense been inspired, it is nevertheless true that, generally speaking, they have been good men. It will be perceived that this could hardly be otherwise, when it is recollected that they have voluntarily given their lives to the study of a book which could have no charms for them sufficient to stimulate such labors unless they had accepted its teachings as the embodiment of the will of God. Not only is it true that they have been men of good intentions, but it is also manifest that they have been men of great learning. Combining, therefore, as they have, both knowledge and piety, it is difficult to conceive why it is not as probable that they should be led by the Holy Spirit to a right understanding of the word, as it is that one possessing no more devotion than they, and wholly wanting in their literary and scientific attainments, should reach a more correct understanding of the Scriptures.
In fine, it has seemed to me at times that the difference between those who reject all exegetical writings as of no value whatever, and those who exalt them above the word of God, is simply the difference between those who worship themselves and those who worship others. Turning, therefore, from both these classes as unworthy of either admiration or imitation, let us consider a few reasons which favor a just appreciation and proper use of those helps in the study of the word of God which may be found in the best commentaries of our time.
To begin with, there is no one man who can be supposed, no matter how learned he may be, to possess all the resources for Bible study which are available. Those resources are continually enlarging, and the lifetime of one man would be hardly sufficient, even were they all within his reach, to enable him to acquaint himself with them. Those who suppose that the King James’ or any other translation of the Scriptures has within itself a key to all the mysteries it contains, but displays his own ignorance of the subject. Saying nothing about errors in translation, there are in our version forms of expression which have become obsolete in some cases, and in others diametrically opposed in the present signification to that which they formerly bore. The words prevent and let, for example, now mean respectively to thwart and allow. Formerly the first almost always signified to anticipate, and the latter to hinder.
If the reader would discover the effect which the ignorance of these facts would produce in the mind of the student, let him turn to 2 Thess. 2:7, and there he will find Paul declaring, respecting the rise of the Papacy, that “he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” Accepting the modern signification of the term, the uninformed would suppose that Paul meant to teach the very opposite of that which he really does; i. e., as it now stands he speaks of the power as allowing, whereas in the original he declared that it should hinder, which is the very opposite of the former; the reason of the discrepancy being found in the fact that in this, as in many other cases, the meaning of the English is the very reverse of what it was when our translation was made.
Again, a sample of forms of expression now nearly obsolete will be found in Judg. 5:17, in these words: “Asher abode in his breaches.” Ex. 34:21: “In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” In the first case the average reader, without the aid of explanation, would hardly comprehend the fact that breaches was there used to indicate havens; in the latter instance he could hardly be supposed to understand that in the old English the phrase “earing time” was synonymous with plowing time. But these illustrations must suffice in the line of obsolete terms, though many others might be adduced.
So far also as translations which would be very likely to lead astray in some cases are concerned, it will be sufficient to say that scholars are generally agreed that such inaccurate renderings do exist. In fact, it is well known that one of the objects of the New Version is the correction of the more palpable of these errors. It is probable also that the studious reader of commentaries has already been made acquainted with nearly every one of the corrections which will thus be made, and therefore is free from the danger which would result from a lack of knowledge on this subject.
But, finally, one not only needs assistance in the matter of verbal interpretation, but he also requires aid in the work of deducing from given passages the exact meaning they were designed to convey. It not infrequently occurs that the English reader loses nearly the entire force of a passage from the want of acquaintance with some Jewish custom or ancient maxim upon which it was based, and a knowledge of which is necessary to its understanding.
With most of these customs and maxims, learned expositors have acquainted themselves by years of hard labor, and the fruits of their toil are offered to us as they are set forth most clearly in their written productions.
Again, in the settlement of doctrinal points, the common mind is liable to fasten upon one or two texts and make them the ground of faith, instead of taking in the whole scope of the subject by comparing all texts which may be found in the different portions of the Scriptures bearing upon the question. In the conflicts of past years, however, this tendency has been counteracted by discussion, until all the features of the various subjects, one way or another, have been quite fully brought out. If, consequently, we would enjoy the benefit of the experience of the past, and be saved from the danger of falling into the errors which have been heretofore exploded, we must do so by appropriating to ourselves the results of the labors of others. But this cannot be done without consulting such books as those the value of which we are insisting upon in this article.
While it cannot be expected that laymen should be able to read in course a very large percentage of the numerous works on Bible criticism, still they can possess themselves of one or more of these productions, which can be read in order, so as to obtain a general knowledge of the Scriptures from beginning to end. We know a family in which it is the unvarying practice to read a portion of the Scriptures and the comments thereupon at family prayers. Owning, as they do, Clarke’s Commentary, they make it a point to read two pages of the commentary each day at their morning and evening devotion. By this means they accomplish four ends: 1. They read the Scriptures themselves; 2. they obtain many side lights therefrom; 3. the practical lessons found in the observations of the commentator serve to impress the Scripture lesson, and to lend an interest to family prayers which otherwise they would not possess; 4. They thus secure system in their reading, and each day advances them toward the completion of a work which at the outset seemed so vast as to be almost unattainable.
As for the ministers, it is unnecessary to say that they, being public teachers, should be much better informed in regard to Bible literature than are those who are to be instructed by them. It is not enough that they have read the Scriptures through once or even twice. It were better they should be reading them by course continually. It is our fortune to be acquainted with one who has read the Bible through as many as forty times. People not aware of this fact are astonished at his familiarity with the book of God. But he, like every other thinking man, is aware that the mere reading of the Bible texts over and over again—while beneficial in itself in a certain degree—is not to be compared in its results with the reading of it a much less number of times in connection with those Bible helps which should be found in the library of every minister; hence he has not failed to consult such helps very largely in connection with his daily reading.
Even though a preacher should be able to read the sacred Book correctly in the original tongues, he could not afford to allow himself to remain unacquainted with the opinions which learned men have given of these writings. Should he attempt to preach without this acquaintance, we venture to say he would find himself balked at every turn by questions from old and young, of which, perhaps, he had never dreamed, and to which he would be incapable of giving an intelligent answer. Take, for example, the genealogy of Christ as a single specimen. The light now shining upon that subject is ample; but that light is the result of the labor of many minds. Perhaps there is not a man living at the present time who would be able to elucidate that question satisfactorily from the Bible merely, without appealing to Jewish customs and usages which have been made known to us through the patient study of men of letters.
From these considerations we think it is clear; first, that every minister should read and reread habitually our English version of the word of God; secondly, that when it is possible he should acquire a knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages; thirdly, that whether he have this knowledge or not, he should read the Bible in connection with the best commentaries which are accessible to him; fourthly, that from the beginning to the end of his ministry he should draw to himself, from every direction, all information which could be of service to him in expounding the book of God.

OUR SAVIOUR'S NEW LAW.

By Chas. B. Reynolds

The pertinacity with which people cling to “teachings of men” and reject the teachings of the Bible—even the very plainest declarations of the Saviour himself—would be inexplicable but for the prophecy describing the condition of the world in our day.
“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come [margin, the latter day] forever and ever; that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.” Isa. 30: 8, 9.
It is with great confidence asserted that we are no longer to respect or heed God’s holy, perfect law—the ten commandments, which were given for the conversion of the soul, but that a new and better law is taught us by our Saviour; namely, that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourself, and that this, being a new and better law, supersedes the law of God. That so many religious, wise, and prudent people can honestly be so much in error is really marvelous, and would seem impossible but for God’s declaration: “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” Isa. 29: 13, 14.
That this lack of wisdom and failure to understand is especially in regard to the keeping of the ten commandments, we have the positive declaration of Jesus: “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15: 3, 7–9.
To prove that we are now under our Saviour’s new law we are referred to Matt. 22: 36–40: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
you to offer us? but, Which is the great commandment in the law?—in the law already existing. In the parallel text, Mark 12: 28, 31, our Saviour quotes the very words of Moses. In Deut. 5, Moses recites the ten commandments; in chapter 6 he sums them up.
Let us compare the words of Jesus and Moses.
JESUS.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.” Mark 12: 29, 30.
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 31.
“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12: 32, 33.
MOSES.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deut. 6: 4, 5.
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord.” Lev. 19: 18.
This identifies the law of the ten commandments, and separates it from the ceremonial law. It proves that the law to which Jesus referred was the same law referred to by Moses, the ten commandments, to which God added no more.
“These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” Deut. 5: 22.
In Matt. 19: 16, 17, we read that the young man asked the all-important question, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” And Jesus answered, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” The young man, like the lawyer, asks, “Which?” Not which one of the ten commandments—but which code—the moral or the ceremonial? Christ said, “Keep the commandments,” and identifies the code of ten commandments to which God added no more, quoting from the second table. It is asserted that Jesus did not mention the Sabbath, therefore obedience to the fourth precept is not a condition of eternal life. Christ did not mention idolatry or profanity. Did he therefore teach that we can obtain eternal life while worshiping idols, blaspheming, and swearing? Christ had already declared that every jot and tittle of this code of ten commandments must remain in full force till heaven and earth should pass away. Matt. 5: 18, and Luke 16: 17.
The young man claimed to have kept this code; but Jesus proved to him that he had not kept the very first precept; for he had other gods before the true God—he loved his possessions more than he loved God; for he could not part with them, and so turned sorrowfully away.
Our Saviour gave no new law, nor left out a jot or tittle of the old law which we had from the beginning. In proof of this, let us place his two answers to the same question side by side.
TO THE YOUNG MAN.
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matt. 19: 16, 17.
TO THE LAWYER.
“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Luke 10: 25–28.
“What is written in the law? how readest thou?” In reply, the lawyer quotes the words of Moses when summing up the ten commandments—the very same words Jesus quoted when asked which was the greatest of these commandments. Our Saviour says to the young man, “Keep the commandments.” To the lawyer, after he had quoted them in part, he said, “This do, and thou shalt live.”
But did not Christ give us a new commandment? Did he not himself call it a new commandment? “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13: 34. This certainly was a new commandment to the Jews—to love as Christ loved. Jesus came not to change, alter, or to make void, the law, but to magnify and make it honorable; to teach its depth and breadth. Let us learn from the beloved disciple John, who gives us this record, in what sense it was a new commandment: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” 1 John 2: 6–10. “For this is the message [or commandment—see margin] that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.” 1 John 3: 11, 12.
John here shows what he means by the command we had from the beginning, that it was from creation, and was known to Cain. We know this law must have existed from the beginning and before the creation of the earth; for when God created the first angelic intelligence in Heaven itself, the first duty of that intelligence was to love its Creator; and when the second intelligence was created, his duty must have been to love his Creator and the other created being.
Christ, the Son of God, twice positively declares that if we would have eternal life, the first great essential is to keep the commandments—not nine-tenths of them, not some new and better law, but the ten commandments which God spake; which he wrote with his own finger, and added no more. Keep the law as it is written, as you read it. “This do, and thou shalt live.”
CHAS. B. REYNOLDS.

ISAIAH 10:3.

By Mrs. L. D. A. Stuttle

Oh! where will ye fly in that burning day When the rolling heavens shall pass away, And the trembling sinner in vain shall pray For the covering rocks to fall, That they may be hid from the face of Him Who sits enthroned ’mid the seraphim, The terrible Judge of all?
Oh! where will ye fly when the angels bright Shall gather the saints to those realms of light? What dark despair like the shades of night On thy trembling heart shall roll? “Depart, depart, for I know you not.” Thy fearful doom is the scoffer’s lot, The loss of the priceless soul.
Thy gold and silver shall not avail— The cherished hopes of thy life shall fail, And sad indeed is the bitter wail That rings from the anguished heart! Flee, sinner, flee from the wrath to come, Ere the mighty Judge shall have sealed thy doom, By the terrible word, “Depart.”
MRS. L. D. A. STUTTLE. Vernon, Mich.

UNDER THE CANVAS.

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS CRUSADING DENVER.

The Denver (Col.) daily Tribune, under the above heading, gives the following account of an interview with Eld. Corliss, while engaged in the tent-meeting he has just held in that city:—
A reporter of the Tribune, while walking up Sixteenth street the other evening, observed, on the corner of Sixteenth and Glenarm streets, a mammoth tent. On entering he learned that it was a tabernacle or cotton church, erected for the purpose of holding a series of advent meetings. Entering into conversation with Eld. Corliss, the minister in charge, the following, in substance, passed between them:—
“For what object is this tent here?”
“We hold religious services here each evening.”
“How are these services conducted?”
“We are giving a series of biblical lectures. Each service is opened with singing and prayer, then follows a discourse upon some interesting Bible theme.”
“What denomination do you represent?”
“That body of Christians known as Seventh-day Adventists.”
“At what point of time do you look for the end of the world?”
“We do not preach the definite time of the second coming of Christ. From the fulfillment of prophecy, and the signs of the times, however, we regard that eventful day near.”
“But have not your people set the time for the end of the world?”
“We have not. Mr. Miller and his associates and followers, who were Adventists, did set the time, and were disappointed. But Seventh-day Adventists have arisen since the passing of Mr. Miller’s time in 1844. And while there have been branches of Adventists who have set different times, and have as often been disappointed, Seventh-day Adventists have from their earliest existence repudiated definite time-setting.”
“Does Freeman, of the Pocasset tragedy, belong with your branch of Adventists?”
“He does not. That company being interviewed a few weeks since by Eld. D. A. Robinson, of Massachusetts, confessed ignorance of the existence of such a people as the Seventh-day Adventists.”
“From what point of time do the people holding your distinctive views date their existence? what are your religious sentiments? and what are your people doing?”
Here Eld. Corliss became talkative, and gave in substance the following historical sketch of his people:
As early as 1845 two of the ablest first-day Adventist ministers examined the claims of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and finding no divine authority in the New Testament for the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, they began to teach their people in harmony with the declaration of the divine law, that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” But the pressure brought to bear against them by their brethren for what was regarded as practical heresy, was such that they soon abandoned the original Sabbath of Jehovah.
Eld. Joseph Bates of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, was the first Seventh-day Adventist minister who remained firm to the advocacy of the Sabbatarian views. He embraced the Sabbath from reading the productions of Elders Preble and Cook upon the subject, and in 1846 published a pamphlet in defense of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The writings and discourses of Eld. Bates called the attention of Eld. James White and his wife, Mrs. E. G. White, to the Sabbath question in 1846, since which time they have been able and ardent advocates of the doctrines now held by Seventh-day Adventists.
Mr. and Mrs. White have traveled and preached extensively. Their field of labor has extended from Maine to California, and from Dakota to Texas, embracing twenty-four States and Territories, besides the Canadas. And in connection with their public labors as speakers, they have been among the most prominent writers and authors in the denomination. Eld. White has acted the part of editor and publisher since 1849, and Mrs. White has 5,000 pages of her own writings in the field. In 1861 a publishing association was incorporated according to the laws of the State of Michigan, and located at Battle Creek. Its growth has been rapid, and its influence wide-spread and powerful. It is said to be as complete a publishing house as exists on the continent. Periodicals and publications are issued here in six languages besides the English.
In 1875 a publishing association was by them incorporated according to the laws of the State of California, and located in the beautiful city of Oakland. This publishing house has a complete outfit of steam presses, type and bindery, and also has a type foundry where stereotyping, electrotyping, and the manufacture of type are extensively carried on. From their California publishing house is issued a weekly paper entitled The Signs of the Times, which has a circulation in all the States and Territories, the British Provinces, and in Europe wherever the English language is read. They regard the press as the right arm of their strength, and circulate their reading matter through tract and missionary societies which are organized wherever they extend their work. Their ministers are all evangelists. In the warmer seasons they extend their work by means of portable cotton meeting-houses like the one we have here in Denver. There are not less than eighty of those in operation the present season in the United States and Canada, besides one in England and another in Norway.
Seventh-day Adventists are a most thorough temperance people. They regard it necessary to observe strict temperance in all their habits of life in order to enjoy health and clear mental and spiritual vision. From their first existence this work of reform has been progressing among them, until they have, as a denomination, put alcoholic drinks, tobacco, tea and coffee out of the camp. This great work has not been accomplished by rigid rules, making abstinence from these useless and hurtful things a test of Christian fellowship, but by enlightening the mind and earnestly appealing to the conscience. In 1867 a legally incorporated association was formed by them, to more fully carry out health and temperance principles. This has resulted in a mammoth institution known as the Battle Creek Sanitarium for the cure of the sick. The main building is 150x137 feet, four stories in height above the basement. Besides this there are seven large cottages, in all capable of entertaining three hundred patients. In 1874 the Seventh-day Adventists formed an educational association under the laws of Michigan. They have a neat school building of brick, 37x71, with two hall wings, each 17x37, three stories high above the basement, capable of accommodating five hundred students. The annual attendance is five hundred. This school is known as the Battle Creek College.
“In the presentation of their religious sentiments, Seventh-day Adventists adopt the literal interpretation of the sacred Scriptures. They hold that every text should be understood as meaning what it says, excepting those passages where it is evident from the text and context that a parable or figure is employed. Hence they understand the plain declarations of the word of God relative to the second appearing of Jesus Christ as meaning word for word just what they say. And applying the rule of biblical interpretation to the fourth precept of the moral code, the ten commandments, they are shut up to the observance of the seventh day, the only day of the week commanded to be sacredly observed as the Sabbath in all the Bible. These two prominent features of their religious faith distinguish them from other denominations; hence they have taken the name, Seventh-day Adventists.”

LAST-DAY SCOFFERS.

By G. S. Honeywell

David says, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” And Peter addresses this class as follows: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
Peter has told us what the last-day scoffers would say. And we present the following quotation to show what they are now saying, and how perfectly it fulfills this prophecy of Peter. There appeared recently in the Daily Republican, of Wilmington, Del., an editorial in which the writer says:—
“The earth shows no sign of loss of power or vigor. The sun gives forth its light and heat, the moon waxes and wanes, the stars twinkle in the firmament, and the earth revolves on its axis with as great precision as at the beginning. There is no lack of productive powers. The seasons come and go; winter succeeds summer, and summer, winter. Children are born, live, and die; and for aught we can see there is no sign whatever of any probable change of the course of events. . . . Thousands of generations, if not untold millions, are just as likely to pass away as those which have preceded them.”
This is the “peace and safety” cry which the apostle refers to in 1 Thess. 5:3, when sudden destruction is about to come upon those who are willingly ignorant of these things. 2 Peter 3:5–7. They give no heed unto the things which were written for their admonition, which things are able to make them wise unto salvation. They close their eyes to the gracious warnings of the Almighty, and heap odium upon his works.
Again the editor says: “The Millerite delusion and other similar movements prove the absurdity and folly of such predictions.” This is the way they talk about a message from God in their own day; and like the scribes and Pharisees of old, they “build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.” The world will see, after it is too late to profit by it, that Wm. Miller’s message was of God. The time will soon come when they will no longer call it the “Millerite delusion.” But some will ask, If this message was of God, why did not Christ come in 1844? I would answer that that was no part of the message which Wm. Miller was authorized to proclaim. The religious world knows so little about this message, that this declaration will doubtless be startling news to many. Rightly informed, they will understand the burden of Wm. Miller’s message to be the one announced by the angel of Rev. 14:6: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Verse 7. This was the truth he preached besides the “everlasting gospel,” which made his message the present truth for this generation. And this was based on the prophecy of Dan. 8:14. The angel who was commissioned to make Daniel understand the vision, said unto him: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days [years], then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
No prophet except Christ ever fully understood all parts of his own prophecy. Noah, Daniel, and John the Baptist were all left for a time in the dark in reference to the fulfillment of some portion of their own words; and this was the case with Wm. Miller. He declared the hour of God’s judgment come; Rev. 14:7; that time should be no longer; Rev. 10:6; and that the sanctuary should be cleansed in 1844.
His message was in fulfillment of all these scriptures; the proof of which, when given, is so plain that even a child can comprehend it.Although these scriptures do not declare that Christ would come at that time, Wm. Miller concluded that he would; yet that was no part of the message. The time (Oct. 22, 1844) passed, and Christ did not come. Ah! bitter indeed was that disappointment. Be it understood that at that time there was no separate, organized body of Adventists,—they were scattered among all denominations. Those who really loved the Lord from the heart would not lightly cast away their confidence in God’s word and work, which has great recompense of reward. But alas! many drew back unto perdition, giving up all hope, instead of waiting for the salvation that was afterward to be revealed.
But as I have before stated, Wm. Miller did not fully understand the truths he declared. He supposed that the earth was the sanctuary, and that it would be cleansed by fire at the revelation of our Lord from Heaven. But a further examination of the Scriptures showed that the cleansing of the sanctuary was the work of our great High Priest in Heaven,—the cleansing of the heavenly or anti-typical sanctuary, or the great day of atonement, the investigative judgment, the blotting out of the sins of God’s people. This work is accomplished by Jesus Christ in the second apartment or “most holy place” of the true tabernacle, which God pitched, and not man (see Heb. 8 and 9), just prior to his laying off his priestly robes and putting on his kingly apparel. When this work is accomplished, he returns to this earth to reward his people,—to resurrect the righteous dead and translate the righteous living. Then will be fulfilled Eze. 37:12–14.
The declaration of the angel of Rev. 10:6, “that time should be no longer,” did not refer to probationary time, as many suppose, but prophetic time of Dan. 8:14, contained in the little book which the angel held in his hand. This is evident from the fact that the angel tells John that he must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Rev. 10:11. And it was not until after John had taken the “little book” out of the angel’s hand and eaten it up (which indicates digesting—comprehending its teachings), that he (the church) understood that the definite day was hid from mortal eyes. But although we may not know the day or hour, yet we may know when it is near, even at the door, according to the parable of the fig tree, Matt. 24:32.
But another sign of the soon coming of the Lord is these scoffers themselves. For Peter tells us that they shall come in the last days; and it would be difficult to imagine any days later than the last days. Now all candid people must acknowledge according to this prophecy that the second coming of Christ is very near. Please mark this solemn fact, all you who claim that the Bible is the only rule of faith and practice, and are scoffing at the idea of the advent near. True believers in Christ will discern the signs of the times; Luke 12:56; and they will be found giving meat in due season, while waiting and watching for him. G. S. HONEYWELL.

THE ENCHANTED GROUND.

By S. M. B.

We hear much concerning the perils of the last days; but do we realize that they are right upon us, and that we are already in the sifting time? While increasing light is being shed upon the word of God, Satan is making renewed efforts to bring temptation and discouragement upon God's people. Evidences of this are increasing on every hand. Yet we read, in 1 Cor. 10:13, that the Lord is faithful, who will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. Blessed promise! And what is this way of escape? In Mark 14:38, we read, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” These words were addressed to the disciples of Christ under peculiar circumstances, when their greatest danger was in being overcome with sleep. Is not one of our greatest dangers at this time that of being overcome by a spiritual lethargy that benumbs our sensibilities so that we do not realize the sinfulness of sin?
If we could but realize what it has cost to redeem us, even the death of God's dear Son, would not a sense of love and gratitude awaken us to renewed zeal and earnestness in his service? Each day as it passes leaves us one day less to prepare for the Judgment, one less to labor for those around us, and one less to struggle with the temptations of Satan. Time is short, and oh, what a work must be accomplished for God's professed people. Many of us have friends who are already convinced on the main points of present truth, but yet stand halting. Oh, for the power of the Spirit of God to set the truth home to the heart and conscience, and enable them to take their stand on the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. May we all awake and seek God with agonizing earnestness for ourselves and those around us, remembering that no toil or self-denial is too great to endure in the Master's cause.
S. M. B.

What Is Wanted.

We want in you a Christianity that is Christian across counters, over dinner tables, behind the neighbor’s back as in his face. We want in you a Christianity that we can find in the temperance of the meal, in moderation of dress, in respect for authority, in amiability at home, in veracity and simplicity in mixed society. Rowland Hill used to say that he would give very little for the religion of a man whose very dog and cat were not the better for his religion. We want fewer gossiping, slandering, gluttonous, peevish, conceited, bigoted Christians. To make them effectual, all our public religious measures, institutions, benevolent agencies, missions, need be managed on a high-toned, scrupulous, unquestionable sense of honor, without evasion or partisanship, or overmuch of the serpent’s cunning. The hand that gives away the Bible must be unspotted from the world. The money that sends the missionary to the heathen must be honestly earned.—Banner of Holiness.

ENDURE

I went for consolation to the sea, Hoping its song my grief might cure; But all the waves there said to me Was only this one word, “Endure.”
Then to the woods in haste I went— Pain from my heart they oft would lure; The trees were by a tempest bent, They bowed to me and said, “Endure.”
Up to the mountains did I go— Within their heights sublime and pure, Surely some spring of hope did flow— Upon their brows was graved, “Endure.”
I flew to books—within their leaves All my dull sorrow would immure— I read, “A coward only grieves At life's allotted ills”—“Endure.”
No consolation there I found—and then That one I took where help was sure; In words of fire—again, again, On every page was writ, “Endure.”
—Selected.
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