Signs of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 34. (8/27/1896)

Signs of the Times

Aug 27, 1896

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 27, 1896

Mountains and Sea

Mountains and Sea.—Striking symbols are both to the Christian. The word of God uses them continually, now associated with the wonderful events in the plan of redemption, and then symbolizing some wonderful truth important to remember.

Mountains.—How majestic they are! What symbols of strength and stability! Rising oftimes from the deepest sea, they tower among the clouds, their tops basking in eternal light of star or moon or sun. How beautiful, rugged, and grand their ever-changing shapes and scenery, lights and shadows! Pyramid, tower, and spire, thunder-riven pinnacle, and weather-beaten dome, sheer cliff and lofty battlement, castle and cathedral, arch and niche, turret, minaret, and cupola, exceeding the grandest of earth, are found in profusion among many of the mountainous districts of earth. What places of refuge they form for the feeble cony or the ferocious lion, or the refugees of human kind! The greatest lands of all lands are the mountainless lands.

God Honors Mountains.—God has seemed to honor mountains above all other conformations of nature. It was on a mountain—Ararat—that the ark of the Deluge found rest. It was on Mount Moriah, “the mount of the Lord,” that God tested Abraham, and then revealed himself to “the father of the faithful” as Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide.” It was at the “Mountain of God” that the Angel of Jehovah met with Moses. It was in that mountain that Moses and Aaron met previous to their meeting with the haughty Pharaoh. It was from the same mountain that God revealed his presence, in majesty, power, and love, in the giving of his law. It was in “the mountain of God” that Moses, “the man of God,” communed with his Creator and Redeemer face to face, as a man talketh with his friend, and for twice forty days did neither eat nor drink, sustained by God’s presence. It was to the same mountain more than six centuries later that Elijah, the prophet of God, fled, and for forty days communed with God, neither eating nor drinking. It was on Mount Carmel that God answered his servant’s prayer for rain. It was from Mounts Ebal and Gerizim that were pronounced God’s curses and blessings upon the disobedient and the faithful—the cursings for the disobedient, the blessings for the faithful. From Nebo’s height Moses beheld the goodly prospect of the Promised Land, and the future of his people, and there he died, and the Lord buried him. On Mount Zion was built “the city of David,” Jerusalem, even as its prototype, the city of the Great King, the New Jerusalem, on Mount Zion above. On a mountain our Lord was tempted. In the mountains he prayed. On the mountain top he was transfigured with the glory of God. On Calvary he was crucified. From Olivet he ascended to heaven; and when he returns, his feet will first rest upon that holy height. We may not mention all the mountains of that wonderful land. More interesting in their associations are they than fiction. From snow-capped Hermon and Lebanon in the north to rugged and glorified Horeb in the south of that land of wonder, God has honored the mountains with the footsteps of his presence.

Safety, Strength, and Endurance.—So God uses them as symbols of strength and power and of himself and his attributes. Man sees in the mountains strength, stability, firmness, endurance. The sea is ever changing; the valleys are flooded; but the everlasting mountains remain unmoved. As symbols of strength, God uses them of earthly kingdoms (Rev. 17:9; Jer. 51:25). In referring to the religion of Christ with other religions, the former is “the mountain of the house of the Lord,” the other systems, “the hills” (Micah 4:1). Difficulties insurmountable to man are as “great mountains” (Zech. 4:7), but to God they are as plains. God uses mountains, the one object of nature above all others speaking of strength, power, and sublimity to man, as symbols of his might, power, and goodness in man’s behalf. So God’s “righteousness is like the great mountains” (Ps. 36:6); and those who believe him receive of that righteousness through grace (Rom. 3:22). Because of this the psalmist sings, “Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong.” Ps. 30:7. And this is God’s promise to the believer: “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can not be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever.” Ps. 125:1, 2. And yet while God promises

all that is good to man by the symbols which seem the most secure and abiding, he also tells us that he is stronger than the strongest of earth. “By his strength [he] setteth fast the mountains” (Ps. 65:6), and yet at his presence the everlasting mountains are scattered, are overturned by the roots, are molten under him. At his word even the floods prevailed above the mountains. The mountains quake at his presence, and are cleft by his power; for God is stronger than the mountains; yea, he himself is the Stone, the Rock, which will become “a great mountain and fill the whole earth.” He tells us that his power and love and care are likened to the strongest things we know, and assures us above this that he is infinitely greater and stronger than the greatest and strongest of earth. And all he is, infinitely stronger than the everlasting mountains and perpetual hills, he is for every soul that will trust him. What a refuge! What a mighty comfort!

The Sea.—“The sea is His, and He made it,” and all God made is good. But the restless, raging, roaring, turbid, angry sea is not a symbol of comfort to man, altho it has its useful lessons. It was a flood of waters that destroyed a world, and that engulfed Pharaoh’s host. It was the Sea of Death that covered the proud cities of the plain, from which Lot escaped to a mountain. It was by the sea enraged that Satan sought to destroy Christ, then his disciples, then Paul. While the Sea of Galilee has many pleasant and blessed associations, the sea of itself, or seas in general, do not convey to the Bible reader the comfort, consolation, and strength of the hills and mountains.

The Sea as a Symbol.—Twice only, we recall as we write, does it bring joy and comfort in a symbolic sense to the child of faith. God tells his people that if they would hearken to him their peace should be as a river, flowing sweetly along, enriching, refreshing, and blessing all the land, and their righteousness like the waves of the sea, following wave on wave, bearing down all opposition, rolling unceasingly its riches over the earth. This is one; the other is that the sea, which buries from sight forever so many of the dear and loved of earth, is the grave of our sins; for has not God said, “I will cast all their sins in the depths of the sea?” But in another aspect—its instability—it is used as an opposite symbol. The unstable man is “like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed,” and, in a wider sense, “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isa. 57:20, 21. The sea, therefore, becomes a fit symbol of the peoples of earth who know not God, controlled by Satan, the dragon, the leviathan, the crooked serpent (Isa. 27:1), and out of which restless mass came the great but changing kingdoms of earth (Dan. 7:2, 3; Rev. 13:1). Raging, restless sea! weary with constant motion, sobbing out its eternal despair, striving against island and shore, tossing all things on its ever-heaving breast, beating against the eternal rocks, yet perpetually bound and limited by God’s decree in the shifting sand, what a picture thou art of the life of all alienated from the life of God! Its sad moaning seems as the wails of lost souls. Its restless throb like huge birds beating out life against the bars of their cage. Boundless, restless sea! Boundless, restless tide of humanity! Yet the sea has its Master. He spake and it divided; the restless waves and fierce undertow congealed in mighty, solid walls. Roused by the rage of “the prince of the power of the air,” its King walks upon its rolling billows as tho it were a solid rock. Filled with ruined hopes and wrecked lives, he preserves a servant in its depths. A symbol of the lost, he brings from its briny depths the creatures which symbolize the souls rescued by the great Fisher of men.

Hope for All.—And so there is hope. The restless, raging sea hath its Master, even Him who is stronger than the everlasting mountains. He calls to every restless, despairing, hopeless, helpless, imprisoned soul, “Come unto me; . . . I will give you rest.” From out the great sea of human life, he will rescue every soul who longs for him. He is the Rock of refuge on every sin-wrecking shore. He is the Rock cleft for shelter from all storm. He rides in every craft which desires him, and, tho seeming asleep, will say to the raging waves, “Peace, be still.” He is the Rescuer, the Saviour. He throws strong life-lines within reach of every shipwrecked soul struggling in the breakers of life’s sea. His life-boat is ever ready to give them berth. His danger signals may be seen and heard by every one who will heed. There is help, there is hope, and life, and eternal salvation, in him. O sinner, why will you not choose him, the eternal Rock, find refuge in his rifted side, and in the weary land rest in the sweetness of his shadow? He freely offers his righteousness “like the great mountains.” He will make you strong like the rock, on which all the waves of strife and turmoil will beat in vain. You may then look upon the deep, deep sea as the eternal sepulchre of your sins, and the mighty mountains as God’s strong promises to preserve and save. And then if you will trust him to the end, he will bring you to the new earth, to the everlasting mountain of his love, where “there shall be no more sea,” and no more sin.

Old and New Style.—A correspondent sends us an article on the change of the calendar from Old Style to New Style by Pope Gregory in 1532, whereby the period of ten days was dropped from the calendar made by Julius Cæsar, the one then in vogue in European countries, and asks us how this affects the Sabbath. By this change October 5, 1532, was called October 15, 1532. This corrected the mistake in the calendar of Cæsar. England did not make the change until 1752, when September 3 of that year was called September 14; it took eleven days to correct the calendar of Cæsar. Russia still holds to the Old Style. But these changes did not affect the day of the week. For instance, if October 4, 1532, fell on Tuesday, October 15, the next day, fell on Wednesday, and many could have reckoned both ways, dating their letters as follows:—

“Rome, Italy, Wednesday, October 5 (O. S.), or October 15 (N. S.), 1532.”

The day of the week remained the same. This is shown by the facts that there was no difference between the reckoning of the days of the week in Great Britain and the rest of Europe between 1532 and 1752, altho the former reckoned according to the Old Style and the latter by New Style; and the further fact that the week of Russia (where Old Style prevails) is identical with the week of the rest of Europe and America, where New Style is in vogue. None of the changes in years or days of the month of the past have affected the days of the week.

IS THE LAW WEAK?

A CORRESPONDENT refers to an article in this journal which speaks of the weakness of the law, that carnal man could not obtain salvation through the law, because it was weak through the flesh; and our critic thinks this is strange doctrine. He asks:—

How can the law of the All-wise One be weakened by foolish flesh? How can the law be good, and be weakened by the flesh which is not good? How can the law be holy, and be weakened by the flesh which is unholy? etc.

Our correspondent has misunderstood the article to which he refers. God’s law is eternal, immutable, unchangeable, potent with all God’s infinite strength. Puny man can never change God’s law. The writer of the article criticized does not for a moment believe otherwise than this.

But God has made every man a free moral agent. Before man sinned, if he had been faithful to God, the infinite strength of God’s law would have been wrought out in his character. But man sold himself under sin. He became a slave of sin. He perverted God’s law in his own life, so that death resulted instead of life. Now when he would do good, evil is present with him. (See Rom. 7:14-21.) The law is good and spiritual and holy, but man is sinful. The law is strong, but man is weak. The trouble is not with the law, but with the flesh. The law is “weak through the flesh,” which means that sinful flesh can not keep God’s law. Sinful man may try to love his enemy, but his sinful heart prevents him. The law is strong enough to enable him to do it, but the fleshly heart is too weak even to yield to its claims; the flesh will not permit it.

But Christ Jesus, the Anointed of God, the personification of the law, the One who has kept the law, the Being whose character reflects the law, comes to the poor, weak sinner and sets him free, gives him cleansing from sin, imputes his own perfect obedience of the past, imparts to the sinner his mighty life, and then the man can do God’s law. The flesh no longer perverts the law; the Spirit of God in the flesh is stronger than the flesh. Then and not till then the law is kept. The strength comes from God through faith.

LIVING FOR OTHERS.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

In our study last week we learned that the members of the church of Christ are not judges one of another, but fellow-servants of one common Lord. We are not taught that it is a matter of indifference whether or not we keep the commandments of God—quite the contrary, since we are all to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and be judged by them—but we are taught that in those things concerning which the law of God does not speak particularly, one man's ways are as good as another's. We learned even further that even one who may be faulty with respect to an express commandment, is not to be dealt with harshly, and condemned. Such a course can not help one, and, besides, we have no right to do so, since we are but servants.

We now come to the study of the continuation of the same subject, in Rom. 14:14-23:—

“I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of; for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

In order to save time and space we will omit the questions on the text, leaving each reader to question it for himself. Study each statement carefully, and consider its connection, as well as the general subject, and what is stated elsewhere in the Bible concerning the same thing. As many errors arise from careless reading of the Bible, and from hasty conclusions from detached statements, as from wilful perversion of the word. Possibly many more are the result of lack of proper thought than of deliberate wilfulness. Let us therefore always take heed how we read.

Clean and Unclean.

The apostle says, “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” If we consider well the subject under consideration, we shall not wrest this scripture from its connection. The thing presented from the beginning of the chapter is the case of a man with so little real knowledge of Christ that he thinks righteousness is to be obtained by the eating of certain kinds of food, or by not eating certain things. The idea clearly conveyed by the entire chapter is that it is by faith, and not by eating and drinking, that we are saved.

A little consideration of the question of clean and unclean food will help us much. There is a strange idea prevalent, to the effect that things that were at one time unfit for food are perfectly wholesome now. Many people seem to think that even unclean beasts are made clean by the Gospel. They forget that Christ purifies men, not beasts and reptiles.

There were plants that were poisonous in the days of Moses, and those same plants are poisonous now. The very people who seem to think that the Gospel makes everything fit to eat, would be as much disgusted at the thought of eating cats, dogs, caterpillars, spiders, flies, etc., as any Jew would have been in the days of Moses. Instead of finding that a knowledge of Christ reconciles one to such a diet, we find, on the contrary, that it is only the most degraded savages who make use of them for food, and such a diet is both a sign and cause of degradation. Enlightenment brings carefulness in the selection of food.

Now there is no one who can imagine the apostle Paul or any other person of good sense and refinement eating everything that he could possibly find on earth. Altho most people think themselves wiser than God in the matter of eating and drinking, there are, as there always have been, certain things universally held to be unfit for food. Therefore when the apostle says that nothing is unclean of itself, he evidently confines his remark to those things which God has provided for man's eating. There are people whose conscience is so poorly instructed that they fear to eat even of things which God has given to be eaten; just as there are some who forbid the eating of “food which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving.” 1 Tim. 4:3.

So when the apostle says, “One believeth that he may eat all things,” it is evident that the “all things” does not include filth. The idea evidently is that one believes that he may eat everything that is fit to be eaten. But another, having, for instance, the thought that some of those things may have been devoted to an idol, fears to eat of them, lest he should thereby become an idolater. The eighth chapter of 1 Corinthians makes this whole subject plain, as it runs parallel with the fourteenth of Romans.

This throws light also upon the subject of days. Since the apostle evidently confines his remarks concerning food to that which it is allowable to eat, it is more clear that those days which may be considered as all alike are those days only which God has not sanctified to himself.

The Nature of the Kingdom.

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Over that kingdom Christ has been set as King; for God has said, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” Ps. 2:6. Now read further the words of the Father to the Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteous- ness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Heb. 1:8, 9.

A scepter is the symbol of power. Christ's scepter is a scepter of righteousness; therefore the power of his kingdom is righteousness. He rules by righteousness. His life on earth was a perfect manifestation of righteousness, so that he rules his kingdom by the power of his life. All those who own his life are subjects of his kingdom. No other thing but the life of Christ is the badge of citizenship in the kingdom of Christ.

But with what was Christ anointed King? The text last read says that it was with “the oil of gladness.” Then gladness, or joy, is a necessary part of the kingdom of Christ. It is a kingdom of joy, as well as of righteousness. Therefore it is that every subject of that kingdom must be filled with joy. “A gloomy Christian” is as much a contradiction of terms as “a cold sun.” The sun is for the purpose of shedding the warmth of which it is composed; so the Christian is for the purpose of diffusing the peace and joy which is a part of his nature. The Christian is not joyful simply because he thinks that he ought to be, but because he has been translated into the kingdom of joy.

“He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” He that in what things serves Christ?—Why, he who serves Christ in righteousness, and peace, and joy. Or, as some translations have it, “He that thus serves Christ.” God accepts such service, and men approve. Not only do Christians approve such service, but unbelievers are constrained to approve. The enemies of Daniel were forced to bear witness to the uprightness of his life, when they said that they could find nothing against him except in the law of his God. But that very statement was an approval of the law of his God, obedience to which made him the faithful man that he was.

Unselfishness.

Peace is a characteristic of the kingdom. Therefore those who are in the kingdom must follow the things which make for peace. But selfishness never causes peace. On the contrary, selfishness is always the cause of war, and inevitably produces war if it is persisted in. Therefore the subject of the kingdom must always be ready to sacrifice his own desires and ideas in behalf of others. The unselfish person will give up his own ways whenever they interfere with the peace of another.

But do not forget that the kingdom of God is righteousness as well as peace. Righteousness is obedience to the law of God; for “all unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17), and “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Therefore, altho by the laws of the kingdom one must necessarily give up his own wishes in order not to interfere with the feelings of others, by those same laws he is precluded from giving up any of the commandments of God. Obedience to the law of God is that which makes for peace, for we read: “Great peace have they which love thy law.” Ps. 119:165. “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” Isa. 48:18. Therefore he who is so “charitable” as to

give up any portion of the law of God, because some people are displeased with it, is not following the things which make for peace. On the contrary, he is rebelling against the kingdom of Christ.

This again shows us that the Sabbath of the Lord is not under consideration, as one of the things which are to be held as matters of mere personal opinion. The Christian has no option with regard to that. He must keep it. It is not one of the days which the subject of the kingdom may disregard if he wishes. It is one of the things that are obligatory. But there are things which one has the right to do if he wishes, but which he is not obliged to do. For instance, a man has the right to eat his food with the fingers, if he wishes to; but if that annoys his companion, the law of Christ requires him not to do so. And thus it appears that the law of Christ alone, will, if carefully heeded, make a man perfectly courteous. The true Christian is a gentleman in the best sense of that word.

There are many things that are allowable, which some people with faith that is weak, because it is uninstructed, think to be wrong. Christian courtesy, as laid down in the fourteenth chapter of Romans, requires that the better-instructed person should regard the scruples of his weaker brother. To roughly ignore those scruples, altho they may be destitute of reason, is not the way to help that brother into a wider liberty. On the contrary, it is the way to discourage him. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”

Thus it becomes evident that the fourteenth chapter of Romans, instead of teaching that the Sabbath, or anything else that pertains to the commandments of God, may be held or disregarded at pleasure, is simply a lesson in Christian courtesy and helpfulness. Consideration is to be shown for “him that is weak in the faith;” but the one who is offended by the keeping of the commandments of God, has no faith at all.

The Limitations of Conscience.

“Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God.” Faith and conscience pertain to single individuals. No man can have faith for another. No man can have faith enough to serve for two. The teaching of the Roman Church is that certain ones have had more faith than they needed, and have been more righteous than was necessary, so that they can divide with other people; but the Bible teaches that it is impossible for any man to have more faith than will serve to save himself. Therefore, no matter how well one man's faith may be instructed, no other man can be judged by it.

We hear a great deal in these days about the public conscience. We are often told that the conscience of one man is outraged by the course of another. But it is with conscience as with faith,—no man can have enough for two. The man who thinks that his conscience will serve for himself and for somebody else, has mistaken selfish obstinacy for conscience. It is this mistaken idea of conscience that has led to all the horrible persecutions that have ever been perpetrated in the name of religion. Let Christians all understand that conscience is between themselves and God alone. They are not at liberty to impose even their freedom of conscience upon another; but by the laws of the kingdom of Christ, they are obliged even to refrain at times from exercising their own freedom, out of consideration for others. That is to say, the man who can walk fast, is to help along his weak brother, who is going the same way, but more slowly. But he is not to turn around to please somebody who is walking the other way.

E. J. W.

ETERNAL LIFE AND IMMORTALITY.

While eternal life and immortality are often used interchangeably in common parlance, the Biblical distinction between them is clear and distinct. Eternal life is the life principle, the actuating principle, of the child of God. It is, in fact, the life of God operating in harmony with the law of God. Operating in any other way, it is perverted, and death takes its place. Adam had eternal life at first, and as long as Adam believed God, as long as his life was yielded to the law of God, God’s life operated in him normally. Adam possessed by creation and held by faith the life of the Eternal Spirit, or eternal life. When he fell, when he turned from God’s law, no longer yielding to its righteous claims, he lost eternal life, and became a dying man. Now God offers to regenerate the heart of the sinner, and give to him eternal life, if the sinner will only yield to the law of God, so that God may work in him to will and do of His own good-pleasure. The yielding to God is faith, and it is not faith if one does not yield. But yielding to God absolutely is the accepting of Jesus Christ and him alone for salvation. Therefore it is said: “He that hath the Son hath life;” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life;” and, “These things have I written unto you . . . that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” Thus it is said that the life of Christ is manifest in our mortal flesh, while the wicked are alienated from the life of God. (See 2 Cor. 4:11; Eph. 4:18.) But, as with Adam, this life is held only by faith. Not till man perfects character under test will he possess eternal life absolutely.

But immortality, or incorruptibility, pertains to the physical man, and is God’s stamp of an incorruptible character, perfected through faith. Or it might be said that it is God’s impress upon that character that had absolutely yielded to his holy law, the law of his life, so that God’s character was developed in it. This development is many times a mere matter of degrees in this world; for many of those who will be saved were comparatively ignorant of all God’s requirements. But they yielded absolutely to all they knew, under test, and God accepted them; and when Christ comes the second time, he will clothe the incorruptible character in incorruptible flesh, never more to know sin or death.

God gives us eternal life, his life, here, that we may develop his character. If we do this, he places upon us the eternal stamp of incorruptibility and deathlessness.

Question Corner.

“Enquire, and make search, and ask diligently.”

No. 405. The Gentiles.

Who were the gentiles? When did their times begin? And when do they end, or when fulfilled, as stated in Luke 21:20-24. A. G. N.

The gentiles were the nations outside of the Hebrews. The original words are rendered indiscriminately “nations” and “gentiles” in both Old and New Testaments. The “times of the gentiles” are the prophetic periods given by the prophets of old. See especially the book of Daniel. These periods relate to the supremacy of the unconverted nations and their oppression of God’s people. This definite time in connection with these prophecies ended in 1844. This is followed by an indefinite period to the close of probation and the second coming of Christ.

No. 406. Women in Churches.

PLEASE explain 1 Cor. 14:34, 35, in regard to women keeping silence in church: “Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; . . . for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” How do we harmonize it with the Bible? F. L.

We do not harmonize with the Bible, it is in harmony now. We may not see the harmony, because we do not know all the circumstances, and our ear perhaps is not trained to perceive it. In the first place, the apostle Paul believed in the labor of women and in women speaking; for he speaks of those who labored with him in the Gospel, like Priscilla and Mary and Tryphena and Tryphosa and the beloved Persis and the mother of Rufus and Paul, and Julia, and the sister of Nereus and Phebe (Rom. 16: 1-15), and of the women at Philippi who labored with him in the Gospel (Phil. 4: 3). He gives instruction to the church at Corinth as to how women who pray or prophesy or teach publicly should dress (1 Cor. 11: 3-6), indicating by this that praying, prophesying, or public speaking in a proper manner would not be inconsistent. See Acts 2: 17, 18. Now we do not believe that the apostle Paul contradicted in 1 Cor. 14: 34, 35 what he previously said in the same epistle. In another passage he says, “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man.” 1 Tim. 2: 12. She should not in an immodest, forward way, contrary to law, instruction, and custom, put herself forward. She should not usurp authority which God has placed in the hands of man. She should not altercate or dispute in public assemblies, or assert authority which belonged to another. But when the Spirit bade her speak or witness for Jesus, let her do it modestly, as instructed by the apostle. Says Hodge: “As the peculiar power and usefulness of women depend on their being objects of admiration and affection, anything which tends to excite the opposite sentiments should, for that reason, be avoided.” If one is disposed to quarrel with man’s headship in government, let him do it with the word. If there were more of this Biblical respect for constituted authority and regard for God’s order among his professed followers, there would be more reverence for God’s word among those without.

No. 407. Matt. 24:19, 20.

Does the application of these verses have reference only to the destruction of Jerusalem? or does it refer also to the last days? W. D.

They certainly did have reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, and from Luke 18:31, 32, which applies to the last days, it would seem that some of the troubles of the last days are identical with those which come at the destruction of Jerusalem. In fact, the latter was a type of the destruction and punishment of the apostate nations at the close of probation. The condition mentioned in Matt. 24:19 would be bad at any time for those who were forced to flee from their enemies and be subject to exposure.

Continue reading: CHRIST'S EXAMPLE IN CONTRAST WITH FORMALISM