Earlier text: SEVEN REASONS FOR SUNDAY-KEEPING EXAMINEDONE spring of gladness is wholesome, noble work. No man is glad when living to himself. Man is made for the life of communion; the perfect form of human life was the life that found its blessedness in giving itself to mankind. There is physical gladness in the glory of a healthy body. That glow is the fruit of energetic action. Thus, sluggards, laggards, know nothing of the physical joy of life. Work for God, work for man, work that is twice blessed, which blesseth him that gives and him that takes, is the correspondent condition of a vigorous, glowing health in spiritual sphere. The old monks were glad because their lives were fruitful. I speak of their best days; they became the laziest and dreariest men in Christendom. But when the institution was young, they had work on hand which they believed they would rejoice in. They believed themselves the saviours of society; that by their toils, their prayers, they were helping it, beyond the power of kings and captains to help it; that their up-lifted hands kept Heaven's gates open; that their constant service was a Heaven's ladder by which angels of God descended upon the world. Let loose the wings of your loving ministry; stir your soul to some work which shall scatter blessings. If you would taste joy, fresh and pure from its fountain, do good, be ready to communicate. It is this which makes the soul instinct with vigor; aglow with health, and radiant with joy; Man is a cripple, a half-developed being, until his unselfish ministry is drawn forth. When he has tasted the joy of doing good, he is like the lame after Peter's touch, he goes out into the great temple of life, walking and leaping and praising God. Try it! If life is sad, make it glad by service, service that strains your power, that a higher power only can make you strong enough to render. But here we touch that deep perennial fountain of gladness—the joy of the Holy Ghost. The joy of a man who believes that God is with him is exuberant, irrepressible. The delight of doing the will of God, to those who have tasted it, masters all other joy. “My meat and my drink is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work.”—London Congregationalist. WELL, what if they do? It may not be true. A great many false reports are circulated, and the reputation of a good man may be sadly sullied by a baseless rumor. Have you any reason to believe that what they say about your brother is true? If not, why should you permit your name to be included among the “they” who circulate a scandal? They say—Who says? Is any person responsible for the assertion? Such phrases are frequently used to conceal the point of an enemy’s poniard who thus meanly strikes one whom he dare not openly assail. Are you helping the cowardly attack? If “they” means nobody, then regard the rumor as nothing. They say—Why do they say so? Is any good purpose secured by the circulation of the report? Will it benefit the individual to have it known? or will any interests of society be promoted by whispering it about? If not, you had better employ time and speech to some more worthy purpose. They say—To whom do they say it? To those who have no business with the affair? To those who cannot help it, or mend it, or prevent any unpleasant results? That certainly shows a tattling, scandal-loving spirit that ought to be rebuked. They say—Well, do they say it to him? or are they very careful to whisper it in places where he cannot hear, and to persons who are known not to be his friends? Would they dare to say it to him, as well as about him? No one has a right to say that concerning another which he is not ready to speak in his own ear. They say—Well, suppose it is true, are you sorry for it? or do you rejoice that a brother has been discovered erring? Oh! pity him if he has fallen into sin, and pray for him that he may be forgiven and restored. If it should be true, don’t bruit it abroad to his injury. It will not benefit you, nor him, nor society, to publish his faults. You are as liable to be slandered, or err, as your brother; and as ye would that he should defend or excuse or forgive you, do you even so to him. Remember thy follies, thy sins, and thy crimes,
How vast is that infinite debt;
Yet mercy hath seven by seventy times
Been swift to forgive and forget.
—Sel. MR. TALMAGE, in his paper, The Christian at Work, hits his target right in the center, when he says: “The church is yet to learn that its chief work is to be done by consecrated men of ordinary caliber. Great speeches never marshaled a host. An eminent Scotch divine getting into a pulpit after a week’s elaboration of a learned discourse forgot it entirely, and was compelled to give a plain talk which, under God, swept half his audience into the kingdom. There is an absurd call in the church to-day for what are called ‘big guns,’ and but little appreciation of well-loaded rifles. The ‘Swamp Angel’ in the last war was a failure. It proposed to do great things, but after awhile they found it was cracked, and were afraid to use it lest it blow up. So while men of but small capacity are doing their work well, and make no fuss about it, we have a few ‘big guns’ half cracked with conceit about themselves, and they blow up just when they are wanted for an important service.” Christian Courage and Faith in Great Works
No Christian will ever be good for anything without Christian courage, or, what is the same, Christian faith. Take it upon you readily, have it always as a law to be always doing great works—that is, works that are great to you; and this is the faith that God so clearly justifies, that your ability will be as your works. Make large ventures. Trust God for great things. With your five loaves and two fishes he will show you a way to feed thousands.—Bushnell. The Moral Hero.
By T. Starr King
It is easier to fulfill the greatest than the smallest task. It is easier to perform the moral deed which the world must witness than to crush the small temptation which comes in our private hours, inviting to a little sin which the world can never know. He is the moral hero—how few who can challenge the title!—who can resist the almost harmless impulse of selfishness like that which prompted the mind of Christ to turn the stones to bread; who can go through the day and feel that he has been faithful to every moment, and has lived in Christian relations with every man whom he has met. And, therefore, small duties are the real test of power. You cannot know a man's temper in company; see him at home. You cannot infer his benevolence from his public charities and large subscriptions; watch his intercourse with the poor. It is the frequent gifts,—yes, it is the manner of giving more than the charity, the sweet expression, the cordial sympathy, the tone of kindness, which make the penny of more value than the coldly given pound; it is these, and the frequency of these, that determine the purity and love of a person's soul.—T. Starr King. IN a speech made by the poet Bryant at a meeting of the alumni of Williams College, he thus treated Darwinism:— It is a good while since the remark was made by an English wit, that he did not like to look at monkeys, they seemed to him so much like poor relations. What was regarded at that time as a clever jest has since been taken by an eminent naturalist as the basis of an extensive system, which professes to account for the origin of the human species. According to Mr. Darwin, man is an improved monkey. In his system the lowest form of animal life is a minute, animated cell. A number of these cells come casually together and form a dab of jelly fixed on a crag in the ocean. They somehow become arranged in a sort of symmetry; they gradually acquire organs; they rise to the dignity of oysters and mussels; they multiply; by a principle of selection on the part of the parents they rise higher and higher in the scale of being; they become quadrupeds; they crawl upon the land; they waddle upon the shore in the shape of seals; they build houses as beavers, they climb trees as squirrels; their talons and paws become hands furnished with fingers, and we have the monkeys; the monkey acquires the faculty of speech, and matures into a man. It is the old theory Monboddo propounded a hundred years ago, but spread over a large surface, and set forth with new illustrations. But allowing all that its author says of consanguinity of man and the inferior animals; admitted that we are of the same flesh and blood as the baboon and the rat, where does he find his proof that we are improving instead of degenerating? He claims that man is an improved monkey; how does he know that the monkey is not a degenerate man, a decayed branch of the human family, fallen away from the high rank he once held, and haunted by a dim sentiment of his old dignity, as we may infer from his melancholy aspect? Improvement, Mr. President and gentlemen, implies effort; it is up-hill work. Degeneracy is easy; it asks only neglect, indolence, inaction. How often do the descendants of illustrious men become the most stupid of the human race? “Mark that parent hen,” said a father to his beloved son. “With what anxious care does she call together her chicks and cover them with her expanded wings. The hawk is hovering in the air, and, disappointed of his prey, may perhaps dart upon the hen herself, and bear her off in his talons. Does not this sight suggest to you the tenderness and affection of your mother? Her watchful care protected you in the helpless period of infancy, when she nourished you, taught your limbs to move, and your tongue to lisp its unformed accents. In your childhood she mourned over your little griefs; rejoiced in your innocent delights; administered to you the healing balm in sickness; and instilled into your mind the love of truth, of virtue, and wisdom. Oh! cherish every sentiment of respect for your mother. She merits your warmest gratitude, esteem, and veneration.” The Third Angel’s Message.
By Uriah Smith
EXPLANATION OF THE BEAST.
The symbols introduced in this message first demand explanation. Foremost among these stands the beast against the worship of which we are so solemnly warned. Rev. 14:9. It is introduced as something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar; and properly so; for it is fully explained in the preceding line of prophecy. In the first verse of the previous chapter a power is introduced under the title of “a beast.” It is thereafter in the same chapter called eleven times “the beast.” To that beast worship is offered. Verse 12. To that beast an image is made. Verse 14. That beast has a mark which is enforced upon the people. Verses 16, 17. In the third message of Rev. 14, it is introduced in the same manner: “the beast;” and with it, in unmistakable terms, are associated the worship, the image, and the mark: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark.” The beast of this message is, therefore, the one introduced in Rev. 13:1, and called “the beast” through the remainder of that chapter. If then, we can ascertain what power is intended by this symbol, we have an explanation of so much of the third angel’s message. This beast is a symbol of the papacy. Its connection with the “dragon,” of chapter 12, and its identity with the “little horn” which came up among the ten horns of the fourth beast mentioned in the 7th chapter of Daniel’s prophecy, prove this. The dragon gave to this beast his seat and power and great authority. The dragon represents Rome while the religion of the empire was pagan; for it was Pagan Rome, which at the opening of the Christian dispensation stood before the woman, the church, to devour, to put to death, her child, Christ in the flesh, as soon as he should be born. Rev. 12:4. Herod, a governor holding his office under the jurisdiction of Rome, which then ruled over all the earth, Luke 2:1, attempted this, Matt. 2:1–16; but Christ was delivered out of his hand. Subsequently he was caught up to God and to his throne, and is soon to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Verse 5. During the second, third, fourth, and fifth centuries of the Christian era, next to the eagle, a dragon, painted red, as if in response to the prophecy itself, was the principal standard of the Roman legions. The application of this symbol to Pagan Rome is so uniform among commentators that it need not detain us longer. The next symbol to engage our attention is the leopard beast of chapter 13, to which the dragon gives his seat, his power, and great authority. It would be sufficient on this point to show to what power the dragon, Pagan Rome, transferred its seat and gave its power. The seat of any government is certainly its capital city. The city of Rome was the dragon’s seat. But in A.D. 330, Constantine transferred the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople; and Rome was given up—to what? To decay, desolation, and ruin? No; but to become far more celebrated than it had ever before been, not as the seat of pagan emperors, but as the city of St. Peter’s successors, the seat of a spiritual hierarchy which was not only to become more powerful than political princes, but through the magic of its fatal sorcery was to exercise dominion over the kings of the earth. Thus was Rome given to the papacy; and the decree of Justinian, issued in 533, and carried into effect in 538, constituting the pope the head of all the churches and the corrector of heretics, was the investing of the papacy with that power and authority which the prophet foresaw. It is very evident, therefore, that this beast is a symbol of the papacy. But there are other considerations which prove this. This beast has the body of a leopard, the mouth of a lion, and the feet of a bear; features which show it to be some power that succeeded those three beasts of Daniel’s prophecy, and retained some of the characteristics of them all. Rome was the only power which fulfilled these specifications. But this is not Rome in its first, or pagan form; for then it was represented by the dragon. This symbol represents Rome after paganism had given way to another form of religion; but then it was papal; for Rome has presented only these two great phases, the pagan and papal. But what most clearly shows that this beast represents the papacy is its identity with the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, which horn all Protestants agree in applying to the papal power. 1. The chronology of the leopard beast and the little horn is the same. The little horn arises after the great and terrible beast, which represents Rome in its first or pagan form, is fully developed, and divided into ten parts as represented by the ten horns. Dan. 7:24. The leopard beast succeeds the dragon, which also represents Rome in its pagan form. These powers appear therefore upon the stage of action at the same time. 2. They have the same location. The little horn plucked up three horns to make way for itself. The last of these, the Gothic horn, was plucked up when the Goths were driven from Rome in 538, and the city was left in the hands of the little horn, which has ever since held it as the seat of its power. To the leopard beast also, the dragon gave its seat, the city of Rome. They therefore occupy the same location. 3. They have the same character. The little horn is a blasphemous power; for it speaks great words against the Most High. Dan. 7:25. The leopard beast also is a blasphemous power; for it bears upon its head the name of blasphemy; it has a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and he opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. Rev. 13:1, 5, 6. 4. They do the same work. The little horn by a long and heartless course of oppression against the saints of the Most High, wears them out; and they are given into his hand. Dan. 7:25. He makes war against them and prevails. Verse 21. The leopard beast also makes war upon the saints and overcomes them. Rev. 13:7. 5. They continue the same length of time. Power was given to the little horn to continue a “time and times, and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25. A time in Scripture phraseology is one year. Dan. 4:25. (The “seven times” of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation, Josephus informs us, were seven years.) Times, that is two times, the least that can be expressed by the plural, would be two years more; and the dividing of time, or half a time, half a year; making in all, three years and a half. To the leopard beast power was also given to continue forty-two months, which, at twelve months to the year, give us again just three years and a half. And this being prophetic time, a day for a year (Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6), and there being according to Scripture reckoning thirty days to a month, or three hundred and sixty days to a year (Gen. 7:11; 8:4), we have in each case twelve hundred and sixty years, for the continuance of the little horn and the leopard beast. 6. They meet the same overthrow. At the end of the time, times and a half, the dominion of the little horn was to be taken away. Dan. 7:26. At the end of the forty-two months, the same length of time, the leopard beast was also to be slain, politically, with the sword, and go into captivity. Rev. 13:3, 10. These are points which prove not merely similarity, but identity. For whenever two symbols, as in this instance, represent powers that come upon the stage of action at the same time, occupy the same territory, maintain the same character, do the same work, continue the same length of time, and meet the same fate, those two symbols must represent one and the same power. And in all these particulars there is, as we have seen, the most exact coincidence between the little horn of the fourth beast of Dan. 7, and the leopard beast of Rev. 13; and all are fulfilled by one power, and that is the papacy. Thus:— 1. The papacy succeeded to the pagan form of the Roman empire. 2. It has, ever since it was first established, occupied the seat of the dragon, the city of Rome, building for itself such a sanctuary, St. Peter’s, as the world nowhere else beholds. 3. It is a blasphemous power, speaking the most presumptuous words it is possible for mortal lips to utter against the Most High. 4. It has worn out the saints, the Religious Encyclopedia estimating that the lives of fifty millions of Christians have been quenched in blood by its merciless implements of torture. 5. It continued a time, times and a half, or forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty years. Commencing in 538, when the decree of Justinian in behalf of papal supremacy was first made effectual by the overthrow of the Goths, the papacy enjoyed a period of uninterrupted supremacy for just twelve hundred and sixty years, till the year 1798. 6. Then its power was temporarily overthrown and its influence permanently crippled by the French. Can any one doubt that the papacy is the power in question? Is not the application of this symbol established beyond the possibility of refutation? If this is so, the third angel’s message warns us against the worship of the papal power. And are men now in such danger of worshiping that power that a special warning from Heaven is demanded against it? We shall see when we come to consider what that worship is and how it is rendered. U. S. Our Educational Society and School Building.
By Geo. I. Butler
THE friends of the cause who have an interest to watch its progress doubtless read Bro. Smith’s short notice of the incorporation of the S. D. A. Educational Society, in last week’s REVIEW. The notice was very brief, but the step taken about which the notice was written, was a very important one. Another important monument is thus erected in the progress of this cause. The Seventh-day Adventist Educational Society of Battle Creek, Mich., is now a legal corporation, capable of suing and being sued, holding property, and doing those things necessary for its prosperity. The Certificate of Incorporation, duly signed and sealed, has been placed in the office of the Secretary of State, and thus the whole matter is consummated in accordance with the laws of Michigan, and pronounced upon as correct by the proper officer. As soon as the press of business will allow, those who have paid in money will receive certificates of stock, the sum of ten dollars being the price of one share. The present Board of Trustees are Geo. I. Butler, Harmon Lindsay, Ira Abbey, U. Smith, Benn Auten, E. B. Gaskill, and Horatio Lindsay. It was necessary that all who were elected should be present, that they might sign the Articles of Incorporation. The Trustees are elected annually much the same as the Trustees of the Publishing Association. The Trustees have voted to proceed to put up a school building the present season. After considering the matter, it is thought best to erect one at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars, three stories in height, capable of holding four hundred scholars, or more. We are constrained to do this by many weighty considerations, among which are the following: The Publishing Association already needs the building occupied by the school, and it would seriously retard the work to have no school building finished before a year from next fall. We shall absolutely require a building the coming autumn. If our school should increase as fast the present year as last, our present quarters would be insufficient to accommodate those who desire to attend. We have purchased the ground at a heavy expense, and every reasonable consideration would require the work to go on. There seem to be no good reasons for delay. Time is short, and we have none to lose. Our young people everywhere should be preparing themselves for usefulness, and qualifying themselves to labor in the cause of truth. A suitable building for our school should therefore be immediately prepared. We are certain that all those who have so liberally subscribed for this purpose will be anxious to have the house go up at once. They would feel sad at any delay. The season of the year has now come when the work should be entered upon at once. A large amount of lumber has been purchased very reasonably, and now stands ready for use. The stone and brick should be purchased at once and the foundation immediately laid. Why, then, it may be inquired, do you not take right hold and put the building up? There is only one thing to hinder. That is the lack of money. Had those who pledged to pay by the first of January done so, we should have no trouble at all in going forward. But there has been a lack in paying those pledges. The Trustees have appointed their building committee. They have nearly concluded upon a plan. And now if there is a delay, we want all our friends to know upon whom the responsibility of it will rest. To the friends of the cause, we would say, These men whom your action has put into office to carry out your wishes stand ready on their part to put this thing right forward. Just send in the means which you subscribed last summer, and which has been due three months, and there will be very little embarrassment. More than ten thousand dollars of this is still unpaid. We believe that our friends who have subscribed, when they learn that the Trustees are waiting for them, and that the responsibility of delay rests upon them, will nobly respond. We would say further, that if there are those who signed for the year 1874 who can pay their pledges without serious embarrassment, the Trustees will feel very grateful to them if they will do so. We do not ask this as a right, for their money is not due till next January; but we are so anxious to see this work go on without delay that we make this request. If there are those among us who have money which they are willing to loan to the Educational Society, for a time, without interest, it will be a great help to the cause for them to do so. The purchase of the land and the putting up of the large building bring our principal expense at the beginning of the society’s legal existence before the pledges are nearly all due. This is the only reason why we make such a request. The society will be amply able to do all it proposes to do when the pledges are paid. Subscriptions of a bona-fide character have been made to the amount of $54,000, all of which is to be paid by the first of next January. We have found in the past that subscriptions made by S. D. Adventists for such purposes are good for at least ninety-five per cent. This is a legal society, owning twelve acres of land in the city of Battle Creek, worth at least $16,000, and its notes are perfectly safe. If our friends are willing to help us in this matter till the pledges come in, they will do a good and noble act, and help forward an important enterprise which otherwise may be delayed. We have worked hard in the past for the prosperity of this society by pleading for it before the people. Pecuniarily, it is not of the slightest benefit to us. But we do desire to see the good work move right forward. We believe the friends of the cause feel likewise. We ask them, therefore, to pay up their pledges now due at once; and that those whose pledges are not due will accommodate us as far as they can do so consistently; and that others who can loan us means without interest to help till pledges come in, and till the building is finished, will also accommodate us, that there may be no delay in the good work. In behalf of the Trustees, Battle Creek, Mich., March 26, 1874. BRIEF HISTORIC VIEW OF THE KINGDOM
By Joseph H. Waggoner
The Kingdom of God.—No. 1.
The most essential difference of opinion which exists in regard to the kingdom of God is concerning the time of its being set up—whether it is in the past or in the future. Of course there are many other points of difference, but they are mainly contained in, or greatly modified by, this. In examining this question it is necessary to understand just what we are speaking of. When we speak of the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom in the future, we do not refer to that which has been called the “kingdom of grace,” which has certainly existed for a long time. We believe there was a “reign of grace” in the days of Abel, and of the patriarchs and prophets; and this grace was more fully manifested in the death of Jesus Christ. But James says there is a kingdom of which the saints are heirs, and which is yet a matter of promise. Now as a man cannot hope for that which he seeth, Rom. 8:24, so he cannot have as a promise that which he has in fact, nor can he be an inheritor of a kingdom of which he is yet heir. But Jesus says they shall “inherit the kingdom” when the Son of man comes in his glory, and sits upon the throne of his glory—when the separation is made between the just and the unjust, which, according to Matt. 13, the explanation of the parable of the tares of the field, will be at the end of the world, when the angels gather the Israel of God. Peter also tells his brethren how they may obtain an entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, which proves that they had not entered therein when Peter wrote to them. And thus it is clearly shown that there is a kingdom which is to be set up and into which the saints shall have an entrance at some future time. A query may arise with some to this effect: If we admit that there is now existing a reign of grace, where is the ground of controversy? Are not our opponents satisfied with that admission? Did we stop at that admission, they, no doubt, would be satisfied. But we prove that a kingdom is yet future, and further, we quote the Scriptures to prove that it will be set up soon, or is near to come. It is this which incites opposition at the present time; for there is a strong and growing dislike, both in the world and in the churches, to the doctrine of the Lord’s coming and to the idea of his doing any special work in this age. Their position is virtually that of those spoken of by the prophet, who say, “The Lord hath forsaken the earth.” BRIEF HISTORIC VIEW OF THE KINGDOM.
When man was created, he was appointed to have “dominion” over the earth, and everything upon it. But this, and his life also, he soon lost by disobedience; and for a long time thereafter the Lord, in his communications with men, said nothing about a dominion. A bare intimation of125a future reign was given to Abraham when it was said to him, “I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.” Gen. 17:6. After the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt, the Lord brought them out and made a covenant with them to be their God, and that they should be his people and obey his voice. Ex. 19:3–8; Jer. 11:2–4. But they not only broke his covenant, but rejected him as their ruler, and asked for a king to rule over them, that they might be like all the nations. 1 Sam. 8:5, 19, 20. In this the Lord said that they had rejected him, that he should not reign over them. Verse 7. He pointed out Saul to be their king, who reigned over them forty years. But Saul displeased the Lord, and he took the kingdom from him and gave it to David. By this it will be seen that the Lord did not forget his covenant with Israel and forsake them, though they rejected him, and departed far from his ways. He reserved to himself the right to choose who should be their king, and he promised that the crown should remain with David and his house. This promise is recorded in Psalm 89. “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations.” Verses 3, 4. “Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of Heaven.” Verses 27–29. Nothing could be more positive and sure than this. There is a condition introduced in regard to the conduct of his people, Israel, but this effects them alone. It is as follows:— “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.” Verses 30–32. That this cannot invalidate the promise is shown in the succeeding verses, 33–37. “Nevertheless, my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in Heaven.” The descendants of David reigned something over 400 years; but they were not steadfast in the ways of God. They suffered many things of their enemies, and many things by reason of dissensions and rebellions. Truly were they visited “with the rod.” And Zedekiah added to the iniquities of his predecessors, and in his day the chief of Israel followed the ways of the heathen; the house of God in Jerusalem was polluted; the prophets of God were despised and misused “until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” 2 Chron. 36:11–16. Accordingly, Ezekiel the prophet was sent with a message, foretelling, not only his overthrow, but the subversion of the kingdom. “And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” Eze. 21:25–27. Three years after this prophecy was uttered, viz., in 590 B. C., the king of Assyria was exalted over him; the king of Israel was abased; the crown was removed; the temple of Jerusalem was burnt, and its vessels and all its treasures carried away; the sons of King Zedekiah were slain before his eyes, his own eyes were put out, and he, in fetters of brass, was carried captive into Babylon. This is, in brief, a history of the kingdom of Israel from its establishment under Saul to its overthrow under Zedekiah, since which time the throne of David has not been restored nor occupied by any of his sons. By permission of the kings of Persia, into whose hands they had fallen on the overthrow of Babylon, the Jews returned to Jerusalem, and, amid many perils, built again the house of the Lord. When the Romans became strong, so that it was an object to secure their favor, the Jews made a league with them, and were under their control at the birth of the Saviour. J. H. WAGGONER. Tents for the Coming Season.
By George I. Butler
THE season is just upon us when tents will be needed for camp and tent-meetings. Our friends who will want to attend the camp-meetings, especially in the West, should be considering this matter. We hope our brethren generally will try to furnish themselves as far as they are able with good duck tents, for their own comfort and health in case of storm, and that they may present a respectable appearance upon the camp-ground. If any desire to purchase tents in Chicago, and do not know with whom to transact the business, or how to secure what they want at the most reasonable prices, let them write to me or to the REVIEW Office. I am well acquainted with the parties in Chicago, and can help them; though I should much prefer that they do their own business. I wish especially to call the attention of the different State Conference Committees to the matter of small tents for our young preachers. This was tried in Iowa and Wisconsin last year. Forty-foot tents were purchased. These will seat two hundred people—more than any common school-house, and as many as a medium-sized country church. They are light, cost only about half as much as our large tents, and require no tent-master, and they can be taken to any neighborhood and set up without difficulty. They are not in as much danger in a storm, and, in the cases I have mentioned, have proved a success. We can carry our meeting-house with us then wherever we please to go. With them we can go, indeed, into the highways and hedges and reach the people where they are. I think they will prove a success if managed by God-fearing and devoted men. I hope our Conference Committees will consider this matter. Questions about Sin.
By Roswell F. Cottrell
Sin is in the world. No sane man, who knows enough to complain of the wrong-doing of his neighbor, can dispute the fact. The Bible tells us the simple story of its entrance; and it also sets before sinners a way of pardon and life. But the carnal mind is not so ready to repent and accept of pardon as it is to question and impeach the wisdom of God in permitting sin to enter. Why did not God place man in a condition in which sin would be impossible? Men imagine that they could have devised a wiser plan. But it is enough for me to know that sin has been permitted by a wisdom superior to mine; and I can see too that man, in being made free to choose, is more honored by God than he would have been had inexorable fate predetermined his course of action. In the wisdom of God, sin exists; and it is enough for me to know that there is a perfect and infallible remedy in Jesus Christ. But there is another question concerning sin which is open for discussion. It is this: Shall sin exist forever? Now, unless God has revealed the fact that in his purpose sin shall not be destroyed, but shall exist forever, it certainly is a subject on which we are free to reason. And is it not more reasonable to think that sin is a temporary evil, and that it shall cease to exist, than to believe that it is to continue forever? Who can produce a reason why evil should be immortalized, and to endless ages mar the fair creation of God? And where is the revelation that this is the purpose of God? Is it not on the other hand revealed that God will destroy the devil and his works? Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8. The curse followed sin. Gen. 3:17. The time will come when the curse will be no more. Rev. 22:3. Will it not be thus because sin, the cause of the curse, has been utterly destroyed? This is reasonable; is it not also scriptural?