Signs of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 17. (4/24/1901)

Signs of the Times

Apr 24, 1901

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 24, 1901

“STREAMS IN THE DESERT.”

OUR illustration is from the photograph of a mountain in ancient Galilee, the presumable place where our blessed Lord delivered the wonderful sermon recorded in Matthew, chapters 5-7. It is sometimes called the Mount of the Beatitudes. There is nothing of beauty or beautification in the picture. It reveals to us a great barren hill and nothing more; yet, in its historical connections, it suggests wonderful lessons.

THERE is the mountain, cold, barren, deserted, irresponsive. Here are the beatitudes, throbbing with the love and life and sympathy of our heavenly Father:—

“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.”

WE will not take the time to expand or explain these wondrous blessings. They are not simply jewels from the mine; each of them is a mine, or a passageway to storehouses of heavenly riches of character. Together they form a perfect chaplet of virtues; a series of holy steps heavenward; a telescopic ladder in which each step extends to the end; a fulness of blessings having fruition in this life, and more abundant in the life to come.

CONTRAST the two pictures,—barrenness with beauty, change with certainty, chaos with cosmos, crabbedness with companionship, cursing with crowning, desolation with defense, death with deliverance, wasting with wisdom, loneliness with life and love. All these and more are suggested by the two pictures before us,—the picture of light upon the sensitive plate, of the pen with words. Cursing, wasting, barrenness, drought, loneliness, vagueness, uncertainty, despair, is written upon the one; the other teems with blessing and fruitfulness and life and certitude and hope and power. It would seem to human wisdom that Jesus would have chosen the fruitful plain or the gorgeous temple for such wonderful words; but He did not. He chose the barren mountain from which the rains of centuries had washed the strength and goodness, fertilizing the fruitful valleys below. Even in this He would teach the children of earth that where God’s power and presence are we may never despair. When Christ speaks, the desert land becomes an inhabited place, the gleaming parched sands a fountain of freshness and joy.

THUS has He ever told us in His Word. The “Man” Christ

Jesus, God’s fellow and ours, shall be “as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isa. 32:2. Before His presence “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose;” “in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.” Isa. 35:1, 2, 6, 7.

It was the barren woman Sarah that bore Isaac, the child of promise, thru the power of God. Samuel, the mighty judge and prophet, sprung from the barren Hannah. The greatest of all God’s prophets was the son of aged and barren Elizabeth. “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.” And so will He a barren church if she will let Christ in to rule and to work.

THE natural man, the sinner, who trusts in himself, is “like the heath in the desert,” dry, parched, fruitless. He brings forth no fruit for the Master. In the honest confession of such an one we read, “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.” Rom. 7:18. “Destruction and misery are in their ways.” “He feedeth on ashes.” How fitly is represented in these and kindred scriptures the condition of those who have found self and the world to be a barren desert! There are millions such, but many do not know their woeful condition, and will not till sin begins to bear its harvest. Jesus Christ bids all souls who are unsatisfied with the barrenness of their life to come to Him. He declares, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the water-courses.” Isa. 44:3, 4, R.V. “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Ch. 43:19. Thus, dear soul, laden with sin, producing but barrenness, thirsting for the waters of life, God will deal with you. Open the heart and receive. Come to the Fountain and drink. Yield all and receive all.

OUR lesson appeals to the dry, barren professors in the churches of Christ everywhere, those who, like the arroyos of the West, are full of water when rain is flooding the land, but are dry when the thirsty come to obtain drink. They are like the spring of water that deceives. The traveler has seen it overflowing in a plenteous time, and he thinks it perennial. He seeks it again in a time of drought, with hopeful longing; he goes far from his pathway to find it, but he sinks despairingly, exhausted by its dry bed. In the flood-time it deceived. Like the new Jericho of old, the situation was pleasant, but the water was naught, and the ground barren. The soul needs, like that ancient fountain, to be infused with the salt of God’s life and power. Then it will be healed, and “like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters deceive not.” Isa. 58:11, margin.

THERE is a lesson in it for the Christian who thinks that his talent is like the barren mountain, of little worth. He may be only a poor carpenter with his tools, a poor mason with his hammer and trowel, a woodsman with his ax, an unknown artist with his brush, a sweet singer not yet heard. Put your whole soul into your talent and consecrate it to Jesus Christ; let Him use it and you. He is building His heavenly temple of living stones for all eternity, and as of old He calls for offerings. Ex. 25:1-8. Not one talent He has given need be unused; not one need be unglorified. “Every wise-hearted” man and woman, every one who can bear tool or sword, can work in the temple or build in the wall. Yield all you have to God, even tho it seem to be but the shining sands of the desert or the barren mountainside. He will make the one well-springs of water for the thirsty; He will speak from the other words of blessing to all eternity.

APOSTASY; A KING; RUIN.

By C. P. Bollman

Every man is under moral obligation to govern himself by the divine law. Therefore before any man can invite any other government than that which God has given him, he must apostatize from loyalty to God and to His perfect law.

Israel did thus apostatize, not consciously perhaps, but really, nevertheless. The sinner never knows his true condition until it is revealed to him by the Spirit of God; and Israel did not know theirs. “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.” Isa. 1:3. “Therefore My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge.” Isa. 5:13.

But tho far from God and obedience to His law, the people knew enough of their condition to realize that they needed help from some source. Having rejected God’s judgment, must they have a judge; having refused to follow the Lord, they must have a leader; losing faith in God as their protector, they must have some one to fight their battles for them. Therefore they ask

A King.

And God gave them Saul, a man of their own choice, one on whom was “all the desire of Israel.” Nor is this strange under the circumstances. Saul was in many respects an ideal man, and “every inch a king.” He was “a choice young man, and a goodly; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” 1 Sam. 9:2.

Nor was it alone in his splendid physique that Saul was fitted to be a leader of God’s chosen people; he was a humble man, little in his own eyes. 1 Sam. 15:17. And in addition to these natural endowments, God put His Spirit upon Saul and communicated to him His will thru the prophet Samuel. Surely no king ever came to the throne under more favorable conditions. Tho Israel had sinned in asking a king, tho they had rejected God, He had not rejected them. They were still His people, and His watch-care was still over them; His providence still preserved them. They had not yet filled up the cup of their iniquity.

When “a man governs himself,” Abraham Lincoln said, “that is self-government; but when he governs himself and another man, that is more than self-government—that is despotism.” Except within the narrow sphere of maintaining natural rights, no man can exercise any authority over his fellow-men without usurping a function that belongs to God alone. Therefore in accepting the kingship Saul assumed weighty responsibilities. His only safety was in keeping very close to the Lord, so that God might continue to be the real King and rule thru Saul as he had formerly ruled thru Samuel.

But, tho humble at the first, Saul soon forgot that God was the real King, and that he, the son of Kish, was only His instrument; and, like Nimrod, the first man who ever assumed the title of king, Saul soon came to regard himself as the real ruler. And right there it became a fact on Saul’s part that Israel had “a king over” them other than the Lord.

The people had rejected the Lord in demanding a king. Now their king also rejected God on his own behalf by disobeying the express command of the Lord: “For thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.” 1 Sam. 15:26.

From this time forward Saul’s was a downward course. His reign was that of an apostate and tyrannical king ruling over a backslidden and dependent people, and nothing could result but

Ruin.

This did not come all at once. God had promised Abraham that in him and his Seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed. Israel must be preserved a distinct people until the promise should be fulfilled, until Messiah should come.

Rejected of God and beset by his enemies, Saul finally died by his own hand, died “as a fool dieth.”

Then David came to the throne. He trusted God; and tho his reign was a stormy one, the nation prospered on the whole, and extended its boundaries.

Then came the reign of Solomon, during the first part of which Israel prospered wonderfully. But the virus of apostasy was in the national life, and Solomon fell; and with him the kingdom fell still lower than before. Israel was getting further and still further from God at

heart; and as a result of the people’s apostasy, their kings were gaining more and more power over them for evil. They had chosen a human king instead of God, and it was only natural that their kings should usurp more and more of the divine prerogatives, thus putting themselves more and more in the place of God.

Soon after Solomon’s death, ten of the tribes revolted against his son, Rehoboam, on account of his cruel usurpation. And so far were they from God that they readily adopted the idolatrous worship which, for political purposes, Jeroboam established and maintained for them at Bethel and Dan.

Jeroboam reasoned that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship, they would presently give their allegiance to the king that reigned in that city; therefore, he set up a rival worship. Not content with being a purely civil ruler, for the purpose of strengthening his political authority, he must exercise sovereignty in the sphere of religion also.

This idea of using religion to strengthen and support the state did not originate with Jeroboam, nor did it perish with him. It is as old as the political history of the race, and is as flourishing now as when the rulers of Babylon before the time of Nimrod took the title, not of king, but “viceroy of Ridu,” their god.

But for this idea of making religion minister to the stability of the State, it is doubtful if there ever could have been any such thing as union of Church and State. It is true that such union does not come primarily on the motion of civil rulers but rather in response to the demand of the leaders in religious thought; but almost invariably the plea that prevails with the civil authorities is that recognition and support of religion in some measure is essential to the stability of the civil régime. Even in our own land to-day it is said of the Sunday-sabbath that “it is the right of the State to protect by law such a fundamental support of government. This attack on the sabbath is treason against the very foundation of government. As such, let it be resisted by every American citizen. The American sabbath is essential to American liberty, to our Republic, and to God’s religion.”—The American Sabbath, Presbyterian Board of Publications.

And again Dr. Crafts, in his book, “The Sabbath for Man,” page 248, says: “It is the conviction of the majority that the nation can not be preserved without religion, nor religion without the sabbath, nor the sabbath without laws; therefore sabbath laws are enacted by the right of self-preservation, not in violation of liberty, but for its protection.”

But this prostitution of religion to political purposes can have no better results anywhere than it had in Israel, and that was ruin to both Church and State; for by it both were corrupted. The religion adopted in Israel was not the religion of God, but of the king. The government maintained by it was not self-government by consciences guided by the divine law, but the despotic rule of the king, “Jeroboam the son of Nebat,” who sinned, and “who made Israel to sin.”

And the same is true of every king that ruled in Israel; all were bad, and all usurped authority over the consciences of the people. The result was the utter ruin of Israel, until the ten tribes constituting a portion of the original kingdom were so torn and scattered that it is impossible even to trace their history, and they are spoken of to-day as “the ten lost tribes of the children of Israel.”

Judah had some good kings; but finally that part of the kingdom became so bad that to keep it from utter extinction God sent His people into captivity. In this way they were preserved a distinct people until the promised Messiah should come. But never after they demanded a king were they a self-governing people. Tho there came a time when “there was no king in Israel,” never again was it true of that people that “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Their bondage became more and more cruel and hopeless until their national life went out in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. C. P. BOLLMAN.

LOST ITS VOICE.

“When visiting a gentleman in England,” says D. L. Moody, “I observed a fine canary. Admiring its beauty, the gentleman replied: ‘Yes, he is beautiful, but he has lost his voice. He used to be a fine singer; but I was in the habit of hanging his cage out of the window; the sparrows came around with their incessant chirping; gradually he ceased to sing, and learned their twitter, and now all he can do is to twitter, twitter.’ O, how truly does this represent the case of many Christians! They used to delight in the songs of Zion, but they came into close contact with those whose notes never rise so high, until, at last, like the canary, they do nothing but twitter, twitter.’”—Oriental Watchman.

RECEIVING TO IMPART.

By Ellen G. White

JESUS took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”

By this miracle Christ has shown how missionary work is to be bound up with the ministry of the Word. Not only did the Master give the people spiritual food; by a miracle He provided also temporal food to satisfy their physical hunger. This merciful provision helped to fasten in the minds of the people the gracious words of truth which He had spoken. Following His example, His disciples are to take the bread of life and the water of salvation and give to those who are longing for spiritual help. And as there is need, they are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. The beauty and utility of the work we do for God consists in its symmetry and harmony, and in its all-round adaptability and efficiency.

This miracle is an object-lesson for us. It contains lessons of deep import, which, tho they lie beneath the surface, will be discerned and appreciated by those who have cultivated their perceptive faculties. By this miracle Christ desires to teach us the truth of the words, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” He is the source of all power, the giver of all temporal and spiritual blessings. He employs human beings as co-workers, giving them a part to act with Him as His helping hand. We are to receive from Him, not to hoard for self-gratification, but to impart to others. And as we do this work, let us not suppose that we are to receive the glory. All the glory is to be given to the great Master-Worker. The disciples were not to receive the glory for feeding the five thousand. They were only the instruments used by the Lord.

Those who work for Christ are never to think that the credit of their success belongs to them. God’s name is to receive all the glory. He it is who accomplishes the work. He, the great Master-Worker, slumbers not. Constantly He is working for the harmonious accomplishment of His purposes. He intrusts talents to human beings, that they may co-operate with Him. They are ever to remember that they are but instruments in His hands. “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” “The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble; He sitteth between the cherubim, let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion; and He is high above all the people. Let them praise Thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.”

Christ gave the bread to the disciples, to be given by them to the multitude. By the part which the disciples acted in this miracle is illustrated the part which Christ’s disciples in all ages are to act. From Him they are to receive the precious truth to give to those who are fainting by the wayside. And as they empty their hands in imparting to the hungry, they receive more to impart.

Christ is the light of the world. Those who walk in this light are charmed by its beauty, and are filled with a desire to share it with others. Their hearts are illuminated by the grace of Christ, and they become light-bearers. Their light shines more and more unto the perfect day.

Thus it was with Philip. After he had been called by Christ, he could not keep to himself the knowledge he had found. Going to Nathanael, he said, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. But Philip did not stop to argue. “Come and see,” was all he said. As he thus showed his faith in the Saviour, he received increased light.

He who has really accepted Christ will not be satisfied to enjoy the divine favor without giving to others the joy that cheers his soul. The purest and holiest devotion is that which leads to persevering, unselfish effort for the salvation of those outside the fold.

Christ calls upon His followers to work earnestly for those for whom He has made such a wonderful sacrifice. When the mind, instead of being centered on self, is occupied in seeking to enrich poverty-stricken souls, the treasure of God’s love—the golden oil from the two olive trees—is poured into the heart. Those who impart to

others of the riches of the grace of heaven, will be themselves enriched. The ministering angels are waiting, longing, for channels thru which they can communicate the treasures of heaven. Men and women can reach the highest stage of mental and moral development only by co-operating with Jesus in unselfish effort for the good of others. We are never so truly enriched as when we are trying to enrich others. We can not diminish our treasure by sharing it. The more we enlighten others, the brighter our light will shine.

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

The White Light of Holiness

WE have seen the beautiful picture of the solar spectrum, the colors of light thrown on the screen—violet, indigo, blue, and so on up to red—all the colors of the rainbow. The spectrum is thrown on the screen by a beam of light passing thru a glass prism. Now concentrate those colors by a gentle turn of the prism into one spot on the canvas, and they gradually fade away and we have a patch of beautiful white light. Let us imagine the spectrum before us in all its fair colors; above the colors let us write, not their names, but the names of the traits and graces of the Christlike character. Begin with love, the supreme grace; faith, hope, gentleness, patience, justice, truth, temperance, chastity, humility, and all the rest. It is a glorious array. Now turn the prism a little, and concentrate them all upon a single spot on the screen, and you have the white light of holiness. “Be ye holy; for I the Lord am holy.” O, the ineffable splendor of the composite grace of holiness!—Christian Advocate.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION SCENE.

By Francis M. Wilcox

The scene of the transfiguration of our Saviour can be understood in no other way than as a representation of the kingdom of glory which will be established by our Lord at His second coming. The scriptural context indicates this. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the event is preceded by this declaration of our Lord’s: “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.”

Those of His immediate disciples who were with our Saviour during the transfiguration on the mount, were Peter, James, and John, the three of all others chosen by our blessed Lord to witness some of the most conclusive proofs of His divinity. Peter, one of the trio, in bearing witness to the surety of the Christian’s faith, and in speaking of the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, bears the following testimony: “For we have not followed cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard, when we were with Him on the holy mount.” Here unmistakable reference is made by the apostle to the scene which transpired, and to the words which were spoken, upon the mount of transfiguration. Hence it seems to us that the conclusion is clear and unmistakable that in the transfiguration scene we have a miniature representation of Christ and His kingdom, as He shall appear in the glory of the last day. In the establishment of a kingdom there are several necessary complements:—

1. There must be a king. This we have in the Lord Jesus, as He appeared in glory, splendor, and majesty upon the mount of transfiguration, the same as He will appear at His second coming.

2. There must be territory. From the multitude of scriptures—which space forbids enumerating here—it might be demonstrated that this earth, after the rejuvenating fires of the last day have done their work, and sin and sinners have been destroyed, will constitute the territory over which Christ the Lord shall reign. Then it will be that the glory of God shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea; and in all the holy mountain of God they shall neither hurt nor destroy; “but the redeemed of the Lord shall come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads.” The mount of transfiguration, hallowed by the presence of our Lord and the heavenly visitors, and lighted up by the glory of God, formed a fitting representation of this earth as it will appear when Christ shall establish over it His righteous rule.

3. Every kingdom must have subjects. In the case of Christ’s kingdom of glory, these subjects will consist of two classes: (a) The translated righteous, and (b) the resurrected righteous. Says the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church: “Behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” This declaration is emphasized still more by the apostle in his epistle to the Thessalonians: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Were these two classes, namely, the saints who have been sleeping in Jesus since the beginning of the world, and the saints who will be translated without seeing death, at the coming of the Lord, represented in the transfiguration scene?—We believe that it is no straining of the principles of the Bible interpretation to claim that they were, in the presence of Elijah and Moses.

Elijah, or Elias, was taken up to heaven in the chariot of the Lord. He did not pass thru the gates of death. Elijah is set forth in the Scriptures as a type of the people of God living in the last days. Says the Word of the Lord thru Malachi, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

Moses died, but there is strong proof that his rest in the tomb was of short duration. Moses is set forth as a type of our Lord. He himself says, “A Prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me; Him ye shall hear;” making undoubted reference to our Saviour and His ministry. As Moses stood as the intercessor between God and man, so does Jesus Christ. As Moses led Israel out of literal Egypt, so our Lord leads His children out of spiritual Egypt. Moses lived his life for his people, even as Christ laid down His life for the world. And, carrying out the simile, it is not unreasonable to believe that, as Christ rested in the tomb three days, and was then called forth to a resurrection without having seen corruption, so Moses, as His type, went thru the same experience. This idea is strengthened by the reference to the death of Moses by the apostle Jude: “Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the devil He disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Michael, the Archangel, here brought to view, as shown by other scriptures, is Christ, the Life-giver. Between Christ, the Life-giver, and Satan, the keeper of death, there arose a dispute, not over the soul or spirit of Moses, but over his body. It is but natural to conclude that there could have arisen no dispute over this question only as the Life-giver wished to rescue from the power of Satan that which Satan held as his lawful prey. Hence, as enumerated in detail, we have in the transfiguration scene these three essentials of the kingdom of our Lord illustrated: Glory (strengthening the idea that this scene was a representation of the kingdom of the King), the territory, and the subjects. (See 2 Peter 1:16–21.)

We now turn to consider for a moment the opposite idea, particularly with regard to the presence of Moses and Elias, that it was their disembodied spirits sent down from heaven, appearing to Christ and His disciples. We can say of this view that it has against it the plain, literal statements of the Word of God. The Lord thru His prophets and apostles emphatically declares that there is no conscious life between death and the resurrection. Says Job, in speaking of the dead, “His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” The psalmist, in speaking of the great men of earth, says, “Their breath goeth forth, they return to their earth; in that very day their thoughts perish.” We can not hold for a moment that the idea of inherent immortality is taught in the Word of God. The epistle to Timothy declares that “God only hath immortality.” The apostle Paul says, “Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light thru the Gospel.” He says again that there is given to them who seek for glory and honor and immortality the boon of eternal life. If men inherently possess immortality, then they have it without reference to the Gospel of Christ. If they possess it already, then it is not a thing to be sought for. But as life and immortality are brought to light thru the Gospel, it follows that only eternal life and immortality will be bestowed upon those who avail themselves of the provisions of the Gospel.

Another great principle which strikes against the idea of inherent immortality, and emphasizes the thought of conditional immortality thru Christ, is the subject of rewards and punishments. The principle is iterated and reiterated again and again that it is at the last great day that men receive their just deserts. “When the Son of man shall come in all the glory of the Father, with the holy angels, then shall He reward every man according as his work shall be.” “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to give every man according as his works shall be.” Again, the judgment of the entire human family is set forth in the Scriptures of truth as taking place in connection with the end of the world. It would be unreasonable in the scheme of earthly justice to consign men to prison for a long term, and then judge them to determine whether or not they were guilty of the offense charged. If we can not charge such inconsistency upon human judiciaries, we certainly can not upon the Judge of all the universe. Hence, before any members of the human family enter upon a period of reward or punishment, the heavenly court will first take cognizance of their cases, determine the measure of responsibility, and the fate involved.

Further, the argument of Paul in the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, in support of the doctrine of the resurrection, forever disproves the idea that men enter upon their eternal destiny until after this event at the end of the world. Paul teaches, “If there be no resurrection,

then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, your faith is vain, and ye are in your sins, and they also which have fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” And well may he state the conclusion later in this chapter, “If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” If the righteous go to heaven at death, it would be difficult to determine how their salvation would be affected by the resurrection.

Therefore, if it be looked upon as too hypothetical to account for the appearance of Moses on the basis of his having had a resurrection from the dead, it is certainly a still greater violation of scriptural interpretation to account for his appearance on the mount of transfiguration on the commonly-accepted theory of the inherent immortality of the soul and the conscious state of the dead.

In conclusion, I may add that the evident purpose of the transfiguration scene was to furnish the disciples an additional proof of the divine mission of our Lord and His second coming in glory. This scene could not help but be of strength to them in many trying hours, which they experienced after their separation from Jesus. It certainly would more clearly reveal to them the character of the kingdom of God. As already indicated, the apostle Peter refers to it as one of the convincing arguments of the truth of the Gospel, and of Christ’s coming again, and cites the incident of the transfiguration as evidence that he and his fellow-disciples had not followed cunningly-devised fables in the preaching of the cross and the coming glory of Christ. Their testimony was that of eye-witnesses. The transfiguration stands as one of the great incontrovertible evidences of the divine mission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of its glorious consummation.

FRANCIS M. WILCOX.

UNDER THE LAW.

By F. O. Oakes

ISRAEL, who looked to the law for salvation, failed, because they had no faith, and tried to keep the law in their own strength. Christ was a stumbling-block to them. Rom. 9:30–33. Faith in our Saviour alone justifies, and not the law. The law condemns and shows us our sins. “By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified;” and “if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Gal. 2:16, 21.

Paul teaches that the law (schoolmaster) brought the Galatians to Christ by showing them their sins, that they might be justified by faith. So it was by faith that they were justified, freed from sin, or brought out from under the condemnation of the law. Gal. 3:24. With this thought in mind, verse 25 is made plain, “But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster;” i. e., we are no longer sinners when we believe in Christ. To be sure that “under the law” means under its condemnation, read further, “If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are no longer under the law.” Gal. 5:18. The same thought is expressed in Rom. 8:1–4: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Notice he says those that are in Christ are not under condemnation.

Then to believe in Christ is to be free from sin, “no longer under a schoolmaster,” “not under the law”—not under condemnation, or whatever way you wish to express it. On the contrary, if you are not “led by the Spirit” or should walk “after the flesh,” you are certainly a sinner, and therefore condemned by the law.

We also read that the carnal mind is “not subject to the law of God”—will not obey it. Rom. 8:7. And “to be carnally minded is death,” because “the wages of sin is death.” So the spiritual mind must be subject to the law, because faith has established it in the heart. Rom. 3:31. But at the same time it is “not under the law”—under its condemnation.

So we see by the above that the sinful man is one who is both “under the law” and “not subject [obedient] to the law,” and it is plain that the expression “under the law” stands for under condemnation of the law.

To prove this further read the following: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23. “The Scripture hath concluded all under sin.” “Kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” Gal. 3:22, 23. “Now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped.” Rom. 3:19. Again: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15. He was “made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” Gal. 4:4, 5. He was made “sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.” Gal. 3:24. “Christ is the end [object] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Rom. 10:4.

Thus do we have one thought expressed many ways. Therefore when we are saved, it is only by the unmerited favor of God, and we are no more condemned by the law. F. O. OAKES.

Prunedale, Monterey Co., Cal.

Continue reading: THE MATERIAL OF THE TABERNACLE STRUCTURE