Earlier text: THE HOPE OF THE GOSPELWHO SHALL STAND WHEN HE APPEARETH?
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
Last week we showed by the plain reading and evidence of Scripture that the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ and the consequent resurrection of the righteous dead. We showed that when the righteous are raised by the Lord Jesus at his coming, they are then taken to Heaven, where judgment is given unto them, and where they reign with Christ a thousand years, that is, during the millennium; while the rest of the dead—the wicked—live not again till the thousand years—the millennium—are finished. We then stated the legitimate conclusion, that any preaching that promises a millennium before the second coming of Christ, is contrary to Scripture. We further stated that any preaching that promises a millennium of peace and joy on this earth even after the second coming of Christ, is likewise contrary to Scripture. This we shall now prove by scriptures so abundant that to doubt it will be but to doubt the truth of the Bible. Let us read again 1 Thess. 4:16, 17: "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; then 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." This shows as clearly as language can that all the righteous, both dead and living, are taken away from the earth when the Lord comes, that is, at the beginning of the millennium. They are "caught up together," "in the clouds," "to meet the Lord in the air;" and they are not found upon earth again till after the thousand years are finished. As therefore the righteous, whether dead or living, are all taken away from the earth when the Lord comes, the question fairly presents itself, What becomes of the wicked on the earth when the Lord comes? The answer is not far to seek, and it is clear and explicit. 2 Thess. 1:7, 8, says, "To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The vengeance of the Lord on the wicked is destruction. For says Christ, "As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." Luke 17:26, 27. As the flood destroyed all who in the days of Noah obeyed not the Lord; and as the days of Noah were so shall the days of the Son of man be; it is certain that when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, it will be the destruction of every soul of man that stands in wickedness. Again: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:28-30. But were they not warned in the days of Noah? Oh yes! they all had ample warning. Noah preached to them all about it. The trouble was not that they could not know about it, but that they would not know. They would not believe what was told them. It was thus also in Sodom, they would receive nothing, and believe nothing, about the destruction that hung over their guilty city. They could have escaped, had they believed and obeyed; but they would not believe, nor obey, and the fire and brimstone from heaven destroyed them all; and even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. Christ sends a message to the world, that his coming is at the doors, and that this generation shall not pass away; till all be fulfilled. This message will make ready a people prepared for the Lord; but it will be believed by but a few, compared to earth's millions. For instead of believing it and acting accordingly, "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Pet. 3:3-6. There is where lies the difficulty, not that they are ignorant of these things, but that they are willingly ignorant. It is told them but they will not know nor believe. Again we read of the coming of the Lord, and the destruction of the wicked on the earth at his coming, "I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. . . . And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Rev. 19:11-21. The beast here spoken of is the same as the "little horn" of Dan. 7; it is the "man of sin," "the mystery of iniquity," "the son of perdition," named by Paul in 2 Thess. 2:3-8, of which he says, "That Wicked shall be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." And the "army" here referred to as following the King of kings and Lord of lords is the same as that mentioned in Joel 2:2-11. "A great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. . . . The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining; and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" And all these refer to the same time and people, that Paul mentions in the text before quoted, "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Speaking of this same time, Rev. 6:14-17 says: "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" This corresponds exactly to the pouring out of the last of the seven last plagues when the voice of God announces the end of the world: "The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. . . . And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." Joel speaks of the same time, saying, "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16. Jeremiah also, tells of this time and what shall be to the wicked when the day of the Lord comes. "The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried." Jer. 25:30-33. They shall not be lamented, for there are none left to lament them. They shall not be gathered nor buried, because there are none left to gather or bury them. All are destroyed as at the flood, and as at the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. These scriptures certainly show as plainly as the scriptures can, that at the coming of the Lord, that is to say, at the beginning of the thousand years, all the living wicked upon the earth are slain. And right here is where the views set forth in the Prophetic Conference, lately held at Chicago, are utterly at fault and terribly misleading. There it was preached, according to the Scripture, that the coming of the Lord will be before the millennium. It was likewise preached according to the Scripture, that wickedness will increase, that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse," until the coming of the Lord. And then, contrary to all Scripture, it was preached that when the Lord comes, the conversion of the world will begin in reality, and will be accomplished during the thousand years! That is to say, Men will mock at the law of God, and despise the gospel of Christ, and grow worse and worse at it, till the Lord Jesus comes in the glory of his Father and all the holy angels with him, and then they all become willing to be converted; even then they are so slow about it that it takes a thousand years to accomplish it. Such doctrine will never do. The Scripture is wholly against it, not only when speaking directly upon the subject, but also when showing the very consciousness of men when they realize the presence of the divine. The most righteous of men have always been smitten with fear at the appearance of an angel of God, and needed to be reassured by the words of the angel, "Fear not." How much more terrible then to the wicked would such an appearance be. The wicked Belshazzar in the midst of his lascivious feast, was filled with dread and alarm at the sight of only the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the wall. And what will be done by the wicked of this world when the heaven is torn asunder and there is revealed the face of Him that sitteth on the232throne, is shown by a text already quoted, but we will repeat it. "The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. . . . And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Rev. 6:14-16. The fact is, that the wicked would rather have a mountain on them than to be obliged to stand in the presence of Christ when he appears in his glory. To the wicked in that day a falling mountain will be counted a refuge if it will only hide them from the penetrating gaze of the righteous Son of God. "Our God is a consuming fire," and such will he be in that day to every soul of man who does not have grace whereby they may serve him with reverence and godly fear. (Heb. 12:28, 29). Nothing can live in the presence of God, except it be imbued with life from God, and made like unto him in his glory. In that great day when Christ shall appear in his glory, every one who is righteous will be imbued with immortality, in the twinkling of an eye, and made like him (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2); and every one who is wicked, will be destroyed with the brightness of his glory, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, and shall not be lamented neither gathered nor buried. "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Eze. 18:32. As therefore the righteous, both living and dead, are all taken away from the earth, and the wicked are all slain upon the earth, when the Lord comes, and as the wicked live not again till the thousand years are finished, it would reasonably follow that the earth would then be left without inhabitants. That is exactly what the Scripture declares, but the proof of it we must defer until next week. J. LETTERS TO AN ANTINOMIAN.—8.
By James White
DEAR SIR: You have directly denied that the law is the rule of obedience and of justification, and affirmed that the gospel is substituted for it in this dispensation. As before shown, it is the rule of obedience that condemns the transgressor and proves him a sinner. Verses 20, 21, of Rom. 3, are closely related; there is no change of subject. "The law" is the same in both verses; I accepted your rendering of verse 21, reading "the ten commandments" into it, because I accept the fact that a broken law cannot justify or forgive the sinner. Pardon must come by another instrument. And you must accept my rendering of verses 19, 20, if you believe that the gospel is a substitute for the ten commandments as a rule of obedience. But as verses 20, 21 are closely connected and refer to the same rule, I will quote again verse 20, and as much of 21 as you quoted, to further show the fallacy of your reasoning. "Therefore by the deeds of the gospel there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the gospel is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the gospel is manifested." This is just, according to your method of reasoning, and the logical result of your system. Of course I have no confidence in your system nor in your method. You make the apostle contradict himself, and you contradict every principle of law and justice. You refer to "Rom. 3:20-28." Why not include verse 31? It contains a very important part of the argument. It is the result of the whole argument preceding it. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Now, sir, can you in candor say that this is the tendency and conclusion of your argument? I am happy to say that my faith, my argument, agrees exactly with the conclusion of the apostle. Why is it that Paul's argument does not make void the law, but establishes it, while yours does not establish it, but makes it void? No doubt you would like to be in harmony with the apostle, if your theory permitted; but it does not. Paul says the law would justify the doer; you say it could not. Paul says men will be judged by the law; you say they will not. He says both Jews and Gentiles are condemned by the law; you say they are not. He says the knowledge of sin is by the law—it being "the rule of obedience;" you say it is not. He says faith does not make void the law, but establishes (confirms) it; you say faith supersedes it, and it is made void. Paul says the law is holy, and spiritual; you say it is not. Paul delighted in the law of God; you do not. And this is only a partial view of your disagreement with the inspired servant of God. If there is anyone who thinks my language is yet too severe, let him follow you still further on the subject. You say:— "The law of faith, in contradistinction to the law on which the Jews relied, is the divine rule of justification." And again in another place you say:— "He calls what is written upon the fleshly tables of the heart, the new covenant, in contradistinction to the old covenant, which was written upon the tables of stone." First I will say that your doctrine is untrue, for there is no scripture that says the new covenant is written upon the heart. Under the new covenant the law is written in the hearts of God's people. See Heb. 8:10. Secondly, your language is decidedly faulty. Indeed, I hardly know how to characterize it, to do justice to the truth of God. You say that the "divine rule of justification," or "the law of faith," the law for this dispensation, is "in contradistinction" to the law on tables of stone. This language is shocking, but it was not an oversight or inadvertence on your part. Some years before you wrote this, you made the same statement in public, and I called your attention to the meaning of the terms, in hope that you would correct your language if not your theory. Nor are you the only one that dares to venture on such dangerous ground, for I heard at least one other minister use the same words, while preaching against the Sabbath. Contradistinction means, distinguished by contrast, or by opposite qualities. And you are not ashamed or afraid to say deliberately, considerately, for your attention was called to the meaning of the words, that the law that we are now to keep, under Christ, is in contrast with, or the opposite of the ten commandments! It seems to me that Antinomian teachers will heap any amount of reproach upon the Government of God, upon the gospel of his Son, and upon everything sacred, for the sake of turning their followers against the law, and all for the sake of putting away the holy Sabbath of the Lord. They accuse us of forsaking Christ for the law. I will now use your words to show in what light you present Christ and the gospel. I have already shown that your argument makes him contradict his own words, and virtually places him in open rebellion against his Father. You have also placed him in opposition to everything of a sacred character, and made him the abettor—no, the chief criminal—of everything that is wicked and vile. This is a strong impeachment, but the matter has gone too far to be handled tenderly. Let us see what your words indicate. You speak of the "divine law of justification," in "contradistinction to the law written on stones"—the ten commandments. But, as there is no such law revealed in the Scriptures, I shall call it your law in contradistinction to the ten commandments, or the opposite of, or in contrast with, the ten commandments. 1. That law is perfect.
Your law is imperfect.
2. That law is righteousness.
Your law is unrighteousness.
3. Those commandments contained the whole duty of man.
Your law does not; we shall see that it contains no duty of man.
4. The Saviour said the commandments lead to life.
Your law leads to death.
5. The law is so perfect that it would justify the doer.
Your law would justify nobody; the more carefully it is followed, the deeper is the condemnation.
6. The law is holy, and just, and good.
Your law is unholy, unjust, and not good.
7. The law is spiritual.
Your law is carnal, sensual.
8. The law of God will open the gates of the city to those who keep it, and will give them right to the tree of life.
Your law will close the gates of the city against its followers, and will forever deprive them of the tree of life.
9. The law was in the heart of the Saviour. Ps. 40:8. I fear that you and your friends will think that I am very harsh and uncharitable if I give the opposite on this point, namely, Your law is in the heart of Satan. But I firmly believe that that conclusion is fully warranted by your words. To prove this, I will now come to particulars. Thus far I have shown a contrast on principles, or general facts. I will give the ten commandments and their opposites, or the contrast. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Contrast.—Thou shalt have other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
Contrast.—Thou shalt make to thee graven images; thou shalt bow down thyself to them, and serve them.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Contrast.—Thou shalt take the name of the Lord God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
Contrast.—Remember not the Sabbath-day; keep it not holy. The seventh day is not the Sabbath of the Lord—it is "the old Jewish Sabbath."
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
Contrast.—Honor not thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
Contrast.—Thou shalt kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Contrast.—Thou shalt commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
Contrast.—Thou shalt steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Contrast.—Thou shalt bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his wife, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
Contrast.—Thou shalt covet thy neighbor's house, and his wife, and everything that is thy neighbor's. This is exactly the law that you offer to us, in your tract. It is in contradistinction to the ten commandments. It is, just as Webster defines the term you use, distinguished by contrast—by opposite qualities. If such a law is not in the heart of Satan, then he is better than he is generally represented! Is that your "divine rule of justification"? Is that the law of the new covenant—the law of Christ? Is it possible that you wrote the words you did, with a full understanding of their import? I speak this directly and positively, because I called your attention to the terms when you used them in public speech. I will close this letter with pointing out one more contradiction—self-contradiction—on your part. You say that nine of the ten commandments, omitting the fourth, "were incorporated into the Christian constitution." After bringing nine of the ten into the gospel, you then erect another law in contrast with them, the very opposite of the ten, and make that "the divine rule" in this dispensation. Now I think that Satan might keep your new-made law, but no being in the universe can keep both the nine of the ten commandments, and a law just opposite to them! You would have been more consistent in your theory if you had abolished the ten, and left them all abolished. But to re-enact nine, and then set up a law in contradistinction to them—the very opposite of them—is giving to your indulgent readers an impossible mixture. It is an effort to unite light and darkness; to make Christ in concord with233Belial. Such are the crooked ways of Antinomianism. I have yet to notice the theories of no-lawism concerning "the two great moral precepts." THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS.
By Uriah Smith
"Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:7, 14. Angels are interested and concerned in the affairs of earth. Since man first rebelled against God, and it became necessary for him to live a life of repentance for transgression, and by patient continuance in well-doing to seek for glory, honor, and immortality, angels have ministered unto him. In almost every great work by which God in his providence has seen fit to accomplish his designs, we are informed of their agency. Let us here refer to a few instances as we find them recorded in sacred history:— Angels hurried Lot out of Sodom before it was destroyed. Gen. 19:16. Angels have often guided in the affairs of individuals. Gen. 24:7, 40; 48:16; Num. 22:22; Judges 13:19, etc. When the children of Israel came out from the land of Egypt, an angel went before them. Ex. 14:19; 23:20, 23; 32:34; 33:2; Num. 20:16; Isa. 63:9. An angel stretched forth his hand to destroy Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chron. 21:15, 16. An angel appeared to Daniel after he had fasted three full weeks, and informed him that from the first day that he set his heart to understand, his words were heard, yet the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood him one and twenty days; and Michael, one of the chief princes came to his help. An angel appeared unto the shepherds who were feeding their flocks in Judea, and said unto them, "Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men." Luke 2:10, 11, 13, 14. Unto this Saviour who was here born, angels ministered. Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13. In his great agony in the garden, there appeared an angel strengthening him. Luke 22:43. At his resurrection and ascension they were present. Often did they appear to, and work for, the apostles while promulgating the gospel. Acts 5:19; 8:26; 12:7, etc. From these facts we learn that angels have received special charges concerning the inhabitants of earth, and have been sent to them on special missions. If so then, why not now? Says the passage first quoted, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Says the Saviour, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Luke 15:7. When? Not more especially in those days than at the present time. Angels have not yet lost their interest in those who would seek salvation through Jesus Christ. On this point the psalmist bears testimony: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7. "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Ps. 91:11. But let us notice more particularly the interest they take, and the part they act, in the closing scenes of this world's career. To them is intrusted to warn men of the approaching consummation of all things. The angel has passed through the midst of heaven, "saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!" Rev. 8:13. The fifth and sixth angels sounded, and the events to take place under their sounding have been accomplished. The sixth had no sooner ceased, than there was seen another angel flying through "the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come." Rev. 14:6, 7. By this we understand that an angel had special charge of that work. This has been fulfilled in our day, and we have witnessed it. The second angel followed him, whose mission we have also seen fulfilled. Their work continued till the closing up of those periods which were to mark the ministration of Christ in the Holy of the heavenly Sanctuary,—those periods at whose end there should be (prophetic) time no longer. It extended to the "days of the voice of the seventh angel," under whose sounding the mystery of God should be finished. And the seventh angel sounded, and the temple of God was opened in Heaven. Our great High Priest entered the Most Holy place to minister before the ark of God's testament, which was then seen in his temple. Then follows the third angel proclaiming those commandments and warning us against their violation. Angels are appointed to hold the four winds, that they blow not till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads (Rev. 7:1); and if any are disposed to settle down into coldness, indifference, and doubt, because things remain thus quiet, let them be assured that the winds will be held in check till the servants of God are sealed; and that full soon for the salvation of many souls they will let go their hold, and the time of trouble will be upon us. The mission of the third angel is followed by the Son of man on the white cloud; and when he shall appear, and the heaven shall depart as a scroll when it is rolled together, and all the great men of the earth shall hide themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains, what part will the angels then perform? "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels." 2 Thess. 1:7. "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31. The wheat and the tares, the righteous and the wicked, are to grow together till the harvest; the harvest is the end of the world. "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity." "The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just." Matt. 13:40, 41, 49. Angels were present when the law was given at Sinai (Psalm 68:17); angels themselves keep the law (Psalms 103:20); they joy to see the children of men keep it (Luke 15:7); and they will be present at the execution of those who transgress it. Rev. 14:10. Angels were present and shouted for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid (Job 38:7); and when it shall be redeemed from the blightings of the curse, and bloom in more than Eden beauty they will again sing together and shout anew for joy. Are not angels then interested in our welfare? Are not those who ministered unto, and strengthened, the Son of God when he bore upon him the sins of the whole world, interested in those who will avail themselves of the offered atonement, that they may have life? Verily they are. All heaven is interested for us. Should we not then be interested for ourselves? And when the full number of the redeemed shall finally be made up, when Christ shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied (Isa. 53:11), not only will the ransomed, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, cry with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, but all the angels round about the throne will fall down and worship God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Rev. 7:9-12. The Missionary.
By Stephen N. Haskell
REASONS FOR EARNEST WORK.
THERE are many reasons why the people of God should especially enter the missionary work at the present time. Often is it presented to the people, and truthfully too, that the wants of the cause require this; that time is short, and the world must be warned. Therefore to throw ourselves and our means into that work is well pleasing in the sight of God. This is all true, but there is another side which is more forcible still, could we but realize it, namely, the necessity for education, an education not simply to know how to work, but a training of the mind, and bringing the thoughts to those themes which will fit us to stand in the day of God. Our strongest passions triumph when the body fails. When disease preys upon the system, and when our physical strength weakens, then it is that the strongest passion of the human mind makes itself manifest. Of Napoleon it is said that in the agonies of death he cried with a strong voice, "Head of the army!" imagining, as his bodily strength failed, that he was at the head of his army. We are coming up to the Judgment. We cannot tell the time when our cases will come in review before God. The Saviour assures us that men will be planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage. Worldly schemes and business will be going forward just as they are to-day. There will be nothing in this world, so far as the world is concerned, that will be an indication of the close of probation. But repeatedly we are instructed by our Saviour to watch and to "take heed to ourselves, lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon us unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." But how can we be prepared for this? What will be the condition of mind that will prepare us to stand in this hour of God's Judgment. Like a great magnet that draws to itself, so should be the truth for these times. It should lead us to fix our minds upon heavenly things. Our daily thoughts should be upon those things which will remain when the scenes of earth are passed. When God would bring Moses near to himself,—the man who had given his life to God, the man of whom it was said that there was none other like him in all the earth, and one who could say by the Spirit of God that God would raise them up a prophet like unto himself, whom they were to hear, referring to Christ,—even he must make a special preparation to meet his Maker. Without this, even this holy man, more exalted in some respects than any man that ever walked the earth, would have been unable to endure the glory attending God upon Sinai. His common thoughts and feelings had to be put away, and during these six days he was devoting his thoughts to God, and sanctifying himself by meditation and prayer. If this was necessary in the giving of the law, will it not be necessary that the people of God train their minds upon heavenly things in order to be prepared to meet God at the end of the world. We see, then, that the missionary work becomes valuable to us in the education of the mind and the training of the thoughts to prepare us to stand before God. Do we consider any sacrifice too great to make? and when we have made a sacrifice do we feel that we should be commended because we have234helped the work? Ought we not rather to be thankful that we have had the privilege of making these sacrifices, because of the effect it will have upon the heart and mind? If we make a sacrifice of that which costs us something; if we sacrifice our property to help the cause of God; if we sacrifice our time and our means, and labor hard and earnestly to educate ourselves to work for God,—it is not simply benefiting the work of God, but it is a benefit to ourselves. It is giving us that mental training that will fit us finally to live in the kingdom of God. Do we realize that none of us could be taken to Heaven while our minds turn naturally to the things of earth—while the strongest attractions are those things which pertain to our own selfish interests? This is so whether we realize it or not. This Christian experience is often that experience which is not the most pleasant for the time being, but afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised thereby. The apostle says: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." If we do not train ourselves in this way voluntarily, while we have an opportunity, with none to molest us or make us afraid, God will cause us to pass through that which will give us that experience. If we do not humble ourselves, God will humble us. May the Lord help us to place a proper estimate upon the value of that experience which will fit us for a home in the kingdom of God. Home Missions and Foreign Missions
A CLERGYMAN who has been in the ministry twenty-five years testifies to the significant fact that during all that time he has never collected $25 for home missions from men who are opposed to foreign missions.