Signs of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 12. (3/25/1903)

Signs of the Times

Mar 25, 1903

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 25, 1903

THE LESSON OF EGYPT'S EXPERIENCE.

By C. M. Snow

Curses come because blessings are misused. It is not pleasant to listen to the pronunciation of penalties; it is less pleasant to be serving time, as the human race is doing in the earth to-day. It is not pleasant to look upon pictures of crudity in grinding toil, and still they tell us by contrast of another kingdom, of a better past and a more glorious time that is yet to be. We gaze on this hard picture, and we know that it is outside of the purposes of God. We see this break in Divinity's plan of good, and we are reminded of the reason for the curse—reminded of the cause of our race's incarceration in this workhouse of the king of sin. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” was not God's original purpose for man, but a consequence of sin. That consequence still follows, and the sweat-drops of a race are drenching to-day the treadmill of their toil. There was a blessing even in that consequence, for idleness is a greater curse than hard work, especially when the seed of sin has sprouted in the heart. From famine-stricken Finland down over the whole circle of the globe to far, shivering Patagonia, a race is now serving time and taking its dole of bread.

While gardens still bloom in many a clime, there are countries upon which the load of the curse rests down with crushing weight, and Egypt is one of these. Again and again God has pronounced judgment upon Egypt—not because He would not save souls in Egypt, but because the people of Egypt clung to their idols and their sins. Neither was there partiality in this; for upon His own recognized people, God pronounced judgment when they clung to the idols and to the sins they had learned in Egypt. God had commanded them to forsake their Egyptian idolatry; but He declares: “They rebelled against Me, and would not hearken unto Me; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out My wrath upon them, to accomplish Mine anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.” Eze. 20:7, 8. God led them out of Egypt to a land of liberty and blessing; their idolatry led many of them back to the land of oppression and the curse, to be buried in a hopeless grave in the very land from which Israel prayed that his bones might be taken when his children should return to the land of promise.

Because of Egypt's iniquity and her oppression of the people of God, the judgments of the Lord were pronounced upon her. From being one of the mightiest of the nations she has come to be the least. Her glory has vanished; her pride is humbled in the dust. But this is as the prophet of the Lord declared it would be: “By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall. . . . And they shall bring to naught the pride of Egypt. . . . When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Jehovah.” Eze. 32:12-15. Again He says: “The pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.” Zech. 10:11. The scepter of Egypt has long since departed, and another nation is doing for her now what she might have done for herself. England is ruling the country, collecting her revenues, and paying her debts, building her railroads, bridging her rivers, and storing with mighty dams the flood-waters of the Nile to keep alive the crops of the struggling toilers. The Egyptian still waters his land with his foot as in the days when the children of Israel were in bondage there, or lifts the water with a crude wheel and chain of earthen pots. What England

is doing for her now and will do she might have done for herself, had she not turned her blessings into curses by the misuse to which she put them. Because of the course which Egypt took, the Lord declared of her: “It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations; and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.” Eze. 29:15. All that has come to pass long since. She not only does not rule over the nations, but she does not even rule her own land. She stands to-day as a living example of the result of rebellion against God; and that example is not for nations alone, but for every individual in every nation.

EGYPT has come to be a symbol of spiritual darkness and sin. In the last book in the Bible it is so used (Rev. 11:8). God called His people Israel out of their bondage in that land, as He is calling His people to-day out of bondage in the land of spiritual darkness and sin. “Out of Egypt have I called My son,” was true of Christ, who was an exile there; it was true of Israel, who was a bondservant there; and it is true to-day of those who come out of spiritual Egypt into the liberty of the everlasting Gospel. Out of that country, smitten again and again with punishment for her sin, and steeped in the sweat of the toiler, God is calling men to-day; from her uncomely stones He is chiseling and polishing jewels for His crown of rejoicing. So out of this world, whose air is heavy with the odor of the plague of sin, God is perfecting characters to grace His heavenly temple. A curse whose lesson is learned is better than a blessing misused. The Egyptian, who, through God's punishment has learned to know God, has turned the curse into a blessing. It was God's purpose that it should be so; that Egypt should come to know Him through His punishments, as she had refused to know Him in His blessings. He uses every possible way to reach hearts and punishment for sin is His last resort, if by even this means He may save some. The lesson for us is that in whatever may come to us God is working for our good. Learn, then, to see Him in the sorrows as well as in the joys, in the darkness as well as in the light, in reproof, in affliction, and in the heaviest distress. Look up, then, and see the hand of God stretched out toward you. Job saw that whatever could come to him was for his good, and so he said: “Tho He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Remember this, that “to them that love God all things work together for good.” You may not see the purpose; but rest assured it is there, and His dealings with you, as His dealings with Egypt of old, are to bring you to a saving knowledge of Himself. C. M. Snow.

BLESSING OF HARD WORK.

One of the richest blessings God gives to men whom He loves and desires to favor is the duty to work hard without having too many vacations or holidays. Those who do not have to work constantly are to be pitied. They are not God's favored ones. President Eliot of Harvard said on one occasion, “A scab is a hero,” referring to men who work while others refuse to work. At this one high in the councils of unionism was indignant, and in denouncing such views uttered this curse on the man expressing such a sentiment: “I wish that you may long have hard work, long hours, and a hungering stomach while you live.” But President Eliot is ready for all this. He now says plainly: “I believe that long hours and hard work are best for every man. . . . No man can work too hard or too long hours if his health will permit.” And he might have added, Such work gives a man a hungering stomach as a token of his health. Men who will not work while they can, and who take frequent holidays, usually are ignorant of health or happiness, and do little to promote the welfare of themselves or others.—S. S. Times.

HOW TO GAIN SPIRITUAL STRENGTH.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

MANY are spiritually weak because they look at themselves instead of at Christ. Looking at themselves, and seeing only discouragement and unworthiness, they forget that God is waiting to make them agencies for the blessing of the world, and that angels are waiting to be co-laborers with them.

Christ is the great storehouse from which on every occasion we may draw strength and happiness. Why then do we withdraw our eyes from His sufficiency to look on and bemoan our weakness? Why do we forget that He is ready to help us in every time of need? We dishonor Him by talking of our inefficiency. Instead of looking at ourselves, let us constantly behold Jesus, daily becoming more and more like Him, more and more able to talk of Him, better prepared to avail ourselves of His kindness and helpfulness, and to receive the blessings offered us. As we thus live in communion with Him, we grow strong in His strength, a help and a blessing to those around us.

Christ has made every provision for us to be strong. He has given us His Holy Spirit, whose office it is to bring to our remembrance all the promises that Christ has made, that we may have peace and a sweet sense of forgiveness. If we will but keep our eyes fixed on the Saviour, and trust in His power, we shall be filled with a sense of security; for the righteousness of Christ will become our righteousness.

If we would only do as the Lord desires us to, our hearts would become as sacred harps, every chord of which would sound forth praise and gratitude to the Redeemer sent by God to take away the sin of the world. With joy we would be able to say, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into the 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 Spirit which is given unto us.”

When temptations assail you, as they surely will, when care and perplexity surround you, when, depressed and discouraged, you are almost ready to yield to despair, look, O look, to where with the eye of faith you last saw the light; and the darkness that encompasses you will be dispelled by the bright shining of His glory. When sin struggles for the mastery in your soul, and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, go to the Saviour. His grace is sufficient to subdue sin. He will pardon us, making us joyful in God.

Looking at self, we see only weakness, and we forget God's purpose for us. We forget that He placed on us so high a value that He gave Christ to die for us. Oh, after all that has been done for us, how can we disappoint Christ by failing to live the life that He has made it possible for us to live? Let us no longer talk of our inefficiency and lack of power. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press forward in the heavenward way. Let us neglect no opportunity that if improved will make us more useful in God's service. Then like threads of gold, holiness will run through our lives, and the angels, beholding our consecration, will repeat the promise, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” All heaven rejoices when weak, faulty human beings give themselves to Jesus, to live His life.

The Second Day—The Firmament.

By W. A. Sweany

NOWHERE in all creation is the wisdom and power of the Creator more fully revealed than in the work of the second day of creation week. Beautiful, instructive, comforting, and encouraging are the lessons therein portrayed. Let us consider some of them. “And God said, Let there be a firmament [or “expansion,” margin] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Gen. 1:6-8.

The heaven here mentioned is not the far-away region occupied by the sun, moon, and stars, nor the place where God’s throne is located; but it is the expanse of atmosphere or air which surrounds this earth. It is everywhere present; we are constantly surrounded by it, and without it we could not live. Let this remind us of the blessed truth that “God has surrounded us with an atmosphere of grace which is as real as the air we breathe.” And this atmosphere of grace, when breathed into our souls, imparts and sustains spiritual life, as verily as the natural air we breathe imparts and sustains physical life. Eph. 2:5-8. And then as we contemplate the inexhaustible supply, and the boundless extent of the free air of heaven, let us thank God for the precious assurance that “as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that

fear Him.” Ps. 103:11. “For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens and Thy truth unto the clouds.” Ps. 57:10.

“The waters above the firmament” are the clouds (Job 26:8), and in them we may read some of the most precious truths of the Gospel. Every passing cloud should remind us of His promise to blot out as a cloud all our sins. Isa. 44:22. “And when dark, threatening clouds driven by storm and tempest, o’erspread the skies, or where the brightness of our experience becomes dimmed by the dark clouds of adversity and trouble, it is comforting and reassuring to know and remember that He who “hath gathered the wind in His fists” (Prov. 30:4) and is able to “still the tempest” is near, for He makes “darkness His secret place; and His pavilion round about Him is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.” Ps. 18:11. Then,

“Ye fearful souls, fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread Are filled with mercy, and will break In blessings on your head.”

The Covenant Bow.

From the clouds comes the rain to water and refresh the earth. And so when we break up the fallow ground of our hearts, and sow righteousness therein and ask “of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain,” He will make bright clouds and showers of rain; yea, He will “come and rain righteousness” upon those who thus seek Him.” Hosea 10:12; Zech. 10:1. The sun’s rays shining through falling raindrops upon a background of clouds produce the beautiful rainbow, on which God looks and remembers His promise to no more destroy the earth with a flood. Gen. 9:8-17.

But this covenant includes more than immunity from danger of another flood of waters. “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee,” saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. . . . In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” Isa. 54:7-14. Think of this, whenever you look upon the beautiful bow of promise, remembering that it is not only the sign of God’s covenant to no more destroy the earth with a flood of waters, but also the pledge of His mercy, and an illustration of the transcendent beauty of your eternal home. (Compare the above scripture with Rev. 21:10-27.) Surely we need never experience doubt, fear, nor discouragement when these precious truths and assurances are written on the most familiar objects that we behold, in language that all can read.

But there is yet another precious, instructive, and important lesson for us in the clouds. Every true lover of the Saviour longs to “look on the form that redeemed us, and His glory and majesty see.” But this can not be until He comes back again to this earth. We do not go to Him at death (Ps. 17:15; Job 14:11-15; 19:23-27; Acts 2:29-34) but at the resurrection from the dead, or by translation, if we be among those who are alive and ready to meet Him when He comes (1 Cor. 15:12-23; 50-58; 1 Thess. 4:15-18). And so those who love Him and long to see Him are waiting, hoping, expecting, and looking for His promised return. John 14:3; Heb. 9:28; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Titus 2:11-14. Now what lover of the Master who longs for His return, can look upon the clouds without being reminded of that scene on the mountain-side near Bethany, where He was “taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” And, ringing down through the ages like strains of sweetest music, the comforting, re-assuring words of the angel salute our ears,—“This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11.

And again the Lord declared to John in holy vision: “Behold, He cometh with clouds.” Rev. 1:7. And later when the veil of futurity was drawn aside and the beloved disciple was permitted to look forward to the end and see those things that the faithful shall behold some glad day, he declared: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. . . And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14:14-16.

And so may every passing cloud remind us of the great day when we “shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:30. From the summit of Sinai (Ex. 19:9-16; 24:15-18), and through the wilderness journey (Num. 9:15-23), and upon the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-5), the voice of God was heard from the midst of a cloud giving precept and promise, counsel and reproof, warning and encouragement to His chosen people. And God has written upon “the clouds of the skies” precious lessons of comfort and hope, for the encouragement and instruction of His people, until the opening heavens shall reveal the coming King.

W. A. SWEANY.

“THE TIME IS AT HAND.”

By Clifford G. Howell

Say not with thought of long delay, “My Lord’s return is far away;” And idle in His vineyard stand, Not caring for His blest command, “Go work while it is day.”

The grain is falling at thy side; Fast comes the silent eventide. Do not delay till “It is done” Is said in heaven, and many a one Without your hope in Christ has died.

The time for earnest work has come, To rescue from the curse of rum; To give to all the light of truth, To save the young while in their youth; Thy hand can help save some.

Do with thy might what thou canst do; Your work is given to none but you. Teach how to shun the paths of sin Before their feet have entered in; To thy appointed work be true.

Look not too far for time or place In which to gird thee for the race, Nor yet too high for mission field. The talent in thy hand will yield As thy Creator gives thee grace.

And know that it is given thee By Him who all thy thoughts canst see. Learn in thy holy place to stand; Heeding each divine command; The time of vict’ry is at hand.

Earlyville, Tenn. CLIFFORD G. HOWELL.

THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN.

God knows that this world is filled with all sorts and conditions of men, warped by sin, hedged in by circumstances, prejudiced by teaching and race, hardened by evil, and perverted by generations of wickedness. To meet these needs God has chosen types of all these various characters, many of whom are unique and eccentric, but who will reach some souls that the most devoted conservatism, conventionality, and regularity can never reach, and further, God wants his servants always to stand where He can lead and guide them beyond themselves. His Spirit is given for that purpose. John 14:16, 17; 16:13. An instance in the career of evangelist E. P. Hammond illustrates this. We condense from an account of his own:—

In the year 1863 I was holding meetings in Rochester, N. Y., most of the churches uniting in the work, and nearly 2,000 persons united with the churches. After seven years I was invited to go back there to hold another series of union services. As I had kept no record of the sermons preached and the illustrations used, I was constantly studying for something fresh, which I had never used there before. One day I had but little time to study the subject for the evening. I knew that Dr. Shaw’s large church would be crowded, and I felt greatly burdened for a blessing upon the people. My constant prayer was: “Cast me not away from thy presence, take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.” I felt that the little I had in mind was but “a few loaves and fishes, with which to feed the multitude.” In Matt. 14:17, they said unto Jesus: “We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to Me. . . . And looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled.”

Thus I brought, in earnest prayer, what little I had to Jesus for His blessing, that it might be multiplied so as to feed the multitude. While speaking to the Christians, I sought to urge upon them the importance of courage and holy boldness in fighting the battle of the Lord. I called their attention to those passages in the Acts, where the words “bold,” “boldness,” and “boldly” occur, and thus, by examples from God’s Word, and by the promises, I endeavored to strengthen the faith of God’s people. At this point a new illustration occurred to me which I never before thought of using in a religious meeting.

It was in October, 1854, at Balaklava, during the war in the Crimea, that Lord Lucan gave the order to “The Light Brigade,” numbering 630, to advance. “Advance whither?” was the question. “There is the enemy,” was the reply, “and there are the guns.” Truly, there they were. Six battalions of infantry, six solid masses of cavalry, with thirty heavy guns in position directly in front of them, batteries on the right, and slopes on the left, lined with riflemen and light field pieces; and a mile and a half to be traversed before they could meet the enemy. Truly, this was a ride “into the jaws of death;” yet these noble men, “the flower of England,” made the attempt. They took the guns, they cut their way through the infantry, and through the cavalry. By some blunder they were not supported, yet they cut their way back under the fire of the Russian guns,—“all that was left of them, left of six hundred.”

When a boy in college, I had repeated Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade” as a declamation, and so, under the inspiration of the moment, I threw my heart into it, and made it as vivid as possible before the solemn gathering in Dr. Shaw’s church, crowded in every part. The scene of that dreadful carnage was pictured before us all, as we beheld those valiant men cut down like the forest before the tornado.

“Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said. Into the valley of Death, Rode the six hundred.”

[He recited the whole poem.]

Just as I began to repeat this, a lady pressed her way in and stood by the open door, and not waiting for the application, she said to one of the ushers: “I thought this was an evangelistic meeting.” “So it is,” was the reply.

“But I heard that poetry repeated over at the Corinthian Hall half an hour ago by a Shakespearian reader, in that same way. I don’t see any Gospel in that.”

“But you have not waited for the application; you may yet find something good taught by it.”

At the close of the service, good Dr. Shaw came to me, asking, “Why did you put Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ in your sermon to-night?”

“I can’t tell; it came in and out,” said I.

“But I think it was a mistake, for some seriously objected to it. I do not want you or the meeting criticized. I hope you will never use that in a sermon again. It was too dramatic.”

“I am sorry if I made a mistake. I know I was much in prayer for guidance of the Holy Spirit, before coming to the meeting. I am sure I felt my own weakness and inability to accomplish any good without His help; and it was my prayer that I might be led only by the Spirit of God.”

On my return home that night I said to my wife, “I think I must give up preaching.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, some were greatly displeased with the meeting to-night.”

“Who were not pleased?”

I did not like to tell her, for I knew how much she respected the opinion of Dr. James B. Shaw, but she continued her inquiries till I had to tell her that Dr. Shaw was greatly disturbed at the meeting.

“What!” she exclaimed, “why did not Dr. Shaw like it?”

I did not wish to tell her, for I feared she might be as much trouble as Dr. Shaw had been. Again she asked, and at last I had to tell her it was because I repeated Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade.”

“Why, Edward, what did you do that for? I never knew you to do such a thing before; surely there was no Gospel in that, and you are always talking about the importance of the Gospel being found in all the illustrations used in such meetings. What Gospel is there in the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’?”

That was a hard question to answer. She felt sorry about it, and so did I—worn out as I was with fatigue. I did not feel much better after, like a boy. I had had a good cry over the matter. I did not sleep much that night. Long before breakfast time the next morning, I was called to meet a gentleman in the drawing-room, a fine, noble-looking man. He astonished me by saying:—

“I was one of the six hundred who fought our way to the redoubt at Balaklava, and one of the thirty-six who came out alive.

“When the war broke out, I came to this country and espoused the side of the North. I have faced death in a hundred battles; but never till last night, when you repeated the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade,’ did I feel what a miserable, ungrateful sinner I was. I seemed to be in battle again. I saw my comrades cut down on my right hand and on my left, and the thought came to me, Why has God spared my life when I have so long been rejecting His Son who died on the cross for me. This seemed to be the greatest sin of all. What I heard you say of His sufferings and death came vividly before me, and the tears fell fast from my eyes. As I looked around I noticed my wife, sitting by my side, bathed in tears. I found that she, too, was under deep conviction of sin. God had used those same words to show her that she must come to Christ or be forever lost. When we reached home, we fell on our knees and cried to God, for Christ’s sake, to forgive us our sins and to make us His own children. That prayer was soon answered. This morning we both awoke happy. I could not wait for breakfast. I felt I must come and thank you for bringing that wonderful scene before me so vividly through those verses.

“I fully believe the Lord led you to do this. He knew, very likely, that nothing else would lead me to realize my lost condition and see my need of Christ. I was shown my great ingratitude in not loving Him who, as by a miracle, spared my life, when nearly all my comrades were cut down in that fearful carnage. It was His Holy Spirit that led you to send those words home to my heart. They lifted the veil of forgetfulness and made me to hear the cannon’s roar, belching forth death. I now see that my soul has indeed been brought through the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell.”

I can never cease to thank you for repeating Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade.”

At the morning meeting, which filled the Presbyterian Church, this gentleman,—Professor J. F. Godfrey was his name—stood up and related, in substance, what he had that morning said to me. Many were in tears.

Dr. Shaw, with much emotion, walked across the platform, and taking me by the hand, asked my pardon for what he had said the night before. “God, I believe,” he added, “was answering your prayers in leading you to repeat that ‘Charge!’ He knew the effect it would have in bringing this man and his wife to Christ. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. May the Lord help each of us to give ourselves up entirely to Him to be led by the Spirit, offering the prayer of the psalmist, ‘Teach me Thy way, O Lord.’”

WE OUGHT TO TAKE HEED.

By C. H. BATES

“THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” Heb. 2:1, 2. The margin indicates that the meaning of “let them slip” is to “run out as leaking vessels.”

During some time in the past, through the columns of the SIGNS, we have been learning of truths that are of vital importance to every man. Are we taking heed of them, or are they slipping away from us, running out of our hearts as water which leaks from a vessel.

When were the steadfast words spoken by angels? In Genesis 19 we have the record of the destruction of Sodom, also of the warning as given by the angels before the destruction took place. The record is as follows, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” In verse 26 we have the statement that Lot’s wife looked behind her and she became a pillar of salt. How sad that this part of the narrative had to be recorded.

What a small thing, seemingly, was this act, and yet upon it rested such important results. Lot’s wife found no way of escape. Our Saviour, in speaking of this same incident in Luke 17:32, says, “Remember Lot’s wife,” the only woman in all the Bible that the Lord tells us to remember. Why remember Lot’s wife? The answer simply is this. The Lord would not have us fall through any act of disobedience as did she. She disobeyed the steadfast word.

Let us consider another example where the steadfast word was spoken by angels. In the first chapter of Luke we have the experience of Zacharias. “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” “The angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee.” “And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words.” “And when he came out, he could not speak unto them.” The word was steadfast.

Do any of the readers of the SIGNS know of any way of escape? Lot’s wife found no way of escape. Zacharias found no way of escape.

If the words of the angels were steadfast, how shall we escape, if we neglect the salvation which is in Christ Jesus? Said the apostle Peter: “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. The angel’s words to Mary were: “And thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matt. 1:21. Jesus, Himself, said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6. And, once again: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

In Titus 2:14 we read: “Who gave Himself for us.” It does not say that He gave Himself to us, but for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. This being so, every one of us belong to Him and in Him to be saved from our sins. He purchased us as we are, sins and all. Gal. 1:4. Will you cling to the sin and neglect the great salvation? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” He will remove them as far from us “as the east is from the west.” He will cast them behind His back, and in still another place we read that He will cast them “into the depths of the sea.”

Sin and all that pertains to it will be destroyed, but if we give up the sin now, accept the glorious gift of the Son of God, who gave Himself for the sins of the world, we may be made complete in Him now, and at last have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. C. H. BATES.

WHAT DID CHRIST TAKE OUT OF THE WAY?

By D. H. Oberholtzer

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Col. 2:14.

Let the text have its practical application to present every-day life.

Note that the context deals with the method of getting free from our sins, and not with laws or dispensations. See verses 11–13. Verse 14 continues the same subject. Verse 13 reads: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened [made alive] together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way.” Three translations at my hand read: “Took it out from the midst” (middle), or more properly from between us. The verses following describe the danger of allowing anything, even a man to get between us and God (read verses 16, 18, 19, and latter part of verse 22); and why should we, since Christ nailed that which was between us and Him (God) to the cross. Now Jesus nailed all to His cross that was nailed to it, and that was simply what His body bore; and in 1 Peter 2:24 the Holy Spirit says, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” So that thing that was nailed to the cross was our sins. And we know that our sins have been “contrary” to us, and that they have stood between us and God. Isa. 59:2.

The Syriac Version reads: “And by His mandate He blotted out the handwriting of our debts, which [handwriting] existed against us.”

Yes, in the ledger books of God each sin that we have committed has been faithfully chronicled “against us,” and that same hand that wrote on Belshazzar’s palace wall “is writing now,” and dare you face the record, or will you confess your sins, and believe that God is faithful and just to forgive your sins, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness? Here the true doctrine of “righteousness by faith” is exemplified.

We are now in the time of blotting out of sins, and, dear reader, do you know that the mandate of God has been given, that your debt (Matt. 18:27) has been forgiven, that it may be blotted out (Acts 3:19), and that a living connection has been established between you and the Head (of the body). Since “the times of refreshing” have come, this is a matter of importance, and should be understood by all.

But some may ask, Why does He in verse 16 say, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink,” etc.? In verse 15 it is stated that He “spoiled principalities and powers,” and triumphed over them. This refers to the combinations of men and demons; they can not now force themselves between the soul and God, so, if anything gets in there, it must be by the consent of the individual soul. Therefore, “let no man make a conscience for you” (German translation), judge you or judge (decide) for you in your eating or drinking or in any of the forms of your worship, etc. Since everything has been removed between you and God, go directly to Him yourself, for He is “just as willing to teach you, as he is to teach some man to teach you.” It has been Satan’s studied purpose to get something between the soul and God, and now when he sees that the sins have been removed, he tries to push some man in there who will represent himself, and this was most successfully done in the development of the Papacy.

Thus, instead of this scripture teaching that a certain part of God’s Word was written against us, and had to be blotted out, we see that it teaches no such thing, and that it leaves uncontradicted the truth that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.” 2 Tim. 3:16.

No, dear reader, God is not so inconsistent as to cause something to be written for those who live in the end of the world (1 Cor. 10:11), and then cause that same thing to be blotted out. But, praise the Lord, our sins were all nailed to His cross, and by the blood there obtained He will blot them out “even as a thick cloud,” and in the judgment nothing will be found written against us; for it has all been blotted out, and, when they are sought for, they can not be found.

Reader, shall we not come boldly to the throne of grace, and have boldness in the day of judgment? Amen.

D. H. OBERHOLTZER.

Humanity Ever Advances

By Charles Sumner

LET us, then, be of good cheer. From the great law of progress we may derive at once our duties and our encouragements. Humanity has ever advanced, urged by the instincts and necessities implanted by God, thwarted sometimes by obstacles that have caused it for a time—a moment only in the immensity of ages—to deviate from its true lines or to seem to retreat, but still ever onward.—Charles Sumner.

Continue reading: IN THE FUTURE