Earlier text: General ArticlesChrist's Coming at the Judgment.
OUR next appeal is to Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians. It is freely admitted that the proceedings of the day of Judgment did not form the theme of these epistles, and, therefore, whatever light they shed upon the subject in hand comes incidentally. It is, however, none the less clear when it comes, and none the less satisfactory because it comes as it does. We commence by reading from 2 Thess. 1:3-10: "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer; seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and 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; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." In this passage two things are apparent, which, together, make out that the coming of Christ is the day of Judgment. First, the unbelieving and disobedient shall then be punished; and, secondly, the punishment is that final award which follows the judgment. The first point is plainly affirmed, so as to admit of no denial. The last point, though not stated in so many words, is quite evident from the nature of the language employed: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints." There is no doubt that the punishment is connected with the coming of Christ, and, from the terms in which it is described, it must be final. It is no temporary infliction, no preparatory or premonitory judgment, to be renewed or repeated or reversed at a subsequent day. It is expressed in the strongest language that ever occurs with reference to the ultimate doom of the ungodly, and corresponds in this respect with the terms of the final sentence pronounced by the Son of man when he gathers the nations and separates them as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats, and consigns the condemned to "everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." In the preceding epistle this same coming of the Lord is connected with the resurrection of the dead, as we have seen in another chapter. We turn to it here to show that in that epistle, and in the immediate connection where the resurrection is described, the retribution of the ungodly is recognized as occurring at the same time, and in language that properly denotes the day of Judgment, and is positively and uniformly applied to that day. Let us read the paragraph as written, without regard to the division of the chapter: "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. 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. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1 Thess. 4:16, to 5:4. Here the descent of the Lord from Heaven, to raise the dead, is called "the day of the Lord," and it is affirmed that "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." And the Thessalonians knew this so perfectly that it was not needful that the apostle should tell them anything concerning the time of the advent. They knew, as well as he, that the time was not revealed, but purposely left in all uncertainty, the times and the seasons being left in the Father's own power. They must have learned this from some one who had told them the words of the Lord himself, which he so frequently used in the presence of the disciples. "Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." "For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only." This, then, is "the day of the Lord that so cometh as a thief in the night," the day that "overtakes" the unwatchful as a thief. It brings not only surprise, but "destruction." It is "the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men," and they that are unready "shall not escape." It is the same day of which Peter says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." It will be observed that in this Peter used the same words that Paul did in regard to "the day of the Lord." They both had in mind the same day, and Paul alludes to the "destruction" it will bring upon the ungodly, and Peter expressly calls it "the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Where, then, is there room for doubt that the unrevealed day of the Lord's second coming is the day of Judgment? It is certainly the day of the resurrection of the dead, and no less clearly is it now shown to be the day of final retribution. Thus inseparably are the great events of "the last day" linked together. The coming of Christ and the resurrection are joined together; the coming of Christ and the Judgment are joined together, and, as another chapter shows, the resurrection and the Judgment are joined together. Then, "what God hath joined together let not man put asunder." This showing is met by the assumption that the coming of Christ, treated of in these epistles, was not a personal, but a "figurative," advent—that same "figurative" advent supposed to relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, which we have so fully considered and refuted. But we must look at it again in this connection, or be thought neglectful of something which our "liberalistic" friends regard as highly important. First of all, our attention is called to the fact that the Jews were somewhat numerous in Thessalonica, and that they had a synagogue there, and were full of zeal for the maintenance of their own worship. Acts 17:1-13. This is to assure us that the Jews, who were the persecutors of the disciples at Thessalonica, would be interested in the judgments that might befall their brethren in Jerusalem. But suppose this to be so, since the Lord made no promise to come again at that time, but warned his disciples not to be deceived by the appearance of false christs, on what ground the Thessalonian Christians could be expected to interpret the language Paul addressed to them concerning the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the retribution of the wicked in the day of the Lord, as relating to a figurative coming at the destruction of Jerusalem, is something which ordinary minds can neither see nor comprehend. The truth is, that figurative coming, which has figured so largely in modern expositions, is simply a figment of the fancy, without foundation in the Scriptures, and without use or meaning in exegesis. It is probably true that some gathered the impression from Paul's first epistle, in which he spoke of "the day of the Lord" coming "as a thief in the night," that they ought to expect the coming of Christ very soon—to regard it as "imminent"—and needed further admonition on that point. If such were the case, it is evident that they did not confound "the day of the Lord" with the national disaster that awaited the Jews. There is absolutely nothing to warrant any supposition to that effect. But whatever their thought in regard to the nature of the advent—and it is pretty certain that they began to cherish the idea of a speedy personal coming to raise the dead and punish the wicked—the apostle did not rebuke their error on that point, but only in regard to the "imminence" of the event. There was, doubtless, reason for his solicitude in relation to this matter, as the earnestness of his expostulation shows too much feeling to have arisen without the perception of danger to his brethren. His language is, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." We are not concerned, just now, about the identification of the "man of sin," but remark, in passing, that there are some characteristics here which fit the Papal power better than any personage or thing that has ever appeared on the earth. The titles which are given to the chief Pontiff in Rome, as "our Lord God, the Pope;" the prerogatives and powers he claims, as the vicar of Christ; the homage he receives, in the bended knees and prostrate forms of the multitudes that do him reverence; and the place he occupies on solemn occasions in the "temple of God," so called, all point to him as the only one on earth who "exalteth himself above all that is called God or is worshiped," and who claims to exercise divine authority in the church. But the fact most important, in this connection, is the apostasy or "falling away" predicted. It was, evidently, a great departure from the simplicity of the gospel, whose origin could be traced to elements already at work in the church, and whose results were to reach onward through the centuries to the revelation of Christ. It was also to be closely related to the coming of the lawless one, the man of sin, whose coming was "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." This apostasy, if we can at all depend on the facts revealed in the unimpeachable history of the church, began in the days of the post-apostolic fathers, and reached its full development in the fifth century, when worldliness and fanaticism combined almost destroyed the spirituality of the Church, and the Pope aspired to universal sovereignty. If this is correct—and who can successfully controvert it?—then it is impossible to believe that the coming of Christ, about which we read in these epistles, was a figurative coming to destroy Jerusalem. And whether our interpretation of the "apostasy" be correct or not, it is evident that the "falling away" did not take place in time to allow the revelation of the "man of sin" to antedate the downfall of Jerusalem. That event took place A. D. 70, about forty years after the ascension of Christ, and not to exceed sixteen years after the date of this epistle. It cannot be that the apostle wrote this earnest entreaty to the Thessalonians not to be shaken in mind, as though the day of Christ was near at hand, if it was within sixteen years of its consummation, and the date being unknown, it might happen even sooner than that! And then there was something in the apostle's mind connected with the coming of Christ, which he called "our gathering together unto him." But there was no "gathering together unto him" when Jerusalem was destroyed, and there was to be none; for the disciples were instructed not to gather together at that time, but to "flee to the mountains." Thus it appears, in every aspect of the case, that this fancied "figurative" advent fails its supporters, and leaves their theories of retribution, which depend upon it, without the semblance of a foundation.—Second Coming of Christ, by Bishop Merrill. Which Is the Greater Wonder?
By R. F. Cottrell
THE unbelief, repeated murmurings, and the disposition of the Israelites to turn to idolatry, after they had seen God's wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and had seen his glory upon Sinai and heard his majestic voice from its fiery summit proclaiming his holy law, is truly a wonder. The people of the present day are astonished at it; and, instead of accepting it as a true picture of fallen human nature, in which they may, as in a glass, behold themselves, they come to the conclusion that that people were the most flagrantly wicked of any that have ever existed upon the earth. If we had only been there and witnessed those miracles, how believing and obedient we should have been! We imagine that we should not have been tempted to bow down to the idols of Egypt and101other surrounding nations. Like the Jews in the days of Christ, the language is, If we had lived in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. But the solution of the mystery is, idolatry was the fashion in those days—it was a common custom to break the second commandment of the decalogue. The same species of idolatry is not now in vogue in countries called Christian. It is not the custom in these countries to worship a calf, as in Egypt of olden time; but it is the custom to break the fourth commandment of that same decalogue, the utterance of the same voice that forbade idolatry. And there are many who, knowing that the holy law of God requires the observance of the seventh day, would willingly obey, only that it is the prevailing custom to observe the first in its stead. They would be glad if it were the fashion to do what God says, but it seems to them impossible, since all their friends and neighbors observe a different day. They may be so far enlightened as to know that the "man of sin," the great apostasy predicted by the apostles, the pope of Rome standing at the head, has made the change from the day God appointed—his holy rest-day—to another; yet since it is the established custom they fancy they can yield to it and yet please God. As the ancient idolaters could follow the customs of their times, and though too much enlightened to regard idols as truly gods, yet could excuse themselves by the thought that they only worshiped the true God through the similitude of a graven image; so these seem to imagine that they can please and honor God, and keep in spirit the fourth commandment, while they openly disregard the God-appointed day, and keep in its stead the rival sabbath of the man of sin—the day on which the popes have sabbatized, and not the one on which the great Creator rested from his work. Now I ask, Is not this the greater wonder—that a people having the light of the experience of ancient Israel on record for their instruction and admonition (see 1 Cor. 10), and all the subsequent history of the Jewish people down to their rejection of the promised Messiah; and furthermore, all the light of the present dispensation, with its record of the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies and also the predictions of the apostles, warning all of the usurpations of the great apostasy and its corruptions of the word of God, thinking itself able to change God's times and laws (Dan. 7:25) and living at a time when these predictions have become matters of history, and also when the final warning against these corruptions is being given,—is it not, I ask, the greatest of all wonders that people can disregard what God has said, and in its stead do what he expressly warns them against, and still hope to be accepted in his sight? (!). If Israel and the "mixed multitude" that left Egypt with them were an astonishingly wicked rabble for falling into the customary sin of their times, what shall be said of those now living in this enlightened nineteenth century, who, with all the light of the past and the present, can disobey what God has plainly said, because it is the custom to do that which he has not commanded? A substitute for what God has commanded is not acceptable. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, and they died. Lev. 10. Can we follow their example and hope to live? Rather let us learn the lessons which the records of the past are designed to teach us, and so escape the dangers that are imminent. "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Cor. 10:11, 12. The Sabbath-School.
By George D. Ballou
A Word to Sabbath-school Workers.
By Eld. George D. Ballou. The nature and importance of the work we are engaged in will permit of an occasional appeal to stir our minds to activity. We have intrusted to us the most important branch of education—the culture and development of the spiritual nature. We cannot neglect this work nor regard it lightly, without suffering both temporal and eternal loss. Minds must be instructed in the knowledge of God so that they may have a foundation on which to base their faith. The pure seeds of truth must be planted in the mind and heart before the seeds of sin have taken root. We must make every effort to occupy the soil of the heart first. Great mistakes are made in not doing so. It is far easier to keep an enemy out than to dislodge him after he has intrenched himself. We must fortify the approaches to the soul, then we can foil the enemy. Spare no pains to interest, impress, and instruct the youngest scholars. Don't neglect these little minds. They are as plastic as wax now. Soon they will sear and harden under sinful influences unless you throw around them the spirit of the gospel. Let the most pious, loving, thorough teachers have charge of these little ones. Now is the time to begin to make Christians of them and if you don't do it, Satan and his agents will begin to make sinners of them. The Sabbath-school work should connect very closely with the home work—the two should be inseparably united. Preparation at home will insure success in the school. Where home influences cannot be controlled, let there be such a vigorous spiritual influence in the school that it will reflect back into the home life and be like the cheerful rays of the sun, stealing through the narrow window of the dungeon to cheer the lonely inmate. There must be a life-giving power in the Sabbath-school. The healing beams of the Sun of righteousness must arise and shine into the hearts of all. The routine work of studying and reciting the lessons must not be the great end to be attained. This should only be the channel through which the streams of heavenly grace shall flow into every heart. Knowledge is important as a means to a higher end. Look beyond to the grace which brings salvation, to the peace which is like a river, and to love that passeth knowledge. "Knowledge puffeth up but charity edifieth" [buildeth up]. Charity—supreme love to God and such love to our fellows as dwelt in the bosom of Jesus—must come in and melt away our icy coldness. Let this work be wrought in you, then peace and joy will be your portion, and you will rejoice in your efforts to help the Sabbath-school. When the eternal salvation in the kingdom of God becomes the object of all your praying and studying and teaching and giving, then the Great Teacher will come in and accept your services, and your school will become his school—the school of Christ. Does not your heart yearn for such results and privileges? They may be yours, only live for them faithfully. Supplicate the throne of grace frequently for that spiritual power that will make your labors effective, and enable you to continually hold an influence for good; and when you have prayed, watch thereunto with all perseverance. Do not be discouraged if you do not immediately see all accomplished that you may desire. Do your part faithfully, and that will encourage others. Permanent growth is generally slow, and it is this kind of growth that is needed. It is the Lord's work we are doing, and he will help us as fast as we are ready. If all who appreciate these words would begin at once to prepare their hearts to receive the grace of God, they would soon become fountains of grace from whence the healing streams would follow, and oh, what a refreshing would follow! Neglect no longer to cherish the plants of love, joy, peace, and gentleness. They are tender plants, and unless you cultivate them they will not thrive. Discipline self. Restrain those unholy, hateful traits which you despise in others, and which the Lord disapproves in you. Cherish pity, sympathy, and a forgiving spirit. It will cost you pain, but pleasure and peace will be the fruit. Go down into the valley of humility, and there let self die and be buried, and then go forth to labor patiently but joyfully for the perishing. You may be inclined as a teacher to underestimate the importance of your office. Be assured that the faithful minister of Christ has no more responsible position, save with reference to the extent of his field, than yourself. Your work is to deal out spiritual food to hungry souls; this is what God calls the minister to do. Your calling like his is holy and dignified. Put your hearts in the work and labor because you love to be a co-worker with Jesus. Many souls will thus be saved to the church, and the eternal results will bring full satisfaction for all toil and cross-bearing. One man's manner may be more effective than another's oratory. William Pitt once made an attack on Sir William Baker, a member of the House of Commons, in which he charged him with having made a large sum of money by a fraudulent contract. Baker rose quietly and said, "The honorable gentleman is a great orator, and has made a long and serious charge against me. I am no orator, and therefore shall only answer him in two words: Prove it." Having thus spoken, he sat down amid the applause of the members. His brief reply gained the ear of the House, and his manner satisfied all that the charge was a calumny. Two words had refuted the orator's harangue. Work done in order to win a prize is not likely to be one's best work. A "prize story," or a "prize picture," or a prize artistic design of any kind, is rarely first-class work in its line. It may, indeed, be better than its competitors—although that is not a certainty; but it is hardly possible that the highest and noblest activities of mind and heart should be drawn forth merely to win a prize. When one is thoroughly absorbed in work for his work's sake, or for the sake of one dear to him, he is in a way to put his whole soul into his endeavors, as he could not be in the mere purpose of going ahead of rivals. A good illustration of this truth is given in a recent sketch of the life of Giovanni Dupre, an Italian sculptor, who died in Florence a year ago. After several attempts—more or less successful—at winning prizes by artistic execution, Dupre was working hard for another prize, when word came to him that the proffered prize was withdrawn. "In his first fury of disappointment, he dashed his model to the ground, and broke it to pieces. And yet this very passion was but another step to his fame; for in his repentance he determined to atone for it by some grand work--a work which should live, and which he would produce alone, with no thought of winning prizes, and with no help from the academies. Then it was that he designed and wrought his Death of Abel, on which his future fame was builded; and which can never be forgotten by one who has looked on it in the Pitti Palace, in Florence. Had Dupre continued to work for prizes, his best energies would never have been called forth; and his permanent reputation would never have been secured. And so in every department of mental activity; prize-offering and prize-seeking cannot bring out the best that is in those who are possessed of high possibilities.— The World’s Ignorance of the Saviour
It is a solemn fact, that, taking the world at large, of every three persons walking on the vast globe, two have never heard of the Saviour, have never seen a Bible, know nothing of Heaven and nothing of hell.—Rev. Daniel Wilson, Mildmay Conference. A Valuable Book on an Important Subject.—New Edition.
THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL.
By W. J. CONYBEARE, M. A., LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND J. S. HOWSON, M. A., PRINCIPAL OF THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, LIVERPOOL. A NEW and popular edition, complete in one volume with index, chronological tables, and notes. The purpose of this work is to give a living picture of St. Paul himself and of the circumstances by which he was surrounded. To accomplish this much more has been done by them than to present a mere transcript of the Scriptural narrative. For example, to comprehend the influences under which the Apostle grew to manhood, we must realize the position of a Jewish family in Tarsus, and must understand the kind of education which he would receive as a boy in his Hebrew home, or in the schools of his native city, and in riper years "at the feet of Gamaliel" in Jerusalem; while to understand his history as a missionary to the heathen, we must know the state of the different populations which he visited, and the character of the Greek and Roman civilizations of his time. What Dr. Geikie has done for the Life of Our Lord, Conybeare and Howson have done for the life of St. Paul. As a picture of the civilization of Paul's time, their book is admirable, and shows thorough familiarity with all those places and aspects of truth which study can make available in interpreting the wonderful life and teachings of the Great Apostle to the Gentiles. It is a work of gigantic industry and profound learning, and has already passed through many editions. THE Life and Epistles of Paul, by Conybeare and Howson, is emphatically a standard work, so thoroughly executed that it seems doubtful that it can be much improved upon. I have often referred to it in my studies, and always with profit. The apostle Paul was not only, to use his own words, "in labors more abundant," but his letters form a large part of the literature of the New Testament. It is not for the mere gratification of curiosity that we wish to learn what we can of such a man. By studying his personal history and the circumstances connected with his untiring labors, we are able to enter into the spirit of his work, and far better to appreciate what he has written. I can cordially recommend this book to all students of the New Testament.
J. H. WAGGONER. THE Life of St. Paul by Conybeare and Howson, I regard as a book of great merit, and one of rare usefulness to the earnest student of the New Testament history.
ELLEN G. WHITE. Conditional and Unconditional.
By Editor
AN esteemed brother objects to an expression of ours in the work on the Atonement, as follows:— “With the highest regards for you I am obliged to say that I cannot receive some statements contained therein as being sound and true. For instance: On page 161, third line from the top, you state that ‘Eternal life through Christ was freely and unconditionally brought to man.’ And you cite in proof Rom. 6:23. Of course you immediately quote passages to show the conditions of eternal life, which most effectually destroy the force of the statement and show it to be unsound. We think our position is correct, and our statement not unsound. Moreover, we think we guarded the statement so that there is little chance for misapprehension if the whole paragraph be considered, and not merely a single sentence. We spoke of the differences between the Calvinists and Arminians and said:— “The great question to be decided is this: In what respect is the gospel plan unconditional, and in what respect is it conditional? If there is anywhere such a distinction, and if we can clearly trace the line, the subject must then be relieved of much difficulty. Examining this, we find the introduction of the gospel, or setting forth Christ as the way of salvation, is unconditional; but the application of the gospel to individual salvation, is conditional. Thus, it is not said to the world, nor to any part thereof, that if they would believe and do certain things Christ should die for them. But it is said that if they will believe and do certain things they shall be saved by his blood so freely and unconditionally shed for the sins of the world.” We presume our brother will admit that the whole plan of salvation was laid upon the death or sacrifice of Christ, and that his blood alone cleanses from all unrighteousness. And we think it is not too much to ask him to concede the soundness of our position, or show that there was a condition laid upon man whereby he might secure the death of Christ, or the shedding of his blood for the remission of his sins. We have studied this subject with great care for years, and we have never yet found any such condition presented in the Scriptures, and we still believe that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,” and that the all-important gift rested upon no condition for man to fulfill in order that the Son might die for him. On pages 81, 82, the same point is brought to view in noticing the errors of popular authors in regard to the penalty of the law, and whether Christ suffered it for man. The following language is there used:— “Burge on the Atonement, says: ‘If a man engage to perform a certain piece of work, for a reward which is proposed, it makes no difference whether he do the work himself, or procure another to do it for him. Let the work be done according to agreement, and he is entitled to the reward. So, if Christ has done for believers the work which the law required them to do, God is now bound, on the principle of strict justice, to bestow the promised reward, eternal life. There is no grace, but stern, unbending justice, here.’ Pp. 202, 203. Barnes takes substantially the same view, and both aver that Christ did not suffer the penalty of the law, but something substituted for the penalty. Did this illustration merely go to show the insufficiency of Christ’s obedience to moral law to make an atonement, without the suffering of death, there could be no objection raised against it. But it goes far beyond this. In order for an illustration to be worth anything, there must be some analogy between its main points and the thing illustrated. In this case there is none whatever. Man is a rebel, condemned to death; the law can only be satisfied with the taking of life. Now in regard to rendering satisfaction to a broken law there cannot possibly be anything existing between sinful man and his Creator, answering to the nature of a contract, as this illustration supposes. But its defect is most plainly seen in this, that man does not, and cannot, procure a substitute. If man by his own efforts had procured the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, atonement would rest on an entirely different footing from what it now does. Any illustration based on such an utter impossibility, which is so contrary to evident truths, and to the whole revealed plan of the atonement, cannot aid in a correct understanding of it. God has set forth his Son to be a propitiation—to suffer death, the penalty of the law, for us; so that his substitutionary sacrifice is the gift of God, even as Christ himself was the gift of God. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.’” If we take for granted that the death of Christ meets every demand of the law, yet so long as he is the gift of God, there is mercy in the transaction.” Can any one gainsay this, and show that man did, by the fulfillment of some condition, procure the sacrifice of Christ, on which all our hopes of eternal salvation rest? When Christ shall cease pleading “for the sins of the whole world,”—when his priesthood shall be ended,—then the plagues of God’s wrath will be poured out upon a guilty, unrepenting world. The common bounties and mercies of life, which all men now receive alike, will be withdrawn. Then the whole race will understand that which they will not now consider, that Jesus is their constant benefactor; for truly, in a certain sense, he is “the Saviour of all men.” But do all men recognize their obligation, and fulfill a condition that Christ may thus become their benefactor? They do not. These mercies are bestowed unconditionally; they are the necessary concomitants of the plan which embraces human probation. They are necessary in order that probation shall be complete, and that men may live under such circumstances that it is possible for them to embrace the offer of salvation and have eternal life. For without these the race would soon become extinct, and none would remain to save. And yet again, by virtue of his power to redeem, he reverses the consequences of the fall by bringing all men from the dominion of that death which we suffer because of our relation to Adam. As the resurrection reaches all classes, just and unjust, it is proved to be unconditional, and therefore that provision of grace by which it is effected must be unconditional. The fact that Christ died for man does not make his salvation a necessity nor a certainty. He did not die in order that any man must be saved, but he died in order that all may be saved. Our brother further says:— “Certainly if eternal life is unconditionally brought to man, then all men to whom it is thus brought will have it—cannot having it.” We do not view it in that light. It is brought to them, and placed within their reach, without any condition or work on their part. But suppose they refuse to receive it; what then? And could they refuse it if it were not brought to them? As it is said in the book in question: “How can they be said to neglect so great salvation, Heb. 2:3, if no salvation was provided for them?” Page 160. “A scheme might be arranged sufficient to benefit one thousand persons, and still the design of the primary movers in it embrace only ten men.” The design of this, as well as of the expression before quoted, is to show that all embraced in the plan, or all to whom salvation was brought, will be saved. The Scriptures directly negative this. It is true that a plan might be sufficient for a thousand, and embrace only ten; but if the movers in it declared explicitly that it was for the whole thousand, and if the entire thousand were exhorted to come and receive it, and earnestly warned against the consequences of rejecting it, and if they were told that their loss was because they would not come and accept it, what then must we think of the person who yet declared that it was designed for only the few who did accept it? If men bring upon themselves swift destruction by denying the Lord who bought them, 2 Pet. 2:1, is it consistent with his word to say that they were destroyed because the Lord did not buy them? All readers will please bear in mind that there is the closest friendship and fullest confidence existing between the objecting brother and ourself. There is no controversy, as that word is generally understood. We write for the truth, and for profit. May the Spirit of truth guide us aright.