Review and Herald, Vol. 37, No. 1. (12/20/1870)

Review and Herald

Dec 20, 1870

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 20, 1870

OUR FAITH AND HOPE; Or; Reasons Why We Believe as We Do.

By James White

NUMBER ONE.—SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

BY ELDER JAMES WHITE.

“What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”—DISCIPLES.

“When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”—JESUS. Matt. 24: 3, 33.

CAN anything be learned from the Bible relative to the period of the second advent? is a question unsettled in many minds. This is a grave inquiry; and, from the nature of the subject, is worthy of close investigation and a candid answer. It is a matter of painful regret that many, under the influence of popular prejudice, have decided that the period of the second advent is a secret, hidden with the Almighty. While these may scarcely be reached with this subject, as long as they remain under the influence of those religious teachers who denounce all investigation of it as prying into the secrets of the Almighty, there is still a larger class who wait for evidence before deciding. It is with ardent hope of benefiting these that we write.

We accept the Bible as a revelation from Heaven. What God has revealed in that book, let no man call a mystery, or a secret of the Almighty. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Deut. 29: 29. If the sacred Scriptures do not designate any period in particular for the second appearing of Christ, then men should at once abandon the vain search for proofs of his soon coming. But if prophecy, in a most harmonious manner, does point to the period of that great event, and if there is evidence that “it is near, even at the doors,” the subject at once assumes vast importance.

When the disciples inquire, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus does not reprove them for inquiring into that which was purposely hidden from all men; but he answers that question in the most definite manner. He even states that there should be signs of that event in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and adds, “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” The simple fact that the Lord mentions signs of his second advent, is the best proof possible that his people were not to remain ignorant of the relative nearness of the event. Add to this evidence his declaration that when these signs should be seen, his people should know that it was near, even at the doors, and the case becomes an exceedingly strong one.

No truth of inspiration can be more clearly stated than that God reveals his designs to his prophets, that men and nations may be warned before their accomplishment. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3: 7. Before visiting men and nations with judgments, God has sent forth warnings sufficient to enable the believing to escape his wrath, and to condemn those who have not heeded the warning. This was the case before the flood. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world.” Heb. 11: 7.

At a later period, when the nations had become sunken in idolatry and crime, and the destruction of wicked Sodom was determined, the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” Gen. 18: 17, 18. And due notice was given to righteous Lot, who, with his daughters, was preserved; and none, even in that guilty city, perished without due warning. Lot evidently warned the people; and, in thus communing with them, was “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” 2 Pet. 2: 7, 8. When he warned his sons-in-law, “he seemed as one that mocked.” Gen. 19: 14. And when “the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter,” Lot warned them, and entreated them to desist from their wickedness. And they at once did that which all sinners, since the days of righteous Lot, have been disposed to do to those who faithfully warn them of their sins; namely, they charged him with being a judge.

Before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, a forerunner was sent to prepare the way before the Lord. Those who did not receive Christ, were rejected, “because,” as he said to Jerusalem, when warning the people of the destruction of their city and temple, “thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” Luke 19: 44. We have on record the Lord’s prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem during the time of the generation that rejected him, which was fulfilled in less than forty years from the time of his crucifixion. And, that the Christians in Judea might escape its impending doom, they were told that when they should “see Jerusalem compassed with armies,” or, as recorded by Matthew, “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,” they were to “flee to the mountains.” Luke 21: 20; Matt. 24: 15. They heeded the admonition, and escaped in safety to Pella.

Such is the testimony of inspiration respecting the dealings of God with his people in past ages. And it cannot be supposed that God will change his course relative to the future, when that future is to realize the crowning consummation of all prophetic declarations.

Probably no one chapter of the Bible speaks more fully, and more definitely, upon the subject of the second coming of Christ, than Matt. 24. And we invite the attention of the candid reader to a brief explanation of the entire chapter.

Verse 1. “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.” Jesus had been addressing the multitude, in the presence of his disciples. He had reproved the scribes and Pharisees for their sins, and had declared the doom of the Jews, their city, and their temple. Chap. 23. The disciples supposed that the temple would stand forever. And they called the attention of Christ to its magnificence and strength, as if to convince him that he was mistaken.

Verse 2. “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” This statement from the Master could but deeply interest the disciples. And whether they supposed that the destruction of the temple, the coming of Christ, and the end of the age, would all occur at the same time, or at different periods, it matters not; since Christ, in his answer in this chapter, has distinctly spoken of each separately, and has given each its place in the prophetic history of events.

Verse 3. “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” These questions relate, first, to the destruction of Jerusalem; and, second, to Christ’s second coming at the end of the Christian age. They were distinctly answered by our Lord, not, however, before the promiscuous multitude; but on the occasion of a private interview with his disciples. Christ here speaks to his disciples; hence his words are addressed to the church ever after. Mark the caution given by our Lord as he commences to answer these questions.

Verses 4, 5. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Jesus knew the heart of man, and that many impostors would arise, and deceive multitudes. He here warns his disciples, and guards them against the deceptions of corrupt and ambitious men. Such was the general expectation of the appearance of the Messiah among the Jews, that many would set up the claim that they were the Christ, to carry out selfish purposes. Buck, in his “Theological Dictionary,” gives a list of false Christs as they have appeared during the Christian dispensation.

1. Casiba, who set himself up at the head of the Jewish nation, and proclaimed himself their long-expected Messiah. To facilitate the success of his bold enterprise, he changed his name to that of Barchocheba, alluding to the Star foretold by Balaam. Adrian raised an army, and sent it against him. He retired into a town called Bither, where he was besieged. Barchocheba was killed in the siege, the city was taken, and a dreadful havoc succeeded. The Jews themselves allow that, during this short war against the Romans in defense of this false Messiah, they lost five or six hundred thousand souls. This was in the former part of the second century.

2. In the reign of Theodosius the younger, in the year of our Lord 434, another impostor arose, called Moses Cretensis. He pretended to be a second Moses, sent to deliver the Jews who dwelt in Crete.

3. In the reign of Justin, about 520, another impostor appeared, who called himself the son of Moses. His name was Dunan. He entered into a city of Arabia Felix, and there he greatly oppressed the Christians; but he was taken prisoner, and put to death by Elesbaan, an Ethiopian general.

4. In the year 529, the Jews and Samaritans rebelled against the Emperor Justinian, and set up one Justin for their king; and accounted him the Messiah. The emperor sent an army against them, killed great numbers of them, took their pretended Messiah prisoner, and immediately put him to death.

5. In the year 571, was born Mahomet, in Arabia. At first he professed himself the Messiah who was promised to the Jews. By this means, he drew many of that unhappy people after him. In some sense, therefore, he may be considered in the number of false Messiahs.

6. About the year 721, in the time of Leo Isaurus, arose another false Messiah in Spain; his name was Serenus. He drew great numbers after him, to their no small loss and disappointment, but all his pretensions came to nothing.

7. The twelfth century was fruitful in false Messiahs; for about the year 1137, there appeared one in France, who was put to death, and many of those who followed him.

8. In the year 1138, the Persians were disturbed with a Jew who called himself the Messiah. He collected together a vast army. But he, too, was put to death, and his followers treated with great inhumanity.

9. In the year 1157, a false Messiah stirred up the Jews at Corduba, in Spain. The wiser and better sort looked upon him as a madman, but the great body of the Jews in that nation believed in him. On this occasion almost all the Jews in Spain were destroyed.

10. In the year 1167, another false Messiah arose in the kingdom of Fez, which brought great troubles and persecution upon the Jews that were scattered through that country.

11. In the same year an Arabian set up for the Messiah, and pretended to work miracles. When search was made for him, his followers fled.

12. Not long after this, a Jew, who dwelt beyond Euphrates, called himself the Messiah, and drew vast multitudes of people after him.

13. In the year 1174, a magician and false Christ arose in Persia, who was called David Alroy. He pretended that he could make himself invisible; but he was soon taken and put to death, and a heavy fine laid upon his brethren the Jews.

14. In the year 1176, another of these impostors arose in Moravia. But the reign of delusion is short, and his fate appears to have been similar to that of his predecessor.

15. In the year 1199, a famous cheat and rebel appeared in Persia, called David el David. He was a man of learning, a great magician, and pretended to be the Messiah. He raised an army against the king, but was taken and imprisoned.

16. We are told of another false Christ in this same century, by Maimonides and Solomon; but they take no notice either of his name, country, or good or ill success. Here we may observe that no less than ten false Christs arose in the twelfth century, and brought prodigious calamities and destruction upon the Jews in various quarters of the world.

17. In the year 1497, we find another false Christ, whose name was Ismael Sophus, who deluded the Jews in Spain. He also perished, and as many as believed in him were dispersed.

18. In the year 1500, Rabbi Lemlem, a German Jew of Austria, declared himself a forerunner of the Messiah, and pulled down his own oven, promising his brethren that they should bake their bread in the Holy Land next year.

19. In the year 1509, one whose name was Pfefferkorn, a Jew of Cologne, pretended to be the Messiah. He afterward affected, however, to turn Christian.

20. In the year 1534, Rabbi Salomo Malcho, giving out that he was the Messiah, was burnt to death by Charles the fifth, of Spain.

21. In the year 1615, a false Christ arose in the East Indies, and was greatly followed by the Portuguese Jews, who were scattered over that country.

22. In the year 1624, another in the Low Countries pretended to be the Messiah of the family of David, and of the line of Nathan. He promised to destroy Rome, and to overthrow the kingdom of Antichrist, and the Turkish Empire.

23. In the year 1666, appeared the false Messiah Sabatai Sevi, who made so great a noise, and gained such a number of proselytes. He was born at Aleppo, imposed on the Jews for a considerable time; but afterward

with a view of saving his life, turned Mahometan, and was at last beheaded.

24. The last false Christ that had made any considerable number of converts, was one Rabbi Mordecai, a Jew of Germany; he appeared in the year 1682. It was not long before he was found out to be an impostor, and was obliged to fly from Italy to Poland, to save his life.

Here, then, we have a record of twenty-four false Christs who arose at different periods during about thirteen hundred years of the Christian age, and deceived “many,” as the Lord had said.

THE OVERCOMERS.

By Editor

“And after this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Rev. 7:9.

Not all who enter on the strife, With foes unseen, and doubts, and sin, Seeking for everlasting life, Will fail the glorious prize to win. The holy seer, on Patmos bound, In visions of the world of light, Beheld, the throne of God around, A countless throng in robes of white.

And in their hands they bore on high, While glory beamed from every face, Majestic palms of victory, As conquerors in the heavenly race. Whence came this bright, triumphant throng? They came through trials keen and sore; Through tribulation deep and strong, They struggled to the heavenly shore.

Floods swept them from the scene of strife, Flames stifled their exulting cry, Dungeons wore out their lingering life, And deserts saw them droop and die. The keenest tortures fiends could frame, The keenest mortals could endure, They met; and through them all they came, By suffering made white and pure.

Then, fellow-pilgrim, lose not heart, Though Satan and his hosts assail; For others well have borne their part 'Gainst foes as strong, with arms as frail. The world, the flesh, their foes within, They battled long with bated breath, [illegible] [illegible] and kept the faith.

Oh! never let the struggle cease, While time is left, while life remains; The end is everlasting peace, On Canaan's fair and sinless plains. A glorious throng will surely stand Upon Mount Zion, glad and free; And you may join, at God's right hand, The paeans of their victory.

—Ed.

The Wicked Spirits in the Skies.

By C. E. Stowe

THIS, I think, is the exact translation of the phrase in Eph. 6:12, which in the English version is rendered spiritual wickedness in high places. In the same epistle, 2:2, the apostle speaks of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. The wicked spirits, with their chief, pervaded the atmosphere. The apostle says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the wicked spirits in the skies.” Let those who can read the Greek Testament, and happily there are many such, examine the passage in the original, and judge whether I am right. One would think, considering the circumstances of the apostle, as he himself describes them, 2 Cor. 11:23–28, “In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft; of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one; thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness; besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches,”—I say, after reading such an enumeration as this, one would think that the conflicts and struggles of the apostle against flesh and blood were something worthy of notice and consideration. But no, says the apostle; all this is nothing, nothing at all, in comparison with our struggles against the great spiritual power of evil, against the wicked spirits so strong, so numerous, so constantly fighting against us. In fact, it is from these wicked spirits that our earthly adversaries, in great measure, derive their strength, their hostility, and their power of annoyance. The same ideas are frequently put forth by the other apostles, and also by our Lord himself. They all recognize the existence of a great spiritual adversary, the chief of the devils, and a host of subordinate evil spirits, intensely hostile to the kingdom of Christ, and constantly working most mischievously and effectively against it. The first Christian teachers used the language, they expressed the ideas, they cherished the opinions, of their Hebrew contemporaries on the subject of the existence and agency of fallen spirits. If this was a superstitious error on the part of the Hebrews, it was an error which Christ and his apostles never corrected; but, on the contrary, they sanctioned, confirmed, and established it.

But why is it to be regarded as an error and a superstition? What proof is there against it, as a matter of fact? None of the analogies of what we actually know are against the idea, but all in favor of it.

The once celebrated Dr. Paulus, of Heidelberg, more than thirty years ago, then old, lean, cadaverous, with eyes of piercing brilliancy, like glowing coals of fire in a heap of dead ashes, and with a high, shrill voice, said to me, in a tone of the utmost self-confidence: “I reject entirely the idea of a devil, though Christ and the apostles undoubtedly received and taught it; but the idea of a being purely evil is in itself self-contradictory, impossible.” Well, who cares for the idea of a being purely evil? Tiberius, Caligula, Philip II., Alva, Torquemada, and hundreds of others who have actually existed on earth, and whose histories are well known, are devils enough for me. I want nothing more or worse to fill up my whole idea of devil, as given in the Bible.

The most exact picture of a devil, that has ever been drawn by human pencil, is the Mephistopheles in Faust; and who, that is acquainted with men, can say that that character is self-contradictory—impossible? He is simply a mean, selfish, unfeeling, cruel, nasty fellow, of great adroitness, knowing the right, and deliberately choosing the wrong, like many human creatures whose lives have disgraced mankind and made the world miserable.

But God, it is said, would not create an evil being. It is quite inconsistent with any idea of his power, wisdom, and goodness, to suppose so. The Bible does not say that God ever created devils as evil beings. It says they are angels who kept not their first estate, and forsook their original habitation, and made themselves the enemies of God. See the Epistle of Jude. God created them in the same sense in which he created Tiberius, and Caligula, and Philip II., and in no other sense. Tiberius, Caligula, Philip II., and hundreds of others like them, have actually existed in God’s creation, and many such still exist; and God is just as much responsible for their existence as he is for the existence of the devils, and no more so.

“But it is impossible,” say some, “that a wise and good God should let loose a pack of devils among poor, weak, frail, human creatures, to tempt them and lead them astray.”

Impossible or not, making due allowance for the phraseology, this is exactly what is now done among men, and always has been done ever since men have existed. An innocent, well-trained young man goes from the country into a city, and immediately he is beset by a crowd of depraved wretches, who urgently and persistently tempt him, and in a short time lead him to utter ruin. No devil ever does anything worse than this, or in a worse way. If God ought to kill the devil, he ought, by the same rule, to kill all these unprincipled fellows. If God had no right ever to allow a devil to exist, he has no right ever to allow any of these scoundrels to exist. It is worse; hundreds and thousands of simple-minded, well-meaning girls are every year, all the world over, seduced by heartless and licentious men, and forced to a fate a thousand times worse than any form of speedy death; and God does not interpose to prevent it, and many men think it rather a pleasant joke than otherwise. If the devil ever does anything so bad as this, he certainly never can do anything worse. Mephistopheles plans the seduction of Margaret, not for his own gratification, but for the gratification of Faust, and to work out his own designs against the self-conceited philosopher. If the Faust be not a true history, it is truer than history itself, as history is generally written.

Finally, the only class of intelligent creatures, of whom we have any personal knowledge, is mankind; and among men we find some few who are good, many who are bad, and not a few who are wholly and most assuredly bad—worse, if worse be possible, than Mephistopheles himself. If, then, there are in God’s creation other intelligent creatures besides men, why may not some of them be bad too? Please tell us why.

In truth, the whole argument from Scripture, the whole argument from fact, the whole argument from all that we really know, is in decided proof of the existence and agency of fallen spirits; and there is no argument against it. The only thing against it, is the mere subjective presumption of some men, that God cannot do, and permit to be done, in his universe, what we do most certainly know he is every day doing and permitting, and always has been doing and permitting, all around us, in the world which we inhabit.—C. E. Stowe, D. D., in Christian Union.

Dialogue at the Gate of Heaven.

By Scripturalist

SHOWING THE BEWILDERMENT OF PROTESTANT SUNDAY-KEEPERS AND ANTI-SABBATARIANS.

A few years since, a small tract fell into my hands, entitled, “HOW SIN APPEARS IN HEAVEN.”

The author of this tract tells us that in order to know how sin appears there, we must go to that holy place, and carry our sins with us; or, somehow, have them brought and laid before us in that place of infinite holiness and glory. He has taken considerable pains to inform us respecting the road that we must take, to climb through the regions of ethereal space and at last enter the gate of Heaven. He says we must first bring forward some of our grosser crimes, and see how they look there. He particularly names some of these crimes, among which he mentions the transgression of that command which says, “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” In reading this sentence, my mind was struck with a very solemn shock, and I was ready to say, Is it the surmise of imagination? or do I actually hear the examination of the author (by the Judge of the universe) on his arrival at the gate of Heaven? Do I not distinctly hear the Judge begin the examination in the following manner?

Judge. What do you want here, Mr. Payson?

Payson. I want you to open the gate and let me in.

J. Are you a Christian?

P. Yes, sir, I hope so, indeed; I have long been a member of the church, and a preacher of the gospel.

J. All that may be, and yet you not be a Christian; did you ever have true repentance of all your sins?

P. Yes, sir, long ago.

J. Well, how have you been living since? have you been living in the same sins that you thought you had repented of?

P. I have tried to live as free from sin as I could, but it may be I have missed the point in some things.

J. Have you paid any regard to that command that says, “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy?”

P. Oh! yes; I have been very particular in that; I go to meeting every Sunday, and spend the rest of the day in some religious duties.

J. Every Sunday!! what day of the week do you think that is?

P. Why, the first, to be sure; the day that Christ rose from the dead.

J. Well, what if he did; did that make it the Sabbath? Did you ever read the command that says, “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy?”

P. Yes, many a time.

J. Well, what day did that command say was the Sabbath?

P. I think the commandment says the seventh day is the Sabbath.

J. Why, then, did you not keep the seventh day, as the command directed?

P. Why, sir, I was brought up to keep the first day, and it would have been extremely inconvenient for me to keep the seventh day, when all the church where I belong, and almost everybody else, kept the first.

J. Did you think it a sufficient excuse for you to disregard my word, because it would subject you to some temporal inconvenience? did you suppose that I could relinquish my law to suit your worldly convenience?

P. No, I did not expect you to relinquish your government over men; but I was told, when I was young, that the first day was the Sabbath, and I have always kept it as such.

J. Have you been young ever since? have you not had time to read for yourself, and learn from the Bible that no such thing is written in that book?

P. Yes, I have read enough to know that no other day is commanded to be kept as the Sabbath but the seventh; but I have been told that the apostles kept the first day, and certainly they would not have done it without some instructions from Christ to that effect.

J. Who told you that the apostles kept the first day?

P. A great many ministers, and some of the best Christians in the world have said so.

J. Well, what if they did say so; did you think their say so was more sacred, and more to be regarded, than my word? How could you be made to believe that the apostles kept the first day, while not a syllable to that effect was to be found in all their writings? If an angel from Heaven had told you so, you had the solemn admonition of St. Paul not to believe it unless it is to be found in the Bible.

P. I confess I never could find any warrant for the practice, in the Bible; and I have often wondered how it came about; and have even wished that all the world kept the seventh day, so that I might keep it, too.

J. So, then, it seems you would sooner disobey my law, than single yourself out from the rest of the world. Have I not commanded you to come out from among them, and be separate, and touch not the unclean? and that in so doing I would receive you? How, then, could you expect to be received otherwise?

P. To tell the plain truth, I thought it was no matter which day I kept, so long as I kept one day in seven as it ought to be kept.

J. Do you not see that in this you have acted just as king Saul did when he was commanded to destroy the Amalekites and leave nothing alive? It seems that he thought it was no matter about being so very particular to do just exactly as he was commanded, especially if he sacrificed to the Lord what he did not kill; and can you think that he deviated more from that command than you have from this? And is there any more apparent evil in it? And do you not know how it fared with him? And are you not informed by the apostle that those things were written for our admonition? but how little notice you have taken of it. You ought to have known, by such circumstances, that the law of God could not be bent or twisted.

P. But I have heard that time had been lost, so that we could not tell which was the seventh day.

J. If that was the case, how did you know which the first day was? That, now, is mere folly.

P. Well, I have one thing more to say about it, and that is, I thought that we were not under the law, but under grace; and I think that Paul said so.

J. Did you suppose from that that you were absolved from all the obligations of the “royal law?”—(“Law of God”—Syriac.)

P. I have always been taught that Paul recognized but one law in his epistles; consequently I supposed that when he said, “Ye are not under the law,” he meant we were absolved from all obligations to it.

J. That is true concerning the law which he was speaking of; but who taught you that Paul recognized but one law in his epistles?

P. All the ministers I ever heard on subjects of the law took that view of it, and most of the theological works that I have read take the same.

J. Well, suppose they did so teach; did you think their teaching was more worthy to be regarded than that of Paul’s?

P. I thought it was in harmony with Paul’s teaching.

J. How could you think so, when it was impossible for you with such a view to harmonize Paul’s writings? For he emphatically said, in his epistle to the Romans, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” And again he said, in his epistle to the Galatians, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” Now if Paul recognized but one law in his epistles, did you not see that these two texts could not be harmonized, but that they arrayed Paul against Paul, and made him a teacher of absurdities and contradictions? Was it not? yea, it was, perfectly plain to every candid mind that Paul did teach obligation to the law after “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” was blotted out. And you must know that he said, “By the law is the knowledge of sin;” and, “I delight in the law of God.” And it is perfectly plain that he was speaking of the “ten commandments”—“the law of God,” in Rom. 2:13, saying, “The doers of the law shall be justified;” and in Gal. 5:3, 4, he was speaking of the ordinances of the Jewish church—“the law of commandments contained in ordinances,” having introduced the subject with circumcision. Ah! when men thus plead non-obligation to the law because it is “inconvenient” to keep the “Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” they betray a want of love to God; “for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.”

“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” And besides, if you thought that Paul had reference to only one law, in his epistles, and that you were absolved from the obligations of even that, because you were under grace, how came you to call on sinners to bring the crime of Sabbath-breaking into Heaven to see how it would look there? Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou hypocrite. Thou knowest that I commanded thee to keep the seventh day; and yet you indulged in disobedience because other folks did so, and because it was more convenient on that account. You ought long ago to have carried this case into Heaven (in thought, at least), and seen how it would look there. In this dark and sinful world, where God is unseen, and almost forgotten, such transgressions appear trivial; but do they appear so to Him who gave this command? do they appear so in Heaven? Be ye assured that no sin can be admitted into his holy place. And if you had read your Bible as you ought, you must have known that the very least deviation from the royal law, is sin; and the least sin, unrepented of, will forever bar the gate of Heaven against you.

P. O Lord! what shall I do! I was told, over and over again, that I should not be asked in the day of judgment which day I had kept. I really thought I was going to Heaven, and the very thought of it made me leap with joy when I lay on my death-bed; and my friends which I left behind were comforted with the belief that I had made a happy change. And now here I am in this wretched condition; and what shall I do?

J. I advise you to go back and do better, and pray for pardon for what you have done, and tell every one you see that the transgression of the law is sin, and that every one who lives in any known transgression of the law, is a sinner, and cannot be admitted here without repentance; and that repentance includes forsaking, as well as confessing. It is but mere mockery to pretend to confess your transgressions while you intend still to continue in them.

Dear reader, however inappropriate or disingenuous these remarks may at first sight appear, I think it will do you no harm to look seriously at the picture, and honestly endeavor to realize how sin appears in Heaven. And should it be the means of stirring up a single sinner to repentance, the author would be amply rewarded.

—Scripturalist.