Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 27. (6/1/1916)

Review and Herald

Jun 1, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 1, 1916

Christ the Great Healer

By Ellen G. White

Christ had been the guide and teacher of ancient Israel, and he taught them that health is the reward of obedience to the laws of God. The great Physician who healed the sick in Palestine had spoken to his people from the pillar of cloud, telling them what they must do, and what God would do for them. “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God,” he said, “and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Christ gave to Israel definite instruction in regard to their habits of life, and he assured them, “The Lord will take away from thee all sickness.” When they fulfilled the conditions, the promise was verified to them. “There was not one feeble person among their tribes.” These lessons are for us. There are conditions to be observed by all who would preserve health. All should learn what these conditions are. The Lord is not pleased with ignorance in regard to his laws, either natural or spiritual. We are to be workers together with God for the restoration of health to the body as well as to the soul. And we should teach others how to preserve and to recover health. For the sick we should use the remedies which God has provided in nature, and we should point them to him who alone can restore. It is our work to present the sick and suffering to Christ in the arms of our faith. We should teach them to believe in the Great Healer. We should lay hold on his promise, and pray for the manifestation of his power. The very essence of the gospel is restoration, and the Saviour would have us bid the sick, the hopeless, and the afflicted take hold upon his strength.—Mrs. E. G. White, in “The Desire of Ages,” pp. 824, 825.

Printers and Publishers

WHILE we have large plants known as publishing houses, the real publishers are those who circulate the product of our printing plants. The primary meaning of “publish” is to make public; to make known to the people in general. “Print” and “publish” are often confused. A book may be printed without being published; it is published only when it is put into circulation. The psalmist used the word in this meaning when he said, “The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those that published it.” Ps. 68: 11. The psalmist does not refer to publishing houses in this text, but to individuals. The company of publishers in times past has been great, but the Lord’s word to the last generation of the world is to go with “a loud voice,” which means increased power and many more publishers. The call today is for publishers. Every believer in the third angel’s message really ought to be in some way a publisher of the message he believes to be the last the Lord is to give to the world.

In this time when the public mind is fairly susceptible to the call of God, and while there is peace and prosperity in the land, we should not waste the golden hours with the ordinary things of life. There are thousands and thousands of people who can and will attend to these ordinary affairs, but there are only a few in whose hearts the message burns so deep and the love of souls is so strong that they are constrained to give all their efforts to the publishing of the good news of the soon-coming King.

The Lord has promised to pay liberally all who labor for him. While we are his publishers, we may safely depend upon him for our support. With the call for publishers the promise is made, “Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.” God is good enough and strong enough to fulfil his promise to every one who becomes an active publisher of the message.

The great need of the day is publishers,—men and women who will give themselves entirely to the work of making known to the people our publications which contain the message the Lord is giving to the world at this special time. Thousands and even millions do not know of these publications and their contents. Many of these would rejoice in the knowledge of the truth as much as we if they had the opportunity.

Wherever our publishers go, they find appreciative people, as is illustrated in the following incident recently reported by W. B. Payne, in the Northern Union Reaper:—

“While in Yankton one Sunday afternoon recently, I called on two ministers and the president of the W. C. T. U. The next day the last-named person ordered seven hundred copies of the Temperance Instructor for free distribution in Yankton.”

Nearly every day the Present Truth Series receives inquiries from those who have had a copy sent them through the mails, or by chance have seen a copy somewhere. They invariably wish other copies. Some want to know if they cannot have extra copies for friends. The Present Truth Series is not only very interesting to the public, but it proclaims nearly every phase of the message.

While we have the message in so many attractive forms which the people appreciate and want, and while the Lord has blessed us with a knowledge of this special truth for the last days, and has called us to be publishers, promising to pay us whatever is right for our services, what will be our condemnation if we fail to respond?

Marrying and Giving in Marriage

It is interesting and rather unexpected to find a newspaper interpreting Scripture, especially in its editorial columns, but this occurred in an editorial in the Washington Post of May 21, 1916. It is well worth being passed on to our readers. We quote:—

“Scripture contains the prophecy that at the second advent there will still be marrying and giving in marriage. The significance of this somewhat singular statement must be that, whatever the perturbation of world affairs, present or to come, human activities will fail to be swerved from the accustomed course.”

This editorial comment shows how the Bible itself has anticipated and answered the scoffing comment of men who, looking out upon the activities of society, find proof that the end of the world is not at hand, in the fact that in many respects all things continue as they were before the fathers fell asleep. If these same scoffers, however, would study the signs given in the Scriptures, they would see that while men are continuing to eat and drink, marry and give in marriage, there are to be conditions which will clearly point to the time of the end of this present world, and that these conditions are now seen all about us.

Note and Comment

The Unification of American Methodism

By an almost unanimous vote the eight hundred and eighty-eight delegates to the same General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church adopted the report of the committee on unification, paving the way for union with the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Methodist Protestant Church. The time of the next session was left in the hands of the bishops, though the regular session is only once in four years. This arrangement will make possible another session in two years, at the time of the General Conference of the Methodist Church South, when the acceptance of the plan for reunion is to take place. By holding the conference of the Northern church two years from now, the final union may be hastened two years.

Constantinople for Russia

It should be extremely interesting to our readers to note that Prof. Paul Miliukoff, leader of the Constitutional Democratic party of the Duma, is quoted by a correspondent to the Washington Post as having said, “Until Turkey took up arms against us, we had no intention of going into Constantinople; but we do have that intention now, and we are certain of its success.” When asked by an interviewer whether the Allies would be satisfied for the Russians to occupy Constantinople after the war, Professor Miliukoff is said to have replied, “O, yes, there is perfect accord and understanding between us. Great Britain will be entirely content, as Premier Asquith himself intimated in his speech, welcoming our delegation to London.” The prospect of the Turks’ losing Constantinople in this present war is of great interest to us from the standpoint of the possible substitution of Jerusalem as the Turkish capital.

A Dry Scotland

Among the movements toward prohibition, one of the most striking is that in Scotland. At Glasgow, on the thirteenth of May, there is said to have been the largest demonstration by women ever held in that country. Thirty thousand women, headed by bands, marched to the Green, as a protest against the manufacture and sale of liquor. When all had assembled, temperance speeches were made.

Extremism and Healthful Living

By Editor

WE decry extremism; we have little use for cranks or for those who make it their life mission to harp continually upon some one phase or feature of Christian experience. Of course it is always a question as to just what constitutes extremism. Sometimes those who consistently stand for truth are counted as belonging to this class. In this connection we wish to consider the term as applying to those doubtless well-meaning but misguided individuals who take some detail of truth and carry it in the forefront as their escutcheon of faith, making it the test of orthodoxy and of discipleship. This sort of extremism we should seek to avoid in our own experience, and to discourage in the experience of others. But after all, what about the evils in the church against which the extremists cry out? Are they real evils? and do they exist in our lives? These are questions to which we should give careful personal consideration.

SPECIAL light has been given this church on healthful living. Many are endeavoring to follow this light to the best of their ability, but many others we regret to say are giving little heed in their personal experience to this instruction. In many homes but little thought is given in the matter of diet to the question of food values, to proper food combinations and proportion of food elements, or to scientific cookery. It is enough that the food is made palatable, and this is too often accomplished by the use of spices and condiments. The occupants of these homes are often made the objects of criticism. While the criticism may be unkind and in part even unjustifiable, is it not well for these good brethren and sisters to consider whether or not they have given occasion for it; whether they have thrown their influence in harmony with the light and instruction which has come through the Spirit of prophecy, or whether by willing ignorance, apparent indifference, or real antagonism they have exerted an influence against that instruction? While extremism on the question of health reform ought to be decried by every member of the church, at the same time should we not see to it that the church, so far at least as we are concerned, is walking in the light which has been given? Our brethren have no right to sit as judges as to what we should eat and drink; but will not the Great Judge hold us responsible for the manner in which we relate ourselves to the light we have received?—Yea, verily.

Not long ago we heard the wife of one of our workers severely criticized because of her showy hat and lavish adornment in dress. The criticism was not made to her personally, as it should have been, but was expressed to others and passed about the church while she was entirely unconscious of the feeling of her brethren and sisters. This was surely an unkind way of dealing with the question; but notwithstanding this, was it not her duty to consider whether her dress was of a character to occasion criticism? In assuming the position of a worker for God, or in linking her life indissolubly with one who acted in that capacity, it was her duty to stand as an example to the church, and entirely fitting that the church should expect her to be an example. We cannot escape the responsibilities of holy office. When we occupy positions as teachers in our schools, as physicians in our sanitariums, as managers in our publishing houses, or as workers in the conference, it is right that our brethren should expect us to exemplify in our experience the instruction which has been given to this people. Indeed, if we are not willing to do this, then we may well consider whether we should occupy places of leadership. Hence, when we come to consider some of these questions so intimately related to Christian experience, we find that they have two sides. In saying this we do not wish to give one iota of comfort to the unwise agitators and gossips and critics who exist in the church. By these, truth is too often wounded in the house of its professed friends. We should admonish the one class to seek to labor with zeal balanced by knowledge, sound judgment, and heavenly discretion, and the other class against even a passive opposition, which virtually amounts to nullifying, as far as their influence extends, the instruction given for our careful following. Avoiding all extremes, let us seek to walk in the light of the Lord and obey him in all his requirements.

Spiritual Declension

By G. B. T.

AMONG the reasons why some wither spiritually, the following from the Spirit of prophecy may be studied with profit:—

“I saw that some are withering spiritually. They have lived some time watching to keep their brethren straight,—watching for every fault, to make trouble with them. And while doing this, their minds are not on God, nor on heaven, nor on the truth; but just where Satan wants them,—on some one else. Their souls are neglected; they seldom see or feel their own faults, for they have had enough to do to watch the faults of others without so much as looking to their own souls, or searching their own hearts. A person’s dress, bonnet, or apron takes their attention. They must talk to this one or that one, and it is sufficient to dwell upon for weeks. I saw that all the religion a few poor souls have, consists in watching the garments and acts of others, and finding fault with them. Unless they reform, there will be no place in heaven for them, for they would find fault with the Lord himself.”

“Said the angel, ‘It is an individual work to be right with God.’ The work is between God and our own souls. But when persons have so much care of others’ faults, they take no care of themselves. These notional, faultfinding ones would often cure themselves of the habit if they would go directly to the individual they think is wrong. It would be so crossing that they would give up their notions rather than go. But it is easy to let the tongue run freely about this one or that one when the accused is not present.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. I, p. 145.

Nothing withers the soul more effectually than the spirit of judging others. God has given to this people great light on the principles of healthful living. The writings given through the Spirit of prophecy abound in instruction that should be studied. But the Lord has not given to any the work of interpreting the light and making application to the lives of others. We must allow others to read God’s Word and the instruction of the Spirit, and to live according to the light they have. Judging others brings to us the spiritual declension here mentioned, and withers our souls. God, not man, is the judge.

God has given us light on dress. We should be a plain people. The message we represent calls for this. Outward adorning is inconsistent with our faith. But the Lord has not authorized some one to be the judge, a sort of censor of dress for others. Here again we must not take the place of God, and be conscience for others, or judge those who may not see just as we do. We should teach principles more than details. “I saw that all the religion a few poor souls have, consists in watching the garments and acts of others, and finding fault with them.” May the Lord pity us when our religion is summed up in such things as are here mentioned. The next sentence should also grip our hearts, “Unless they reform, there will be no place in heaven for them, for they would find fault with the Lord himself.”

This is good instruction from the servant of the Lord, now sleeping. Thankful for the light given to us, we should follow it according to our best understanding. It is our work to teach the principles of righteousness as we see them. But let us guard against making the application to others, and condemning them if they do not follow in the exact groove we are in, lest we do worse than they, and find ourselves “withering spiritually.”

G. B. T.

The Final Clash of Earthly Empires

By William Ambrose Spicer

Armageddon

The Final Clash of Earthly Empires

(Concluded)

The end of the power ruling by the river Euphrates is the prelude to Armageddon. The prophecy says:—

“The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.” Rev. 16: 12.

Next follows the gathering of “the whole world” to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Verse 14.

Through all modern times Turkey has been identified with the Euphrates. The region of Syria and Asia Minor now held by Turkey, has been the historic meeting place of the East and West. In the London Fortnightly Review of May, 1915, Mr. J. B. Firth wrote:—

“When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople, the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have passed most of the European conquerors—the Russians alone excepted—who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe.”

The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region will, in some manner, prepare the way for “the kings of the East” to come up to the final conflict.

The Awakening of the East

The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation for the contest has been working in the East also. Year after year observers have pointed out the great changes taking place in Asia. Some years ago the London Contemporary Review said:—

“The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may see these three—the yellow race, the Indian race, and the Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the Armageddon.”—September, 1909.

A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the London Nineteenth Century and After, reviewing the situation at the close of the Balkan War, said:—

“A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread, rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia, breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the rocks.”

With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of the god of this world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth gathering to the last great battle. The prophecy continues:—

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Verse 16.

Armageddon means the hill, or mount of Megiddo, which overlooks the plain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground of northern Palestine. Carmack says of it:—

“Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once the highway northward to Phœnicia and Coele-Syria and the road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle fields. Through all history they retained that qualification; there many of the great contests of Southwestern Asia have been decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent battles. From such association the district achieved a dark nobility: it was regarded as a predestined place of blood and strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light and darkness.”—“Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine,” p. 82.

Thus Armageddon, as the “military key of Syria,” marks Palestine and the Near East as the great international storm center in the final conflict.

The Political Storm Center

In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet saw the forces of the last days gathering round this pivotal region. Today observers recognize the eastern Mediterranean as indeed the pivotal point round which international interests involving East and West naturally revolve.

Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia and Africa, and the great highways of sea transportation, the London Fortnightly Review said:—

“Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads. Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of communication, not only by land, but also by sea.”

Again, the Manchester Guardian, emphasizing the importance attaching to this strategic center, said during the great war:—

“Egypt, as things are,—and the fact cannot be too often emphasized,—is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can Egypt be regarded as safe.”—Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb. 12, 1916.

Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a territory so situated. Thus political considerations make this region pointed out by the prophecy a center of conflicting interests. Hogarth, in his book, “The Nearer East,” calls it “the time-honored storm center of the eastern Mediterranean.”

The Religious Storm Center

To the conflict of political interests, is added the rivalry of religious sentiment. Commenting on the religious associations of Palestine in relation to the international political situation, the London Spectator some years ago stated the matter thus:—

“People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that Jerusalem—you cannot separate Jerusalem from Palestine—is the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,—and two of them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,—but it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of Palestine.”

History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the traditional holy places helped to precipitate one European war—that of the Crimea. In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that the prophecy of Daniel II marks Jerusalem as still a storm center in the closing scenes. A British consul in Jerusalem, in the days following the Crimean War, set forth suggestively his view of one of the factors in the Eastern Question. He wrote:—

“The very heart and kernel of the

Eastern Question can only be reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the mastery. . . . Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may, they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by divine providence for either; and this prize is no less than a virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the possession of that throne would involve possession of the key to universal dominion.”—“Stirring Times: Records from Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles,” by James Finn, preface, xxiii.

Foretold in Prophecy

By every consideration — political, racial, and religious — the Near East supplies all the elements for involving the whole world when once the sweeping displacements begin which the prophecy foretold, and for which statesmen in our day have sought to prepare.

Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle of Patmos, was shown the clash of interests and the gathering of the nations round this historic center. Before our eyes today we see events tending to give to this region the very character assigned to it by the prophecy. It was written in the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the events foretold are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God, and find salvation from the things coming upon the earth. Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation, describing the gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour interjects the warning and the appeal:—

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Verse 15.

The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with — the pouring out of the seven last plagues, and the clash of Armageddon — come after probation closes. The close of probation, the passing of the ministry of Christ in the heavenly temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Our only safety is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, and accepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness, freely offered to every one.

What Comes with Armageddon

Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives when the gathering to the great conflict comes, one thing is certain: Armageddon is to bring triumph and world dominion to no earthly power. As the nations gather, the Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of the kingdoms of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequel to Armageddon:—

“He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Rev. 16: 16-21.

The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering of the nations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon is the prelude to the end of the world and Christ’s glorious coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. The armies gathered to battle for supremacy find themselves suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Another prophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed:—

“The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:15-17.

Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights up the way before us, we see by the course of present-day events that the end is drawing very near. By what sudden turn of affairs the last things to be done in history may be set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviour admonishes every soul, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matt. 24:44. W. A. S.

Industrial Unrest

By L. L. C.

STUDENTS of the Scriptures have looked for industrial unrest as one of the signs of the times. The first of May marked a labor situation perhaps unparalleled in recent years. As the Washington Post of May 1, 1916, says, “Taken altogether, no May Day in recent years will have witnessed so many concrete evidences of industrial unrest in spite of the fact that many thousands of workers have been granted higher wages and shorter hours.” An analysis of labor conditions made on the last day of April showed that May dawned with 60,000 working men and women on strike or locked out, with many other industrial disturbances threatening. Fourteen thousand Westinghouse employees in various parts of the East were on a strike. Settlement was pending concerning the country-wide strike of 400,000 railroad employees.

A tentative agreement had just been reached between the representatives of the operators and miners of the anthracite fields, which has averted, at least for a time, a strike of 175,000 miners. The cloak, suit, and skirt manufacturers generally, anticipating a possible strike, have declared a lockout, affecting between 30,000 and 35,000 employees. Ten thousand three hundred painters and decorators in New York City are demanding increased pay, and may strike if their demands are not granted. Among the idle employees in other trades in New York are 2,500 jewelry workers and 1,500 custom tailors. The cotton manufacturers in Fall River, Mass., propose to advance their employees’ wages nearly six per cent. The operators had demanded a ten-per-cent increase. The United States Steel Corporation, though handling no war orders, has increased the wages of its employees ten per cent. This is true also of many other industries.

The strikes in various parts of the country are in some cases resulting in riot. The papers of May 3 report that two men were killed and four probably fatally wounded, while a score of others were seriously hurt in a mob at Pittsburgh, which attacked the Edgar Thompson Works of the Carnegie Steel Company at Braddock. There was a pitched battle lasting an hour, during which four hundred shots were fired. Women joined in the fight, and two of them were wounded. Other serious difficulties may be expected in places where strikes are on, unless the employers find it possible to grant the demands of the workmen. In most cases these demands are being met with a corresponding increase in the price charged the public for commodities produced. L. L. C.

Praise for the Temperance Instructor

THE California Liberator is an eight-page paper published monthly by the Temperance Federation of that State. In its issue for April it says this of the Temperance Instructor:—

“The Temperance Instructor, published by the Southern California Tract Society of the Seventh-day Adventists, is one of the most effective pieces of temperance work that has been brought out this year. It is admirably printed, effectively illustrated with timely cuts, and filled from cover to cover with well-selected articles on the 1916 temperance situation. This 1916 number of the Instructor is its ninth. The first number was printed in 1907. It has been issued annually ever since.”

Regarding the help Seventh-day Adventists have been to the temperance cause in California the paper says:—

“In this campaign to make California a dry State, some of the most effective and practical work is coming from the Seventh-day Adventists. They are proving themselves enthusiastic workers and fearless fighters.”

“Without Mixture”

By F. D. Starr

F. D. STARR

It is a fearful condition of things that is predicted in the warning of Rev. 14: 9-11, where worshipers of the beast are threatened with “the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” Was ever anything of this kind contemplated by the prophets of ancient time? By consulting the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, we find the counterpart of this utterance. In Jer. 25: 15 this language is used: “Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.” The Greek word here translated “fury” is ακρατου (akratou), the identical terms translated “without mixture” in Rev. 14: 10. The correct translation of the Greek of Jer. 25: 15 is: “Take the cup of this unmixed wine from mine hand, and thou shalt cause all the nations to drink, to whom I send thee.”

As the writer of the book of Revelation was continually using symbols and language employed by the former prophets, it is quite evident that there is a close connection between the thought of Jeremiah and that of John in this case. The cup of fury, the unmixed wine, is to be drunk by all the nations of earth; and the consequence is that the slain cover the land from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, and the earth will be depopulated by the seven last plagues, in which is filled up the wrath of God, the wine without mixture, administered after the close of probation.

Surely the prophets of old have likewise foretold of these days, and the nations are certainly rushing into the final vortex. How blessed to be found among those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus in that fearful crisis!

Spokane, Wash.

A Fearful Responsibility

By Joseph E. Steed

JOSEPH E. STEED

“His blood be upon us, and on our children.” Matt. 27: 25. What a fearful request! How little they thought of the awful consequences that they were calling upon themselves! Led by Satan to show their bitterness and hatred against an innocent man, reason gave place to madness, and without considering the consequences, they were willing to take upon themselves a responsibility refused by Pilate, the Roman governor.

So blind were they that they had forgotten the many parables spoken by this great teacher and so-called impostor, wherein he had revealed to them that the blessings and promises upon which they claimed to hope, were soon to be taken from them and given to others whose faith would bring forth fruits of righteousness.

Let us look at some of the wonderful truths revealed in parabolic language to these very people by this despised Nazarene. In the parable of the vineyard, recorded in Matt. 21: 33–46, not only is the unfaithfulness of their forefathers placed before them, but their own verdict against themselves, when asked what the owner of the vineyard would do to those wicked husbandmen who slew his son. Their answer was, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” Then we read in verse 45, “When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.” There are other parables teaching the same great truths in different ways, and emphasizing the peril of that nation in failing to respond to God’s offers of mercy in the day of its visitation. Among these parables we have that of the prodigal son.

By means of these parables the Promised One caused many rays of light to shine on their pathway to try to save that nation from filling up its cup of iniquity by calling for his blood. The Jewish leaders claimed that the shedding of his blood was the only way to save their nation from the Roman power. See John 11: 47, 48. And when called on to make a decision on the question of their allegiance to their own King, the King of kings, or to the Roman emperor, they refused to recognize their right to have a king other than Cæsar. See John 19: 15. And then how soon they were ready to turn back on their request! When, soon after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were preaching with holy boldness that these men had fulfilled the prophetic word in crucifying the Prince of glory, some of the very ones who had called for his blood before Pilate, charged the disciples with an attempt to bring Christ’s blood on them. See Acts 5: 28.

Soon Jesus will come as King of kings. In that day there will be two prayer meetings. If you are alive, dear reader, you will be in one of these two meetings. In one meeting, the righteous will be praying, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isa. 25: 9. In the other prayer meeting, there will be many of those that clamored for his blood when before Pilate. They recognize him as the King of kings, and begin to pray—but to what? the Lord of glory?—No. Too late! too late! They pray to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and to hide them from his sacred presence.

New Zealand.

W. F. MARTIN

By W. F. Martin

Soul-Winning

W. F. MARTIN

A LARGE part of the first chapter of John is a record of missionary work. It may be spoken of as the beginning of the work of the Christian church. It strikingly sets forth the plan adopted by the Master to carry on the work of the gospel. He yoked up his disciples with him in labor for souls. The record says, “The next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” We but little realize the influence for good our words may be. The two disciples heard John “speak,” and what he said changed the course of their lives. It made them followers of Jesus. From then till now, faithful men and women have been winning followers to Jesus by speaking to others.

Thousands have had their lives and ambitions changed by words spoken in love and earnestness by the servants of Jesus. Discouragement has been dispelled, and light and joy have come into lives by words fitly spoken. “One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him

to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

As soon as the first disciples had chosen to follow the Master and were accepted by him, they began to labor for their kinsmen and friends. Andrew sought his brother, and never ceased his labor till he “brought him to Jesus.” The first impulse of a converted soul, one who has seen a great truth, is to tell the glad news to some one else; in fact, to go out and bring some one to Jesus.

Jesus and the disciples united in this personal, soul-winning labor. “The day following Jesus . . . findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.” Then Philip found Nathanael, and so it has gone on from generation to generation, Jesus and the disciples working side by side in soul-winning. So it will be all the way to the end. “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”

Santa Ana, Cal.

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