Signs of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 37. (9/19/1911)

Signs of the Times

Sep 19, 1911

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 19, 1911

Truth Forever

By James Russell Lowell

Great truths are portions of the soul of man; Great souls are portions of eternity; Each drop of blood that e'er through true heart ran With lofty message, ran for thee and me; For God's law, since the starry song began, Hath been, and still forevermore must be, That every deed which shall outlast time's span Must spur the soul to be erect and free; Slave is no word of deathless lineage sprung; Too many noble souls have thought and died, Too many mighty poets lived and sung, And our good Saxon, from lips purified With martyr-fire, throughout the world hath rung Too long to have God's holy cause denied.

—James Russell Lowell.

Question Corner

By Editor

"IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE."

This Inquirers' Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writer. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.

seventh-day Sabbath." Origen, about A.D. 250, in Homily 23, says that "on the Sabbath day all worldly labor ought to be abstained from." Archelaus, 278, bishop of Cascar, in Mesopotamia, in his "Disputation with Manes," says, "As to the assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, we deny that He has abolished it plainly; for He was Himself also Lord of the Sabbath."

The learned Giesler, "Ecclesiastical History," volume 1, chapter 2, section 30, says that "while the Jewish Christians of Palestine retained the whole Mosaic law, and consequently the Jewish festivals, the Gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath and the Passover, with reference to the last scenes of Jesus' life, but without Jewish superstition." Prof. Edward Brerewood, of Gresham College, London, member of the Church of England, in a work entitled "Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," page 77, Oxford, 1631, says: "The Sabbath of the seventh day was religiously observed in the East church three hundred years and more after our Saviour's passion. That church being the great part of Christendom, and having the apostles' doctrine and example to instruct them, would have restrained it if it had been deadly."

And Lyman Coleman ("Ancient Christianity Exemplified") says that "during the early ages of the church it [the Sunday] was never entitled 'the Sabbath,' this word being confined to the seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath, which, as we have already said, continued to be observed for several centuries"—"down even to the fifth century," he tells us elsewhere.

And Peter Heylyn (History of the Sabbath), says, "The Saturday is called among them [the writers of the Christian church] by no other name than that which formerly it had, the 'Sabbath.' So whenever, for a thousand years and upwards, we meet with Sabbatum in any writer of what name soever, it must be understood of no day but Saturday."

Apostasy, however, led away the Christians more and more from the Sabbath of the Lord, and more and more to honor the festival days of the church, the Sunday was not regarded in any sense as the Sabbath. Constantine's Sunday law in 321 was the first law for Sunday on record.

The Lord's disciples did not sin in picking grain, or shelling out wheat and eating it, as they were passing through the wheat-field on Sabbath. They were simply performing works of necessity, really eating their own dinner from the wheat which they shelled out.

Schedule for Week Ending September 30, 1911

Matthew and Luke

Our lesson finishes the Gospel by Matthew, and covers the first seven chapters of Luke.

The closing chapters of Matthew are of intense interest,—the last discourses of our Lord, among which is that of chapter 24 on His second coming, and the sad, awful, yet blessed story of His sufferings, death, and resurrection.

Luke was not one of the twelve disciples; he was converted afterward, perhaps by Paul. He is called the "beloved physician," and was much with the apostle Paul. Besides this, he set himself to ascertain all the details of our Lord's life, and therefore gives the fullest accounts of His parents, infancy, and childhood, as also the story of John the Baptist.

Matthew gives the royal genealogy of Christ in his first chapter, showing that to Jesus belonged the throne of David. Luke gives the line through the mother, Mary, Joseph being mentioned in the place of Mary, because the record is reckoned through the male line. Following the record of our Lord's youth are events in His ministry, healing, and teaching. Read slowly, carefully, thoughtfully. Let the imagination transport us to the scenes recorded, and there live with the Master, and then let faith bring Him, ever the same, into our own life.

Schedule for Week Ending September 30, 1911

Sunday	September	24	Matthew	23, 24
Monday	"	25	"	25, 26
Tuesday	"	26	"	27, 28
Wednesday	"	27	Luke	1
Thursday	"	28	"	2, 3
Friday	"	29	"	4, 5
Sabbath	"	30	"	6, 7

Judging Others

himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Verses 12 and 13. We may judge teaching, we may judge fruits. These we may weigh and measure by God's Word, and consequently shun the evil and accept the good; but the judgment of persons, of souls, rests with God alone. To assume to judge as does this writer in the "Pillar of Fire," is to take the same position that the disciples took when they asked our Lord, "Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" Luke 9:54. "But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."

3558 — God's Word to His Children

By Editor

I can not understand 2 Cor. 1:18. Will you please make it plain?

The verse is a statement of the apostle Paul to the Corinthian brethren: "But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay." In other words it was not uncertain. It was not yes and no; it was not agreement with every passing whim; it was not a compromise with every false philosophy. It is a great principle which ought to be cherished by the ministers of Jesus Christ now. The Corinthian brethren were in danger of this very thing. One says, "I am of Paul;" and another, "I am of Apollos;" and another, "I am of Cephas." One taught one thing, and another taught another. Paul reminds them that God's Word was not thus; it was not toward them yea and nay: "for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God by us." All were sure, all were approved of God.

3559—Cherubim and Seraphim, Sex Among Angels

Does the Bible represent angels as masculine and feminine, either or both? L. D.

The Bible ever presents before us angels as masculine. Sometimes they appear as men, never as women. The great thought which seems to underlie all these revelations concerning the angels is that they are God's messengers, those who do His will, those who comfort and strengthen His people. Therefore, the general character represented by them is that of obedience, loyalty, glory, strength. They are never represented as weak, or effeminate. The work of artists has seemed to combine the old idea of fairies with that of angels of God, and in consequence they have utterly perverted the Bible idea of God's great messengers. This is not a dignifying particularly of the masculine in the human, nor the belittling of the feminine; it simply indicates the character of God's messengers. It is utterly unbiblical to represent them as weak, silly girls, as they are many times depicted. When the angel appeared to the Roman guard they fell as dead men. Even so did Daniel fall before the exceeding glory of one who appeared to him; and John, who had known much of the glory of God, fell down to worship the one who appeared to him on the Isle of Patmos. There is nothing in the term "cherubim" or "seraphim" which indicates masculinity or femininity. The terms are sometimes used to indicate great bodies of angels, rather than sex, or orders.

3560 — The Sabbath in the Early Church

Am I right in saying that the Sabbath was kept until Constantine thought he changed it, after Christ ascended nearly three hundred years? D. A.

The Sabbath was kept by the early Christians. No one questions that the church at Jerusalem, the early Jewish Christian churches, kept the Sabbath. This is admitted by even strong opponents of the Sabbath. It is clearly evident that the Gentile Christians did the same thing, as the apostle Paul states to the Thessalonians: "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 2:14. Chambers's Encyclopedia, 1876, volume 8, page 400, article "Sabbath," says, "The early Christians in Judea observed the

3557 — Right to Judge

By Editor

I send a paper entitled "The Pillar of Fire," with an article marked. Please give us your opinion on it. D. A.

There are two things in the article which we note: the one is concerning its exposition of the rich man and Lazarus, for which we have not space at this time in our "Question Corner." Too many questions are waiting; but for a complete reply to this we refer our readers to Bible Students' Library, No. 146, entitled "Rich Man and Lazarus." This will give a complete explanation of the parable.

Secondly, an expression used by the writer as follows: "We are often told by carnal persons not to judge; but as a messenger of Christ, and one who has met the conditions and obtained salvation through the blood, we claim that the right to judge is a part of our commission. When Jesus said, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged' in Matthew 7, He was speaking to the hypocritical Pharisees, who were full of poison and criticism. . . . No one is capable of judging another righteously until he is right himself."

This is an awful doctrine. It is that which has brought all the persecution which the world has ever seen — men's assuming the right to judge their fellows. We could as truly say that all the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, that the Beatitudes and all, were spoken to the hypocritical Pharisees, as to say that the text quoted was spoken to them; because it comes in the same discourse of our Lord — Matthew, chapters 5 to 7. We read in the beginning of that sermon, "And when He was set, His disciples came unto Him; and He opened His mouth, and taught them." And among His teaching to His disciples was, "Judge not, that ye be not judged," followed immediately by, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Another passage, found in Romans 14, written by the apostle Paul to Christians: "Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." Verse 10, "So then every one of us shall give account of

3556 — The Book of Esdras

By Editor

Please tell me where the book of Esdras is found. It is not in my Bible. — C. E. C.

The book of Esdras is the first division of the Apocrypha, writings that are not received as canonical, but which are found in many large family Bibles, between the Old and New Testaments. "Esdras" is the Greek for "Ezra," and these books are found as 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras. They are held by Roman Catholics as canonical books, of equal authority with other books of the Bible. But all Protestants have held them as books which are uncanonical, altho some have believed that 2 Esdras was of greater authority than First — a prophecy of the nations which followed. The books of the Apocrypha are of no particular authority, except to show us the customs and teaching which obtained between the time of Malachi and the time of our Lord. The last part of the Apocrypha is the books of Maccabees, which give us, to quite an extent, the history of the Jewish struggle against the Syrians.

3555 — The Jewish Month

By Editor

Please explain by actual count the process of deducing thirty days to a Jewish month from Genesis. C. E. C.

If our inquirer will turn to Genesis, chapter 7, it will be quite easily seen. Verse 11: "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." Verse 4 of chapter 8: "And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." From the second month, the seventeenth day, to the seventh month, the seventeenth day, were just five months; and then we are told in verse 24 of chapter 7, "The waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days." And again in the third verse of chapter 8, "And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased." Thus the five months equaled one hundred fifty days, or thirty days to the month.

"Never Man Spake Like This Man"

By Mrs. E. G. White

ESUS CHRIST was the light of the world; for "by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven."

What He Might Have Done

If Christ had thought it necessary, He could have opened to His disciples mysteries which would have eclipsed and put far out of sight all the discoveries of the human mind. He could have presented facts concerning every subject that would have gone beyond human reasonings, and yet not misrepresented the truth in any particular. He could have revealed that which was unknown, that which would have put imagination to the stretch, and attracted the thoughts of successive generations to the close of earth's history. He could have opened doors into mysteries that the human mind had sought in vain to open. He could have presented to men a tree of knowledge from which they might have plucked from age to age; but this work was not essential to their soul's salvation, and the knowledge of the character of God was necessary to their eternal interests. As it is, men have devoted their time and talents to the pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge merely for the gratification of curiosity, and have neglected the momentous subjects that have been plainly revealed, which concern their eternal interests.

"Come unto Me." "Never man spake like this Man."

Representing God—Revealing Truth

Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, came to plant the Tree of Life for the human family, and to invite the members of a fallen race to eat and be satisfied. He came to reveal to them what was their only hope, their only happiness, both in this world and in that which is to come. For "this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." He would allow nothing to divert His attention from the work which He came to do. He knew that men would seek out many inventions, and follow the imagination of their own hearts. He knew that they would use their God-given intellect to please and glorify themselves; that they would forget God, and lose the knowledge of His way and will. Jesus saw that men needed to have their minds attracted to God, that they might become acquainted with His character, and obtain the righteousness of Christ represented in His holy law. He knew that it was necessary that men should have a faithful representation of the divine character, that they might not be deceived by the misrepresentations of Satan, who had cast his hellish shadow athwart men's pathway, and to their minds clothed God with his own satanic characteristics.

Jesus came to the world to reveal, in their beauty, original truths that had been lost sight of through the misconception of men, and had been buried beneath a mass of tradition and error. He severed the old, familiar truths from the companionship of error, that they might no longer be clouded and hidden by the customs and superstitions of men, but stand forth in their original purity. For ages truth had been thrust from its true position; and Jesus reinstated it, reset it in the framework of truth, and established it anew upon the basis of its own eternal merit. The principles of justice and right that through the working of Satan upon the human had become powerless in their influence upon men, He revivified, and commanded them, like the stars in the firmament, to stand fast forever and ever.

The Master of Them All

The Redeemer of the world did not come to encourage curiosity, to stimulate human speculation, but to show the real character of truth, so long falsified by Satan, and set before the world in a distorted light. The suggestions of Satan had been received by the depraved human heart, and had been repeated by human agents, and traced by human pens; but Jesus restored the jewels of truth to the world, and made them shine

before the eyes of men in all their original splendor and beauty. The Son of Man, our Lord, possessed an intellect of the highest order; and nothing, before or since His appearance, has been presented that approached to the elevation of the themes which He presented in His lessons to His disciples, which by their testimony have been transmitted to us. Apparently He borrowed the thoughts of minds inferior to His own; but this was not the case in reality, for He was the originator of all truth, and He had given to men all the light they had upon the mysteries, all the knowledge they had in every branch of science. In Him were hid all the treasures of wisdom and truth, both of heavenly and earthly things. In quoting the utterances of patriarchs and prophets, He quoted that which He Himself had imparted. The uttermost stretch of the human mind can embrace but a fractional part of the infinite whole, and even that fractional part is the outworking of the mind of Him who comprehends all science, all mystery and knowledge. All the wisdom of men should roll back glory and praise to the great Originator.

The Redeemer of the world gave evidence of His superiority over the men of the world, in the way in which He presented truth to the human mind. However great and wise the teachers of the world might have been regarded in His day or may be regarded in our day, yet in comparison to Him they are not to be admired; for all the truth they uttered was but that which He originated, and all teaching that came from any other source was foolishness. Even the truth they uttered, in His mouth was beautified and made glorious; for He presented it in simplicity and dignity. Such attractiveness was in His words that not only the common people heard Him gladly, but wise and noble men declared, "Never man spake like this Man."

Do the Dead Live Again?

By Earle Albert Rowell

"If a man die, shall he live again?" Job 14:14. This is the query that has agitated the minds of men from time immemorial, and is looming larger in the problems of to-day than any other question. It is right that man should ask concerning his future, that he should seek an answer; and it is meet that he be answered.

The science of Aristotle, the speculations of Socrates, and the philosophy of Plato were all devoted to create in the hearts of men a belief in their own natural immortality. Going down the scale from philosophers and scientists of all ages to the ignorant, we find a common belief everywhere prevalent, that man has a spirit which leaves the body immediately after death and lives forever either upon this earth or somewhere else. Descending to the lowest level of human life, we still find in the savage breast of the cannibal a belief similar to that of Plato, only different in degree, lower in conception. Down through the forty centuries of history has rung the swelling chorus of mankind's growing and now well-nigh universal belief in the continued existence of the human spirit immediately after death. From the snow-capped peaks of the sky-piercing Alps to the arid wastes of Sahara's burning sands, heathen and Jews, infidels and Christian Scientists, papists and pantheists, Spiritualists and Protestants, have with pen and voice been proclaiming far and wide, "Thou shalt not surely die."

Belief Does Not Make It True

Because a thing has always been the accepted belief of mankind in general, is not only no proof that it is true, but is not even good evidence. For fifty centuries or more nothing was more firmly believed or was considered more thoroly established, by philosopher and idiot, king and slave, millionaire and beggar, than that the earth was flat and was circled by the sun. But to-day there is scarce an urchin of eight, or a drunkard rolling spurned and forgotten in a wayside gutter, who does not know better.

Unanimity of belief, then, counts for nothing, and should have no weight when we come to investigate the subject upon its own merits; but we should "prove all things; hold fast that which is good." The Christian does this by going to "the Sacred Writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired of God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." 2 Tim. 3:15-17, A.R.V., margin. Jesus said, "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures." Matt. 22:29. Error, then, comes from ignorance of the Bible. Since we proved, in the previous article, that Spiritualism, even taken on its own claims, left us tangled in a maze of uncertainty and lost in the labyrinth of their multiplying contradictions and deceptions, we will now briefly consider from the Bible standpoint the subject of the condition and future of the dead.

Shall the Dead Live Again?

If so, when? Immediately, or far in the future? Turning to 1 Thess. 4:13-18, we find some clear statements right on these questions: "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 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." Paul considers the understanding of this so important that he adds, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

Several events are linked here in the very closest manner. Note that the coming of Christ is in no quiet manner, "as when a soul slips out into the unknown," but is not only with a shout and the voice of the Archangel, but with the trump of God, and then "the dead in Christ shall rise first." Also note the fact that the only ones to be raised from the dead at this time are "the dead in Christ." These, with the living righteous, are changed and caught up in the air to meet the Lord, and then "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." Rev. 20:4-6.

If there is a first resurrection, there must be a second. And since only the "blessed and holy" have a part in the first, it follows conclusively that the second consists of the unholy, who eventually suffer the "second death;" for since it expressly states that the holy do not, it implies that the unholy do. But let us read on a little further:

"And when the thousand years are expired, . . . I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; . . . and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the grave] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:7-15.

Condition of the Dead

Seeing that the dead, both good and bad, live again in the future, let us push our inquiry a step further, and determine the condition of the dead all the time previous to their resurrection. Out of the superabundance of texts on this subject, scattered in profusion from Genesis to Revelation, it is hard to choose; but we will have to content ourselves with a very few of the clearest and most direct:

"For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. And still further: "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Ps. 115:17. This excludes not only the wicked, but the righteous as well, from praising the Lord in death. It is certainly absurd to suppose that if the righteous were alive and in a more glorious state than on earth, they would not praise God. We are also told why they can not praise Him: "For the grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee: they that go down into the pit can not hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day." Isa. 38:18, 19.

The reason that there is no remembrance or praising of God in the grave, is that "his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:4. Then instead of being a better thinker than ever before, and coming back to instruct others, "that very day" even his thoughts PERISH. But his thoughts are not all that perish. "Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished." Eccl. 9:6.

Any one would think it were impossible to be more clear and explicit; but the Lord foresaw the tendency to explain away the plainest statements, therefore we read further, "For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:10. It is no wonder, then, that Solomon, in view of these facts, said, "The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not ANYTHING." Eccl. 9:5.

Texts could easily be indefinitely multiplied to clinch the argument; but one clear, comprehensive statement from the Sacred Writings is as conclusive to the believer in God’s Word, as a thousand. And besides, those who want further proof have only to follow out the references from the above quotations, and they will accumulate an overwhelming abundance of proof that "the dead know not anything."

Not the Spirits of the Dead

Having shown that the dead are not living in any sense of the word, it is plainly impossible for them to return to communicate with the living. Hence from whatever source the communications of Spiritualism may come, they demonstrably do not come from departed friends. It remains briefly, then, to investigate their source.

There are two sources from which such messages may come. First, there are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Heb. 1:14. Second, there are those who are "spirits of devils, working miracles." Rev. 16:14. And they work these miracles to deceive "the whole world." Rev. 12:9. In view of these facts, it is no wonder that John counsels us to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.

The belief in the return of the spirits of the dead crops out in Bible characters, and they received just such communications as are flooding the world from Spiritualist mediums to-day. And in the Bible their source is always indicated as never from the dead, but as always from evil angels. Let us take, for instance, the most famous case in the Scriptures, with which all are familiar—that of Saul and the witch of Endor.

"Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, . . . for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David." 1 Chron. 10:13, 14. This terrible punishment of Saul should stand out as a beacon light of warning to those who have gone or who think of going to Spiritualists for communications from their departed friends; friends, as we have seen, who "know not anything." We are repeatedly warned not to use "divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deut. 18:10-12. Do you want to see heaven? Then leave Spiritualism alone, for it is an abomination. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: . . . and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination." Rev. 21:1, 27.

What, Then, Is Spiritualism?

From the above we are forced to the conclusion that modern Spiritualism is simply a revival, under a new name, of the witchcraft that is so severely condemned above. But its revival need surprise no one who is a Bible student, for it was foretold that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Tim. 4:1.

Paul further tells us that previous to Christ’s coming the second time there will be "the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2 Thess. 2:9. Likewise Christ shows that just before He comes "there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matt. 24:24, 25.

John brings out the same thought: "The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth he hath but a short time." Rev. 12:12. Obviously the reason he has only a short time is because Christ is soon to come. Therefore "he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do." Rev. 13:13, 14.

Many great signs and miracles that are here foretold are performed right before our eyes; and because we "know not the Scriptures," we are led astray. The very existence of Spiritualism, with all its wondrous power, is about the best proof that could be adduced of the trustworthiness and eternal authority of the Bible. For nearly two thousand years this miraculous power hardly seemed to exist, and all at once, as it were, has burst out into the full blaze of twentieth century light; and at the very time when scientific men had proved to their satisfaction that everything was operated by natural law, it has begun to work astounding miracles—miracles that are confounding and converting scientists the world over. They "do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God."

Those who are looking to Spiritualism for eternal life are looking to the wrong source; they are trying to climb up "another way," forgetful of the fact that such are declared "thieves and robbers." "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." John 3:36. Then "turn away" from the "abomination" of Spiritualism to eternal life; and "this is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ." John 17:3.

Character Through Divine Discipline

By Rev. A. R. Atwood

CHARACTER results from divine discipline. The Garden of Gethsemane rather than the Garden of Eden is the creator of character. Trial and temptation try the temper and develop that which is divine. Through hundreds of difficulties we are being fitted for heavenly destinies.—Rev. A. R. Atwood.

The Gold Wire

“It is said that an attempt was once made to make a gold wire fine enough for use in a transit instrument, the result showing that gold would draw out to the length of twenty thousand feet to the ounce. Then the ‘shadow of a thread’ fell to pieces, and the scientist returned to his spider’s web.”

The True Bible Sabbath

By T. Godfrey

And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27, 28.

THE above language was uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ over four thousand years after He made the Sabbath in Eden. (John 1:1-3, 14.) At the time He spoke these words, there was no controversy between Him and the Jews over which day was the Sabbath. The only point of difference was in the manner of its observance. The Jews were great sticklers for the Sabbath, but they kept it according to the tradition of the elders. Therefore they were out of harmony with Jesus on Sabbath keeping. But as Jesus was the Author of the Sabbath institution, it is evident that He knew for whom He made it, and how it should be observed. Therefore He said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." The term "man" is not limited; and when used in its general sense it means the whole human race. Therefore the Sabbath was made for the human race, and not the human race for the Sabbath.

Jesus being the Author of the Sabbath institution, He positively declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath. He said, "Therefore the Son of Man [Christ] is Lord also of the Sabbath." Thus it is a logical conclusion that the Sabbath is the Lord’s day (Rev. 1:10); for it is plainly called, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "My holy day" (Isa. 58:13), and in the fourth commandment of the Decalogue it is called "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10.

But in these last days there is much controversy over which day is the Sabbath, or Lord’s day, and the manner of its observance. Some are contending for one day, and some for another, and some for no day in particular, so that one seventh part of time is kept. But this condition of things should not exist, as there is but one weekly Sabbath mentioned from Genesis to Revelation, and that is the seventh day. Ex. 20:10.

There has been but one weekly Sabbath made, blessed, and sanctified; and that is the seventh day. Gen. 2:1-3. There has been but one weekly Sabbath commanded to be kept holy; and that is the seventh day. Ex. 20:8-11.

T. GODFREY.

An Evening Prayer

To-night I lay my burden by, As one who rests beside the road, And from his weary back unbinds The overwhelming load.

I kneel by hidden pools of prayer— Still waters fraught with healing power; In God's green pasture I abide This longed-for hour.

I know that day must bid me face Courageously my task again, Serving with steady hand and heart My fellow men.

To hold my sorrow in the dark, To fight my fear, to hide my pain, And never for one hour to dream The toil is vain—

This be to-morrow; now, to-night, Great, pitying Father, I would be Forgiven, uplifted, loved, renewed, Alone with Thee. —Selected.

Continue reading: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST