Earlier text: Supreme Efforts for PeaceIs the Sabbath Essential?
By L. D. Santee
Will the Teaching of It Handicap Our Work?
Can We Afford to Teach It?
IN our personal work for others, they often tell us, "If it were not for the Sabbath, we would unite with your church." This expression, so frequently heard, has set us to thinking seriously. God forbid that we should present any obstacle, any unnecessary requirement, any needless sacrifice. If we can leave the Sabbath out, and still preach a gospel that will save man, we ought to do it. I am willing to leave it out, if God authorizes such an omission. I must find that out, by going to His word. First I will notice the character of Him whose word I am to study. In James 1:17 we read, "With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Of His Son we read, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." Heb. 13:8. Then, as the characters of God and Christ are unchangeable, Their teaching would be of the same nature. Another thought: Anything made before the fall, could not be a type, as no gospel was necessary, and there was nothing to prefigure. With these thoughts before us, we begin the study of our subject. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27. This refers us back to its "making." "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Gen. 2:1-3. Everything was just as God purposed it should be, for He Himself had fashioned it. There were no types, for sin had not yet made necessary the application of a remedial scheme. Again, man was not yet divided into nationalities, and so the principles enjoined were for the entire race. Here, then, at the close of the creation week, God expressed His wish, by both precept and example, that man should rest on the seventh day. I find this wish repeated in Ex. 16:26: "Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." This refers to the manna. Here again God was working, and His work gave them no warrant to labor on the seventh day. Those who presumed to do so, were met with stern rebuke. A month later, from the flaming summit of trembling Sinai was spoken and written the law for the race, and the voice of the Almighty said to them in plain and positive language, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work." Ex. 20:10. From that time, every inspired writer taught the law of God; and whatever they said of the law, was true of the Sabbath as well, as it was a part of the law. The women who were instructed by the Saviour, did not think it right even to embalm the dead on the Sabbath. Luke 23:56. Jesus said not only that He was "Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28), but that it was more durable than "heaven and earth." Luke 16:17. Paul affirmed that the Sabbath-breaker dishonored God. Rom. 2:23. Notice Heb. 4:9, first as to its chronology, —A. D. 64, within six years of the destruction of Jerusalem, and but thirty years after the crucifixion. Many churches had been established, the gospel was preached, and its principles were understood. Before God closed the inspired record, He put in one more "Remember" to His wish that they should observe the day on which He rested and which He sanctified. "There remaineth therefore a rest [margin, "keeping of a Sabbath"] to the people of God." So there is a Sabbath to be kept by the people of God. Which day is it? "For he that is entered into his rest [keeps the Sabbath], he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His." Verse 10. Now if I can find out on which day God ceased from His work, then I will know which day remains for me to keep, for God is the Example. I read in verse 4 of Hebrews 4, "God did rest the seventh day from all His works." That settles it for me. I am to rest as God rested, on the seventh day. DECLARED ALL THE COUNSEL OF GOD
Paul said to the elders of Ephesus, "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Acts 20:27. Shall I do differently? When a soul under conviction asks me, "What must I do to be saved?" and I know that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), shall I tell him about the Sabbath? WHEN GOD CONTROLS, THE SEVENTH DAY IS OBSERVED
Inspiration, speaking of the world to come, where God reigns supreme, says: "As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23. Here is a fact that I desire every reader to remember, even if he should forget all the rest of this article: When God controls the world, the seventh-day Sabbath is observed. Please do not lose sight of this important truth. It was so in the first Eden. It will be so in Eden restored. As in the new earth, which God will control, the seventh day of the week will be kept by the redeemed, how can we leave out the Sabbath, and still preach a gospel that would save you, and give you a place in the earth made new? "All flesh" will worship God on the Sabbath. Will that include you? We would rather teach you what the word of God says. "Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments." Ps. 119:6. The Millennium and the Binding of Satan
By J. W. Rich
How Is Satan Bound?—What Marks the Beginning and the Close of the Much Discussed Thousand Years?
THERE is so much said, these days, about the millennium, that one would imagine the Bible well filled with material on the subject. We hear it mentioned in social talks, from the lecture platform, and from the pulpit. In many places, and at different times, enthusiasm over the subject is intense. Why is this, when the word is not even once used in the Bible? "Millennium" is derived from two Latin words,—mille, a thousand, and annus, a year,—a thousand years. This period of time is mentioned just six times in the Bible, and all within the scope of one chapter—Revelation 20. In this chapter, three times reference is made to the period in connection with Satan, twice in its relation to the righteous, and once to the wicked. As the millennium is so widely discussed, and so many opinions are held concerning it and the condition of the earth during its continuance, we may well note some of the scriptures relating to the subject. From Rev. 20:2 we note that Satan is bound during that period. This binding of Satan is due to the fact that there will be no one left here on the earth for him to tempt or molest. The righteous will be in heaven with Christ, having been taken back with Him at His second return. At that coming, the righteous dead are resurrected, and with those who are living, are caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thess. 4:16-18; Rev. 20:6. The wicked, at the same time, are destroyed by the "brightness of His coming." There will be no man or woman left upon the earth for Satan to annoy. The millennium is given him in which to wander over the broken surface of the earth, there to behold the result of the working out of his own plan. THE PROPHET VIVIDLY DESCRIBES IT
The prophet Jeremiah, in looking down through the future, evidently saw this scene, and has given us a brief sketch, as recorded in Jer. 4:19-28: "Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled. . . . I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." What a desolation—the bottomless pit, in which Satan is to spend the millennium with his angels! All his subjects are dead, either buried or strewn over the face of the earth. Thus is Satan bound in the bottomless pit, a condition that remains during the entire period. What may we look for at the close of the millennium? A resurrection—that of the righteous—marked its beginning; and according to Rev. 20:5, a resurrection is to mark its close. What a contrast! At the first resurrection, every one raised was an heir to the kingdom of God. At this second resurrection, all those raised, with their leader, are enemies of God, even besieging the city of the saints, God's capital. Verses 8, 9. Then it is that the end of sin, sinners, and Satan shall be consummated. BEGINNING AND CLOSE OF THE THOUSAND YEARS
What events, then, mark the beginning of the millennium?—The coming of Christ, the resurrection and translation of the righteous, and the death of the wicked, together with the binding of Satan. And what events mark its close?—The loosing of Satan out of the bottomless pit, brought about by the resurrection of his subjects, the besiegement of the city of God, the overthrow of the besiegers, and the end of sin. The long night of the reign of sin has finally reached its end, and the dawn of eternity has been ushered in. The misery of burdened hearts is now a thing of the past. Beauty and consolation extend over the vast domain of the new earth. The question that should concern each of us now, is as to where we are going to spend the millennium,—in heaven with God, the angels, and the redeemed of all ages, or here on the broken surface of the earth, awaiting the second resurrection, then to begin warfare against God and all that is good. It is your privilege and mine to be among the former class. Will we be? Either of the places may be chosen, but only the two are offered. There is no alternative. Your decision is for eternity. The relation that you sustain to the plan of salvation determines the answer. Be sure as to the way you respond. Is God Particular?
By A. R. BELL
A King Lost His Throne by Presuming God Was Not Particular—Definite Obedience to Specific Demands
AS men look into the wonderful plan of salvation, they see the providence of God for a world lost in the darkness of sin. They see the sacrifice of Christ, as with a love infinitely beyond measurement, He took upon Himself our flesh, and became "obedient unto death." They draw a picture, in the mind's eye, of our blessed Lord as in dark Gethsemane He "resisted unto blood, striving against sin." They hear Him on Calvary's cross cry out in the agony of death, "It is finished." And yet, carried away by a sentiment not born of the Spirit of God, filled with and ruled by conceptions of redemption that have no foundation in the word of God, men are floundering in the quagmires of their own inventions. Setting aside the Scriptures of truth, they have presented to the world such plans of salvation as reveal God as a being who, in His efforts to save the race, loses sight of sin—as a being who is a respecter of persons, and a God who denies to one the privileges accorded to another. They reveal to us a God who no more says as He did in the days of Saul, king of Israel: "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams." And they have brought to pass a day in which, released from the loyal, loving service of obedience, we can sing, "Free from the law! O, happy condition!" and flagrantly violate the word and law of the living God. Reader, God is particular, and the question of obedience is a vital one. It was disobedience that brought death, and cost us Eden. Genesis 3. It was disobedience that gave to the world its first murderer. Genesis 4. It was disobedience that robbed Aaron of two sons, and Israel of two priests. Lev. 10:1. It was disobedience that cost Saul his kingdom. 1 Sam. 15:23. It was disobedience that lost to Israel peace and righteousness. Isa. 48:18. And as between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, the Lord Himself tells us that teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, even worship is in vain; and further, that disobedience will lose heaven to God's professed people. Matt. 15:2-9; 7:21-23. It will not do to excuse ourselves or others on the plea of sincerity. The mothers of India were sincere as they threw their own loved offspring, as an act of worship, into the waters of their sacred river Ganges. Their being sincere did not make that awful thing right. We will not question the sincerity of Saul as he brought "the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good," "to sacrifice unto the Lord" in Gilgal; but that sacrifice—an act of worship on Saul's part—would have been a stench in the nostrils of the Almighty, and that proposed act of worship lost him his kingdom. Disobedience was sin in that day. It is no less sin to-day. The call of faith is to the keeping of God's commandments. Rev. 14:12. The call of God unto eternal life is along the pathway of obedience. Rev. 22:14. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land," says the Lord. Isa. 1:19. And says Jesus, "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14. Yes, dear reader, God is particular. And on the other hand, we owe Him our "full measure of devotion." He so loved us, that He gave His only-begotten Son to save us from our sins—our transgressions of His law. There is a principle at stake. It is the loyalty of a universe as against the anarchy of lawlessness. God's last call to men to the keeping of His commandments and the faith of Jesus is the test of our devotion. Rev. 14:12. The Refreshing
By Eliza H. Morton
WE read of a certain time when God will say, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." Isa. 28:12. The refreshing to which reference is made is the outpouring of God's Spirit in the latter days, the pentecostal rain, just before the second coming of Christ. Some will turn away their ears from the message, some will not heed the warning, some will be swept away by the overflowing scourge. It was thus in the days of Noah, and thus will it be in the times just before Jesus comes. "Prepare to meet thy God." OUR SOURCE OF LIFE
By A. G. D.
Sin Doomed Man to Die Eternally — A Plan Provided That Gives Redemption and Eternal Life
"As the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." John 5:26. The Lord Jesus Christ is life. He is the source of life. He is our life. It was Christ who created this world, and gave to matter its forces and its life. Thus we read: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:1-4. Paul says: "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." Col. 1:16, 17. These scriptures set forth the great power of the Son of God. He has creative power. He created the earth from nothing. "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Ps. 33:9. "In Him was life," and that life He imparted to that which He created. He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." Gen. 1:11. The seed contains the life germ that Christ imparted to vegetation when He commanded it to be. Having covered the earth with nutritious vegetation, the Creator caused to exist the "living creature" after its kind,—the beasts, the cattle, the fowls, the winged insects, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. To all these creatures, as well as to vegetation, the Lord Jesus gave life. "To every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so." Gen. 1:30. The last and crowning act of our Lord was the creation of man. Of this we read: "And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him." "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7. Thus we see that Jesus Christ not only has life in Himself, but that He has imparted life to everything He has created. The life which Christ imparted to His works was to be in them forever. His purpose was that all He created should endure with Himself throughout eternity. It was not His will that His life should ever be separated from anything to which He had given it. Death, the enemy of life, did not come from Christ. It is the result, the wages, of sin. Rom. 6:23. It came upon, and entered into, the works of Christ, because of man's transgression. DEATH ENTERED THROUGH SIN
Paul says that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12. The man by whom sin and death entered into the world was Adam. When he was placed in the garden of Eden, the fruit of one tree was withheld from him. The Lord said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2:17. Adam transgressed the command of God. He ate the fruit, and brought upon himself condemnation and death. Thus he forfeited the life that Christ had given him, and took death instead. The very day he ate the fruit, the death sentence was passed upon him. His life was forfeited, and it was only a question of time when the sentence would be executed, and he would cease to exist. THE WHOLE RACE WAS INVOLVED
The fall of Adam involved the whole race. It entailed sin upon his posterity. "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners." Rom. 5:19. This brought condemnation and death upon all. "By the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation." Verse 18. Left to ourselves, we should all perish; for we are sinners, and we are all under the sentence of death. There are many expressions in the Scriptures which show that God looks upon us as virtually dead. When on earth, Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life." John 10:10. He also said, "Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." John 5:40. Again, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53. "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John 3:14. WE MAY BE DELIVERED FROM DEATH
The fleeting physical life, or existence, that men have here, is not the life that God would have them possess. Christ came to destroy death, and to restore to man the life Adam forfeited by sin. But the only way man can obtain that life is by taking Christ, who holds it. This is made very plain by the apostle John, who says, "He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life." 1 John 5:12, R. V. Christ is received into the heart by faith. Eph. 3:17. He can not be separated from His life; so when He comes into the heart of the believer, He brings His life with Him, and that believer, according to John, "hath the life." This is what Christ taught the people when on earth. He said, "He that heareth My word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life." John 5:24, R. V. Again we read, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him." "And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." 1 John 5:10, 11, R. V. Our life, then, is in Christ. Those who have Him, have life; and those who are separated from Him, abide in death. And we have life only while we have Christ. At present He holds that life for us. Says Paul, "Your life is hid with Christ in God." Col. 3:3. Again, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Verse 4. It is at the coming of Christ that immortality will be conferred upon His believers. Then they shall die no more. All praise to our blessed Lord that He "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10. A WORD TO OUR READERS
By Editor
We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon to pay for them. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read. DATE OF EXPIRATION
By Editor
The SIGNS wrapper bears date of last issue due on your subscription. Unless renewed in advance, paper stops with expiration date. If herewith is an order-blank, you will know you have overlooked sending renewal. You will not wish to miss a single issue. Back numbers often can not be furnished. SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
By Editor
Our authority for the doctrines we teach is the Bible. Quotations are usually from the King James Version or the American Standard Revised. TO THE SWIFT? TO THE STRONG?
By L. A. R.
NOT enough of the war has been fought out yet to show whether Germany is going to fulfil the great claim she has made for herself in the matter of preparedness and ability in maneuvers. Germany has been the most boasted nation in matters of war, and has almost held herself up as a model. PREPARED FOR ANY SURPRISE
It has been declared that Germany was ready for the instant mobilization of her armies. Plans for the invasion of every European and transatlantic country, including the United States, were said to lie ready for use in the drawers of special receptacles at her war office; and immediately on the declaration of war, every officer, man, and boy in the service would be informed by telegram of the outbreak of hostilities. Being in possession of secret instructions, the purport of which he is sworn not to divulge, each man in the vast German fighting machine knows exactly the place assigned to him, and what he has to do when the army has taken the field. All Germany's railways and streets have been built with an ultimate idea of war; and every truck, open or covered, is marked with figures denoting the number of horses and men, and the weight of the guns that the car can carry in war time. Russia has thought to circumvent the preparedness of Germany by building her railway lines with a different gage; but the Germans have arranged their trucks in such a way that they can be adapted to the Russian or any other gage. Special armored trains are in readiness within sheds in the neighborhood of every fort of importance. Material for bridges is ready for conveyance by rail to any spot desired. The railway system is owned by the government. The state bank of Germany, on declaration of war, will take entire charge of the war treasury until loans are raised. All Germany's forts and fortresses are armed and equipped to overflowing with ammunition, supplies, stores, and provisions, so that they are ready for the outbreak of hostilities, and could undergo prolonged sieges. A dark brown bread called kommis brot is specially prepared to keep fresh for weeks. In fact everything is ready down to the last button on the last soldier's coat. Target practise, new guns, dirigibles and aeroplanes, terrible explosives, ironclad automobiles, exploding shells — everything that Germany can get together — are massed to make possible the swift and terrible blow. Furthermore, Germany has a secret service agency in every nation on the globe. Everything is done to keep the rank and file of the army in as magnificent physical condition as possible. NOT TO THE SWIFT OR THE STRONG
Thus Germany seems to be both the strong and the swift. But the word of God declares that in the councils of the Almighty, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. If it is for the good of the human race, and the advancement of God's great purposes, for Germany to win in this struggle, all her war preparedness may be of great effect. But if the ambitions of Germany are selfish, if her blows against the nations would put back the plans of God for man, then the very ability of Germany shall work out her own defeat. For thus has it been in every age. GREAT WAR PLANS THWARTED IN OTHER DAYS
The Philistines in ancient times, with their mighty Goliath, supposed they had an absolutely certain means of conquering the nations; but one smooth stone from the brook, in the hands of a child of God, brought all their war preparedness and power to naught. Again, in the times of Alexander, the Persians supposed they had an indomitable host; but the Greek phalanx drove them into irretrievable ruin. The Austrian troops were unconquerable; but there was a way to break through their lances, and Arnold von Winkelried found that way as he rushed forward. "'Make way for liberty,' he cried,
'Make way for liberty,' and died." Until that moment, the mountaineers were beginning to despair of making an impression on their apparently invulnerable opponents; but as the knight of Unterwalden rushed forward, grasped with outstretched hands as many points as he could reach, buried them in his bosom, and bore them by his weight to the earth, his companions rushed over his dead body into the breach he thus had made, slaughtered the armor-encumbered knights like sheep, and threw the remainder into confusion and dismay. The Swiss lost only two hundred men, while the Austrians lost one thousand, including six hundred counts, barons, and knights, among them Duke Leopold. And thus the battle of Sempach stands out vividly in history as a victory for the Swiss. So, too, when the mighty English forces under Packingham moved forward to the attack of New Orleans, General Jackson had only his raw, untrained Kentucky sharpshooters behind the cotton bales; but when the smoke of battle cleared away, Jackson's forces had lost but six dead and seven wounded, while the British losses ran up into the hundreds. THE WEAK TO CONFOUND THE MIGHTY
Even a modicum of history can teach us that the words of inspiration are profoundly true. Not always is the race to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, and not always is God on the side of the strongest battalion. "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence." 1 Cor. 1: 27-29. I know of no greater lesson to point in the time of this great European war than the great lesson that we ought all to learn, of the supremacy of God. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is firmly seated upon the eternal throne. No one can change His plans. His purpose is purposed upon all the earth, and His hand is stretched out upon all the nations. What He has purposed, none can disannul; and His hand stretched out, none can turn back. Isa. 14: 26, 27. Yes, "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." "All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" "Those that walk in pride He is able to abase." Dan. 4: 17, 35, 37. SEEMING FAILURE, BUT EVERLASTING SUCCESS INSTEAD
Even the death of the Son of God is seen to be ultimately the death of the captain of evil, and what looked like failure in the life of Christ turns out to be the headlong ruin of the whole kingdom of evil. And thus we see the wrath of man and even of devils made to praise God; and that portion of wrath which can not serve God's purposes, by the Lord restrained. Ps. 76: 10. So let us look higher than the smoke of the European war, that our minds by faith may go up to Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, and know that out of even this wrath of the nations, this wrath of men, God yet shall work out His eternal purposes. And when we thus know that God is supreme, we can behold nation rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, yet we shall not be terrified. Luke 21: 9. Even now, in this time of fear and war, Christ as truly is speaking as in the days of peace, "Come unto Me," He says, "all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." O, the infinite peace that is begotten in the soul through trust in Him! THE CITY OF SAFETY
By M. C. Wilcox
We do not have them in this world. There have been cities that were so thoroughly fortified that they have been thought to be cities of safety, cities more safe than the cities of refuge appointed of God among His own people of old. Babylon was thought to be a city of safety. Belshazzar, its last king, the son of Nabonadius, had shut himself within its walls, and laughed at the efforts of the men who were outside. He thought they would never enter those mighty walls nor cross its moats and take its palaces; but Babylon fell, and the remains of Babylon form a mere heap of dust and ruins in the plain of the Euphrates to-day. Nineveh was another mighty city that thought herself safe, but Nineveh is a heap of ruins. Rome was once mistress of the world. She ruled it with an iron hand. But Rome fell. Men have surrounded the great523capitals of the world to-day with fortifications that seem almost invulnerable. Great lines of defense are thrown outside these cities, which it is thought will keep back the armies that may invest the land. This is true of Paris and Berlin and St. Petersburg and London; but all these cities, if they do not fall before armies, will, when God's voice shall speak from heaven, be shaken to nothing. When the great earthquake will have occurred, before which all others have been the merest warnings, "the cities of the nation fell." Rev. 16:19. But there is a city "whose Builder and Maker is God." There is a city, the coming capital of a renewed earth, which will come down out of heaven from God. Its streets are of gold, its walls of precious stones. Its gates of pearl shall be opened night and day. It needs no lines of fortifications surrounding it to keep back the enemy; for there will be only peace in those days, and God's children will go out and come in at will. There will be no enmity in hearts and no signs of enmity in the land. "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever." There shall be no sickness there. "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." To this city, to this refuge, God invites all the perturbed and tried and warring factions of earth. This is His message. This is our message. Listen! "What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation?" is the question that Inspiration itself raises. Isa. 14:32. And this is the answer that is to be given to the messengers of the nation and of the nations: "That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of His people take refuge." SYSTEMATIC BIBLE STUDY
By Editor
As our paper next week is devoted exclusively to the subject of temperance, we give the schedules this week for two weeks of systematic Bible reading. Some people who appear to be just as busy as others, can always tell us of reading they are doing. The reason for this is that they have a system upon which they work, and they are determined in carrying it out. For instance, they plan to read certain portions of the Bible every day in the year, and being resolute, they insist upon carrying out their plan. We trust there are many of this resolute class of readers who are this year reading the Bible through by course. SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 29
Read three chapters each week-day, and five on the Sabbath. SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 5
Read a chapter each week-day from 2 Samuel, and two on the Sabbath. Read a chapter each day from Jeremiah; and read a chapter each week-day from Job, and two on the Sabbath. America’s Drink Bill for One Year
AMERICA'S DRINK BILL FOR ONE YEAR
Few persons can comprehend these staggering figures. This is more than twice the cost of running our government, army and navy included. It would build twenty Lincoln Highways from San Francisco to New York, and place 800,000 automobiles, at $1,000 each, on the roads; or it would build 100,000 schoolhouses, at $2,000 each. If this money were in silver dollars, and were stacked in one pile, it would reach 3,156 miles high. THE TEMPERANCE NUMBER
By Editor
In 16 pages of appropriately illustrated matter, tells these facts, and others equally interesting, in a way to hold the attention of all, and convince fair-minded readers of the folly of the liquor traffic. Dr. Wadsworth, general superintendent of the California Dry Federation, says that when he received the Temperance Campaign Number of the Signs, he found it so absorbingly interesting that he sat right down and read it clear through, and he declares it one of the best things on the subject that he had ever seen. One society in the Northwest has ordered 55,000 copies of this paper. Eighteen presidents, twenty governors, and several judges, doctors, labor leaders, gospel workers, soldiers, and even some liquor men, are quoted. Thousands of noble men and women the country over are working with might and main to stamp out Demon Rum. Is there not need of just such self-sacrificing work in your neighborhood? If so, why not enroll to-day in this army of workers? These papers may be ordered from any of our depositories (see list on page 15) or from the publishers of this journal. Prices: single copy, 5c; five to thirty copies, 3c each; forty or more, 2½c each. On orders of 5,000 or more a special rate of 2c will be given. "THOSE who know that they can not possibly save themselves, or of themselves do any righteous action, are the ones who appreciate the help that Christ can bestow. They are the poor in spirit, whom He declares to be blessed." Sunday on a Par with the Manchu Cue
By W. E. Gillis
By W. E. Gillis, in Chinese “Signs of the Times” MANY of the Christians living in the civilized countries of the world know that Sunday is not the Sabbath the Creator Himself instituted and enshrined in the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, but that the true Sabbath is the day now generally called Saturday. Why do they ignore the fact when inspiration, in Gen. 2: 1-3 and Mark 2: 27, 28, so clearly reveals that the seventh-day Sabbath was made for man — the first man on this earth — when there was not a Jew at all? The reason I will tell you, but it is like the excuse for sin — a house built on sand and of sand. In the fourth century after Christ, when the Christian church at Rome came under the control of ambitious men who joined in confederacy with Constantine, the head of the Roman Empire, Sunday, the sacred day of the sun-worshippers, was substituted in the church for the Sabbath of the Lord. For centuries cruel laws compelled its observance, until at the present time Sunday is almost universally observed, and the people for the most part had become ignorant of its origin. This extraordinary thing is paralleled by the people of China, who were compelled by Shun Tz, their Manchu conqueror, to wear a cue. So long had this custom prevailed, the Chinese people universally believed that to discard it would be a denial of their native land. But when the true origin of the custom was revealed, during the revolution three years ago, almost all China arose with a true spirit of patriotism and had the humiliating symbol struck off. But what a pity, although the true origin of Sunday as a symbol of the captivity of the church to Constantine is now well known, very few Christians are loyal enough to God to have the symbol of their humiliation struck off! I pray the Lord to enable us by His grace to be loyal to His commandments and the observance of the true Sabbath.