Signs of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 6. (2/6/1901)

Signs of the Times

Feb 6, 1901

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 6, 1901

“GOD REMEMBERED.”

By C. M. Snow

It is a fearful thing to forget God; for upon the heads of those who do so rests the responsibility for the sin and misery of the world. It would be a fearful thing if God should forget men; for their lives would fade as quickly as the summer dew at the breath of morn. In all the heart wanderings of Israel the arm of God was reaching out after them, the heart of the Infinite was yearning for them. God can not forget the creatures of His hand.

AGAIN and again God, like the pitying Father that He is, has been compelled to chastise man for man’s good, and the history of these chastenings is graven for all time upon the face of the earth. The thorn and the thistle are with us yet, sad reminders of sinless Eden. The flood has written the record of its ravages upon every portion of the globe and in the legends of all the children of the earth. The ruins of the great cities of old bear witness to God’s effectual denunciation of their wickedness; and the sulphur-steeped hills and vales of Sodom and Gomorrah are voicing perpetual evidence of God’s warnings against sin, and His purpose to sweep it from the earth.

HARDLY had the human race been fairly started in the world when “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” And the Lord declared to Noah, “Behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.” God had seen that “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth,” and that “the earth was filled with violence.” God would not make a complete end, for Noah had “found grace in the eyes of the Lord;” and thru him God patiently warned the world of the destruction which He would bring upon it. He would make an example of the sinful world which then was, that they who should live after might remember His displeasure with sin. That race, wholly given to sin, must perish, or failure be written over God’s purpose concerning the world.

THE flood came; and the waters of the great deep muffled for once the cry of sin, the revelings of vice, which the drunken earth had poured so long into the ear of Heaven. But there was one speck afloat upon that turbid tide which God could not forget; one speck upon that rolling sea of punishment more precious than all the world beside; one tossing speck upon a shoreless, storm-lashed deep, for whose safety heaven would have emptied itself. In that speck was bound up the perpetuation of God’s purpose in the earth. The Record tells us that “God remembered Noah,” and all that was with him in the ark. And because God did remember Noah, man is living on the earth to-day.

NOTWITHSTANDING the terrible example God had made of sin, we find that in the ninth generation from Noah sin was again rife in the land; Terah, the father of Abraham, was bowing to his idols, and Sodom and Gomorrah were filling up their cup of iniquity, and ripening for the sickle of destruction. The Record tells us, “The men of Sodom

were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly;” that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah was great, and their sin grievous. Gen. 18:20. They had forgotten God. In fact, so far had men wandered away from God that they “did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” They “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator.” They “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” So deep was their crime against all that was good and true and pure that the sins of Sodom and her sister have become a byword in the earth.

WHAT remained, then, for a just and righteous God but to make an end of this shameless festering spectacle crying to Heaven from one of earth’s most beautiful valleys? God must again lay upon man His chastening hand, that the race should not perish and His purpose fail. Not until man has identified himself with sin, does the order for his execution go forth; for “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” Eze. 18:32. God would have spared Sodom if ten righteous persons had been found within its gates; but the king of sin had full dominion there; and only Lot, a sojourner, the subject of another realm, was found in that city loyal to the will of God. Therefore, “the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:29. The work of this destroying agent is seen to-day around the Dead Sea and along the valley of the Jordan. Here, where all had once been fertility, with luxuriant vegetation, so that Sodom had “fulness of bread and abundance of idleness,” and Lot could look with almost covetous eyes upon its grazing land (Gen. 13:10), now only barren ground and desolate wastes are seen. Where Sodom once stood, the soil is composed of sulphur, bitumen, and calcined sand. One explorer declares, “The whole appearance points to a shower of hot sulphur, and an eruption of bitumen upon it.” The “slime pits” of bitumen are still in existence, and the sand still emits the fumes of sulphur when thrown upon the fire. The same writer states that “if there be any physical evidence left of the catastrophe which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, we have it here.” The fire which licked up the earth where those cities had been, and which Abraham saw going up “as the smoke of a furnace,” has left its record for a warning to “those that after should live ungodly.” But in the midst of that terrible judgment “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.” Gen. 19:29.

AND now the Dead Sea, with desolation camped around and the memory of wicked cities rising with its bitter breath, stands as another reminder of the eternal truth that God can not compromise with sin. Look upon its pictured waste, and remember that yet once again will God’s destroying agents sweep down upon the earth—not this time as an “ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;” for the very root and germ of sin shall perish in the burnings of that day. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal. 4:1. That will be the final “day of vengeance of our God.” That will be “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

WHO, then, shall be able to stand? God, who remembered Noah afloat upon the flood; who remembered Abram and Lot in the overthrow of the cities of sin, will not forget His faithful children when for the last time He stretches forth His hand in punishment of sin. The plagues will fall (Revelation 16), the pestilence walk in darkness, and destruction waste at noonday; but God’s promise to His children is, “It shall not come nigh thee.” “Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust.” Psalm 91. He will look upon the company of His followers and say, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. In that day God will wrap this home of sin in a robe of fire; but to that righteous nation that follows Him will He give the garments of praise and the robe of righteousness. Forget not God, and He will remember you in the day when He shall make an end of sin. C. M. SNOW.

FAITH, NOT FEELING.

By Ellen G. White

EXAMINE yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” Some conscientious souls, on reading this, immediately begin to criticize their every feeling and emotion. But this is not correct self-examination. It is not the petty feelings and emotions that are to be examined. The life, the character, is to be measured by the only standard of character, God’s holy law. The fruit testifies to the character of the tree. Our works, not our feelings, bear witness of us.

The feelings, whether encouraging or discouraging, should not be made the test of the spiritual condition. By God’s Word we are to determine our true standing before Him. Many are bewildered on this point. When they are happy and joyous, they think that they are accepted by God. When a change comes, and they feel depressed, they think that God has forsaken them.

God does not look with favor upon those self-confident ones who loudly exclaim, “I am sanctified, I am holy, I am sinless.” These are Pharisees, who have no foundation for their assertion. Those who, because of their sense of utter unworthiness, dare scarcely lift up their eyes to heaven, are nearer to God than those who claim so much piety. They are represented by the publican, who, with his head on his breast, prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and went to his house justified, rather than the self-righteous Pharisee.

But God does not desire us to go thru life filled with a distrust of Him. We owe our heavenly Father a more generous view of His goodness than is accorded to Him by our manifest distrust of His love. We have an evidence of His love—an evidence which amazes angels and is far beyond the comprehension of the wisest of human beings. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” While we were yet sinners, God gave His Son to die for us. Can we doubt His goodness?

Behold Christ. Dwell upon His love and mercy. This will fill the soul with abhorrence for all that is sinful, and will inspire it with an intense desire for the righteousness of Christ. The more clearly we see the Saviour, the more clearly shall we discern our defects of character. Confess your sins to Christ, and with true contrition of soul co-operate with Him by putting these sins away. Believe that they are pardoned. The promise is positive, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Be assured that the Word of God will not fail. He who has promised is faithful. It is as much your duty to believe that God will fulfil His Word and forgive you as it is to confess your sins.

Exercise faith in God. How many there are who go thru life under a cloud of condemnation! They do not believe God’s Word. They have no faith that He will do as He has said. Many who long to see others resting in the pardoning love of Christ do not rest in it for themselves. But how can they possibly lead others to show simple, childlike faith in the heavenly Father when they measure His love by their feelings?

Let us trust God’s Word implicitly, remembering that we are His sons and daughters. Let us train ourselves to believe His Word. We hurt the heart of Christ by doubting, when He has given us such evidence of His love. He laid down His life to save us. He says to us: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your soul. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Do you believe that He will do as He has said? Then, after you have complied with the conditions, carry no longer the burden of your sins. Let it roll upon the Saviour. Trust yourself with Him. Has He not promised to give you rest? But to many He is obliged to say sorrowfully, “Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life.” Many manufacture for themselves burdens which are grievous to bear.

Look steadfastly to Jesus. Behold Him, full of grace and truth. He will make His goodness pass before you, while He hides you in the cleft of the rock. You will be enabled to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible, and by beholding you will be transformed.

Faith is not feeling. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. There is a form of religion which is nothing more than selfishness. It takes pleasure in worldly enjoyment. It is satisfied with contemplating the religion of Christ, and knows nothing of its saving power. Those who possess this religion regard sin lightly because they do not know Jesus. While in this condition they estimate duty very lightly. But a faithful performance of duty goes hand in hand with a right estimate of the character of God.

There is earnest work to do for the Master. Christ came to preach the Gospel to the poor, and He sent His disciples forth to do the same work He came to do. So He sends forth His workers to-day. Sheaves are to be gathered for Him from the highways and hedges. The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where the truth is kept in the outer court, to be admired as we admire a beautiful flower; they demand something more than a religion of feeling, which distrusts God when trials and difficulties come. Holiness does not consist in profession, but in lifting the cross, doing the will of God. Saying, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?” will not secure for us an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.”

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

Fervency of Spirit in the Pulpit

FERVENCY of spirit is the secret of pulpit success. Paul was thought to be mad because of his Christian fervor. More of his madness is necessary in our day if we would properly push the kingdom of our Lord far and near.—The Presbyterian.

The Difference between the Law and the Gospel

By Cyrus Simmons

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. No. 4.

The Difference between the Law and the Gospel.

What the Law Is.

Besides being a rule for both thought and conduct, the law of God is a picture of Divinity. The likeness is so perfect that when the law is spiritually put in the mind and written in the heart, the recipient knows God. The Word says, “All shall know Me, from the least to the greatest.” Heb. 8:10, 11. This knowledge is a result of knowing the law, which is a revelation of God to man. “And they shall be all taught of God.” John 6:45. Neither the wisdom of men, nor science, as the Word is commonly understood, can reveal this knowledge; nor is it dependent upon intellectual strength. “For all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest.” Those who know not God, obey not the Gospel. Of this class the Lord speaks, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.

We must know the law to know God; we must know God to obey the Gospel; therefore we must know the law of God to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. How truly the portraiture delineated by the Ten Commandments mirrors the likeness that God reveals of Himself!

“The law is light.” Prov. 6:23. The Lord is called “the true Light.” John 1:7, 9. “The law is spiritual.” Rom. 7:14. “God is a Spirit.” John 4:24. The law “is good.” Rom. 7:16. “There is none good but one, that is, God.” Matt. 19:17. “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” Rom. 13:10. “God is love.” 1 John 4:8. The law is perfect, “the perfect law of liberty.” James 1:25. God is perfect. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. The law is royal or kingly: “If ye fulfil the royal law,” etc. James 2:8. Jesus Christ is “the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” 1 Tim. 6:14, 15. The “law is the truth.” Ps. 119:142. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. The law is faithful. “All Thy commandments are faithful.” Ps. 119:86. The Lord is faithful, “the faithful and true Witness.” Rev. 3:14. “The law is holy.” Rom. 7:12. God is holy. “Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.” Lev. 19:2. The law is “just.” Rom. 7:12. Christ is just. “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just.” Acts 3:14. The law is righteousness. “All Thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119:172. And so is God. “This is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.” Jer. 23:6.

What the Gospel Is.

The Gospel is the good news of God. This good news tells of the birth of the Saviour. To the humble shepherds the angel said, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Then we are told why the “tidings” are “good” and “of great joy.” “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11. The “good tidings of great joy” are to all people. The Saviour is born unto “you” and unto me. Isaiah, speaking of His nativity, says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Isa. 9:6.

All heaven is interested in the salvation of this fallen world. We are a spectacle “to angels and to men.” 1 Cor. 4:9. “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10. The great interest heaven takes in the salvation of this world was manifested when the celestial intelligences, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, accompanying the angel who made the announcement to the shepherds, illuminated the awe-inspiring scene with divine glory, and the vaulted skies resounded with praises to God, as with united voices they sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:10, 11, 14.

The Saviour is “the power” and “the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor. 1:24. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18. The Gospel means more than the power of God. “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” To know or to believe that God has the power to save, will do the sinner no good unless he believes that God, thru faith, has put that power within his reach. The “good tidings of great joy” of the Gospel reveal the eternal truth that weak and fallen human nature can have and use the power of God so effectually as to be restored to the divine image. This possibility made all heaven rejoice; should not the Christian’s “joy be full”?

Paul tells why he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: “For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Rom. 1:16. The power of God is. It is not spoken of as being in the past, nor as being promised in the future; it is an ever-present and an ever-working energy, for the great I Am dwelleth within. Ex. 3:14; John 8:58. To have this power there must be a unity,—a union of God and man. “At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” John 14:20. At what day?—When they and we shall receive the Holy Ghost. John 16:13–15. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Acts 1:8. Thru this spiritual representative Christ wants to dwell in us and give us, “the power of God unto salvation.” “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5.

The Saviour not only lives, but He works in the believing heart. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13. By His own works, by His own power, He saves His people from their sins. This is the glorious Gospel of peace that heals the sin-sick soul.

The Difference.

The law is a picture of the righteousness of God; the Gospel is the righteousness of God. The law tells what God wants us to do; the Gospel gives us the power to do it. The law points the way to heaven; the Gospel is the way to heaven. The law reveals the justice of God and condemns us to death; the Gospel reveals the mercy of God and gives life more abundantly. The law is the plans and specifications showing how our character-house should be built; the Gospel is the house constructed, or in process of construction. The law is our schoolmaster, convicting us of sin, and telling us that by it we are dead, and without the hope of a resurrection. We see our inability to meet its requirements, and we are driven to Christ. The Gospel is Jesus Christ dwelling in our individual hearts, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” Rom. 8:4. By the witness of the selfsame law thru God’s righteousness in us, and by reason of the reconciliation He has made for us, death is abolished, and life and immortality are brought to light. 2 Tim. 1:10. We are told to comfort one another with the words that tell of Christ’s second coming, when “all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth,” and “death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Thess. 4:13–18; John 5:28, 29; 1 Cor. 15:54. The law says, among other precepts, “Remember the Sabbath

day, to keep it holy.” Ex. 20:8. Who can do this without the power of God? What does it mean to keep that day holy? Can we keep it holy if we are not holy ourselves? The Gospel puts that selfsame commandment in our minds and writes it in our hearts. We become the epistles of Christ. He dwells in us and makes us holy. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:16, 17.

It is God’s presence in the Sabbath day that makes it holy. Ex. 3:3–5; Joshua 5:15. To keep the day holy, we have to keep the presence of God in it. To be able to keep the presence of God in the Sabbath, we have to be holy ourselves. Only the power of God as revealed by the Gospel can enable us to keep the Sabbath acceptably to God. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isa. 64:6.

CYRUS SIMMONS.

SACRIFICE

By J. A. Edgerton

THE road of progress is a road of pain, That's stained by blood of martyrs. The height Beyond is crowned with glory infinite, Around us are the corpses of the slain, The heroes sacrificed to greed and gain, The men who dared for the oppressed to fight, Who stood for justice, liberty, and right, The God-led rebels against custom's reign, And yet the armies led by mammon's might Before the hosts of truth are swept away. Above the shadows of the human night The dawn of ages now is growing gray. The earth sweeps on into the sweeter light, The glory of the long-expected day. J. A. EDGERTON.

LOCATION, TIME, AND OBJECT OF THE LAKE OF FIRE.

By Mordecai May

WHERE is the hell formerly depicted in such vivid, awful colors, now rarely mentioned in popular pulpits? An interesting question, truly, doubly so at the present time, when millions who use profane language are thoughtlessly consigning, so far as their words go, their fellows to the place of torment; and other millions, who would shudder to even hear profanity, are still in doubt as to whether they will cast anchor in the haven of eternal rest, or receive their portion of fiery torment with Satan and his angels.

And yet it is a simple fact that there is no such place as hell, in the generally-accepted idea. As a place where wicked men, women, and children are suffering tortures, hell has no existence at all. But, having made this proposition, I must proceed to show that it is true, and, first of all, will request the reader’s patience while I ask some general questions.

Knowing that “God is love,” that love is the very essence of all His wonderful attributes, the very summing up of His character, can you believe that, for a few years of misspent life here, a man, a woman, nay, even a child, is to suffer the agonies of fiery torment, ever tossing amidst the fiery billows; and that the end for which he is praying, cursing, blaspheming, shall never come—to all eternity?

Can you believe that the great God, who “so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” could take pleasure in permitting this torture to commence just as soon as the breath leaves the body, even tho the judgment day was yet in the future, in some cases thousands of years?

Can you believe that some of your dearest friends, whose society you loved, whose conversation charmed you, with whose souls your own seemed in almost perfect harmony, are now in this lake of fire, wishing for a drop of water to cool their tongues, expecting nothing from the day of judgment but that their doom will be sealed to all eternity?

This, and worse, is what the Puritans taught, and what many are teaching to-day in the name of the God of love; but, O, how the thought must pain His great heart of love, that ever His character should be so misrepresented!

Many among Protestants still hold to this wicked doctrine in all its fiery horror, and those among them who can not endure the thought of it, have patched up a sort of a Protestant purgatory to take its place.

But the fact is there is neither a burning hell nor purgatory in existence now, never were any such places, and, as far as purgatory is concerned, never will be; would to God there would never be any need of the lake of fire.

Those who have been educated to believe that such a place really exists, with all the horrors it involves, are loath to believe it all a delusion, and fly to the Scriptures to find arguments with which to crush this new-fangled doctrine. But the Scriptures, diligently studied and compared, are found to be entirely opposed to the horrible doctrine of eternal torment and misery.

The word “hell” occurs in the Authorized Version of the Bible a great many times, and, while in many instances it refers to time past and present, in none of these instances does it refer to the lake of fire, except, possibly, in the parable of Dives and Lazarus, which, however, being a parable, proves nothing on the point. The word comes in most cases from the Hebrew sheol or the Greek hades, meaning a covered place, and is often translated “grave,” or “pit,” and was never intended to signify a place of punishment. See Cruden. On the other hand, there are a few places where the word “hell” is translated from the Greek gehenna, and this has reference to the place of future punishment of the wicked, including the devil and his angels. See Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10–15. Note that these events occur after the wicked are judged; and, further, note the marginal rendering of “hell” in Rev. 20:13; and in verse 14, that death and hell are cast into the lake of fire.

Thus it is very evident that “the lake of fire” of verse 14 is not the “hell” of verse 14, or even a portion of it, for the less can not include the greater; but this word “hell,” in both verses, is from the original hades, and should be translated grave. So death and the grave are cast into the lake of fire. Thus when the work of the fiery torrent is ended, all the wicked, including Satan, will be utterly consumed (Eze. 28:19; Mal. 4:1, 3; Heb. 2:14); there will never be any more death, and consequently no grave, in any part of the universe of God to all eternity.

This is the only possible meaning of the passage, “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire;” and this is in perfect harmony with the other scriptures, two of which I quote: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Cor. 15:26. “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Rev. 21:4.

Now it is very evident that if the lake of fire continued in existence forever, and the wicked continued to live and burn in it, as is being and has been taught for some centuries, there would be sorrow and crying; there would be pain just as long as such conditions should exist; and the words of the text referred to would never come true.

But we know that the time will come when the universe will be clean; for the Bible says so. Every creature in the universe will be heard saying, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” Rev. 5:13. And is it not reasonable to believe that the mighty God, the only Potentate, He by whom the universe was created, and by whose power it still exists, has reserved to Himself the power to erase the blot of sin from the fair face of the universe when the fulness of time shall come? It seems like an insult to His infinite wisdom to believe otherwise; for could we conceive it possible for God to continue to give the breath of life forever to those who were cursing Him with every breath they drew, whose existence was nothing but the extremest misery to themselves and all who knew of their plight, and that all this must be perpetuated eternally, because, forsooth, the great All-Father forgot Himself so far as to give immortality to every soul before testing them to see if it would be a blessing or a curse to them, by such a conception we impeach the wisdom and goodness of God, and charge Him with such folly as only short-sighted man could be guilty of.

No; rather let us believe, as the Scriptures plainly teach, that, if God “gather unto Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh [from which His breath is withheld] shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” Job 34:14, 15.

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:20. “Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. 10:28.

We have found, then, that hell, as the antithesis of heaven, as the reward of the wicked, does not exist now, never has existed, and never will exist till the great judgment day. And while those of the wicked who are living at Christ’s second coming will receive a preliminary foretaste of the pangs of hell when they are destroyed by the brightness of His coming, and while, for the succeeding thousand years, Satan and his angels will suffer such pangs of remorse as will fit them to welcome death as a release, yet it must be conceded that the lake of fire and brimstone has no existence till, at the end of the great day of the Lord, which is over a thousand years long, the city of God descends to the earth, and Satan and the wicked encamp against it. Then, after every individual in the encompassing hosts has seen and acknowledged his guilt, and the justice of God in refusing him any portion of His Son’s inheritance, fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them. See Revelation 20; Isa. 30:33.

How long, then, does this place of punishment exist? We know there will immediately revert to the minds of many, certain texts which speak of everlasting burnings, everlasting punishment, smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, etc.; but the Scriptures as a whole, as well as the character of our loving heavenly Father, harmonize only with the fact that these passages indicate eternal results to those who are the objects of the punishment, burnings, torment, etc. Certain cities in Abraham’s time suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 7. What then? Does the fire still exist?—No; for the Dead Sea covers the plain where they once stood; and eternal fire evidently means fire that lasts till all is consumed that is perishable.

The wicked are compared to wood, hay, stubble, fat of lambs, tares, chaff, and other perishable substances. How long, then, till the work is accomplished?—Only a short time comparatively.

Thus, while hell, as a place of punishment, may well be regarded with dread by the sinner, it exists but once in all of God’s creation; the time is in the future; the duration, very short; the place is on this earth; and the city of God dwells in the midst of these everlasting burnings, whose work is soon ended. There comes forth, as a result of this fire, new heavens and a new earth, free from the taint of sin, pure as gold fresh from the crucible, seven times purified.

And, O, dear reader, let us see to it that we learn to love God now, become reconciled to Him by the death of His dear Son; that when that awful moment comes, and the wicked are cast into the lake of fire, we may be safe in the golden city, secure from all harm! And then, as the new heavens and new earth burst into view, clothed with such beauty as mortal eyes never beheld, what glad songs of triumphant praise will ascend to our Creator and Redeemer from every soul!

MORDECAI MAY.

INCREASING BY SCATTERING.

By Chas. T. Everson

In the early days of the New England States repeated attempts were made to have the Legislature of Massachusetts grant a charter to a society which had for its object the furtherance of foreign missionary work. But it was always met with the objection that they needed all the missionaries at home that they had.

At last one of the chief promoters of this worthy enterprise arose and said, “Religion is a commodity of such a nature that the more you give away the more you have left.” This is a truth that is well worth remembering; for the whole plan of salvation is founded upon the principle of giving.

It is not man alone that is asked to give up his ways and means. But from the Father in heaven to the lowest individual that is in harmony with the right principle, every one is willing to be spent in the cause of God. God has set the example by giving up all that is near and dear to Him in the gift of His Son to die for a fallen race.

We must not lose sight of the fact that, while giving is the foundation of the whole plan of salvation, it is a giving that enriches the giver; for in that God was willing to give up His Son, He obtained many sons in return with Him. In Heb. 2:10 we read that thru the sufferings of Christ, our Captain, God has brought many sons unto glory. So also Christ gave up His life, but in so doing He received in return His own life with the countless number of lives that have been redeemed thru His sacrifice.

Likewise, if we are willing to give up our dark, sinful life in this world, we shall receive a bright, everlasting life in the world to come. It is the same way in financial matters. God says that the one that pays his tithe and offerings, upon him will He pour out such a blessing that it will necessitate the opening of the windows of heaven to bestow it. See Malachi, chapter 3. The wise man says, “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth.”

We must not understand from this that giving is not felt as a sacrifice at the time. When God gave up His only-begotten Son, He tore Him as it were from His bosom, and it left His heart bleeding. Paul expresses it thus in Rom. 8:32, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” As compared with the great pain that came to God’s heart in giving up His Son, everything else sinks into insignificance.

When Jesus came to give up His life for mankind, He shrank from the trying ordeal, and said, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” It was the effort of His life to finally submit to drink it.

In the many severe trials thru which Paul had to pass, he saw great sacrifice at the time. In prison, shipwrecked, beaten with many stripes, and at last beheaded, he saw a marked contrast to the life he might have enjoyed as an honored and renowned statesman in the Jewish Sanhedrin. As he looked over the situation, he was compelled to say (1 Cor. 15:19), “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” But as he realized that there was a resurrection from the dead, and a crown laid up for him in heaven, he exclaimed, “I have fought a good fight.” And in Phil. 3:7 he says, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” But in it all he reaches this conclusion in the eleventh verse, “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

In giving up his life and its comforts, Paul realized that he was gaining a life and an estate far in advance of what he here sacrificed.

In paying our honest tithe and offerings it may seem as if we could hardly spare the money, but just above us are the windows of heaven open, and if we will look up we will see that in giving we are enriching ourselves. As it says in Heb. 12:11, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

God, as He gave up His Son, felt it very keenly at the time; but when He shall see the redeemed host, purchased by that gift, He shall rejoice with an everlasting joy. When Jesus yielded up His life on Calvary’s cross, it was amid darkness and untold agony. But to present the vision of Isaiah when Jesus looks upon His redeemed saints: Their countenances are radiant with glory; and, as He fixes His loving eyes upon them, He sees the travail of His soul, and is satisfied. Isa. 53:11.

Every one that has sacrificed anything in this world, be it home, friends, comforts, money, or even life, when he is redeemed in God’s kingdom, will forget that he ever gave up anything as he sees the great glory that has come to him as a consequence.

A writer, viewing herself as among the redeemed in glory, says: “We tried to call up our greatest trials, but they looked so small compared with the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, that we could not speak them out, and we all cried out, Alleluia! Heaven is cheap enough.” CHAS. T. EVERSON.

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