Earlier text: GOD REMEMBEREDTHE secret of mathematics is with the mathematician. A child of a few years of age sees columns of figures and a number of rules, and gets a small idea that there is such a thing as the science of mathematics; but it is a dark mystery to the child. It will remain a profound mystery to him until he becomes a mathematician; and even then he may know but very little of the secret, as compared with what may be known. The secret of mathematics is with the mathematician just in proportion to his knowledge of the science of mathematics and his skill in working out the difficult problems of the science. He may possess the secret of ordinary arithmetic, and yet may not possess the secret of algebra; and he may understand the secret of algebra after a while, and yet not understand the secret of geometry during all his life. And yet it may be truly said that he possesses the secret of mathematics. Now “the secret of the Lord is,” as the psalmist says, “with them that fear Him.” Is there anything strange or unreasonable in this assertion?—No; it is one of the most reasonable things in the world. It is the legitimate and logical outcome of a soul’s living and loving relation to his Lord. He who has experienced a real change of heart knows something of Christ which an unconverted person can not know so long as he remains unreconciled to God. No one can understand the love of Christ until he has felt the power of that love throbbing in his soul and prompting him to respond to Christ’s love by grateful adoration and a glad willingness to obey His bidding. But the Christian does not understand the whole secret of his Lord, and never will in this world. And yet what little he does know of it makes him anxious to learn more, and his efforts are rewarded even in this life.—Selected. “URIM AND THUMMIM.”
By Augusta W. Heald
At the right and left of the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, were two large precious stones of great brilliancy, called Urim and Thummim. By them the will of God was made known thru the high priest. See “Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 351. The record is a lesson in divine guidance. May we not believe that God now guides His true Israel in the pilgrim journey of life, just as truly as He guided Israel of old in the Wilderness of Sin? True, God does not now manifest Himself “in the cloudy, fiery pillar,” or in the sparkling gems of Urim and Thummim; yet He guides. Are difficult ways opening before us? Do doubtful questions arise? Are we uncertain as to the right course? It is our privilege to ask of God. He will indicate the right way, and illuminate our path by rays of divine light, while the wrong path will be obscured, showing His disapproval. “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isa. 30:21. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day;” but “the way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble.” Prov. 4:18, 19. AUGUSTA W. HEALD. “THE LAW IS SLACKED;” TIMES ARE “PERILOUS.” WHY?
THERE is general complaint from all parts of Christendom that morality is at very low ebb. Idolatry, profanity, disobedience to parents, murder, adultery, stealing in a multitude of forms, legalized and illegal, and false swearing are abroad in the land. The pope, in his poem for the new century, grieves and laments over the century gone. He speaks of “the blood that has been shed, the scepters that have been shattered, and the monstrous licentiousness that prevails;” of “the cruel war;” of “the laws that have nothing divine;” of “the horde of mad philosophers” who “loathe the divine origin of the race as a thing inconceivable;” of an “abyss of dishonor” into which their helpless pride has been plunged; of “the rebellious nations;” of “the wrath and tumult and horrid war.” And all this and more is evident to thousands of good men. The worst of it all is that much of this lawlessness is among professed Christians. This is the picture the apostle Paul draws of this very time:— “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3: 1-5. Read the list carefully. There are mentioned eighteen different sins. Now it is not that these sins exist that makes the times perilous. They have existed in the natural hearts of men in all ages. See the same sins mentioned in Rom. 1: 29-31 and Gal. 5: 19-21. It is where these sins are that makes the times perilous; for the list of the eighteen sins above named is found among those who have a “form of godliness.” They are professed Christians. They have the name to live, but are dead. They have a form of godliness, but not the power, always manifest in a godly life. Is the prediction of the apostle true? Do we see these sins among those who profess better things?—Verily, we do. The sins are common, aren’t they? Self-loving, coveting, boasting, proud men are ubiquitous in church circles, we all know. Disobedience to parents is a common sin. It is said by W. C. T. U. workers that 150,000 of the fallen girls in this country are from Christian homes. How many fallen boys are from there? Unthankful, unholy, covenant-breaking, licentious, fierce, heady men and women are well known. In fact, every sin in the catalog is so common as to occasion little remark. We know that of these days the apostle spake truly. We expect these sins in the world. They are the natural fruits of the unregenerate heart. But men look for something better in Christianity, which they judge by the record of its Author. The church is designed to be “the salt of the earth”—its preserving power; “the light of the world”—its guiding, elevating influence. But when the salt has lost its savor and the light is obscured by every sin in the catalog of evil, of what benefit is the church? and how perilous indeed is the condition of all those who are looking unto the church for power and guidance! What Is the Cause of This?
It is double-rooted; and both its sources are found in the professed church of Christ. We can consider but one in this issue. The first root is the old Galatian idea, the old Pharisaic idea, the old Babylonian idea—that Christ is not an all-sufficient Saviour; that the Word is not an all-sufficient guide. We will not stop to argue that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour, or that the Word is an all-sufficient guide. We assume both to be true; and every soul that holds to the infallible Word will have no question as to its teaching. But one great branch of the professed Christian church, the Roman Catholic, has shown that she does not believe Christ an all-sufficient Saviour; for His work in her scheme has been supplemented by human works, by penances, by pilgrimages, by priestly rite, by intercession of saints, by the mediatorial work of Mary, till Christ has been put far away, accessible only thru cordons of ecclesiastical police. And the human, mortal intermediaries are non-conductors of the divine power of holiness which God wants to transmit to His children. Faith, operative, living faith, must take hold of a living, personal Saviour. Jesus says, not come unto priest or saint, but “come unto Me,” and that means personal contact. To supplement the all-sufficient Word the Roman Catholic Church has brought in tradition, even as did the scribes and doctors of old. Of old the tradition of the elders made void the law of God. Mark 7:13. In this era the tradition of the “fathers” of the Catholic Church has done the same thing; for God commanded, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” but tradition says that to honor that commandment is “to keep holy the Sunday,” the first day of the week. Thus, as of old, is the law of God made void that men may keep tradition. The Reformation was a protest against the Roman view of the insufficiency of the Word; but when faced with the cross of her protest, Protestantism has refused to bear its offense. She still proclaimed the all-sufficiency of the Word, but rejected her proclamation in practical life. Finding herself with the Roman Sunday, based on tradition alone, she has accepted it rather than accept of the Sabbath of an all-sufficient Bible, kept by an all-sufficient Saviour and Example, and bear its cross, with its offense, for His sake who died for her. What Is the Effect of This?
All who accept the Sabbath of tradition say to the world that God, when He gave the fourth precept of the Decalog, the Sabbath commandment, did not mean what He said, and we may interpret it in larger liberty. They say by this, whether they mean to or not, that when God gave the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” He did not mean what He said. The result is war and murder. They say that when God gave the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” He did not mean what He said. Hence the “monstrous licentiousness.” They say that when God gave the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” He did not mean what He said. Hence thievery, embezzlement, fraud, extortion, swindling, purloining, robbing, from individuals to nations. For it is all one law; one God gave it. It is all eternal—or none. And so men reason, “If God is not to be followed in one commandment, why in any?” Who is responsible? Who but those that are still, in the face of light, perpetuating the old falsehood of the insufficiency of Christ and the Word? Principles are eternal. Thus God spoke anciently; and “it is written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come”:— “Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.” Eze. 22: 24-29. And yet, notwithstanding the fact that they make God’s law void thru tradition, these teachers cry out, as does the pope in his twentieth-century poem:— “Keep, O mortals, for all times, the dread commands of God! He alone is life, and He the unfailing truth; He alone the way that leads to heaven.” But He who keeps the “dread commands of God” will not keep the Sunday of tradition, or allow saint or prelate to separate him from Christ. Again the Lord speaks of those who in these days thus teach and yet are “partial in the law”:— “What hast thou to do to declare My statutes, or that thou shouldest take My covenant in thy mouth? seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest My words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” Ps. 50: 16-22. In the blazing light of the Word of God, in a land of multiplied7Bibles, how can the effect be other than what it is? “The law is slacked.” Transgression is multiplied. The teaching power of the church is turned from the only source that can give her power to live a godly life; tradition is more to her than the living Word of the living God; and the great sinful world laughs in her face and goes on in its lusts. O brethren in the ministry, you upon whom God has placed a burden of souls, there is but one remedy,—a return to first principles: an all-sufficient Word as guide, an all-sufficient Saviour as Sacrifice, King, Example! Be honest with God, whatever the cross. AMONG the scriptures used to prove the conscious state of the dead is a conversation between Jesus and the Sadducees, recorded in Matt. 22:23-32; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38. Let us consider the whole scripture and note what it teaches. We quote the combined account from the “Interwoven Gospels,” by Pittenger. The reader will find all in comparing the three accounts. “On that day came to Him Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection; and they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first married and deceased, and having no seed, left his wife unto his brother; in like manner the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And after them all the woman died. In the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. But Jesus answered and said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the Scriptures nor the power of God? The sons of this world marry and are given in marriage; but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” “But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have ye not read in the book of Moses, in the place concerning the Bush, how God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; ye do greatly err; for all live unto Him.” 1. First of all we notice that those who came to Jesus were those who “say there is no resurrection.” They held only to the books of Moses as authoritative, and as they thought the resurrection could not be proved by Moses, they believed that Jesus could not answer their stock argument, which was evidently too much for the Pharisees. The question was that of the resurrection. The question they ask, after relating the story of the septenary marriage, is, “In the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be?” 2. Our Lord did not reply that the resurrection state was immaterial, and that the important thing was the state of the soul between death and the resurrection: nothing of the kind. He said, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” They did not know enough of God’s power to believe that He could raise the dead; and they did not know enough about the writings of Moses to know that this very thing was taught. For (1) in that better world, attained to by a resurrection out from among the dead, the first resurrection, men neither marry nor are given in marriage; they are immortal sons of God, recreated thru the resurrection. (2) Moses shows that the dead will be raised by calling God the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is truth patent to all that God is the God of the living. It would dishonor both Him and His worshipers to say that He was God of the dead. No, “He is the living God.” But Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead. Their sepulchers were among the Jews. How could the God of the living be said to be their God?—In the very way over which the Sadducees caviled,—by the resurrection. Altho dead, He “calleth those things which be not, as tho they were.” He called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob His children as tho alive, because “all live unto Him;” in His purpose they as truly lived as the raised from the dead. Jesus quotes Ex. 3:6 to prove “that the dead are raised, even Moses showed” (Luke 20:37); and “as touching the dead, that they rise, have ye not read in the book of Moses” (Mark 12:26)? Now did the Sadducees refute Jesus?—They did if Jesus proved the conscious state of the soul in death, if He proved that men are alive when they are dead. But they did not refute Him if He proved the resurrection, which He did. And the multitudes, and the scribes, and the Sadducees knew that He had met their unbelief and sophistry, and had shown its fallacy. Those who would make Jesus teach by this that the dead were alive and conscious, when He started out to show the resurrection, would put the Master and themselves in a pitiable plight, indeed. The simple facts are that He taught that the dead are raised, and that the resurrection is the only hope of the dead. THE LOGICAL EFFECTS OF TRUE CONVERSION.
By G.
THE never-failing effect of true conversion is briefly and logically summarized in the first three verses of the fortieth psalm. Beginning with the low pit of sin, there is the uplifting to a co-laborer with Christ. “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” The plan of salvation was devised for sinners. Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Paul says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Then the work begins with the sinner. The Spirit of God impresses the individual mind with a conviction of sin. This is done thru the medium of God’s law; “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The individual who receives from any other source than the law of God the idea that he is a sinner, does not have a true conception of what sin is; “for sin is the transgression of the law;” and “where no law is there is no transgression.” So that no one can get a true idea of what it is to be a sinner unless he get it from the law of God; for “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” And Paul further says, “I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Then the sinner, being truly convicted of sin, naturally seeks a remedy. He soon finds that all his own efforts are vain; for when he would do good, evil is present with him. Rom. 7:21. Being pointed to Jesus Christ, he calls for the desired help. Believing the Word, he patiently waits. But the prayer of faith has not long to wait. The ear of the Lord is ever inclined to hear the cry of the penitent one. As soon as the sinner has faith to lay hold upon Him who is mighty to save, he is brought up out of the “horrible pit,” out of the “miry clay,” and his feet are set upon the “Rock Christ Jesus.” There, by the righteousness of faith, his “goings” are “established.” He is a “new creature,” he begins a new life; his life is “hid with Christ in God.” As Paul said, after a like experience, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. The new life inspires a “new song”—a song of gratitude, a song of praise, a song of victory. The new man has a new testimony; his mind dwells upon new themes. “His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth He meditate day and night.” With him “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” His thoughts having been turned into a new channel, he begins to view his fellow-men from a new standpoint. Having the law of God in his heart, the spirit of selfishness goes out. He begins to love his neighbor as himself, and naturally becomes concerned for the salvation of others. With the spirit of “praise unto our God” in his heart, it finds expression from his lips. He tells of his wonderful experience and his glorious victory to his neighbors, and writes of his newly-found peace to friends and acquaintances abroad. His purse-strings are opened; he remembers that all he has comes from God; that he is under pecuniary obligations to his Master; he is debtor to his fellow-men, debtor to help send the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. As he studies the Word, he learns that the Gospel of the coming kingdom must be proclaimed in the world for a witness, “and then shall the end come.” He reads again that the hour of judgment is at hand, and knows that the great mass of human beings, even of professed Christians, are in darkness concerning it. He reads that the coming of “the Lord draweth nigh,” and that “the King’s business requireth haste.” The truly converted one appreciates “the love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.” He appreciates the importance of disciples’ being “laborers together with God.” He feels the urgency of the words of the Master, “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me . . . unto the uttermost parts of the earth;”8also of the words of the wise man, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Thus, by every means available, the “new song” of him whose feet are upon the Rock, whose “goings” are “established,” is heard by many, both near and far. The result is that thru the testimony of such a witness for the truth, many shall “fear, and trust in the Lord.” If men were truly converted in God’s way—by being shown from His law what sin is, and what it is to be a sinner in the face of that unchangeable law—they would better understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and better appreciate its blessings, and its logical claims upon those who have been lifted out of the “horrible pit” and “miry clay” of sin. If men were shown that God sent His Son to “condemn sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us” (Rom. 8:3, 4), they would better understand “the whole duty of man,” which is to “fear God, and keep His commandments” (Eccl. 12:13). This would be indeed a “new song” to the world, one which they would not only hear but see. Note particularly that the “new song” of the truly converted man is a song that many shall see.” And thru seeing it they also “fear;” that is, they obey, and “trust in the Lord.” Such is the influence of the truly converted man’s life. The life of Jesus Christ on earth was a life of faith in God and obedience to His commandments. And of those whose love is “made perfect” it is said that as Christ is, “so are we in this world.” His life was a life that drew men unto Him. In Him was manifested the “new song,” which men could see; and His counsel to His disciples is, “Follow Me;” “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” G. DOES GOD SANCTION WAR?
By T
ALL thru the Word of God He presents Himself as full of the tenderest compassion toward the creatures of His care. In language of unmistakable import He presents Himself to us as the God of love. Then how can it be possible that He will sanction the barbarities of war? He who said, “Thou shalt not kill,” will never stir up men to go upon the field of battle to slaughter each other in the most wholesale manner. To the superficial thinker it may appear that the Lord has at times sanctioned war. But a careful study of the Word fails to confirm such a theory. When the Master was upon earth in person, the Pharisees had some questionings in regard to the law of marriage. They asked the Saviour, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? and He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto Him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so.” Matt. 19: 3–8. It is perfectly easy from a superficial reading of the old Testament Scriptures to get the idea that God sanctioned divorce. But the Lord Jesus Christ makes it forever clear that this was not the case. Because of the persistent hardness of heart God permitted this to be done, but it was not His plan. He never originated any such thing. The breaking up of families thru the divorcing of husband and wife is the subversion of the Lord’s ordained institution of marriage,—it is Satan’s evil working to destroy one of the wisest and best institutions of the divine Father. And the master cunning of the great adversary is still further seen in his effort to try to have men think that the God who is the Author of marriage is also the originator of the divorce, to break up that which He has done before. The Lord does not work at cross-purposes in this way. In just the same manner has the adversary worked to make men believe that because God has often made it manifest that He overruled in war, therefore He sanctions war. But no one can read the Sermon on the Mount, or any of the rest of the teachings of the Christ of God, and get the idea that He is any other than the Prince of Peace. And in this thing he does not represent Himself merely, but He is the perfect representative of the kindness and love of the Father. “Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.” John 14:8–11. The foregoing quotation shows the perfect oneness of the Father and the Son. Christ would at no time allow it to be understood that He had any power except what He got from His Father. Neither would He allow it to be understood that His teaching was anything other than what He got from His Father. “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.” John 12:47–50. In these words the Saviour plainly says that He spoke the Father’s words in all that He declared. So the Sermon on the Mount, and all the rest of this wonderful New Testament teaching, is nothing less than an emanation from the Father, and revealed thru the Son. In another place the Saviour says, “I and My Father are One.” John 10:30. Thus is the perfect oneness of the Father and the Son fully shown. In all of His tenderness, His loving-kindness, and His soul-comforting sympathies, He was not presenting a contrast to the Father, but was presenting to the world what the Father really is. Then, since the Father and the Son are so perfectly in harmony, that they are both One in everything that They do, it is plain that the Sermon on the Mount, with all its peaceful beatitudes and expressions of kindness, is not an emanation from Christ alone; it is the voicing of the harmony and good will that the Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ pour forth from Their inmost soul, with the desire that these kindly sentiments may fill the hearts of all mankind. Then, again, the Word of God tells us that the Lord is an unchangeable God. Thru the prophet Malachi we are told, “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Mal. 3:6. A similar testimony is borne by the apostle James in regard to the unchangeable character of God. He says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17. And of the Master it is said, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” Heb. 13:8. Now, since the Lord so plainly tells us that He changes not, and that there is no variableness with Him, neither shadow of turning, and since He is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever, is it not passing strange that any one in this enlightened age should have the idea that in the old dispensation the Lord advocated war, while in the new He exhorts us to peace? And should not any one with these texts of plain Scripture open before him recognize the fact that the Saviour, in coming to us as the Prince of Peace, is not only representing His own sentiments of infinite kindness, but that He comes to us because of the love of His Father, and to represent the kindly principles of peace that have their source in the breast of the Infinite One Himself? Any view that would seem to conflict with this can not be harmonized with the tenderness of the God of love, nor with His unchangeable character. In this connection we should not forget the lesson that the Saviour gives us on the law of divorce. The Jews thought that Jehovah sanctioned the dissolving of the marriage bond. But the Saviour plainly showed that it was not God who created the divorce law, but the hardness of their hearts was the cause of it. Even so may we know from the teaching of Christ that it was the hardness of men’s hearts that brought, and ever brings, war into the world, and the Lord has nothing to do with it except to overrule for the benefit of humanity whenever He can do so. The divine philosophy of the part that God acts in any war is expressed in the following words of Scripture, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee; the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain.” Ps. 76:10. All the wrath of man that God can use to His glory and praise by setting it in contrast to His own goodness and mercy, so as to attract and save as many as possible, that He will permit. All the rest of it He will restrain. This is a divine principle that is clear, and it is perfectly plain that it is just and right. T. THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPE.
By T.
ONE of the questions that is receiving a great deal of attention in all parts of the world is that of the temporal supremacy of the pope. Leading Catholics are discussing it vigorously in the Old World, and it is quite as vigorously and widely discussed on this side of the water. Of course all the Catholic writers are urging the restoration of the pope to his temporal power, and it is also a surprising fact to find that so many Protestants by profession are also urging the same thing. And in this connection it might be well to say that what they are urging will soon be an accomplished fact. The pope will again have his temporal power restored to him. And when his temporal power is given back to him, it will not simply be for him to sit at the head of the papal States of Italy, but he will be a powerful factor in the affairs of the whole world. Perhaps you are ready to ask how it is that we can speak so confidently of this matter; how we dare speak so decidedly concerning matters that are still future. The secret of this lies in the fact that we believe the Bible, and the Book of God has revealed it. Every one who adheres to the Protestant faith, undiluted by any of the doctrines that have been instilled into the minds of men by the Papacy, will say promptly and positively that the head on the leopard beast of Rev. 13:1-3 that received the deadly wound, is a symbol of the Papacy. The temporal power of the pope was broken by a deadly wound when the French took the pope prisoner in 1799. And when Victor Emanuel completely united Italy under his kingship in 1870, the last vestige of the pope's temporal power was gone, and he has remained a self-incarcerated “prisoner in the Vatican” ever since. But the Author of the prophecy that told of the rise of the Papacy and of its receiving a deadly wound, also inspired His prophet to say, “His deadly wound was healed,” and, furthermore, he added, “And all the world wondered after the beast.” Now just as truly as that prophecy is from God, just so truly may we know that the temporal power of the pope is to be restored. Any one who has been watching the drifting of events for the past two or three decades, has been compelled to notice that there is a steady increase in the influence and power of the Roman Church, and during the last few years especially, this tendency has been very rapid. The Church of England has been in dispute over the question of ritualism, and the discussion has brought out the fact that the Papacy is getting stronger and stronger in the British Isles, that great center and bulwark of Protestantism. All of the countries of Europe have been making greater or less advancement toward the pope. His counsels have been sought, and his influence has been felt. In the United States there is a marked tendency also toward allowing the Catholic Church to have a molding influence in politics. Archbishop Chapelle was appointed by the pope as apostolic delegate to Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, and he was also commissioned by the President of the United States to look after the interests of this country in the Philippines. Archbishop Ireland is going to Cuba commissioned by the President to inquire concerning the allotment of church property there. These, and many other things, show the ascendency that the Church of Rome is gaining. And every one should understand that they are the fulfillments of prophecy. The Papacy is to again have her temporal power restored to her, and she will exercise it for a brief time with greater severity and despotism than she ever manifested during the darkest hours of the Dark Ages. The prophecy very plainly says, “His deadly wound was healed.” It will not be partly healed, but “healed.” And when the great light of this age is so grossly violated, it will bring in a despotism that will be commensurate with the light that is sinned against in forming it. If the true Protestant heart is disturbed at the thought of this, such need not be the case. For when this new development of the Papacy is crystallized into its wonted power, the Saviour will come to put an end to the evil that would naturally grow out of it. Every prophecy of the Bible shows that the end of all things is right at hand, and this renewed power of the Papacy is but one of the links in the great prophetic chain. The struggle between truth and right and the medieval dogmas and tyrannies of popes will be very sharp, but it will be brief. And the climax to it will not be the glorification and exaltation of the Papacy, as so many are now fondly hoping. The insurpassable climax to the struggle will be all the glories of heaven centered in the joyous splendors of the coming of the Son of man. The temporal power of the pope is truly about to be established again. The prophecy has foretold it, and there can, therefore, be no question about it. It is also true that the prophecies have foretold that this power of the Papacy would be broken by the establishment of the eternal reign of Christ. Why should men be concerned about participating in any form of temporal power, when the Lord is holding out to us the richer joys that are eternal? CHURCH FEDERATION.
By G. B. Thompson
The federation of the various Protestant denominations is being urged by many prominent workers in evangelical lines. They deem it necessary, in order to stem the ever-increasing tide of vice and immorality which threatens to engulf the nation. While a union of all Christians on proper lines in reaching out a helping hand to perishing humanity, might be desirable, we fear that in the present movement there are tendencies which lead in the wrong direction. From a small folder written by Rev. J. Winthrop Hegeman, one of the prime movers in the proposed federation, I extract the following:— “Such an organization could become the servant of the churches in all things pertaining to the kingdom. It could be a clearing-house for all church interests, a medium of exchange of facts, problems, and remedies, an organ of expression of the will of members of the kingdom, a tower of observation to give a bird's-eye view of tendencies, set notions, and changes affecting American Christianity, and a board of strategy to find out the strength of the common enemy, and map out a plan of campaign. This would give to Protestantism that which it so much needs for efficient service, and which would realize the representative headship of the apostolic republic, and thus secure the advantages which the Church of Rome possesses in her magnificent organization.” The writer sees danger in the professedly Protestant denominations fixing their eyes on the Church of Rome, and longing for her “magnificent organization.” This “magnificent organization” is demonstrated by the prophetic seer as the “beast,” “mystery of iniquity,” “mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” Her organization is the outgrowth of wrong principles, and when the so-called Protestant churches desire federation, that they may possess her “magnificent organization,” they seem to be drifting back into Rome. The “magnificent organization” of the Holy Spirit is what the Protestantism of to-day needs, but we insist that this is not possessed by the church whose head resides in Italy. Further on this brochure says:— “Surely we must all admit that the churches are at last touched by that coercive power in the world which has federated States into nations, integrated societies into larger entities, and is combining small interests into syndicates, monopolies, and trusts.” If we understand this language correctly it states that one reason why we are ready for federation is because the churches have been touched with the power which is to-day forming “combines,” “monopolies,” “trusts,” etc. Sad truth indeed! Let professed Protestantism become possessed of the “magnificent organization” of the Church of Rome, and operated by that “coercive power” which is making itself felt in the tyranny of trusts, and it will become an engine of persecution, a veritable image of the beast. We deplore this tendency which seems everywhere manifest. There is need in this our day of heeding the Saviour's admonition to “watch.” Rome, N. Y. G. B. Thompson.