Earlier text: THE JORDAN CROSSEDA COMING FAMINE.
By Samuel W. Pack
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12. This prophecy is just on the eve of being fulfilled. At the present time there is more religion (so called) than at any previous time, but there is very little of real godliness. The world's history is fast closing up. God's signs are abroad in the earth,—distress of nations with perplexity, famine and pestilence in divers places,—but God's mercy is mingled with it, and will continue to be as long as Christ is our mediator. But as soon as the one hundred and forty-four thousand are sealed in their foreheads with the seal of the living God, Rev. 7, Christ will cease to act as our mediator and priest. He will then lay aside his priestly robes, and put on the robes of royalty, preparatory to ruling the nations with a rod of iron, and dashing them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Ps. 2:7-9. The seven angels will be sent forth with the seven last plagues; in other words, with God's unmingled wrath, or wrath without mercy. Rev. 16; 14:9-12. Then commences the famine spoken of by the prophet. Christ is now in the holy of holies of the heavenly sanctuary, where he entered in 1844, when the proclamation went forth, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come." And when he leaves that position the people know not where to look for him; he is no longer our intercessor; and as no one can approach the Father but through him, their prayers and entreaties are unheard. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Those who have not found the word of the Lord previous to the pouring out of the seven last plagues will not find it afterwards. This constitutes the famine. We are not told in the sacred word just how far this event is in the future, but we are to know by signs in the heavens above and in the earth beneath when "it is near, even at the doors." We believe that the United States government will amend the constitution in a religious point of view in accordance with prophecy. Then the end will be very near. This will be the final contest, and it will be for each one to decide for himself whether he will reverence the Sabbath of the Lord—the seventh day of the week—as found in the fourth commandment, or Sunday—the first day—as established by the church and the law. Those who are on the Lord's side will be the one hundred and forty-four thousand who will be caught up with the resurrected righteous to meet the Lord in the air; the others will be slain with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming. "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jer. 25:33. The subject of the Sanctuary is a central truth around which other truths of importance cluster. It gives a definite idea of the mediation of Christ in both the holies of the heavenly sanctuary, and explains the nature of the disappointment of Adventists in 1844. We have a clear and full exposition of this glorious theme in the work, "Sanctuary and Twenty-three Hundred Days," published at the office of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. The sanctuary as built by the Jews was made after a pattern shown to Moses in the mount. Ex. 25:9, 40; Heb. 8:5. It had two appartments, the holy and most holy. It was cleansed with blood. It was a type or figure of the sanctuary of the New Covenant which is in Heaven. The most holy place was entered only one day in the year, the day of atonement. The atonement and cleansing of the sanctuary are identical. The high priest ministered in the holy place every day, but only on the day of atonement did he enter the most holy place with the breastplate of judgment and with the blood of a goat chosen by the Lord to cleanse the sanctuary of all the sins borne in during the year. When he came out, he placed his hands on the head of another goat, called the scape-goat, transferring all the sins from the sanctuary to that goat, and the goat was then taken away to a land not inhabited; and thus the sanctuary was cleansed. Christ at his ascension entered the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to make intercession for his people. The angel Gabriel, in explaining Daniel's vision to him, said: "Unto two thousand and three hundred days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Daniel 8:14. The fulfillment of prophecy shows clearly that this period expired in 1844. The Adventists supposed at that time that the cleansing of the sanctuary was the burning of the earth, and Christ would be coming in the clouds at the same time for his redeemed people; hence their disappointment. At this time Christ passed from the holy to the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, with his own blood and the breastplate of judgment. Hence the proclamation at that time, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come." This is the investigative judgment. The executive judgment is the destruction of the wicked at the second coming of Christ. So since 1844 Christ has been determining who of all the dead and living are worthy of eternal life. Christ next comes forth from the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary with all the sins of his redeemed people since the foundation of the world, and places them on the head of the devil, the antitype of the scape-goat, and the author of all sin. Thus is the heavenly sanctuary cleansed. Probation will then be ended. Christ will no more be our mediator, hence there will be no more mercy for sinners. Then follow the seven last plagues, and the famine for the word of the Lord. The wicked at that time will also suffer for temporal food and water, but there is a promise to the one hundred and forty-four thousand that their bread and water shall be sure. WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE MET TOGETHER.
By Christian Union
WHEN only two or three are present, is it worth while to have the meeting? This is a question which is often asked by the minister, or his deacon, or by the two or three, and sometimes discouragement gets the better of faith, and the very ones who for their loyalty and effort ought to have been rewarded with sermon or address, or whatever the expected provision was to be, are sent empty away. We believe it is always best to hold the meeting that has been appointed, even if there is only an audience of one. Two incidents have lately come to our knowledge which we proceed to narrate in illustration of this thought. Not many days since a missionary meeting was appointed for one of the wealthiest congregations of Boston's Back Bay. A foreign missionary was to be present and speak of his work. The evening came. Unfortunately it was the evening of a great and overpowering attraction elsewhere, and a congregation of only about twenty persons assembled. The pastor was more than disappointed; he was disgusted. The missionary, used as he was to impediments, would have preferred to proceed, but the pastor had lost all heart. It was no use, he said, in that great church, to hold a missionary meeting with only twenty persons, and no meeting was held. The twenty people who had come went away. Now, among those twenty people, as we happen to know—we cannot believe that the minister in question knew it—were, first, a lady, the near relative of a very distinguished official who sustained very close and important relations to the foreign country represented by the missionary who was to speak, and who had come from a considerable distance in order to furnish herself with materials for exerting a quiet influence in behalf of the mission; second, the distinguished pastor of a neighboring church, whose congregation, a Sunday or two previous, had made an offering of between $4,000 and $5,000 for foreign missions, and who certainly was in a favorable position to influence the giving of more; and third, a wealthy and liberal Boston merchant, who out of his own pocket is now building a church in one of the suburbs of Boston, which is to cost probably not less than $150,000. These were three of the twenty people who came to that missionary meeting, and for whom it was thought not worth while to hold it. Was it not an unfortunate mistake? The late Bishop Randall was wiser and more fortunate on a somewhat similar occasion, which forms our second incident. He was announced to preach in an Eastern church in behalf of his missionary work in Colorado. The evening came and proved dreadfully stormy. Only six persons appeared. For a moment the good Bishop hesitated. Finally he concluded that it was his duty to carry out his appointment; the question of congregation was none of his business. Accordingly the service went on, and he preached his sermon to the six people. In the collection which followed was an offering alone of $200. This amazed him. The next day he received a note from a gentleman asking him to call at such an office. The Bishop responded. "I am the one," said the gentleman, "who gave you the $200 last night. But after getting home I did not feel quite satisfied with doing that. I propose to make the sum up to $1,000; and here is my check for the balance." What Bishop Randall felt at this we will not venture to say, but he never after had any doubts as to his duty in the face of a small congregation. And if this article should meet the eye of other clergymen who have similar doubts, we trust it may help to remove them. Among the two or three who gather together of a stormy evening may be the very one to whom God has appointed you a messenger.—Christian Union. WE shall hear it. It has been heard before. From amid the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, there was heard the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. "And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake and God answered him by a voice." Exodus 19 : 16-19. So it is written that in the end of this age, "He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet (margin, with a trumpet and a great voice), and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24 : 31. Again, it is declared that "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 1 Thess. 4 : 16. Solemn and startling shall be that mighty voice. More awful than that "sound of a trumpet" and "voice of words," which caused the hosts of Israel to shrink with fear at the law of Him who spake to them from Sinai, shall be that trumpet and that voice of the Highest, "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven." Heb. 12 : 19-29. No inaudible, invisible, symbolic act can answer to this representation. There were "seven trumpets" heard in vision by the seer of Patmos, whose soundings heralded great events, but none of these were that "trump of God," of which the prophet speaks. Of it he declares, "The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." And this shall occur, not through the stretch of passing years, but "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trump." 1 Cor. 15 : 52, 53. Sudden as the lightning flash, "from the east even unto the west," the glory of Christ's presence shall burst upon an astonished world. Sudden as the cry at midnight, which heralded the coming of the bridegroom, shall be heard that thunder-peal that shall tell of the coming of the King. "The voice of the archangel and the trump of God" shall rouse a slumbering church, and startle a careless world. What a change, from mirth and revelry, from song and dance, from vanity and frivolity, to the solemn splendors of the judgment hour, when161 "Louder still, and still more dread.
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead." Shall we be found ready in that day? Two shall be in the field, one shall be taken and the other left; two in one bed, the one shall be taken and the other left. The line of division shall run through families, churches, congregations, communities, nations, and all the tribes and peoples of the earth. And on which side of that dividing line shall we be found, when the last trump shall sound the knell of earthly hopes, and shall herald in the glory of the eternal jubilee? Happy shall they be who in that day are found safe beneath the shelter of the everlasting rock, washed in the blood of the Lamb, sanctified through the truth, quickened and consecrated by the power of the Holy Ghost, and prepared to hail with gladness the dawning of that day that shall end their sorrows and shall bring to them eternal joys. "To damp our earthly joys,
To increase our gracious fears,
Forever let the archangel's voice
Be sounding in our ears.
The solemn midnight cry,
Ye dead, the Judge is come;
Arise and meet him in the sky,
And meet your instant doom." SAFETY IN THEE.
By Mrs. M. F. Gould
SAVE me, Jesus, lest I die,
Hear, Oh, hear my feeble cry;
Put now forth thine arm to save,
Lest I sink beneath the wave.
Billows surge around my soul,
Thickly do they 'gainst me roll;
Safety here I none can see,
Therefore unto thee I flee.
There is hope, oh, there is rest,
Leaning on the Saviour's breast;
And through all this troubled sea,
Lord, I'll humbly trust in thee. The Sabbath School.
By Ellen G. White
LESSON FOR PACIFIC COAST—SABBATH, APRIL 16. Instruction at the Second Passover.—John 5:19-47.
After the wondrous cure of the paralytic at Bethesda, a great uproar ensued in the court of the temple, and a sharp controversy took place in regard to the true claims of the Sabbath law. Jesus had purposely chosen the Sabbath upon which to perform the miracle at the pool, so as to rid the day of the incumbrances which had been heaped upon it by the Jews, and he answered their accusations by declaring, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." He claimed equal rights with God in doing a work equally sacred and of the same character with that which engaged his Father in Heaven. But the Pharisees were still more incensed, because he had not only broken the law, according to their understanding, but added to this offense the heinous sin of declaring himself equal with God. Nothing but the interference of the people prevented the enraged Jewish authorities from slaying him on the spot. Jesus declared that he could do nothing of himself "but what he seeth the Father do." His relationship with God forbade him from working independent of him, and he could do nothing against his will. Few realize the full force of Christ's words in regard to his connection with the Father. They teach man that he should consider himself inseparably bound to his heavenly Parent, that, whatever position he may occupy, he is responsible to God, who holds all destinies in his hands. He has appointed man to do his work, he has endowed him with faculties and means for that purpose, and so long as man is faithful to his high stewardship, he may feel warranted in claiming the blessings and promises of his Master. But if, when raised to a position of sacred trust, he becomes exalted in his own estimation,—depending upon his own wisdom and power, taking affairs into his own hands, and separating himself from Him whom he professes to serve,—God will call him to an account for his unauthorized acts; he has not worked in unison with his Commander. The Sadducees were in opposition to the Pharisees regarding the resurrection of the dead. The former claimed there would be no resurrection of the body. But Jesus told them that one of the greatest works of his Father is raising up the dead, and even so the Son of God has power in himself to raise from the dead. "Marvel not," said he, "at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." The humble Nazarene asserts his real nobility. He rises above humanity, throws off the guise of sin and shame, and stands revealed, the Honored of the angels, the Son of God, equal with the Creator of the universe. The rulers of the Jews, and the listening multitude are spell-bound before his mighty truths, and the lofty dignity of his bearing. No man had ever spoken words like these, nor borne himself with such a kingly majesty. His utterances were clear and plain, fully declaring his mission and the duty of the world. Read verses 22-27. Here Jesus throws back upon the rulers their accusations against him, and their attempts to prescribe his work, and to judge by their narrow bigotry, his acts of mercy and benevolence. He declared himself their Judge, and the Judge of all the world. When he came to earth as the Redeemer, it was given into his hands, and all men are responsible unto him. He took the burden of humanity that he might save men from the consequences of their sins. He is in one their Advocate and Judge. Having tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation, he is qualified to understand the frailties and sins of men, and to pronounce judgment upon them. Therefore, the Father has given this work into the hands of his Son, knowing that he who victoriously withstood the temptations of Satan, in behalf of man, will be all-wise, just, and gracious in his dealing with him. The words of Jesus were more impressive because the controversy had risen very high. He was virtually summoned before the dignitaries of the Jews to be tried for his life. He, the Lord of the Sabbath, was arraigned before an earthly tribunal, to answer to the charge of breaking the Sabbath law. When he so boldly made known his mission and work, his judges looked upon him with mingled astonishment and rage, but his words are unanswerable and they could not condemn him. He denied the right of the Pharisees to question him or to interfere with his business. The Jewish system invested them with no such authority; their claims were based upon their own pride and arrogance. He refused to plead guilty to any wrong or submit to being catechised by them. After presenting before them these grand truths concerning his work in connection with the Father, he binds his assertions with the testimonies, that have been borne of him, as found in verses 30-35. From his sublime height he reads the secrets of their hearts and reminds them that for a time they had accepted John as a prophet of God and rejoiced in the message that he brought them. He affirms that the mission of John was solely to prepare the way of himself, whom the prophet testified was the Christ, the Redeemer of the world. But no man could witness concerning the mysterious connection of Jesus with the Father; human knowledge cannot reach the courts of Heaven. Jesus assures them that he does not refer to the testimony of John in order to sustain his claims, but only that his persecutors may be convinced of their blindness and inconsistency in defiantly opposing him whom John had stated was the Son of God. They were not in ignorance regarding the evidence of John, for they had sent a deputy to him who had brought back his statement of the baptism of Jesus and the wonderful manifestations of God at that time. Jesus speaks of John that they may see how, in rejecting himself, they also reject the prophet of whom they had received with joy. He further declares: "But I have greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." Had not the heavens opened and light from the throne of God encircled him with glory, while the voice of Jehovah proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"? Besides all this, his own works declared his divinity. The truth spoken by Jesus collided with the prejudices and customs of the rulers, and they cast it from them, hardening their hearts against it. They refused to listen to the teachings of Christ, because those teachings directly condemned their cherished sins. Had the Son of man come flattering their pride and justifying their iniquity, they would have hastened to do him honor. Said Jesus, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." Pretenders, who could present no evidence of divine authority might arise, who, by prophesying smooth things, and gratifying the vanity of the rich and the unsanctified, might secure their firm allegiance. These false prophets would lead their followers to eternal ruin. Jesus declared that there was no necessity for him to accuse them to the Father, for Moses, whom they professed to believe, had already accused them. "For," said he, "had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Jesus knew that the Jews were determined to take his life, yet in this discourse he fully explained to them his Sonship, the relation he bore to the Father, and his equality with him. This left them without an excuse for their blind opposition and insane rage against the Saviour. His words had thrilled the hearts of the rulers with condemnation for their course. He had pressed their guilt home upon their consciences, yet this only made them more bitter against him. They sent messengers over the country to warn the people against Jesus, whom they denounced as an impostor. Spies were sent to watch him and report what he said and did. The precious Saviour was now most surely standing under the shadow of the cross. LARGE LITTLES.
By Dr. Bonar
Did a holy life consist of one or two noble deeds—some signal specimens of doing, or enduring, or suffering—we might account for the failure, or reckon it small dishonor to turn back in such a conflict. But a holy life is made up of the small things of the hour, and not the great things of the age that fill up a life like that of Paul or John, like that of Rutherford, or Brainard, or Martyn. The avoidance of little evils, little sins, little inconsistencies, little weaknesses, little follies, little indiscretions and impudences, little foibles, little indulgences of self and of flesh, little acts of indolence or indicision, or slovenliness, or cowardice, little equivocations or aberrations from high integrity, little touches of shabbiness and meanness, little bits of covetousness and penuriousness, little exhibitions of worldliness and gayety, little indifferences to the feelings or wishes of others, little outbreaks of temper, or crossness, or selfishness, or vanity; the avoidance of such little things as these goes far to make up at least the negative beauty of holy life. And then attention to little duties of the day and hour, in public transactions, or private dealings, or family arrangements; to little words, and looks, and tones; little self-denials, and self-restraints, and self-forgetfulness; little plans of kindness and thoughtful consideration for others; to punctuality, and method, and true aim in the ordering of each day—these are the active developments of holy life, the rich and divine mosaics of which it is composed. What makes yon green hill so beautiful? Not the outstanding peak of stately elm, but the bright sward which clothes its slopes, composed of innumerable blades of slender grass. It is of small things that a great life is made up; and he who will acknowledge no life as great save that which is built up of great things, will find little in Bible character to admire or copy.—Dr. Bonar. How about your companions? Where and how do you spend your evenings? If you have not given serious thought to these questions before, we would urge you to stop and consider them now. Sit down a moment seriously with the old Bible, and if you do not know just where to look to find what God says about these things, let us direct you: Open first to 1 Cor. 15 : 33, and with it compare Prov. 15 : 9, and Prov. 13 : 20. Well, you say, who are fools? We reply, The man who thinks his own way right, Prov. 12 : 15. And then we think that man a fool who occupies his time with trifles; who neglects important truths and realities, and who does not prepare for great and unavoidable events. Eccl. 7 : 4; Prov. 28 : 26; 1 Tim. 6 : 3, 4. "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." Eph. 5 : 15; Prov. 4 : 14, 15. A surgeon in the army, on being asked why it was that most of our boys come back so much improved in every respect, while some who stood so much higher when they went away were utterly ruined, said: "It all depends upon the tent-mates they have had." Note the blessedness of the godly in the first Psalm, and the doom of the ungodly; and remember, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." You may find companionships that will tend to lead you in the better way, and there are those who will love to lead you to Him who is "the way, the truth, and the life." "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." — Philadelphia Association. NEVER LATE.—A Sabbath-school in Albany, New York, has had the same superintendent for forty years; and he was never a minute behind the time in all his forty years' service in the school. Think of that, young friends. THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH.
By James H. Waggoner
It is always a pleasure to us to answer questions asked by those who are seeking for light. A friend in Tulare county sends the SIGNS to his kindred in Manchester, England, and has received the following which he kindly forwards to us:— "Mother has shown me one or two of the religious papers that you have sent her, and from them it seems that you keep Saturday for the Sabbath and call Sunday the first day. But I cannot find any reason for the change. Everyone understands that God rested on the seventh day and called it holy. But what I want to know is why you say that Sunday is the first day. Of course Saturday must be the seventh day if you begin with Sunday. A very good authority has the following for Sunday: 'The day anciently dedicated to the sun,' 'The Christian Sabbath.' "This I think conclusive enough that Sunday is the Sabbath and rest-day for all Christians as is undoubtedly generally recognized. I shall be glad, however, to hear your views on the subject, particularly the reasons why you do not begin the week with Monday." The reasons are easily given. There is no reason whatever for beginning the week on Monday. In this we are sustained by all authority, by the literature of every denomination and class, and by the practice of all nations. 1. The Jews, to whom the Sabbath was identified in Arabia by a succession of miracles constantly recurring for the period of forty years, have always kept the seventh day, the day known as Saturday. If the week were to begin on Monday, and if Sunday were the seventh day, then we should find the Jews keeping the Sunday, for the true seventh day was committed to them. This is conclusive. 2. We are not making any change, but are protesting, by every means, against a change which has been made from the seventh day to Sunday without any sufficient authority. We say without any sufficient authority, because the change is not by divine authority, and divine authority is alone sufficient for such a change. 3. The authority quoted in the letter is not at all conclusive that Sunday is the Sabbath. All authorities agree that the day anciently dedicated to the sun was the first day of the week—and not the seventh day, which the commandment of God enjoins. Ex. 20:8-11. We cannot tell to whom the letter refers, but similar words are found in Webster's Dictionary, Unabridged; but in this Webster calls the Sunday the first day of the week. We quote as follows under the word Sunday:— "So called because this day was anciently dedicated to the sun, or to its worship. The first day of the week; the Christian Sabbath." Under the word Sabbath, and on Sabbath observance, he says it "has been continued by the Christian church, with the transference of the day observed from the last to the first day of the week." And on the name Saturday, he says:— "Saturday, Lat. dies Saturni. The seventh or last day of the week; the day following Friday and preceding Sunday." On the names of the other days of the week he numbers them accordingly, in harmony with the present usual reckoning. Chambers' Encyclopedia gives explicit and important testimony to the same effect. On the word Sabbath we find this language:— "Hitherto we have spoken of the observance of Saturday, the day of rest prescribed to the Jews, and to which exclusively the name of the Sabbath-day was anciently applied, and still continues to be given by every nation but the English and its off-shoots. At what date the Sunday, or first day of the week, began to be generally observed by Christians as a stated time for religious meetings, we have no definite information either in the New Testament or in the writings of the Fathers of the church. By none of the Fathers before the 4th century is it identified with the Sabbath, nor is the duty of observing it grounded by them either on the fourth commandment, or on the precept or example of Jesus or his apostles." With this agree the words of Dr. Scott, in his Commentary. On Acts 20:7, he says, "it is evident that Christians were accustomed to assemble for worship on the first day of the week; but the change from the seventh to the first, appears to have been gradually and silently introduced, by example rather than by express precept." We cannot see the least evidence in Acts 20:7, of the existence of such a custom as that of which Dr. Scott speaks, because a single instance, without any declaration to sustain it, does not prove a custom. But our point of discussion now is to show that we are correct in calling Sunday, the day generally observed as the "Christian Sabbath," the first day of the week. Smith's Bible Dictionary calls Sunday the first day of the week. Kitto, in his Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, speaks of those "who take their stand upon the primitive determination of the Sabbath to the seventh day, in commemoration of the creation, and who therefore hold that the Saturday or seventh day must remain, to all time, the day of rest." And so on; there is scarcely any limit to the authorities which may be cited to show that Saturday is the seventh day, and Sunday is the first day of the week. 4. The entire Christian world of Sunday-keepers agree in the belief that Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, and they agree that Sunday is kept to commemorate that event. We say there is no Scripture warrant for keeping it as a commemorative day; but it proves that they unitedly believe that Sunday is the first day of the week. See Luke 23:56, and 24:1; also Matt. 28:1, and Mark 16:1, 2. It is beyond question that the day called the Sabbath, in these texts, was identical with the day now observed by the Jews, and generally called Saturday; while the first day of the week is identical with Sunday. We could add any amount of evidence to the same effect, but it cannot be required. That point is fixed beyond a doubt. We would call the attention of the inquirer to two points in his letter. 1. He quotes somebody, whom he does not tell, where the Sunday is called the Christian Sabbath, and thinks this is sufficient to prove that it is so. But the proof is quite insufficient. No merely human authority can settle such a question. Paul says the holy Scriptures are given to thoroughly furnish the man of God "unto that all good works." 2 Tim. 3:15-17. While all evidence shows that Sunday is the first day of the week, and all Sunday-keeping people that the Sabbath has been transferred from the seventh to the first day, we appeal to the holy Scriptures for authority, "the only rule of faith and practice;" these alone settle questions of duty, and determine "good works." Do the Scriptures teach that the first day of the week is the Sabbath? They do not. They teach that the seventh day, and alone, is the Sabbath. We are prepared to give admissions, to any required amount, made by Sunday advocates, that the change is not taught in the Scriptures, but is derived from tradition. And we are prepared to show when and by what authority the change was made. Dr. Scott well says it was not by any direct precept, which it would be if found in the Scriptures. Changes of law must be plain, even as laws themselves must be. It is not by inference nor implication that we learn that the seventh day is the Sabbath. Jehovah plainly said it, and wrote it in stone. We think if he had desired to withdraw that declaration he would have made it known somewhere in the teachings of the prophets, or of Christ and his apostles. But no hint of a change is found in all these. 2. There is no such thing in the Scriptures as the "Christian Sabbath," either in name or institution. Custom warrants the use of the expression; but the Lord says, "the customs of the people are vain." So indeed is every custom which is not founded on the word of God. The sole authority for the observance of a weekly Sabbath, recognized alike by all acknowledging the obligation to observe a Sabbath, is the fourth commandment of the decalogue. But this points to the seventh day as the Sabbath or rest-day of Jehovah, and to the creation of the heavens and the earth as the occasion of its being instituted. As marriage, it ante-dates Christianity, and, as marriage, is to-day just what it was before the fall of man. Both standing in the immutable statutes of the Lord our God, though both perverted by our fallen race. Every "custom" which tends to abrogate, to change, or in any way to impair "one jot or tittle" of this law "is vain." Men have so far departed from the law of God that he has seen fit to send forth a special message to prepare his people for the revelation of his Son in the clouds of heaven, to warn them against popular errors in worship, and to bring them back to the simplicity of primitive truth where they shall "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:9-12. We shall be pleased to hear again from the same inquirer. A MILD CRITICISM.
By James White
A FRIEND in Toronto wishes to correct an article recently published in the SIGNS, copied from the Bible Banner, in which it is said that "Adam lived 930 years in toil and sorrow, and died." Our critic, in what he calls "a mild criticism," says:— "I cannot think that Adam toiled nor sorrowed all his life. I would like to be as happy as Adam before the fall." Mild as the criticism is, it is not necessary. The article was considering Adam's nature and condition according to the penalty indicated by his Maker for transgression. It was in this view that the Lord pronounced his sentence: "In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." Of course it did not take into account the brief period of man's life before he sinned; and Bro. Phelps was considering the same facts in the same order of cause and effect, and used much the same language. We cannot see how any one could misapprehend his meaning. — J. H. W. A PERSON signing himself, “A Commandment Keeper,” in Chicago, Ill., asks:— “Is divorce allowed under the present dispensation for any cause?” It surely is. We do not see how the words of the Saviour could be more plain than they are on this subject. “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery.” This exception is as explicit as can be, making one and only one cause which can justify a divorce. We do not wonder that questions are continually asked on this subject, considering how easily divorces may be obtained under our State laws, for almost every imaginable reason; and how slight a hold the marriage tie has upon the hearts and consciences of the mass of the people. We have some statistics in our hands, showing the great increase in number of divorces according to population, which are startling. The New England States are falling sadly into the background in this matter. We cannot see any reason for the Catholic faith on this subject, that marriage is a sacrament of the church, and the bond indissoluble. Marriage is an original ordinance, the same as the Sabbath, instituted in Eden, in man’s innocency. It is a sacred institution, and should be regarded and respected as such by all. We think our divorce laws are seriously faulty Reason would teach us, and observation proves, that where divorces may be obtained for so many and such slight reasons, the marriage tie will be little respected by a large class, and marriage will be contracted without much consideration of the sacred nature of the obligation. That obligation will thoughtlessly be taken up which may easily be thrown off. While we think the Catholic reason is faulty, we can but regret that Protestants are setting a bad example by sanctioning the practice of “putting away” “for every cause,”—a practice condemned by our Saviour. Another question is often asked: “If a man puts away his wife for the cause specified by the Saviour, is he permitted to marry again?” The Saviour’s words touch this point also; they show that, if a man puts away his wife and marries another, except if she be put away for fornication, he commits adultery. We do not see how the conclusion can be avoided that a man is permitted, by the words of our Saviour, to procure a divorce for this one cause, and to marry another. Yet we can appreciate the position of those whose feelings recoil from the idea of a second contract of this sacred nature. But however much our feelings may turn toward, and fond memories clusters around, a first marriage, we are obliged to assent to the permission granted by the Saviour. And let us not judge those who have acted according to this permit. J. H. W.