p. 5 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 6. (2/6/1912)

Signs of the Times

Feb 6, 1912

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, Cal. · Feb 6, 1912

Eternal Life by Faith

If we receive the witness of men, The witness of God is greater: For the witness of God is this, That He hath borne witness concerning His Son.

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him:

He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; Because he hath not believed in the witness That God hath borne concerning His Son. . . .

He that hath the Son hath the life; He that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.

These things have I written unto you, That ye may know that ye have eternal life, Even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.

Question Corner

By Editor

"IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE."

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 The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable.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

3657 — From One Sabbath to Another, Isa. 66:23

By Editor

In this text it says, "From one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." But others tell us, from Rev. 21:23 and 22:5, that there is no night there; and therefore Isaiah has no reference to the Sabbath, but one eternal rest. Please explain. T. W. F.

First of all, Isa. 66:23 could not have reference to one great eternal rest, because it would be absurd to speak of "from one eternal rest to another," for an eternal rest does not provide any successive eternal rests. Then, too, that Sabbath is indicated, is also shown by the connection, "from one new moon," which would also stand for one month — from one month to another, and from one Sabbath to another; or from month to month and week to week; and the great day of the week then as now will be the Sabbath.

Now what it means in Rev. 21:23 and 22:5 is not that there shall not be a succession of day and night, or that day shall not follow day, — that is not the thought at all. The implied contrast is with other cities of the world. Cities of this world have walls and gates, or did in those days, and those gates were shut by night to keep out robbers and marauders and hostile armies, who would come in under the darkness of night. That will not be the case in that New Jerusalem. God's glory will be so great in that city that there shall be no night there, no darkness under which robbers can hide or the lawless can devise or plan destruction. It will be all light, and nothing more than this is implied.

It is also spoken regarding the city itself, and not the new earth. When God's children come up from all parts of the earth, where there is a difference between day and night, as indicated by Isa. 30:26, the Sabbath will be observed there just as truly as it can be here, only with perfect holiness to the Lord. The light of the moon shall fall upon that earth, but it will be like the light of the sun now; but the light of the sun in the new earth will be sevenfold what it is now.

And yet when they come up there in the very presence of God, His glory will be so great that "the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of Hosts will reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before His elders shall be glory." Isa. 24:23. There are some parts of our cities at the present time which on some occasions are as light as the day, when under the tremendous effulgence of a number of arc lights; but it does not take away the night, nor change the succession of days; nor will God's ineffable glory, far surpassing anything artificial, or even in the natural world, take away from the earth its succession of days or months, or its Sabbath.

3659 — Circumcision of Timothy

Why did Paul circumcise Timothy, if circumcision is not binding, or essential? J. A. P.

He did it simply to relieve the prejudices of the Jews, or some Jewish Christians who still thought that some of the old ceremonies were essential. Acts 16:3 tells us the reason why he did it: "He took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those parts: for they all knew that his father was a Greek." Many times, of course, Paul preached to the Jews in their own synagogs, and taught in the temple. He did not want Timothy hindered from his work in teaching; but as none but circumcised persons could take part in these meetings, the rite was performed upon Timothy so that he would not be hindered in his ministry. The rite of itself was nothing, as the apostle teaches in Gal. 5:6 and 6:15 and elsewhere. Circumcision was nothing, and uncircumcision was nothing, so far as salvation was concerned, but it did help Timothy in his work among the Jews and for the Jews, and injured no one. For instance, if a man should labor among a people who wore three-cornered hats, and had prejudice against those who wore round ones, it certainly would be expedient and proper for him to wear a three-cornered hat also. It would mean nothing to him in any way, and it would take away their prejudice until he could teach them better things. There are some things that are utterly non-essential; and to Christians the rite of circumcision was one.

3655 — The First Step Downward

By Editor

Was not Christ's first step downward to lift up the fallen race to take upon Himself the nature of angels? C. B. C.

So it seems to us; and the texts cited by our correspondent show that Christ was indeed called an "Angel." Ex. 3:2, 4, 6; 23:23; 32:34; 33:2; 1 Thess. 4:16. Connect with Ex. 33:14; Isa. 63:9; and Acts 7:38.

The steps in the humiliation of our Lord are set forth in Phil. 2:6-8. Of course in the very beginning Christ gave Himself in purpose, gave Himself just as fully as could be given, and the various steps which He took subsequently were only the carrying out of that first great, holy purpose. "Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself [the great purpose], taking the form of a servant [becoming an angel], being made in the likeness of men [the next step]; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross [the final step]." That God's angels are truly servants, see Rev. 19:10, and elsewhere. Also "Questions and Answers," page 19.

3656 — The Ark and the Temple

Was the ark in the temple when Jesus was here on earth? A. K.

No, it was not. There was missing from Herod's temple the ark, and some other things. The candlestick was there, and the table of showbread. These are shown on the arch of Titus in Rome, among the trophies of his triumph over Jerusalem. We are told in 2 Maccabees 2 (a book of the Apocrypha), verses 4-8, that when the temple was destroyed Jeremiah, as he was commanded of God, took the tabernacle and the ark and went forth into the mountain where Moses went up and beheld the heritage of God, found there a chamber in the rock, and there deposited the ark and the altar of incense. Some of them who went with him sought to find it, but could not, and Jeremiah reproved them, and told them that it should not be again known until God gather the people again together, and mercy come.

3658 — Character and Phrenology

By Editor

Can a person's traits of character be correctly given by applying the rules given by phrenologists and physiognomists? And if what these "ists" say is true, is it not then easier for some persons to lead honorable, yea, Christian lives than it is for some others? and as we have not shaped ourselves, can it then be just of God to require similar obedience and faithfulness of every person? Is it not much harder for some to get saved than it is for others?

All of this might be measurably true if man were to be saved by his own works, or by his own power. But this we know is not the case. Every soul, if saved at all, must be saved through the grace and power of God, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," save that of Jesus. Only by His sacrifice are we counted just. Only by the power of His Word are our characters made acceptable. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Now some are more perverse than others. Some have been taught that which is right from their very infancy. But the mere teaching will not save them. The whole secret of harmonizing this condition of things set forth by our correspondent is given in the text, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that [that is, that saving] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Rom. 5:20; Eph. 2:8. God bestows the riches of His grace abundantly, but "in all wisdom and prudence." Eph. 1:7, 8. Therefore what matters it whether we are great sinners or little sinners, whether we have formed an ugly character or are novices in sinning? God's grace is sufficient. The sin may be crimson and scarlet; the grace will wash it away and transform the character. "Ye must be born from above," are the words of our Saviour. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [a new creation]," are the words of St. Paul. And when God makes the new creation, He makes it—it matters not whether the soul is saturated with sin, or whether he may be called a "little sinner." Peter's wife's mother may not have been very sick of a fever when Jesus touched her, but the fever left her. The leper was sick and corrupt all through and through when Jesus touched him, but immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

It depends on our simple faith in grasping His almighty promise, "not of ourselves," "lest any man should boast." And the truth of all this is demonstrated again and again in Christian life. How often do we see the worst sort of sinners come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and from that time on live lives of faithfulness commended by all their neighbors and friends; while on the other hand, here is one who half prides himself in his goodness and benevolence of character, who has never known the depths of sin, and yet professes Christ, but leads a halting, stumbling life all through. The one saw his need, and grasped Christ for it all. The other only seemed to see that half of him needed a Saviour. The whole secret of Christianity lies in our absolute and utter need, and that Christ meets all that need. And that is more than all phrenology, or physiognomy, or any other psychic science can do for us. At the very best, they make very lame and inadequate diagnoses. The Bible gives us one that is thorough and full, and with it, also, the remedy.

3660 — A Set Time

By A. K.

Has God a set time for Christ's second advent, or is it hastened or delayed according to how soon the Gospel is preached to all the inhabitants of the earth? A. K.

God has an appointed time for the judgment to begin. This seems quite clear from Eccl. 3:17 and Acts 17:31. And the prophecy also seems very clear that this judgment began in 1844 in the courts of heaven. But nowhere has He told us that there is a definite time set when our Lord shall come. Of course He who is infinite in His knowledge knows when that time will be, knows how His people may delay it by their unbelief, or hasten it by their zeal, as indicated by the margin of 2 Peter 3:12. God knew of course that Israel would fail of meeting all that He desired that they should be when they left Egypt and entered Canaan. He would have given them eternal life and blessed rest even then, but they would not have it. So would He have saved the Jewish nation and made them heralds to all the other peoples, but they would not. It would therefore seem reasonable that God's children in these closing days could be much more earnest, and hasten the work of the Master by so doing.

3661 — Time of Trouble

By Editor

Does not the Bible teach that there is to be a severe time of trouble just previous to the second coming of Christ?

It certainly does. It is taught very clearly in Dan. 12:1 that when our Lord shall leave His mediatorial seat and stand up to reign, "the great Prince who standeth for the children of thy people," "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." This, without question, seems to be the time of the pouring out of the plagues, more fully detailed in Revelation 16.

3662 — Location of This Earth

By Editor

Will this earth renewed occupy the locality that the north star now does? F. F. G.

We do not know. God is the true King of the North. We know only this,—that when it is renewed, it will be the most glorious place in all God's universe. This is clearly taught in Revelation 21 and 22. "The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." The glorious city, the New Jerusalem, will be the capital thereof, a city in which God's glory shall be so bright that sun and moon shall be ashamed. Isa. 24:23.

OUR BIBLE BAND

Schedule for Week Ending February 17, 1912


Sunday	February 11	Exodus 16, 17
Monday	" 12	" 18-20
Tuesday	" 13	" 21-23
Wednesday	" 14	" 24, 25
Thursday	" 15	" 26, 27
Friday	" 16	" 28
Sabbath	" 17	Psalm 18

This week's journey is a very interesting one. We begin with the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sin; the miraculous feeding of them with the bread from heaven; the clear pointing out, by the weekly threefold miracle, of the sacredness of God's Sabbath. We pass on with them to Mount Sinai, where God's holy law is spoken from heaven, past the reception of that law written on tables of stone by Moses, and on to the building of the sanctuary which was to form their center of worship.

The week's reading closes with the wonderful psalm expressive of glorious victory, the 18th.

— * —

Go Work To-Day in My Vineyard

By Mrs. E. G. White

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Phil. 2:12-15.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Gal. 5:6.

In our efforts for salvation, we are accountable only to God. Forgiveness for our sins is possible only because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. He died for us; and this has linked us to God in continual dependence. Those who desire forgiveness must present their prayers to God, trusting in the merits of Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man. Their confessions must not be given through any human channel, as priest or pope; they must be presented to God, who has given Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. And if we confess our sins in humility and contrition, we receive full forgiveness. "I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:16, 17.

But the fact that we receive forgiveness through the grace of Jesus Christ, does not free us from taking a part in the struggle for immortal life. There are many false teachers in the world to-day who teach that belief alone is necessary for salvation. These grow in popularity because they please the people. False doctrines are received in the place of truth. A spurious faith is shown instead of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

The Workings of the Spirit

But heaven's first law is obedience in all things. By creation and by redemption we are God's property, and we are to submit to the working of His Holy Spirit, coöperating with it, but not attempting to work it ourselves. Under its guidance we are made contrite in heart. Our souls are not lifted up in vanity, but are humbled before God.

When mind and heart are yielded in perfect obedience to God, we feel a repentance that needeth not to be repented of. The stubborn heart is subdued. The change of which Christ told Nicodemus when He said, "Ye must be born again," is wrought in us. But we can learn this lesson from God only. It is not enough that the outward conduct is reformed, while sin is cherished and indulged in the heart. The change must commence in the heart, and work outward.

The repentance of those who truly seek forgiveness will lead them to work for Christ. It will be a living, working, transforming grace. Those who feel this repentance will reveal it in their lives. Every power of mind and soul and body will be brought into obedience to Christ. The sincerity of their prayers will be proved by their endeavors to serve God. This change, from unrighteousness to righteousness, is wrought by coöperation with God.

Life Eternal

"This is life eternal," said Christ, in His prayer to His Father, "that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." But we can not gain a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ if we neglect to study the Scriptures. The mind is God's purchased possession.

This gift is to be appreciated by us, and used as a treasure-house, in which to store the knowledge of God. We need to do much thinking as we work for God. The psalmist says, "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies." God would have us store our minds with the principles of His holy Word, that we may know "what saith the Lord." He would have us train our minds to wrestle with difficulties, taxing them to remember Scripture until remembering is no longer an impossibility, until the Word of God is to us a harmonious whole. If the mind is habitually given difficult tasks, it acquires efficiency and power.

Train your mind to search the Scriptures. In this way you can gain a knowledge of God, and work out your own salvation. Fill it with divine truth. It will then be in perfect harmony with the heart, which, cleansed from all selfishness and moral defilement, rejoices to render homage to the law of God.

The Tender, Compassionate Teacher

"I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day," said Christ; "the night cometh, when no man can work." This is the example Christ has left us to follow. He was the Majesty of Heaven, the King of Glory, yet He came to this earth, and went about doing good. He was the greatest teacher the world ever knew. Tender, compassionate, ever considerate for others, He represented the character of God, and was ever engaged in service for Him. And as Jesus was in human flesh, so God means His followers to be.

"We are laborers together with God," declares Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the struggle against evil, we must put every muscle to the stretch, exercising every God-given qualification for the right, in order that we may resist temptation and advance step by step in the Christian life. Saved in indolence, in inactivity, we can never be. It is not possible for us to drift into heaven. No sluggard can enter there. If we do not strive to gain an entrance into that kingdom, if we do not seek earnestly to learn what constitutes its laws, we are not fitted to take part in it. Those who enter there must be loyal and faithful servants of God, yoking up with Christ, working His works, overcoming as He overcame, wrestling day after day with hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, which must be oft crucified. They must be "laborers together with God," unwearied in prayer, their minds constantly turned heavenward for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, using at the same time every means that God has provided for their help.

If you would work as Christ worked, if you would overcome as He overcame, go straight to Him for help needed to subdue the inclinations of the carnal mind and the passions of the natural heart. Resist every sinful indulgence, every inclination to gratify wrong desires, remembering that Christ is all and in all, and that He is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."

Earnest Workers Needed

As agents for Jesus we are to work for Him. Why then are so many acting as did Meroz,—doing nothing,—while those sitting in darkness receive no light, no help from the children of God? How much do such idlers resemble the angel who is represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? To these idlers in the market-place, Christ is saying, "Go work to-day in My vineyard." Angels who minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation are saying to every one: There is work for you to do. "Go, stand and speak . . . to the people all the words of this life." If those addressed would heed this injunction, diffusing the knowledge which they have, and presenting Christ as the only Mediator, the Lord would prepare their way before them.

In Unison with Christ

The hearts of those who work with Christ must throb in unison with the heart of Christ. They must be wholly consecrated to His service, ready to do His bidding, to go wherever His providence leads them, to speak the words He gives them to speak. As they do this work, their spiritual faculties are awakened and energized. Knowing that they are in harmony with God, they feel joyous and happy. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they obtain an experience that is invaluable to them. Their intellectual and moral powers attain their highest development; for grace is given in answer to the demand.

As God said to Moses, so He says to us, "Go forward." We are to give to others the unsearchable riches of Christ, working in faith, and realizing our responsibility as God’s human agents, to whom He has given this work. In God’s service we shall meet with obstacles and difficulties. But these must not be allowed to discourage us. Events belong to God, and His servants will meet with difficulties and opposition; for these are His chosen methods of discipline, and His appointed conditions of sure progress and success. In spite of trials, do your God-given work in sincerity and faith, that your character may be formed after the divine pattern. "Behold, I come quickly," said Christ; "and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." He will render to all according to their deeds. "To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality," He will render eternal life; "but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath. . . . But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good."

The Testimony of Jesus

By George W. Reaser

V—Infallible Proof that God’s Word Is True

The Bible Has Rivals

THE true people of God in the earth are decidedly in the minority. The multitudes are on the opposite side—on the side of unbelief in God and in divine revelation.

There is one Book, above all others in the world, which rightly claims the reverent attention of mankind. That Book is the Bible. But the Bible, dealing in part with the supernatural and with “things unseen as yet,” as does no other book, needs the strongest possible witnessing in its behalf, to convince reasoning beings of its truthfulness; or better, it must itself supply the basis for intelligent faith in its claims. It assumes to be the Word of God, a miraculous production; as it is written, “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

It has rivals, but it alone has the proper credentials to entitle it to the supreme respect of mankind. Among its rivals are the following so-called sacred volumes: the Koran of Mohammed, which has, in round numbers, 177,000,000 believers; the teachings of Buddha, with perhaps 148,000,000 followers; the oracles of Confucius, whose disciples reach approximately 256,000,000 souls; the self-styled sacred writings of Brahma, whose devotees may reach the total of 190,000,000. Then the followers of Krishna, the Parsees, the Tibetans, and lastly the Mormons, have each their “inspired” writings.

All or nearly all of the leaders of these cults have given good moral codes to mankind, and from this fact the skeptic often challenges the faith of the Christian in the Bible.

Not all men recognize the moral codes and rules of life set forth in the Bible, as superior to those contained in rival volumes.

In fact, all men in all times have had the witness of conscience that it was wrong to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, and to kill; and these and other moral duties have been embodied in the so-called sacred volumes, many of them hoary with age, which are rivals to the Bible.

Miracles Alone Not Sufficient Basis for Faith

Doubtless every false system of religion which has been developed in the history of the world has undertaken to establish by miracles its claims to being the true. The Tibetans assert the most astounding miracles that ever startled the mind of man. It is written in the Bible that before time closes, some great deceptive system will work the crowning miracle of apparently bringing down fire from heaven, in order to prove its claims to being approved of God; but the real intent of this climax of Satan’s miracles will be to deceive. Rev. 13:13.

Then, too, there is a rising tide of infidelity, seething and boiling in the colleges and universities of civilization, and overflowing into the lives of professional men, graduates of these seats of learning.

Confronting all of this, how shall the Bible and Christianity lift their heads, confidently, fearlessly, intelligently, and not only meet their rivals, but also stem the tide of skepticism so destructive to faith in God and in the Christ? Shall we undertake to work counter miracles which will overshadow all others? No. There is an efficient weapon provided to meet all opposition to God and His truth.

Jehovah’s Challenge

There is one way in which the Bible gives undeniable proof that it is the Word of the living God, and that is by “the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy.” This manner of witnessing is an attribute of divinity that Satan and his agents can not steal. It belongs alone to the eye of the Godhead to penetrate the future, and put

its events on record in the Bible for the benefit of mankind, for the corroboration of God's Word, and for bringing to utter confusion all who oppose God's eternal truth. Notice the Lord's challenge to His opponents. He says: "Produce your cause." "Bring forth your strong reasons." "Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen;" let them "declare us things for to come." "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isa. 41:21, 22; 42:9. Considering the importance of this gift in the church, it is no marvel that Peter placed its value as confirming God's truth, even above the faculties of eyesight and hearing. He recognized that Satan can perform certain miracles, and even counterfeit the miracles of Heaven, in order to deceive. Therefore, to provide evidence which, if heeded, would place the individual members of the church of God beyond the possibility of deception, the apostle first assures us that it was the "Spirit of Christ" that spoke through the prophets (1 Peter 1:11), and then that, more certain than any human faculty, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:16-21.

Fulfilled Prophecy a Sufficient Basis for Faith

The mightiest recourse, the most effective weapon, which Heaven has placed in the hands of Christians to meet and to overthrow effectually all error, whether it be in the form of false religion or infidelity, is "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy." No false religion, much less skepticism, has dared to hazard its claims, its very existence, upon prophecy. Prophecy fulfilled without collusion of the parties thereto, is an unanswerable argument. That all-seeing eye that can, undimmed by time and distance, penetrate the future, and outline events centuries in advance, write history before its events occur, is a sure indication of divine power and wisdom; and the fulfilling of the events foretold is a sure vindication of the claims of the Bible and of Christianity. Such is "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy."

It is this "gift," this witnessing, therefore, that places the religion of Jesus Christ upon a foundation of Gibraltar strength, so that it can not be successfully besieged or overthrown by the assaults of any rival religion or of the allied forces of skepticism.

If the Bible were false, we could afford to dispense with it; but if true, we can ill afford to ignore it, for it deals with such tremendous issues as eternal life, the second death; life, despair; a home with an atmosphere of perfect love, or to be cast out into outer darkness. It deals with the existence of God, the Messiahship of Christ, the origin of all things, the destiny of all, the plan of salvation, the history of our race, the love of God. It is the one beacon light, flashing from the shores of eternity to guide the way-worn traveler to an eternal haven of rest; and prophecy or prophetic promise spans the gulf between time and eternity, between this present life and the life beyond, and gives us a sure hope of a better, happier world than this.

The one thing above all others that is obscure to mankind, and the one thing above all others that men desire to penetrate, is the future. The foreknowledge that can penetrate the future, and fashion "all things after the counsel of His own will," surely is divine; and how impressive it is that Jesus has chosen His attribute of penetrating the future, as the overwhelming method of convincing the world of the fact that there is a God who rules over all, and whose word is verity and truth! This marvelous gift of penetrating the future is denominated by inspiration "the spirit of prophecy."

There is no other than infinite wisdom that can foretell future events as to time, place, and manner of fulfilment, and in the matter of naming characters in advance that are to take part in their fulfilment.

That all-seeing eye, undimmed by the distant view of future ages, no matter how remote, that can penetrate the future and outline events centuries in advance of their fulfilment, surely is divine and omniscient.

What, then, is the magnetic pole that is to hold the magnetized needle of faith true to the promises of God's Word? Nothing is so effectual in this as "the testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy."

The Cumulative Weight of Prophecy

If the Bible dealt simply in historical data and moral discourse, there might be some excuse for doubting its inspiration. But the characteristic of the Bible that places it upon an unquestionable basis of inspiration is its multitude of fulfilled prophecies. If one person only had outlined future events, and these events had been fulfilled in due order according to the specifications of the predictions made, even this would command respect; but when numerous men, widely separated from each other by time and distance, have foretold the same events, and their writings have been gathered together in one book and their predictions accurately fulfilled, then we have the cumulative weight of prophecy—the prophecies of various writers reaching their focal point in one and the same event.

"The testimony of Jesus," "the spirit of prophecy," being Heaven's own medium for proving God's Word true, and for proving the very existence of God, it is also able to undermine every error that sets itself against God's truth. And this is the paramount reason why the Bible rightly claims the attention and the respect of mankind, above all its rivals.

It is worth our while to note that the testimony of Jesus can not fail. He possesses "all power in heaven and in earth" to make it effectual. Therefore we may know, at the time appointed for its fulfilment, if a given prophecy is not "the testimony of Jesus." The very failure of the prophecy proves this.

To demonstrate the efficacy and the utility of fulfilled prophecy, in the plan of salvation, and as a mighty agency to convince men of the truthfulness of God's Word, I will say that it is a matter of authentic church history that with the fulfilment of a definite time prophecy upon the exact day and year set forth by inspiration, approximately one thousand infidels were convinced and converted to God.

John William Draper, in his famous work entitled "Intellectual Development of Europe," page 491, in discoursing upon the scathing criticism of all classes of literature, which followed as a natural result of the unchaining of thought in connection with the Reformation under Luther and his associates, pays glowing tribute to the Bible in these words: "Contradictions were pointed out, errors exposed, weakness detected, and new views offered of almost everything within the range of literature. From this burning ordeal one book alone came out unscathed. It was the Bible. It spontaneously vindicated for itself what Wyclif in the former times, and Luther more lately, had claimed for it. And not only did it hold its ground, but it truly became incalculably more powerful than ever it had been before."

Earth Growing Old

By Mrs. Pauline Alderman

By Mrs. Pauline Alderman

Earth, trembling with old age, Proclaims her sure decay. Read it on Bible page, And note it day by day — How like a garment waxing old; Soon God her drapery will fold.

We see her very soil, Once fertile, rich, and strong, Now weakened with the toil, And thorns and thistles borne. So heavily the curse does weigh, As crime and sin mark her decay.

The blood of heroes slain Has soiled her grassy sod, And tears and groans and pain Cry constantly to God; And tho His mercy long is lent, Yet never does old earth repent.

Come Thou whose right to reign Has through the ages stood — Come, and Thy children claim — Take to Thyself the good. Our yearning hearts are crying, Come — Come and restore our Eden home.

Mount Vernon, Ohio.

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