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Signs of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 49.

Editorial

Signs of the Times

Oct 16, 1893

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 16, 1893

Editorial.

By Editor

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.
THE loving soul can be trusted. When we love God with all the heart, he will trust us with greater blessings.
THE trials of the future, however great they may be, are best met by faithfully enduring the trials of the present, however small they may be. We cannot store up grace to-day to meet to-morrow's trials. God is a present help. If faith makes him that each present moment, we need not trouble ourselves about the future.
FAITH, and faith alone, as we have many times said, is the only condition which God requires of man in order to salvation. "What shall I do to be saved?" asks the sinner. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," answers the apostle. Faith includes all else. Faith will lead the soul to respond to the Spirit, to submit to God, to choose God's way, the way of salvation through Christ. Genuine faith is all that is needed, but genuine faith will express itself in works. It cannot do otherwise.
WE lose much in failing to keep constantly in mind the momentary account God takes of all our relations to him. We sometimes get to feeling that God is afar off, and then we come to perform the duties and relations of our calling with the sense of this distance of separation in mind. The nearer we can realize God to be, the more minutely we can consider that he interests himself in all our doings, the better service shall we be able to render. "As the Lord of Hosts liveth before whom I stand," was the thought with which Elijah strengthened his soul to stand before the wicked Ahab. He stood before the Lord, as though God sat on his throne, literally in Elijah's presence, and Elijah performed all his labor under the smile of his Lord's countenance and under the beaming approbation of his all-seeing eye. It was thus Elijah labored. It was this living, abiding consciousness of God's presence that made him strong and unswerving. This consciousness, this evidence of God in us and God with us, will nerve us for all the conflicts. We shall labor as in his sight, as though we could actually see him in form and feature. This is our privilege, this will prove our strength and source of power.

HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER.

By Editor

THREE weeks ago we presented some of the precious truth taught by the Scriptures with reference to "God's Wondrous Mercy." The query will arise in the mind of many, "Is it not a fact that the Scriptures teach that there will come a time when God will no longer have mercy,—when the day of mercy will be forever past?"
No, not on God's part. "His mercy endureth forever." This is an oft-expressed statement of Holy Writ. In fact, mercy is an essential of God's character. When he revealed himself to Moses, it was as "the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands [of generations, Deut. 7:9], forgiving iniquity and transgression." Ex. 34:6, 7. These are all expressions of mercy and goodness. God were not God without mercy.
Greatness of sin will not exhaust that mercy. This is well illustrated by the parable recorded in Matt. 18:23-35. The unforgiving servant had been freely forgiven by his king a sum which in round numbers may be stated as $10,000,000 (ten million dollars), but this servant would not forgive his fellow servant a sum equal to $15. Now the former sum represents the sinner's debt to God, the latter sum the sinner's offense against a fellow sinner. The free forgiveness of the king of the vast sum shows the unlimited extent of God's mercy and forgiveness, while the refusal to forgive fifteen dollars shows man's measure of mercy. There is no comparison between the two, for the fact that the king forgave the vast amount showed that his mercy was practically unlimited, while on the other hand there is no reason to believe that the servant would not have shown the same unmerciful spirit if the amount had been one dollar instead of fifteen. Truly does the Lord say:—
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts [of mercy] are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isa. 55:7-9.
"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him." Ps. 103:11.
Although sin, if persisted in, is infinite in its consequences, it is not infinite in its greatness, for He who is infinite in every attribute assures us that where sin abounds, grace, or unmerited favor, superabounds. Rom. 5:20. However great the sin, therefore, God's mercy is greater. And this the Lord represents by another figure. Through the prophet he gives the following invitation:—
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isa. 1:18.
By no process known to man can the "fast colors" of scarlet or crimson be wholly removed. Black may be made white, but crimson retains its hue. By no process known to man can sin be washed away. But the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ washes the crimson white, and cleanses the guilty soul from all unrighteousness. All that infinite mercy asks is that it be permitted to cleanse. It will gladly do it all "if ye [we] be willing."
And God's mercy is not only manifest in the greatness of sin, but in its frequency. In other words, God's mercy is not only infinite in covering great sins, if we are willing, but it is equally infinite in pardoning the oft-repeated sin, if the sinner believes. This the Lord shows in the following:—
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven." Matt. 18:21, 22.
Seven times represents man's idea of the extent of forgiving repeated offenses. Seventy times seven, or four hundred and ninety, is the number of times which the Lord says man should forgive, practically an unlimited number of times. And if the sin be repeated seven times in one day, and seven times forgiveness be asked, it should be granted. Luke 17:4. But God will do infinitely more than man can do. "He will multiply to pardon." Isa. 55:7, margin.
All this is but a faint representation of God's mercy. It is infinite in quantity and exercise. It is an essential quality of his love, and "love never faileth." And, sinner, God "taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Will you not listen to its voice? Will you not yield to its pleading?
"Is there danger?"—Yes, there is, great and infinite danger; but not on God's part. He is infinitely and eternally merciful to all who will trust him, to all who will yield every deformity of character to the moulding power of his grace, to all who will renounce the sin.This is all man can do to cleanse himself—is to renounce the sin, to yield to God. This is faith—to choose God's way. But when, after God's wondrous exhibitions of loving mercy, after its sweet voice has called year after year unheeded, the heart becomes hardened and it chooses sin rather than righteousness, here is the danger. The heart which rejects God once will reject him easier next time. The sin repeated makes the heart harder, and the yielding to God more difficult. And if this rejection of God, this slighting of his mercy, is persisted in, the heart becomes so hardened that it can no longer be impressed with the Spirit of God; so dull of apprehension that it cannot see and appreciate God's goodness. It becomes blind to its own eternal interest, and falls an easy prey to the devil. God would even then gladly save, "but ye will not," and God will not force the will nor compel the choice. Sinner, wanderer, why not return to-day? "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." God has "no pleasure" in your death; "therefore choose life." Respond to every call of his Spirit, and he will lead you to light and life.

THE EFFORT FOR SUNDAY CLOSING.

By Editor

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

LAST week we showed as far as a negative position can be shown that no law, State, Federal, or Divine, would be violated by the opening on Sunday of the Midwinter Exposition to be held in San Francisco; and that any man or woman in California would violate no law, State, Federal, or Divine, by attending the Exposition Sunday any more than they would by attending it on Monday, all other things being equal.
In other words, it is just as legitimate to pursue happiness in proper ways on Sunday as it is on Monday. It is neither a crime nor sin to labor at legitimate and common labor on Monday or Tuesday. No more is it a crime or sin in California to do such labor on Sunday. It is not a sin to do such labor on Sunday anywhere on the earth. Some governments make it a crime, but all crime is not sin; and when governments make that a crime which God does not make sin, they are legislating outside of their legitimate domain.
The reason for this will be apparent to all on a moment's consideration. Sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4; Rom. 7:7); and God's "law is spiritual" (Rom. 7:14). Its domain is spiritual. It pertains not to overt acts alone, but to secret motives, to conscience, to the mainsprings of action and character which are hidden from all human tribunals. These motives only God can see, read, and understand, and he alone therefore is capable of judging. Civil government has no right to enter the domain of conscience, to define sin, or to punish sin. Every attempt to do this has always resulted disastrously to the government which has attempted it, and in the persecution of its most conscientious and devoted citizens. This is what Rome tried to do during the twelve hundred years of her triumph, and it resulted in the death of fifty millions of the saints of God. This is what the Jews attempted to do, to define sin, and they condemned the Lord's Christ, and by threats compelled the Roman governor to execute him. In thus doing civil governments usurp the place of God and become rebels to his authority. California is yet free from this curse. She has wisely left the matters of religion to the individual and dealt only with those things which pertain to civil power. Let it rest there.

A STATE SUNDAY LAW.

But the whole object of this agitation concerning the closing of the Midwinter Fair is to obtain a California Sunday law. The closing of the Fair is but a mighty lever to that end. The professed ministers of Christ and religious organizations by antichristian methods (ignorantly no doubt) are endeavoring to force the directors of the Fair to close on Sunday. If these directors so decide of their own free will, this is their privilege; but if they be compelled to do it by the law of the State, the law is wrong, because the closing of the Fair for religious reasons pertains to that with which the State has nothing to do. If it be compelled by "Christians," these Christians are using antichristian methods. The language of the gospel is "persuade," "beseech," "entreat," "come." It recognizes man's free will. Jesus came not to condemn, to judge, to coerce, but "to save," "to minister." See John 12:47; Matt. 20:28; Luke 9:51-56. But efforts are now being made to coerce the conductors of the Fair into the closing of it. The initial step toward this was taken by the Christian Endeavor Societies of Alameda County, July 17, in the following resolutions:—
WHEREAS, Sunday opening of the Columbian Exposition has proved to be so objectionable to the larger part of the intelligent citizens of these United States, as seen by the strong protests against it, and the multitudes who on that account have refrained from attending said Fair; and,
WHEREAS, The Christian Endeavorers of California hold in high regard the good name of our State, as well as the moral character of our people, which will be greatly affected by the manner of conducting the proposed Midwinter Fair; and,
WHEREAS, We firmly believe that Sunday opening on that occasion would be a dishonor to God, and a grievous violation of his law, therefore be it
Resolved, That we, the Christian Endeavorers of the Alameda County Christian Endeavor Union, welcome the coming of this Fair, and we do most earnestly petition that the Lord's day be respected by closing the gates on that day; and we suggest to all Christians and law-abiding citizens of the Pacific Coast the eminent propriety of taking no concessions at the Fair and of entering into no contracts regarding exhibits or other matters without a clear, irreversible clause securing Sunday closing during the entire time of the Exposition; and be it
Resolved, That we recommend to the president of every Christian Endeavor Society in this county to prepare at once and present to every adult member of their society, church, and congregation, a petition setting forth these facts, and be it further
Resolved, That our corresponding secretary be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions to the corresponding secretaries of every union in the State, and ask them to pass similar resolutions and circulate such petitions to their societies.

THE MOVEMENT RELIGIOUS.

Note that the whole matter is based on the Sunday closing of the World's Fair, an object specifically "religious," and as such so demanded. "The larger part of the intelligent citizens of these United States" refer to the protests of the church people against the opening of the Fair. It is safe to say that not more than two-thirds of the Protestant members ever personally protested against it, while many in the Episcopal Church, and the greater part of the Roman Catholic Church, and millions belonging to no church whatever, were positively for Sunday opening. Surely it cannot be said that the small minority which protested and boycotted and anathematized and threatened are the larger part of the intelligent people of this county. It is true that many stayed away because they did not want to pay a full price for a half show. This is what the "Christian" boycott accomplished, by the gospel of force and coercion, but not by Christian means.
The second reason given by the Endeavorers why the Fair should be closed is to save "the good name of the State as well as the moral character of our people." We have before shown that no law, State or Divine, will be violated by opening the Fair on Sunday, and the "good name" of the State is not so much to be sought as its right action, and no power in this world can "affect" "the moral character of the people" without the consent of the people as individuals. With their choice, not their compulsion, rests their morality. In this the Endeavorers arrogate to themselves the authority to say what is moral for the people of California, and to take such steps as they think will prevent immorality. The church has no business to make or dictate laws for the State. It is a position which Christ himself would not assume (John 18:36; Luke 12:14), and he expressly forbade his church exercising such prerogative (Matt. 20:25-28; 1 Cor. 4:5).
The next step of the Endeavorers is to declare their conviction that to open the Fair Sunday is "a dishonor to God, and a grievous violation of his law." And they want the directors of the Fair to close for that reason; and more than this (for the object is a State Sunday law), they want the people of this State to say that the opening of the Fair Sunday, an act which would be perfectly legitimate on other days, is "a dishonor to God and a grievous violation of his law." If they could compel the closing of the Fair, then the prestige of this step would be used on the Legislature; and when the Legislature yielded and passed a Sunday law for the same reason (and a religious reason is the only reason why a Sunday law is desired), the State would stand as the sponsor of religious faith, the authoritative interpreter of divine law. It would come between the soul and Christ. The conscientious who were equally good citizens, but who interpreted the Bible differently, would be forced to suffer. Then would be true what the United States Senate declared in 1829:—
Among all the religious persecutions with which almost every page of modern history is stained, no victim ever suffered but for violation of what government denominated the law of God.

THE BOYCOTT.

Then comes the resolution to petition "that the Lord's day be respected, by closing the gates on that day;" and then they "suggest" (a mild term for advising a boycott) "to all Christians and law-abiding citizens of the Pacific Coast the eminent propriety of taking no concessions," etc., or, in other words, not to patronize the Fair unless their demands be complied with. We say again that every man in California who treats his fellow-men civilly, though he labor every Sunday, is as law-abiding a citizen as the most earnest Endeavorer in the State. The words are an insult to the State and its people, though it is evidently not so designed. The spirit underlying all Sunday laws is responsible for the insult.
There is more in the resolutions, which we have not space to consider. These resolutions are scattered throughout the State, and we understand have been cordially indorsed generally by the Endeavor Unions. The Christian Endeavor Society stands at the very head in its influence at the present time in religious circles. And right in the initial stage of the Fair, when its promoters are struggling for funds to insure its success, these religious societies of the State take this advantage to compel the recognition of a religious institution. Compelling it here, compelling it in municipalities, the next step will be to compel it in the State.

THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

But the Endeavorers are not alone. The preachers of San Francisco and Oakland met in San Francisco September 14, and asked the directors of the Exposition "at the earliest possible moment to declare that the gates of the Midwinter Fair shall be closed on Sundays," and in order that this may be done, they unite in asking for a Saturday half holiday. One of the reasons which they give for the closing of the Fair is that
the accomplishment of this patriotic object will barely depend upon the due observance of the weekly rest day, that most beneficent institution which has become incorporated in our national civilization, which commands the respect, not only of the churches, but of the best thinking classes outside of the churches.
We do not know what is meant by the first two lines of the above quotation unless it is that, unless the Sunday is respected by the Fair, its accomplishment will be made a very difficult matter by the religious classes. These ministers were from the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, and Christian Churches.
With all of these is the religious press, and behind it all is the American Sabbath Union. Dr. Edward Thomson, the active agent of the Union in California, boasts that the Union now has twenty-nine denominations in its organization; that by its efforts "twelve counties in California have passed some kind of a Sunday-closing ordinance." Read the report of his speech in the San Jose Daily Mercury of September 11. In that he plainly declares that it is for a State Sunday law that he is working; that "this is a Christian nation;" that "Congress has established religion;" and that the Sabbath "cherished by our fathers and mothers," "this sacred day," must be handed "down to the generations to come."
These, and many more utterances which we have not space to give, clearly show just what the churches (with few honorable exceptions) are working for in California. It is by every plea which can be made save that of liberty, by every subterfuge and sophistry unworthy of equality, patriotism, and Christianity, that these people seek to turn backward to the Dark Ages our now free State. It is to degrade into the dust of tyranny, by religious bigotry and arrogance, the only State of any great influence which is not cursed by religious laws to-day. And the churches which are behind this movement, it matters not how honest their intention, are forsaking
Christ and his power and laying hold of earthly power; in other words, the professed spouses of Christ are desiring to commit fornication with the government of California, with the powers of earth. Will all who are in the folds of these churches thus forsake Christ? Will the State yield to her threats and seductions and thus invite political ruin?
Would it be different if what were demanded was a law for the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath?—No, a thousand times no. The bride of Christ has no right to seek alliance with the world. And, further, those who know God's Sabbath and what it means will never ask for human laws to sustain it; they know that all power in heaven and earth is behind it. Reader, Christian brother or sister, whether Baptist, Methodist, or whatever you are, will you thus ignore the Golden Rule? Will you thus make the State your head instead of Christ? Will you so treat Christ? Lover of civil liberty, what will you do?

OUR POSITION MISAPPREHENDED.

By Editor

THE Rev. Leslie W. Sprague, Unitarian, of San Francisco, preached a sermon October 1 on the Midwinter Fair, and gave his reasons why he thought the Fair should be open on Sunday. The Morning Call of the next day gives a column report of the sermon, from which our quotations are taken. Some of the points made are worthy of consideration, but what we wish to notice here is a misapprehension of the speaker as regards the position of Seventh-day Adventists. He is reported to have said:—
You know that command, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," does not apply to Sunday at all. The seventh-day people, Jew and Adventist, are the only really consistent followers of the text. On the authority of the Bible the Seventh-day Adventists petitioned Congress to have the Chicago Fair closed on Saturday, and this was the only consistent application. If I professed to believe in the absolute authority of the ten commandments, I should fight for Saturday as the closing day.
It is true that the only Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day, not Sunday; but it is not true that Seventh-day Adventists ever petitioned on the authority of the Bible or anything else to have the World's Fair closed on Saturday or any other day. They petitioned Congress to have nothing to do with the closing of the Fair on any religious day; and they did this because to do so would be unconstitutional and wrong. It would be legislating outside of the proper sphere of civil government, and will inevitably lead to the rankest persecution. Granted that Sunday is the Sabbath of the Lord, the Congress of the United States has no business to meddle with it, nor, for the matter of that, with the seventh-day Sabbath. The only consistent position is to leave religious matters between the soul and God. Just as soon as a government, Federal, State, or Municipal, decides that either Sabbath or Sunday shall be regarded or observed, it has decided a religious controversy and made itself an arbiter of conscience. Because of this the Seventh-day Adventists petitioned Congress to have nothing to do with Sunday closing in any way; and as for the Sabbath of the Lord, they believe that God is abundantly able to care for that matter without the aid of civil government.
WE have reached the time of which the United States Senate of 1829 forewarned us. That body at that time said:—
Extensive religious combinations to effect a political purpose are . . . always dangerous. . . . All religious despotism begins by combination and influence; and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country, the civil power soon bends under it; and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequences.
We now have the religious combinations; the civil power has bent under it; some of the consequences have already been seen in the persecutions in Tennessee and Maryland. We know what will inevitably follow. Are we prepared in God's strength to meet it?

PATIENCE IN TRIAL.

1. "IN your patience possess ye your souls." Luke 21:19.
2. "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." Rom. 5:3, 4.
3. "That we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus." Rom. 15:4, 5.
4. "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience." Col. 1:11.
5. "We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith." 2 Thess. 1:4.
6. "Thou, O man of God, . . . follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience." 1 Tim. 4:11.
7. "That ye be . . . followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Heb. 6:12.
8. "For ye have need of patience." Heb. 10:36.
9. "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus." Heb. 12:1, 2.
10. "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work." James 1:3, 4.
11. "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman . . . hath long patience . . . until he receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient." James 5:7, 8.
12. "Take, my brethren, the prophets, . . . for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. . . . Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord." James 5:10, 11.
13. "And to . . . temperance patience; and to patience godliness." 2 Peter 1:6.
14. "The kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." Rev. 1:9.
15. "I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience." Rev. 2:2.
16. "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Rev. 13:10.
17. "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.

THE LAST GREAT APOSTASY.

By M. H. Brown

BY ELDER M. H. BROWN.
THE word of the Lord is declared to be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. Ps. 119:105. The moral world is full of darkness, and sin and sorrow, pain and death prevail, and without the light of revelation the future would be indeed dark, with no ray of hope to light our pathway as we journey onward toward the great unknown. But the Scriptures not only present before us peace in believing, and joy in the Holy Ghost, but they warn us of the dangers and perils that we will meet in our pathway, and give us precious words of counsel and encouragement so that we may escape the things that are coming on the earth and stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36.
Those scriptures which reveal the future by describing the events that will take place, and the course which nations, churches, and individuals will pursue, is of great importance, yea, vital, because if neglected or disregarded it proves ruinous. This is shown clearly in the experience of those who have not heeded the messages of warning and counsel which God has sent at various times in the history of the world. We might cite the cases of warning in the days of Noah, of Lot, of Moses, of John the Baptist, and of Christ. The salvation of the people living in those days depended upon their heeding the message sent and the warning given.
It is a remarkable fact which we would here emphasize, that people are very slow to believe a message from God or a prophecy which applies to their own day. The people in Moses' day could believe the message of Noah and Lot, but they were very loth to believe in Moses and his work. The same was also true of many of God's prophets. In the time of John and Christ, the Jews could believe in Moses and the prophets, but they were very unbelieving in regard to the work of John and Jesus, and yet the prophets that they professed to believe so strongly, foretold their work, and clearly set forth how the Saviour would be despised, rejected, and put to death. So we read that they fulfilled the prophets in condemning Christ. Acts 13:27.
The prophetic scriptures were indeed a light which would have saved the Jewish nation from ruin if they had walked in it, but they refused the light and were left in darkness. The prophecies of God's word are designed to give his people light in the Christian age as well as in former times. Yes, even to the dawn of eternal day, the prophetic word is to light the pathway of God's people. Peter says:—
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19.
We have many prophecies that give the leading events in the world and in the church during this dispensation, and the condition of things in the last days is specially marked and described, in order that the day of the Lord might not come upon his people as a thief. 1 Thess. 5:1-4. The prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah, of Paul, Peter, James, and John, and our Saviour's great prophecy recorded in Matt. 24 and 25, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21, throw great light on the pathway of God's people in this dispensation, and especially in the last days.
Many matters of great interest might be given showing the fulfillment of these remarkable prophecies during the present age, but we have neither time nor space in this article to do so. We wish to call special attention to

THE GREAT APOSTASY

of the last days, foretold in the Scriptures, and the warning and counsel which God gives to his people in regard to it.
Two great apostasies from the faith are predicted in the word of God. The first one is described in Dan. 7:8, 11, 20-27; 2 Thess. 2:1-8; Rev. 13:1-10; 17:1-6, and is fulfilled in the history of the Church of Rome, as all Protestants agree. The great reformation of the sixteenth century restored the Bible to its place as the rule of faith and practice, and gave to God's people a respite from persecution, and great light shone upon them from the word of God, which in a large degree restored the primitive gospel, and gave rise to the era of Protestantism which has been an eventful one in the history of the world as well as the church.
It may aid us in our study of this subject if we briefly review the steps in the development of the great Romish apostasy. The spirit of the world, love for honor, wealth, position, pleasure, power, and popularity, gradually drove out the Spirit of Christ, and the meekness, humility, and self-denial taught in his gospel. As the church thus forsook her Lord, he withdrew himself from her, and, having lost the Saviour and the power of God which is vested in him, and so left without any power to control or influence the people, the bishops and the clergy sought and secured the power of the State to do this, and thus, by an unholy alliance with the State, that church became Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and she made herself drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Rev. 17:1-6. Her history is before us, and there is a lesson to be learned from it.
The Protestantism of to-day is pursuing the same course, she is traveling the same road, and as her history is plainly and clearly foretold in the Scriptures, we know she will do the same work, and share the same fate. She fulfills the last great apostasy, which just precedes the second coming of the Lord in glory. Let us briefly examine some of the prophecies which describe her condition, her work, and her end.
In Isaiah 2 and Micah 4, which is a parallel prophecy, we have the church represented as rich, proud, and popular, prophesying smooth things, no more war, peace and safety, and declaring that the Lord has spoken these things, although the Lord says that the people will say these things in the last days, just before his wrath is visited upon the ungodly. Her position in wealth, popularity, and worldly honor, is set forth in Isa. 2:2, 6-8 and Micah 4:1. Her "peace and safety" cry is found in Isa. 2:3-5 and Micah 4:2-5. Her statement that the Lord says these things is found in Micah 4:4, whereas what the Lord does say is found in Isa. 2:2, 6-22 and Micah 4:6, 7. See also Joel 3:9-16.
Are not the professed Protestant churches of to-day preaching these things, and using these very Scriptures to prove a temporal millennium, a reign of peace and righteousness, and the conversion of the world? Most assuredly they are, and they declare these things will surely come to pass, "for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Micah 4:4. And this is precisely what the Lord said that people would say who in their pride, their wealth, and their popularity exalt themselves above the hills, and establish themselves in the tops of the mountains. Isa. 2:2.
The Saviour in his great prophecy declares that just before he comes again
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