Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 29. (6/8/1916)

Review and Herald

Jun 8, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 8, 1916

The World's Great Need

We need more of the evangelistic spirit — more of the spirit which reaches out and lays hold of men for Christ. . . . Some men would have us believe that a new gospel is needed, as though we could have a new Christ. Some seem to consider the methods of the apostolic age obsolete. To counteract such ideas and to overcome such a spirit we need not so much articles, discussions, and conference resolutions as new evidences of the reality of the great facts and forces which hold your life and mine; new demonstrations in each community that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto the salvation of every man that believeth, no matter how hardened his condition may be; new demonstrations of the power of the Holy Spirit, showing that he is just as able to shake mightily whole communities today as in the days of Peter and John; new demonstrations that the Word of God is the Word of God, that it has dynamic power, that its truth sets men free; new demonstration that prayer is still able to remove mountains and that faith is the victory that literally overcomes the world.—John R. Mott.

Note and Comment

By F. M. W.

Emphasizing the Essentials

THESE are days of changing emphasis. Many fundamental principles of Christian faith are but little taught or regarded. The good old doctrine of repentance toward God, of confession of sin, and of divine acceptance is held as a theory by a large majority of professed Christians. There are some in every church who know by experience what the theory represents, and these, with us, deplore the changed attitude of the Christian church toward this, the very essence of the gospel.

The doctrine of natural philosophy has been substituted in the minds of many for a spiritual religion. Our blessed Lord is regarded as divine only as other good men might be so considered, but his deity is denied; his resurrection from the dead is regarded as a myth; his virgin birth ridiculed. In the place of these cardinal doctrines of Christianity we hear much of the departmental church, of social service reform, and of man-made devices to regenerate the human family. These are all miserable makeshifts, and possess no more power to change the human heart than do their originators. There is but one power today, the same as in all the ages of the past, which can change human nature, and that is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Regarding these conditions which exist in the religious world, the editor of the Bible Champion for April, 1916, says:—

“Every thoughtful Christian is filled with perplexity and alarm when he considers the religious conditions almost universally prevalent. The gross sins in private life, the appalling corruption in public life, the indecency and licentiousness of popular amusements, the profanation of the Sabbath, the indifference and contempt of the majority for religion, the decreasing attendance of church members upon church worship,—all of these evils are the direct results of the greatest evil of all—the disregard, disbelief, and denial of the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God. The infidelity of the past has largely disappeared, but it has been revealed in a more dangerous form. The same doctrines concerning the Bible which were proclaimed by Paine and Ingersoll are taught today in Christian pulpits, Christian schools, and Christian books and periodicals.”

Seventh-day Adventists should resist the first temptation to depart in their teaching from the essentials of Bible truth, and from the great fundamental principles constituting the message God has given them for their fellows. The immutability of the Word of God; the exalted position of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God while at the same time the Son of man; his priestly work as typified in the earthly sanctuary and now carried forward in the heavenly temple; the law of God as the basis of divine government; the Sabbath institution as a part of that divine law; Christ as man’s only and personal Saviour; repentance and justification through his blood; the imminent return of our Lord to this earth to take his children home; the nature of man, his condition in death and his final award; Christian baptism as the outward sign of the union of the believer with his Lord; the doctrine of Christian and civil liberty; the proper support of the gospel ministry; the work of the Spirit of prophecy in connection with this movement; the ministry of holy angels; the character of Satan and his work in the earth as exemplified in the marvelous workings of the man of sin,—these, with the leading prophecies of the Scriptures showing where we are living in the stream of time, and the great issues which are involved in the final controversy, constitute the real fundamentals of the third angel’s message.

Brethren, let us emphasize these in all our teaching. Let us not get above them; let us not get away from them. Speculation may be interesting; we may see the necessity from time to time of the readjustment of some detail of the message, or the restatement of some truth, but let us not forget the great fundamental principles which God has given us to proclaim to our fellows.

We may often differ from our brethren over some detail. No harm need come from this if we do not unduly magnify the difference. It is when we spend our time upon differences and make details the great question of discussion, and magnify the technicalities of doctrinal belief, that we fall out by the way, lose confidence in one another, and work irreparable injury to the cause of the message which we are seeking to represent.

Let us admit over these details and technicalities freedom of discussion; let us accord to our brethren honesty of opinion; but let us not in our discussion forget the great fundamentals which God wants us to keep to the front. We may preach these great principles even though we may not all see alike in detail.

And let us be careful also not to make unwarranted interpretations of prophecy and wild predictions as to its future fulfilment. We should go no farther than the Word of God clearly reveals. If we do not understand some text, let us remain silent, and continue to study it, seeking the Lord meanwhile for divine enlightenment and understanding.

We need in these serious times to be vigilant, watchful, and sober, alive and alert. But coupled with these qualities, there should be calmness, self-possession, well-balanced judgment. We need an aggressiveness that will keep pace with the advancing light of God, that will lead us to act when God speaks, that will make us minutemen, giving enthusiastically and unreservedly the energies of our hearts and lives to the promotion of God’s work.

We should avoid a conservatism which refuses to move from the positions of the past because of precedent; which refuses to accept light from the Book of God because our fathers did not believe it; which leans backward instead of forward; but we need a conservatism which will not be carried away by fanciful interpretations which lead to a denial of the fundamentals of the religion of Christ, and of the holy truth we profess.

In this latter experience lies our greatest danger. Today many are rejecting the old beliefs because they are old. Let us be slow to accept new viewpoints without careful investigation and a clear teaching of Scripture. We cannot afford to drift on the great sea of speculation and idle fancy. Let us hold fast to our old-time anchorage, until we are convinced by the Word that we should unfurl sail and move from our present moorings.

Let us speak and teach that which the Word of God plainly speaks and teaches; let us remain silent on those theories and details on which the Word is silent. To all sober, thinking men this course of conduct will commend the holy cause which we espouse. F. M. W.

Christ’s Personal Ministry

Our Great Example came into the world to seek and to save the lost. In doing this he did not lead the life of an ascetic; he did not spend his time in a monastery. The very nature of his work required that he should mingle freely with the people, and this he did. Words of gracious truth fell from his lips in public discourse. The beautiful and sublime thoughts to which he gave utterance excited the wonder of his listeners, and they were led to exclaim, “Never man spake like this man.” And the beauty of his life, the exemplification in his own daily living of the truths he taught, gave power to the message of salvation he proclaimed. In the record borne by the four evangelists of his public work much more is said of his personal ministry than of his public labor.

Wherever there were souls longing for help, there the Master was found. In the temple, in the synagogue, in the public mart, by the wayside, in the home, at the marriage feast, and at the bedside of the suffering, everywhere his kindly presence and loving counsel brought hope and courage to weary hearts. Associating freely with the world, he preserved unsullied his spotless purity and kept himself free from every taint of the worldly spirit. We have, through the Spirit of prophecy, this record of his influence:—

“Jesus reproved self-indulgence in all its forms, yet he was social in his nature. He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and seeking to elevate their thoughts from questions of commonplace life to those things that are spiritual and eternal. He gave no license to dissipation, and no shadow of worldly levity marred his conduct; yet he found pleasure in scenes of innocent happiness, and by his presence sanctioned the social gathering.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 150, 151.

Christ never designed his followers to be recluses. Man was created with social instincts. The love of home and friends and of association with his fellows was implanted in his very nature. To a follower of the Master the opportunities afforded in social intercourse are invaluable. Rightly used, such association may be the means of bringing many to the Saviour. These avenues of touch with the world at large must be guarded. The world engages in many gatherings which Christians cannot consistently attend.

The line of demarcation between the church and the world must never be obliterated. While living in the world the followers of the Master must keep the spirit of worldliness out of their lives, otherwise they lose their distinctive character, and their profession of Christ amounts to mere form. Unconsciously we are affected by the influences which surround us, and it is only by eternal vigilance that we can keep the demoralizing and disintegrating evils which operate so strongly among men, and of which we are oftentimes unwittingly eyewitnesses, from affecting our own lives. Regarding the necessity of this the apostle gives earnest exhortation: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2: 15-17.

In every relationship Christ is man's example. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Were Christ on earth today, we could not think of him as attending and finding pleasure in the world's popular sports. It is unthinkable that the Master would be found seeking recreation and enjoyment at a horse race, a theater, a circus, a card party, or a skating rink. We cannot believe that he would grace with his presence many of the social gatherings which are held. He would find no pleasure in listening to idle gossip. Dignified but kindly in all his bearing, modestly reserved but approachable by the humblest disciple, he would move among men as the personification of noble, generous, elevating, and inspiring manhood. As of old, his ministry would be to the discouraged and depressed, to the sick and suffering and sorrowing. In these social relationships he would find his chief joy. Possessed of his spirit, his followers will do as he did and as he would do today were he present personally among them.

Soul and Spirit

By L. L. C.

In the minds of many, even of those who study the Bible, there has arisen a confusion as to the meaning of the words “soul” and “spirit.” Many Christians seem to think that the two are synonymous, or differ so slightly that the difference cannot be explained; but the word of God makes clear the difference between the two, for we read in Heb. 4: 12:—

“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

If soul and spirit were the same thing, the word of God could not divide them asunder.

To get the force of these words, it is necessary for us to consider how they were used in the Bible in the language in which the Scripture was originally written, that is, the Hebrew for the Old Testament, and the Greek for the New Testament. The Hebrew word usually translated soul is nephesh. The Greek word is pseuche. The word usually translated spirit is in the Hebrew ruach, and the Greek word is pneuma. The translators of the English Bible, however, did not always translate these original words as soul and spirit. Nephesh sometimes appears in English as life, as in Ps. 38: 12:—

“They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.”

Also in Prov. 12: 10, we read:—

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

In this latter case even the beast is said to have a nephesh, or soul. Nephesh is also translated living creature, as in Gen. 1:24 and 2:19:—

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.” “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

Nephesh is sometimes translated body, as in Num. 19:13:—

“Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord.”

Here we read of a dead nephesh, or soul. Even in the cases where nephesh appears translated in the English Bible as soul, it does not seem to have the qualities which usually are given to it by popular theology.

Abraham, being afraid that he might be killed for his wife’s sake, begged her to say that she was his sister, saying that thus his nephesh might live. See Gen. 12: 13. The Biblical soul is said to eat. The soul eating the flesh of the peace offering on the third day was to bear his iniquity (Lev. 7:18), and the soul touching anything unclean should be unclean (Num. 19:22).

In the New Testament pseuche is mostly translated soul. Christ’s soul is said not to have been left in Hades, the grave (Acts 2:27), and the ark is said to have saved eight souls from the flood (1 Peter 3:20).

The Scriptural use of nephesh and pseuche indicates that they refer to personality or individuality. In most cases the word “person” or “individual” could be substituted and the text would read well.

The word “ruach,” generally translated spirit, is sometimes translated breath:—

“Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” Ps. 104:29.

“That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts, even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.” Eccl. 3:19.

Sometimes ruach is translated wind, as in Gen. 8:1:—

“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.”

In the cases where ruach is translated spirit, which are numerous, it seems almost always to refer to the life or the life principle. In many cases this is thought of as being in the breath.

Pneuma, though usually translated spirit, occurs also in the English Bible as wind, as in John 3:8:— “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

The word “pneuma” should be carefully distinguished from another Greek word “phantasma,” which is used in Matt. 14:26, and other such places. This Greek word might well be translated phantom or ghost.

The Scriptures clearly state what happens to the spirit at death:—

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Eccl. 12:7.

The best Biblical commentators, even those who may believe in the immortality of the soul, recognize that this scripture merely affirms the return to the condition which existed before man was created. It is not said that the spirit is different on its return to God than it was before it was breathed into the man. The life which God gave, the vital force bestowed, returns to the Giver. The soul or person, which consisted of a body of dust and the spirit of life, has ceased to exist as a living entity, but God can again bring it to life at the resurrection. This explains why we are exhorted by Christ himself, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. 10:28.

Men can destroy only the body, but God can, and in the case of the wicked will, destroy the personality and individuality, so that a man shall be as if he never had been.

L. L. C.

The Millennium

By W. A. S.

THE word “millennium” means “a thousand years.”

This definite period of a thousand years is referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find it to be,—

The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment.

The period during which Satan is bound.

The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and that of the unjust.

An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show,—

The events that mark its beginning.
Events of the thousand years.
Events that come at the ending of the period.

We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures,—

That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.

That the reign of the saints with him in judgment is not on this earth, but in heaven.

That this earth—void of human inhabitants—is Satan’s prison house during the thousand years.

That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is executed upon Satan and all the wicked.

That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.

1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years

The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium begins with the resurrection of the just.

The Resurrection of the Just.

Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:—

“They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” Rev. 20: 4-6.

There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was the teaching of all Scripture: “That there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Acts 24: 15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years.

Christ’s Second Coming.

When is this first resurrection, in the order of events of the day of the Lord? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of many, suffices to state it:—

“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.” 1 Thess. 4: 16.

As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels with him, the graves are opened, and his voice awakens his children who sleep in the dust. “He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt. 24: 31. The time of Christ’s second coming, therefore, is the beginning of the millennium.

The Righteous Taken to Heaven.

The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risen saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says:—

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4: 17.

The redeemed accompany their Lord to heaven. This was his promise:—

“In my Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 2, 3.

Destruction of the Wicked.

At Christ’s second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving, left without shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory as will burst upon the world:—

“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thess. 1: 7-9.

Binding of Satan.

With the saints taken to heaven, beyond the reach of Satan’s wiles, and with the wicked destroyed, not to live again till the thousand years are finished, Satan is bound. He is confined by divine power to this earth, which becomes his prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply his arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained. The symbolic language of the prophet pictures the scene:—

“I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season.” Rev. 20: 1-3.

These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand years: Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the just, the ascent of all the redeemed to the city of God, the destruction of the wicked, and, in consequence, the binding of Satan.

2. Events During the Thousand Years

In Heaven.

Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions the prophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God. The prophet John says:—

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. . . . Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” Rev. 7: 9-15.

One service in which the saved have part during the thousand years is the work of judgment that still remains, preparatory to the final visitation of sin and the destruction of Satan and all his works. The prophet saw this work going forward in the heavenly courts, the redeemed associated with Christ in the service:—

“I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Rev. 20: 4.

It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil angels, that the apostle Paul referred in the counsel to the Corinthians:—

“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? . . . Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” 1 Cor. 6: 2, 3.

On Earth.

While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the holy angels before the throne, and following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, it is to be remembered that on earth all is desolation and emptiness. The wicked have been slain by the glory of Christ’s coming. By the quaking of the earth the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have been removed, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The condition of the earth during this time of desolation is described by the prophet:—

“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.” Jer. 4: 23-26.

“Without form and void,” said the prophet. It is the same phrase used in the opening verses of Genesis to describe the chaotic state of the earth in the beginning. The earth was in the beginning of creation week emptiness and chaos—an “abyss,” as it is called in the Greek translation of Genesis. Yet again, during the thousand years, the earth is made an “abyss,” or desolate waste. “Abyss” is the meaning of the word translated “bottomless pit,” in the text telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty angel of God:—

“He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit.” Rev. 20: 2, 3.

The Revised Version says “and cast him into the abyss.” Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner in a prison house, with none to tempt, the author of sin has a thousand years in which to view the ruin that sin has wrought in the earth that once left its Maker’s hand beautiful and perfect, unmarred by any curse.

3. Events at the End of the Thousand Years

At the end of the millennium, this earth is the scene of events that close the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

The Descent of the Holy City.

The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished, the hour has come for the execution of the judgment upon sin and sinners. The holy city comes down out of heaven. The prophet saw its descent in vision:—

“I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.” Rev. 21: 2.

The Loosing of Satan.

“When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations.” Rev. 20: 7, 8. With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ’s second coming, Satan had been effectually bound. But now, as the city descends, the voice of Christ calls forth the wicked dead. It is the time of which the scripture speaks: “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Verse 5. The prophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth. “The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [“the grave,” margin] delivered up the dead which were in them.” Verse 13.

Thus Satan’s subjects come forth to the last judgment. The resurrection of the wicked of all the ages is the loosing of Satan. Here again is his kingdom, and again he plies his deceptions and takes up anew his fight against God. How very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked that he has raised them to life—that his word in the beginning was true, “Ye shall not surely die.” If they are immortal, why may they not yet prevail against God? Satan rallies his angels and the hosts of the wicked, in numbers “as the sand of the sea,” to make attack upon the city of God.

“They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city.” Verse 9.

The Wicked Before the Bar of God.

But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted by the glory and majesty of the Redeemer’s presence, enthroned as eternal victor over sin. Just here must apply the prophet’s words,—

“I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Verses 11, 12.

During the thousand years the records in heaven have been reviewed, and the degrees of guilt established. Now the judgment is to be executed. But first the record of the books and the eternal righteousness of God’s holy law are

flashed by divine power upon the consciences of all the lost—“their conscience also bearing witness” (Rom. 2: 15) that they are without excuse.

Destruction of Sin.

Sin is at last to be blotted out of the universe of God; and those who have chosen to be identified with sin pass out with it. All that Infinite Love could do was done in the gift of Christ to save men from the transgression of the holy law of God. That salvation rejected, there was nothing remaining that Heaven could offer. “There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Heb. 10: 26. Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil:—

“They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire. . . . And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Rev. 20: 9-14.

The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and death itself. The controversy is ended. Christ’s death for sin has purged it from the universe of God.

The Earth Purified and Made New.

The fires that consume the wicked melt and purify the earth from all trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote: “Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” But after this cleansing of every element of this sin-cursed earth, the promise of God will be fulfilled in the earth made new, as the eternal home of the saved. As Peter says, after telling of the day of burning, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3: 13. W. A. S.

Stirred Up

By G. B. T.

There is a sense in which it is entirely wrong to become stirred up. Many become so at times over trifles; and through grievances, either real or imaginary, become highly wrought up and say and do things of which they repent later. But one of the tests of real religion is in maintaining a meek and quiet spirit in the midst of circumstances which are of a most trying and distressing nature.

But there is another sense in which it is entirely proper to become stirred up. The tremendous truths of the gospel of redemption through Christ, and a full and free salvation from sin for every believing sinner, ought to stir the heart and lead to repentance. The solemn truths of this last message, the close of probation, and the awful scenes which cluster around the coming of Jesus, should deeply stir the heart. The fact that the destiny of a world is soon to be decided, that the great crisis in human history is at hand, and only a little time remains in which to finish the work of God, should awaken the deepest emotions in the bosom of every Christian. What profound and reverential emotions should stir the heart when we think of that hour when Jesus will come, and his voice will summon from the grave all the dead in Christ. As we think of those triumphant millions coming forth from the embrace of death, some of whom are those that we loved, inexpressible emotions stir the heart. Says Bishop Thomson:—

“I have sat silent and solitary in my closet, and thought over, one by one, my Saviour’s miracles; I have pictured to my mind the Almighty molding the earth of the fresh creation into a human form, and then breathing the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam; but never has my heart been so agitated as when I thought of Jehovah coming forth, at the blast of the last trumpet, to summon together the scattered dust of the corpse and mold it into a body spiritual, incorruptible, immortal, radiant as the sun, and fashioned after the glorious body of the God-man.”

The thrilling message for this hour, with signs thickening on every hand as heralds of the end of the world and the coming of Jesus, should stir the hearts of all, especially those called to be watchmen. Men have been moved of God in a marked manner in the past to defend the truth. Paul’s heart was stirred as he witnessed the idolatry at Athens.

“Years ago, when the Southern Baptist Convention was in session in Raleigh, N. C.,” says Dr. Broughton, “there was a great discussion going on all over the country about the resurrection of the dead, the skeptics vowing their disbelief. Richard Fuller was to preach the convention sermon, Sunday morning, at eleven o’clock, from the pulpit of the First Baptist church of that city. Of course, it was a great occasion from the viewpoint of the great crowd packed and thronged and jammed in the building. It was a great occasion, too, because this great crowd was a thoroughly representative one, most being ministers or representative men of the churches. It was a great opportunity because of the atmosphere of criticism against the vital doctrine of the resurrection.

“Richard Fuller, that matchless orator of his day, paced the floor of his room, as I have heard Dr. Thomas E. Skinner, the pastor of the church, say. He paced the floor of his room for three hours, sometimes rattling the door knob and asking Dr. Skinner if it were not time to preach. His heart was beating and throbbing like the heart of a race horse, until Dr. Skinner had actually to hold him back from entering the pulpit.

“When the time finally came, he walked out and forgot to announce the hymns. He was so lost in his theme that he plunged into his subject immediately. He used for his text the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. I have heard hundreds of men—old men, who were present—describe that scene; how when Richard Fuller finished, he was halfway down the center aisle of the church, feeling about with his eyes shut, picturing Lazarus as he first began to come from the grave, and then as he arose and stood upon his feet and looked again out upon the world that he had so recently left. I suppose, in all the history of the South, no greater sermon was ever preached than that. It almost forever settled the question that was uppermost at that time concerning the resurrection of the dead.”

Surely the stupendous truths of the message that we believe and preach should awaken us in a similar manner, and stir us to the very depths of the soul, and lead us to the most earnest endeavor in our efforts to uproot error, and establish in its place the stirring truths of the message.

“Stir me, O stir me, Lord! I care not how, But stir my heart in passion for the world; Stir me to give, to go, but most to pray; Stir, till the blood-red banner be unfurled O’er lands that still in heathen darkness lie, O’er desert where no cross is lifted high.

“Stir me, O stir me, Lord! till all my heart Is filled with strong compassion for these souls; Till thy compelling ‘must’ drive me to prayer; Till thy constraining love reach to the poles, Far north and south, in burning, deep desire; Till east and west are caught in love’s great fire.

“Stir me, O stir me, Lord! Thy heart was stirred By love’s intensest fire, till thou didst give Thine only Son, thy best-beloved One, E’en to the dreadful cross, that I might live; Stir me to give myself so back to thee That thou canst give thyself again through me.

“Stir me, O stir me, Lord! for I can see Thy glorious triumph day begin to break; The dawn already gilds the eastern sky! O church of Christ, awake! awake! O stir us, Lord, as heralds of that day! The night is past, our King is on his way.”

G. B. T.

New Location for Southern Training School

A RECENT number of Field Tidings announces that after careful search through different sections of Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, a farm about one and one-half miles from Ooltewah Junction, Tenn., has been chosen as the new location for the Southern Training School. Elder W. H. Branson says: “This farm is situated in a beautiful little valley bounded on three sides by small mountains. The land has been inspected by agricultural experts, who pronounce it good. There are two large springs of pure water on the place, which will furnish an abundant supply the year round. Railroad facilities are excellent. There are several buildings on the place. One of these is a large ten-room house, which is in good repair, and will furnish accommodations to twenty-five or thirty students. The other buildings, which consist of several cottages, barns, shops, etc., can be utilized in some way. Ooltewah is a little village of about five hundred inhabitants, fourteen miles north of Chattanooga. The people of the village welcomed the news that we planned to establish our school near them, and are making efforts to raise money to help in the enterprise. Our great need now is funds with which to buy this farm and begin work. We trust that the Spirit of God will impress many to give of their means to help this important movement.”

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