Review and Herald, Vol. 53, No. 16. (4/17/1879)

Review and Herald

Apr 17, 1879

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 17, 1879

TEACHING OF THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS CONCERNING THE NATURE OF MAN.

By E. D. M. Carrigart

E. D. M. CARRIGART.

We now come in the history of our subject to inquire into the faith and teachings of those who in the Christian church were the immediate successors of the apostles. In the Apocryphal New Testament we have the writings of the “Apostolic Fathers.”

Says Archbishop Wake, these epistles are a full and perfect collection of “all the genuine writings that remain to us of the apostolic fathers, and carry on the antiquity of the church from the time of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament to about a hundred and fifty years after Christ. Except the Holy Scriptures, there is nothing remaining of the truly genuine Christian antiquity more early. They contain all that can with any certainty be depended upon of the most primitive fathers.”

It is not claimed that these writings are all genuine and reliable; for it is generally agreed that they are not. Some of them, no doubt, were written by the men whose names they bear, and at a very early date; and all of them were probably written sometime during the first two centuries. They simply show the faith of the writers at that time. As they are all the Christian writings that have come down to us from the time immediately following that of the apostles, they are important. We now inquire what they taught upon the subject in hand. Do we find them all teaching the immortality of the soul, the conscious state of the dead, endless torment, etc.? If so, this fact should have some weight with us. But if, on the other hand, we find them all harmonizing with the Bible in teaching the mortality of man, the sleep of the dead, and the destruction of the wicked, then we shall have further evidence that we have understood the inspired writers correctly upon this subject.

Let us examine these writings, and see if as late as one hundred and fifty years after Christ, the immortality of the soul, or eternal misery, was taught by any of the Christians.

BARNABAS, A. D. 71.

The first writer is Barnabas, A. D. 71. We will lay before the reader every passage of his that relates to our subject. He says, “There are, therefore, three things ordained by the Lord,—the hope of life, the beginning and the completion of it.”

Life, then, was what they hoped for. He teaches that the wicked will perish. “A man will justly perish, if, having the knowledge of the way of truth, he shall nevertheless not refrain himself from the way of darkness.” Again: “Because ye shall all wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat you up.” Of Jesus he says, “They that put their trust in him, shall live forever.” He says that those who are wicked are “adjudged to death.” And the wicked “are as the dust which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth.” “Thou shalt not cleave to those that walk in the way of death.” “The mouth is the snare of death.” “But the way of darkness is crooked and full of cursing; for it is the way of eternal death, with punishment, in which they that walk meet those things that destroy their own souls.” Here he says eternal death, not eternal misery. “But he that chooses the other part shall be destroyed, together with his works. For this cause there shall be both a resurrection and a retribution.” “For the day is at hand in which all things shall be destroyed, together with the wicked one. The Lord is near, and his reward is with him.”

This is a good witness, showing the faith of the church at that time. He represents that the wicked shall die, perish, be destroyed, be blown away as dust, and eaten as a moth; that souls will be destroyed; and he speaks of the sleep of the dead, the coming of the Lord, the resurrection, and retribution thereafter. But, on the other hand, he does not, in all his writings, so much as once hint that man has an immortal soul. He never intimates anything about an endless hell. Dr. Beecher admits that Barnabas, perhaps, taught the annihilation of the wicked. He remarks, “What he says may be understood of the annihilation of the wicked.”

CLEMENT, A. D. 91–100.

The next writer is Clement, A. D. 91–100, in his two letters to the Corinthians. He was a disciple of Peter’s, and bishop of Rome. He exhorts us to lay “aside all vanity, and contention, and envy which leads unto death.” Simple death is the doom of the sinner, according to Clement. Again: “The transgressors shall perish from off the face of it [the earth].”

He attaches great importance to the resurrection. “Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord does continually show us, that there shall be a future resurrection.” Once more: “And again, Job says, Thou shalt raise up this flesh of mine, that has suffered all these things.” He teaches that the time of reward is at the second advent. “Let us therefore strive with all earnestness, that we may be found in the number of those that wait for him, that so we may receive the reward which he has promised.”

He represents immortality as a gift from God. “How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts of God. Life in immortality!” And again he says to the same effect, “By him would God have us to taste the knowledge of immortality.” It is through Jesus, then, that we obtain immortality. He represents man as mortal, made of the dust. “But what can a mortal man do? Or what strength is there in him that is made out of the dust?”

Of the punishment of the wicked he says, “They therefore who do anything which is not agreeable to his will, are punished with death.” In his second letter to the Corinthians he says, “What think ye, then, that he shall suffer, who does anything that is not fitting in the combat of immortality?” He places himself squarely against universalism, or any hope of repentance in the future world. “For after we shall have departed out of this world, we shall no longer be able either to confess our sins or repent in the other.” He teaches that when the wicked are once destroyed, it will be forever. There will be no restoration from it. For he says, “Nothing shall deliver us from eternal punishment if we shall disobey his commands.”

The wicked are destroyed. This is their punishment. And as they never come to life again, their punishment is eternal. Thus in the writings of Clement we find nothing of the immortality of the soul, nothing of purgatory, nothing of deathless spirits, nothing of going to Heaven at death, nothing of eternal torment, or anything like this. Clement teaches that immortality is a gift of God, to be obtained through the resurrection, and that the wicked are utterly to perish in the second death. He exhorts us to “lay hold on eternal life.” And again: “Keep your bodies pure, and your seal without spot, that ye may receive eternal life.”

HERMAS, A. D. 100.

The next in order of time is Hermas, who wrote about A. D. 100. He is supposed to have been a companion of Paul. He has spoken very clearly on the subject in hand. He very plainly teaches the utter destruction of the sinner. “For the remembrance of evils worketh death.” Again: “Happy are all they that do righteousness. They shall not be consumed forever.” He represents the dead as being asleep. Of certain ones he says they “are those which are fallen asleep, and have suffered for the sake of the Lord’s name.”

The second book of Hermas is called his “Commands.” In that he says, “Thou shalt live to God, if thou shalt keep this commandment.” Again: “By so doing, thou mayest attain unto life.” And again: “They who do such things, follow the way of death.” Of the way of evil he says, “It is rugged and full of thorns, and leads to destruction.” He represents that there is no life out of the Lord. Thus: “Whosoever shall fear him, and keep his commandments, their life is with the Lord; but they who keep them not, neither is life in them.”

Of sin he says, “It is very horrible and wild; and by its wildness consumes men. And especially if a servant of God shall chance to fall into it, except he be very wise, he is ruined by it; for it destroys those who have not the garment of a good desire, and are engaged in the affairs of this present world, and delivers them unto death.” Again he says that the wicked “shall die forever.” That is, there is no resurrection from that death. His death is eternal. Again he says, God “is able to save and to destroy you.”

The third book of Hermas is called his “Similitudes.” In this he deals largely in illustrations. After showing how certain dry trees were cast into the fire, and utterly burned up, he says that these represent the wicked. “For the other kind of men, namely, the wicked, like the trees which thou sawest dry, shall as such be found dry and without fruit in that other world; and like dry wood shall be burned.” Here their utter destruction is plainly taught. Again he says, “If thou shalt defile the Holy Spirit, thou shalt not live.” Again: “This kind of men are ordained unto death.” Sinners “shall bring death upon themselves.” Once more: “They render themselves liable to death.”

But for those who repent not, death is prepared. “They shall purchase death unto themselves.” “If they shall not repent, they shall die.” Again: “These have utterly lost life.” The following testimony is very plain: “For before a man receives the name of the Son of God, he is ordained unto death; but when he receives that seal, he is freed from death, and assigned unto life.” Of the wicked he says, “These are condemned to death.” This statement he repeats a large number of times, so many that we do not try to quote them all.

This is the whole testimony of Hermas upon the nature of man. He sets before the people life and death. In all his writings, life is held out as the reward of obedience, and death as the punishment everywhere threatened. He gives no hint of consciousness between death and the resurrection. He says nothing of going to Heaven or hell at death. He says nothing of eternal torment. As to the immortality of the soul, the deathless spirit, and the like, he is totally silent. Hermas, then, plainly believed in the mortality of man, the sleep of the dead, and the destruction of the wicked.

IGNATIUS, A. D. 107.

Ignatius was bishop of Antioch about A. D. 107, and is the next of the apostolic fathers. There are several epistles ascribed to him.

Epistle to the Ephesians.—In this epistle he says the Lord suffered “that he might breathe the breath of immortality unto his church.” Evidently, then, immortality comes alone through Christ. Hence he says again, “Why do we suffer ourselves foolishly to perish, not considering the gift which the Lord has truly sent to us?” Then he says, “Forasmuch as he designed to abolish death.” And again in the same strain, speaking of the Lord’s supper he says, “Which is the medicine of immortality, our antidote, that we should not die, but live forever in Christ Jesus.”

These testimonies are very plain. Death is the portion of the sinner; immortality comes through Christ. With the New Testament, he says that the sinner “shall depart into unquenchable fire.” As we have shown elsewhere, they will be burned up in a fire that cannot be extinguished.

Epistle to the Magnesians.—In this epistle he says, “Seeing, then, all things have an end, there are these two—indifferently set before us, death and life.” Here he is in harmony with the whole Bible, as we have shown. He says that when the sinner is rewarded according to his deeds, he will cease to exist. “For should he have dealt with us according to our works, we had not now had a being.”

Epistle to the Trallians.—Of Christ he says, “Who died for us, that so believing in his death, ye might escape death.” Again: “I refrain myself, lest I should perish in my boasting.”

Epistle to the Romans.—He here rests all upon the resurrection. Speaking of his martyrdom he says, “For it is good for me to set from the world, unto God, that I may rise again unto him.”

There is no reference to this subject in his epistle to the Philadelphians nor in that to the Smyrnaeans.

Epistle to Polycarp.—In this epistle he says, “Be sober, as the combatant of God: the crown proposed to thee is immortality, and eternal life.” He plainly teaches the sleep of the dead and the destruction of the wicked, thus: “Labor with one another; contend together, run together, suffer together; sleep together, and rise together; as the stewards, and assessors, and ministers of God.” He thus exhorts these ministers to suffer together in their warfare, to sleep together

in death, and to rise together in the resurrection.

This is the whole of Ignatius’s testimony. Like all the others, he is utterly silent with regard to the immortality of the soul, or anything looking in that direction. Of the writings of this father Dr. Beecher says, “In some cases the idea of annihilation is suggested.”

POLYCARP, A. D. 166.

The last of the apostolic fathers is Polycarp, who wrote about A. D. 166. We have his letter to the Philippians. He plainly teaches the resurrection of the dead. “But he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also raise up us in like manner.” Again: “And whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says there shall neither be any resurrection nor Judgment, he is the first-born of Satan.” Again: “Charity delivereth from death.”

This venerable father, who had been a companion of the apostle John, suffered martyrdom A. D. 169. His prayer at the stake, as given by Eusebius, shows what his faith was. He says, “I bless thee that thou hast thought me worthy of the present day and hour, to have a share in the number of the martyrs and in the cup of Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life, both of the soul and body, in the incorruptible felicity of the Holy Spirit.” Polycarp hoped for eternal life through the resurrection of both soul and body.

Thus we have the teachings of all the apostolic fathers, reaching down to the middle of the second century. Reader, on which side is their testimony? They are totally silent about the immortal soul, endless hell, eternal torment, deathless spirit, or any such terms. On the contrary, they all along hold out immortality as a thing to be sought for and to be gained only in Christ and at the resurrection. The dead are said to be asleep. They constantly affirm that the wicked shall die, perish, be consumed, destroyed, burned, blown away, etc. So we are safe in saying that to their time the doctrine of the immortality of the soul and eternal torment had not found its way into the church of Christ.

THE LOVE OF GOD.

All things that are on earth, shall wholly pass away, Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye. The forms of men shall be as they had never been; The blasted groves shall lose their fresh and tender green; The birds of the thicket shall end their pleasant song, And the nightingale shall cease to chant the evening long; The kine of the pasture shall feel the dart that kills, And all the fair white flocks shall perish from the hills. The goat and antlered stag, the wolf and the fox, The wild-boar of the wood, and the chamois of the rocks, And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden dust shall lie; And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty whale, shall die. And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no more, And they shall bow to death, who ruled from shore to shore; And the great globe itself, so the holy writings tell, With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell, Shall melt, with fervent heat—they shall all pass away, Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.

—From the Provençal of Bernard Rascas.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald.

“Here is the patience of the Saints: Here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the Faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.

VOLUME 53. BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, APRIL 17, 1879. NUMBER 16.

A PECULIAR PEOPLE.

By J. N. Ayers

“For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.” Ps. 135 : 4.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2 : 11–14.

What a peculiar people those Seventh-day Adventists are! They are not like any one else; they keep Saturday for the Sabbath, and say it is the seventh day of the fourth commandment, referring you to Exodus 20 : 10 : “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” etc. Then they are so peculiar about what they eat and wear. They eat no pork and use no lard. They claim that it is wrong to drink tea, coffee, or whisky; that these are all stimulants, and a person that drinks them is more or less intoxicated, according to the amount taken. And they will not allow any one that uses tobacco to join their church. They declare that tobacco is filthy and defiling as well as intoxicating, and that God’s people must be clean. 2 Cor. 7 : 1 : “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 1 Cor. 3 : 17 : “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

The women do not believe it is right to wear ornaments on their dress, or ear-rings, finger rings, or any kind of jewelry about their person; but though their dress is plain, they always look clean and neat, and declare it is according to God’s word. 1 Tim. 2 : 9, 10 : “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 1 Pet. 3 : 3 : “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel.”

I really do not know what to think of them, they are so peculiar, and then they are so zealous; I believe they are true Christians, they are so kind and accommodating; and if you ask them anything about their faith, they always refer you to the Bible, and it seems as though they know more about the Bible than any other people. I believe they make it a daily study; for you will always find them with a Bible in their pocket; or, if at home, the Bible is always on the table, or where they can put their hand on it at any time.

All this, and much more, we hear, as in traveling from place to place we happen to stop where a family of live Seventh-day Adventists have settled; and it makes us feel that a family of God’s peculiar people live in that community,—a family that read our publications, and let their light shine, and are not afraid of being called peculiar either. May the blessing of God rest on all such Adventists, is the feeling of our heart as we retire to rest.

Oh that we might hear the same in every place we go, but we find it very different in some places. Something like the following greets our ears: Those Adventists that moved in here last year, and that made such a great fuss about the Sabbath and the second coming of Christ, and pretended to be so very religious, are no different from the rest of the professors, as I can see. They are all about alike, and those that make no profession are as good as any of them. They go to all the celebrations, picnics, festivals, and pleasure parties, just as much as the worldlings do, and take part in all the foolish plays and games.

And then the way they dress! They have feathers and flowers on their hats, rings in their ears and on their fingers, and wear dresses ruffled and flounced from top to bottom. I defy any one to tell them from worldlings. The men chew tobacco, and watch for a chance to make a good trade, and even tell things that I know are not really true; and they take the advantage of a neighbor who is in straitened circumstances whenever they can. They hardly ever attend prayer-meeting, and always visit or chore around on Saturday (their Sabbath) just as Sunday-keepers do on Sunday.

I confess I cannot see the difference between them and those who make no profession. If there is any difference, the latter class are the most accommodating, and can be trusted the farthest. To tell the truth, I do not believe they have any religion about them; if they had, they would show it in some way. But they think that because they pretend to keep the seventh day, they are sure of Heaven anyway. I have seen enough of such hypocritical professors; and if I ever try to live a religious life, I shall look for a different people from them; for I believe that God’s people are a separate people, and we can tell them anywhere.

This, and much more, we are sometimes compelled to hear; and we feel like calling for our room and shutting ourselves up alone to keep from hearing any more, and then like leaving as soon as possible in the morning, to hunt a more congenial clime. And all this because there is a family of pretended Seventh-day Adventists in the community that are a reproach to the cause, are spiritually dead, are not reading our publications, and are living like the world around them for fear of being called peculiar, and so have grieved the Spirit of God away from them.

Generally such families claim to be too poor to take any of our publications; but they can take a political paper and a story paper for their children. You ask for the Bible, and there is a great commotion in the house, running from room to room to find the lost book, and when at last it is found, it is covered with dust, showing that it is seldom used. In the evening the children (some nearly grown) drop off to bed one by one, and finally you are shown to your room. In the morning all is confusion until breakfast is ready, and after having hurriedly partaken of the morning meal, the members of the family scatter in various directions to their work. No time to read a chapter in the Bible, no time to engage in a season of prayer, no time to thank the Lord for the many blessings he is bestowing upon them, and ask for a continuation of the same during the day; and so it goes from day to day, from week to week. What is the cause of all this? The answer is, They have become like the world around them, and are serving mammon instead of God. They are afraid of being called peculiar; and we leave them, feeling that it would have been far better for the community in which they live if they had never made a profession.

God’s people ever have been and always will be peculiar, separate from the world. And when a people (although chosen of God) become like the world, God’s Spirit eventually leaves them; and he raises up another people to take their place and carry forward his work on the earth. Take the history of the Israelites, whom he chose as his holy and peculiar people:—

Deut. 14 : 2 : “For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”

Deut. 7 : 7 : “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.” Ex. 33 : 16 : “For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” In verse 14 he says, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”

We learn from these texts, first, that God chose Israel to be his peculiar people; secondly, that at the time of his choosing them they were few in number; thirdly, that he separated them from all other people on the earth; and fourthly, that the Lord went with them as long as they remained a separate and peculiar people. And we find by their history that they were a peculiar people as long as they obeyed God.

They were separated from the world by their dress. Num. 15 : 38 : “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue.”

They were not to unite in marriage with other nations around them. Deut. 7 : 3 : “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.”

They were also instructed of the Lord in regard to their diet. Deut. 14 : 3–21. By reading Num. 11–14, we learn that some disobeyed the Lord. They complained because they could not live like the world. They lusted after such food as they had been accustomed to eat in Egypt. They continued to murmur until finally the Lord’s protecting care was withdrawn, and they wandered in the wilderness until all but Caleb and Joshua and the children had perished. They never entered the promised land, although they had started from Egypt, and the Lord had been with them, and had wrought many miracles for them.

What is all this written for? 1 Cor. 10 : 6 : “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” Verses 10, 11 : “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Then let us take heed to what is written, that we may possess the goodly land, knowing that if we are God’s people we shall be few, separate, and peculiar.

We might also refer to the history of God’s people under Luther, Wesley, and other reformers. At the first, God was with them; they were few and peculiar. But as they grew in numbers, they began to be more like the world, till God raised up others to carry forward his work. We believe that we are in the Laodicean state of the church. (Read the message to that church in Rev. 3 : 15–22.) Then should we not arouse, and get out of this lukewarm condition? We are losing our zeal, are becoming more and more like the world, and the Lord is calling upon us to be zealous and repent. If we pay no heed, he will reject us as he did the Jews and others that have once been his peculiar people, and have become lukewarm in his service. The few honest, zealous ones will go through; but oh, how few their number compared with those that make a profession, and have lost their zeal, and will lose eternal life! I sometimes think it will be with us as it was with ancient Israel, all that started years ago will be lost, except a few like Caleb and Joshua, and that the children represent those who come in at the eleventh hour, and do not allow their zeal to cool off.

We must not expect to have the friendship of the world. James says, chap. 4 : 4, “The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” And John cautions us: “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.” 1 John 2 : 15, 16. So if we should succeed in gaining the whole world, we should have only these three things,—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; and by reading Solomon’s testimony we find that these are all vanity. But if we would have eternal life, we must deny self, bear the cross, and follow Christ. Matt. 16 : 24. We must keep ourselves unspotted from the world. James 1 : 27. There must be no spots of dishonesty about us. Our lives must not be conformed to this world, but must be transformed by the power of God’s Spirit. Rom. 12 : 2. We must be sanctified through the truth, the word of God; for we are not of this world. John 17 : 16, 17.

Now just one word to those Sabbath-keepers who are moving West. Some, when they come here, act as though they were ashamed of the truth; and if they ever were children of God, they cover up their light so that no one can see it. Christ says, in Matt. 5 : 13–16, “Ye are the light of the world.” Then if you cover up your light, there is darkness around you. “Ye are the salt of the earth;” but what if your salt have lost its savor? “It is thenceforth good for nothing.” Now if you have lost your savor, are covering your light, I fear the Lord will cast you out, and you will be like those described in 2 Pet. 2 : 21–22.

Do not try to live like the world, but live close to the Saviour, that you may bear much fruit. John 15 : 1–6. Do not try to dress like the world, but follow the instructions given in God’s holy word. Dear brother, dear sister, let your light shine wherever you are. Do not try to live out of the church, but unite with the one nearest you at the first opportunity. Identify yourself with the tract society, and work with zeal for the salvation of those around you. Be sure not to let your papers stop, if you are taking them, and if you are not taking them, subscribe at once. Stop using tea, coffee, tobacco, or any other harmful luxury that you may be using, but do not stop reading our periodicals. Stop wearing jewelry and useless ornaments, but do not stop your papers. Stop trying to be like the world, but do not stop being one of God’s peculiar people. Be separate from the world, but united to God and to his people. Be faithful in all things, be Christlike every day, at home or abroad, and do not be afraid of being called peculiar, and the Lord will bless you in your new home.

J. N. AYERS.

Garnett, Kansas.

SACRIFICING

By E. B. Lane

“Give and spend, and God will send.”

To warn the world of the Judgment day is a great undertaking, but with God's help it can be accomplished. It is an honor to have any part in this work, even at the cost of great sacrifice. When God calls us to his work, our energies, talents, and means are to be brought into requisition in the most advantageous manner. The gospel minister knows what it is to listen to urgent excuses whenever he calls for means to advance the cause of God, and what he obtains is often a mere pittance to what could be given without inconvenience. If men would show as much financial ability in raising money to forward God's work as they do in their own interest, there would be no lack. With the energetic, the future is filled with well-laid plans for obtaining money to either add to their wealth or supply comforts that could be profitably sacrificed to nobler objects pertaining to their eternal welfare. If such are prospered above their calculations, they feel willing to give a portion, but if they come short, they are inclined to withhold. This is not sacrificing. Men will venture on worldly prospects, give their notes, mortgage their property, strain every nerve to succeed, while they would be regarded as fanatical, if not crazy, were they to make a similar effort to advance their eternal interests.

We often hear men of the world talk of hard times, but I have never heard them urged, discussed, and pressed as at a business meeting of a religious character, by those asked to give money for religious purposes. At a meeting of this kind held recently, a motion was offered that hard times should not be mentioned during the session. It had an excellent effect, and quite a large sum was raised. With many, this complaint of hard times becomes chronic, and they will resist all effort to arouse their generosity. I called on a brother to assist in the missionary work, and received in reply unanswerable hard times as a reason why he could do nothing in this direction. I had previously heard his wife remark that she would have accepted an invitation to visit a relative had she received it in due time. The journey would have cost about three dollars and a half. “Hard times” was no obstruction to the visit!

A brother was solicited to aid in supporting the ministry. He gave ten dollars, all he thought he could spare. God blessed him

with a bountiful harvest of corn, but heavy rains raised the streams, and nearly all his crop was swept away. He afterward told me that had he been asked for the value of that corn, he would have thought he could not spare it, but he only wished the cause had it. I reflected: This is the way many will feel in the day of destruction, when their property is swept away, and their lives are lost with it. Another brother, “too poor to help any,” lost a horse, and he procured another and went on farming as usual. If our houses burn, if we lose our stock or crops, or have expense of sickness, we rally and recover. Why not devote our energies and make our plans while in prosperity to lay up a few hundred dollars, perhaps thousands, in Heaven, in “bags that wax not old,” where our treasure will not fail? E. B. LANE.

CHRIST'S KINGDOM.

By Milton C. Wilcox

We agree with all Christian denominations that the kingdom spoken of in Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45, and 7:14, 27, is the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We do not agree with those who assert that this kingdom was set up at the first advent or on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:1, etc.

We could not agree with them for the following reasons:—

1. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” 1 Cor. 15:50. We learn from this text, (1) that the kingdom of God is an immortal or incorruptible kingdom; and (2) that mortal men have no place in that kingdom. That mortal men have lived with and without Christ since the time of the first advent, of course none will deny.

2. The kingdom of Christ will destroy, break in pieces, and utterly consume all the kingdoms of this world, that no place will be found for them. Dan. 2:35, 44.

3. Christ's kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), or, of this world in its present state. Compare with 2 Pet. 3:5-7, 13; Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1, 5.

4. Peace, joy, love, and unalloyed happiness are to exist in the kingdom of Christ; while sorrow, strife, and all sin, and its effects, will be banished thence. Rev. 21:3, 4, 8; 22:5; 2 Pet. 3:13; Isa. 35.

Yet in the face of all this evidence, which is not a tithe of what might be adduced, its many ministers and professors of theology would have us believe that we are living in Christ's kingdom. Pitiful theology! Christ's kingdom, when heathen Rome was slaying nations, and wading in the blood of human sacrifice! Christ's glorious kingdom, during the “ten persecutions”! Messiah's everlasting kingdom, when the saints, “the children of the kingdom,” were well nigh destroyed by Papal Rome during the 1260 years of Papal supremacy! Christ's peaceful kingdom, during the dismemberment of the Roman empire, that deluged the earth in blood; during the revolution of 1848, which shook the world to the very center; during our own civil war, in which the blood of thousands was shed and all the land was in mourning and tears! Christ's immortal kingdom, while famine, war, disease, pestilence, and death in all its terrible forms, continue to ravage the earth, sweeping off countless victims in their awful desolations! No; it is not the kingdom of our Lord. The world, physical, political, religious, groaning and travailing, tells us it is not. God's word tells us it is not.

But the kingdom is near. Our Saviour tells his disciples that after the fulfillment of certain signs in the heavens and earth, we “shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory;” that “our redemption draweth nigh,” and that “the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” And then adds, “Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.” Luke 21:25-33. Those signs have passed. What next?—The kingdom.

It comes with the second advent of our Lord. Paul places them together; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; and John, Rev. 14:14 with 15:2, 3. The faithful shall inherit it. Gal. 3:7, 29. We enter it “through much tribulation.” Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12. The overcomers shall inherit all these things (Rev. 21:7); for “He is faithful that promised.” Oh! glorious kingdom! Oh! glorious King! “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” “Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.”

MILTON C. WILCOX.

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