Earlier text: UNQUOTABLE HYMNSTHE DECISIVE SIGN.
By Editor
THERE is a prophecy concerning what we call “the Eastern question” which points out that the Turk shall remove the seat of his government from Constantinople to Jerusalem, and then come to his end with none to help him. And this is in close connection with the standing up of Michael, or the beginning of the everlasting reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, who finally sets up His eternal kingdom for the saints of the Most High. Dan. 12:1; 11:45. Naturally the mind of the student of prophecy would fix itself upon this point, the expulsion of the Turk from Europe, as the immediate and decisive sign of the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. A correspondent from Hume, Mich., has been studying upon this point, and writes:— “In Luke 21:20 we read that when the disciples should see Jerusalem compassed with armies, they were to consider it a sign for immediate flight from the city. Is it not possible that this may have a secondary and particular application to the people of God in the last days; namely, that the retirement of the Turk from Europe, and the establishment of his government at Jerusalem, will be a sign for the people of God to flee from the cities, and retire by themselves into secret places, waiting for the coming of the Lord? for when the scene shifts to Jerusalem, we understand that all nations will be gathered there to the battle of the great day. Then Jerusalem would be compassed with armies (plural), whereas now, when we speak of the military power of a nation, we say army (singular), as ‘the army of Great Britain, the army of the United States,’ etc. When Jerusalem was overthrown, it was compassed with one army,—the Roman army,—not armies; but the time will come in the future when it will be compassed with armies; and will not this be the decisive sign to us, of the end?” ANSWER.—The events transpiring in the East are worthy of special attention, and their significance as signs, should be marked; but it should be remembered that there is a Western question which is equally significant. Events are moving here, the currents of which are eddying around our own feet, which are just as significant and striking as signs as anything can be. Signs are multiplying on every hand. In our own country they are manifested in political, social, and religious movements, especially the latter. Backsliding and apostasy from some of the highest and noblest principles among men, are apparent in our land. The everlasting truth, incorporated in the Declaration of the Independence of the United States, that “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” is repudiated by a growing party in our own country, and denounced as the “old Philadelphia lie.” They would have it that governments derive all their powers directly from God, said powers to be interpreted and applied by His agents, alias themselves. Secondly, the Constitution of the United States, a document which has been described by a leading organ of public opinion in England as “the most sacred political document in the world,” has been repudiated. It has been denied the privilege of “following the flag.” The United States has shown itself willing to extend its jurisdiction over subject peoples, while at the same time it denies to them the civil and religious rights which the Constitution guarantees to all people. This is national apostasy, and this is to-day taking place right before our eyes. It ought to make the nerves of every intelligent man tremble with apprehension when he contemplates the inevitable results of such a course. Ancient prophecy foretold it, modern prophecy repeats and applies it. It says, “When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power [which it is now doing], when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism [which she is now doing], when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government [which she is now doing], and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then [which is now] we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near. As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight never to return.”—“Testimony for the Church,” No. 32, page 207, quoted in “The Marvel of Nations,” page 298. So, critical and stirring as events in the East are, here are movements in our own land, which are now taking place, and which are distinctly specified as an indication by which we may know, when they do take place, that the cup of iniquity in our nation is full, that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, and mercy is about to take her flight, never to return. So while keeping our eyes open on events in the East, let us not overlook movements nearer home. All things admonish us to be ready for the wave the crest of which is even now curling to break and burst upon our land and upon the world, and involve all in ruin. Here is the decisive sign. EDITOR. THE MISSION OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.
The mission of Seventh-day Adventists in the world is to “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” That faith is “the faith of Jesus.” It is the soul’s “Amen!” to every word of God. That faith is needed in our world to-day. “When the Son of man cometh,” said Jesus, “shall He find faith on the earth?” Taking a general view of the religious world, it would seem that faith is to-day well-nigh extinct. There was a time when Protestantism stood for the word of God, as against the traditions and decrees of Rome. To-day we are constantly reminded by leaders in the Protestant ranks that the old Protestant position has been abandoned, and there are but few who still contend for implicit belief of God’s written word. The word of God has been bound about with the limitations of the human mind, by men who profess to take that word as their rule of faith and practice, until so far as they are concerned, it is stripped of the qualities of omniscience and omnipotence, and made as human as are they themselves. Christianity, upon such a basis, is divested of all that is miraculous and superhuman, and hence of all power of salvation. The repudiation of the Bible by Protestants is a fact not overlooked by Roman Catholics. The New York Sun, which in religion speaks from the Catholic standpoint, calls attention to a recent sermon in that city by the Rev. Dr. Lorimer on “the present condition of thought in Protestantism.” We quote from the Sun:— “The rock on which Protestantism was built was belief in the absolute authority of the Bible. Now criticism of the Bible, which reduces it practically to a book of purely human authorship, and with the consequent inevitable imperfections of human knowledge, has entered into foremost schools of Protestant theology, and proceeds without restraint. Thus the miraculous element of the Bible is made to disappear, and with it passes away the foundation on which alone Christianity is based, for that, necessarily, is miraculous.” And, adds the Sun, “As Dr. Lorimer says, only the pope, only the Church of Rome, ‘comes to the front as the champion of the Bible against the destructive critics.’” Almost simultaneously with the penning of these words by the editor of the Sun, and in confirmation of them, a leading professor in Northwestern University, a Methodist institution, was giving utterance to the statement that “the dogma of the infallible Bible is the besetting sin and golden calf of the idolatrous worship of the churches,” and declaring that theologians must now “throw aside the dogma of an infallible Bible as completely and frankly as Protestants have thrown aside the dogma of an infallible pope.” The miracles of the Bible must, he said, be regarded as the product of “mere poetic fancy.” And here is another witness, who speaks almost simultaneously with this Methodist professor,—the editor of the Independent (New York City). Having been interrogated by the editor of the Western Recorder (Baptist), one of the few Protestant religious organs which still maintains the old Protestant attitude toward the Bible, as to whether “we are under obligation to believe whatever the Bible, fairly interpreted, teaches, and to do whatever the Bible, fairly interpreted, enjoins,” the editor of the Independent replies: “To this we give the ‘clear-cut’ answer, ‘No.’” And he continues:— “For example, to our literary sense the Bible, fairly interpreted, declares in its first chapter that the world was made in six days of the usual sort, with mornings and evenings. We are perfectly familiar with the evasions by which the plain meaning is explained away, but which never deceived such a scholar of good literary common sense as was Dr. Howard Crosby, who once told the present writer that he believed the world was made in six twenty-four-hour days because the Bible said so. We have no doubt the writer of Genesis so meant his language to be understood; and it was, in fact, generally so understood until the days of geology. But we do not believe that the world was made, nor that Adam or Eve was made, in the way described realistically in Genesis.” (Italics ours.) Another “example” cited by this Protestant authority is the following:— “The Bible, ‘fairly interpreted,’ seems to us to ‘enjoin’ women to keep silence in the churches. We can get no other fair interpretation out of Paul’s language. To our mind it is clear that women now have a right to speak and teach, and that the Holy Spirit in the Church has reversed what the Holy Spirit said through Paul. That is, if Dr. Eaton [editor of the Western Recorder] prefers, we set up our own private judgment against Paul’s inspiration; but ‘we think we have the Holy Spirit’ with us.” (Italics ours.) Fairly interpreted, then (to sum up the position here taken), the Bible is misleading; it does not (in places) mean what it says; it is even not to be understood as the writers meant their language to be understood. And further, what the Holy Spirit said at one time it may have reversed at another time; and the inspiration of the Scripture writings is sometimes less reliable than one’s own private judgment. And if this be true, so far from being an infallible guide to the Christian in faith and conduct, the Bible is one of the most unreliable books in existence. And this is the doctrine upon which the Protestantism of to-day is largely based; for we have cited but one or two of many witnesses who have testified to the same point; nor have they a reputation for extravagant views upon this subject. Is it any wonder, then, that years ago the time was ripe for a message from heaven calling men to repentance and a preparation for the coming of the Lord? or that to-day the time is ripe for the message, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; come out of her, my people”? Is it any wonder that a people are being called out who will raise aloft the standard of faith in the word of God, and will establish a system of education different from that which instructs people in disbelief of the word of God? Without it, how is Protestantism to be preserved? for a fallible Bible affords no foundation for a system which protests against a fallible pope and a57fallible church council; and the foundation being gone, Protestantism itself is gone, in everything except the name, and only a clear field for the papacy remains. But the foundation is not gone; it “standeth sure,” and will remain unaffected by human efforts to discover flaws in its construction. And Protestantism remains, but its mantle has fallen upon Seventh-day Adventists. And as the light of Protestantism in other churches grows dim, Seventh-day Adventists must arise and shine. As the forces of nominal Protestantism fall back toward Rome, Seventh-day Adventists must make a movement forward. Others may join in the movement, but we must lead out. The word of God is to be exalted before the world; Jesus Christ, its author, is to be exalted; and a salvation is to be proclaimed which is altogether miraculous and above human powers of reason and comprehension. For this hour this people have come into the world. They must bridge over the black chasm of faithlessness between the world and God until the gospel work is done, and the time is reached when God shall arise in judgment to demonstrate that His word is indeed infallible. Put On the Whole Armor of God
If all would put on the whole armor of God and fight manfully the battles of the Lord, victories would be gained that would cause the kingdom of darkness to tremble.—T. C., Vol. VI, page 41. PRESUMPTUOUS DARING.
By Editor
FROM the statements brought out in the latest edition of “The Marvel of Nations,” it appears that something has given the people of the American nation prestige in comparison with other people, which enables Americans to take the lead in great enterprises in engineering, or in those of an agricultural or financial nature, by which they give an object lesson to the world of what men possessed of the requisite skill and enterprise can do in these directions. The matter of bridge building, in which Americans take the lead of all nations, and bear away the honors of the heaviest contracts, furnishes an incident in point; and one of the illustrations given in the book shows what is included in some of the engineering enterprises in question, and justifies the heading placed as a caption to these lines. The illustration is on page 183, copied from McClure’s Magazine, and represents the construction of a bridge across Niagara River just below the Falls, and shows what perilous undertakings men of this country will engage in to carry out some engineering enterprise, and to maintain their prestige as willing to encounter any obstacles that stand in the path of their progress. It represents the addition of another length to the longest arch-span of an iron bridge yet constructed in the world, and over the most dangerous chasm; namely, Niagara River. The workmen on a narrow scaffolding suspended by wires, as the ponderous iron beams are swung up, perforated for the bolts that are to hold them in place, catch in metal buckets the rivets heated white hot, and by a dextrous movement insert them in their respective places, and then with heavy bridge hammers rivet those beams tightly in place, one after another, till the whole structure is completed. By the skill of the engineers it is all calculated nicely just what strain it can bear, and the weight it can sustain. The work of putting it together must require most rapid movements, steady hands, quiet nerves, and the faculty of maintaining an equilibrium on an uncertain footing, and in face of the most trying conditions; for the least false move would inevitably hurl the workmen to an unavoidable fate. Think how suddenly a quick and unexpected displacement of their frail footing, the least loss of self-possession, unsteadiness of nerve, or the failure of a steadily balanced brain, would plunge them into the torrent roaring and surging at a dizzy distance right beneath their feet, which would be inevitable death. How men under such conditions can maintain their coolness and equable temper, is more than some of us can imagine. We would certainly become “rattled,” and fall a prey to our irrepressible and uncontrollable fears. But to carry out a desirable enterprise the work has to be done; it can be done in no other way; and it is no wonder that the country that can furnish the men to carry through the work successfully, should be in demand everywhere where such enterprises are found to be desirable. It seems not only like presumptuous daring, but like flying in the face of providence to undertake to carry out such feats under such conditions. But the men who can do this must inevitably take the lead of all their fellows in enterprises of this kind. It is this feature of the American character, we think, that tends to raise it in the world’s work, and prepares it to fulfill its place in prophecy, and do its part toward hastening the great consummation. EDITOR. “CHRISTIAN SCIENCE:” ARE ITS DOCTRINES TRUTH OR ERROR?
By George Ide Butler
Some of Mrs. Eddy’s Teachings Examined in the Light of the Scriptures.
Mrs. Eddy teaches, and Christian Scientists believe, that Christ will never come personally, but that Christian Science itself is the second coming of Christ. Notice carefully the following extracts:— “This coming [that is, the discovery of Christian Science] is as was promised by the Master, for its establishment as a permanent dispensation to remain forever among men.” “Its discovery is the second coming of the gospel of ‘peace on earth and good will to men.’” (Italics mine.) “This awakening is the coming of Christ, the appearing of truth, which casts out error and heals the sick,—this the salvation which cometh through the divine principle demonstrated by Jesus.”—Science and Health, pages 43, 126. “The coming of the truth is the coming of Christ. We have no longer a personal Jesus. We are no longer seeking to be like the sinless Jew of eighteen hundred years ago.” “Here let us apprehend the wise words of our teacher [Mrs. Eddy]. Christian Science is the second advent of Christ.”—The New Interpreter, page 110. “The second coming of the Lord is a descent from the heavens within us into the body of humanity, of the same divine truth which was manifested in Jesus Christ. . . . The Christian Scientist believes that Christ is now here.”—Condensed Thoughts, pages 49, 50. These statements clearly demonstrate that the discoverer of Christian Science, and her disciples, all believe the second advent of Christ is already an accomplished fact, and hence that none have a right to expect He will ever come again. Let us now notice some of the Bible statements regarding Christ’s coming, to see how well they will agree with these extracts. Here is Christ’s own blessed promise: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. 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: 1–3. When Christ comes, He comes after His own, and takes them above to the mansions He has prepared for them. There will be no poor in heaven. Every one will have a home which Jesus has provided for him. Has Christian Science done all this for its votaries?—Hardly. Again: “And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 9–11. This Jesus, who had been with them from the time of His resurrection till His ascension, was not a phantom, a ghost, a spirit without body or parts, but a real being of “flesh and bones,” who ate of the fish and the honeycomb; who walked and sat and talked with His disciples, communing with them freely; who showed doubting Thomas the actual prints of the nails which had been driven through His hands and feet when nailed to the cross, and the scar made by the spear driven into His side. He ascended bodily to heaven, there to plead for us as our great High Priest till He should come again just as literally as they saw Him ascend to heaven. Those angels told those sorrowing disciples no falsehoods as they thus plainly testified of His sure return. Dear reader, how do these statements of the two heavenly messengers agree with these wretched claims of Christian Science? Which will you believe, the heavenly angels or Mrs. Eddy? Again. “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Rev. 1: 7. Had all this occurred when Mrs. Eddy wrote “Science and Health,” and58made her wonderful discovery? Have all nations wailed as they read her book? Very few of them know anything about her book. Yet it has already been before the world twenty-five years. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4: 16–18. And did this all happen in the Christian Science movement? Did Christ himself come with a shout? and did the trump of God sound, and all the dead arise from their graves? were all the living saints translated, thus to remain with their Lord, in the history of Mrs. Eddy’s cult? If so, they have kept very still about it. It is well known from her own statements that they as a people fully believe nothing of the kind ever will happen. But, dear reader, these are the words of the blessed Book, which she claims to believe. Again. “They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And 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: 30, 31. This glorious doctrine of Christ’s personal return to this earth in great glory to gather His faithful disciples, and put down rebellion and wickedness, is taught all through the Bible. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, foretold it, saying, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” Jude 14. Thus we see that away back before the flood, the holy men of God taught the coming of the Lord in glory. It has been taught by all the prophets and by Christ himself. There are few doctrines taught so prominently in the Bible. It is easy to prove that we must be living very near this event. The signs given in Holy Writ are either all fulfilled or fast fulfilling. The Word also clearly states that when that period is reached when His people should look for their Lord’s return, false teachers will arise and deceive many by spiritualizing away the plain statements of the Sacred Scriptures, teaching that these events will come in some secret manner. “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24: 24–28. That is, it shall be personally visible to all. “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6: 14–17. O that these sublime words concerning this greatest event of human history, might be burned into our hearts and minds till all these mouthings of error and mysticism, these foggy fables of Satan, these peace-and-safety cries which lull poor souls into spiritual stupor, were forever driven from us! How can any person with any reverence for the Scriptures, and any regard for these plain statements of Christ and His apostles concerning His second coming, believe Mrs. Eddy’s teachings that the second coming of Christ has taken place already, and is fulfilled in the coming of Christian Science? It is very plain that her teachings on this subject, like those of Spiritualism, Swedenborgianism, and various others afloat to-day, that Christ has come in some spiritual way, come from Christ’s great adversary. Just at the very time the warning message that Christ’s coming is near is going forth to the world, just as Noah, the preacher of righteousness, warned the antediluvian world of a coming flood, Satan sends forth a multitude of opposing teachers to give the peace-and-safety cry, to tell us Christ has already come in a host of spiritual mediums, or teachers of Christian Science, who take Mrs. Eddy’s book as their Bible of authority. Our Saviour warned us plainly that just such things would come when the last days were reached. The last days have come. The signs of the end are fulfilling all around us. And lo, these teachers of error are crying, “The Lord has come already, the Lord is here.” Their teaching such blasphemous falsehood thus becomes a mighty sign that the last days of time are fully reached, and our Lord is near, even at the doors. Channels of Divine Influence
God’s people are to be channels for the outworking of the highest influence in the universe. From the anointed ones that stand in God’s presence the fullness of divine light and love and power is imparted to His people, that they may impart to others light and joy and refreshing.—T. C., Vol. VI, page 12. Something for Everybody.
By E. R. Palmer
We have reached the eleventh hour, and the call is repeated, “Go work to-day in my vineyard.” There are times which seem especially opportune for a general forward movement, and at such times God’s Spirit goes out through the earth, and calls His people to the work in hand. That Spirit is now working in a most striking manner among Seventh-day Adventists throughout the world, and thousands are being impressed with the importance of doing something in a definite way at once in behalf of the circulation of our literature. In nearly every Conference in the United States, a simultaneous movement has started in this direction, and the call is being sounded from every quarter, “Something for everybody!” “Come; for all things are now ready!” The Spirit of God has said that where there is one canvasser, there should be one hundred. In each State at the present time there are from five to twenty canvassers; therefore there should be from five hundred to two thousand in each State. But this number would include practically the entire membership, therefore this statement can mean nothing less than that every Seventh-day Adventist, whether minister, Bible worker, regular canvasser, or lay member, should become an active agent for the circulation of our literature. This is the thought with which thousands are being impressed. All things are prepared for such a movement as this. We have tracts, pamphlets, and books, varying in price from one cent to nine dollars or more, and within this range can be found something for every man, woman, and child in this denomination to sell, loan, or give away. The eleventh-hour call is emphatically a call to service. The time is far spent. There is only a little while for work; and while the Spirit of God is moving and co-operating with us, let us arise and do something. Write to your tract society secretary, the president of your Conference, or to your State agent for information and for assistance. Also, dear brethren and sisters, we want you to repeat this call until it has been sounded in every ear throughout the world. God has said that the time has come for us to engage in the tract, periodical, and book work again, and press it forward as never before; and with His help and blessing we are responding to the call, and intend to scatter these precious pages of truth like “the leaves of autumn.” Who will join us? Sec. Gen. Conf. Publishing Committee. Draw Together, Draw Together
“Draw together, draw together.” The solemn, sacred truth for this time is to unify the people of God. The desire for pre-eminence must die. One subject of emulation must swallow up all others,—who will most nearly resemble Christ in character? who will most entirely hide self in Jesus?—T. C., Vol. VI, page 42. Editorial Notes.
By L. A. B.
SIN is the devil’s mortgage on the soul, which he is always seeking an opportunity to foreclose. THE true Christian is never more ready to hear what the devil has to say than to listen to the words of Christ. IF you would realize real benefit from “mind cure,” practice that kind which consists in exchanging the mind of self for the mind of Christ. THE pleasures of the world from which Christianity prohibits us are not half as great or as real as the sorrows of the world from which Christianity delivers us. THE Christian pathway is a way “cast up” high above the paths of the world; and if you are in the pathway, you will feel that the fashions and follies of the world are a long way beneath you. IF you have found the “pearl of great price,” you will not be able to hide the fact from your neighbors, nor the knowledge that the like treasure can be had where you obtained it by any and every earnest seeker. SOME people do not know the difference between having liberty, and being led by the devil with a slack rope. Christian liberty is the ability to do rightly, the liberty of strength in the Lord. The liberty of those who serve Satan is the inability to refrain from wrong doing,—a liberty which is but another name for weakness, and which leads to ever-increasing bondage. THE Christian pathway is a narrow one, but the Christian platform is a very broad one,—“the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” What foundation could be broader or more solid? How ever strait the way, the Christian’s foot rests on the solid and sure foundation; while the “broad way” of the world is full of holes, quicksands, and “slippery places.” “It seems,” writes the London correspondent of the New York Sun, “according to reports cabled here of the effect of the announcement of Prince Henry’s visit on the American people, that nowhere will the condescension of a crowned head win such an adulation as in a republic.” If this is so, it is only because popular ideals of this country are changing from a republican character to that of monarchy; and of this the evidences of late years have been many. L. A. B. In the Question Chair.
By Editor
[Designed for the consideration of such questions as will be of interest and profit to the general reader. All correspondents should give their names and correct post-office address, that queries not replied to here may be answered by mail.] 852.— THE HANDWRITING OF ORDINANCES.
What is meant by this expression in Col. 2: 14? also the expressions in verses 15, 17, and 20 of same chapter? I have been asked by one not of our faith questions on this point, and would like assistance from you to make it plain. A. C. S., Trent, Muskegon Co., Mich. ANSWER.— The “handwriting of ordinances” was something written by hand. The body of the matter of which this handwriting was composed was “ordinances” or decrees, something ordained and taught. It was something which Christ in His appointed work was to blot out, and nail to His cross; and the reason it was to be taken out of the way was because it was “against us,” and “contrary to us.” Verse 11. In Christ the disciples have the true circumcision, that of the heart, which is effected by “putting off the body of the sins of the flesh,” even by the circumcision of Christ; that is, the circumcision which Christ requires. All this was most strikingly represented in their baptism, wherein they were symbolically (for literally they could not be) buried and raised with Christ. The time during which they remained under water was a kind of temporary death, after the image of the death of Christ. When they emerged from the water, they rose after the image of His resurrection, to a life of righteousness here and of glory hereafter. Alford says “took,” in verse 14, should be “hath taken,” and “His cross,” “the cross.” The translators fancied that the subject of the whole sentence was Christ, whereas it is God the Father. In verse 15 “having spoiled” should be “stripping off from himself,” “divesting himself of;” that is, in the cross of Christ God puts off from himself the ministration of angels, by which the law was given, subjecting them all to Christ, whose triumph they grace, as we are said to do. 2 Cor. 2: 14. Therefore angels were no more to be regarded as mediators between God and man, nor the law which they ministered, as binding. What the apostle referred to by the “handwriting” which was “against us” and “contrary to us,” is intimated in the conclusion he draws in verse 16, as what resulted from His work of “blotting out” and “nailing to His cross.” “Let no man therefore judge you [condemn you as a sinner] in meat, or in drink” (because you do not regard the distinctions established by the ceremonial laws in regard to these things, nor regard the regulations in respect to holidays to bestow more honor upon them) or “the new moon, or the [ceremonial] sabbath days [of which there were seven which belonged to the Jewish system].” See Leviticus 23. We as Christians are released from paying any regard to anything that was typical or shadowy, pointing forward to the “body” which “is of Christ,” or the antitypical work of Christ. To the Hebrews the same apostle speaks of the same things referred to in the epistle to the Colossians, and describes them in similar terms. He says, “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all [the way into the heavenly holy places] was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing [that is, while the earthly sanctuary still stood, and the Mosaic dispensation was still in force]; which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation;” that is till the Seed, Christ, should come. “But when the fulness of the time was come [Gal. 4: 4], God sent forth His Son.” We see by this that this scripture has no reference to the moral law, but pertains only to the carnal ordinances of meats and drinks, festival occasions, and ceremonial sabbaths, which belonged to the typical system,—a system given to the world as an object lesson to lead them to Christ. Gal. 3: 24. EDITOR. In reforms, we would better come one step short of the mark than go one step beyond it; and if there is error at all, let it be on the side next to the people.
—T. C., Vol. III, page 21. FLORIDA
By Chas. P. Whitford
I HAVE been laboring alone at Orlando, the county seat of Orange County, since the close of the tent-meeting, December 8. Ten persons have accepted the truths of the Third Angel's Message, and are now observing the Sabbath. Others are becoming deeply interested. My courage is good in the Lord. I expect to remain here for some time. I can only hope and live for the salvation of the perishing. I ask an interest in the prayers of God's people. BLOOMINGTON.— It was my privilege to spend the week of prayer with the Bloomington church, and I am glad that I can truthfully report that the Lord was pleased to come very near His people by His Spirit. All who participated in the meetings received showers of blessing. I am sure that if all who profess to believe the Third Angel’s Message in Bloomington will live up to their God-given privileges, and show their appreciation of the blessings received during the week of prayer, better days are for the church in that city. Three meetings were held each day; the Lord gave power in the presentation of His word, and souls were stirred. The church was much revived. I have not learned the exact amount of the annual offerings, but I am quite sure that they were liberal. One brother came to me after the discourse one night, and said that he was deeply impressed by some remarks which had been made during the preaching, that it was his duty to make an offering for his little boy who was four months old; he said he believed it the parents’ duty to make offerings for the children until they become old enough to give for themselves. I am sure that his ideas in that matter are correct, and doubtless many parents would see their children in a far better condition spiritually, were they to adopt this brother’s plan. The next night he came to the meeting with three envelopes,—each containing fifteen dollars,—one for himself, one for his wife, and the other for his little boy. I received a great blessing during the week of prayer, for which I praise the Lord. May God bless the Bloomington church, and may all the members do what they can by the help of the Lord to get the light of present truth before the people; to this end I shall pray. From December 30 to January 15 I spent in Battle Creek visiting my family, whom I had not seen before since the General Conference. Battle Creek is not by any means a paradise, as many imagine it before going there. I visited many discouraged souls during my sojourn in that place, and could have spent all my time while there in laboring with such. Many have drifted into Battle Creek as so much driftwood, and can give no good reason why they are there. These do not belong to the church in Battle Creek, and they fail to report to the church to which they belong; hence they pay no tithe, either in Battle Creek or in their home church, and feel under no obligations to help keep up expenses. Yet they murmur and complain, feeling that they are slighted and misused. Oh may the dear Lord help all such to go to work to get the precious truth before those who are sitting in darkness! If they will only do this, it will prove a means of healing to their soul, and a balm to their conscience. I preached once in the Sanitarium chapel. The Lord was present, and we had a blessed meeting. I also spoke once to the old people in the Old People’s Home. The Spirit of God was present in a marked measure, and I shall not soon forget that meeting. It was good to be there, and hear the testimonies of the old veterans in Israel. God bless the old people! I am now on my way back to my field of labor in Illinois. I praise God for the part He grants me in His work.