p. Six | Signs of the Times, Vol. 57, No. 41. (10/21/1930)

Earlier text: The MASTER KEY to the World's Situation

The Absence of Thomas

By Henry T. Elliott

HENRY T. ELLIOTT

Thomas . . . was not with them when Jesus came.” John 20:24. Here was an absence from a small religious gathering of enough importance to be recorded in the Bible. Why was Thomas absent?

It must be remembered that the disciples were much affected by the traditional Jewish ideas of the coming Redeemer and His mission on earth. The Jewish nation were smarting and groaning under the Roman yoke, and they believed the Redeemer would come as king and ruler to free the nation from its Roman bondage and give it a high place in the world’s affairs.

In accepting personal faith in Jesus and His leadership, the disciples still clung to the traditional expectation that Jesus would set up an earthly kingdom. They quarreled over future positions of authority. They thought Jesus was slow to advance His claims, and they sought opportunities to induce Him to accept public leadership; for example, after the feeding of the multitude, they sought to bear Him aloft to the capital city. But Jesus would not. It was difficult for them to understand that His kingdom was “not of this world.” Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was ready to wield a sword in defense of his Leader; but Jesus restrained him. So they waited, vainly hoping that the day would soon come when Jesus would assert Himself as a world leader.

DESPONDENT AND DESPAIRING

Imagine their complete disappointment when Jesus was seized by the soldiery and executed as a vile criminal. Their hopes were dashed to despair. The apparent failure and disgrace of Jesus threw them into despondency. In their gloom they knew not what to do. They turned again to their ordinary pursuits, doubtless amid the taunts and sneers of the unbelieving. When reports began to be circulated that Jesus was alive, Thomas could not believe them. The One whom he had trusted was divine had been executed like a mere man. He did not intend to be deceived again.

Besides all this, Thomas distrusted the other disciples. They had serious faults, and were not of the right spirit. Peter, clamoring for leadership; James and John, scheming with their mother for the coveted positions next to the Master; uncertain Philip; and others no better,—Thomas had lost faith in their experience, and he decided to withdraw from the circle. Critical and fearful, he separated from them to go his own way.

But how much Thomas lost by his absence! First, he missed Jesus, who came and “stood in the midst.” Like the Jews who at Jesus’ birth were not ready to honor Him, so Thomas missed his opportunity to show his allegiance to His Master. Jesus—Saviour—“there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” How many to-day have, through doubt and criticism, failed to see and receive Jesus as a personal Saviour!

Second, Thomas missed Jesus’ message, “Peace be unto you.” This was the message of the angels when Jesus was born. “Peace” is the very heart of the gospel. Jesus always brings peace to troubled hearts. “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.” “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.” “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.” Inward peace will quicken and invigorate the entire experience. It is indeed the animated, living pleasure enjoyed to its full measure only by the Christian.

Third, Thomas, by his absence, did not receive the Holy Spirit. “He [Jesus] breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Spirit is “the Comforter” that Jesus said would be His personal representative on earth after His departure. It is the Holy Spirit who gives power to the life and testimony of the believer. This most coveted gift in the experience of the Christian is waiting for those who will receive it. But alas, how often is the power of the Spirit shut off from the life because, through doubt of the divine and distrust of the faithful, the life has been isolated!

THE HARVEST OF DISTRUST

Fourth, Thomas was not present to receive the commission, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” He lost his opportunity to serve by separating himself from his brethren. How really powerless and useless is the life in which is no inspiring commission to help and to save others. With no burden for others, life is empty, restless, and vain.

Such to the Christian are the dangers of doubt and discord. The seeds of distrust bring forth a terrible harvest. The possibility of doubt and distrust will never be entirely removed in this world. It is for us to cling to the evidences of faith.

To be sure, Thomas was given another chance. God always gives returning faith an opportunity. But Thomas must carry to the end of his earthly life a remembrance of having failed his Lord in a critical hour when his testimony was needed. And ever after there would ring in his soul the Saviour’s gentle reminder and comparison, “Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

The Heavenly Tribunal

Are you ready for your case to appear before the heavenly tribunal that is now in session?

The “SIGNS” QUESTION CORNER

By William G. Wirth

Conducted by WILLIAM G. WIRTH, 5447 EL VERANO AVENUE, EAGLE ROCK, CALIFORNIA

If you have a question regarding Bible doctrine and Christian living, or on other subjects apropos to the field of the “Signs of the Times,” write out your question and send it in, preferably direct to Dr. Wirth. Anonymous questions will not be answered. Do not become impatient if your question is not answered immediately, for Dr. Wirth has scores of questions in waiting, and yours will be answered in order.

THE JUDGMENT, POLYGAMY, AND LIGHT

Edward Kiehlbauch of Alberta wishes knowledge concerning the judgment, polygamy, the source of light, and other questions.

Seventh-day Adventists hold that Christ as high priest entered into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 to begin the investigative judgment of the righteous. This is based upon their interpretation of Daniel 8:14, as reference to such of their standard publications as “The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan” and “Daniel and the Revelation” will show.

They also hold that in Daniel 7 there are presented two distinct judgments. The first is that given in verses 9-12, treating of the judgment above mentioned; the second, in verses 21, 22, 26, having to do with the executive judgment upon the wicked at the end of the thousand years. See Revelation 20. (See the tracts published at this office entitled “The Bible Millennium;” “The Sanctuary and the Judgment;” “The Law and the Judgment.”)

There are those who understand that the “judgment” of 1 Peter 4:17 refers to the chastenings, “fiery trials” (see the twelfth verse), that God brings upon His people to prepare in them a character for the better life to come. While the context gives ground for this interpretation, it seems better to take “judgment” to mean the special judgment Heaven will conduct before Christ comes the second time, of all those who claim to be His. The statement in the fifth verse, “who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead,” adds force to this exposition. In the Old Testament, Ezekiel 9:6; Jeremiah 25:9; Isaiah 10:12 support this view that God’s final judgment will begin upon His “house,” or church. See 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 2:5. There was rabbinical teaching also that the judgment will begin with the righteous. For these reasons Seventh-day Adventists apply 1 Peter 4:17 specifically to the above-mentioned investigative judgment.

The fact that Peter writes that “the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God,” does not indicate that this actually began in his day. It must be borne in mind that the New Testament writers believed they were living just before the return of Jesus in glory. Peter felt that “the end of all things” was at hand. (1 Peter 4:7.) Paul also said with confidence, “The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5. See also Romans 13:11-13. James expressed his assurance by saying, “The coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8); and John earnestly wrote, “Little children, it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). The lively hope of the apostolic Christians in their soon-coming Redeemer found utterance in their “Maranatha” (O Lord, come!). (1 Corinthians 16:22.) They did not comprehend the definite time prophecies revealed in the Bible and other clear-cut signs whereby we know of a surety that the second advent is upon us. Living in this ardent experience of the advent hope, the New Testament writers write specially for our times, and this is indisputably so of 1 Peter 4:17.

The “two tables of stone” of the Ten Commandments were placed in the ark of the covenant. (Deuteronomy 10:1-5; Hebrews 9:4.) The “book of the law” of Moses was put “by the side of the ark of the covenant.” Deuteronomy 31:26. I do not know where any “other laws besides these two” that might have been given to the Hebrews were placed.

SLAVERY AND POLYGAMY

God permitted slavery and polygamy in Bible times for the same reason that Moses gave a “bill of divorcement,”—because, as Christ said, of the people’s hardness of heart. (Matthew 19:7, 8). Since man is a free moral agent, even God cannot force him to do the right unless he chooses so to do. God did not countenance slavery, but the Hebrews, following the worldly, heathen custom of their time, fell in with this popular economic and social order. God suffered it until men became sufficiently enlightened, morally and spiritually, to cease the evil. So it has been with polygamy. God gave Adam one wife only, and the “two [not three or more] shall become one flesh.” Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31. The two scriptures the questioner refers to (Deuteronomy 17:17; Exodus 21:10) intimate God’s disapproval of the polygamous relation.

Leviticus 20:14 does not “support the inquisition.” This punishment may seem too severe to us, but the times are different. Then social crimes were dealt with in a strong manner. The Mosaic code in this respect was much better than the other codes of those days. We know from the Code of Hammurabi, for example, that governments in antiquity administered justice and punitive measures with the same drastic force of which we read in the Pentateuch.

It must also be kept in mind that at this time the commonwealth of the Hebrews was a theocracy; that is, God was the direct ruler of His people. Such a holy governor would, of course, be expected to deal severely with heinous crimes of this character.

LIGHT

I am not at all sure I grasp what the questioner means by his remarks about solar and lunar time. Solar time began as soon as the earth began to revolve around the sun; and lunar time as soon as the moon began to revolve around the earth.

As to just what light it was that God created “before or ere the sun, moon, and stars were,” I am unable to tell. The former classical physics used to teach us that there could be no physical light except that which comes from the sun; and, because of this, hostile critics of the Bible ridiculed the light brought into use on the first day of creation. The atomic, electronic physics of quite recent years, with its scientific researches in the field of radioactivity, have clearly demonstrated that physical light can exist apart from the sun; and thus the Good Book scores again over its critics.

Ezekiel 32:1-10 is a prophecy directed against the Pharaoh of Egypt. Any allusion in it to Satan seems very remote and rather far-fetched.

BASTARDS

Mrs. H. A. Salton of Minnesota asks concerning the salvation of bastards.

In none of the Scriptures to which the questioner refers does the word “bastard” mean that “a child born out of wedlock will not be saved.” Because of the theocracy that prevailed in Mosaic and post-Mosaic times, whereby God directly ruled His chosen people and so gave civil laws to them, naturally such illegitimately born could not be entered “into the assembly of Jehovah.” Probably the term used here in Deuteronomy 23:2 denoted not generally those born out of wedlock, but the offspring of an incestuous union, or of a marriage contracted in violation of the prohibitions of affinity. See Leviticus 18 and 20.

The better marginal reading of Zechariah 9:6 in the American Revised, “bastard race,” indicates an allusion to the deterioration of the Palestinian population during and after the captivity (see Nehemiah 13: 23ff.), or to the mixed character of the people with whom the country had been colonized by its conquerors.

Hebrews 12:7, 8 illustrates a practice common in that day, that the father carefully disciplined his own sons. For the father not to do this would furnish proof that they were not his own offspring. Children born out of wedlock were left to themselves, since the father was not sufficiently interested in them to inflict upon them the discipline that would prepare his legitimate children for their place in the home. This the writer of Hebrews uses to show God’s interest in us as His children and consequent discipline to prepare us to be members of His family.

THE DEAD IN CHRIST

Paul E. Schafer of California inquires about “the dead in Christ” spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

The context makes it patent that the “dead in Christ” in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are those redeemed who shall be resurrected when Jesus comes the second time. See also 1 Corinthians 15. It is a perversion of Scripture to spiritualize away the meaning of the “dead in Christ,” as “those who are trying to live a Christian life, but the temptations and customs of this world are holding them back” so that “their physical bodies are their ‘graves’ ” until Christ comes to them in a spiritual experience. Paul is not giving an allegory here of religious life. He is writing of the actual and glorious bodily resurrection of those who will be saved eternally.

THE HERITAGE OF THE GODLESS

By T.

The great leaders of the business world to-day, with but very, very few exceptions, are giving themselves to the one question of amassing wealth, and thus absorbing themselves in this life, with but very little thought of what may come in the future. The leaders of thought, from the influential professors in the great universities of the whole world down through to the primary teachers in the lowest grades of learning, are educating a race of human beings with but very little thought of God. Indeed, for the most part, they flout the Bible, and do not consider that the question of God is worth taking into account. Consequently, the moral fiber of the world is being eaten out by the acids of unbelief and godlessness, and as a direct consequence every day brings its recital of suicides, murders, riots, and every rebellious activity from every corner of the globe.

The world-famous shrine in the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, at Lourdes, France, where miraculous cures are reported every day. The Bishop of Salford is in the pulpit, addressing a party of pilgrims from Salford, England, who are seeking release from their earthly afflictions. Note the hundreds of crutches, body appliances, and other testimonials that have been left by pilgrims who have been “cured.”

In their greed for wealth, power, and the fleshly desires of this present life, men are rapidly turning our world into a condition of hopelessness, and when the individual gets into trouble or is confronted with perplexities, he is immediately ready to fight; hence our riots and rebellions. Or, lacking the disposition to fight and considering himself alone and helpless, the individual turns himself to the godless solace of a suicide's grave.

To drown out the despairs that are flooding the souls of men, many turn with feverish craze to various forms of amusement, and the amusement craze of this age is one of the most degenerating things that have ever cursed the human race. Fathers and mothers and young boys and girls spend their evenings in the theaters, watching the motion pictures. They see the “movie stars” and hear of the fabulous sums that they are receiving for their work. This inspires many individuals to turn their time to this useless and degenerating business. They give up the thought of the pleasures and the solid hope and comfort that come through serving God in this life and enjoying Him throughout eternity, and turn themselves over to any kind of theatrical acting, regardless of the influence that it may have upon the morals or health of those who view the screen.

Then out of this welter of folly, greed, and abominable sins, men are talking of securing peace, prosperity, and blessedness in this life. But these blessings never come through debasing and degrading channels. Our hope does not lie in this world, and the thoughtful individual must know that God stated the truth when He said, “The wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20, 21.

When we view these world conditions, how consoling is the privilege of turning to such wonderful words as the following from the Inspired Book of the infinite God: “The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy border of precious stones. And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of Me, saith Jehovah.” Isaiah 54:9-17.

Isaiah was one of the group of mighty prophets that lived during the intensely wicked days when Israel was preparing itself through its sins for the final overthrow of the nation by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The mighty warnings against sin that were called forth in that time are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. See 1 Corinthians 10:11.

But the warnings of judgment that were called forth by the prophets were all the way through tempered by the rich promises of God's protection for those who would turn away from sin and seek His power to walk in the ways of righteousness. And while the passage quoted above is full of the richest promises, yet observe that in the midst of it God says, “Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.”

(Continued on page 15)

The Heritage of the Godless

(Continued from page 7)

The waster, even then, was forging his weapons for the destruction of Israel that was rapidly sinning away its day of grace. God could no longer endure the unrighteousness, the oppression, the fraud, and the unspeakable crimes that were being committed; hence, His engines of destruction were at hand to deal with the situation. But in the midst of all the destruction He wishes every one to realize that there is hope; hence, He said to them in that time, and says to us to-day, that though “the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,” yet “My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.”

Then, though we may be “afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,” yet He tells us that all shall be taught of God, and great shall be our peace; but observe that it is “in righteousness” that we shall be established, for we are moved far from oppression. We are not found among those that are oppressing and robbing men of their rightful belongings. Then how consoling the promise that we shall “not fear,” neither shall “terror” come near us, for “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.”

The individual who is resting upon these soul-strengthening promises has a foundation that cannot be shaken and a joy that is far beyond anything this world has to offer. And let it ever be born in mind that “this is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness which is of Me, saith Jehovah.” Why will men turn away from such a precious “heritage” to the unsatisfying, soul-destroying things that Satan has devised against this age in which we live? T.

WONDERS of Instinct REVEAL a SupremeGOD

By Benjamin Franklin Allen

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ALLEN, A. B., LL. B.

The smallest and most insignificant children of nature, the spiders, the bees, and the wasps, display a remarkable wisdom and practical knowledge that point directly to an all-wise Creator.

Behold the humble water spider, how she builds her nest,—like a tiny drinking cup upside down, and under water! It is well fastened under some stick, log, or rock, hanging straight downward, and full of water, of course. But she performs another wonder of wonders. She takes a tiny bubble of air down to it, letting it rise inside the cup, which she has made air-tight. She keeps this up till all the water is forced down out of the cup. Then she lays her eggs in this dry, snug cell.

Now, who taught her all this? I ask, “Who?” because surely no reasonable person could think she could possibly learn it herself by chance, by accident, or by necessity. If she could, why didn’t she go on learning, and finally build a submarine or dig the Hudson Tunnel? Neither did her parents teach her, because she never sees them do it. But most mysterious of all, who taught her to know in advance, and to rely on it in advance in her building operations, that, though air is lighter than water, yet it will displace water and force it down out of an upside-down cup?

THE FIRST HYDRAULIC ENGINEER

The relative weight of water and air was unknown by man till discovered by Archimedes, the Greek scientist, in the third century before Christ. It was the first law of physics ever discovered, and one of the most far-reaching and important. It is used in modern science extensively. Harry M. Dunn, the inventor of the famous flotation process for separating mineral ores, which has meant billions of dollars to the world, showed me his original copy of his patent. It puts to use the spider’s principle of the behavior of water and air under the same upside-down-cup conditions. This humble spider was the world’s first hydraulic engineer.

A CIVIL ENGINEER

The shell spider lives on dry land, but lifts a shell perhaps a hundred or more times his own weight up on a bush or tree about eighteen inches above ground. He turns it cup down, to shed rain, binds it in place, and there is his happy home. But how does he lift the mighty shell? He spins a web strand between it and the bush. When this dries, it shrinks and pulls the shell ever so little. He repeats this over and over till finally the shell is dragged and then lifted slowly into place.

He is not only a civil engineer of the highest order, but an architect as well. He excels the builders of the temple of Karnak, which contains the largest stones ever moved by man. Some are as large as our largest railroad freight cars, but there is one a little larger still left in the stone quarry about a mile away, too large for them.

How could this shell spider learn, by any possible experience or necessity, the plan, the purpose, and the means of doing his wonders? What room is there here for the popular belief that all things in nature created themselves by self-development? Impossible! Even if this special trick could have been so learned, and even if it could have been passed on to his offspring by heredity (a mystery that is beyond the control of any creature, even man), how could it have been kept separate and not hopelessly jumbled with a lot of other experiences, and thus defeated?

AN INDWELLING MIND

No, there is one Indwelling Mind,—one, and only one, for the whole universe. Pure logic alone and overwhelming scientific evidence demand it. And that Mind was not merely the Maker, at some remote time, of nature and the laws of nature; but this moment, right here, He is not only the life and power of those laws, but even that which keeps nature in existence. “He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” Colossians 1:17, 19. We worship a God who is closer to us than breath or bone.

BEES ARE SANITARY ENGINEERS

Bees are expert sanitary engineers. If a foolish mouse ventures into a hive, they sting him to death. Being strict vegetarians, they do not eat his body. Unable to drag him out of range of polluting their deliciously pure honey, they seal him up air-tight with a special wax. Not the faintest odor escapes from his decaying body. God teaches them that it is death to dally with corruption, just as He teaches us.

The same Jesus who stamped within this humble bee the highest principles of sanitation and purity, says to us, “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11); “Ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44), and He is as able and willing to accomplish these wonders in us as in these lowly creatures.

INSECT FOOD EXPERT

The ground wasp is a food expert of the first rank, for he knows how to provide not only fresh, but actually living, meat for his young, and that once for all, in storage. To do this, he performs the most rapid and skillful surgical operation known to this extreme age of surgical skill. His victim is the caterpillar, but, being one of the smallest of the wasp family, he is unable to wrestle with him by brute strength. One nip of the worm’s powerful jaws would cut him in two. So he watches his chance. With his stinger he lances one of the nine nerve centers along the body of the worm, and darts away. These nerve centers are so small that a powerful microscope is necessary for us to see them.

When the enraged worm quiets down, the wasp lances each of the other nerve centers, and the worm is paralyzed. He will then drag him and set him, head down, in a cell in the ground that he has laboriously hollowed out to fit, and the female will lay her egg on the tail of the worm. When the grub wasp hatches, he will begin to eat the worm from the tail toward the head, and the meat will be alive till he reaches the head. If he had begun at the head, the worm would have died, and he with it.

ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME

The palolo worms live six or eight feet under the surface of the ocean, fastened to the coral rocks around the shores of Samoa and the Fiji Islands. Exactly at midnight, at the third quarter of the October moon each year, they all rise to the surface and play around on the rocks and the beach, going

through a breeding process. At eight the next morning they all break up at the joints and sink again, except the head joint, which dies. Each joint grows during the year to a complete jointed worm again, and exactly a year hence, at the stroke of midnight, they all rise and repeat the whole performance. The natives know their schedule, and are always on hand with baskets to gather all they can, to dry them for food. These worms keep absolutely accurate time, as marked by the rotation of the planets. They don’t depend on changeable human calendars, master clocks, and radio regulation.

WORLD IS WITHOUT EXCUSE

Paul declares that “the invisible things of Him [God] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:20, 21.

There is nothing plainer or more easily read than the divine message as revealed in instinct. I am impressed by how closely instinct resembles direct revelation. Instinct is the mind and wisdom of the Creator implanted and hereditary in the body of the creature, while revelation is the mind and wisdom of the Redeemer revealed openly to the mind and heart of man to be communicated to all men.

Both of these superior qualities, however, can be so completely yielded in love to the Redeemer, to the same Jesus who spoke and still holds the worlds in existence, that He can accomplish wonders in us far beyond what He does in the lowly creatures. All that is needed is for us to fall down and answer the Love that first loved us, to empty ourselves that He might fill us with Himself.

THE INDWELLING CHRIST

This is the new covenant, the doctrine of the indwelling Christ, of substituted will, substituted wisdom, and substituted righteousness. “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. All the prophets set forth this great and precious state of being, and then Jesus, the Author of it, came and showed us how it worked in actual life.

We are all continually appealed to by God’s hand in nature to walk by faith and not by sight. The overwhelming abundance of evidence should so build up our faith that He can come and fill us and be our justification. This is justification by faith. Faith is that belief which, backed by sound and increasing evidence, enables us to yield to the transforming work of God. It places us where He can do for us what He does for the lowly creatures.

WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR MAN

Now, as you read the following most wonderful and wonder-working words of Jesus and His apostles, let your minds dwell upon the wonders that this same Jesus works in the spiders, the wasps, the fish, the bees, and the palolo worms.

1. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you [to nature as well as to man], they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.

2. “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.” John 14:10-12.

3. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20.

4. “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” 2 Timothy 1:14.

5. “He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” 1 John 3:24.

6. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:2-4.

7. “He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19.

Continue reading: The Wind Blows,--But Ye Know Not Whence It Cometh