Signs of the Times, Vol. 1, No. 33. (6/24/1875)

Signs of the Times

Jun 24, 1875

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jun 24, 1875

The Sermon.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

THE LAW OF GOD.—No. 4.

BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.

ALL the promises of God are conditional, and obedience is, of course, the condition. And therefore they all stand related to the law of God—the great rule of obedience. Having seen that the promises to Abraham have the law for their basis, we now turn our attention to the subject of the kingdom of God, or to the

PROMISES TO DAVID.

The Lord promised to establish the throne and kingdom of David forever. 1 Chron. 17 : 11-14. This promise extended to him and to his seed, that is, the heir to the throne, Christ, and to Israel, over whom he was appointed to reign. The condition of this promise is given in Ps. 89 : 30-32. In the verses following he assures that his faithfulness shall not fail; the kingdom and throne of David shall be built up and endure as steadfast as the ordinances of Heaven; as sure as the sun. Because Christ is David's son and heir, the promises are certain to be fulfilled. There can be no failure on his part. The sad history of Solomon is evidence that such certainty could not exist if the seed or son was merely a son of David. He who was Son both of God and of man; who was both son and Lord of David, has overcome all the power and temptations of the enemy; he refused the glory of this world, suffered the pains and weakness of hunger and thirst without complaining of his lot, or presuming on his Father's compassion. The surety of our hope in him is attested by his sufferings, his groans, and tears, and sealed with his blood.

The conditional nature of the promises pertains to the subjects. As these are gathered from among the fallen sons of Adam we find here a liability to sin, and to come short of the offered grace. Appended to the assurance of the stability of David's throne are the following words: "If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes."

Here we find that obedience to the law of God is the means whereby they could secure an interest in the promises of the kingdom. Indeed, the evidence that the law underlies the Abrahamic covenant, is also evidence that it underlies the covenant with David; for he who is the seed of Abraham and heir of the promises, Gal. 3 : 16, is also the son of David, and heir to the throne. And we are made partakers of both classes of promises by the same means and on the same conditions.

But the children of Israel did transgress the law of God: "And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them; therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink, I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their father's have known; and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them." Jer. 9 : 13-16. But God continued to call after them, and again told the prophet: "And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; then will I make this house like Shiloh; and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth." Jer. 26 : 4-6. Still they would not hear, and he testified against them: "They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my laws, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers." Jer. 44 : 10. Therefore he saith, "Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the houses of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my laws." Hos. 8 : 1.

Thus the proof is clear and beyond dispute that the condition of the kingdom is the law of God. By keeping the law the Jews might have retained their privileges and secured the favor of God; by breaking it they forfeited the promises and fell from his grace.

But this is not all. It may be of still greater interest to us at this time to know that the condition remains unchanged, and that the Gentiles have the promises offered to them on the very terms rejected by the Jews. In Matt. 21 : 33-43, the Saviour brings this matter before the Jews, in the parable of the husbandmen, who would not render to the householder the fruits of the vineyard, but beat and stoned his messengers, and finally killed his son, the heir, in order to seize the inheritance. His hearers passed sentence that the lord of the vineyard will destroy them' and let it out to others who will render him the fruits in their seasons. He makes the application to them thus: "Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." We have seen what fruit was required of them. They were required to keep the commandments of God, which he had set before them and before their fathers. Is it not evident that the same fruit, or the keeping of the same law, is required of that nation to whom it was given? Therefore he said, "Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least [shall be in no esteem—Campbell,] in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven." Matt. 5 : 19. Here the consequences of keeping this law, reach to the kingdom of Heaven, and are not confined to the Jewish ages or dispensation. Love to God, and obedience to his law, are the "fruits of the kingdom." The kingdom is "promised to them that love him"; (Jas. 2 : 5;) and "this is the love of God that we keep his commandments." 1 John 5 : 3.

Paul also shows, in his letter to the Galatians, that "the blessing of Abraham" can "come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ," only by "the curse of the law" being removed from them. Gal. 3 : 13, 14. This, again, is decisive, proof that the Gentiles are amenable to the law, for the law cannot curse those who are not under its jurisdiction. The whole gospel system is built up on the law. And this is not left by the apostle to a deduction alone, but is the subject of direct affirmation, as in Rom. 3 : 31: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law." And thus we have the most conclusive evidence from the Scriptures that God's covenant commandment, which was kept by Abraham, was the law of ten commandments, which was also confirmed to Israel, ratified by Christ in his teachings, and established by the faith of the gospel.

To those who say we are fallen from grace, or are under the curse, for keeping the ten commandments, we would propose the following questions: 1. If the Gentiles obtain the kingdom by bringing forth other fruits than those required of the Jews, where is that fact recorded in God's word? 2. If we are cursed for keeping the same law that the Jews were cursed for transgressing, how is that fact reconciled with the character of God as given in Mal. 3 : 6, and James 1 : 17?.

In our examination thus far we have seen, first, that the law existed before the Jewish dispensation; hence it cannot be peculiar to that dispensation; and second, by the relation that we sustain to the promises of God having the law for their basis, or condition, that it comes down unchanged into the present dispensation; and there is a perfect harmony in the writings of the Old and New Testaments on this subject. We will quote a few texts as examples.

"All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live." Deut. 8 : 1; also chap. 30 : 15, 16. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19 : 17. "Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12 : 13. "The law of the Lord is perfect, the statutes of the Lord are right, the commandment of the Lord is pure." Ps. 19 : 7, 8. "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Rom. 7 : 12. "I delight in thy law." Ps. 119 : 70; also verses 16, 24, 35, 47, 77, 92, 127, 143, 174. "I delight in the law of God." Rom. 7 : 22. "Walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and hallow my Sabbaths; and baths; that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20 : 19, 20. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2 : 3. "The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law and make it honorable." Isa. 42 : 21. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3 : 31. "I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man do he shall even live in them." Eze. 20 : 11. "The commandment was ordained to life." Rom. 7 : 10. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Prov. 29 : 9. "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15 : 9. Beginning with the Abrahamic covenant, we find a mass of testimony which it is impossible to evade, that the law of God, the ten commandments, are ever binding, that under all dispensations mankind are under

the same obligation to observe them, and that they are viewed in the same light by the writers of both Testaments. But the "carnal mind" is particularly manifested in opposition to the fourth precept; and we will further notice some of the reasons why it should be observed, and the objections urged against it.

We have referred to the Sabbath as "a sign" of the Creator, to perpetuate the knowledge of his works. To evade the force of this testimony, opponents point to Ex. 31 : 17, where the Lord said, "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever." This, they say, shows that it was only designed for the children of Israel; or the Jews. But this objection is without force. The objectors seem to lose sight of the fact that the term Israel is not always, in the Old Testament, confined to the literal descendants of Jacob. In this case the subject is not such as to necessarily restrict it. The Sabbath, the sign, is the Lord's Sabbath, sanctified or appointed, or "made for man," long before any national distinctions existed. It was and is in nowise peculiar to the Jews. And it is a sign of creation, and not of anything pertaining to the Jews, or to their age or dispensation.

Again, it is a well-known truth that the children of Israel received the "oracles of God" to give unto the nations of the earth. And thus the Saviour said, "Salvation is of the Jews." Paul said that to them pertained "the adoption, and the glory and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God and the promises." Surely, these are privileges which ought not to be despised. As salvation is of the Jews; as they "received the lively oracles to give unto us;" and as the new covenant as well as the old was made with Judah and Israel, it is anything but wise to refuse a truth or an institution because God committed it to Israel. Nor should we be ashamed because of the scoffs of the world when they falsely call it Jewish; for Jehovah himself is not ashamed to be called "the God of Israel." The Sabbath was not dishonored by being given to Israel, but Israel was highly honored by its reception.

The Sabbath was not, as some have claimed, a sign of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Nor did it date from the falling of the manna. But the miracles connected with the giving of the manna attest the high regard which Jehovah had for the institution of the Sabbath. Note the several parts of this work.

1. In giving the manna, or causing it to fall round about the camp, it was withheld on the seventh day. Not only were the people commanded to remain in their places in the camp in that day, but Heaven itself respected the day and withheld the food which was given on other days. Not only legal, but providential, instruction was thus given to them of the sanctity of the Sabbath, and of God's regard for the day.

2. While it corrupted if it were kept over any other day, it was preserved and was still good for food when kept over the Sabbath. The Lord would leave them no excuse for violating the sacred rest. They could not plead necessity for going out on the Sabbath. He made provision for all their wants in harmony with the requirement to keep the holy day.

Now if we allow that it corrupted from natural causes, and admit but two miracles each week, we have then four thousand one hundred and sixty miracles during the forty years of their sojourning, having for their direct object the proper observance of, and regard for, the seventh day, the holy Sabbath.

3. As proof that God chose this method to feed the people with direct reference to the Sabbath, and to produce on their minds an enduring impression of its importance and of his high regard for it, we quote Ex. 16 : 4. Said the Lord: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or no." The Sabbath was that part of his law on which he tested their loyalty; not merely on one occasion, but day by day and week by week for forty years. No other institution has received such honor at the hands of God as the holy Sabbath. And he has also informed us that he is honored in its observance, and has promised to bless all those who will so honor him. Isa. 58 : 13, 14.

Deut. 5 : 15 does not give the reason for the institution of the Sabbath. It does not tell us when God sanctified the Sabbath day, nor why he chose the seventh in preference to any other day of the week. Moses does, indeed, say that God commanded the Jews to keep the Sabbath because he brought them out of the land of Egypt. We know that, by reason of the rigor of their servitude, they could not keep it in Egypt. And it is true also, that Moses said they were commanded to keep all the commandments and to do justice in all things, for the same reason. But these duties did not originate then and there: nor were they confined, as duties, to the Jews. To reason as do the opposers of the Sabbath on this subject, is to subvert all duty, to deny the plainest principles, and to contradict the most direct scriptures which speak of the responsibility of the human race.

In Deut. 5, Moses was rehearsing to them matters with which they were already acquainted. In verse 4, 5, he said the Lord talked with them, referring to a time then past; and in verse 12 says, "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee." Also in chap. 4 : 12, 13, he said, "The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire. * And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments, and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."

This rehearsal of the law by Moses, in Deut. 5, was 40 years after it was spoken by the Lord on Mount Sinai, and written on the tables of stone. Though he does not give a verbatim of the original, he says nothing which conflicts with the original. But every one may see at a glance that he does not give the origin of the institution, the reason of the selection and sanctification of the seventh day, nor why the seventh day was called the rest-day. But all these points are given in Ex. 20, the original copy.

The Better Land.

By William Hyde

[Published by request.]

We have heard from the bright the holy land, We have heard and our hearts are glad; For we were a lonely pilgrim band, And weary, and worn, and sad.

They tell us the pilgrims have dwellings there, No longer are homeless ones; And we know that the goodly land is fair, Where life's pure river runs.

They say green fields are waving there, That never a blight shall know; And the deserts wild are blooming fair, And the roses of Sharon grow.

There are lovely birds in the bowers green, Their songs are blithe and sweet, And their warblings gushing ever new, The angels' harpings greet.

We have heard of the palms, the robes, the crowns, And the silvery band in white; Of the City fair with pearly gates All radiant with light.

We have heard of the angels there, and saints, With their harps of gold, how they sing; Of the mount with the fruitful tree of life, Of the leaves that healing bring.

The King of that country, he is fair; He's the joy and light of the place. In his beauty we shall behold him there, And bask in his smiling face.

We'll be there, we'll be there in a little while, We'll join the pure and the blest; We'll have the palm, the robe, the crown, And forever be at rest.

WM. HYDE.

Hope of the Gospel.

By John Norton Loughborough

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 1 Pet. 3:15.

We should most certainly conclude from reading the above language that the Christian's hope is a subject which can, and should, be understood, and that there are ample evidences and proofs in which the true gospel hope is set before us; else how could we "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh"? To do this we must know what our hope is, when, and in what manner it is to be realized, and upon these points we assert that the Scriptures do thoroughly furnish us.

Paul says: "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Heb. 6:13-18.

If there is strong consolation for them that lay hold of the hope, then surely it is important that we understand the hope, that our faith may lay hold of the evidence from which this consolation is to be derived.

Hope is defined as expectation and desire. Neither of these alone constitutes a hope. A man may desire what he has no reasonable expectation of receiving. Again, a man may expect to receive what he by no means desires. A man may desire eternal life, and all the glories of the kingdom of God, yet he cannot expect to receive them unless he complies with the conditions on which eternal life is promised. The sinner may expect, on the authority of the word of God, that if he does not turn and serve the Lord; he will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power (2 Thess. 1:8, 9), yet he does not desire it. So we may conclude that the hope is a combination of expectation and desire, based upon what God has promised, and upon the assurance that we ourselves are complying with the conditions of the promise.

In order, then, to have a good hope, we must expect and desire what God has promised, and not settle down in the expectation of that object, unless we have the fullest assurance that we are complying with every condition on which that object is promised. We see, then, that a well-grounded hope must be a matter of promise, and as every promise of God is made on conditions before we are entitled to the promise, we must be sure we are complying with the conditions.

That all God's promises of reward and punishment are made to us on condition of obedience or disobedience, is the only reasonable position we can take. When we appeal to the Scriptures, we see they give us a general rule reaching all such cases. We read, "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." Jer. 18:7-10. Complying with the conditions of a promise, constitutes us the heirs of that promise. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." John 8:39.

While we see that a true hope must be based upon the promises of God, and that none can truly cherish that hope as theirs unless they are complying with the conditions; yet there are false hopes, and there are hopes cherished by those who are not complying with the conditions of God's promises or else hoping concerning matters that God has never promised. Job says, "The hope of the wicked shall be as the giving up of the ghost." "As a puff of breath," margin. Job 11:20.

We have seen, by the reading of Heb. 6:17, 18, that the true gospel hope is based on the promises of God, confirmed by an oath. So a false hope would be a hope not based on the promises of God, or, if comprehending what is in that promise, cherished by one not obeying the conditions of the promise. Paul says of those who were ignorant of the promises, and, as a matter of course, not obeying God, not complying with the conditions of the promise, "Wherefore, remember that ye being in the time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Eph. 2:11, 12. We see that one important reason why they had no hope was because they were strangers to God's promises of future blessings. Then, indeed, every hope to be well grounded must be based upon the promises of God.

THE GOSPEL HOPE.

But we now come to the direct question, What is the gospel hope? Paul says, "There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling." Many are the hopes cherished by different classes, yet there is but one true hope given to cheer God's people. But it may be inquired, If there is but one hope, why are there so many things spoken of in the word of God as the hope? We reply, There may be several events to be accomplished in order to the realization of the hope, and each of these may be spoken of as the hope, but only in the sense that the accomplishment of these events is embodied in the ushering in of the one gospel hope. And so these several events may be necessary to be accomplished, in order that we may receive that for which we are hoping. These objects, or events, are so intimately connected with the hope, as to be called the hope; because if these are not fulfilled the hope would fail of its accomplishment.

We look upon the different events embodied in the ushering in of the hope as we would look upon several steps to be taken to gain an eminence; each is taken to gain the eminence, but no one of the steps alone will bring us to the object desired. Although each is taken to gain the 'point,' still it is not gained unless all the steps are taken. So with the different steps that, in their order, as fulfilled, usher in the realization of our hope; all must be fulfilled or our hope is never realized. But we will pass to notice, in their order, the events that are called the hope.

CHRIST OUR HOPE.

In 1 Tim. 1:1, Paul calls "Christ our hope." Of course a true gospel hope must never center in Jesus Christ as the object, being, or agency, through whom the promises of God concerning man are to be carried out. "We can do nothing," and are nothing. He is the "Alpha and Omega." Alpha and Omega is the more ancient form by which the Greeks expressed their alphabet. Alpha being the first Greek letter, and Omega, the last one in their alphabet; from the Alpha to the Omega was from the first letter to the last, or, in other words, the whole alphabet. So Christ is the Alpha and Omega, or the alphabet of God's plan and purposes concerning man. As the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, arranged in various combinations, constitute literally the words of the Bible, so the subject matter of the plan of salvation treated of in the Bible is Christ arranged in various forms as the being through whom God's purposes concerning man will be carried out. As Christ was employed in the work of creation, so also is he the second Adam, through whom the restitution of all things God has promised will be carried out. The Father "has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man." So, also, the Father "has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as he has given him." Christ is in the promises of good and in the threatenings of judgment. He is the root and center of the great plan of atonement devised for the rescue of man, and, in fact, he is the grand source of all the bliss and joy promised to the faithful. Christ is the agent by whom, and through whom, all is to be accomplished. With this view of the subject, we see, then, that the Bible itself is Christ arranged in his various offices, form, and work. As we would arrange the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet in their various combinations to form a book, so we see how Christ is the Alpha and Omega.

When we say Christ is our hope it embodies all that is in Christ, or is to be brought about through Christ. In making our inquiries respecting him, and of what is accomplished by him, we should find ourselves, in some respects, in a similar position to that occupied by the ancient prophets in their researches concerning Christ: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." 1 Pet. 1:10, 11.

Hence, we see that a hope in Christ embraces all that is wrought out by Christ till the glory of God is revealed in his people, in their being brought to their eternal rest in his kingdom.

In the very connection of the text above, we gain some light as to what our hope embraces: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Pet. 1:3-5. In writing to the Colossians, Paul says, "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven, whereof ye in heard in the word of the truth of the gospel." Col. 1:3-5. Thus we see that the true gospel hope brings to view the final consummation, when the saints of God shall receive the heavenly inheritance which is now in reserve for them; when they shall become possessors of that of which they are now heirs—the kingdom of Heaven.

We will look again at Paul's testimony to the Hebrews, and we may gain some light as to what is the hope: "When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Heb. 6:13-18.

From the foregoing, we understand Paul argues that we have strong consolation from the hope, because the Abrahamic promise was made sure. This is conclusive evidence that that promise has special reference to the hope. That this promise to Abraham had reference to some future inheritance is clear from the following testimonies: Paul says of Abraham that he was called to go out into a place "which he should after receive for an inheritance." "He sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country." Heb. 11:8, 9. Stephen said of Abraham, that "God gave him none inheritance in it [the land], no not so much as to set his foot on." Acts 7:5. Again Paul says of him and all the multitudinous seed that sprang from him, that they "died in faith, not having received the promises." The promise, then, which was made with such certainty to Abraham and his seed, must relate to things beyond this life. Again he says of these ancient worthies: "These all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."

These quotations show that the promise to Abraham had not been fulfilled when Paul wrote to the Hebrews. They also show that the promise cannot be fulfilled until all those are made perfect, who are embraced in the term "us," which embraces all Christians in the gospel age. So the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise must be beyond the gospel age. That promise embraces Christ as the true seed. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. 3:16. Christ is the seed to whom the promises are made. He has been on earth once, as the "Child born," and the "Son given." But he is to come again as "King of kings, and Lord of lords," and then the "government shall be upon his shoulder." We are now "joint-heirs" with him; but we shall then be recipients of the glory, entering "into the joy of" our Lord.

Paul, when permitted to speak before Agrippa, said, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come; for which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." Acts 26:6, 7. If Paul, with the twelve tribes, still hoped to come to that promise; it had not yet been fulfilled. We do not think that Paul would submit to be judged for his expectation concerning a promise that had already been fulfilled. From his reasoning, he must have considered the fulfillment of that promise in the future. Knowing the manner in which their thoughts would run, he says, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" Verse 8.

We must conclude from this reasoning that Paul considered the fulfillment of that promise as an event beyond the resurrection. As this promise to Abraham is the sure foundation of the hope which affords consolation to those who have laid hold upon it, it follows that the gospel hope is the hope of a future inheritance.

Peter says of this inheritance, "Reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Pet. 1:4, 5. But, you may say, he here speaks of an inheritance reserved in Heaven, which cannot be the future kingdom. Paul said of Abraham, "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11:10. That city foundations is now in Heaven—"Jerusalem which is above is free." Gal. 4:26. It is in reserve for the obedient. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14. It is finally to come down from Heaven, and be the great center of the new-earth kingdom. Rev. 21:2. So this glorious portion of the inheritance is reserved in Heaven, ready to be revealed, not at death, but "in the last time."

It was not our design in these articles to give a detailed exposition of the kingdom, but to call attention to some features of the hope and the time when it is to be consummated. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

(To be Continued.)

Following Christ Without Conditions

SOME men will follow Christ on certain conditions—if he will not lead them through rough roads—if he will not enjoin on them any painful tasks—if the sun and wind do not annoy them—if he will omit a part of his plan and order. But the true Christian, who has the spirit of Jesus, will say, as Ruth said to Naomi, "Whither thou goest, I will go!" whatever difficulties and dangers may be in the way.

The Furnace Reveals the Dross

It is not until we have passed through the furnace that we are made to know how much dross was in our composition.

Continue reading: The Gilroy “Advocate” and Second Adventism