Review and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 15. (4/15/1909)

Review and Herald

Apr 15, 1909

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 15, 1909

Truth Never Dies

Truth never dies. The ages come and go: The mountains wear away; the seas retire; Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low; And empires, states, and dynasties expire; But caught and handed onward by the wise, Truth never dies.

Though unreceived and scoffed at through the years; Though made the butt of ridicule and jest; Though held aloft for mockery and jeers, Denied by those of transient power possessed, Insulted by the insolence of lies, Truth never dies.

Truth answers not; it does not take offense; But with a mighty silence bides its time. As some great cliff that braves the elements, And lifts through all the storms its head sublime, So truth, unmoved, its puny foes defies, And never dies.

The lips of ridicule dissolve in dust; The sophist's arguments, the jibes are still; God working through the all-compelling Must Has broken those who dared combat His will; New systems, born in wild unrest, arise; Truth never dies.

— Selected.

THE WORK — AND — THE WORKERS

By Editor

HAVE you read the April number of Life and Health? Only 10 cents a copy, or 25 cents for five.

THE trade edition of “Desire of Ages” is supplied in cloth for $1.50, or in leather for $2. You should have the book to help in the lesson study during this year.

A STUDENT from the Foreign Mission Seminary reports a sale of thirty copies of the April Life and Health in one and one-half hours. He worked among the residences in Washington City.

A SECOND edition of the Year Book is just off the press. Those who come to the General Conference, and those who stay at home, need a copy. Did you get one? It’s only 25 cents, post-paid.

YOUNG housewives especially appreciate “A Friend in the Kitchen.” It is written for the common people. The recipes are simple, practical, and varied. It is vegetarian throughout, and is designed to educate the people away from a flesh-food diet. Lady agents do well handling it. Cloth, 50 cents; waterproof paper, 25 cents.

BY the way, if you have not read the Liberty magazine for the first quarter, you have missed a treat. Don’t fail to read the famous “Lutheran Reply to President Roosevelt’s Letter” (given word for word), and the editorial on “The Possibility of a Roman Catholic President;” also “The Truth About Magna Charta,” a reply to the Hon. Bourke Cockran. Send 50 cents for ten copies, to sell or hand to your neighbors; or 25 cents for five copies.

REMARKABLE as it may seem, a business woman, not of our faith, has asked to become our general agent for Life and Health in one of the large cities of the South. She will dispose of not less than one thousand copies a month, having already ordered a first instalment of five hundred copies of the April number. She is appointing other agents who will help her in the good work. By buying in large quantities, at the lowest rate, and selling at the schedule rate to agents who desire only a few at a time, our general agents are able to clear a good profit in addition to that made on their own personal sales.

THE “special-offer” yearly subscriptions for our new quarterly, the Protestant Magazine, are already beginning to come in. The Kansas City branch of the Pacific Press sends in twenty-three subscriptions as a starter, and a brother in Iowa writes: “Please find enclosed post-office money-order for $2.25, for which send the magazine to the fifteen following names. I wish we were able to send the magazine to many more. May God bless your effort.” Have you made up your list of names yet? Every thinking man in your town should receive this new magazine the coming year. Five or more copies ordered at one time (cash with order); 15 cents each, a year.

THE second quarter issue of Liberty magazine, with its dainty, new, two-color cover and unusually good contents, is now ready. Send 25 cents for five copies; 10 cents a copy.

BEREAN LIBRARY, Nos. 2 and 3, “Thoughts on Daniel” and “Thoughts on Revelation,” contain all the text found in the regular subscription book. On account of their cheapness they are very handy to loan to friends or neighbors. Price, 25 cents each.

“I PLACED a copy of the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor in the hands of Mr. Eugene W. Chafin, late presidential candidate of the Prohibition party,” writes one of our enthusiastic agents. Let others also endeavor to secure testimonials from leading men in behalf of this excellent number.

OUR office force is at present obliged to work nights, to keep ahead of the heavy orders coming in for the periodicals. And when the students in our schools go into the field to earn their scholarships by selling the magazines, we anticipate heavier orders and more work. May the good work continue, and the message soon spread to all parts of the earth.

“MANY speak highly of Life and Health,” writes one of our lady agents in Iowa. “Enclosed find post-office money-order for $10 due on the two hundred fifty magazines. Please send two hundred of the next number at once.” Over 1,000 agents are now handling this easy-selling health magazine. What others are doing, you can do. Try ten copies for 50 cents, or five copies for 25 cents. They sell at 10 cents a copy. Address Life and Health, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

“I LOVE this work,” says an Iowa sister, “and were it not for my three little ones, I would travel from place to place selling this magazine. Life and Health is certainly a fine magazine, and many times I have been requested by my customers to call with another number. Enclosed find post-office money-order for $8, to pay for the two hundred January numbers.” Would you not enjoy doing medical missionary work of this kind? Write for special terms to agents. Send 50 cents for ten copies of the April number, or 25 cents for five copies, to sell to your townspeople. Address Life and Health, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

LAST summer a year’s scholarship in Union College was earned in three weeks by a young lady in California, through the sale of Life and Health. After paying her expenses and ticket from San Francisco to Lincoln, Neb., she had nearly fifty dollars left for pin-money. While this is an exceptional record, we believe that a student of average ability should be able to sell the twenty-five hundred or more copies of Life and Health, Liberty, or the Protestant Magazine required for most scholarships. Half-year scholarships may also be earned on the same basis. Better set your stakes for a full year’s scholarship, however, even if you are obliged to enter school a week or two later than the rest. For rates and other information, address Review and Herald, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

THE book department will send you a copy of each number of the Words of Truth Series, 45 numbers, over 1,000 pages, covering the most important features of the Seventh-day Adventist belief, for only $.65.

HAS your kindergarten division been supplied with the Kindergarten Outfit? Make the new lessons interesting by giving the children a chance to build the story as they tell it. It helps them to remember. Complete outfit, including “Bible Object Lessons,” “Blackboard Sketches,” three boxes “Kindergarten Material,” round table, and seven chairs, only $12.50.

ONE feature of the Missionary Volunteer convention held at Takoma Park, recently, was a solo by Prof. Frederick Griggs, “Who Will Volunteer?” The song is in the new “Christ in Song.” There’s enthusiasm in the music, and a fine sentiment in the words. Send for the new edition of “Christ in Song.” It’s worth while. Prices: cloth, $.60; half morocco, $1.

EVERY Bible worker and every minister should have the Prophetic Chart. It is the best one ever published. Size, 48 x 72 inches (twice the size of the old one). Takes up no more room in the suit case than a Bible; weighs but eight ounces. Printed on a fine quality of muslin. Can be folded to show each set of symbols separately—as Daniel 2, 7, 8. The characters are large enough to be seen from any point in an ordinary lecture hall or tent. Price, $2.75.

“I HAVE started a club for the Protestant Magazine,” writes one of our agents in Southern California. “There were about ten out to prayer-meeting last night, and I obtained seven yearly subscriptions. This work I call only recreation. Shall write to some of my friends to start other similar clubs. Please renew my subscription for Liberty.” Remember that from now until May 1 seventy-five cents will pay for five copies of our new quarterly, the Protestant Magazine, one year, all to your address, or to five separate addresses, as you may choose. Send cash with order. Address the Protestant Magazine, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

As the days go by, it will be more and more difficult for you to secure back numbers of Liberty magazine. In fact, the manager of the periodical department was obliged to borrow one back number from the Religious Liberty Bureau in order to complete his file. The very nature of this magazine makes the previous issues just as valuable as the new numbers. While they last, you may send us 25 cents for such assortments of five back numbers as we can supply from the very few on hand. If you send 50 cents, we will send you ten copies of as many varieties as we have, possibly two copies each of a few issues. In these sets we will place the first quarter issue of this year,—one of the very best numbers yet issued, containing some documents of exceptional interest. Address Liberty magazine, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. If your order reaches us too late, we will either refund your money or send you its equivalent in the two latest issues,—the first two numbers for this year, as you may direct.

Two Great Crises: the End of the Jewish Nation and the End of the World

Introductory

The earthly ministry of Jesus was drawing to a close, and the shadow of the cross was already hanging over him, when he spoke “to the multitude, and to his disciples,” the words which are recorded in the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew. In the prophetic utterances then made, and in the instruction which accompanied them, our Lord shed such light upon the pathway of his disciples as enabled them in their time to escape the destruction which came upon their nation and city; such warnings concerning false teachers and false doctrines as have been a protection to believers in all the centuries; and such unmistakable signs concerning his second advent as have made it possible to know, not the day or the hour, but the generation in which he will return to this earth. This discourse, one of the longest preserved for us by the evangelists, will yield rich returns to those who earnestly seek to understand its true meaning.

Although special attention will be given in this series of articles to the exposition of that portion of the discourse which constitutes the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, it will yet be necessary to give some consideration to the first part, in order to find a proper setting for, and to make the right interpretation of, the prophetic utterances of our Lord. We shall therefore first give a brief outline of the twenty-third chapter.

After remarking upon the wide contrast between the profession and the life of the scribes and Pharisees, whose self-exaltation and love of position led them to disregard their own teaching, Jesus pronounced against them a sevenfold woe, the sentence of complete condemnation upon those who had misinterpreted the message of the Scriptures, rejected the Messenger of the covenant, and had sealed the doom of the chosen people.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” said Jesus seven times over, not in tones of angry denunciation, but in full recognition of the fact that their cup of iniquity was full, and that the swift destruction which they had brought upon themselves could no longer be averted. In summing up the results of their wicked course, Jesus declared:—

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Bárachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

In refusing to listen to the message of John the Baptist, who was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,” and in conspiring to put to death the promised Messiah, whose humble birth and whose purity of life were a disappointment and a constant rebuke to them, the leaders of the Jewish nation had really condoned all the sins of their fathers before them; and in attempting to commit the greatest of all crimes, the infamy of the ages, they brought to a climax the long record of wickedness; and by extinguishing the sun of righteousness, they ended the day of grace for their nation. The long-delayed punishment, which might have been averted by accepting the Messiah of prophecy, was justly due to the people of that generation to whom the Light of the world came, but who preferred darkness rather than the light, and who invited the curse of extinction upon themselves when they said, “His blood be on us, and on our children.”

The woes pronounced by Jesus upon the scribes and Pharisees meant nothing less than the destruction of Jerusalem and the downfall of the nation, and the generation then living would witness the fulfilment of his fearful words. When those “to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,” could not be turned from the evil of their ways by the testimony of John, and were therefore unprepared to recognize and receive the world’s Redeemer, whose day Abraham rejoiced to see and was glad, even the wisdom of heaven could devise no other means of saving them from the inevitable result of rejecting their God and their King. They had attained unto the end of wickedness. The end of forebearance had been reached. The end of the nation was the consequence; and so Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”

The national life of the Jews found its center in the temple and the temple services. Jesus therefore gave the clearest intimation of the approaching end of the nation, when, in these words, he closed his description of the calamities to come upon it: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Very fitting it was that he to whom every sacrifice pointed, and whose ministry was symbolized in every portion of the temple service, should now withdraw from the precincts of that once glorious place.

Chapter 24, verses 1, 2: “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The connection is so close between the words uttered in the hearing of the multitude and those now spoken to the disciples

that they really constitute one discourse. The last words of Jesus, as recorded in the preceding chapter, referred to God’s house as being left desolate. Now when his attention is called to the structure of the temple, built, as it were, for eternity, he more definitely foretells its utter destruction. Some of the stones in the temple wall were of massive size. It seemed as if they would withstand any human effort, even though all the engines of destruction then known should be employed, and yet this humble Nazarene foretold such an overthrow as would leave no two stones in place. There is historical testimony of undisputed reliability to show that this terrible prophecy was literally fulfilled.

What might be termed the natural cause which led directly to such utter devastation is found in the fact that during the siege of the city many Jews concealed their treasures in the earth. The greed of the Romans, thus excited, led them to make such a diligent search for this spoil as resulted in the entire effacement of the walls.

With this brief statement concerning the utter overthrow of the temple, Jesus begins to show what is included in “all these things” which were to come upon the generation upon whom his woes were pronounced. The more complete specifications were stated in response to the inquiry of the disciples.

Verse 3: “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Deeply impressed with what they had heard and evidently reasoning that such a complete destruction of the temple could come only with the end of all things, the disciples sought more definite information concerning these wonderful events, and asked for some sign which would mark their near approach, and the coming of their Master, which they associated with such dread calamities. By responding to their request, and by giving a clear outline of those experiences which would lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish nation, and by following on to make known those signs which would serve to indicate the time of his return to this earth, Jesus set his seal of approval and marked as legitimate the desire for such an understanding of the times and the seasons as would enable his followers to co-operate understandingly with him in accomplishing his work in the earth.

There is a wide difference between earnestly seeking for a revelation of God’s will in order to be in harmony with it, and that speculative curiosity which attempts to penetrate the future as a mere exercise of intellectual keenness.

In replying to the questions of the disciples, Jesus gave a brief outline, not of general history, but of those occurrences which would have special significance in their relation to God’s purpose and the final establishment of his kingdom in the earth. In doing this, he explains more fully the meaning of the sevenfold woe already pronounced upon the generation then living, which would reach its climax in the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish nation.

The experience of the people of that generation who rejected the message concerning his first advent, and were then led on step by step to crucify the Lord of glory, and who thus brought the end of their nation in their own time, was typical of the experience of the generation who should reject the message of the second advent, and thus crucify the Lord afresh, and bring the end of the world in their time. The prophecy concerning these two generations, connected by a very brief outline of the ecclesiastical history of the intervening centuries, constitutes what is usually designated as our Lord’s great prophecy. Viewed from this standpoint, it will be seen that the answer of Jesus to the inquiry of his disciples is a continuous prophecy covering step by step, in consecutive order, the whole period of time until he should be manifested in glory; but that it gives a more full outline of the experiences of those two generations, one of which rejected his first advent and as a consequence witnessed the end of their nation, while the other should reject his second advent and as a consequence witness the end of the world. So closely related are the experiences of these two generations, that the prophecy which leads up to the destruction of Jerusalem has a secondary fulfilment in those events in the last generation which lead up to the destruction of the world. The application of this principle of interpretation in the further consideration of the prophecies recorded in this chapter will fully justify it as being both simple and consistent.

Editorial

By Editor

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The Spirit and the Word agree. The Spirit of God inspired his Word, and the leadings of the Spirit in the life of the believer will be in harmony with the teachings of the Word. When any spirit in man’s heart leads him contrary to the plain teachings of the Scriptures, he may know that the spirit is not of God.

Our Imperishable Inheritance

By C. M. S.

“Like the Most High”

THERE is no little significance in the fact that the same temptation to which Satan yielded in heaven and to which he induced a multitude of the heavenly host to yield, was used by him to accomplish the downfall of the human race, and was later used in a disguised form in an effort to entrap the Son of God himself. It shows one fixed and continuous purpose. It shows that upon that one line of operation Satan formulated a campaign, and staked all upon its success. He did not abandon it because of its failure to overthrow Jesus in the wilderness of temptation; instead, it has been elaborately drawn out into a religious system that to-day holds millions in its

toils; and even outside of that system the same temptation is set before men in new cults that teach the divinity of man.

In the previous article was quoted the purpose of Satan (Lucifer) to “ascend into heaven,” to exalt his throne “above the stars of God,” and to make himself “like the Most High.” It was shown that his attempt to consummate that purpose resulted in his expulsion from heaven. His great inducement to man for disobeying God was: “Ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”

The difference between Lucifer and the Son of God—also the difference between the first Adam and the second Adam (Christ)—is shown in this: the Son of God, the second Adam, although possessing equality with God, was willing to lay it aside and become a sacrifice for sin and a Redeemer of men, and “counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped;” whereas Lucifer was willing to risk all if only he might grasp it. He risked all, and lost all. He promised by that same process to lift man into the realm of divinity. Man “grasped” at the prize, and fell—fell from the throne he had by divine right, and Satan took possession of it. The fact of that early transfer of dominion is incidentally referred to in this scripture: “And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come.” Micah 4:8. The “tower of the flock” and “hill,” or stronghold, “of the daughter of Zion,” is none other than the Messiah himself, who, through destroying “the works of the devil,” brings back to man again the dominion and inheritance lost in the fall of man.

Satan knew that the purpose of the Son of God in coming to this earth to be born into the human family was that all the terrible results of sin might be swept out of the universe, and all things be restored as before that tempest of ruin entered. “When all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.” 1 Cor. 15:28. The same purpose is outlined in the following scriptures: “To sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage.” Eph. 1:10, 11. “For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell; and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.” Col. 1:19, 20.

Satan, remembering what he had accomplished in heaven through that conspiracy of exaltation, and what he had accomplished in Eden by the same means, and knowing full well that the purpose of the Son of God in coming to this earth was to destroy and eradicate all that he (Satan) had accomplished in both heaven and earth, determined to frustrate the purpose of heaven by one of two plans. He would bring about the death of the child Jesus, or through his great temptation, overthrow the man Jesus as soon as he should enter upon his ministry. The first plan was frustrated by the direct interposition of heavenly agencies; the second, Satan was permitted to attempt, and the new head of the human race, weakened by his long fast, must endure what the “first man Adam” failed to endure. First came the temptation upon the point of appetite—where Adam had failed. It did not succeed. Then came the temptation to presumption—a temptation to which Satan himself had yielded, and which wrought his ruin. It likewise failed. The third was to be his master effort. Christ had come to win back, through the sacrifice of himself, all that was lost through sin. Satan would give it to him, but upon a condition which would make certain the overthrow of God’s purpose and the eternal death of the Son of God himself. The tempter “showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine.” Luke 4:5-7. Here is a subtle plan, a scheme by which all that Christ came to do can be accomplished, and that, too, without the sacrifice upon Calvary. Christ will then be the ruler of the realm; the glory and dominion will be his. He had laid down his glory in heaven to become man; he can take it up again and become like God. But Jesus saw in it the sting of death, the poison of the dragon. Therefore he said: “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Had Christ yielded to that suggestion of the adversary, he would have broken the law of God, and involved the whole race, with himself, in irreparable ruin.

Foiled in his attempt to destroy the Saviour of the race, Satan determined to destroy the church established by the Redeemer, and to make of it an organization for thwarting the purpose of him who founded it. Man in Eden had yielded to the temptation to be like God; the second Adam had borne the temptation unscathed; but would his followers prove invulnerable? The record shows that the great majority did not. The same course which Satan pursued toward Jesus he followed in his dealings with the “body” which Jesus left to reveal him upon the earth. First he stirred up heathen emperors to exterminate the entire church; but, like her divine Master, she survived in spite of persecution. Then, when the church had grown strong, Satan placed before her, as he had before her Master, a vision of world power and earthly glory. Individuals, like their Master, turned their backs upon the temptation; but the great organization yielded, lost its hold on God, joined itself to the state, and set at work with all its power utterly to exterminate those who would not yield to its domination. That body, organized to reveal God on earth, to teach his truth, and win the souls of men from perdition, set itself squarely across the path to heaven, to turn men out of the way by sophistry, by persecution, and by threat of death. There was continually held before that apostatizing organization the age-old enticement to ruin—“Ye shall be as God.”

Whether that organization has yielded to the temptation may be readily determined by the nature of the titles applied to him who is chosen to stand at its head. Some of these are, “Our Lord the Pope,” “Lord God the Pope,” “God on Earth,” “Vicar of Christ,” “Holy Father,” etc.; and these do in truth identify the “man of sin,” who was to oppose and exalt himself “against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” 2 Thess. 2:4. As Satan sought to disrupt the rule of God in heaven, so does this power seek to do on earth, claiming the right to alter the very law of God. It does not cease there, but in the last crisis of its history demands of the whole world (Rev. 13:7, 8) the very thing that Satan demanded of Christ—worship; and its one unchangeable purpose is ultimately to bring the entire world to the feet of the pope, recognizing him as the one and only sovereign of the world. In the following language does Pope Nicholas I put himself in the place of God: “Jesus Christ hath appointed us with his own mouth absolute judges of all men; and kings themselves are submitted to our authority.”—Cormenin, “History of the Popes,” Vol. I, page 244. “The popes can neither be bound nor unbound by any earthly power, nor even by that of the apostle [Peter] if he should return upon the earth; since Constantine the Great has recognized that the pontiffs held the place of God upon earth, the divinity not being able to be judged by any living man. We are, then, infallible, and whatever may be our acts, we are not accountable for them but to ourselves.”—Ibid., page 248. Such language is a

complete fulfilment of all that Inspiration declared the “man of sin” would do. This is the human leader of a fallen church making on his own behalf in the earth the same blasphemous claims that Satan made on his own behalf in heaven.

C. M. S.

Organizing the New Testament Church

By W. A. S.

Gospel Order — No. 4

Organizing the New Testament Church

The unity of the church is one of its credentials from heaven: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21.

This oneness is not merely an agreement as to doctrine, but a unity in “walk,” a maintenance of harmony that calls for the exercise toward one another of “lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;” endeavoring to keep “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Eph. 4:2, 3.

It requires no “endeavor,” no lowliness, no devotion, to destroy the unity, and to walk independently of one another. But the endeavor and study of the members of Christ’s church is to “keep the unity.” The New Testament church, like the Old Testament church, is a unit. It is not a mass of detached fragments, but one people. No more closely are all the members of a local company of believers bound together in the local church, than all the churches are bound together in fellowship in “the church,” which is “his body.” “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Eph. 4:4, 5.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, gave his life for the sheep; not to set them wandering each his own way, but to gather them together. “Other sheep I have,” he said, “which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16. It is the wolf only that “scattereth the sheep,” in order that he may destroy them. Verse 12. Whatsoever spirit tends to detach the members from one another and to separate them is of the enemy, and not of the Good Shepherd.

All the teaching of the New Testament emphasizes the organic unity of the church of Christ. It is “the household of God,” “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:19-22.

In the architect’s plan of a building, every part has its organic relation to every other part in making up the one complete structure. So the church, made up of parts, is “framed together,” and “builded together,” and “together groweth” unto one holy temple in the Lord.

As needful for the building up of the church and the maintenance of its unity to the end of time, the Lord set in it the spiritual gifts, “first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,” and evangelists, pastors, governments (the gift of administration and direction), and others. 1 Corinthians 12; Eph. 4:11-16. And the spirit given to all believers by the new birth from above was the same spirit of love for order and organization that reigns above.

The New Testament shows the Lord at times giving direct instruction by the spirit of prophecy as to the development of organization according to the needs and conditions. Again we see the Spirit-filled body of believers counseling together in general conference to secure concert of action. We see apostles, upon whom was laid the responsibilities of general oversight, and field laborers and believers praying together for wisdom better to organize their work, all recognizing as a gift from heaven any plan agreed upon that brought increased efficiency and closer union. The spirit that the New Testament church received was, in short, the spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7.

Two things we find were ever before that church,—the maintenance of purity and unity in the faith, and the carrying of the witness to the world. And in all the New Testament story we see that while the loyal believers were seeking these ends, disloyal or disorderly elements were seeking to introduce error or to bring about divisions and separations.

The first step in organizing the church of the New Testament was taken when Christ set in the body of believers the office of apostles. Out of the number of disciples he chose twelve—“whom also he named apostles”—and ordained them to the ministry and apostleship. Mark 3 and Luke 6. The spirit of prophecy says of this:—

The first step was now to be taken in the organization of the church that after Christ’s departure was to be his representative on earth. . . . As in the Old Testament the twelve patriarchs stand as representatives of Israel, so the twelve apostles were to stand as representatives of the gospel church.—“Desire of Ages,” page 291.

Thus their office was not local but general, for the whole church. They were ordained to give themselves to the ministry of the Word and to the general oversight of the work of the church. As the work enlarged, others were called to the office and work of apostles. Their office unified the work of the churches as the gospel was carried far and wide.

After the ascension of Christ, the eleven apostles, in council with the believers, and with earnest prayer for guidance, appointed and ordained one of their number to the office of apostle in place of Judas. Then came the blessings of pentecost, and about ten thousand believers were gathered in Jerusalem. In the emergency there was need of means. Then those who had money brought it in and laid it at the feet of the apostles who were charged with the responsibility of guiding the work. Acts 4:34-37. A common treasury, from which orderly and systematic distribution might be made through regular channels, was recognized as the right plan of carrying forward the work of looking after the needs of the thousands gathered there. And the point should be noted that the Spirit-filled church was ever seeking to do its work in the most systematic manner, recognizing divine authority in the gifts and offices placed in the church for the administration of its affairs.

W. A. S.

Continue reading: Loyalty to God