Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Sep 13, 1853
SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
By Editor
[Concluded.]
(5.) Isa. viii, 19, 20. "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." We shall show that the last part, at least, of this chapter applies to the present time, and that verses 19 and 20 especially point out Spiritualism.
Verses 9-13. "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, say ye not, a confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, a confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.—Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."
The spirits testify that the object of their mission is to break up the divisions now existing in society, and to associate mankind in one common brotherhood. Hon. Mr. Tallmadge reports the spirit of John C. Calhoun as addressing him thus: "My friend, the question is often put to you, 'What good can result from these manifestations?' I will answer: It is to DRAW mankind together in harmony, and convince skeptics of the immortality of the soul."
Mr. Tallmadge also states that the question, "What do spirits propose to accomplish by these new manifestations," being put to the spirit of W. E. Channing, the answer was as follows: "To unite mankind, and convince skeptical minds of the immortality of the soul." It is stated that the unclean spirits [Rev. xvi, 13, 14] "go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty."
We are of the opinion that the "association" and "confederacy," spoken of by the Prophet, refers to what the spirits propose to do. But they will be "broken in pieces." Their counsel "shall come to nought;" for God is with his people.—The seven last plagues will break them in pieces: "the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies."
The people of God are told not to fear "their fear, nor be afraid." That is, they should have neither fear nor reverence for the spirits, which are feared and greatly revered by Spiritualists.—God's people are told in verse 14th to "sanctify the Lord of hosts himself." While many sanctify, or set apart the spirits to be their teachers and guides, the living God himself must be chosen as your guide to immortality and eternal life. "Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."—Take the Sacred Book of God, and go to him in prayer, if you would learn the way to life eternal.
Verses 14, 15. "And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." The Jewish church and the Gentile church are evidently referred to here as "both the houses of Israel." The doctrine of the First Advent was a stone of stumbling to the Jews; so is the doctrine of his Second Advent to the Gentile church.—Mark the downward course. "And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken."
Verses 16, 17. "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." Here are points of thrilling interest. First, the prophecy applies to a period when the law is to be sealed among the disciples—not Jews—hence we can safely say that it applies to the dispensation of the gospel. And second, it applies to that period when the church should look for the coming of the Lord. Mark the phrase, "I will look for him." Therefore the prophecy applies to the close of the gospel, in the time of the end, when the church may scripturally look for the second coming of Christ. This time of spiritual dearth is the period when his face is apparently hid from the house of Jacob.
But what shall we understand by the words, "bind up the testimony?" The testimony to be bound up among the disciples of Christ must be the testimony of Jesus Christ, spoken of in connection with the commandments of God. Rev. xii, 17. It is spoken of by the prophet in connection with sealing the law, which is the law of God or ten commandments. This may refer to the whole testimony of Jesus Christ, which is to be kept by the remnant of the church, just before Jesus comes. In order for the whole testimony of Jesus to be kept by the church, attention must be paid to those portions which have long been trodden down, and thus the testimony that has been torn asunder be bound up.
If reference is made only to that portion of the testimony of Jesus which may be called present truth, then we see a clear fulfillment by those who teach the message of the third angel. Those who present this message understandingly, must first show the fulfillment of the messages of the first and second angels, [verses 6-8,] in the past Advent movement. Thus they chain all three messages together, show their harmony, and the fulfillment of God's word in them, and the testimony relative to the second coming of Christ is bound up.
The law to be sealed among the disciples, most certainly is the law of God, the ten commandments. No one will say that the word law here refers to the ceremonial law of Moses, the "law of commandments contained in ordinances;" for that hand-writing of ordinances was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way at the death of Christ.—Therefore, the law to be sealed among the disciples of Christ is the law of ten commandments. Ex. xx, 8-11. And remember, that this is to be accomplished at the very period when they are waiting for Christ's coming.
The word law, as used here by the Prophet, certainly does not mean a part of the law; nine tenths of the commandments of God would not be the law. The word embraces the whole law, all ten of its precepts. The Sabbath, guarded and enforced by the fourth precept of the holy law of God, has long been trodden down by the professed disciples of Christ; but the time has come for it to be restored, and the fourth precept of that law, as well as the other nine, sealed among the disciples of Christ. Says John, "And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God," &c. Rev. vii, 2.
Verse 18. "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion." This, without doubt, refers to the disciples of Christ, at this day, after the law of God is sealed upon their hearts. They have respect to all the commandments of God. They "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."—Like the original disciples, they rest on the "Sabbath-day according to the commandment." Luke xxiii, 56. This makes them appear, in the eyes of the world, very odd. They are a "peculiar people." See Titus ii, 15. They are emphatically, "signs and wonders in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion."
Verses 19, 20. "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits," &c. From a brief examination of a portion of this chapter thus far, we see that it was spoken in reference to the present time, and that verses 19, 20, do refer to Spiritualism. And, according to this prophecy, at the very period when the injunction, "seal the law among my disciples," is binding, the people are seeking to those who have familiar spirits. While the saints are being sealed for heaven, those who reject the truth are to be sealed by the strongest delusion of Satan for perdition. And it is a fact that the present interest on the Sabbath, and the law of God among us, commenced very near the time that the "Rochester Knocking" was first heard of.
Verses 21, 22, gives the dreadful end of those who reject God's holy and righteous law, and instead of seeking to the living God for knowledge, seek unto the dead.
"And they shall pass through it hardly besteed and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness."74
On the other hand, John saw the sealed disciples of Christ, standing on the Mount Zion with the Lamb. "And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb."—Happy, triumphant deliverance!
7. Cry of peace and safety.
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape.
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." 1 Thess. v, 1-6. The seventh sign to which we call attention is this universal cry of peace and safety, mentioned by the Apostle.
Two distinct classes are here spoken of. One class, called brethren, have an understanding of the times and seasons, and know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come on the wicked as a thief. They are not in darkness themselves so that that day should overtake them as a thief. They are the children of the light and of the day. They are not asleep; but awake and watching for the day of the Lord. The other class will not understand the times and seasons; and although the day of God's wrath is hastening upon them greatly, they will be crying, "peace and safety." They will be in darkness, or without knowledge as to the approach of the day of the Lord, and sudden destruction will come upon them as a thief in the night, and there will be no escape for them. The two classes are represented thus: One by a person awake and watching; the other by a person asleep.
We will first notice the doctrine of a temporal millennium, or the conversion of the world and spiritual reign of Christ 1000 years before the Judgment. This unscriptural doctrine, so generally held by the churches of this day, is of quite recent date, and is well calculated to lull the church and world to sleep. While looking for the world's conversion, they will not be expecting the day of the Lord. It will come upon such as a thief. The first that taught the modern doctrine of a temporal millennium was Daniel Whitby, who died in 1726, aged 88. He taught that the reign of Christ during the 1000 years was not personal but spiritual.
Our Lord taught that the wheat and tares should grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of the world. And that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also at the coming of the Son of man. "Wide is the gate," said our Lord, "and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. vii, 13, 14. He does not say that the narrow way to life is to grow wider and wider till the whole world can walk in it. The scriptures plainly teach that as we approach the end, the love of many will wax cold, men will be turned from the truth to fables, so that the few who bend their lonely foot-steps in the narrow way to life will be less and less. O that honest souls, now asleep as to the Lord's coming, dreaming of the world's conversion, would awake before sudden destruction comes upon them.
The doctrine of universal salvation is also of recent date. It is a fable of the last days to lull its thousands to sleep. It is a device of Satan to close the ear against the warning voice of truth. The Universalist has taken the advantage of the unscriptural doctrine that all men have immortality, and that the sinner is to wail eternally in hell fire, and has built himself up on these errors found in the creeds of the churches. But lay out the doctrine of immortality through Christ, and obtained at the resurrection of the just, at the second coming of Christ and the Universalist is "done over" at once. To suit his views, the words of our Lord [Matt. vii, 13, 14] should be altered so as to read something as follows:—Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to life, and all the world go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto destruction, and none can find it!
The alarm has been given. The gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world; and the fears of the people have been aroused. But the evil servant cried, "My Lord delayeth his coming," which put the fears of thousands to an end. Then, when the period of confident expectation of the coming of the Lord passed by, the scoffer triumphed, and the unprepared were greatly relieved. The world and the body of the church have fallen asleep upon the subject of the judgment at hand. Such a time of "ease in Zion" never was known. "Peace and safety" is heard throughout the land.
But we are of the opinion that this cry of peace and safety is yet to have a more perfect fulfillment in the wide-spread delusion of Spiritualism. That "ism" has no Devil, no judgment and no punishment of the wicked. All enter some one of the circles of the spirit world at death. There the vilest find pardon of sins committed in this world, and ascend in triumph to the higher circles!! All are safe; for although they may be guilty of crime of the blackest dye, yet at death they can do nothing less than to enter some one of these lower circles.
That enemy of Jesus Christ, Thomas Paine, is now reported through a medium, Rev. C. Hammond, to be in the highest circle of the spirit world!!—He says that his name is "written in the records of eternal life," that he has received the plaudit, "well done good servant," that he has obtained the "reward" of the faithful, and has entered into eternal "joy."!! Nothing short of a demon could have the brass to talk of Paine on this wise. We give the following brief description of Paine's character from the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.
"This unhappy believer died in contempt and misery. His disgusting vices, his intemperance and profligacy, made him an outcast from all respectable society. He is represented as irritable, vain, cowardly, filthy, envious, malignant, dishonest and drunken. In the distress of his last sickness, he frequently called out, 'Lord Jesus! help me.' Dr. Manley asked him whether, from his calling so often on the Saviour, it was to be inferred that he believed the gospel. He replied at last, 'I have no wish to believe on that subject.'"
So died Thomas Paine in the depths of wickedness; and now he is a sainted spirit in the highest circle of the spirit world, and has come to teach this "Rev. Charles Hammond," who, under his inspiration, is to enlighten the world!!
What a hope is here held out to the vilest sinner! He may go on in crime, and feel assured of finally reveling with Paine in the glories of the higher circles of heaven!! It is evident that all who are caught in the snare of Spiritualism, will, with feelings of perfect "peace and safety," risk their soul's salvation, without repentance, and without the benefits of the atoning blood of Christ.
"When they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them," &c. From this we understand that those who reject the truth, and are in darkness as to the approach of the day of the Lord, will be united in the cry of peace and safety. We see but two classes in that dreadful hour. One is obeying the injunction of the Apostle, "Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." With the deepest interest they are watching the signs of the times, lest the day of the Lord come upon them as a thief. The other class is saying, "Peace and safety."
8. Iniquity abounds.
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.—But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Matt. xxiv, 12, 13. The "end" here mentioned is the end of the world spoken of in verse 3, in connection with Christ's coming.—Then, just prior to the end, iniquity is to abound, the love of many wax cold; but the faithful soul that endures the perils of this time, will be saved when Jesus comes.
This deplorable state of things is spoken of by the Apostle as follows: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. iii, 1-5.
This dreadful picture represents the main body of the nominal churches of the last days. It is not a representation of that portion of community who make no profession of religion; but of those who have a "form of godliness." Iniquity abounds in the church, which calls down the frown of God, and the love of the body has grown cold. "From such turn away." This is in harmony with the voice from heaven, "Come out of her my people." Rev. xviii, 4. "What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean, [thing] is incorrectly supplied, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. vi, 16-18.
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. iv, 1-4.
Luther said, just before his death in 1546: "The day of judgment is not far off; yea, will not be absent above 300 years longer." And speaking of the state of things near the end, while writing on the prophetic periods of Daniel, in his German Bible, he says: "About the consummation of these periods, this gospel will be shut out of all the churches and confined to private houses."
"Dr. Cotton Mather, who died about 100 years since, near Boston, a little before his death, wrote on the second coming of Christ. And he confidently affirmed, from the word of God, that the end of all things was near at hand, and gave it as his settled opinion, that there were persons then living who would live to witness the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven; and that a little before the burning day, the nominal church would be in a fallen and corrupt, or lukewarm state; and to use his own words: 'It will be like a dead, putrid carcass, having no faith in the Lord's coming.' Yes, Jesus declared, 1800 years ago, that there would be but little of this faith when he comes. How fearfully it is now fulfilled! How few believe in his coming!"
Says Dr. Griffon: "The world! the world! the world! This is the object which engrosses every care; this is the supreme deity that is adored.—Buy and sell, and get gain—out with the thoughts of death—away with the Judgment and Heaven—my farms, my merchandise; I will have them, though the earth trembles under my feet, and Heaven weeps blood upon my head!"
Says Charles Beecher: "Oh, woful day! Oh, unhappy church of Christ! Fast rushing round and round the fatal circle of absorbing ruin! Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked!"
The world is full of iniquity and crime. "As it was in the days of Noah," and "of Lot," "so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." Mankind was then so corrupt that God had to destroy them off the face of the earth. But the sins of this generation are more heaven-daring than those of any former generation since time began; and the only reason why the wrath of Almighty God is not at once poured out, is because of the inter-75
cessions of Christ for his scattered people. "Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah."—Isa. i, 9. Says the Christian Herald: "It is a fact that about in the same ratio that the cause of experimental religion declines, immorality and vice increases."
We might here mention the abundance of riches, silver and gold, heaped together, not only by individuals, but by numerous incorporations.—Look at the many banking institutions, the amount of insurance capital, &c., &c., now existing, and then read what the Apostle says to the rich respecting their treasures. "Go to, now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you; your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten; your gold and your silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." James v, 1-3.
Also we might mention the multitudes of scoffers at the blessed hope and glorious appearing of Christ, both in the churches and out of them.—"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
"For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Pet. iii, 3-7.
The personal coming of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the destruction of this earth by fire, as the old world was destroyed by water, are at this day denied in the pulpit, and by the religious press. There are a few exceptions, however. And it is a fact that these scriptural doctrines are scoffed at by many who profess the religion of Christ.
9. The first angel's message [Rev. xiv, 6, 7] has been given.
John saw this angel "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, &c." This is evidently the same as "this gospel of the kingdom," [Matt. xxiv, 14,] which was to be preached in all the world for a witness. The fulfillment of this, we have already shown.
This angel says, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour [period] of his judgment is come." His message not only relates to the Judgment; but, also, to the time of the Judgment.—This angel must symbolize a class of religious teachers who proclaim a corresponding message.—Mark this: The angel does not symbolize a class of men who are teaching that the Judgment is more than a thousand years in the future, or that we may know nothing of the time of its coming.—But he does symbolize that class who teach that the period has come for the Judgment to be expected. Therefore, the first angel's message has its fulfillment in the proclamation of the immediate coming of our Lord Jesus Christ which has been given to this generation.
Luther did not teach that the hour of the Judgment had come. He looked forward for that event about 300 years. This message, based on the book of Daniel, could not have been given while that book was closed up and sealed, which was the case until 1798. The signs in the sun, moon and stars must first be fulfilled.
But it may be said that the Advent movement was not of God, because those engaged in it did not realize all they expected. But if we had realized all we expected in 1843, if Christ had then come, where would the second and third angel give their messages? Think of this. A disappointment and delay is as necessary to fulfill this chapter, as to expect and proclaim Christ's coming.
Again, look at the shouting multitude who cried Hosanna, when Christ meekly rode into Jerusalem. Were their hopes realized? Not at all. They expected the Master to immediately ascend the throne of David; but see him in a few days on the cross, and the disciples scattered. Yet the whole display was a fulfillment of Zech. ix, 9. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
The Pharisees wished the Master to rebuke the disciples when they shouted in fulfillment of this prophecy: but he replied, "I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." The whole plan was according to the mind and Spirit of God. They had to cry "Hosanna" to fulfill the prophecy; yet all their expectations failed. So when the right time came for the first angel's message to be given, hundreds were at once moved out to swell the note of warning. God's Spirit urged them out. And if they had held their peace, ten thousand voices would have been heard from the very stones, "Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come."
It may also be said that the Advent movement has not been sufficiently extensive to be a fulfillment of prophecy, and a forerunner of the Second Advent. Please look at the fulfillment of prophecy in the preparatory work, and forerunner of the First Advent.
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." Isa. xl, 3.
This prophecy was fulfilled in the person of John the baptist, in his short and limited ministry. He had neither printing-presses nor the benefit of railroad cars. But one voice was raised, and that in the wilderness of Judea.
Hundreds of ministers of Christ have gone forth, proclaiming the doctrine of the Second Advent; and instead of one voice, thousands have been raised, until the earth has rung again with shouts of "Behold he cometh." In 1843, six or eight Advent periodicals were published, and sheets and tracts were scattered throughout the land like the leaves of Autumn. We have before shown the extent of the proclamation in other countries.
10. The second angel's message [verse 8th,] has also been fulfilled.
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, &c." This angel does not proclaim his message at the time of the first; but follows after. It is a well known fact that the burden of the first message was given from 1840 to the first part of 1844. It is also a fact that the announcement, "Babylon is fallen," was made in 1844, and that the burden of that message, which called many thousands from the different churches, closed in the Autumn of 1844. This movement being local, the angel is not said to make his proclamation with a loud voice. But the first angel announces the hour of God's judgment with a loud voice. The fulfillment was a mighty movement, which took hold of the public mind.—The solemn announcement of the third angel is made with a loud voice. And this is the period of the preparatory work of another mighty movement, in fulfillment of the third angel's loud cry.
11. The third angel's message.
"And the third angel followed them with a loud voice, &c." See verses 9-12. This is another distinct message which follows the second. We have stated that the burden of the second message closed in the Autumn of 1844. That was the period of confident expectation for the coming of the Lord, and the great disappointment to those who loved his appearing. A scene of severe trial has followed, which has called for the patience of the saints.—Those who have stood firm have had "need of patience." See Heb. x, 35-39. "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12. This is the closing part of the message of the third angel, and perfectly applies to the period since 1844. This has been our time of pa-76
tience. And it is an interesting fact that in this period the subject of the commandments of God has been agitated by those who are waiting for the Lord. Commandment-keepers are, therefore, a sign of the immediate coming of Christ; for the next event in the prophecy, is the Son of man on the white cloud with a sharp sickle in his hand ready to reap the harvest of the earth. See verse 14.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. xii, 17. What is the matter with the dragon now? What is this that moves his ire? We may keep the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth commandments according to the letter, and the dragon will be as quiet as a lamb. We may awkwardly try to keep the fourth commandment on the first day of the week, and the dragon says that is right. Then what is the matter? We will tell you. The commandment-keepers feel bound to observe the letter of the fourth commandment, just as they do the letter of the other nine. And when the fourth commandment says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," they feel bound to believe and obey. This separates them from the world, on two days at least. To the world it looks odd, and very inconvenient. In short, to take a bold stand for the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is perfectly calculated to stir the ire of the dragon. Reader, can you show any reason why the dragon should make war on the remnant, only that they observe the seventh-day Sabbath? If you can, please do so.
But what is the remnant of the church? A remnant of cloth is understood to be a small piece, and the last end of the web. The remnant of the church, then, must be Christ's "little flock [Luke xii, 32] who are waiting for his coming, and to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom." They must be the last end of the church; those who live in the last generation before Christ comes. Sabbath-keepers will understand it, when they are reviled, and called Jews, fools, fanatics, &c. The dragon is to make war on the remnant.
But mark the distinction here made between the commandments of God, and the testimony or faith of Jesus. "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, [the Father,] and the faith of Jesus," [the Son.] This excludes the blind Jew who rejects Jesus; also the professed Christian who boasts of faith in Jesus, but refuses to keep all ten of the commandments of God.
It is said by some that the commandments of God to be observed in this dispensation are not the ten given by the Father, but those given by Christ and the Apostles. But it is evident that the faith, or testimony of Jesus Christ embraces all the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his holy Apostles. It embraces all the doctrines and requirements of the New Testament, peculiar to the gospel dispensation. The remnant were to keep all these, under the head of the faith of Jesus, and they were also to keep the commandments of God the Father besides. If the ten are not here referred to, we have yet to learn what the commandments of God are?
Says the apostle James, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy." Chap. iv, 12. Who is this lawgiver? If it be Christ, then who is our advocate? In this case we have none.—"Sin is the transgression of the law" of this lawgiver. "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John ii, 1. This shows beyond all doubt that God the Father is our lawgiver, and that Jesus Christ is our advocate. Jesus did not come to legislate, but to teach his Father's commandments, to "magnify the law, and make it honorable." "Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." John vii, 16. "The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." Chap. xiv, 24. "As my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." Chap. viii, 28; xii, 49, 50.
But we are told that the law of God is not now binding on Christians, that we are under law to Christ; that is, Christ is our lawgiver. Then "sin is the transgression of the law" of Christ! "And if any man sin, [transgress Christ's law,] we have an advocate" with Jesus Christ, the Pope of Rome!!
The last chapter of the Bible forever settles the point, that it is not the commandments of Christ and his Apostles alone, that are to be kept in the gospel dispensation. In verse 12, Christ says, "behold I come quickly." And in verse 13, he declares himself the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." He continues in verse 14, "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." The word His in this text can refer to no other than his Father, the one great Lawgiver. A precious promise indeed to commandment-keepers! They may enter the golden City, and feel that they have a right there! For a full exposition of the Sabbath question, see our publications.
Dear Reader, we have now passed through this subject, and have pointed out some of the most prominent signs of the immediate coming of the Son of man, and have shown their fulfillment by well known facts. We have seen the signs given the Jews to prove to them that Jesus was the true Messiah; also the more numerous and impressive signs of his second advent. Christ said of the Jews, that the men of Nineveh would rise up in the Judgment and condemn that generation. Also, that it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment than for them. If you reject greater light, how will you stand in the Judgment? Will it not be more tolerable for the Jews in that day, than for you? O reject not the plain word of the Lord, now fulfilling before your eyes. Prepare to meet thy God.
If you love the glorious appearing of Christ, hold fast the rejoicing of the hope, live humble, keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and soon you will receive a crown of life with all who love his appearing. How natural for those who really love Christ, to love his appearing. A lack of love for his glorious appearing, betrays a want of love for the dear Saviour. The following from the Present Crisis, by John Hooper, England, is to the point:
"It was a prominent characteristic of the primitive Christians that they loved Christ's appearing; and looked forward to it as the period that would consummate their happiness. Surely, if our affections were placed on the Saviour—if he was to us the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely—if we had none in heaven but him, or on earth that we desired in comparison with him—we should desire his return—we should long to 'see him as he is'—should pray, 'thy kingdom come'—Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.' 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?' The observations of Mr. Drummond on this subject, in a speech which that gentleman delivered at the Eleventh Anniversary of the Continental Society, are so much to the point, that I cannot refrain from quoting them. 'Let us suppose,' says he, 'for instance, a woman whose husband is a long way absent from her, perhaps in the East Indies. She is possibly very diligent in the management of his affairs, and conducts herself with perfect outward propriety, but always breaks out into a passion whenever any one speaks to her of her husband's return: 'Oh no,' she says, 'he cannot be coming yet; I expect to be much better off before he comes; I expect his estate under my management to be much more extensive; if he were to come now, he would disarrange all my plans; besides, what is the use of thinking about his coming—I may die first, and that will be exactly the same as his coming to me?' Let her asseverations of love and affection be what they may, you cannot believe otherwise than that her heart is alienated from her lord, and probably fixed upon another. Now let us suppose another woman in the same situation: see her constantly reading his letters, and especially those parts of them which describe the time and the circumstances attendant on his return; hear her talking of it to her children, and teaching them to look forward to it as
the consummation of her and their fondest wishes. Mark the silent scorn with which she treats a judicious friend who would try to persuade her that there was no use in looking out for his return, for that he had never mentioned the month, far less the day or the hour, when it was to take place.—Though she may make no noisy protestations of love; though she may speak but little about him, except to her children, and to those whose hearts are tuned in unison with her own, we cannot for a moment entertain a doubt of the real state of her affections. Let us apply this figure to ourselves: and of this I am certain, and I wish I could make the warning ring through every corner of our professing land, that a dislike to hear of the coming of the Lord is a more decided proof of the affections of the religious world at large, and of every single member of it, being alienated from Christ, and, therefore, in an unholy, unsanctified, and unconverted state, than all the noisy protestations at Annual Meetings, all the Bibles and tracts circulated, and missionaries sent out, are proofs of the reverse."
I'LL TRUST IN THEE.
By Annie R. Smith
BY ANNIE R. SMITH.
TUNE—"The Pilot."
O FATHER, let a heavenly calm
Pervade this anxious breast;
I'd lean upon thy gracious arm,
And in thy bosom rest.—
Be thou my sure support and guide
O'er life's tempestuous sea;
And then, whatever may betide,
I'll ever trust in thee.
Why should I murmur and repine,
At hardship, grief and loss?
Since this will but the gold refine,
And purge away the dross.
If by temptations sorely tried,
Quick to thine aid I'll flee,
And then, whatever may betide,
I'll ever trust in thee.
Give me a soul inured to woe;
Resigned to every ill;
My chief delight while here below,
To do thy holy will.
Though friends forsake, and foes deride,
Thou shalt my portion be;
And then, whatever may betide,
I'll ever trust in thee.
O God, thy grace and strength impart,
That, till the race is run,
I e'er may say, with grateful heart,
Thy will, not mine, be done;
And near the Saviour's bleeding side
Keep me, from evil free;
And then, whatever may betide,
I'll ever trust in thee.