Signs of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 9. (3/4/1913)

Signs of the Times

Mar 4, 1913

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 4, 1913

The Door of the Lips

By S. Trevor Francis

“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Ps. 141:3.

Say not the thing ye mean not. Words are knives That cut deep gashes in our little lives; Gashes that reach deep down within the heart, And all our lives leave some unhealed smart. Say not the thing ye mean not. Words will live To mock your grief, when you perchance would give Your very life to take away the pain That you have made; alas, ’twill then be vain.

Ah, many a word that was in passion said Has left a wound that secretly has bled, Till love has come to be a trickling stream, And earthly joy like some past happy dream. Yea, all that brightens life has fled away, Leaving but work, the dreary livelong day. Say not the thing ye mean not. There be few Whose life within and life without are true.

Yet be ye true, yea, tho ye suffer wrong, If true, then real, and being real, strong; And being strong, some little word we speak May help some struggling brother who is weak. Say not the thing ye mean not. Sure our life Is not for meanness, pettiness, or strife; Souls who have destinies so great and high Must not defame their immortality.

Say not the thing ye mean not. Every word That wrought a pang of anguish, or that stirred With secret sorrow any human soul, Will bound back on thyself, like waves that roll Themselves upon the shore; they leap again To the deep bosom or the watery main. Say not the thing ye mean not. Harsh and chill Is this cold world; why let thy words work ill?

Rather wipe eyes that weep, cheer those who mourn, And whisper comfort into hearts forlorn. Impute not wrong, lest thou shouldst add to strife, Or mar with bitterness some noble life. Say not the thing ye mean not. Death is nigh; Thou knowest not but soon that one may lie In the cold grave, whose ears so sadly heard The harsh, unfeeling, bitter, unkind word.

— S. Trevor Francis.

Question Corner

“IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE.”

This Inquirers’ Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writer. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.

4005 — Christ Coming to Earth

I have heard people say that Christ would never touch the earth again. How would this compare with what is stated in Job 19:25? M. M. M.

When Christ comes the second time, He will not touch the earth. This is quite clearly shown in 1 Thess. 4:15-17. His people will be caught up to meet Him in the air, and will go with Him to the city above; but at the end of the thousand years, when He comes back again, His feet will stand at that day on the Mount of Olives. Zech. 14:4. Then the earth will be made new, and He will receive His kingdom; and Job’s hope included that.

4006 — The Many Mansions

Please explain John 14:2, in connection with Isa. 65:21. In John 14:2 Christ says He goes to prepare a place for us. Why, then, will it be necessary for the righteous to build houses for themselves, according to Isa. 65:21? J. M.

The many mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare are in the holy city, whose Builder and Maker is God, where the children of the Lord go up from Sabbath to Sabbath and from month to month. See Isa. 66:22, 23; also Rev. 21:22. These are the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare. The expression that Isaiah uses is to show the contrast between that world and this. In this world men build houses, and others inhabit. They plant vineyards, and others eat of the fruit of the vineyard. Man does not continue. It is a strong figurative way of expressing that we shall live forever in that world. We do not anticipate that there will be very much building of houses there. It is not a matter of necessity, as our correspondent would imply, but it is a matter of real pleasure and joy, in which they will twine into beautiful bowers, vines and branches of trees, and make living houses. But these, of course, will be in the country, in different parts of the new world. The mansions refer to the city, and the others to the country.

4007 — Who Sinned?

Please explain John 9:2, 3, which is as follows: “And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” The question put to me was this: that man had a previous existence before this life; and to prove it, I was asked how the man could sin before he was born, if he had had no previous existence. He, of course, claimed that the disciples knew what they were talking about, and were asking no foolish questions when they asked, “Who did sin, this man or his parents?” W. D.

Vincent, in his “Word Studies in the New Testament,” on the text says: “It was a common Jewish view that the merits or demerits of the parents would appear in the children, and that the thoughts of the mother might affect the moral state of her unborn offspring. The apostasy of one of the greatest rabbis had, in popular belief, been caused by the sinful delight of his mother in passing through an idol grove. Some contend that the Jews believed in transmigration of souls.” Dunwell’s “Commentary on the Four Gospels” quotes from Lightfoot, that “it appears that the ancient opinion of the Jews was that the infant from its first quickening had some stain upon it.” Nay, they went a little farther, not only that the infant might have some stain of sin in the womb, but that it might in some measure actually sin, and do that which might render it criminal. And therefore the question was, Did this child, before it was born, sin? That it did not have reference to the transmigration of souls, is proved by the fact that in the perversion of truth which the Pharisees had, they believed that the good souls only passed into other bodies. It seems clear to us that the best sense of all is given by Boothroyd’s comment. We quote: “Pearce contends that this question can have no reference to the opinion of the Pharisees, who held something like the Pythagorean doctrine of transmigration, as it respected the good only, but supposed the wicked did not enjoy this privilege. Matt. 16:14, etc. He explains, ‘Who sinned? This man that he hath become blind; or if he were born so, was it for the sin of his parents?’”

That is, the question does not imply that they knew that he had been born blind. “Rabbi, did this man sin, so that he became blind? or did his parents sin that he was born blind?” Any of these suppositions would clear the text from the idea that our Lord taught transmigration of souls. The clear Bible teaching regarding the soul has nothing of this.

4008 — Worship of Semiramis

Was not Semiramis, wife of Nimrod, worshiped in Jeremiah’s day as queen of heaven, and as Diana of the Ephesians in Paul’s days? Was she not the first builder of the walls of Babylon? I find history varying in some of these things. C. E. B.

It is pretty difficult to tell and trace all of these things. Hislop’s “Two Babylons” spends pages upon them. There seems to be but little question, however, but that Semiramis was the wife of Nimrod, and that she was among those goddesses that were early worshiped. According to Anthon’s “Classical Dictionary,” she herself was the daughter of one who was regarded as a goddess, Derceto. According to the mythical tradition, she was exposed in a desert, but was preserved by doves for a whole year. And then a lot of other things are brought in which would indicate that she may have been connected with Nimrod, and may not. We are also told by this authority that she married Ninus, who may have been the same as Nimrod, afterward putting him to death. He placed the sovereign power in her hands for five days, and during this time he was executed. It also records that she began the building of the great city of Babylon, in which work, tradition tells us, two millions of men were employed. One tradition is that when she passed away she was changed into a dove, and consequently came the worship of doves. But the nature of her worship would seem to connect her with “the queen of heaven,” Venus, Diana of the Ephesians, and other goddesses of the same cult and character. What would seem to connect her with Nimrod is this, that we have traditions from both sides that each was the builder of Babylon. Of course the one who brought Babylon to its highest state of beauty and glory was Nebuchadnezzar. Hislop’s “Two Babylons” will give fuller information upon the question.

4009 — Without Repentance

What is meant by Rom. 11:29: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance”? J. F.

Simply this, that God is never sorry for doing any good thing. He calls every sinner to come to Him. He bestows His gifts upon the good and the bad, the righteous and the wicked. Some of them are rejected even by His own children, slighted, neglected; but God is not sorry that He gave them. The gifts and the calling of God are not repented of. Men do repent of them many times. We hear a man saying, “I am sorry I did this for such a one, or that I did this for such another one. They have never been even grateful for it.” But that is not the true spirit of giving, after all. However they regard it, the soul who gives rightly, who has the true spirit of giving, is more blessed than the receiver, for it is the Master Himself who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

4010 — The Law from Adam to Moses

Will you kindly explain the meaning of Rom. 5:13, 14? Are we to understand there was no law from Adam to Moses? Had the antediluvians no law by which to be guided? C. S. B.

The passage reads as follows: “For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of Him that was to come.” The antediluvians had law because the antediluvians sinned; and it is the word of the apostle himself that “where there is no law, neither is there transgression” (Rom. 4:15); and that “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). Nay, more, that he had not known what sin was, himself, had it not been for the law. Rom. 7:7. What the apostle is speaking of is the written law, because he is talking to the Jews as well as others. See Rom. 2:17. And they understood by the law, the written law, for until the law was written sin was in the world. What is sin?—“Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. And the fact that sin was in the world, and that sin is not imputed when there is no law, showed that there was law then, just as truly as though it had been written out. And he further shows that there was law, by saying that death reigned from Adam until Moses. Now death is the result of sin, for “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15; Rom. 6:23. Some of these had not sinned against the law as Adam did, but they had sinned. What the apostle is showing, is that all men are condemned, in whatever dispensation they lived, and condemned by the law; and that all men are saved, if they are saved at all, under whatever dispensation they lived, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Who is the figure of Him that was to come,” is by some referred to Adam, by some to Moses. Adam, of course, was a figure of Him who was to come, in the sense that as Adam was the head of the first creation, so Christ is the head of the second creation. 1 Cor. 15:22, 45. Moses was also a type of Christ, in the fact that he was God’s prophet, to lead the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt into the promised land. See Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22.

4011 — “Under the Law”

What is the meaning of Rom. 3:19? W. A. K.

The text reads: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.” (A.R.V.) “Under the law” does not mean here what it does in most other places. “Under the law,” for instance, in Rom. 6:14, “hupo nomon,” is under the condemnation of the law—the law over us; but “under the law” here is “en to nomo,” within the law, subject to the law. That includes every one. The law speaks to those who are subject to it, and as every one who is subject to it in this earth has sinned, it shuts every mouth, and all the world is condemned by it. See Bible Students’ Library, No. 163, “Under the Law” or “Under Grace?” Single copy, by mail, 2 cents.

Our Bible Band

Schedule for the Week Ending March 8, 1913

Day	Date	Reading
Sunday	March 2	Numbers 9, 10
Monday	" 3	" 11, 12
Tuesday	" 4	" 13, 14
Wednesday	" 5	" 16, 17
Thursday	" 6	" 18; 6:24-27
Friday	" 7	" 20, 21
Sabbath	" 8	" 22, 23, 24

Our lesson for the week lies wholly in the book of Numbers, beginning with the 9th chapter, closing with the 24th, but omitting Numbers 15, 19, 25 to 29. All these chapters in our reading speak for themselves. They tell of the various ceremonies, service, wanderings, and murmurings of the children of Israel. They tell also of the very strict order that God had among His children, not that He needed anything so much as they needed to learn. That is one of the real blessings of system,—that he who carries it out is, in the doing of that, forming a systematic character. Very interesting indeed is the story of Balak's desire to have Israel cursed, of his hiring of Balaam, of Balaam's first refusing to yield to the temptation, and his afterward succumbing to the power of the enemy. Yet, notwithstanding all this, God overruled to His glory all that the prophet said. It is sad to think that the prophet himself did not learn by these lessons, but that after he had told of the care and glory of God with Israel, he should himself endeavor to bring defeat to the children of Israel by leading them into sin. In doing this, he deserved what came to him, death. Num. 6:24-27, which we have placed at the close of chapter 18, is worthy of memorizing.

“Be Not Afraid”

“But what joy succeeds the fear, as they recognize the form of the Master treading the stormy sea as tho it were the firm earth, and hear His well-known voice saying, ‘Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.’”

THE words are those of the Redeemer of men, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Upholder of all things, the Master of all the warring elements of earth.

THE occasion when He uttered them is recorded in the Gospel by John, verses sixteen to twenty-one of chapter six. The day previous had been a remarkable one even in the life of Jesus. The great Dispenser and Provider of all good had given to the great multitude the bread of life, had healed their sick and infirm, and then before sending them to their homes had fed the five thousand men and the accompanying women and children with two small fishes and five little barley loaves; and after they were sufficiently fed, twelve baskets of the fragments were gathered. Blessings from the Lord’s hands ever multiply.

THE multitude were astounded, but in their selfish blindness failed to get the spiritual lesson. They did not accept the bread as from God, they did not hunger for the Bread of Life. They saw in Jesus one who was able to supply all they needed in this life. Surely such a man must be their king. If in His humility He will not assume the throne, we will compel Him to be king. But the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. Neither expediency, politics, nor force can make Him king. He will reign in every individual that will truly say, “Thine is the dominion;” but He will never sit upon the temporal, sinful thrones of men either in person or by proxy. When, therefore, He perceived that the people He had fed were about to take Him by force and attempt to compel Him to be king, He despatched His disciples, some of whom were perhaps leaders in the movement, to the other side of the sea. He then sent the multitude away, and He “departed again into a mountain Himself alone,” to pray for a people who cared more for loaves and fishes than for inward holiness. (See Mark 6:45, 46; John 6:15, 26.) So Christ will depart from every man or body of people who desires to make Him an expedient in politics, or sets Him on a political or theological throne of his own devising.

THE disappointed disciples departed. Their cherished hopes had perished, thwarted by the One whom they hoped to honor. The night fell upon the sea, a fierce wind—common to the blue Galilee—arose with the deepening darkness, and beat down upon their frail craft. Labor as they would to reach the other side, they made little progress. “The wind was contrary.” And tho there were but seven or eight miles of the water to cross, the hours of deep darkness preceding the day’s breaking found the strong-muscled men still “in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves.” The progression on the sea befitted their disappointed hopes, and their physical weariness must have brought corresponding depression of spirits.

THE tired fishermen were in a proper condition both mentally and physically to give way to groundless fears. The refusal of their Master to be made king, the sending of them away alone on the stormy sea, the terrible tempest, the swelling sea, made a night of terror, and filled their minds with gloomy forebodings. Peering out into the darkness, they see a human form walking upon the restless, heaving sea. All the old superstitious tales so common among fisherfolk invest the dread apparition with a deadly meaning. It was to them a storm wraith foretokening destruction.

Some one whispers, It is a ghost; and paralyzed with fear they cry out in agony.

BUT what joy succeeds the fear, as they recognize the form of the Master treading the stormy sea as tho it were the firm earth, and hear His well-known voice saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” They receive Him into the boat; their troubles are over; and directly they have entered safe harbor.

HOW obviously the lessons stand out to the storm-tossed children of earth. God knows our needs. He knew that what the disciples needed was not a temporal kingdom in a world of sin, but a spiritual fitting for an eternal and sinless kingdom. Disappointed as they were, He did not abandon them. Storm-tossed and baffled, “distressed in rowing,” He went to their relief. So He sees us. He knows our needs, knows the troubled sea and our frail craft, knows the furnace heat and the flail of tribulation. He will leave us no longer than is for our good. He is able to save. He died for our salvation. “The sea is His, and He made it.” No storm-tossed deep can overwhelm Him. The rolling waves become rock under His divine tread.

YET how often the very blessings of deliverance frighten us. The Master Himself seemed like a wraith of the sea, an omen of ill; yet He came to deliver. So some of the seeming ills of life are God’s blessings in disguise. “All these are against me,” Jacob moaned; but they were for the salvation not only of him and his family, but of a nation. Sometimes our eyes are too dim with selfish weeping to discern His form; our ears are dinned by the babel of voices, and we do not hear His voice. But He is there. “There is life in a look.” We may hear Him say, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid,” and we may rest. Let Him into your frail boat of life. But, soul, if you can neither see nor hear Him, “feel after Him, and find Him,” for He is “not far from each one of us.” Nay, more, when the darkness is so great and the senses so benumbed that we can neither see nor feel, let faith pierce the darkness and lay hold of the hand that is ready to help.

“Jesus alone can save From every stormy wave; Trust in His power, Ever, in dark or day, Ever, in peace or fray, Ever, and all the way, Trust every hour.”

Church Festivals

By Ellen G. White

By Mrs. E. G. White

Professed Christians engage in feastings and in scenes of amusement which degrade the religion of Jesus Christ. It is impossible for those who find pleasure in church socials, festivals, and numerous gatherings for pleasure, to have ardent love and sacred reverence for Jesus. His words of warning and instruction have no weight upon their minds. Should Christ come into the assembly of those who were absorbed in their plays and frivolous amusements, would the solemn melody of His voice be heard in benediction, saying, “Peace be to this house”? How would the Saviour of the world enjoy these scenes of gaiety and folly?

Christians and the world unite, one in heart and one in spirit, in these festal occasions. The Man of sorrows, who was acquainted with grief, would find no welcome in these places of amusement. The lovers of pleasure and luxury, the thoughtless and the gay, are collected in these rooms, and the glitter and tinsel of fashion are seen everywhere. The ornament of crosses of gold and pearl, which represent a Redeemer crucified, adorn their persons. But the One whom these highly-prized jewels represent, finds no welcome, no room. His presence would be a restraint upon their mirth and their sensual amusements, and would remind them of neglected duty, and bring to their remembrance hidden sins which caused that sorrowful countenance, and made those eyes so sad and tearful.

If Christ Were There

The presence of Christ would be positively painful in these gatherings for pleasure. Surely, none could invite Him there, for His countenance is marred with sorrows more than the sons of men, because of these very amusements which put God out of mind, and make the broad road attractive to the sinner. The enchantments of these exciting scenes pervert reason, and destroy reverence for sacred things. Ministers who profess to be Christ’s representatives frequently take the lead in these frivolous amusements. “Ye are,” says Christ, “the light of the world.” “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

In what manner is the light of truth shining from that thoughtless, pleasure-seeking company? Professed followers of Jesus Christ who indulge in gaiety and feasting can not be partakers with Christ of His sufferings. They have no sense of His sufferings. They do not care to meditate upon self-denial and sacrifice. They find but little interest in studying the marked points in the history of the life of Christ upon which the plan of salvation rests, but imitate ancient Israel who ate and drank and rose up to play. In order to copy a pattern correctly, we must carefully study its design. If we are indeed to overcome as Christ overcame, that we may mingle with the blood-washed, glorified company before the throne of God, it is of the highest importance that we become acquainted with the life of our Redeemer, and deny self as did Christ. We must meet temptations and overcome obstacles, and through toil and suffering, in the name of Jesus, overcome as He overcame.

Object of Wilderness Temptation

The great trial of Christ in the wilderness on the point of appetite was to leave man an example of self-denial. This long fast was to convict men of sinfulness of the things in which professed Christians indulge. The victory which Christ gained in the wilderness was to show man the sinfulness of the very things in which he takes such pleasure. The salvation of man was in the balance, and to be decided by the trial of Christ in the wilderness. If Christ was a victor on the point of appetite, then there was a chance for man to overcome. If Satan gained the victory through his subtlety, man was bound, by the power of appetite, in chains of indulgence which he could not have moral power to break. Christ’s humanity alone could never have endured this test, but His divine power, combined with humanity, gained in behalf of man an infinite victory. Our representative in this victory raised humanity in the scale of moral value with God.

Christians, who understand the mystery of godliness, who have a high and sacred sense of the atonement, who realize in the sufferings of Christ in the wilderness a victory gained for them, would see such marked contrast between these things and the church gatherings for pleasure and the indulgence of appetite, as would turn them in disgust from these scenes of revelry. Christians would be greatly strengthened by earnestly and frequently comparing their lives with the true standard, the life of Christ. The numerous socials, festivals, and picnics, to tempt the appetite to over-indulgence, and the amusements which lead to levity and forgetfulness of God, can find no sanction in the example of Christ, the world’s Redeemer, the only safe pattern for man to copy if he would overcome as Christ overcame.

We present the faultless pattern to all Christians. Says Christ:

“Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The light of Heaven is to be reflected through Christ’s followers to the world. This is the Christian’s life-work,—to direct the minds of sinners to God. The Christian’s life should awaken in the hearts of worldlings high and elevated views of the purity of the Christian religion. This will make believers the salt of the earth, the saving power in our world; for a well-developed Christian character is harmonious in all its parts.

Dangers to the Youth

We tremble for the youth of our day, because of the example that is given them by those who profess to be Christians. We can not close the door of temptation to the youth, but we can educate them that their words and their actions may have a direct bearing upon their future happiness or misery. They will be exposed to temptation. They will meet foes without and foes within, but they can be instructed to stand firm in their integrity, having moral principle to resist temptation. The lessons given our youth by world-loving professors are doing great harm. The festal gatherings, the gluttonous feasts, the lotteries, tableaux, and theatrical performances are doing a great work, that will bear a record with its burden of results to the judgment.

All these inconsistencies, sanctioned by professed Christians under a garb of Christian beneficence, to collect means to pay church expenses, have their influence with the youth to make them lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. They think if Christians can encourage and engage in these lotteries and scenes of festivities, and connect them with sacred things, why may not they be safe in taking an interest in lotteries, and engaging in gambling to win money for special objects.

Is it because there is not power in the lessons of Christ upon benevolence, and in His example, and the grace of God upon the heart, to lead men to glorify God with their substance, that such a course must be resorted to in order to sustain the church? The injury sustained to the physical, mental, and moral health in these scenes of amusement and gluttony, is not small. And the day of final reckoning will show souls lost through the influence of these scenes of gaiety and folly.

Continue reading: A Bible Study on Man