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Signs of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 19.

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PSALM

Signs of the Times

May 10, 1905

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · May 10, 1905

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PSALM

UNTO Thee, O Jehovah, will I call; My Rock, be not Thou deaf unto me; Lest, if Thou be silent unto me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, When I lift up my hands toward Thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked, And with the workers of iniquity; That speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings; Give them after the operation of their hands; Render to them their desert. Because they regard not the works of Jehovah, Nor the operation of His hands, He will break them down and not build them up. Blessed be Jehovah, Because He hath heard the voice of my supplications. Jehovah is my strength and my shield; My heart hath trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; And with my song will I praise Him. Jehovah is their strength, And He is a stronghold of salvation to His anointed. Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever.

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103 Should Christians Be Members of Secret Societies? 25 1½c
104 Justified by Faith 25 1c
105 The Way to Christ 25 1c
108 Life: Its Source and Purpose 10 10c
111 Tormented Forever and Ever 25 1c
112 Spiritualism: Its Source and Character 25 1c
114 The Identical Seventh Day 25 1c
117 Prophetic Lights. Illustrated 5 30c
118 Christ Tempted as We Are 25 1c
119 The Kingdom of Christ: Its Nature and Subjects 25 1c
121 The Temporal Millennium 25 1½c
122 Perfection of the Law of God 25 1½c
124 Manner of Christ's Coming 25 1c
125 The Privilege of Prayer 25 1c
127 Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King 25 1c
128 Christ, Our Advocate. Illustrated 10 10c
130 The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast. Illustrated 25 2c
131 The Sure Word of Prophecy. Illustrated 10 10c
132 Righteousness 10 10c
134 The Lord's Day 10 10c
135 Honor Due to God 10 10c
136 America's Crisis. Illustrated 25 2c
137 The Saint's Inheritance 10 10c
143 Truth for the Times 25 1c
144 The Eastern Question 25 1c
145 Will a Man Rob God? 10 10c
146 Rich Man and Lazarus 25 1c
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148 The Sabbath in Prophecy 25 2c
149 From Glory to Glory 25 1½c
154 Sabbath in the Greek 50 ½c
156 Spiritual Gifts 25 2½c
157 Seal of God and Its Counterfeit 25 2c
158 Natural Food of Man 10 15c
159 Christian Patriotism 10 10c
161 Marshalling of the Nations 10 10c
162 The Glad Tidings 5 25c
163 Under the Law or Under Grace? Which? 25 1c
164 The Prophetic Gift in the Gospel Church 10 10c
165 The Fullness of Jew and Gentile 50 ½c
166 Relation of the Law and Gospel 25 1½c
168 Miracles and Delusions 10 10c
169 Babylon Is Fallen 25 1½c
170 An Appeal to Baptists 25 1c
172 We Would See Jesus 25 1c
174 Signs of Our Times 25 1c
175 Remedy for Present Day "Isms" 25 1c
176 What Do These Things Mean? 25 1c
177 "Is Sunday the True Sabbath of God?" Reply to Gamble 10 10c
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179 The World's Fair 25 1c
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186 Last Day Tokens 5 25c
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189 Waymarks to the Holy City 25 1c
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14 Choose Ye This Day 50 ½c
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20 Your Life Work—Is It of Men or of God? 50 ½c
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25 Law of Liberty 100 ½c
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33 Scriptural Answers to Worldly Objections 100 ½c
34 Seventh-day Adventists and Their Work 25 1c
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37 Letter and Spirit 50 ½c
38 Who are the Saints? 50 ½c
39 The Seventh, or One-seventh 50 ½c
40 Coming of Our Lord 50 ½c
41 Foreknowledge and Foreordination 50 ½c
42 Jesus and the Resurrection 50 ½c
44 Back to the "Old Paths" 25 1c
45 Historical Facts and Incidents 25 2c
46 True "Christian Citizenship" 50 ½c
47 "Try the Spirits" 50 ½c
50 Day of the Sabbath 25 1c
52 Prayer 25 1c
53 Winning of Margaret 25 1c
54 Unawares—He Did it unto Me 50 ½c
56 The Principles of Holy Living 50 ½c
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58 The Three Sabbaths 50 ½c
59 The Earnest of Our Inheritance 50 ½c
60 A Living Saviour 50 ½c
62 Return of the Jews 25 2c
63 Jesus Died for You 50 ½c
64 Salvation through Christ 50 ½c
65 Why are You Not a Christian? 50 ½c
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69 Some One Cares for Your Soul 50 ½c
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A CLEAN UNIVERSE.

By S.

IT is the purpose of God to rid His universe of sin. The time will come when sin, sinners, and the originator of sin, Satan, will be no more. The prophet Malachi reveals to us the coming of a time when there will be nothing left of the wicked but ashes. He says:
"For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. . . . And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts." Mal. 4:1-3.
There is no intimation here that hell is an institution, presided over by Satan, in which he is given carte blanche to torment those committed to that region to the utmost limit of his fiendish ingenuity; no intimation that Satan is God's agent to see that all sinners are properly punished. But the teaching is as plain as words can make anything plain that every being that is practising wickedness whenthat day comes, or who died unrepentant and unforgiven, is literally burned up, consumed, and exists no more. Now, it is evident that this includes Satan and all his hosts, as well as those whom he has deceived. The Lord tells us through the psalmist, "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be." Ps. 37:10. How could it be said that "the wicked shall not be," if he is actually in existence in torment, and being tormented by the chiefest of all wicked, the instigator of all crime?
Satan has nothing to do with the infliction of punishment upon the impenitent wicked; but he and they both receive their punishment at the same time and are destroyed together. The Word plainly declares this, in speaking of the work of Satan after his release from his imprisonment of a thousand years immediately following the second coming of Christ. He gathers his deceived ones together, and then it is said of them: "They went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them." Rev. 20:9. If that did not end their existence, why would Inspiration use a word that indicates to us a complete cessation of existence? It might be questioned as to whether the original word really meant what we understand by devoured. The original word from which "devoured" is translated, is katefagen, and means, ate up. The Emphatic Diaglott renders it "consumed." It is therefore certain that there remains nothing of those upon whom falls that fire from heaven. Satan does not rain that fire upon those who are rejected of God; but it is rained from heaven upon him and upon them together.
Of the end of Satan's existence it reads in another place: "All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being." Eze. 28:19. To ascertain who it is that is thus addressed, read verses 13 to 19. How could even Inspiration speak more plainly than this in declaring the complete end of the author of sin?
Notwithstanding these plain teachings of the Word of God, we read in the latest issue of one of our exchanges such words as these:
The silly, deluded devotees of such superstition, such idolatry, such infamous blasphemy, . . . must all in the end, unless they repent in sackcloth and ashes, make their way down the slippery steps of time, and take their final leap at last into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the old devil will take special delight to wrap them around his fingers, gouge their eyes out, and toss them like a rubber ball around the black walls of the dark, dismal pandemonium, the sport of demoniacal millions, while the ages of oncoming eternities roll up from the dark realms below.
Now, there is not a word in all the Bible concerning any such fiendish transactions as described in this quotation; not a word anywhere to indicate that Satan has anything whatever to do with the punishment of the wicked; or that he is God's agent in any sense to execute judgment upon the wicked. To use such language is to cast reproach upon our Saviour, to pervert the teachings of His Word, and even to debase the idea of religion in the minds of thoughtful men and women. Such teachings are dishonoring to our Maker, and a plain contradiction of all He has said concerning the destiny of the wicked.
But God will have a clean universe, a praising universe. "And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more." Rev. 21:4. That is absolute. If there were to be a never-ending hell, how could this text of scripture be true? Would there not be pain? Would there not be mourning? Would there not be crying, such crying as men and women have never done in this world? A never-ending hell would make this scripture untrue. Does some one say, That scripture only refers to the righteous? The text itself does not say so; but we will read another: "And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. How could there be an unending place of torment wherein millions were undergoing the most frightful torture of mind and body, and at the same time this text of scripture be true?—It could not be.
When God has made an end of sin, every creature that is left in existence in His universe will be praising Him. The universe will be swept clean of everything that has ever brought pain upon men and sorrow to the heart of our loving heavenly Father. No more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, no more sickness, no more sin, no more death! What a blessed place for the occupancy of the redeemed! No ever-burning hell where our friends, our parents, or our children, writhe in agony untold. That conception is a child of paganism and superstition, born under the blighting influences of the Dark Ages. It is not true; it never will be true. In that better land is only joy and peace and praise. Blessed country! What a glorious privilege it will be to dwell therein!

HEALED FOR SERVICE.

By Editor

GOD heals. He heals through various agencies, by natural processes, according to partially-understood laws of life and health and growth. These laws regarded, and the life forces given of God, fed in various ways, restore the enfeebled one, tone up the organs, cleanse the system, build in new tissues, and so restore the erstwhile sick.
YES, God heals. Marvelous as are all these life-processes in restoring health and strength, they are not in the category of the signs and wonders and miracles of the Gospel record. Like the shining sun and the beneficent rain they fall upon all alike, and bring blessing to all who yield to their gracious laws. But the healing of God in answer to the prayers or needs of His people is of a different character. It is a glory above that of the midday Sun, brought by celestial messengers. It is a stream from the deep secret fountain of God, surpassing the fountains of earth, come tho they may from the cool snows of Lebanon. It is the fruit of spiritual life direct from God to His children, limited only by their weak faith and by their needs.
To His children the healing of God comes through a higher law than governs physical, sinful man. It comes and is retained in response to harmony with God's moral law, the higher law exclusive of all others. It is a pledge of a larger, more abundant life than the world knows. "I came," said the Master, "that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." But life is given for growth and use, and larger life, should mean, and must mean if retained, large service.
THIS is the lesson of our miracle this week, the record of which runs as follows:
"And straightway, when they were come out of the synagog [where the demon had been cast out], they came unto the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell Him of her; and He came and took her by the hand, and stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." Mark 1:29-31. See Matthew and Luke.
It is a simple story, with marvelous lessons. The picture is of a small crowded house, a hard-working, sick woman, submissive to God, willing to be healed, but with no power to heal herself, or potency within to raise her up. Divinity furnishes all that the sick one can not furnish. He reached forth His hand of power; He spoke away the fever; He lifted her to her feet, cool, and well, and strong. The dominion of the perverted law of life and health yields to a higher law, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus."
THE woman tastes the new life and recognizes its meaning. She arose; she did more,—she ministered, she served. And all God's life is given for service. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, the life of God, and therefore "He went about doing good."
HOW MUCH the lesson of the healing, miraculous power of God is needed to-day. Some have known it, but many of these have put the life blessing to no service. Selfish interests have demanded time, and life, and service, and the great spiritual blessing, with its larger uplift and possible service for God and humanity, have been lost.
THE church is sick to-day of a great fever. Her life-current is poisoned by the bacteria of worldliness, by the germs of greed, by the glamor of fiction, by the intoxication of pleasure, by theological fables, by science falsely so-called, by pagan philosophy; and she is sick unto death. No "natural process" will cure her; no divine immanence will restore her health. Evolution is to her in spiritual life devolution. "Christian Science" and "New Thought," falsely so-called, take from her both her guide-book and Saviour. She needs the divine touch of the Man of Galilee. She needs the creative power of His touch. She needs the larger, the more abundant, life of His Gospel. O, she needs Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the great old-fashioned, simple Gospel of God in Jesus Christ, filled with soul-healing, body-healing, and consecrated service for God and humanity.

"AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST."

By G.

T was because the disciples slept when the Lord had told them to watch, in the Garden of Gethsemane, that they lost courage when He was arrested. He was strengthened for the coming ordeal by communion with an angel, and they might have been likewise strengthened had they watched instead of sleeping. Peter would not have denied the Lord, had he not slept when he was enjoined to "watch . . . and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."
Peter, James, and John slept, on the Mount of Transfiguration, while Jesus talked with Moses and Elijah about His death, which should take place at Jerusalem. Had these disciples been sufficiently interested to stay awake while Jesus prayed, they would have been prepared for coming events, and could have assisted in preparing the other disciples, so they would also have understood the situation.
But they slept at the critical moment, and saw only the Transfiguration and the two heavenly beings, but heard none of the encouraging conversation. They awoke in time to become bewildered by what they saw, and to make an impracticable suggestion.
Now these things were written for our learning, that we may not be found asleep when we ought to be watching. Jesus says to us who are living in the last days, "Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." "Stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Of the last-days' church, the Lord says, "Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth."
This implies that the church of to-day is virtually doing little in real Gospel work. It is lukewarm, asleep as to the work the Lord would have done. It is so drowsy that it can not appreciate what is just before; can not "discern the signs of the times," and is therefore unprepared for the fast-approaching crisis. Under such lamentable conditions, the Lord says: "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayst be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayst see." In other words, His apostle says, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."
G.

ETERNAL LIFE AND IMMORTALITY.

Eternal Life.

ETERNAL life is the life of God, the life given by the “eternal Spirit,” the life which operates only in harmony with God’s immutable law. God’s law is the law of man’s life. Nay, more, it is the law of His own life, the expression of His own character, everlasting and immutable as His throne. Those who know righteousness, are those who have God’s law in their hearts. See Isa. 51 : 6, 7. Therefore the law “was ordained to life,” to life without end. Death had no part or place in its object. “In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”
Man was created upright, and pronounced by his Creator “very good.” He was in harmony with God’s law, the expression of God’s character, the law of God’s endless life. That man might live the righteousness of God, he was given the power of the endless life of God, or eternal life. But he held this by faith. This was so of necessity. While man was “holy and without blame” before God, he had not yet perfected character. He was not righteous in the sense of having a righteous character. He had not developed character under test. Faith includes absolute and willing submission to God. Anything less than this would be in opposition to God’s law. The life of God could, therefore, be held only by faith, by a perfect harmony with the law of God. As soon as unbelief came in, man disobeyed. He departed from God’s law in purpose, and God’s life could not operate contrary to God’s law.
The straight perverted becomes crooked. Good perverted becomes evil. God’s law perverted becomes sin. Life perverted becomes death. So when man transgressed the law of life, the perverted law in him became the law of sin and death. Therefore, says the apostle, “The commandment which was ordained unto life, I found to be unto death.” Man, by sinning, set his will against God’s will, and found naught but destruction and death in his course. By thus doing, he cuts himself off from the source of life. When, therefore, man sinned, he lost eternal life.

Immortality.

But, while possessed of eternal life when he came pure from the hands of his Maker, he was not immortal. Immortality means incorruptibility, genuineness, deathlessness, that which is not corruptible. Such is God in His very essence: “Who only hath immortality” (1 Tim. 6 : 16), that is, inherently, in his very nature. But while man’s nature was pure, it was capable of being corrupted. Had he been immortal, he would never have known sin or death. Were he mortal, he had also sin, for mortality is a consequence of sin. Man was, therefore, neither mortal nor immortal. He possessed a pure and innocent nature, and was a candidate for immortality.
The condition, as before stated, was faith. The choice rested in his will. The power to do was in the life of God in His holy law, responsive ever to faith. But man sinned, and thus perverted the law of God in him, and lost eternal life. By faith through and in Jesus Christ, man may again connect with God’s life, and place himself in the channel of its working, so that life may bring forth fruit in him. “He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life.” John 3 : 36. “He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5 : 12, 13, R. V. Says the regenerated Paul: “Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Gal. 2 : 20.
If man thus choose God’s will, if he let God’s life infuse him, if he constantly and forever submit to the eternal law of God, the law of righteousness and life, he thus perfects a righteous character, a character incorruptible. By enduring all tests, he is purged from all corruptible elements, and builds into his character the incorruptible commands and promises of God, the words of life. And when that character is perfected, and the judgment of God, of which His law is the rule, shall so declare, then God shall place upon man the stamp of the incorruptible character—immortality.

Seal of Character.

Immortality is, therefore, the seal of man’s character. It is the outward expression of the character that is within. It declares that, as the physical man will know no decrepitude, age, or death, because of the change wrought by the power of God, so the character within is fitted, has been perfected under test by the same power, so that it will nevermore sin, because its will is eternally set to do the will of God alone. Man can not sin, because he will not, eternally will not. The moral fiber of his character has been wrought in the workshop ofheaven; the chords of his whole being are forever attuned to the music of the eternal law.
All this being true in the very nature of the case, we are not surprised to read in the Word of God, contrary tho it be to false and popular theology, that God “only hath immortality” (1 Tim. 6 : 16); that man, instead of possessing it here, should seek for “glory, and honor, and immortality” (Rom. 2 : 7); that it is not in man of himself, but comes alone through “Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (2 Tim. 1 : 10); that instead of man possessing immortality here, it will be given only when Jesus Christ shall come the second time, and then “this mortal must put on immortality,” fulfilling the expression, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15 : 51-55.
This view, the Biblical, Gospel view, gives no man opportunity to glory in men; for all is of God through Jesus Christ. The law is of Him, the life is of Him, the righteousness is of Him, the mercy, the goodness, the power, the glory, are all of Him; and to Him every soul that knows his life, and receives the boon of immortality, will ascribe endless praise. “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.” Reader, will you not choose life, that you may live?

NOT A LOCAL ISSUE.

THE controversy in Washington, D. C., over the proposition to introduce religious teaching in the public schools is not a merely local issue; it is a national question, and a vital one at that. Therefore no journal in the country need apologize for discussing it in all its phases. Washington is the capital of the nation, and Congress (composed of representatives of the people of the whole country) legislates for the entire District of Columbia. Whatever legislation the government consummates for the district, whatever municipal regulation it tolerates, involving a general principle, or in violation of any fundamental principle of the government, stands as a precedent that the states may logically follow. Therefore when it is proposed to inaugurate the teaching of a system of official religion in the public schools of Washington, it is a matter that concerns every citizen of the country.
This religious-education scheme has been knocking at the door for a long time. As far back as 1888 a bold, far-reaching attempt was made to foist it upon the country at large by a Constitutional amendment. This was so vigorously attacked by men of various classes who saw the outcome from the standpoint of both civil and religious liberty, that it failed. Since then the advocates of national religion have been more wily, and this attempt to inaugurate the system in Washington was evidently thought to be so limited, and the plea so plausible, that it would brook but little, if any, material opposition.
Whether the full meaning of the local project was understood by the man who launched the scheme with such confident expectation of success, we can not say; perhaps it was not. We are somewhat inclined to the belief that it was not. But there are those connected with the advocacy of the measure who are wont to approach extensive designs through apparently innocent and restricted suggestions; and there is good reason to believe that this effort to introduce the teaching of official religion in the public schools of the capital was deliberately designed as an entering wedge, a precedent, to a far more extensive scheme of national religion. In fact, the proposed religious amendment of 1888 was but a part of the National Reform Association’s scheme for a practical union of church and state.
There is but one effectual way to guard against the major designs of the arch enemy of civil and religious liberty, and that is to note, and warn the people against, the little projects that are set to lead up to the greater purpose.
G.

1657.—The Meaning of Jew.

Does the term Jew apply to all of the tribes of Israel, or to the tribe of Judah alone?
The word is used as referring to a citizen of the kingdom of Judah, embracing the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites among them, tho spiritually it has a far larger meaning. Scholars differ as to its derivation. Some contend that it came from Jahwe (another way of spelling the covenant name of God), Jahwes (Jews, as in our language), the people of Jahwe or Jehovah. Others hold that it came from the tribe of Judah. But in God's mind this comprehended all; for in Judah was the rulership, and from that tribe came Christ, the Creator, the Redeemer, the King of all Israel. Gen. 49:10. Therefore Jesus declares, “Salvation is of the Jews.” John 4:22. And therefore Paul declares, “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, 29. The true child of God is a Jew, grafted in through Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Question Corner

By Editor

FROM time to time under this head, we will answer pertinent questions, the answers to which we believe will be generally helpful to our readers. Some questions we can not answer here. They are of special interest only to the person who asks them. We will not answer what seem to be mere quibbles or cavils. We do not propose, for instance, to explain, more than once a year, where Cain got his wife. In all cases we must have the name of the questioner. We may wish to write them. To the questioner we sign only the initials, or another term, if preferred by the questioner. But we have neither time nor space to bother with unsigned letters or questions. One more thought: “Foolish and unlearned questions avoid.”
If the prohibition to build fires on Sabbath in Ex. 35:2, 3 is a civil or ceremonial regulation for the Jews while in Palestine only, why may not the prohibition in Ex. 34:21 also be limited to them? Also Lev. 23:32 and perhaps Lev. 11:7, 8?
The command concerning the Sabbath, and a local law respecting it, are two things of an entirely different character. The Sabbath law originated in Eden, before man sinned. Gen. 2:2, 3. The Sabbath was therefore made for man, for the race. Mark 2:27. To show its eternal, enduring nature it is placed in the very heart of the Decalogue, bulwarked before and behind by nine other moral precepts concerning which there is no question, in order that man might know that there should be no question over the fourth commandment. Of that law it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle to fail. This is shown in an abundance of scriptures. Ex. 35:2, 3 was in its nature a local regulation referring to the wilderness period. The climate demanded no fire. The manna was prepared the day before the Sabbath. To build a fire was a direct and daring act of presumption against God. See Num. 15:30-36.
Lev. 23:32 specially applies to the day of atonement, a typical feast pertaining to the Levitical age, but it also states a general law as regards the beginning and ending of all days. This also is shown in many scriptures. The day began and ended at the setting of the sun.
The law of unclean animals is not binding, but the great facts on which it is based should guide the well-instructed Christian. It was no arbitrary law which divided between beasts regardless of their nature. In the very nature of things the swine is unclean, and God told His people so. This distinction existed before the Flood. Knowing this, how should the Christian apply 1 Cor. 10:31?
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