Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 21, 1859
ANCIENT TRANSLATIONS.
By M. E. Cornell
[Bro. Smith: The following sentiments and translations I copy from ancient works, which a Mr. Pillars, lawyer, of Tiffin City, Ohio, obtained by sending to London. The one called the Bishops' Bible is very large, weighing 19½ pounds, and cost $26,00. It was translated in A. D. 1539, and was printed in 1585. The Genevan Bible was printed in A. D. 1602. The translation of the New Testament by Wm. Tyndale, the martyr, was in A. D. 1526, being the first vernacular translation of the Greek. The two first mentioned are printed in the German Text, and the pronunciation of words is so different from the present, that it is difficult to read it. The extracts are verbatim, the spelling only, being changed. I will also give some extracts from the new translation of the American Bible Union. They are suggested for the Review if thought worthy. M. E. Cornell.]
Refuse all sense of Scripture contrary to the Articles of christian faith contained in the common creed. First and second table of God's commandments.
Mark and consider. 1. The coherence of the text, how it hangeth together. 2. The agreement that one place of Scripture hath with another, whereby that which seemeth dark in one, is made easy in another.
Take opportunity to confer with such as can open the Scriptures. Hear preaching, and to prove by the Scriptures that which is taught. Genevan Bible.
On Rom. vii, 12 is the following marginal note: "The conclusion that the law of itself is holy, but all the fault is in us which abuse the law." Rom. ii, 31. Note. "The taking away of an objection: yet is not the law taken away, therefore, but is rather established. We make it effectual and strong."
Matt. v, 17, 18. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them. For truly I say unto you, till heaven and earth perish, one iota or one tittle of the law shall not scape, till all things be fulfilled." Note. "He beginneth with the true expounding of the law, and putteth it against the old (but yet false) glosses of the Scribes,170so far is he from abolishing the least commandment of his Father." Genevan.
Dan. vii, 25. "And think that he may change times and laws." Bps.' and Genevan.
Isa. xxi, 12. "The watchman said, The morning cometh and so doth the night: if ye will ask me any question, then ask it, return and come again." Bps.'
Ps. cxlvi, 3. "His spirit shall depart out of him, he shall turn again to his earth: at that day all his thoughts shall perish." Bps.'
Eccl. iii, 21. "Who knoweth whether the spirit of man ascend upward and the spirit of the beast descend downward to the earth?" Genevan.
"Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward?" Dr. Conquest.
"Who knoweth whether the spirit of man goeth upward?" Martin Luther.
"Who has seen the spirit of the sons of men, whether it goes upward?" The LXX. See also Vul. Chal. Syr. and Arab.
Job xix, 23–27. "O that my words were now written, O that they were put in a book, and graven with an iron pen, in lead or in stone to continue. For I am sure that my Redeemer liveth, and that I shall rise out of the earth in the latter day, and shall be covered again with my skin, and shall see God in my flesh, whom I myself shall see, and mine eyes shall behold and none other for me. This my hope is laid up in my bosom."
Job xiv, 10, 11. "But as for man, when he is dead, perished, and consumed away, what becometh of him? As the waters pass from the sea, and as the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man after he is asleep riseth not, he shall not wake till the heavens be no more, nor rise out of his sleep." Bps.'
"So man sleepeth and riseth not, for he shall not wake again, nor be raised from his sleep, till the heaven be no more." Genevan.
Isa. viii, 19. "And if they say unto you, Ask counsel at the soothsayers, witches, charmers, and conjurers; [then make them this answer,] Is there a people any where that asketh not counsel at God? Should men run unto the dead for the living?" Bps.' Note. That is, will they refuse to be taught of the prophet, who is the mouth of God, and seek help at the dead, which is the illusion of Satan?" Genevan.
1 Cor. xvi, 2. "Let every one of you put aside by himself, and lay up as God hath prospered him." Genevan.
"Let every one of you put aside by himself, laying up as God hath prospered," &c. Bps.'
"Let every one of you put aside at home, and lay up whatsoever he thinketh mete, to," &c. Tyndale.
BIBLE UNION.
Rev. iv. In the notes of the Bible Union on this text, it is stated the words "which are in Asia" are not found in some of the ancient MSS. Their editor recommends that they be omitted.
Rev. xiii, 12. "And all the authority of the first beast he exerciseth before him."
Rev. xvi, 14. "For they are spirits of demons doing signs." They mention several other translations, as "making signs," "working signs," "shewing signs," "working wonders," "who work prodigies," &c.
Rev. xviii, 2. "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons." Verse 4. "Come forth out of her my people, that ye have no fellowship with her sins."
Verse 7. "How much she glorified herself and lived luxuriously." Another renders "wantoned in luxury," another, "Luxurious way of living."
Rev. xix, 10. "I am a fellow servant with thee, and with thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus," &c.
THE LAW OF THE SABBATH.
SUNDAY usurpation has no place in the following doctrine which we extract from a sermon delivered by Henry Smith, D. D., Professor in Lane Theological Seminary, on the relation of the fourth commandment to the Christian Sabbath; (i. e., the seventh day.)—Sab. Recorder.
The Decalogue is a unit, and all its parts must stand or fall together. Written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, and delivered to man amid the most august and stupendous exhibitions of Divine majesty which human eyes have ever beheld, as the step initiatory to the erection of the Hebrew commonwealth, it lies at the foundation of the legal code of that nation, only in the same sense in which it must lie at the foundation of the code of every nation, which would embody in its legislation the primal principles of human duty. Approach with me, O legislator, approach with me, O magistrate, who art the minister of God, appointed by him not to bear the sword in vain; not to be a terror to good works, but to the evil—approach with me and with reverent hand uncover that mystic coffer in which these sacred tablets are enclosed.
Let us try to decipher the hand-writing of the Almighty, that we may retain that portion of these precepts which we require, and reject that portion of them which the advance of civilization and the march of mind have rendered obsolete and void.
Take, first, the second table of the law. How reads it? "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Shall we annul or relax its first precept? That law guards the sacred relation of parent from the wantonness of filial ingratitude and impiety. It shields from wrong the venerable head, which is white with the blossoms of the life to come. Read on. "Thou shalt not kill." Can we spare that law? It guards the treasure of human life, a treasure which, if lost, can never be replaced again. Its abrogation would reproduce the scenes of antediluvian horror, as the relaxation of it has filled some portions, even of our land, with bloodshed and violence. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." That law guards the purity of the fountain of life in the family, and protects the sanctity of all the domestic affections. The abrogation of it would hurl man down to the level of the Hottentot life; as the relaxation of it in many countries is rupturing all the bonds of society, and turning the face of man downward toward animalism. "Thou shalt not steal." That law is the strong fortress of the property relation. Shall we demolish or dismantle it? "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." That law is a shield of character. Shall we cast it vilely away? "Thou shalt not covet." That law seals up the fountain of all the crimes which man can commit against his fellow, the fountain of perverse and illegitimate desire. So closes the record of the second table of the law. Shall we venture to break it? Never, until the nature of man is repealed, and all the laws of civilization and social happiness are annulled.
Replace it in its sacred depository and take now the first table of the Decalogue. Let us read this also: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." That law guards from insult the majesty of the eternal Jehovah. Shall we displace him from the throne of the universe, and pay our adoration to devils? "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth." Shall we repeal that law and become a nation of idolaters? "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Shall we repeal this precept? That law, O magistrate, is the munition of rocks to which all human justice flees for refuge, as to its last retreat. The oath, says one of the Roman emperors, is the sacred mystery of the Roman government. The abrogation of that law would leave every human right and interest a prey to the spoiler. We cannot dispense with it. These precepts are a golden chain, which cannot be ruptured in one link, without marring the whole. And now but one more law remains. Let us read it, and ponder it well, as we read. "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it."
Shall we cancel this law? Let us consider well before we venture upon that sacrilegious step. As the mountains are around about Jerusalem, so the venerable bulwarks of the fourth commandment lift themselves up round about the church of God; round about all the interests of man which the entire Decalogue besides it protects. It guards the day of God, and with the day of God, it guards the recognition of his being; it guards the sacredness of his worship; it guards the inviolability of his name; and it guards the whole second table of the law, by the inculcation upon all Sabbath worshipers of the duties which it enjoins. Shall we venture to annul this holy and venerable law? "Let it stand!" The rights which it protects, are the rights of universal man. It is still the law of God. It is still the law of Christianity. Leave it, O minister of Jesus! leave it, O minister of human law! Let it remain, as God ordained it—unrepealed, unrelaxed, untouched, universal, perfect!
THE FIRE OF LOVE.
"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."Lev. vi, 13.
THE fire of love, in human hearts,
Yes, ever let it burn,
And holy incense thence ascend,
Up to Jehovah's throne.
No Jewish priest is now required,
To stand from day to day,
At altar built of unhewn stone,
Our sins to take away.
The priest that at our altar waits,
Is God's eternal Son;
"Forever," he his office holds,
Though once he cried "'Tis done."
E'en now He in his office waits,
Before his Father's throne,
Presenting there our prayers, our tears;
And all our wants, makes known.
The sacrifice that we may bring,
Is not from flock or fold:
'Tis only humble, grateful prayer,
From hearts by faith made bold.
From broken-hearted, contrite souls,
The penitential tear,
Than all the blood of cattle slain,
To God is far more dear.
Then let the altar's holy flame,
Still bright and brighter burn;
'Twill light us on the heavenly road;
'Twill lead us to the Lamb.
[M. B. D. Sab. Recorder.]
The Medium of Conveying Perfect Instruction in Doctrine and Duty.
By Walker
MAN's senses are constituted with an adaptation to the external world; and his intellectual constitution is adapted to intercourse with his fellow man. The delicate bony structure of the ear, which conveys sounds from the tympanum to the sensorium, is nicely adjusted by the Maker to appreciate and convey the tones and modulations of the human voice. Human gestures, likewise, and the expression of the countenance and the eye, are auxiliary to human language in conveying instruction. The nature of man therefore, is adapted both physically and intellectually to receive knowledge by communications from one of his own species. If God designed that an angel should instruct the human family, one of two things would have to be done—either the human constitution would have to be elevated and adapted to intercourse with a being of a higher order in the scale of creation, or that being would have to let down his nature to human capacity, and thus adapt himself to intercourse with human natures. And it would even be requisite that the teacher should not assume the highest condition of humanity in order that his instructions should accomplish the greatest general good; nor should his communications be made in the most cultivated and elevated style of language. If he would instruct the common mind in the best manner, he must use common language and common illustrations—and if God (blessed be his name) were himself to instruct human nature as it is, the same means would be necessary.
Another step—man is so constituted that he learns by example better than by precept. Theory without practice, or precept without example does not constitute a perfect system of instruction. The theory of surveying, however perfect it may be taught in college, never makes a practical surveyor. An artist may give a most perfect theory of his art to his apprentices or those whom he wishes to instruct in a knowledge of his business, but if he would have them become practical artists themselves, he must with tools in hand, practice his own instructions before the eyes of the learner. In the language of the trades "he must show how it is done." Such then, is the nature of man, that in order to a perfect system of instruction there must be both precept and practice.
Now there can be but one perfect model of human nature; and man could not be removed to some other planet, nor out of his present circumstances, to be instructed. If the Almighty, therefore, designed ever to give a perfect and final system of instruction to mankind, it could be done only by placing in this world a perfect human nature—a being who would not only give perfect precepts, but would practice those precepts before the eyes of men. If such a being were placed among men, who, amid all the perplexities, difficulties and trials which affect men in their present condition would exhibit perfect action of body, heart and mind in all his relations of life and in all his duties to God and man, that would be a model character, practising the precepts of the Divine law in man's present circumstances. The example of an angel or of any being of a different order from man, would be of no benefit to the human family. Man must see his duties, as man, exemplified in his own nature. Human nature could be perfected only by following a perfect model of human nature. But with the rule of duty in his hand, and a model character before him, man would have a system of instruction perfectly adapted to his nature, and adapted to perfect his nature. If God, therefore, designed to give man a final and perfect system of instruction, he would adapt the method thus adapted to the constitution which he has given his creatures.—Now JESUS CHRIST IS THAT MODEL CHARACTER. He assumed human nature—came to the earth, man's residence—expounded and illustrated the law in human language; gave it its spiritual import, and applied it to the different circumstances and conditions of human life. He removed the false glasses which ignorance and the prejudices of men had attached to it—He modified or rescinded those permissions or clauses which were accommodated to the darkness of former times, and the imperfections of the Jewish system, and then by applications the most striking and definite, he showed the bearing of the rule of duty upon all varieties of human action.
And further: the law being thus defined and applied, in order that the world might have a model character he conformed himself to all its requirements. And in order that that model might be a guide in all the varied circumstances in which some of the family of man might be placed, Jesus placed himself in all the circumstances and acted in them. Is man surrounded by a sinful and suffering world? So was Jesus. Does he desire to know how to act in those circumstances? Jesus ministered occasionally to the temporal wants of men and labored continually to promote their spiritual good. Is man popular? So was Jesus; and he used his influence to purify his Father's house. Is man forsaken by his friends? So was Jesus; and he murmured and upbraided not, but sought consolation in communion with his Father. Does man visit and dine with the learned and the religious formalists of the age? So did Jesus; and in his conversation he maintained the claims of a spiritual religion, and reproved man's hypocrisy and formality. Does man sit down in the cottage of the poor? So did Jesus; and he encouraged and comforted the inmates with spiritual instruction. Is man present when a group of friends are assembled on an occasion which warrants innocent enjoyment? So was Jesus; and he approved their social pleasures. Is man called to sympathize with those in affliction? So was Jesus; and Jesus wept. Thus by land and by sea, in all places and in all circumstances, wherever any of earth's children are called to act, Jesus the model man, is seen living and moving before them; and his voice falls upon their ear with mingled cadence of authority and encouragement—FOLLOW ME.
The demonstration then is manifest; that through the medium of Jesus Christ, man has received a perfect system of instruction; and a final and perfect revelation of duty to God and man could be given in no other way.
How Sinners are Saved.
That men need salvation, God's word abundantly declares. The consciences of most men agree with Scripture, and at times ask, "What must I do to be saved?" To this question the Bible gives one uniform answer. Salvation is by Christ alone. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
This faith in Christ must be sincere, not feigned. Nothing hypocritical is accepted of God. It must be more than assent of the mind to the truths of the gospel. It necessarily includes the consent of the heart. True faith receives and rests upon Christ. There can be saving faith without assurance of our personal salvation; but there can be no saving faith without reliance on Christ Jesus.171
True faith in Christ "works by love," not by terror, not by a servile spirit. "The love of Christ constrains" the conduct of every one who truly believes in the Lord Jesus. God loves a willing people, a cheerful service. He accepts no other. Saving faith "purifies the heart." It begets an invincible hatred to sin, and an unquenchable desire after holiness. It hates every false way. It hates vain thoughts. It hates the "thought of foolishness," more than unbelief hates the act of foolishness. Saving faith also "overcomes the world." Neither the riches, honors nor pleasures of the world possess any charms to the believer, compared with things divine and heavenly. He may be annoyed and tempted by them, as Israel in Canaan was troubled by the heathen left among them; but he is not in bondage to them as Israel was to the Egyptians.
This saving faith relies on Christ himself. It does indeed rely on his word, his providence, and his authority. But it relies on himself. He is its Prophet, Priest and King. It takes him for a Counsellor, Guide, Support and Refuge. True faith accepts and glories in Christ in all his offices and characters. It is glad at the remembrance of his humiliation and of his exaltation. It receives him as "the Son of man," and yet it cries, "My Lord and my God."
He who will not receive Christ as a teacher, will reject him as a ruler. And he who rejects his word and his power, will not truly accept his grace. Saving faith always has an eye to the cross. To all sinners who are not blind, the blood-shedding of the Redeemer is most precious. He is the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
Lambs never in any age took away sin, even typically, but by dying as victims in the room and stead of the sinners for whom they were offered.
Oh, sinner, believe in Christ, believe with all thy heart, believe now. This may be thy last call to life and salvation. Hear the call of mercy now, lest you soon utter the cry of despair. W. S. P.
[Am. Messenger.
Jerusalem trodden down of the Gentiles.
By D. I. Robinson
JERUSALEM was taken by Titus A. D. 70, when 1,100,000 Jews perished and 97,000 were carried away captive.
A. D. 132, it was taken by Barchochah, who rebelled against the Romans, and, claiming to be the Messiah, had 200,000 followers and committed great slaughter.
In the year 135 it was re-taken by the Emperor Adrian, who destroyed 50 castles, 800 cities, and slew 580,000 Jews.
Constantine built many churches in Jerusalem, and favored it highly.
Julian favored the Jews, and commenced to rebuild the Temple, setting 10,000 men at work to clear Mount Moriah, intending to make it a rival of Mount Calvary; but his projects failed by special interposition of God, the workmen being driven from the foundations by balls of fire issuing therefrom; and soon after, he died.
Chosroes, king of Persia, in the year 614, aided by 24,000 Jews, sacked the city, killing 90,000 Christians.
Heraclius recovered it by treaty, after defeating the king of Persia, year 628, and it remained under Roman and Christian control till the rise of the Arabian impostures.
In 637, it was taken by the Kalif Omar, who by treaty allowed the Christians a right to the holy sepulcher, and built the splendid Mosque of Omar on Mount Moriah, on the site of Solomon's Temple.
Achmet, a Turk, took it in 868.
The Kalif of Bagdad took it in 906.
Hakem of Egypt took it and burnt the church of the holy sepulcher, 1009.
Soon after, Mohammed Ischid, a Seljukian Turk, conquered it.
Ortok took it in the same century.
Malek Shah next, 1076.
The successors of Ortok recovered it soon after.
The Fatimites of Egypt soon after recovered it, and burnt the church of the holy sepulcher, which was soon rebuilt.
The Crusaders took it in 1099, slew 70,000 Mohammedans, and elected Baldwin king.
In 1187 Saladin, the Turkish sultan of Egypt took it.
In 1192, Richard of England defeated Saladin in several great battles, with immense slaughter, and by treaty recovered the freedom of Jerusalem for the Christians.
Melek Moadin of Damascus demolished the city's walls in 1219.
In 1229 Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, with an army of 40,000 entered Jerusalem in triumph, and by treaty secured it to the Christians.
Toleration was secured for the Mohammedans in the mosque of Omar, and for the Christians in the church of El-Aksa. But this treaty was soon violated by the Turks; for David of Kerac destroyed the city and slew the most of the people; and when the Earl of Cornwall arrived, the Christians were in great oppression; but by his energy they were reinstated, by treaty, in the enjoyment of their rights, 1243.
The Sultans of the Carismians took it in 1244.
It was recovered in 1247.
It was surrendered to Bibars of Egypt, a Mameluke conqueror of Antioch, at which time he slew 40,000 and carried captive 100,000. He besieged Acre with an army of 200,000, sacked it and ended the kingdom of the Crusaders in Palestine.
Jerusalem was taken in 1382 by the Tartars, and yielded to Tamerlane about 1400. It soon fell under the Mamelukes of Egypt, and the Othmans took it in 1517, under Selim I. The present walls were built by his successor, Solyman the Magnificent, in 1542. The church of the holy sepulcher was burnt in 1808, and the present one built in 1810.
In 1832 Mehemet Ali took possession of it without war but in 1834 it revolted, in the general insurrection of Palestine, but was soon brought into subjection. In 1842 he was deprived of all his Syrian possessions, and since that it has been under the Sultan of Turkey,—Russia, France and England having rights in it.
Almost all nations of Europe, Asia and Africa have trodden Jerusalem under foot. How true the great prophecy of Christ.
D. I. ROBINSON.
[Ad. Herald.
“Take no Thought.”
MATT. vi, 25. “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,” etc. The best critics agree that the phrase, “Take no thought,” is badly rendered in our common translation. The original signifies, “be not anxiously solicitous,” be not distrustfully concerned. I have no doubt that this is the true rendering of the original. Learned criticism and common sense both demand this correction. Jesus very naturally alluded to the universal plea of mammonites:—We must provide for the coming necessities of ourselves and families; otherwise what shall we eat, and drink, and wear? “Money answereth all things.” If we make sure of this, we shall not suffer want. If not, alas, what will become of us and our dependents? This is pleaded as frequently by the rich as the poor. It is the common excuse for getting and withholding money contrary to the principles of divine justice and charity. I must live; my family must live; I must take care of myself and my children; we are in danger of coming to want, etc., etc.
There is a just, laudable and wise concern for the needs of the morrow, both temporal and spiritual. What is this holy concern? It is to do faithfully the duties of to-day as God has made them known to us, and implicitly trust in his providence that all else will certainly be overruled for the best. We may rest every thing here, and feel perfectly at ease. Why? Because the duties of to-day are a perfect righteousness for to-day, to-morrow and all futurity. The duties of to-day are best and safest for to-day, to-morrow and forever. God has taken care that this should be so in all possible cases. This therefore should be our only concern, our implicit confidence. If it be our duty to sow to-day the seed which cannot return its harvest till next year, let us sow without anxiety or distrust. Let us not worry and fret ourselves about the result. The future will certainly come around right, if the work of the present be properly done. This is the sound, rational and blessed doctrine which Jesus taught.
But the mammonites are not satisfied with such doctrine. They cannot trust in divine providence, nor in the safety of righteousness. Peradventure there is no God, or but an unreliable one. Peradventure human cunning and expediency will work better in some cases than strict adherence to the principles of justice and love. Is it not more prudent for a man to trust his own shrewdness, to look out carefully for himself? Who knows that lying, and cheating, and extortion, and grudging, and even kidnapping, robbery and murder are not best sometimes? Do we not see that some such persons prosper, and are rich and honored, whilst scrupulous people are sometimes left to beg, starve and perish? We will just trust in our own wits, and in the money which we can command. We do not mean to starve, nor beg, nor suffer for the necessaries of life. We will be as honest and charitable as the times permit, but have no fancy for nice scruples and trusting to God's providence in money matters.
Here you have the real mammonite and his moral code. Watch him closely, and you will find that he is a restless, anxious, never satisfied, ever worrying, miserable being. He trusts in himself and in mammon; but his very trust is perpetual distrust. He grows more and more afraid of his fellow-men, of the elements, of what the morrow may bring forth, of death, and of that unknown hereafter whither he cannot carry a mill of all his wealth. All things are uncertain with him. His riches have wings and may fly away. If they remain, he has to work like a slave to watch over and take care of them. Or else they even deprive him of the power to enjoy them.
Verses. 26-34. To illustrate the reasonableness of cherishing implicit confidence in divine principles and providence, Jesus refers to the animal and vegetable tribes—“the fowls of the air,” and “the lilies of the field.” They are all sustained out of the vast resources of the common Father. They are clothed with surpassing beauty. There is a wonderful providence over and for them all. It is freely bestowed on them without any forethought of their own. God is good and delights in the welfare of his humblest creatures. How much more then in man, the noblest of them on earth! “Your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” “If God so clothe the grass of the field, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” “Therefore take no [anxious, distrustful] thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Be concerned only to know the laws and will of God, and to obey them faithfully each day as it brings its own proper duties. Then all will be well. Nothing can happen amiss. Even if in extreme cases you encounter want, distress, persecution, death itself, in this daily work of righteousness, it shall only highten your virtue and promote your immortal blessedness. Your heavenly Father will never cease to embosom you in his angelic guardianship. He will cause all things to work together for your highest good. Fear nothing but sin and wrong. Do the proper duties of the present day and hour, without the least distrust or anxiety about the events of to-morrow. “The morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto each day is the evil thereof.”
Such is the simple but heavenly and profound wisdom which Jesus taught and exemplified. Compared with it the popular wisdom of this world is the veriest folly. Its fruits are “vanity and vexation of spirit.”
The Seventh Angel, or Third Wo.
By James White
1. The seventh angel is the last of a series of symbols, and, for this, and several other reasons, is not the same as the "trump of God," [1 Thess. iv, 16,] and "last trump," [1 Cor. xv, 52,] which is to raise the just.
2. The sounding of the seventh angel occupies a period of days. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel," &c. Rev. x, 7. These days are doubtless prophetic, meaning years, in harmony with the time of the sounding of the fifth and sixth angels. But when the trump of God is heard, the sleeping saints come forth from their graves, and the living righteous are changed to immortality, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," and are caught up to meet their descending Lord.
3. Under the sounding of the seventh angel a series of events transpires. This was also the case with the other six. The events of the seventh angel necessarily cover much time. Among them we find mentioned, "The nations were angry"—"Thy wrath is come"—"The time of the dead that they should be judged"—"Give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great"—"Destroy them which destroy [margin, corrupt,] the earth."
While we may speak of fulfilled prophecy with positiveness, we would apply unfulfilled prophecy with becoming modesty. We may, however, suggest that the anger of the nations will be immediately followed by the wrath of God, or seven last plagues; [see Rev. xv, 1;] that the judgment of the dead refers not to the judgment of the righteous, for that takes place before the plagues are poured out, but to the judgment of the wicked during the 1000 years of Rev. xx; that the full reward of the righteous will be given when they inherit the New Earth, at the close of the 1000 years; and that at that very time God will destroy by the second death all who have corrupted the earth. And why may not the sounding of the seventh angel continue until the end of the 1000 years? and the third wo, cover all wo till sin and sinners cease to be at the close of the seventh millennium?
J. W.