Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 9. (3/4/1880)

Signs of the Times

Mar 4, 1880

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Mar 4, 1880

GENERAL ARTICLES.

By Ellen G. White

RETURN OF MOSES TO EGYPT.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

AARON, being instructed by angels, went forth to meet his brother, from whom he had been separated for many years; and they met, amid the desert solitudes, in the mount of God. Here they communed together, and Moses told Aaron "all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him." Together they journeyed over the Arabian wastes, toward Egypt; and having reached the land of Goshen, they proceeded to assemble together the elders of Israel. Aaron, the eloquent spokesman, communicated to them all the dealings of God with Moses, and then they gave the signs before the people. "The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped."

The next work of the two brothers was to communicate with the king himself. They entered the great palace of the Pharaoh's as commissioners from Jehovah; they felt that God was with them there, and they spoke with authority: "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."

"Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?" demanded the monarch; "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." They answered,

"The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword."

The king had heard of them before, and of the excitement among the people. He became very angry. "Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, [hinder] the people from their works? Get you unto your burdens." Then he added, as a thought of the loss occasioned by this interruption in their work passed through his mind. "Behold, the people of the land are many, and ye make them to rest from their burdens."

The same day the king issued orders to all the officers superintending the work of the Israelites, to do that which made their slavery doubly severe and cruel. The buildings of that country were and still are made of sun-dried bricks, with cut straw intermixed to hold the earth together, even their finest edifices being so constructed, and then faced with stone. The king now commanded that no more straw should be issued to the workmen; but the same amount of brick was rigidly required.

This order produced great distress among the Israelites throughout the land. The Egyptian taskmasters had appointed Hebrew officers to oversee the work of the people, and these officers were responsible for the labor performed by those under their charge. When the unfeeling requirement of the king was put in force, the people scattered themselves throughout the land, to gather stubble instead of straw; but they found it impossible to accomplish the usual amount of labor. For this failure, the Hebrew officers, as well as the people, were cruelly beaten.

These officers supposed that their oppression came from their taskmasters, and not from the king himself; therefore they went to him on account of their grievances, and the unjust treatment which they had received. Their remonstrance was met by Pharaoh with a taunting charge of idleness, to indulge which, he said, they were desirous of going into the wilderness for the purpose of sacrificing. They were ordered back to their work, which was to be in no wise diminished, but to be everywhere exacted. As they were returning, they met Moses and Aaron, and cried out to them: "The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us."

As the Hebrew elders thus reproached Moses, he was greatly distressed. The sufferings of the people had been much increased. All over the country a cry of anguish went up from men, women, and children; and all united in charging upon Moses this disastrous change in their condition. Alone he went before God, with the bitter cry,

"Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh, to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." The reply to him from Jehovah was,

"Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land." And then he was reminded of the covenant which God had made with his forefathers, and assured that it would be faithfully carried into effect.

The Hebrews had expected to be released from bondage without any particular trial of faith, or any suffering on their part. But they were not yet prepared to be delivered. They had little faith, and were unwilling patiently to suffer their afflictions, until God should work for them a glorious deliverance.

Many years had the children of Israel been in servitude to the Egyptians. Only a few families went down into Egypt, but they had become a great multitude. And being surrounded with idolatry, many had lost the knowledge of the true God, and had forgotten his law. Yet there were some among them who still worshiped the living God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth. They were grieved to see their children daily witnessing, and even engaging in, the abominations of the idolatrous people around them, and bowing down to Egyptian deities, made of wood and stone, and offering sacrifice to these senseless objects. In their distress, the faithful cried unto the Lord for deliverance from the Egyptian yoke; that he would bring them out of Egypt, where they might be free from idolatry, and the corrupting influences which surrounded them.

They did not conceal their faith, but openly acknowledged before the Egyptians that they served the only true and living God. They rehearsed the evidences of his existence and power, from creation down. The Egyptians thus had an opportunity to become acquainted with the faith of the Hebrews, and their God. They tried to subvert the faithful worshipers of the true God by threats, by the promise of reward, and by cruel treatment.

The elders of Israel endeavored to encourage the sinking faith of their brethren, by referring to the promise made to Abraham, and the prophetic words of Joseph before his death, foretelling their deliverance from Egypt. Some would listen and believe. Others looked at their own sad condition, and would not hope. When the Egyptians learned the expectations of the children of Israel, they derided their hopes of deliverance, and spoke scornfully of the power of their God. They pointed them to their own situation, as merely a nation of slaves, and tauntingly said to them, If your God is so just and merciful, and possesses power above the Egyptian gods, why does he not make you a free people? Why not manifest his greatness and power, and exalt you? The Egyptians then called attention to their own people, who worshiped gods of their own choosing, which the Israelites termed false gods. They exultingly said that their gods had prospered them, and had given them food, and raiment, and great riches, and had also given the Israelites into their hands to serve them, and that they had power to oppress them, and destroy their lives, so that there should be no people.

Pharaoh boasted that he would like to see their God deliver them from his hands. These words destroyed the hopes of many of the children of Israel. It appeared to them very much as the king and his counselors had said. They knew that they were treated as slaves, and that they must endure just that degree of oppression which their taskmasters and rulers might choose to inflict upon them. Their male children had been hunted and slain. Their own lives were a burden; and they were believing in, and worshiping, the God of Heaven. Then they contrasted their condition with that of the Egyptians. The latter worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, and also beasts, and even images, the work of their own hands; yet they were prosperous, and wealthy. And some of the Hebrews thought that if the Lord was above all gods, he would not thus leave them as slaves to an idolatrous nation.

The faithful servants of God understood that it was because of their unfaithfulness to him as a people, and their disposition to intermarry with other nations, thus being led into idolatry, that the Lord had suffered them to go into Egypt. And they firmly declared to their brethren that God would soon break their oppressive yoke.

But many of the Hebrews were content to remain in bondage, rather than to go to a new country, and meet the difficulties attending such a journey; and the habits of some had become so much like those of the Egyptians that they preferred to dwell in Egypt. Therefore the Lord did not deliver them by the first display of his signs and wonders before Pharaoh. He overruled events to more fully develop the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian king, and also by manifestations of almighty power, to give the Israelites more exalted views of the divine character, that they might be anxious to leave Egypt and choose the service of the true and merciful God. The task of Moses would have been much easier, had not many of the Israelites become so corrupted that they were unwilling to leave Egypt.

THE PRAYER AND THE LIFE.

Do I mean the prayer I offer, Do I feel the words I say, When before our heavenly Father, I kneel from day to day; When at morning and at evening I incline to seek his face, And my voice goes up in pleading To his glorious throne of grace?

When my voice goes up in pleading, Does my heart go with it too? There are many things I ask him, That his might and grace may do; Petition on petition Goes up to meet his ear; Oh, are they such petitions As our Father loves to hear?

I tell him of my wants—my needs; But when I turn away, Do I think of what I asked for? Do I watch as well as pray? Do I strive against temptation? Do I seek like Christ to live? Do I use aright the blessings That so freely he doth give?

My prayers are with much speaking,— Yet, when I leave the spot, How quickly are its memories fled. How soon those prayers forgot! Oh, if the thought that gave them birth So lightly treasured be, How can I think God's mercy Will remember them for me?

Yet one petition further, Lord! Wilt thou not deign to hear? O, let my spirit breathe anew Through all my daily prayer; Then help me, as I pray, to live, Kept by thy grace divine, And the glory of the prayer and life, Alike, O Lord, be thine.

BRIEF EXAMINATION OF ISAIAH 65.

By G. I. Butler

BY ELDER G. I. BUTLER.

"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed." Isa. 65:20.

The prophecy of Isaiah, Chap. 65, has occasioned much comment. Those who believe in the doctrine called "Age to Come," rely upon this scripture to prove that after Christ's personal return to this earth, and the commencement of his reign of one thousand years, death will prevail. We propose briefly to examine this chapter and see if any thing in it contradicts our view. We believe that at the second coming of Christ all the living wicked will be slain and all the righteous be made immortal. The righteous will ascend to the New Jerusalem, and there reign with Christ during one thousand years, and then the saints, with Christ and the holy city, shall descend to this earth which has lain desolate. The wicked dead shall be raised, and with Satan shall come up around the holy city, and shall be utterly destroyed by fire rained upon them from heaven; this earth shall then be one vast lake of fire, from which God shall bring a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

A few of the scriptures upon which we rely to prove these positions are as follows: Rev. 19:12-21; 20; 21:1-10; Jer. 25:15-33; 4:19-27; Isa. 24:34; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; Matt. 5:12; John 13:36, with 14:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:7-13. Is there anything in Isa. 65:17-25, that disproves these positions? It reads as follows: "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart [margin]. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree [the tree of life the septuagint reads] are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

All will admit that this scripture is intimately connected throughout. It commences with a prophecy of the new heavens and new earth. It next speaks of Jerusalem. From the expression used, it is evident that it is the same Jerusalem brought to view in the last chapters of Revelation. The voice of weeping and crying is no more to be heard. So the beloved disciple says, "Sorrow and crying" shall be no more. Rev. 21:4. The holy mountain of God is in it; verse 25. So we learn in many other scriptures that Mount Zion is in New Jerusalem. It takes place when the people of God have their "rejoicing." This can but refer to the time when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the people of God, are safe in that "city which hath foundations," for which they looked, Heb. 11:10, when the "children" rejoice with their "mother." Gal. 4:26. The sudden change in the first verse of this prophecy, from the new heavens and earth to the New Jerusalem, is suggestive, and helps us to understand the point of time when it meets its fulfillment. Let us go then, to another scripture, where the same events are recorded with additional particulars. Rev. 21:1, brings to view the new heavens and earth. But previous to this, in chap. 20:9, the apostle sees the holy city and the saints on the earth, when it is very evident the new heavens and earth had not yet come. They are on the earth in connection with the final punishment of the wicked, after the second resurrection has taken place, at the close of the one thousand years. Verses 5, 8, and 9.

The presence of the "beloved city," in which are the saints of God on the earth during the punishment of the wicked and before the new heavens and earth are ushered in, is made necessary, that many scriptures may be fulfilled. Thus, the Saviour says, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves thrust out." Luke 13:28. Also in that remarkable prophecy in Isa. 33:10, speaking of the time when the Lord shall rise up, he speaks of the wicked being as the burnings of lime, and as thorns cut up which are burned in the fire. That class would utterly perish. But, in the 14th verse, he asks the question, "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" and answers immediately, "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil." "His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty." "Thine heart shall meditate terror."

To my mind it seems very clear that this scripture meets its fulfillment at the same time of which the Saviour speaks, when the wicked see the reward of the righteous and the righteous see the reward of the wicked. The righteous are in a "place of defense." From what? From the terrible punishment rained upon the heads of the wicked. When they shall be as "thorns cut up," which shall be "burned in the fire." "When the sinners in Zion are afraid" "and fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites." The righteous at this time contemplate two things: "Their eyes see the King in his beauty," their heart "meditates terror." In the city, Jesus is in his glory; without, is a world on fire. Oh! my soul, what a contrast. Wicked men are consuming as the fat of lambs. Then are the words of the Psalmist fulfilled, "When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." Ps. 37:34. How plain, then, that the righteous are on the earth within the holy city at a point of time before the destruction of the wicked, and in immediate connection with it, where they can fully behold it.

And it is at this point of time that Isa. 65:20, has its fulfillment. The prophet's mind is first directed to the glorious fact that there is to be a "new heaven and new earth" created. It is next called to the point of time just previous, when the sinner, even though he may be an "hundred years old, shall be accursed." When does the curse of God come upon the sinner? Just previous, as we have seen, to the creation of the new heavens and new earth. Peter, in his second epistle, third chapter, makes this very plain. "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 [destruction] of ungodly men." "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." "Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Where does Peter find his "promise"? In the very scripture we have under examination. Isa. 65:17. And it is remarkable how beautifully these two scriptures harmonize and explain each other. Peter gives us an inspired comment upon Isa. 65:17. He tells us plainly that the "perdition of ungodly men" comes just before the new heavens and new earth. That the great burning day results in the new creation; from the ashes of the old creation the new springs forth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The career of the wicked closes with the old creation. We have seen from other scriptures that the righteous are on the earth and see this result during its accomplishment.

When, then, does the "child die an hundred years old"? Both the righteous and the wicked are on the earth when the curse of God falls on the sinner. "The wages of sin is death." Here are gathered the sinners of all ages and the saints of all ages. The antediluvians are here. Of those who died natural deaths, who lived the main portion of their lives before the flood, we have left on record in Genesis the ages of nine persons, including Noah. Their ages are respectively, Adam, nine hundred and thirty; Seth, nine hundred and twelve; Enos, nine hundred and five; Cainan, nine hundred and ten; Mahalaleel, eight hundred and ninety-five; Jared, nine hundred and sixty-two; Methuselah nine hundred and sixty-nine; Lamech, seven hundred and seventy-seven; Noah nine hundred and fifty. The average of these is almost nine hundred and twelve years. The case of Lamech seems a remarkable exception. He did not live so long as the average into one hundred and thirty-five years. It would seem to show that it was not God's design that he should live till the flood. We are not informed that this average of life was anything remarkable for that age of the world. In most of these instances there seems to be a remarkable uniformity. All but two of the instances given of the antediluvians, and in fact the only record existing in the world of the age of man before the flood, makes the average of life then, over nine hundred years. What a contrast with the present. Now, the average length of life is not far from thirty years. It is customary to call persons children at the age of five or six years, or even older. In Gen. 21:15, 16, Ishmael is called a child, while it is evident from the circumstances and chronology, he must have been eighteen or twenty years old. The average of human life, then, must have been as high as one hundred and fifty years. By the same rule it would be proper to call one a child at one hundred years of age when the average was upwards of nine hundred years, as it was before the flood. Persons at that age would be morally accountable of course. Therefore their cases would come into the Judgment, and if they died without repentance, they would come up in the second resurrection, and be among the immense throng outside the holy city, and would suffer the pains of the second death, with the sinners upon whom the curse of God then falls. All the circumstances of the case, and the scriptures which speak of the punishment of the wicked at that point of time, clearly prove that antediluvian children of a hundred years old will then and there die.

To suppose, as some do, that these deaths occur in the city of God and after the new heavens and earth are created, plainly contradicts, not only other scriptures, but this very one which is supposed to teach it. Verse 19 says, "The voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her; nor the voice of crying." Will people in the city of God care so little for their children that they will not manifest as much affection at their death after being with them a hundred years, as people do now? It would seem they had lost natural affection. But the Revelator, when speaking of this same city, Rev. 21:4, says that there will be no death nor pain, and the Saviour says they shall be "as the angels," neither shall they "die any more." The prophet, in verse 20, plainly speaks of a particular point of time, after which there shall neither be births nor deaths, nor becoming old. "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, or an old man that hath not filled his days." The word "thence," means from this point onward. From this point of time, then, there will never be an infant of days. Of course there never could be another birth then. God's plan of gathering out of all nations "a people for his name," that the earth may be "inhabited," is now accomplished, and from this point onward there never is to be "an old man that hath not filled his days," none who are prematurely old.

"They shall not plant, and another eat." How plain, then, that there will be no death among those who are inside the city of God, for, of course, if there was death among them, those who succeeded would eat of what their predecessors had planted. "For as the days of the tree of life [Septuagint] are the days of my people; this is the reason why one shall not plant and another eat. Those who are there will live forever. Oh, blessed thought! In the last verse of the prophecy, the reference to the beasts and their diet and habits, shows very plainly that it is the new creation. The nature of these animals has been changed. It would be a natural impossibility that the lion could be made to eat straw like the bullock before he had been created anew.

Thus our view of the events taking place in connection with the punishment of the wicked and the new creation, agrees with Isaiah and Peter, and makes a beautiful harmony; and this very scripture which is relied upon to prove the contrary, can only be harmonized by adopting it as it stands written in King James' version. But

taking Pagnini's version there is not even a seeming contradiction. This is as follows: "There shall not be any more carried out from thence to burial an infant of days, or a youth, or an old man who hath not filled his time; for the man of a hundred years shall be a youth." How beautifully harmonious is truth.

HISTORY IS BEING MADE.

By R. F. Cottrell

By Elder R. F. Cottrell.

It has often been truly said, "Prophecy is history in advance;" hence written history is the record of the fulfillment of prophecy.

From the days of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to the present time, history has been verifying the prophecies by their exact fulfillment. And still history is being made. The present state of the world—its moral corruption, and the angry state of the nations, their distress and perplexity—perfectly fulfills the prophetic picture of the last days.

Prophecy has not only sketched the history of the successive reigns of the great kingdoms of the world, described their state of anger and perplexity, but it has described the closing history of the church of Christ. The closing work of the church is most particularly described in Rev. 14: 6-12; her last trial is foretold in chap. 13: 11-18; and her final deliverance is promised in chap. 14: 4-5, and 15: 2-4.

Under the symbol of three flying angels (Rev. 14: 6-12), is particularly described, in successive order, the closing work of the church on earth. And that which is thus described in prophecy is becoming history. In the fulfillment of this line of prophecy, as well as in those that relate to the nations of the earth, history is verifying prophecy. On this subject history is being made. Events in the history of the church in our own day are fulfilling with perfect accuracy the promise of God in this prophecy of 1800 years' standing.

Go back to 1844, and a little before, and the whole enlightened world were startled by the thrilling cry, "Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his Judgment is come." Unbelief may call this movement a great mistake; but the word of prophecy was verified, the promise of God was fulfilled. That the proclamation was made, cannot be disputed; it is a fact of history which it is vain to deny. In the Judgment there will be no excuse on the ground that the promise of God was not fulfilled.

In the fall of 1844, the saying was heard throughout the ranks of believers in the first message, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," etc. Unbelievers in the advent at hand were little affected by it; but the fact exists,—the promise of the prophecy has been fulfilled.

And now for more than a quarter of a century the warning of the third and last message has been rising to the notice of mankind. A people have arisen, in numbers, who believe that the proclamation of this solemn warning is their specific work. This work, promised before, is becoming history; and the believer in revelation may rely upon it as securely as he can on those prophecies which marked out the regular succession of the kingdoms of the world. Prophecy is as truly fulfilled in these messages, as in the succession of the four great kingdoms of antiquity. The veracity of God is as truly pledged to the fulfillment of these messages, as to any promise he has ever made; and those who teach that the end is at hand, and yet ignore this last message, are exhibiting to the world a most astonishing evidence of unbelief in prophecy, if the end could come, and this most important, promised warning not be heard!

We will give a brief sketch of the history of this work. First, however, let it be observed that the message, though plain and simple, is the most unwelcome to the popular mind that could be imagined. It is in direct opposition to the cherished traditions of the whole Christian world, and in conflict with the customs and worldly interests of this money-loving and pleasure-seeking age. With these disadvantages, it is evident that, were the work not of God, it would have come to naught, and not have gained in the estimation of the most candid and devout, during the last thirty years. But is it declining? Has it the symptoms of speedy dissolution? We will see.

From a very small beginning the work has spread in this country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Almost, if not quite, every State in the Union has believers in it. Organized churches are found on the Pacific slope from Washington Territory on the north to extreme southern California. Also in both of the Canadas. And this is the center; from thence to old man of a man of a beauty.

And this is the center; from thence to old man of a man of a beauty—missions are established in England, Switzerland, and Norway. In the two latter places regular periodicals are issued; while active co-laborers are found in Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France and Italy, besides scattered believers in Turkey, Africa, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific. In addition to the foreign work and scattered believers in this country, there are twenty-one State conferences, and during the warm season of the year these organizations send out into new places nearly seventy-five tents from forty to eighty feet in diameter, which are removed from place to place and serve as meeting-houses in which to preach to the people.

But as the press is one of the most effectual means employed in the dissemination of the light of this message, we will take a brief view of the progress of the work in the publishing department. When the first number of a paper presenting the fulfillment of the third angel's proclamation as "present truth" was printed, the whole edition was carried to the post-office in a carpet bag. In contrast with this, the mail matter sent out from our office at Battle Creek, Mich., alone, sometimes exceeds two tons per week. At first, the pioneers in this work had to hire the printing done; but after a while a hand press was bought by the friends of the cause, and an office was established, where the work was done by believers in the truths advocated and who rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Soon it was seen that the increasing work could not be done with a hand press, and by voluntary contributions a first-class power press was purchased. Then the building in which the work was done proving insufficient for the growing work, a commodious brick building, two stories high, with a basement, was erected which served the purpose well for a while; but a second building of the same size, and after that a third, have been added to meet the growing demands of the cause. About eighty hands are now employed, and seven power presses kept running to do that work.

There are published at that office The Review and Herald, our church paper, issued weekly; a weekly and a monthly edition of The Youth's Instructor; Good Health, a monthly magazine devoted to health and temperance. Also denominational papers in the Danish, Swedish, and German languages, published semi-monthly. Publications are also printed and sent forth from that office in six different languages. But this is not all. It has become here upon the Pacific coast to erect another office building similar to those at Battle Creek. This is furnished with five power presses and all materials necessary to carry on the work; and here is printed The Signs of the Times a weekly paper having a circulation of about ten thousand.

We do not speak of these things to boast. "Boasting is excluded." But when we see what has been accomplished, we can truly say, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes," and them only to assist the faith of the inquiring reader to believe that God still lives, and is doing the very work promised in the prophecy of the last warning, 1800 years ago. Our doctrines are sustained by the positive and unambiguous statements of the Bible. And yet one of the strongest evidences that our mission is from Heaven and not of men, is the fact that the very work which was promised in prophecy is now being done. Those so devoid of faith as not to accept of the evident fulfillment of God's word of promise, and who shall refuse obedience to the call of God to reform and make preparation for the end so evidently approaching, will be left without excuse in that day. O my soul! God has given thee the light; he has done all that could be done to warn and prepare thee for the coming, decisive day. He described in prophecy a threefold warning, which is now evidently being fulfilled before thine eyes; and if thou shalt fail of the needed preparation to stand before the Son of man at his coming, the fault will be thine own—the "great white throne" will remain untarnished by a single spot.

Profiting by Wants and Infirmities

BLESSED is he who learns to profit by his wants and infirmities, and who, in all the privations he endures, is still submissive to the will of God.

DECEIVERS AND DECEIVED.

By A. Smith

A PROPHET was once sent from Judah to Bethel, where Jeroboam, king of Israel, was offering sacrifices to Baal.

Having delivered his message of warning from the Lord, and having wrought miracles in attestation of its truthfulness, he was invited by the king to partake of the rites of hospitality at the palace.

But he would not; saying, "For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.'"

But the sons of an old prophet at Bethel, having witnessed the above transaction, reported the case to their father, who, thereupon, immediately saddled his ass, and started in pursuit of the man of God.

He found him sitting under an oak, and invited him to go home with him and eat bread, claiming himself to be a prophet, and to speak by inspiration. The argument of the false prophet, added to his own natural hunger and thirst, induced the man of God to believe a lie, and, as the result, he lost his life. Now the man of God ought to have known that the Lord would not give commandment by one, and then by another nullify that commandment.

But those who keep the first day of the week for the Sabbath, fall into a greater error, for God did not intrust the giving of his law to any man, but wrote it with his own finger upon tables of stone. Is it likely, therefore, that any person or church would be authorized to abrogate or change that law? and could any one practically indorse such abrogation or change with impunity?

Some admit that the seventh-day is the Sabbath of the Lord; but plead in extenuation of guilt in its violation that many eminent men of God have lived and died in observance of the first day as the Sabbath. But such seem to forget that the advancing light of the "Reformation" did not at once dispel all the darkness of the middle ages, that had covered the earth as with a pall, shutting out the light of revelation; and that papal Rome was to tread down the truth to the ground, was to practice, and prosper, and think to change times and laws, which were to be given into his hands for a stated time, and that at the end of that time, we should certainly expect to see that power removed, and the truth of God emerging from its obscurity. The facts in the case meet the expectation.

The condition of those who in time past ignorantly substituted a strict observance of the first day in lieu of the Lord's Sabbath, may be pertinently illustrated by the following anecdote:—

A father, on his way to his day's labor, passed the home of his brother, with whose family he left his little son, with the instruction to remain until called for by him at night, on his return from work.

About the middle of the afternoon, a young man called and said that the father would not return as early as he expected, and had requested him to call for the boy and conduct him home. He succeeded in deceiving the whole family, and the boy, whom, as soon as he had him within his power, he beat unmercifully, telling him that the father had given no command to conduct him home. The father forgave the son because he sinned ignorantly, but held the deceiver accountable.—A. Smith.

Do Not Forget Old Friends

NEVER give up old friends for new ones. Make new ones if you like, and when you have learned that you can trust them, love them if you will, but remember the old ones still. Do not forget they have been tried and found true; they have been merry with you in times of pleasure, and when sorrow came to you they sorrowed also. No matter if they have gone down in the social scale and you up; no matter if poverty and misfortune have come to them, while prosperity came to you; are they any the less true for that? Are not their hearts as warm and tender if they do beat beneath homespun instead of velvet? Yes, kind reader, they are as true, loving, and tender. Don't forget old friends.

ALL WORKING FOR GOOD.

A Scotch minister, being asked by a friend during his last illness, whether he thought himself dying, replied, "Really friend, I care not whether I am or not. For, if I die, I shall be the Lord's and if I live, God will be with me."

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