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Review and Herald, Vol. 79, No. 41.

Special Numbers

Review and Herald

Oct 14, 1902

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 14, 1902

Special Numbers

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PHOTO-REDUCTION OF FIRST PAGE COVER # SIONS VÄKTARE (Swedish) DATED OCT. 29.
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Sions Väktare and Evangeliets Sendebud
Swedish and Danish-Norwegian Papers
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These two papers have done more for the advancement of the truth among Scandinavians than all other agencies combined. The special issues now ready are illustrated double numbers filled with carefully written and soul-stirring articles on the most important phases of the message. The covers are beautiful in design, printed in two colors with three color effect. These issues ought to be placed in

EVERY SCANDINAVIAN HOME IN THE WIDE WORLD

CONTENTS

Sions Väktare

Four Questions — to be answered before God (Poem) Knowledge of God — — — — Mrs. E. G. White Are You Willing? — — — — (From Life Boat) Are You a Christian? — — — — A. Vermelin Christ Knocking — — Poem with full-page illustration The Work of the Holy Spirit — — — Aug. Anderson The Christian's Lawgiver — — — Bible Reading Christ's Second Coming and Kingdom — S. Mortenson Launching the Lifeboat (Illustrated), Poem by King Oscar Under Law or Under Grace — — — S. F. Svensson The Millennium — — — — Bible Reading A Page of Bible Readings on Prophecies, Resurrection, Saints' Inheritance, Biography of Satan, Spiritualism A Threefold Message The Last Reformation (Illustrated) Obedience of Faith — — — — J. M. Erikson Condition of the World in the Last Days (Ill.) — E. Åhren Life Only Through Christ — — — S. F. Svensson Whom Shall We Follow? — — — — E. J. Waggoner Note on National Reform Movement with Cartoon Four Syllogisms on the Sabbath — — W. S. Cruzan The Sabbath of the Lord — — — Aug. Anderson Debtors to All (Touching our work in foreign lands) The Midnight Sun (Full-page illustration) Mother (Illustrated) — — — — Poem The Christian Home — — — — Fred Anderson Need of Attention to Hygiene — — Dr. A. B. Olsen Judge Not (Temperance Song) Is God's Temple Worth Caring for? — Dr. David Paulson Forgotten! (Illustration) Notes and Comments “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” (new music. Supplement) Doles

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CONTENTS

Evangeliets Sendebud

An Everlasting Gospel, — Poem with full-page design “He Shall Save” — — — — — C. A. Thorp Conversion, Bible Reading — — — E. G. Olsen The Christian Life, with 1 Cor. 13 — — Ellen G. White “Answer, My Soul,” (Music, full page) — O. A. Linnereu The Light of Prophecy (Illustrated) — O. A. Johnson The Lord's Second Coming (Illustrated) — M. S. Reppe Signs of These Days, with full-page illustration The Great Day of the Lord, Bible Reading An Important Message (Illustrated) — C. A. Thorp Sabbath and Sunday. Bible Reading Reform Movements Founded on Prophecy (Illustrated) The Kingdom of God and the Thousand Years — — — — — A. E. Christian Condition of the Dead — — — — — N. P. Neilsen The Resurrection (Illustrated) — — — L. Johnson Life in the Son, Bible Reading Under the Law and Under Grace (Illustrated) — — — — — — — — — — A. C. Anderson It Is Written — — — — — — — (Poem) Obedience of Faith — — — — — — H. R. Johnson Lifting — — — — — — — — — — (Poem) Wireless Telegraphy; How the First Message Was Sent Across the Ocean (Illustrated) The Midnight Sun, Full-page Illustration The Purpose of Education — Prof. P. E. Berthelsen Is God's Temple Worth Caring For? — Dr. D. Paulson Intoxicating Liquors and Tobacco — — O. H. Faltana Notes and Comments Supplement: Full-page illustration, “Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock.”

Coming in Glory

Editorial

Coming in Glory

THE divine Son of God came to this earth that as humanity and for humanity he might bear the consequences of man’s transgression. “He was manifested to bear sins.” “In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” He was the manifestation of the glory of God to this world, but this glory was veiled in the flesh in order that it might be revealed for salvation, and not for destruction. Those whose eyes were anointed were able to see this glory, even though it did not shine out in a way to dazzle the natural eyes. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.” Simeon, “just and devout, . . . came by the Spirit into the temple,” and recognized the child Jesus as “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” But many of the people saw him only as a man like themselves, and they said, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” But his second manifestation upon this earth will be in marked contrast with this experience. “They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” “He shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire . . . when he shall come to be glorified in his saints.” We are now in the time of trial and test, preparing for the revelation of this glory. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
“Echo it, hilltops, proclaim it, ye plains; Jesus is coming again! Coming in glory, the Lamb that was slain; Jesus is coming again!”

A New Creation

IN the beginning “God created man in his own image.” Man was a part of that complete work which God looked upon, and “behold, it was very good.” Through sin the image of God was marred in man. The gospel is the provision which God has made to restore his own image in man, and the restoring process is a creative process. David recognized this in his prayer for forgiveness and cleansing. “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” The fact that redemption is a creative process, a work which can be done by God alone, is made the basis of the statement that salvation must be wholly of God, and not by our own works: “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” The experience of salvation is the experience of a new creation: “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.” Neither the performance of a ceremony nor the omission of a ceremony will take the place of the creative process: “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” And the fact that all things were created in Christ is set before us in the Scripture as the sure foundation upon which we may rest our hope of a new creation. “In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: . . . for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth.” It is thus evident that redemption is simply the accomplishment of the original plan to create man in the image of God, and that the Creator and the Redeemer are the same. “Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee.”

The Sign of Creation

THE Lord gave to his people the Sabbath as a sign between him and them, based upon the fact that he created all things in six days and rested upon the seventh day. “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. . . . It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Through the observance of this sign they were to know the Lord as their God. “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Through this sign they were to know the Lord as the one who sanctified them. “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I the Lord do sanctify them.” Christ was the one through whom the creative work was wrought. “All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.” It is plain therefore that the Sabbath is a sign, through the observance of which we may know Christ as the Creator and Redeemer. The Sabbath is the sign of the original creation, and also of the new creation. The gospel of salvation is not an emergency plan devised after sin had entered into the world. The preservation of what he had created was involved in the original creation, and redemption is simply the carrying out, in spite of the fact of sin, of the original purpose. In the very act of being the agent in creation the Son of God pledged himself to become the agent in preserving and restoring that creation, and all the power of the original creation is pledged for the new creation. This creative power for salvation is experienced only by those who believe. The gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” It therefore follows that “the Sabbath of the Lord is the sign of what Jesus Christ is to those who believe in him. The observance of it by faith—the true observance of it—brings into the life of the believer in Jesus, as nothing else can, the living presence and power of Jesus Christ.”This is the reason why the Sabbath reform must have a large place in this final message which is to reveal the fullness of the gospel of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Bought With a Price

Paul, in sizing up man as a subject and candidate for redemption, does it in this forcible and convincing manner: first, he lays down a fact, which is overwhelming in the duties and obligations it imposes. Here is the fact: “Ye are bought.” 1 Cor. 6: 20. This statement contains the root idea of redemption, which some modern critics dare to brand with the reproach of being merely a mercantile transaction.
But this reproach does not make it any less Scriptural. The whole statement is a double declaration of the idea, upon which some are inclined to heap contumely and scorn. The entire statement reads: “Ye are bought with a price.” The doctrine of the atonement, which the apostle here so plainly enunciates, involves tremendous responsibilities and unlimited encouragement. For thus he says, in verse 19: “Ye are not your own.” Then the great fact follows: “For ye are bought with a price.” This is the central idea of redemption. The negative side of Paul’s argument is presented in the verse last quoted. For if we are bought, we are not our own.
Allusion is made to the price. What is that price?—The Father gave his Son. The Son gave himself. He united his divinity with humanity. He surrendered his own happiness in glory, his repose, his body, his soul, his life. He poured out his soul unto death. Isa. 53: 12. Let the bloody sweat, the desertion, the betrayal, the scourging, the cross, his pierced and broken body on the tree, measure for us, as far as we can comprehend it, the magnitude of that price by which our redemption is secured. And if once we accept of this redemption, it will forever remain true; for Christ himself says that no man shall be able to pluck out of his hand those whom the Father has given him. And it will remain the great fact of our lives, never to be outdone in importance by any other event in our experience.
“Ye are not your own.” 1 Cor. 6: 19. We are not our own, to choose for ourselves, or mark out our own pathway. Ships are steered by their pilots.
We are not our own, to waste our time in idleness, amusement, or speculation; not our own, to follow our own caprices, prejudices, wayward wills, or depraved appetites. We are instructed that whatever we do, whether we “eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,” we should “do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10: 31.
We are not our own, to offer our services to another master. We are to cleave to the One who has bought us, and on whom we depend for redemption.
We are not our own, to serve self. That deceitful and torturing giant is dethroned. Now comes a great and widespread duty. Mark and study carefully these words: “Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s.” 1 Cor. 6: 19, 20. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?” 1 Cor. 6: 19. And this temple is not to be injured nor defiled; for “if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” 1 Cor. 3: 17. We are enjoined to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” 2 Cor. 7: 1. These earthly bodies are called “our vile body” (Phil. 3: 21), yet Paul says they are “the Lord’s,” and are designed to be instruments by which he is to be “glorified.” “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Body and spirit takes in the whole man; and glorifying the Lord in both must take in all moral duties.
We glorify God in our body by patiently enduring, and by being faithful in the performance of all our duty in his work; by holy diligence; by bowing to God in reverence and worship; by maintaining a well-governed body through self-denial; by obeying the Lord’s will with delight.
We glorify God in our spirit by holiness, faith, zeal, love, humility, and hope. Christians may expect to be watched by the enemies of Christ. Christians make a higher profession than others, and more is justly expected of them.
We once heard of a man, not many miles from Battle Creek, nor many years ago, who claimed great freedom from sin, perfection of character, and uniformly faultless, holy living. His claims were so prominent, boastful, and pronounced as to become offensive to many. A friend determined to test him on these points. So riding with a neighbor past his house, a few days afterward, he saw this man standing outside his house, one morning, washing his face. Alighting from his carriage, and suddenly approaching him, he caught up the basin of water with which the holiness man was washing himself, and dashed the contents of the basin full in his face. Without explanation he started to return to his carriage; but before getting beyond the reach of his arm, this man professing Christian holiness and perfect freedom from sin, with a well-directed blow of his fist laid his interviewer sprawling on the ground before him. The course both parties in this incident pursued is open to criticism. First, number one approached the other very abruptly, rudely, ungentlemanly, and without excuse except for a specific purpose. Secondly, the man who had made so high a profession of holiness dishonored his religion, and wounded his Master by falling into a towering passion, and manifesting his resentment in such a manner. Alas, that either party should have thus fallen into the snare of the devil! We have no sympathy with those who excuse themselves from following Christ on account of imperfections, discovered or imagined, on the part of professed Christians. No excuse! If you discover flaws in others, just enter the list of believers, yourself be an example to the flock, and show others how they ought to live to be consistent. So doing, you will be a savor of life unto life. U. S.

Studies in the Gospel Message

The first three Sabbath-school lessons in the present quarter are devoted to a verse-by-verse study of the text of the seventh chapter of Daniel. The subject of the lesson for October 25 is Modern Babylon.
We have already called attention to that remarkable prophecy uttered by the apostle Paul in which he declared that there would be “the falling away,” a great apostasy, in the church before the coming of the Lord. In this prophecy no duration is assigned to the apostasy, but simply the two limits are mentioned. It had begun its working at the time when the prophecy was written, and it would be brought to an end only by the coming of the Lord. In connection with the study of this prophecy we asked, “Is there any way of locating the rise of this great apostasy and of following its development?” Our study of this seventh chapter of Daniel certainly ought to help us to do this.
It is plain that the fourth beast of this chapter is Rome, “the fourth kingdom upon earth.” It is also established beyond a reasonable doubt that the little horn is a symbol of the papacy. It is further evident that the chief purpose of the prophecy of this seventh chapter is to locate definitely the territory, the time, and the work of this little horn, the papacy. But by placing Paul’s prophecy concerning “the falling away” by the side of Daniel’s prophecy concerning the little horn, it becomes clear that the two prophecies deal with the same general subject. The man of sin and the little horn both find their counterpart in the papacy, and the details given by the prophet Daniel concerning the rise, the duration, and the work of the papacy supply the information needed in order that we may be able to tear off the mask from “the man of sin,” and reveal him in his true character. The view given to John in The Revelation supplements the view given to the prophet Daniel, and identifies the principles of the papacy with those of ancient Babylon. By combining the three views of the papacy given to Daniel, Paul, and John, we may draw the following conclusions:—
1. Between Paul’s time and the coming of the Lord there would be an apostasy in the church of the same kind as there was in Jerusalem before the Babylonish captivity.
2. This would be the final attempt to overthrow the kingdom of God in the earth, and would be defeated only by the coming of the Lord.
3. This warfare against the interests of God’s kingdom in the earth would be manifested in blaspheming God, in persecuting his saints, and in an attempted change of the law of the heavenly kingdom.
4. The evil principle which would lie at the bottom of all this effort to pervert right principles would be self-exaltation.
5. A period of 1260 years was assigned to the supremacy of this enemy of God’s kingdom, during which he would reign over the kings of the earth. This time has been shown to extend from 538 to 1798.
6. This long-continued effort to destroy God’s kingdom would be made under the claim of doing the service of God as his representative.
7. The method of procedure would be to revive and adopt the same principles which prevailed in ancient Babylon, the open enemy of God’s kingdom in the earth, but to cloak these principles under Christian names and forms.
8. In carrying out this purpose this modern Babylon will demand the same worship and service to be rendered to it as ancient Babylon demanded of Daniel and his companions.
9. Those who are faithful to the truth will triumph over this modern Babylon. For “the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
In view of these conclusions the study of ancient Babylon and its teachings, and the experiences of Daniel and his companions in Babylon, is invested with a new interest. A thorough acquaintance with the principles wrought into the history of ancient Babylon is necessary in order that we may be prepared to recognize these same principles when they reappear in the professed Christian church in modern times in the great apostasy which the apostle Paul has foretold. History is being repeated. The papacy, while professing to be the only true church of Christ, is simply a fleshly organization in which the abominations of ancient Babylon are reproduced under the mask of Christianity. The professed Christianity of the papacy is the paganism of ancient Babylon masquerading before the world under the cloak of Christianity. When the mask is torn from the face of the man of sin, we shall find that he is simply the incarnation of the principles taught by the wise men of Babylon. This is Satan’s masterpiece of deceit.
In ancient times Babylon and Jerusalem were entirely distinct. The one was in Chaldea, the other was in Judea: in the one was the temple of Belus, in the other was the temple of the true God: in the one, gross idolatry was openly practiced; in the other, it was forbidden: the ritual of the one was wholly distinct from the other; the one stood for the principle of self-exaltation, the other for the principle of self-renunciation. There was not the slightest danger that a worshiper of the true God would make the mistake of supposing himself in the temple at Jerusalem taking part in the worship of the true God when he was joining in the worship of Baal in the temple of Belus. The two systems were entirely distinct. But the mystery of iniquity consists in substituting the whole system of Babylonish worship for the worship of the true God in his temple, under the claim that it is a pure Christianity. This is “the man of sin” sitting in the temple of God, “setting himself forth as God.”
The church in Jerusalem in Daniel’s time and in modern times came under the power of Babylon for the very same reason. “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand.” The cause is thus stated: They “were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.” Of the little horn, modern Babylon, it is stated, “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High: and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.” The cause in this instance is the same as before. “And the host [the church] was given over to it [the little horn] together with the continual burnt offering through transgression.” Dan. 8: 12, R. V.
Ancient Israel lost sight of the truth taught in the sanctuary and its services, and their worship became a mere round of ceremonies. The indwelling presence was no longer experienced, and they were no longer able to teach this gospel to the nations about them. Then they were given into the power of Babylon, that they might by the loss of the outward temple and its services learn the real lesson taught by the temple and its services. Modern Israel has passed through the same experience, and for the same reason. Ancient Israel was called to separate herself from Babylon that she might restore and build Jerusalem. Modern Israel is being called out of Babylon for the same purpose, and this is the last call before the final and utter fall of Babylon. “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. . . . And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”
We are now, perhaps, prepared to see why we ought to study and teach the books of Daniel and The Revelation. It is only through the experiences and prophecies of these books that we are able to recognize and point out the devices of the enemy by which he has attempted to substitute ancient paganism for genuine Christianity, and by so doing to make of none effect the essential provision of the gospel for the continued presence of Christ in the church in his representative, the Holy Spirit. In no other portion of the Scripture has the enemy’s plan of campaign for these last days been revealed with such clearness that we may know just how to order the battle in order to be sure of victory. Every individual, then, ought to study these books, that he may be prepared to act his part intelligently in the closing days of this great controversy.

“Consider Him”

The Word of God exhorts us to “consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself,” lest we be weary and faint in our minds. Heb. 12: 3. It is thus that we are to run with patience the race set before us in the Christian life.
We think it is a hard thing to be misunderstood by others,—to have our good intentions misinterpreted, our motives misjudged. But consider how God and his Son have been and are to-day misunderstood by the beings created in their image. The Father, who so loved the world that he gave to it his only begotten Son, and Jesus Christ, the Son, who so loved mankind that he consented to make in their behalf the amazing sacrifice consummated on Calvary, have been continually misjudged by those upon whom their infinite love has been bestowed. God has been represented to the world as a tyrannical being, a stern judge sitting on the throne of dominion in the heavens, watching for every shortcoming of the sinner, to lay up an account against him; a being whose chief aim is to see that strict justice is meted out to the transgressor, and whose wrath must be propitiated by the shedding of innocent blood. He who was in every way entitled to the love of his human children, and who more than an earthly parent longs for their affection, has been portrayedas an all-powerful monster, to be thought of and considered only with emotions of fear, coupled with a desire to be as far removed as possible from his notice.
Jesus Christ, his Son, came unto his own in the world, and his own received him not. He was wounded in the house of his friends. He was despised and rejected. He was betrayed by one of his disciples, and put to death by his own people as a malefactor. Such “contradiction of sinners” has never fallen to the lot of any of his followers.
If we are misjudged for right doing, we are made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, which to the Christian is an occasion of rejoicing. We enter into fellowship with him; for fellowship with Christ is “the fellowship of his sufferings.” Without partaking of these there is no fellowship.
Jesus Christ endured all this “for the joy that was set before him.” The same joy is set before us, and with the eye of faith we may look beyond the grievances of the present hour, and be strengthened to go forward, as he did, to the end of the race. We can afford to be misjudged even by those closest to us, if we make that use of the trial which will bring us into closer fellowship with God.
L. A. S.

Working Out the Plans

WE must have plans for our work. There must be system in our movements. An army in the field without a plan of campaign can accomplish little. Infinitely more worthy of study and careful planning is this blessed work of God.
But many put the plan in the place of the working out of the plan. Annual conferences are held, and all the people join in discussing plans, and voting resolutions. Then many go home as if their work were done, saying, in effect, “Now we shall see how the plans work!”
Of course the plans cannot work. The best plan ever devised never did a stroke of work. The plan itself must be worked. Good plans are but as the intrenchments thrown up in front of the enemy on the battle field. The intrenchments amount to nothing unless the soldiers man the intrenchments.
During the past summer our conferences, in camp meetings assembled, have been laying down plans. Resolutions have been adopted, urging the people to push the circulation of our literature, to engage in personal effort for souls, to be faithful in remembering the mission offering week by week. These plans are the intrenchments thrown up for the coming year’s campaign. Now let us all man the intrenchments, each in his place.
Certain kinds of breastworks are better than others. Military science devotes no little attention to the subject. But, after all, it is the quality of the man behind the gun that counts.
Whatever our plans, however carefully thought out, or however faulty, if only behind these lines of attack there be found a united people, true to King Jesus, with hearts courageous and faces set like a flint toward the front, victory, and that speedy and glorious, is assured.
There is no possible way of keeping the blessings of the camp-meeting season save by engaging now in definite soul-winning service. This is a people’s war. Christ himself is given of God to be “a leader and commander to the people.” He calls now upon every soul of us to man the intrenchments. W. A. S.

How Much Faith Do You Have?

“Not how much power God has, but how much faith you have, is the vital question in your religious life.

Petitioners, Not Purchasers

“THE coin we use in this world is not current in the other; we must therefore go to God as petitioners, and not as purchasers.”

Note and Comment

SABBATH keepers in this country have little conception of the difficulties which beset the pathway of the commandment keeper in some portions of the Old World, or of how slight a thing sets in motion the forces of persecution against our brethren there. Here is an example which we find given in the last issue of the Sentinel of Christian Liberty. It is part of a description of some recent experiences of a Seventh-day Adventist native missionary in Turkey:—
The readers of The Sentinel will remember that a seventh-day observer in Constantinople was arrested last year through the misrepresentation by the police of some portions of the REVIEW AND HERALD, received from the United States. The police court took the case and referred it to the legal court while holding our brother in prison. The legal court had the matter that had been objected to translated, and found nothing that could be construed as being against the government. The item announcing that the sultan had at last paid the money due to the United States was not considered a harmful thing, and the article headed, “The Macedonian Cry,” was found to have no reference to the modern Macedonian question. So the REVIEW AND HERALD was vindicated, and the brother released. But the general plaintiff referred the case to the higher court, claiming that the REVIEW AND HERALD contained harmful words against the government, and that our brother must be punished. After a careful investigation by the higher court he was found guiltless. So the REVIEW AND HERALD was cleared in the higher court also. Now the general plaintiff, not content with the decision, has raised the case to the supreme court. We look for the end with much interest.

French Anti-Alcoholic League Faces Suit

IN France there exists an “Anti-alcoholic League,” which appears to have been doing effective work in the cause of temperance reform. This is indicated by the fact that the “Chamber of Distillers” has brought suit in the Paris courts against the Anti-alcoholic League, to recover damages, on the ground that the agitation against alcohol has caused a falling off in the trade in intoxicants. It would be a queer court, verily, which would seriously consider a claim for damages of this sort.

The End of the Opium Trade

“We are now fairly well assured,” says the Pittsburg Christian Advocate, “that the opium trade between India and China is about to cease. The anti-opium movement in China, having spread and gathered force, and the awakened conscience of the English people, setting itself against a traffic so destructive to the Chinese, have silently joined hands, and the days of the traffic are numbered.” We trust the Advocate is not mistaken in this conclusion.

Sure Salvation

IT is commonly said that there are two things absolutely sure in this world — death and taxes. To this statement the Christian can make one very important addition, expressed by the word “salvation.”
There is nothing in the world so absolutely certain as the salvation of the follower of Christ. Some in the past have escaped, and others living now will escape, death; for many of this generation are to be translated alive, as Enoch and Elijah were, at the coming of the Lord. To a greater or less extent, many people escape paying taxes. But no possible combination of circumstances can defeat, in a single case, the ultimate salvation of those who live the life of faith. Whatever could defeat the salvation of one child of God, would have to defeat omnipotence and omniscience.
Many people are prone to regard their salvation as a very uncertain, and all but impossible, thing; and by so doing they place themselves in the attitude of defeat, and give great advantage to the enemy of their souls. Our attitude toward God’s great gift must not be of this negative character, but just the opposite. The victory has been gained; every foe of the Christian has been met and conquered; and this has been done for us. The work of securing our salvation is already done. Our work is to believe, and to let Jesus Christ come in and occupy his rightful place in the heart. Doing this, we may calculate upon salvation with all certainty, and let that certainty show itself in our actions every day of our lives. Surely God, who has at such great cost provided this salvation, will be pleased to have us make of it a real thing, and make manifest our confidence in him, instead of putting salvation far off into the realm of theories and dreams, or of things beyond the reach of ordinary people.
L. A. S.

Be Still, My Heart

LET nothing make thee sad or fretful Or too regretful, Be still; What God hath ordered must be right, Then find in it thine own delight, My will.
Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow About to-morrow, My heart? One watches all with care most true, Doubt not that he will give thee too Thy part.
Only be steadfast, never-waver, Nor seek earth's favor, But rest: Thou knowest what God wills must be For all his creatures, so for thee, The best, — Paul Fleming.
Continue reading: Christ the Missionary’s Example