Signs of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 41. (10/11/1899)

Signs of the Times

Oct 11, 1899

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Oct 11, 1899

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD.

"BEHOLD" is preeminently a Bible word, occurring in our common version nearly thirteen hundred times. It is an emphatic word, calling one not to a mere glance, not simply to see, but to fix the attention upon, to see, observe, keep; to see so as to make it one's own, to grasp by the sense of vision.

WHEN, therefore, the messenger of God, with kindling eye and ringing voice, declared, on that long-ago morning, as he stood by old Jordan's side among his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," he called for no casual look, no mere glance of acquiescence, no mere look of curiosity or recognition. He desired his hearers to look, to grasp, to hold the Lamb of God, the world's Saviour.

IT is God's cry of the ages to the children of men; for Jesus Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," "who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." When Abel offered the spotless lamb, he, as the messenger of God, pointed to the Infinite Sacrifice and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." And every lamb offered subsequently, every kid of the goats, every sin-offering according to the Lord's direction, pointed forward to the great Antitype. When "Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," and asked the serpent-bitten host of Israel to look, there was life in the look; it was the type of the lifting up of Him who "became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Faith saw through the symbol to the mercy and power of the One symbolized.

"There is life in a look at the sacred cross, Jesus has said, 'Look unto Me.'"

You can not take away your sin. It is a heavy burden, weighing you down to perpetual slavery, sinking you beneath the water-floods to everlasting ruin. God does not demand that you shall rid yourself of the burden. He knows that you can not do this. You have no power to lift yourself above yourself. You seem to do it at times, but when strength is spent, you find yourself on the same old level of self. Give over the hopeless struggle. Yield your sins and will and way to God, and look and live. He will pardon; He will cleanse; He will save, if you will but look. Surely you can do that

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.

MOREOVER, there is a principle involved in the looking. It was not a mere truth uttered by the great apostle when he said, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." By beholding we become changed. If we continually behold evil, our mind absorbs the evil. Looking steadfastly at one color for a long time, we see it still when looking elsewhere. Other things are tinged with the same hue. The politician has looked upon politics so long that he sees politics in everything, even in Christianity. The money-maker gluts his eyes with gold till he asks, "How much can I get out of godliness?" The mouser after the wickedness of the slums and dark places of our cities, does not see the bright pearls and jewels of righteousness which God has placed in the highway of holiness, where the servant of God ought to be, and to which he ought to invite the weary wallowers of the mire. Just before him walks Jesus, and his cry ought to be, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

SINNER, there is all hope for you in beholding the Lamb of God, in looking unto Jesus. It matters not what the sin may have been; give it up forever, and look unto Him with single eye, with open heart, and the divine rays of light will illuminate your whole being, shine away the darkness, and cleanse the sin. He invites, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." Would you make progress?—Continue "looking unto Jesus the Beginner and Finisher of our faith." Let His light and beauty flood your soul. Does darkness settle around you? Let faith pierce the darkness, and behold the constant shining of the Sun of Righteousness "with healing in His beams." Let riches tend to luxury and ease; let harlotry tend to sensuousness and destruction; in Jesus Christ are more than all that sin can give. "Behold the Lamb of God." Look constantly to Jesus. See what He endured that He might save you. Behold what He has in store for you. Let His sunlight of love flood continually your entire being, shining through you to others. By thus beholding you will become changed to the same image, and your whole life will be a constant transformation "from glory to glory." "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." "Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith." X.

WHAT IS AN ETERNITY?

By H. F. Phelps

EVIDENTLY, there is a height and depth, a length and breadth, to the purposes of God that is beyond the powers of the mind of man to conceive. The “secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” There is no use of our trying to pry into these secret things. They are beyond our comprehension, and, therefore, they are past finding out. “But those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children.” And there is an eternal purpose in their revelation, and in their belonging to us; and that is “that we may do all the words of this law,” and live forever. Deut. 29:29.

But our minds are altogether too narrow to take in those things that are revealed. Accustomed to dwell upon the sordid things of time and sense, we read the thoughts of God, and at once begin to ask whether these things are actually so. We actually question the wisdom of God, and if we can not bring His revealed thoughts down to the low strata in which our minds usually run, we conclude that they are not true. Instead of doing this, we should let our minds expand to take in the length and breadth of God’s requirements, the height and the depth of His purposes, as revealed in His Word.

What Is Time?

Time, to us, seems long. The youth looks forward to the years of maturity, but the time seems long. Still the moments fly swiftly by; and when old age comes on, the past seems but as a brief moment. Then what is time? What the measurement of one’s life? What is a thousand years? Or, what are the six or seven thousand years of this world’s existence? They are but a mere atom of duration; and, in comparison to an eternity, a mere point.

But What Is Eternity?

God alone can tell. Man can not comprehend its meaning. Even the angels of God do not know its length. But let us make a comparison; it is calculated by astronomers that the sun is 93,000,000 miles from this world. The most of us can comprehend the meaning of one, two, or three miles. Possibly we may be able to comprehend the meaning of a hundred miles. But who can actually take in ten thousand, or a thousand miles? Much less can we understand what is embraced in that vast distance of 93,000,000 miles. Suppose that a steam carriage should move at the rate of 20 miles an hour day and night towards the sun. How long would it take to reach that brilliant orb of the day? Several generations must pass away during the time; for it would occupy about 530 years.

Now suppose again that it were possible for a bird to fly from the earth to the sun, and it should carry in its beak one grain of sand, one drop of water, one blade of grass; in the course of time all the world would have been transferred to the sun. But of course it would take millions of millions of years. But that would not be eternity. All these millions of years would only be a mere speck upon the ocean of time; and eternity would still lie beyond. But the infinite One

Inhabits Eternity.

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa. 57:15. And He who inhabits eternity, actually dwells with the humble man. He comes into his heart, to revive and to encourage him. And He gives him a little taste of life in this world, and makes promise of the eternity that is beyond. There are those, the sinless intelligences of the other world, that have in the past lived by faith in the power of God to save. And all the eternity of the future is before them, because they do believe. And the eternal One gives us the promise of the eternity that is beyond the brief time allotted to this world, if only we will believe in Him who has power to save. He can save. He does save. He is saving day by day those that believe, even in this world of sin. Praise His name.

H. F. PHELPS.

"EVEN YOUR SANCTIFICATION."

By Ellen G. White

"THIS is the will of God, even your sanctification." The Lord demands all the powers of the being. It is His design that we should be conformed to Him in will, in temper, in spirit, that the soul may hold communion with Him who is full of love, and peace, and power. God would have us keep close to the heart of Infinite Wisdom and Love. He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy, our consciences purged from dead works to serve the living God. The Lord gave Himself to die for us, that He might purify us from all iniquity. He will carry on His work of perfection for us if we will allow ourselves to be controlled by Him.

This work of righteousness can not be carried forward unless we exercise implicit faith. We must move every day under the guidance of God's mighty power. Every day we need to feel the deep working of the Spirit of God. We must have a faith that emanates from God. Not one thread of selfishness must be drawn into the fabric of our lives. When our faith works by love, the love that Christ revealed in His life, it will be of a firm texture. But not until self dies can Christ live in us; not until self dies can we possess the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Our faith must increase. We must know the sanctification of the Spirit. In earnest prayer we must seek God, that His divine Spirit may control us. God will then be glorified by the example we set. We shall be workers together with Him. Sanctification of soul, body, and spirit, will surround us with the atmosphere of heaven.

Christ came to this world to enlighten men and women by His wisdom, by the shining of His righteousness. He came to reveal God's purpose for us. He was a wonderful teacher. His lessons were uttered in the language of independent goodness, and it is our privilege, by studying these lessons and beholding Him, to be changed into His likeness. It is His desire to commit divine instruction to faithful stewards, who will both teach and practise the truth, who will live by every word proceeding from the mouth of God.

Those who claim to know and teach the truth, and yet do not live by the Word, can not be laborers together with God. Those who do not walk in the light, bring in the opinions and practises of self. True conversion, true sanctification, will be the cause of a change in our views and feelings toward one another and toward God.

Christ declares: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another." Again Christ says: "As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in My love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another."

This love goes beyond the expression of the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Here men are required to love one another as Christ has loved them. The disciples did not then comprehend the significance of these words. They knew not the high, unselfish character of heavenly love. But after Christ had by His death on the cross demonstrated His love for them, they understood His words.

This heaven-born love is not selfish and changeable. It is not a love dependent on human praise. The heart of him who drinks the blood of the Son of God overflows with a holy love for God and for those for whom Christ died. He does not love His fellow-creatures because they love and please Him, because they appreciate His merits and rightly estimate His value, but because they are Christ's purchased possession.

God designs that everything possible shall be done to enable us to stand heart to heart, mind to mind, shoulder to shoulder. We have not pressed forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling. Self has found too much room. The want of genuine faith and love is the lack of the church to-day. Our Christian experience is imperfect because we do not love as Christ has loved us. While we are filled with admiration for self, while we measure others by ourselves, how can we understand the Scriptures? What comprehension can we have of true faith? The lack of love and confidence in one another weakens our trust in God.

What fulness is expressed in the words: "I am the Light of the world." "I am the Bread of life." "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." "I am the good Shepherd." "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." This life is what we must have, and we must have it more abundantly. God will breathe this life into every soul who dies to self and lives to Christ. But entire self-renunciation is required. Unless

this takes place, we carry with us the evil that destroys our happiness.

I wish we could be what God would have us,—all light in the Lord. We need to reach a higher standard. But we can never do this until self is laid on the altar, until we let the Holy Spirit control us, molding and fashioning us according to the divine similitude. Truth must be received into the life. Then our words will testify that Christ's Spirit is working through us. God lives and reigns in us, and we bear witness to the truth. Draw nigh to God. Learn from the great Teacher. Surrender all to God.

We are not to hold ourselves in our own hands. We are to drop self into the hands of God. Daily we must consecrate ourselves to God's service. We must come to God in faith. If we have accumulated suppositions and imaginary difficulties, which keep us from a perfect union with our brethren, let us at once begin to remove the obstacles. We need to humble ourselves before God. It is self that we have first to deal with. Criticise the heart closely. Search it to see what hinders the free access of God's Spirit. We must receive the Holy Spirit. Then we shall have power to prevail with God.

The necessity of the Holy Spirit's working in the heart should be realized by all. Unless this Spirit is accepted and cherished as the representative of Christ, whose work it is to renew and sanctify the entire being, the momentous truths which have been intrusted to us will lose their power on mind and character. Many to-day are in this position. They refuse to enter into right relation with God, as doers of His Word. They do not see the necessity for this.

We need to pray as we have never prayed before for the baptism of the Holy Spirit; for if ever there was a time when we needed this baptism, it is now. There is nothing the Lord has more frequently told us He would bestow upon us, and nothing He would be more glorified in bestowing, than the Holy Spirit. When we partake of this Spirit, we shall be born again. A firm, unwavering faith in God will be manifested. The Sun of Righteousness will be in our midst, with healing in His wings. Souls once lost will be found, brought back, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

"We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." We must take God at His word, and believe that He will do just as He has said. If He chastises us, it is that we may be partakers of the divine nature. It is His purpose to carry on a daily sanctification in us. Shall we not see our work? Shall we not present to others the privilege they have of growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ?

A mere assent to truth is not enough. Daily we must live the truth. We must shut ourselves in with God, surrendering all to Him. To listen to the great and grand truths of the Word is not enough. We must ask ourselves the question, Does Christ dwell in my heart by faith? He alone can show us our necessity, and reveal the dignity and glory of the truth. At the altar of self-sacrifice,—the appointed place of meeting between God and the soul,—we receive from the hand of God the celestial torch, which searches the heart, revealing our great need of an abiding Christ.

When we feel our heart need, when we long after the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, Christ draws nigh to us. Self is crucified. Christ lives in us, and the power of the Spirit attends our efforts; then the soul is refined and elevated. Light from the heavenly sanctuary shines upon us, and we are enabled to exert an influence which is a savor of life unto life. By a union with Christ, by living faith, we are privileged to enjoy the efficacy of His mediation. We are crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ, to walk in newness of life.

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

By Eva May Carter

The lilies float in the sunlight, With spotless hearts of gold; They spring with sweetest fragrance From the stagnant water's fold. Above the dark, wild billows The beacon shines afar; We see in the darkest heaven The brightest evening star.

So in this world of sadness, Of gloom and darkest night, Christ's flowers bloom in gladness, Blest children of the light. So shine, keep shining ever; Press onward without fear, Reflecting Christ's own image Till He Himself appear.

Eva May Carter.

THE HIGHER LIFE.

By Dean Farrar, D.D.

"The evening air clad in the beauty of a thousand stars" is not lovelier than the character of him whose whole being is passed in the region of eternal realities; who knows the awful reverence which is due from every man to his own soul; who loveth the thing that is just, and doeth the thing that is lawful and right, in singleness of heart; who keeps the temple of his soul pure and bright with the presence of the Holy One; who loves all that is beautiful, whether in nature or in art; who hates whatever is ignoble, and loves his neighbor as himself. What has such a man to fear? The eternal forces are with him. His heart, his hope, his treasure are beyond the grave, and ever and anon in moments of permitted rapture, he sees the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

—Dean Farrar, D.D.

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.

By Francis M. Wilcox

Signs in the Physical World.

NOT alone in the heavens above has the Lord hung out signs as precursors of His soon coming, but also in the earth beneath has He given evidences of the same great event. By some it is contended that this earth is yet in its period of infancy; but the rapid changes which have been taking place in its condition during the last few centuries indicate only too clearly to the student of prophecy that it is nearing its final dissolution. The psalmist states (and this statement is quoted in the first chapter of Hebrews) that this earth shall wax old as doth a garment, "As a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed." The evidences of this waxing old are all-apparent. The manifestation is seen in various ways, prominently in the failure of vegetation, caused by the loss of the producing power of the soil.

We who are living in the last days probably can form no adequate conception of the great fertility of the earth when it first came from the hands of the Creator. History records but little of the extent of its productiveness. In the works of Herodotus we have a brief record of the great fertility of the province of Babylonia, situated on the Euphrates. Herodotus states that the cereals produced to the extent of five-hundred-fold. It hardly seems possible that there ever was a time in the history of the world when there could be sown one bushel of wheat, and five hundred bushels reaped as the harvest. And yet Herodotus vouches for the truthfulness of his statement, and it undoubtedly was a fact. But if the province of Babylonia produced five-hundred-fold in the days of Herodotus, after the double curse of God had rested upon the soil, what must have been its wonderful fertility in the days of Adam?

In the time of Christ we have good evidence to believe that the producing power of the soil was much greater than it is at the present time, tho not so great as in the periods previously mentioned. In the parable of the sower, as recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, it is said that the seed sown brought forth "some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold." Is it not reasonable to suppose that even in the use of an illustration Christ would not go outside of the probable and reasonable? Hence it would be natural to presume that He took an illustration from every-day, ordinary occurrences. This being true, we must conclude that the seed sown in the land of Palestine produced in this ratio; a hundred-fold would be considered excellent yield; sixty-fold, fair; and thirty-fold, poor. When we come to compare the producing power of the soil in our own time with even this ratio of productiveness, we can see how far this earth has degenerated in point of fertility. In our Western States, in virgin soil, it is possible

to-day to receive thirty-fold yield, but this is considered exceptionally good; while in the Eastern States, where the soil has been worked for years, a yield of ten to fifteen-fold is considered in many localities an excellent harvest. And it is only by the constant use of fertilizing agencies that the soil can be held up to this standard of productiveness.

Adding to this growing degeneracy of the productiveness of the earth, our crops are placed under a new embargo in the various pests, which annually destroy thousands of acres of our food products. There is hardly a vegetable planted, or a cereal sown, but what there is some insect or animal that will prey upon that particular grain or vegetable; and every year witnesses an increase of these scourges, and every year witnesses their advent into regions where hitherto they have been unknown.

Our Saviour, in the Gospel of Luke, says that as a sign of the approaching day of the Lord there should be great commotion in the sea; that earthquake should follow earthquake; and that in consequence of these things the hearts of men would fail them for fear for looking after these things which are coming on the earth. Upon the increase of earthquakes the following facts, gathered by Mr. Mallett, show how rapid it has been:—

Previous to the first advent of Christ, the earthquakes of the world averaged only one in twenty-nine years. From A.D. 1 to the end of the ninth century there occurred one in every four years. From the end of the ninth century to the end of the fifteenth century, one per year. From the end of the fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, nine every year. From the end of the eighteenth century to 1850, sixty-four every year; while from 1850 to 1868 (the last period for which we have figures), two hundred and seventy-seven per year.

Every reader of the daily news must admit the wonderful increase which has taken place in the tidal disturbances, and disasters by land and sea during the last few years. The tidal waves which have swept in from the ocean, inundating large tracts of territory, sweeping away villages and cities, and destroying thousands of lives and millions of dollars' worth of property, have been fearful and horrible sights to witness. We have such a description of a tidal wave off the coast of South America some years ago, as given in Harper's Magazine: "That most horrible phenomenon, the tidal wave, how many struggling mortals has it swept back into the deep! What countless ships has it crushed against the shores! What mighty cities has it plundered of life and wealth, strewing their streets with the ocean sand, and peopling their palaces with sea monsters! I saw the whole surface of the sea rise as if a mountain-side, actually standing up. Another shock, with a fearful roar, took place. I called to my companions to run for their lives onto the pampa. I lost my companions, and in an instant was fighting with the dark waters. The mighty waves surged, and roared, and leaped. The cries of human beings and animals were frightful."

The question will naturally arise in the mind if these disturbances do not seem more frequent of late years on account of our increased facilities of connection with all parts of the world, and the fact that through these we have fuller reports than formerly. Regarding this the following extract from the New York Mercantile Journal is to the point: "Old mother earth has been indulging in some old caprices within the last ten years, the variety and frequency of her antics having especially increased during her last three revolutions. Tornadoes, waterspouts by land as well as by sea, freshets, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes have become of almost daily occurrence and of continually augmenting intensity. Moreover, they embrace a larger and larger area of territory at each recurrence. The last shock, which so fearfully devastated South America, was felt over one-third of the earth's surface. These portentous phenomena are seriously engaging the attention of the scientific world. The remark that they only seem to us more frequent because our means of communication are more complete and rapid, and that we now hear from all parts of the globe simultaneously, will not explain the matter, since the late commotions have been attended by disturbances of both land and sea in parts of the earth which have been constantly accessible for centuries, that were totally unparalleled in previous history. The change of the Gulf Stream from its course, and the alteration of climates, have been some of these increased marvels."

The earth to-day, in almost every phase of its physical existence, is presenting continuously strange and remarkable phenomena. To the careless multitude these do not appeal. If for the brief moment of their occurrence they awakened any fear or amazement, they are soon passed by and regarded as in the ordinary course of events. But to the student of prophecy there may be seen in them a fulfilment of the words of inspiration given centuries in the past, predicting just such things as evidence of the soon coming of the Lord. By these things may we be admonished in time so we shall be able to make that preparation to meet the Lord of the whole earth in peace when He comes.

THE HEAVEN WHITE DRESS.

By T. R. Williamson

THE gates of pearl swing wide, so wide That the eyes of the soul may see How the ripples dance on the crystal tide Where the pure breeze plays from side to side Of the jasper-tinted sea.

The lake flowers in the life winds wave In their radiant gold and blue. The swift, light birds in the calm streams lave, And my soul, earth held, doth upward crave For a nearer, surer view.

The gates of joy swing wide, O, wide, And the lambent crown-stars fair Shine clear on forms that float and glide In the scented air, on the opal tide! And, O, to be there, to be there!

And converse held by angel tongues Steals down to the soul's rapt ear: "Ho, brother, just home from the vale of wrongs, From the earth, that of right to Christ belongs, How goes the brave work o'er there?

"Do kings of earth, unstinted, spare Their gold and power so brave, For the help of the hearts hard pressed by care, To lift the lowly to honors rare, To shield, and guide, and save?

"Does the might of realms insure the reign Of justice from shore to shore? Do grandeur and wealth the sure state maintain Of plenty and peace o'er mount and plain, For all of both rich and poor?

"And, brother, do human hearts aspire To the bliss of our home of rest? In the soot of sin and its vile desire, In the murk clouds o'er broad ways of mire, Do they yearn for the heaven white dress?"

O gleaming gates, swing fully wide, For I stand on a darksome shore; And what earth calls light drifts in to hide, Like death-hued shade, your matchless tide Of refulgent life and power!

The wire of faith is tingling now With heavenly notes of praise, And the clash of the harp-strings, high and low, Like quavering, mystical flute-tones flow To my ear in this isle of drear days,

In praise to God, to Christ, the King, For the might, and the light, and joy, For the peace and the happiness holiness brings, For the fine, kindly kingliness purity brings, For pleasures without an alloy.

Answer, O earth, to the questionings That the heavens are asking so fair! As we plod through our daily journeyings, Do we strive up-grade, toward glorious things? Or is it down-hill to despair?

Thank God there are those who make reply: "The earth is the Lord's evermore; The horror of guilt brings doom to the eye; The gulf of oblivion waiteth close by: Its black depths have no golden shore;

"Yet earth shall glow once more, I guess, As a lustrous star among stars. There's a host in the gloom who upward press Toward the heavenly hills, for the heaven white dress That no grime of sin ever mars." T. R. WILLIAMSON. Oakland, Cal.

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