Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 25. (6/18/1901)

Review and Herald

Jun 18, 1901

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 18, 1901

NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN.

By E. S. Roberts

There is no night in heaven, no night there, Of weary hours, of ceaseless, brooding care; No fearful waste, no ashes of despair: No night is there.

There is no night in heaven, no, no night Of sorrow there, no tearful, with'ring blight; There is no gloom in heaven's holy light: No night is there.

No night is there, but one immortal day, Where Sun of Righteousness imparts each ray; All earthly tears shall there be wiped away: No night is there.

— E. S. Roberts, in Ram's Horn.

A MESSAGE FOR TO-DAY.

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

The time has come when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. We are in the shaking time. Be assured that only those who live the prayer of Christ for unity among His disciples, working it out in practical life, will stand the test.

The enemy will make most determined efforts to ensnare those who should be co-workers with Christ. All who seek to qualify themselves for the Lord's work are the objects of Satan's attacks. But the unity and love for which Christ prayed is an impregnable barrier against the enemy. When there is dissension, when each one seeks the highest place, the prayer of Christ is not answered. The enemy finds easy access, and there is weakness instead of strength in the Church. Those who exalt self place themselves in Satan's power, and are prepared to receive his deceptions as truth.

The will of God in regard to His people is plainly expressed in the sixth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. The divine antidote for the sin of the whole world is contained in the gospel of John. “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,” Christ declared, “hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” He may die, as Christ died, but the life of the Saviour is in him. His life is hid with Christ in God. “I am come that they might have life,” Jesus said, “and that they might have it more abundantly.” He carries on the great process by which believers are made one with Him in this present life, to be one with Him throughout all eternity.

There are those to-day who will present falsehoods as testing truths, even as the Jews presented the maxims of men as the bread of heaven. Sayings of no value are given to the people of God as their portion of meat, while souls are starving for the bread of life. Fables have been devised, and men are trying to weave these fables into the web. Those who do this will one day see their work as it is viewed by the heavenly intelligences. They choose to bring to the foundation wood, hay, and stubble, when they have at their command the word of God, with all its richness and power, from which they can gather precious treasures of truth.

The food that is being prepared for the flock of God will cause spiritual consumption, decline, and death. When those who profess to believe present truth come to their senses, when they accept the word of God just as it reads, when they do not try to wrest the Scriptures, they will bring from the treasure-house of the heart things new and old, to strengthen themselves and those for whom they labor.

There are those who say not only in their hearts, but in all their works, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” Because Christ's coming has been long foretold, they conclude that there is some mistake in regard to it. But the Lord says, “The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.” It will not tarry past the time that the message is borne to all nations, tongues, and peoples. Shall we who claim to be students of prophecy forget that God's forbearance to the wicked is a part of the vast and merciful plan by which He is seeking to compass the salvation of souls? Shall we be found among the number who, having ceased to co-operate with God, are found saying, “My Lord delayeth His coming”?

Christ's true followers will represent Him in character. They will turn aside from worldly policy, and every day will train themselves for service in God's cause. In active service they find peace and hope, efficiency and power. They breathe the atmosphere of heaven, the only atmosphere in which the soul can truly live. By obedience they are made partakers of the divine nature. The doing of the living principles of God's law makes them one with Christ; and because He lives, they will live also. At the last day He will raise them as a part of himself. He declares, “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” “This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Christ became one with us in order that we might become one with Him in divinity.

The Lord is soon to come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Is there not enough in the truths which cluster around this event and in the preparation essential for it, to make us think solemnly of our duty? “The Son of man shall come in His glory; . . . and before Him shall be gathered all nations.” This subject should be kept before the people as a means to an end,—that end the judgment, with its eternal punishments and rewards. Then God will render to every man according to his work. Enoch prophesied of these things, saying, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” And Solomon, the preacher of righteousness, when making his declaration and appeal, presented the judgment to come. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter,” he said; “Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

We have an abundance of weighty, solemn truths to proclaim without spending time in devising fanciful theories to present as testing truth. What is the chaff to the wheat? The final judgment is a most solemn event, which must take place before the assembled universe. When God honors His commandment-keeping people, not one of the enemies of truth and righteousness will be absent. And when transgressors receive their condemnation, all the righteous will see the result of sin. God will be honored, and His government vindicated; and that in the presence of the inhabitants of the universe. Oh, what a change will then take place in the minds of men! All will then see the value of eternal life.

To His Son the Father has committed all judgment. Christ will declare the reward of loyalty. “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son . . . and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.” Christ accepted humanity, and lived on this earth a pure, sanctified life. For this reason He has received the appointment of judge. He who occupies the position of judge is God manifest in the flesh. What a joy it will be to recognize in Him our Teacher and Redeemer, bearing still the marks of the crucifixion, from which shine beams of glory, giving additional value to the crowns which the redeemed receive from His hands, the very hands outstretched in blessing over His disciples as He ascended. The very voice which said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” bids His ransomed ones welcome to His presence. The very One who gave His precious life for them, who by His grace moved their hearts to repentance, who awakened them to their need of repentance, receives them now into His joy. Oh, how they love Him! The realization of their hope is infinitely greater than their expectation. Their joy is complete, and they take their glittering crowns and cast them at their Redeemer's feet.

When sinners are compelled to look upon Him who clothed His divinity with humanity, and who still wears this garb, their confusion is indescribable. The scales fall from their eyes, and they see that which before they would not

see. They realize what they might have been had they received Christ, and improved the opportunities granted them. They see the law which they have spurned, exalted even as God's throne is exalted. They see God himself giving reverence to His law.

What a scene that will be! No pen can describe it! The accumulated guilt of the world will be laid bare, and the voice of the Judge will be heard saying to the wicked, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Then those who pierced Christ will remember how they slighted His love and abused His compassion; how they chose in His stead Barabbas, a robber and murderer; how they crowned the Saviour with thorns, and caused Him to be scourged and crucified; how, in the agony of His death on the cross, they taunted Him, saying, “Let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” “He saved others; himself He cannot save.” They will seem to hear again His voice of entreaty. Every tone of solicitude will vibrate as distinctly in their ears as when the Saviour spoke to them. Every act of insult and mockery done to Christ will be as fresh in their memory as when the satanic deeds were done.

They will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. “The wrath of the Lamb,”—One who ever showed himself full of tenderness, patience, and long-suffering, who, having given himself up as the sacrificial offering, was led as a lamb to the slaughter, to save sinners from the doom now falling upon them because they would not allow Him to take away their guilt.

The judgment will be conducted in accordance with the rules God has laid down. By the law which men are now called upon to obey, but which many refuse to accept, all will be judged. As by it character is tested, every man will find his proper place in one of two classes. He will either be holy to the Lord through obedience to His law, or be stained with sin through transgression. He will either have done good, co-operating in faith with Jesus to restore the moral image of God in man, or he will have done evil, denying the Saviour by an ungodly life. Christ will separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then men and women will see that their course of action has decided their destiny. They will be rewarded or punished according as they have obeyed or violated the law of God.

Are not these subjects of sufficient moment to present to the people? Should we not call upon the members of our churches to take their Bibles and study them, realizing that their eternal interest is at stake?

Let us remember that there will be no second probation. Some flatter themselves with the thought that the Lord will give them another opportunity. Fatal delusion! Just now, day by day and hour by hour, we are building for the judgment. We are trading on our Lord's goods, and at His coming He will reckon with us. He will expect results from every one. Let us arise and shine, because the glory of the Lord has risen upon us. Our reward will be proportionate to the work we have done. “My reward is with me,” Christ declares, “to give every man according as his work shall be.” Let all who can, go forth to work with wisdom and in the love of Christ for those nigh and afar off. The Master calls upon us to do according to our ability the work He has intrusted to us.

THE EFFECT OF SIN.

By C. A. Watkins

C. A. WATKINS. (Menominee, Mich.)

WHEN man was first created, he was innocent and upright. While in that condition, he could bask in the light of God's presence, and live; he could flourish under the counsels of divine instruction; for the Lord visited him daily in the garden, and talked with him face to face.

And how sad that such relation should ever be severed! Why did not God continue to appear among men and instruct them? Would not the voice of the Almighty, and the glorious countenance of Jehovah, be more persuasive than written commandments? Take a simple illustration from nature: When a tender plant is bitten by frost, it is sure destruction to place it where the sunlight can touch it; it cannot endure the warmth and brightness of that which but yesterday was its source of life and vitality; it must be nourished with care, and sometimes, by the use of proper remedies, the frost can be eradicated, and then, when restored to a living condition, the plant can once more meet the rays of light, and live.

Just so with man; sin has blighted the lovely flower of his creation; and just as soon as this was done, God knew that man would not dare again to appear in the Lord's presence until some means of restoration had been provided. Yesterday the light and glory of His majesty were a source of vitality, but now the only natural result would be utter destruction. So the Lord separated man from His glory and presence, from a scene of necessity, until the remedy be applied, the blight be removed, the curse of sin eradicated, and man brought back to a condition where he can endure the glory, and live. For this purpose the gospel is sent.

Even Jesus when He came to the earth, did not dare to come in His glory. Had He done so, instead of bringing salvation, His presence would have been a consuming fire.

Man must be kept separate from the glory of heavenly beings until healed from the curse of sin; Christ came to bring the remedy; but He came covered in humanity, that we might not be destroyed by His presence. The time is coming when He will appear again, but this time He will come in His glory, and then those who have rejected the remedy, and are not made whole by His gospel, will perish at the brightness of His coming.

So we see that it is the love of God and a necessary means of salvation, that the Lord does not appear to us personally, or come near to us in His glory. But as we are healed from sin, and restored to our original manhood, the Lord can give us rays of light from His sanctuary; and at His glorious coming we shall be able to stand in His presence, and that light, which, through all the centuries of sin would be a source of sure destruction, will then once more be life, and strength, and everlasting vitality. God help us to believe the power of our Saviour, to appreciate the love of our Creator, to accept the remedy for our healing.

MODERN REVIVALS.

By D. A. Ball

D. A. BALL.

We are living in an age of revivals, but many of them are sham revivals; for while there is no lack in efforts to produce revivals, some are not of the right nature to be lasting. They are looked for in a wrong direction. Many try to get them up, but revivals do not come that way. True revivals come down, and are not got up.

A revival which is “got up,” only whitewashes people, while one that comes down will wash them white. One is the effect of trying to work the Spirit; while the other is the result of allowing the Spirit to work us.

Our modern revivals have been described by the prophet Hosea, in the following language: “They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.” Hosea 5:6, 7.

To watch the results of these modern revivals, is to read impressive comments on the scripture already quoted. The reason for this is clearly stated in Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

The words of another are very forcible at this time: “Where the law is not preached, true conversion is not known.” Jeremiah once said, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” Who would not join with this holy prophet and cry to God to spare His people who are asleep to their true condition? Truly, this is a solemn time, and the latter rain is to be poured upon the waiting Church, upon those who are sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land, and are looking for Christ’s return. The effects of such a faith are described in I John 3:3, and the promised results are found in Heb. 9:28. Shall we be among that number?

THE INVISIBLE GOD.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, INVISIBLE, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” It is only to ourselves, cursed by sin, and degraded by its practice, that God is the invisible God; we have no evidence that He is invisible to the sinless inhabitants of other worlds.

God’s invisibility to us is the result of our sin and its consequent weakness. The God who was plainly perceptible to innocent Adam, could not be seen by fallen Adam; but praise His name, He will again be visible to redeemed Adam, when “his servants . . . shall see His face; and His name [His sinless character] shall be in their foreheads.”

I believe that God has been sorrowful for six thousand years, or ever since the man whom He created for His pleasure, foolishly and ungratefully cut himself off from the divine companionship, by distrust, unbelief, and disobedience. It is not an arbitrary decree that makes Him an unseen God, but it is a logical sequence, running in parallel lines with the entire incompatibility of sin and righteousness.

His eternal purpose is to wipe out the thing that has led men to misunderstand Him. He longs for the companionship in Eden once more, but till every trace of sin, of distrust, and of disobedience is removed, He must, against His will, remain the invisible God. He is more anxious to make himself visible to us, than we are to see Him, but He dares not, He can not, for He is love; and if He should reveal himself to us, in our sins, we should be destroyed “by the brightness of His coming.”

Caleb’s Resolute Faith

“It was easy for Caleb to exercise faith while he was picking Eschol’s grapes and feasting on the fresh figs; but to keep up his faith amid an army of poltroons, and to hold out for nigh forty years in the desert, demanded and developed the most resolute pluck and principle.”

Creating a Perfect Man

By S. O. JAMES

If you cannot form a man of the dust of the earth, and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, why should you attempt the more difficult task—that of creating a perfect man from something more vile and worthless than the dust of earth? See Isa. 40:15-17. Yet many are vainly—though not conscious of it—attempting this very thing. S. O. JAMES.

“THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF EGYPT.”

By Lee S. Wheeler

ELDER LEE S. WHEELER.

(Philadelphia, Pa.)

“The precious things of Egypt,” are spoken of in Dan. 11:43 as coming into the possession of the king of the north in “the time of the end.”

Egypt has long been the basest of kingdoms in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Poor in natural resources, and inferior in its products, yet, like desolate Palestine and the ruins of Babylon, it has treasures of a rare sort. The value of Egypt’s monumental remains to Biblical and historical research, is due to the discovery of the inscribed slab of black stone incidentally dug up on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, in August, 1799, the next year after the “time of the end” began. It furnished the key to the ancient languages of Egypt, and is called the Rosetta stone.

The time had come for these old stone books, so long held in Egypt’s dead hand, to be opened. The Master had need of them. Infidelity was spreading from France into all the world. Many were led into doubt about Moses, and the Bible accounts of God’s “wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea.” Ps. 106:22. It was known that in this land the fragments of temples and tombs, half buried in sand, were covered with strange writing, the meaning of which, now lost, men could never expect to discover; and it was a wonderful coincidence of Providence when men were led to stumble onto the key to all this, just at that time—the time foreseen by the prophet. And it is because of the light which is reflected upon the Bible by these remains, from the times of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, that they are counted “the precious things of Egypt.”

Various societies in Christian lands have since labored earnestly in bringing to light these treasures, and placing them in the principal museums of Europe, England, and America; but so far the work has always been attended with much difficulty, as the Turkish government controls everything. After their work is done under circumstances of great inconvenience, the excavators cannot bring away with them much that is most valuable, because, the government officials representing the interests of the museums at Constantinople and Cairo will, as a rule, part with only what they do not particularly care for.

Soon after this fact was related to me by a curate of an Eastern university, which has succeeded in securing one of the best collections in this country, the force of it suddenly flashed upon me while speaking, as I thought of Dan. 11:43. “He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt.” It seems to me that this is an unquestionable evidence that the “king of the north” here mentioned is the Turkish power.

A recent writer says that “the vast halls of the museum at Cairo have been filled to overflowing with the treasures of the past.”

I CORINTHIANS 15: 23-28.

By O. A. Johnson

ELDER O. A. JOHNSON.

I HAVE found many who are greatly perplexed over this Scripture, and many times have questions been asked on these verses. Perhaps the readers of the Review would be interested in a complete exposition of the passage. And as the late Elder J. H. Waggoner has expounded these verses fully in his “Refutation of the Age to Come,” pages 122–135, I therefore offer his thoughts upon the subject. He first states the objection held by some on 1 Cor. 15: 23–28, and gives a complete and unanswerable refutation to such interpretation. The following is the objection, concisely stated, and Elder Waggoner’s answer:—

“OBJECTION 8.—1 Cor. 15: 23–28. Christ will reign until He subdues His enemies, or puts them under His feet. In Revelation 20 this reign is declared to be one thousand years in duration, from which it is evident that His enemies will not be put under His feet until, or near, the close of the one thousand years; and of course are not destroyed at His coming.

“ANSWER.—The substance of this objection has been considered the stronghold of the age to come; and yet, when carefully examined, 1 Cor. 15: 23–28 proves itself the means of the certain and entire overthrow of that theory. Rev. 20: 4–6 is invariably used in connection with 1 Corinthians 15, as stated in this objection; and it is of the utmost importance to their views that the events of 1 Cor. 15: 23–28 be located in the thousand years of Revelation 20. But their connection is merely taken for granted—it has not been, and cannot be, shown. This method of throwing texts together for effect without proving a connection, is quite common with the advocates of that doctrine. As an instance, a lecturer once quoted Rev. 20: 6 and 5: 10 in such a manner that some of his hearers supposed that he had read from the Bible, thus: ‘They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years on the earth.’”

“We have never denied the reign of Christ and His saints on the earth. On the contrary, we contend for an everlasting reign on the earth when it is fitted for the inheritance of the saints; for their inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled. And when it is considered that the promise of the inheritance does not embrace the old earth, but the earth renewed, and that the saints shall possess it and dwell therein forever, the very fact that a period of one thousand years is given as preceding the eternal possession of the earth, raises the presumption that the reign of one thousand years is not where the eternal reign is; to wit, on the earth.

“Mr. Marsh, in his pamphlet on the Age to Come, pages 31, 32, quoted 1 Cor. 15: 23–28, and remarked: The particular points in these passages to which we would now call especial attention, are the beginning, close, and character of the reign of Christ.

“‘1. His reign beginning at His coming. “‘2. It will continue until His enemies are subdued, or destroyed, the last of which is death. “‘3. One grand object of that reign is to subdue, or destroy, his enemies. “‘These points are clear, and most conclusively proved by the evidence in the case,

The number of years between the beginning and the close of this reign, Paul does not tell, but John does. He gives us to understand that it will be a thousand years. Revelation 20.

“‘Verse 7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed—of whom it is said, in the second and third verses, that he was bound a thousand years, that he should not deceive the nations for that length of time; and verse fourteen gives us to understand that when the thousand years close, death, the last enemy, will be destroyed. For death and hell are then “cast into the lake of fire,” which is “the second death.”’”

“‘The fair conclusion from the testimony of Paul and John, is that the reign of Christ, when His enemies will be subdued, will be a thousand years; and as this reign begins at the coming of Christ, and as the “times of restitution,” or “dispensation of the fullness of times” also begin then, it is certain that those times, or that dispensation, will be of a thousand years’ duration. This will be “the times of refreshing”—“the times of restitution”—“His times”—“the dispensation of the fullness of times”—“the reign of Christ a thousand years,” or His millennial reign on the earth.

“‘Here we might rest the case without offering any further evidence, feeling assured that we have fully proved our position.’”

“J. M. Stephenson, in his work entitled, ‘The Atonement,’ closely followed Mr. Marsh in his comment on this text. On pages 83 and 84, he says:—

“‘With this view we may learn how long a period will be occupied by Jesus Christ in removing all obstacles out of the way of man’s salvation, and bringing back this revolted province into allegiance to the throne of His Father. Read 1 Cor. 15: 23–28: “But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then cometh the end; when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”’”

“‘Here His reign begins with “His coming” and the resurrection of them that are His, and terminates, as independent king, with the destruction of “the last enemy”—death. By Rev. 20: 5, 6, we learn that “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished;” that then “the second death” is to have power over them, and they will be devoured. Verse 9. Then the Son, having reigned until He has put all enemies under His feet, “delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” and becomes subject himself, that the Father “may be all in all;” that is, that the Father may be supreme, and the Son subordinate king under Him. These are “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”’”

“There is no ‘unity of faith’ among the advocates of the age to come; each has a theory of his own. On the last point stated in the objection, they are not agreed among themselves. Some admit that those who have developed their characters as enemies of Christ, will be destroyed at His coming; but they also assert that they will be comparatively few in number. Others deny entirely that His enemies will be destroyed at that time. No objection can be so framed as to meet the minds of all of them while there is so great diversity of views among them.

“Against the views presented in the extracts from Messrs. Marsh and Stephenson, I have several objections to offer, based upon the literal reading of the Scripture in question, and upon others explanatory of it and harmonizing with it. As Elder Marsh draws an argument from it of sufficient weight, in his opinion, to prove his whole theory, and settle the whole question, the reader will bear with us in giving it a careful and thorough examination, even though it be of some length. In noticing the unscriptural positions taken by them, I show that,—

“1. ‘The end’ is an expression used in the New Testament to denote the termination of the day of salvation, or the time of Christ’s coming. In every instance, with only one exception, when it is used without a direct qualification, the context shows that it refers to the end of this age. In the exceptional instance, John 13: 1, the context clearly shows the sense of its use. If the reader wishes to test our assertion, he will please examine Matt. 10: 22; 24: 3, 6, 13, 14; 13: 39, (compare 24: 30, 31); 28: 20; 2 Cor. 1: 13, 14 (compare 1 Thess. 2: 19); Rev. 2: 26. The text in question is so clear in its reference as to leave no room for doubt. ‘Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. THEN COMETH THE END.’ Here is brought to view the coming of Christ, but not one word about the thousand years, nor any other subsequent period. If it does not refer to the coming of Christ, there is nothing in all the context to which it can refer. We are not inclined to grant what is asserted—that it refers to the termination of the one thousand years, as that is the very point in dispute, and if it be true, let them prove it, and not longer rest it on their bare assertion. And this brings us to notice,—”

“2. ‘The end’ is not synchronous with the delivering up of the kingdom. The text reads, ‘Then cometh the end, WHEN HE SHALL HAVE DELIVERED up the kingdom to God.’ By this it appears that the kingdom will be delivered up before the end; and, of course, the end cannot refer to ‘the close of the reign,’ as Mr. Marsh has it. Mr. Stephenson makes it the close of an ‘independent reign,’ which is no better; for it may be the close in one sense as well as another, so far as the question of time is concerned. But it is not the close of the reign in any sense: they are separate events. And he makes the delivering up necessary ‘that the Father may be supreme.’ But when we consider the relation the two thrones sustain to each other, and that Christ receives His own throne by the gift of the Father, the idea is truly absurd that Christ must deliver up to the Father the throne of David, that the Father may be supreme! as it implies that by the gift of the throne of David to Christ, the Father’s throne—the throne of all the universe—lost its supremacy.”

“This idea of an ‘independent reign’ is evidently thrown in to obviate a difficulty into which many have rushed by limiting the reign of Christ on His own throne. Thus, it does not look consistent in Mr. Marsh to talk of ‘the close’ of a reign of which the Scriptures say ‘there shall be no end.’ But the difficulty is not, and cannot be, obviated. Both of those writers agree that He will reign till a certain work shall be accomplished, and that it will be accomplished in one thousand years subsequent to the advent; and as He reigns till a certain point, and then delivers up the kingdom, if their view of the reign be correct, it must also be correct to call it the end of the reign. But the prophet said, ‘Of the increase of His government and peace THERE SHALL BE NO END, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice henceforth even forever.’ Isa. 9: 7. And the angel said: ‘The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.’ Luke 1: 32, 33. Paul, quoting the words of the psalmist, says, ‘Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.’ To evade the force of this testimony, it has been said that the term ‘forever’ applies to limited duration. That it is sometimes so used, we admit, but not in these passages. All must admit that it is sometimes applied to unlimited duration, denoting eternity. And when it is used in a limited sense, there must be something in the connection to show in what sense it is used, otherwise it would be ambiguous or indefinite, and should not then be offered to prove anything. We are warranted in saying it is used in its fullest sense, or unlimited, when referring to that of which it is said, ‘There shall be no end.’ If ‘the end’ and ‘no end’ are used to signify the same thing, the result must be only confusion. It seems very evident that the reign and kingdom which continues till a certain time, and is then delivered up, cannot be that one which does not pass away, is forever, and has no end.”

(Concluded next week.)

“BORN OF WATER AND OF THE SPIRIT.”

W. S. CHAPMAN.

NICODEMUS, a member of the Sanhedrim and ruler in the synagogue, came secretly to Jesus, at night, for instruction in righteousness.

As Jesus presented the spiritual character of the terms of salvation, this learned man, lost in amazement at the marvelous simplicity yet absolute perfection of the requirements, so foreign to his teachings and preconceptions, exclaimed, “How can these things be?”

What things were in his mind?—Why, the fact that “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), or, as the literal Greek is, “born of water and of Spirit.”

How true it is that the natural heart receiveth not the things of God. 1 Cor. 2:14. Jesus had presented a simple statement, from a spiritual standpoint; and this teacher in Israel, learned in all the lore and the traditions of the priests and scribes, a supposedly well-versed student and teacher of the Scriptures, was utterly unable to grasp the meaning of this fundamental principle of justification, sanctification, and redemption. How is it with us to-day? Do we know the meaning of the Saviour’s words?

Man comes into the world in thralldom to the powers of darkness, conceived in iniquity, born in sin (Ps. 51:5), a servant to sin (Eph. 2:2; John 8:34; Rom. 6:16), and lives naturally without hope or God in the world (Eph. 2:12), passing all the days of his life in fear and torment because of death and the judgment to come. Heb. 2:14, 15.

To such a creature God offers the cup of salvation. He tastes the water of life, and it brings to him spiritual sight, enabling him to see sin—himself—(Rom. 8:7), and to realize his forlorn condition. Rom. 7:24. The glory of God, His goodness, overshadows the sinner, and the love of God melts the sin-hardened heart, causing the tears of repentance to flow. Rom. 2:4. The sinner stands convicted of sin, convinced of righteousness (John 16:7-10), and the enlightening power of God, surrounding and overshadowing him, guides him into the path of salvation. Phil. 2:13. He renounces his allegiance to Satan (Rom. 6:6, 7, 14), and becomes a servant of God (1 Cor. 3:9), a new creature, or creation, in Christ Jesus. 2 Cor. 5:17. He is born again (“from above,” John 3:3, margin), for “the new birth consists in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies.”

Jesus told the Jews that if they would accept and exemplify in their lives the teachings He presented, they would be able to comprehend what truth is, and that that knowledge would free them from the bondage of sin (John 8:31, 32; Heb. 2:14, 15); because an intelligent acceptance of truth brings unity with God and Christ (John 17:17, 19, 21), the author of truth. John 17:17; 14:6.

Jesus says that He is “truth” and is “light.” Truth, then, is light; and so a knowledge of truth is necessary to repentance; for one cannot know sin, to repent of it, unless he comprehends truth, or righteousness. The light (righteousness) shining on sin, makes the darkness (sin) apparent, and this is the only way that sin can be made manifest. John 1:4.

“God is the fountain of life, and we can have life only as we are in communion with Him.” “The words of inspiration, pondered in the heart, will be as streams flowing from the fountain of life.” “Fill the whole heart with the words of God. They are the living water, quenching your burning thirst.”

The Religion of Jesus

“TRULY the religion of Jesus abaseth the proud and exalteth the lowly. Kings and beggars must go down into the dust alike, where the blood of the atoning Lamb is streaming.”

When the Lord Comes.

By L. D. Santee

ELDER L. D. SANTEE.

Hearts will be lighter When the Lord comes, Skies will be brighter, In heaven our home. We'll see the old loved faces, Clothed with angelic graces, And sorrow leaves no traces, When the Lord comes.

Friends without number, When the Lord comes, Rise from their slumber, To heaven their home,— Bright eyes and shining tresses, Lips, rich with love's caresses, Fair hands, that our hand presses, When the Lord comes.

Joys will be sweeter When the Lord comes, Rapture complete, In heaven our home. Bright skies of heaven are glowing, And life's pure water's flowing, Fruitage on life's tree growing, When the Lord comes,

Continue reading: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE