Signs of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 22. (5/31/1899)

Signs of the Times

May 31, 1899

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · May 31, 1899

EDUCATION AS FOUND IN EGYPT.

By E. A. Sutherland

AS the thread of silk interwoven in the meshes of our paper currency enables the expert to distinguish the true from the counterfeit money, so throughout the history of the world there has been a system of education of which God was the fountain head. At times this stream of true and living knowledge had dwindled to the merest thread, which the great rushing tide of error seemed to almost wholly conceal. Then again the current would broaden, swollen by some outpouring of truth in the higher sources of the stream, and for a season it would seem that the turbid waters of unbelief, of heathenism, would be forced into narrower channels and the pure waters of Lebanon would sweep through the valleys of civilization, cutting deep, clean channels, carrying to the sea beyond and burying in its depths the accumulated filth of previous ages and giving nature a chance to again put forth leaf and bear the fruit of righteousness.

ON THE NILE. EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS. Egypt's Monuments Are Witnesses of Both Her Ephemeral Greatness, and the Idolatry That Wrought Her Ruin.

Nevertheless, let the river of knowledge be broad or narrow; let it apparently be lost to earth, there was at all times an Eye that never sleeps which guarded the remnant of truth, and an all powerful arm, which, at the opportune moment, would cause circumstances to so adjust themselves that right, which ever bears in its bosom the elements of triumph, would again rear its head in glory above its enemy.

Thus, in tracing the history of education, we are obliged to plunge into deepest shadows, and then emerge gradually into the full blaze of sunlight.

One of the oldest forms of civilization is that found on the banks of the Nile. From this source come principles of education which still sway the world, as enduring, one would say, as the very pyramids near whose rocky bases it had its birth. True, but a time is not far distant when principles older than the pyramids will take the place of those the world now reveres because of their antiquity.

Holding, as we must, that the Bible record of the founding of nations is correct, it was but a few years after the flood, a few years perhaps after the building of the tower of Babel, that some of those inhabitants of the Euphrates valley found themselves in the fertile delta of the Nile. Lovers of ease, determined to supply the calls of nature with the least exertion possible, they devoted their energies to the building of cities and the development of a religion, of all religions the vilest,—that form of which the frog, the bull, and the reptile were fit emblems. Having known the true God at one time, having ever above them in the starry heavens the constant reminder of the Creator of all things, and in the annual rise of their river the clearest assurance of the mercies of the Saviour, they nevertheless worshiped the creature instead of the Creator, and as Paul says, when writing to the Romans, who had acted very much the same, "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." So low had they fallen in the manner of worship that God, when wishing to deliver the Israelites who had lived 400 years in the land, was obliged to meet the Egyptian

ideas of the gods by sending upon the nation all sorts of loathsome insects and animals.

It is often argued that this was the condition of the poorer classes only, and it may be true that the priests had a knowledge far surpassing this degradation, but so much the worse for them if they kept the masses in such a state of ignorance and corruption as these religious ideas engendered.

From such a festering mass of iniquity what system of education would one expect to see developed? And yet it is to this country and to such conditions that the world turns and with pride points out the birthplace of its mental growth. Here, in the Alexandrian schools, mathematics, philosophy, logic, and other branches found their noblest patrons, and the atmosphere, murky with those heathen ideas of the Deity, laden with pestilential vapors of infidelity, was wafted over southern Europe to be furthered by Greece and Italy.

In judging of the value of an educational system one cares not so much for the actual things taught, or left untaught, as to ascertain the character which was developed as a result of the train of thought constantly kept before the mind. Did the soul grasp the higher day-springs of knowledge, or rather was the result debasing? The writer of "Arius the Libyan" puts these words into the mouth of an ancient Egyptian hermit, and one need not read long to feel the truthfulness of the picture. "I, that have mastered all the arts, sciences, and religion of ancient Egypt,—a land that was wrinkled with age centuries before the era of Moses; I, that know both all that the priests of Kem [an Egyptian god] ever taught the people, and also the higher and more recondite forms of ignorance in which the priests themselves believed—I verily know nothing! I can scarcely believe in anything save universal darkness, for which no dayspring cometh, and universal wretchedness, for which there is no cure. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?"

Think of the children born to such an inheritance when a God of light and truth was ready to enlighten them. Moses had been taught in all the learning of the Egyptians, but Israel's God must needs lead him into the wilderness and there teach him with the shepherd's crook, a flock of sheep, and only nature with which to commune, before he was fitted to lead an enslaved nation into the light; before true principles of education could be presented to his mind. It was not that teachers were lacking, it was not that books were not written. Sciences were taught, but taught to lead away from God. Mathematics, in some of its branches, there reached its highest earthly development, but there was in it all no index pointing to the throne of God.

Egypt was the battle-ground, and for centuries the enemy of truth seemed to triumph. Through lack of true knowledge the nation fell, and still those principles of darkness struggled on. Light seemed forever gone, man groped about in utter darkness, but God had said, "Thus far but no further," and the proud waves of iniquity were stayed before the whole world was engulfed.

And yet, while there was a hidden truth not far from the land of Egypt which should one day enlighten the world, it is painful to realize that men and women of to-day hold with such tenacity to ideas and methods which bear upon their face the stamp of Egyptian darkness. While professing to be light, it nevertheless leads to destruction. The Passover is near at hand. Those who will heed the call will be gathered out and sheltered behind the blood-sprinkled portals before the death angel wings its flight over the land. To the world is again offered the opportunity of choosing between the Egyptian darkness and the light of the Eternal One. Let us be satisfied only when we awake in His likeness.

E. A. SUTHERLAND.

REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH.

By Ellen G. White

The days in which we live are eventful and full of peril. The signs of the coming of the end are thickening around us, and events are to come to pass that will be of a more terrible character than any the world has yet witnessed. "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them." But to those who have the light of truth, it has been written, "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." "Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping."

There is great need that our weakening faith should be quickened, and that we should ever keep before the mind the evidences that our Lord is soon coming, that we may ever be found not only waiting, but watching and working. We are not to be found in idle expectancy; for this leads to carelessness of life, and deficiency of character. We are to realize that the judgments of God are about to fall upon the earth, and we should most earnestly present before the people the warning that the Lord has commissioned us to give: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

HIS COMING IN GLORY.

By A. T. Jones

"He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born; He comes not to lie in a manger; He comes not again to be treated with scorn; He comes not a shelterless stranger; He comes not to Gethsemane, To weep and sweat blood in the garden; He comes not to die on the tree, To purchase for rebels a pardon,— O, no; glory Bright glory, environs Him now!"

The glory of Christ is light above the brightness of the sun; for of the New Jerusalem it is written: "The city had no need of the sun, . . . to shine in it; for . . . the Lamb is the light thereof."

But when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, He comes not alone in His own glory, but also in the glory of "all the holy angels." And when of only one angel it is said that "his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow" (Matt. 28:3), what must be the glory of the scene where are all the holy angels resplendent—"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands," "an innumerable company"!

Yet when our Saviour comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, He comes not only in His own glory and in the glory of all the holy angels resplendent—surely that would be "great glory," but that is not all—"O, no; glory"—He comes also "in the glory of His Father." Matt. 16:27. And the glory of His Father is, of course, far above the brightness of the sun; indeed, of the heavenly city, in the same connection as previously quoted, it is said that "the city had no need of the sun . . . to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it."

Therefore it is written that "the Son of man . . . shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26.

What a scene, then, awaits the eyes of those who are watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord,—the glory of all the holy angels, the glory of Christ above that of all the angels, and the glory of His Father also above all—all combined and intermingled in one heaven-covering scene of indescribable splendor!

And what will it be to be there that day! And upon those who are prepared to see it, and to behold it with joy, what can possibly be the effect other than so to ravish them, so to fill them with perfect ecstasy, that they shall be literally translated?

And, wo worth the day! what can possibly be the effect upon those who are not prepared to see it in that day?—Plainly only that which is described,—so all-searching in its power, so all-terrifying in its splendor, that even a mountain to fall upon them to hide it will be a relief.

But to all who are waiting and watching for Him the scene will be as beautiful and joyous as it will be glorious. Not only will His glory cover the heavens because of His majesty, but the earth will be full of His praise, because of His beauty and the joy of all who behold it. Hab. 3:3; 2 Thess. 1:10.

Thus "the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when" this, our glorious "Lord of hosts, shall reign in Mount Zion, and

in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously."

Then, too, and thus in the light of that all-pervading glory, "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever;" yea, "then shall the righteous" even "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43.

So He comes. He comes soon. For "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly."

And let every heart respond, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."—A. T. Jones, in Review and Herald.

THE KING.

By James B. Kenyon

[By James B. Kenyon, Lit.D., in Christian Advocate.]

I journeyed far to see the King; my days I spent in weary quests; by lonely tarns, In populous cities, in the wilderness, Where the gaunt mountains lift their hoary fronts, And where the deserts spread their shifting sands, Wandered my fruitless steps. For I was fain To see Him in His splendor, His august And gracious presence making all the place Of His enthronement radiant with light. His voice, full fraught with power, I deemed should be More sweet than falling waters heard afar, Or the warm night winds whispering in the pines; His luminous eyes beneath His placid brows Starlike should calmly beam on all alike; And from the dais where His feet were set Refreshing streams of influence should flow To drooping lives.

Thus day by day I sought To come where He might be, but evermore The morrow found me still a wayfarer; Till, spent and gray, I turned my hopeless feet Down the small street where stood my empty home, And there I found Him waiting at my door. Not clothed in purple, but in raiment stained And travel-worn; His feet were bare; His head Was meekly bowed, and on His wasted cheek Were traces as of tears. Within His hands He held no scepter, but a palmer's staff; Yet, as I looked, I knew He was the King, For round His brow was girt a crown of thorns.

Syracuse, N. Y.

WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD.

By Irving E. Baker

It is a pleasant thought that we may know God, and walk by His side, and become intimately acquainted with Him and His wonderful works; and better still is the realization. Yet when we experience this we find that He has still more for us to accomplish—a work so honorable that we would not dare to even think we could do it if He had not told us so.

We are apt to think, I would like to do something for the Lord, not realizing that it is our blessed privilege to work with Him.

We think we must "work out" our "own salvation," not realizing that "it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good-pleasure." Phil. 2:12, 13. To make this plainer let us read 1 Cor. 3:9, "For we are laborers together with God." He honors us by keeping us company, and also lets us work with Him. He not only gives us the opportunity, and the strength to work with, but teaches us how and directs every step. So we go forward "as workers together with Him" (2 Cor. 6:1), having a part in His work and sharing His labors.

We might illustrate how God works with us by a master workman, working with a steam-engine. As we see the amount of labor performed by the engine, we are apt to give it the credit for doing so much. But the engine by itself is but a mass of "dead metal," no better than any other piece of iron. It is the steam directed by the Master's hand that keeps it in motion; but before he can safely supply the steam, he must open the escape valves and let out the cold water, so that the steam can pass through. Then he turns on the power by opening the steam valve, and the machine begins to move, slowly at first, but increasing in speed and power as it is supplied with steam; and it keeps in motion as long as the power is supplied, and it is well cared for.

So it is with us; before God can use us we must be emptied of self, our perverted human nature. Then the Spirit of God can come in and work through us. But the evil must be cast out before He can fill us or accomplish anything by our efforts.

Now when the engine is started, it is connected with other machinery and spends its power in keeping it in motion, and doing a great amount of useful work. So with us; when the Spirit of God fills us, it is not to be used for ourselves alone, but through us it reaches out and connects with others, doing them good.

Shall we then say, See what great things I have done?

Christ says, "Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5); and, altho the work is committed to human hands, God constantly supplies the power. And not only that but He made the instrument which uses the power.

Who, then, has a better right or understanding as to the use of it than the great Master Workman?

So, then, to work with Him we must be passive in His hands to receive the power, but active through His Spirit to do the work.

Some engines have a greater capacity than others, but the same steam will run each engine to the full measure of capacity, whether great or small. But the one horse-power engine constantly at work will accomplish vastly more than the largest size separated from its source of power.

Let us then work to the full measure of our capacity, ever receiving of the Spirit of God, and ever giving it out in doing good to others.

"O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men." Ps. 107:8.

IRVING E. BAKER.

Bastrop, La.

"VOX POPULI VOX DEI."

By W. N. Glenn

THIS is one of the popular slogans especially prominent in the United States. It means, "The voice of the people is the voice of God." It would be true if the people could by faith utter what the voice of God has spoken; but nothing is the voice of God merely because of the people's having spoken it. God's voice utters His own thoughts, and His thoughts are as high above the people's thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth (Isa. 55:9).

The Bible gives a number of instances where it is manifest that the voice of God's own chosen people was not His voice. When the Israelites were pursued by Pharaoh's army, and were hemmed in between the mountain and the sea, they complained to Moses, saying, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." Ex. 14:11, 12. Was this the voice of God? Note His reply: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." Verse 15.

The voice of God spoke the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, and called Moses up into the mountain to give him special instructions. Among these was emphasized the second commandment, in the injunction, "Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold." But while Moses was yet in the mount with God, the people became impatient of His delay, and they said to Aaron, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us." Then Aaron made them a golden calf, a regular Egyptian idol, and they (the people) said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." This was "vox populi"; was it "vox Dei"?

When the Israelites had come to the borders of Canaan, twelve men were sent over to spy out the land. On their return to the camp ten of them reported that it would be impossible for them to take possession; but Caleb and Joshua said that they were able to take it. The people indorsed the report of the majority and said, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." They also took up stones to stone Caleb and Joshua. This was vox populi, but not vox Dei. God's voice said: "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against Me. . . . Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against Me, doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun." (See Numbers 14.)

When the people heard what was to be the consequence of their rebellion, they changed their minds and determined to attempt the conquest of Canaan. But Moses warned them that they could not succeed against the decree of the Lord, and assured them that they would be smitten before their enemies. "But they presumed to go up unto the hill top; . . . then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them."

Further along in the history of this typical people, we learn that they conceived the idea of having a king. They became dissatisfied with their government by judges, and said to Samuel, "Make us a king to judge us like all the nations." The Lord told Samuel to "protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king" that should reign over them. He said, "They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me." But "the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel [which was "vox Dei"]; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us." So the Lord let them have their way (see 1 Samuel 8), but He did it in His anger (Hosea 13:11).

However, the most striking illustration of the voice of the people being against the voice of God, was the scene before Pilate's judgment seat. The governor brought before the multitude Jesus and Barabbas—the latter having been convicted of sedition and murder—and asked which of the two they would have released, according to the custom at this annual feast. "And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas. . . . Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath He done? I have found no cause of death in Him; I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them ["vox populi"] and of the chief priests prevailed."

It would hardly do to close this list of citations without adding one in the time after Christ. After the killing of James, and the miraculous deliverance of Peter from prison, Herod the king went down to Cæsarea to live. At a popular gathering "upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man." But how did God regard this sentiment of "vox populi"?

The record answers: "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." Acts 12:21-23.

These, and many other scriptures and historical records, show conclusively that as to the popular cry, "Vox populi vox Dei," the exceptions are far more conspicuous than the rule. The voice of the people can be the voice of God only when they utter that which they have first learned from His Word.

"UNTO THE DAY."

By Bessie Johnson-Bellman

I ASK not, Lord, that life shall give to me All peace, and quiet sheltering from storm; I would not rob my soul's experience By asking that the sun shine ever warm. I only pray, my Lord, whate'er befall, "Give Thou me grace to triumph o'er it all."

Come storm, come shine, let my life ordered be In each degree as seemeth to Thee best. I know that every day is destiny; My soul's assurance folds its wings in rest. Whatever comes, I only ask of Thee: Unto the day, my strength sufficient be. BESSIE JOHNSON-BELLMAN. Howard, Kansas.

TWO FORCES.

By F. D. Starr

YE can not serve God and mammon." Matt. 6:24. "God is love." Mammon is riches. Two very different powers impel men to action in this world. One is the power of love, the other is the power of money. The very same act may sometimes be performed by either one of these motives, so that it may be hard to tell which of these two induced the person to act. Sometimes it may be difficult to get any one to assist us from either motive, and then we say, "I could not get any one to do it for love or money." But while the operation and the effect produced may be about alike in either case, yet the motive, the thing that God takes into consideration, may be as different from the other as day is from night.

A man desires to go to the neighboring town. Various powers may take him there, and it remains for him to make the choice among the many. He may go by steam on the railway, or he may go by the street-car line and be impelled by electricity, or he may ride in a carriage and be drawn by horse-power. If he prefers, he may go independently of all these and furnish his own locomotion by going on foot or on a bicycle. Anyway, he gets there just the same, and it would not seem to make so much difference how he gets there. But in our conduct in morals and our dealing with our fellow-men, the motive, the impelling power, is the important factor to be taken into consideration.

The minister who regularly enters the pulpit to preach the Gospel, is supposed, of course, to be moved by no other power than that of love. But is it not possible that the salary may have more to do in this matter than one would think?

Sometimes sailing craft on the ocean put in an auxiliary power of steam or something else, to be used when the wind is too low to drive the ship, so that if the sails are not sufficient to move the vessel along the auxiliary power may be.

Would not something of that kind be a good thing for the Gospel worker, so that if the love for souls were not quite sufficient to keep him at work, the love for dollars might accomplish the purpose? Right here comes in so pointedly the admonition of our Lord, "Ye can not serve God and mammon." The auxiliary power of the desire for reward and sustenance for the hungry mouths at home, gradually becomes the main power, the sole power even, and, without knowing it, the worker has changed motives as well as masters.

Men serve a visible god, and that god is wealth, the money power. To serve the true object of worship, the invisible God, whose power and nature are love, requires a mighty transformation of mind. Money has its place. The Lord created money. "A just weight and balance are the Lord's; all the weights of the bag are His work." Prov. 16:11. Money is to be the servant whose use and disposal are to be directed entirely by love, which is to be the master.

Nothing can afford a better opportunity for the manifestation of love than the investing of money in the cause of God and philanthropy. Mark, the opportunity is afforded the giver to thus manifest his love, and, hence, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." The worker in the cause of Christ manifests his love in devoting himself unselfishly to its advancement. Of course he needs support, but he is not to work for that support. It is arranged for the one who desires to share his labor of love, to manifest his love by furnishing the other with the necessaries of life.

Sometimes those who work from the pure principle of love, are accused of serving God for riches. It was so with Moses and with Job. We may often mistake the motive, but God knows it. When mammon is master, all love's operations must be restricted, as was the case with those who wished to prevent the costly gift of Mary to her Lord. Loving deeds may not be performed if they cost too much. This "waste" can not be tolerated. Often upon the settlement of an estate the heirs of the deceased become forever alienated from each other. Before they seemed perfectly united, but now there is a lifelong division, not only of the property but also of the family. What was the rule by which their decisions were reached, love or money? "Ye can not serve God and mammon." F. D. STARR.

A TESTIMONY OF HEALING.

By Henrietta Reams

CHRIST'S special warning command to His church is, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits. . . . Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God." And never in the history of the Christian era has this charge been so significant as now.

Speaking of the last days, Christ says: "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them." Luke 21:8. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matt. 24:24, 25.

The same warning was given by the Spirit to Timothy concerning the great deceptions of the last days: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." 1 Tim. 4:1, 2.

Are not these warnings sufficient to cause every one of us to "take heed"? Never has a time been known since the days of the apostles, when so many and so great signs and wonders have been done in the name of Christ as are being done now. And many people are saying, as was said of Simon the sorcerer, "This man is the great power of God;" and thousands, yes millions, are going after them.

But "be not ye deceived." The world must have a sign before it will believe God; but God requires that His children shall believe His Word without a sign. Said the Lord, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." God will not give a sign to convince the unbelieving heart of His rightful authority and power; but He does give the faithful heart abundant manifestations of His saving love and power.

What is the test, then, that we may know the Shepherd's voice, and not be decoyed by any counterfeit call of the "stranger"? Here it is, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God."

It matters little what they profess; unless they confess the efficacy of Christ's incarnation and sacrifice to save you and me, they are not of God. Unless we confess that Christ is come in our flesh to save us from the powers of evil, and to work out in our flesh His own righteous life (Rom. 3:22; 8:3, 4); unless they acknowledge the mystery of godliness—"Christ in you, the hope of glory"—they can not be of Christ, tho they confess His name in hypocrisy to deceive those who are not thoroughly grounded in the truth. We dare not believe any doctrine that is not fully substantiated by the Word, tho a prophet should declare it. Note Paul's charge in the first of Galatians: "Tho we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." And John says, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [the doctrine of Christ], receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed."

High standing, social prestige, popular success, and a large following, are no signal of a true shepherd or a faithful watchman. Prophecies, gifts of healing, miracles—none of these are tests of true discipleship or apostleship. Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Kings 13 (notice verses 11 and 18); 1 Cor. 13:1-3; Rev. 13:13, 14; 16:13, 14.

I know of no more forcible proof of the faithfulness of these warnings than a temptation that I experienced concerning the power of a certain healer, now of Chicago, and I will give it for the benefit of those that may be similarly tried.

When my baby was quite small, he was afflicted with an incurable eczema, and was in such torment that he required almost constant care night and day. At this time a paper, published in the interests of faith-healing, came in my way, and my sister and I read with great interest the testimonies of those who had been wonderfully healed. My heart began to throb with a great hope that baby also might be healed; for surely this was the power of God come down among men. While I was trembling, on the verge of believing, a warning voice in my soul said, "Take heed; prove the doctrine." My sister corresponded with the healer, and was actually healed of a life-long infirmity. This added certainty to the written testimonies; but in reading the published sermons of this healer, I discerned the vital errors of Spiritualism, Universalism, and the Church-and-State doctrine. I have the extracts from these sermons, volume and page. These, together with the sarcasm and ridicule with which he attacked all his enemies, convinced me that the Spirit of God was not the source of either his power or his doctrine, and I determined that I would never ask for help or healing at his hands.

As if to put me to the proof, my baby was stricken in a most unaccountable manner in lungs, kidneys, and bowels. All the springs of his little life seemed to be stopped, while his breath came in panting gasps. The usual remedies seemed to have no effect to relieve him. He was smitten with death, and his wailing cry seemed to wring my heart with an agony of temptation.

The tempter walked beside me, urging me to accept the certainty, taunting me with my inconsistency and unbelief, and bringing to my heart strange misgivings, lest I might have committed the unpardonable sin in thus ascribing to the wicked one the seeming power of God as shown in the mighty deeds of this man.

If the shame and humiliation that the tempter heaped on me in that hour could have been voiced in words, they would have been on this wise: "You, a professing Christian, and claiming such a great faith, are afraid to ask your God to save your child; and yet this, as you believe, agent of the devil—tho perhaps unconsciously—would heal him freely in a moment if you would ask him. Is the devil more willing to heal than your kind and beneficent Lord?" My heart cried out, "No," but I was not able to lift up my heart to claim the sure promise of God. While temporal aid seemed near and sure, a sense of distance and darkness seemed to shut out my heavenly Father from me. I did not then realize the source of this. But tho my heart was bleeding for my dying little one, I resolved that I would see him perish, yes, and I would perish too, before I would apply to the enemy for his physical restoration.

Then God gave me the faith. I resolved to place my stricken lamb in the arms of Jesus; and, calling all the family to prayer, we kneeled down. I had not had time to frame three words of my petition, when the baby gave a cry, as if he had received a mortal hurt, and began to sob in a heart-breaking way. At that cry we all sprang to our feet to comfort him, and I soon realized that he was crying in a natural voice, and in his own natural way. He was healed from that moment, and played all the afternoon, while I praised God from a full heart. He was not at that time fully healed of the eczema, but I besought the Lord until he was. Since that time I have never felt prompted to ask for healing for small ailments, but have always administered the simple, healing remedies that the Lord has provided. But if I ever get in those sore straits again, I know my Helper and Healer.

Dear reader of the SIGNS, whoever you are, be prepared for the "wrath of the dragon," if you refuse, in the light of God's Word, to be deceived or led into any compromise with the enemy of your soul. All the powers of hell will be hurled against you to wrest you from your sure hold upon the Rock of your salvation; but Jesus has commanded us, "Fear not them which kill the body, . . . but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell;" and in His conquering name you may always be a victor.

HENRIETTA REAMS.

MERCY'S CALL.

By Mrs. E. R. Colburn

Say, why do you linger? O, why do you wait? Mercy's door is now open. Come ere it's too late; For the sweet voice of Mercy will soon cease to plead; Then come, I implore; to the warning give heed.

The night is soon coming; the day is far spent. O, come, I entreat you! Repent, O, repent! Then turn to the Saviour, and pardon receive, And He'll accept you, if you'll only believe. Mrs. E. R. Colburn.

Continue reading: THE FLEETING MOMENTS