Earlier text: God's Wonderful Offer to ManNotes on Important Eras of Fulfilling Prophecy
By W. A. S.
The Hand of God in History — No. 28
Notes on Important Eras of Fulfilling Prophecy
“Then Shall the End Come”
In the vision of the closing gospel work, the prophet saw the message of Rev. 14: 6-12 carried swiftly during the judgment hour to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people;” and then he beheld the white cloud, with the Son of man coming to reap the harvest of the earth. When the last gospel message of warning and invitation has been carried to all nations, Christ will come. The prophecy pointed to a time when all nations and tongues were to be brought within hearing of the gospel message. A generation ago comparatively little was known of the vast interiors of Africa, Asia, and South America. Rear-Admiral Wharton, of the British navy, says:— I hear people complain that Africa goes slow. When I look at what has been effected in my own lifetime, it appears to me that on the contrary it has been rushed. The maps that I learned from as a boy showed the whole interior as a blank. There are now no parts that are not more or less known. Railways are running over regions unknown forty years ago.—London Geographical Journal, October, 1905. The following from Mill’s “International Geography” shows how organized and systematic geographical work has been timed to fit into the great plan of world-evangelization in this generation:— The first [geographical society] was founded at Paris in 1821, the second at Berlin in 1828, and the third, which is now the largest and most influential, at London in 1830. There were in 1896 no less than 83 active geographical societies in Europe, 6 in Asia, 6 in North America, 4 in South America, 4 in Africa, and 4 in Australia; 107 altogether, with a total membership of 50,000 persons. There are also at least 153 different geographical journals or magazines published regularly in all parts of the world. It may safely be said that this argues a more wide-spread interest in geography than exists in any other science. These are some of the forces that have been working to leave not a corner of the world unknown in our generation, nor a tongue beyond our knowledge. Why have vast regions hitherto unknown and uncharted been opened up in our day?—Surely because with the coming of the hour of God’s judgment, in 1844, came the time of the prophecy when the message of the “everlasting gospel” was to be carried to every tribe and people; and no longer was any part of the world to be barred of access or left in obscurity. In 1842 the first four treaty ports of China were opened, with privilege of residential missionary occupation. In the history of African missions the years from 1841 to 1860 are set down as the years of extension into the interior. It was in 1844 that Krapf landed at Mombasa, and from the grave of his wife sent the message to Europe:— This is a sign that you have commenced the struggle; the hour is at hand when you are summoned to the conversion of Africa from its eastern shore.—“Africa Waiting,” page 73. “Livingstone’s overmastering thought began to grow upon him in 1845,” says the book just quoted. “We find him saying: ‘Who will penetrate through Africa?’” And ere long, moved by an impelling power, he turned his face northward, to be the greatest single factor under Providence in opening the Dark Continent. It was in 1844 that Allen Gardiner established the Patagonian, or South American, Missionary Society, which first began to arouse Christendom to the needs of the Neglected Continent. In 1843 a youth was publicly executed in Constantinople for turning from Mohammedanism. Next year the Sublime Porte engaged to take effectual measures to prevent such persecution, and the door to the Moslem peoples was officially open. “The year 1844 is memorable in Turkey and among the Mohammedans,” says Dr. Barton, “for this record of concessions in the interests of religious liberty in Turkey.”—“Daybreak in Turkey,” page 251. One position after another was occupied by the missionary advance. Dr. A. T. Pierson wrote of conditions in the period just before these times, and of the days of falling barriers that followed after:— Most countries shut out Christian missions by organized opposition, so that to attempt to bear the good tidings was simply to dare death for Christ’s sake; the only welcome awaiting God’s messengers was that of cannibal ovens, merciless prisons, or martyr graves. But, as the little band advanced, on every hand the walls of Jericho fell, and the iron gates opened of their own accord. India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey, Africa, Mexico, South America, the Papal States, and Korea were successively and successfully entered. Within five years, from 1853 to 1858, new facilities were given to the entrance and occupation of seven different countries, together embracing half the world’s population.—“Modern Mission Century,” page 25. There are few blank spaces on the map to-day. Practically all lands and all peoples are spread open to view. At an International Geographical Congress in New York City, Sir John Murray introduced the following resolution:— The Eighth International Geographical Congress, realizing that the only untouched fields for geographical discovery are the regions immediately surrounding the poles of the earth, desires to place on record its sense of the importance of forthwith completing the systematic exploration of the polar areas. It is as if the angel of Revelation 14 were now pointing to literally “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” all placed within reach in this generation, for the first time since the human family was spread abroad over the face of the earth. Away beyond the feet of the missionary the highways are still being prepared for a quick work. As an illustration of changes in hitherto little-known regions of Africa take the following statements regarding the French territory:— Nothing, indeed, shows more graphically the civilizing work done by the French in these almost unknown lands than the means of communication; there12being in operation to-day in French Africa 6,000 miles of railway, 25,000 miles of telegraph, and 10,000 miles of telephone. Think of being able to buy a round-trip ticket from Paris to Timbuktu; of sending Christmas or New-year’s greetings to your family by telegraph from the middle of the Sahara; or of sitting in the American consulate at Tamatave [Madagascar] and chatting with a friend at Antananarivo, three hundred miles way. And, as a final touch, they have erected a wireless installation at Fez [Morocco], by means of which his Shereefian Majesty dash-dotted his respects to the president of the republic at Paris.—E. O. Powell, Outlook, Oct. 28, 1911. Along with the opening up of all countries, the Spirit of God is manifestly preparing the hearts of the peoples for this time of the final witnessing. All missionaries bear witness to changing conditions within very recent years that make for the hastening forward of world evangelization. Secretary Paton of the American Board said a few years ago:— Within five years the missionary situation of the world has been so transformed as to be hardly recognizable by those who studied the problem in the previous period. There has been nothing like this in history since the preparation of the Roman empire for the advent of Christ. We are in a new fulness of time. And the great World’s Missionary Congress, held in Edinburgh, in 1910, declared its united conviction in a message addressed to all Christendom:— The next ten years will, in all probability, constitute the turning-point in human history, and may be of more critical importance in determining the spiritual evolution of mankind than many centuries of ordinary experience. We have entered the time of crisis in the history of the world and of the work of God in the earth. The special gospel message for the hour is the message of reformation and preparation for the coming of the Lord—the advent message recorded in Revelation 14. That is “the everlasting gospel” for the time just preceding the second advent of Christ. Every one who reads the chapter must see that this is so. Inspiration plainly says it. Wherever the light of God’s Word is being spread, the way is being directly prepared for this last message. Every Bible that is read is teaching the coming of the Lord, and the “commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” We frequently hear of persons in various lands who have been convinced as to the Sabbath and advent truths by their own reading of the Bible, guided by the Holy Spirit, with no knowledge that a people are gathering in all the earth who are proclaiming these truths. Every year thousands of new voices take up the cry of the message. All the work of the century of missions has been preparing the world for this last gospel witness and warning. And now, as Jesus said, in giving the signs both of the destruction of Jerusalem, in that day, and of the end of the world at his second coming:— “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24: 14. Through the long ages since man fell and lost Eden, time has been waiting for this glad day. Through all the centuries the Lord has revealed himself as the living God, able to save to the uttermost. All the lines of consecutive prophecy have been bearing witness through the ages to the hand of the living God in human history; and with one accord they now point to this time in which we live as the world’s crisis. “He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Rom. 9: 28. God’s purpose is at last to be fulfilled. Christ is to take the kingdom. While the nations are arming for the final Armageddon, the last message of the “everlasting gospel” is speeding to the world. By his Spirit, the living God is able to speak to every heart on earth. Only the Lord can tell when the witness has truly been borne to “all nations;” and “then shall the end come.” Christ will appear in glory, consuming sin and sinners and bringing salvation to those who have put their trust in him. “Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” “Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24: 32-35. (The end of this series of articles) DISCUSSING in the North American Review for October some of the dangers now threatening the American state, Senator Miles Poindexter speaks as follows of the course of empire westward, and the hope of the future, in the world's civilization:— The great central feature of our national growth has been the westward movement. It has molded our national character, and largely affected our laws and institutions. But within the lifetime of men now living the West has been settled, and now there is no more West in the sense we have known it. The public land is largely occupied. The frontier is gone, and great cities stand guard at the gates of the Pacific. Beyond that there is no more West, but the East. We are not only at the end of the continent, but at the end of the world. There never will be again for the human race the opportunities we have had, and perhaps still have. There never will be again the responsibilities that rest upon us. “That work,” said Cicero, “in which mankind approaches nearest to the divinity of the gods is in founding new states or in preserving those which are already founded.” The hope of the world is centered here. We are now in these issues that have slowly been taking form in the heritage of time, and that at this hour have reached an acute and critical stage,—to determine the course of civilization. “The star of hope shone brightest in the
West,
The hope of liberty, the last, the best;
Alas, that, too, has sunk upon her darkened shore,
And hope and freedom light up earth no
more.” THE Scriptures of Truth indicate that in the last days there will go to all the world a message of reform regarding the Sabbath of Jehovah, and that in the hearts and observance of many this institution will be exalted to its rightful place. On the other hand, the Scriptures plainly indicate that there will also be a world-wide agitation of the claims of the counterfeit sabbath. These two great movements are going forward to-day, and, by many the impetus which they are attaining is but faintly realized. In almost every nation under heaven the message of truth setting forth the claims of the Sabbath of the Lord has been proclaimed, and following closely upon this movement has been a counter-agitation for better Sunday observance and for the enforcement of this institution by law. All classes are appealed to. At the present time there is quite an agitation in England, particularly among the theater and music-hall promoters. The Era, a dramatic journal, has obtained the votes of all the actors and actresses in Great Britain on the question of Sunday closing. Of 2,834 theaters and music halls, 2,265 favored Sunday closing. As in the days of Constantine, these places of amusement are regarded as competitors of the church; and the clergy to-day, as in the fourth century, are the most active in their efforts to bring about Sunday closing, in the hope that church attendance may be increased thereby. “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.” Mantandane Mission, British Central Africa
By S. M. KONIGMACHER
On our return to Mantandane, we found many things needing attention, for the place had been without any white person for several months. The station school had to be started, as well as eleven others in the villages. This was made perplexing by some of our teachers not returning, and we had to supply others. In two cases where the schools were close together, we had one teacher teach both. This plan lessens our expense, and we were also able to start all the schools. Some schoolhouses had to be rebuilt, as they had fallen down. The weather and white ants are very hard on these grass houses, the best usually lasting only four years. Then these schools all had to be visited, the pupils examined, and the teachers advised and strengthened in their work. I used the lantern at six places, to arouse new interest in the school. Then we had to write out Bible outlines for the teachers to follow in their daily Bible lessons and in memorizing Scripture. At one village the hill where the schoolhouse stood was literally in the clouds; and in the morning when I awoke, I found a heavy mist and rain, and a very cold, dreary spot. I went to the teacher’s house at the edge of the village, and found the school assembled in his house, twenty children in a room ten by ten feet. I spoke to them, and asked if they would not help me (without pay) to move the church nearer, where it would be warmer and more convenient. Then I went to the chief, and asked him if he would allow the children to help, and if I might put the church in the village. He at first refused, but afterward consented for me to put it just at the edge, and for the children to help move it. When I returned and told them at the school that the chief said they might help, they all consented; and the next week I went up into the mountain with six men, and we all together moved the school and rebuilt it in about six hours. The teacher tells me forty attend now. We are also trying to open another school near by for those who can not come to Jim’s school at Mpasudala. On my way home we went over to see the head man, and found the people casting lots, which the natives call kwombezaula. They resort to it for everything, and are completely enslaved to this crude trickery. In olden days that terrible, death-dealing rite, the poison drinking, would be ordered by the chief as a result of the lots. The natives are not allowed to do this now, but it is done in secret somewhat. The poison drink (mwaboi) is called for by the chief if he thinks some are guilty of witchcraft. They all drink this poison, and those who die are guilty, while those who live are innocent. The lots consist of a small gourd cup, with a wax finger in the bowl, and a rattle to call the spirits. If the manipulator causes the wax finger to fall so it points to his middle finger, there is witchcraft; if to the little finger, the spirit in question is that of a departed female wishing something; if to the thumb, the spirit of a man; if the wax finger points to the heel of the hand, the sick one will die; or if it stands upright in the cup, the sick one will live. If a child is sick, at once they go to cast the lots; if they appease the departed spirit, the child will live. If the witch-doctor has some reason for it, he will manipulate the thing so there will be a big poison drink. It seems impossible that such simple trickery should hold people with such power. We also took a three weeks’ trip through Portuguese Angoniland, to look for a favorable site to start work in that needy field. We were glad to welcome Elder R. C. Porter again, and receive his good suggestions for the extension of the work. We were also glad to meet the new workers, for surely the work is great and the laborers are few. One of the most encouraging evidences of God’s being with us to finish the work in his own way and at his own time, was the burying in baptism by Elder Porter of seventeen precious individuals, gathered out from darkness by one boy, Peter Bismarck. This boy has been laboring for two years at his own home under persecution, without any financial support from the mission, teaching and leading his friends and brethren into the way of truth. He was not allowed to build a church, so he had the people come into his own house. When Brother Robinson and I were up-country, we examined some, and found them intelligent on points of faith and eager to be baptized. It was decided best for them to go to the mission early and receive added instruction till Elder Porter should come. There was also another rather interesting experience. I had reasons to believe my teacher was catering to the desires of the people instead of boldly proclaiming the truth, when it went against some of their old cherished customs. So I sent another teacher over to take his place. This teacher was teaching two schools, and soon I had a delegation from both villages asking that I give them back their old teacher and take away the new one. They said the new one was cruel and cross, and that they all loved the old one and would all come to school if he came back. I said I would see, and went over the next day. I found the children were doing much better work in school and were much more orderly. I talked to my teacher, and found, as I had expected, that they did not care for the gospel and discipline. This week we celebrated our fourth year in this country, and now start upon our fifth. God is very good to us. Pray for us. I am so thankful for a place in his work. The last census, taken in 1911, shows there are over six million inhabitants in Portugal and its islands. We have four workers. This year our membership was increased to forty-five. Eighteen were baptized and four were admitted by vote. We expect to see others enter by the end of the year. The work at Lisbon, under the charge of Brother Paul Meyer, has had interesting results. Last year we heard of some persons who were keeping a sabbath on each quarter of the moon's phases. Not long after, Brother and Sister Meyer received an invitation to go and visit these persons. They did so, and were well treated; but one man could not be moved from his position. However, other persons there were impressed that we have the truth. The way soon opened to give Bible studies in their home, and one person began keeping the Sabbath. At the end of the year, Brother Meyer began meetings in a new hall, not far from the home of this interested family; and they invited their friends and the members of their church to come and hear, and to study in their home. The family consisted of an old gentleman and his wife and their son and daughter-in-law. The father was treasurer of the church, being one of the oldest members; and the son was deacon, and worked in a factory where war material is made. Many of their friends did all they could to prevent the spread of this so-called heresy, but in vain. Some men even threatened to assault Brother Meyer, but these also saw their error and surrendered. Their weapons were laid down, and quite a number began to ask for baptism. Several became interested, and in the month of June fifteen were baptized. One old lady wept because she could not be baptized at this time. Before the day chosen for the baptism, in order to avoid any conflict with the authorities, I made application for a license to hold a public meeting on the beach, first to the civil governor, who sent me to an administrator of a certain ward. At this place he and his secretary asked me questions and read to me an article in the law of the separation of14church and state, prohibiting public worship in places where it was not the custom of the majority of the inhabitants of the place. Some of the questions asked were: “Do you use a habit, or certain garb?” “Do you go in procession?” “Do you have prayers?” “If so, do you kneel or stand?” “Why don't you baptize these persons in some house?” I explained the matter as best I could, so the administrator said:— “Now, I can not give you a license, but you go ahead anyway. Don't go all together; go in groups of four or five; stand during your prayers, in order to avoid attracting attention, and people will think it is merely a sort of bath you are taking. You did well in informing me about the matter. If any one complains, simply drop things, and I am here to help you, if needed.” I thanked him for his kindness, and we had the baptism, utilizing the bathhouses on the beach for the changing of clothing. Some thirty or more persons were present. In Porto, three persons were baptized in a small stream just outside the city. Upon our return from camp-meeting we organized a church in Lisbon, with twenty-nine members, and ordained the elder and deacon on Sabbath, August 31. At our Latin Union Conference gathering a mission committee was chosen, and we had our first meeting soon after returning home. We hope and pray that God may help us find many more honest souls. Abyssinia
By ANOL GRUNDSET
Another school year is now past, and the boys have departed to their homes and villages. This school year has indeed been intermingled with trials, but this, as coworkers with Christ, we must only expect. We are very glad for the part we have had in giving the natives God’s word and pointing them to Jesus, who longs to save them from their sins and superstitions, and prepare them for his coming. Last Sunday was spent by the boys as follows: While in the forenoon a special dinner was being prepared for them, they washed their clothing and got themselves ready to depart the following morning. After partaking of a hearty dinner, prepared according to Abyssinian taste and manner, they were entertained at our home in the afternoon by being shown many things of peculiar interest to them. Maps and pictures from America, Europe, other parts of Africa, etc., opened before them a view of the wide world of which their Abyssinia is only a small part. We told them how the gospel message of Jesus’ soon coming is being preached in these various countries. Groups of colored Sabbath-keepers in the United States, at Oakwood school and elsewhere, interested them very much. Later they were served with light refreshments. Pop-corn constituted a part, which to them was a real wonder. The lesson drawn was that if we allow Jesus to be enthroned within us, our lives and characters will unfold in a similar whiteness. In the evening the writer gave them a stereopticon talk, first showing them selected scenes of their own country and people, and closing with a series of colored slides on the life of Christ, intermingled with appropriate songs in the native tongue, thrown on the screen and sung between the scenes. The sufferings of Christ, his agonies in Gethsemane, that we may gain eternal life, touched their hearts deeply; eyes were moistened and expressions of sympathy heard. We can only pray that the lesson may be long remembered, and that the vivid views may have made lasting impressions upon their minds of God’s great Gift to us all. After singing the native song “Shall we meet beyond the river,” and the benediction, we separated for the night, feeling it had been a day well spent. On Monday morning we met for our farewell worship. After singing “There Is a Fountain,” John 17 was read. Among other remarks, the boys were especially requested to remember the third verse: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” We then had a season of prayer, in which several took part, the prayers of the older boys being very impressive as they asked, “Jesus, be with us all now as we separate.” “Send us thy Holy Spirit.” “Help us that we so live that we meet in the New Jerusalem,” etc. As the boys had been presented with copies of the New Testament in Tigre and Amharic, they were in parting admonished to read daily in these, and to pray daily during the vacation months that they might return for the next school year, bringing others with them. Now we can only leave these with God, believing his promise that “as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Java, Dutch East Indies
By G. F. JONES
AFTER organizing Java’s first church, in the city of Batavia, I proceeded to east Java, where the work was begun about seven years ago in the city of Surabaya; but as the health of the workers could not endure this unhealthful climate and several were obliged to return to Australia, the work there did not take root, and there was nothing established. This condition of things made it necessary for the Australasian Union Conference to buy some mountain property for a rest home for the workers of Java, who have been spending their time there more or less ever since, and working the Javanese villages all around them. Since the Javanese are Mohammedans, very little headway can be made among them; but there have been small results which I believe will be the entering wedge of a great work among the many millions of Javanese. It has been slow and trying; nevertheless, seed has been sown, and some fruit has at last appeared. I had the pleasure of baptizing the first two Javanese, one of whom is a young man of promise, who is now working with Brother and Sister G. A. Wood in the city of Surabaya. Our workers there who have stood by the work in this difficult field for years rejoice in this rift in the clouds. As surely as China and Korea have awakened to a desire for advanced knowledge through conditions which have been pressed upon them, so the oppressed millions of Java see that their day is soon coming when they will throw off the chafing yoke that binds them in ignorance and political bondage. Sister P. Tunheim and Brother and Sister Wood are our pioneer workers among the Javanese, and know their difficult language. Their loving patience and gentleness with them have gained the confidence of the villagers among whom they have labored so long. In Surabaya I organized a church of nine members. It seemed like the dawn of a new day to have our work established even in so small a degree in that difficult city, after seven years of apparent defeats and disappointments. Satan hates any organized movement of our message. Since the organization of this little church, our consecrated workers in Surabaya have taken courage anew. They already see progress, and report a new interest. Those who are working in Mohammedan Java certainly need our prayers. We should not make the most of our cares, and the least of our enjoyments; for the latter, if less frequent, certainly ought to make a happy impression, and soothe even by their memory the sterner hours of life.—Selected. “A SINGLE sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some obscure corner of our consciousness,—a sin that we do not intend to renounce,—is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of action not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and loving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,—any of these are impassable obstacles. If we know of a kind act that we might perform but do not intend to, if we are aware that our moral health requires the abandonment of some pleasure that we do not intend to abandon, here is cause enough for the loss of all spiritual power.”. Christmas and New-Year's Gifts
By CHAS. P. WHITFORD
At this season of the year it has become a common custom to present some little token of remembrance to friends and loved ones. This custom of giving has grown in volume, until to many persons it has ceased to be a pleasure and has become a burden. The man with whom times are hard has his misfortunes brought close to his heart by the fact that his family must feel them as well as himself. He desires to purchase for his wife and children some of the necessary things of life, and he has not the means to do even that, and consequently their happiness is marred. There are many who spend money for things that they can not afford, and things that their friends do not need. They give with expectation of getting in return gifts equally costly. Christmas and New-year's giving with many is mere barter and exchange. What we are suffering from is barrenness of the true spirit of giving. We bring expensive gifts to the festival, and forget the frankincense and myrrh. It is not the value of a gift that we should prize so much as the spirit of true friendship that prompts the giving of it. There is more value in the clasp of a friendly hand, and a look from a pair of eyes carrying sincere wishes for one's happiness, than could possibly be shown by ivory or gold mountings presented as a duty gift. Many a heart after having received a costly gift will still be hungry, empty, and aching, because the giver was not in the gift. Have you ever stopped to think what priceless gifts — thought gifts, love gifts — you might bestow without money? There is nothing the human heart so hungers for, yearns for, as sympathy, encouragement, and love. These are things which money has no power to purchase. If you have many friends and little money, you need not let clouds darken your Christmas and New-year's giving because you can not express your feelings for them in more or less costly presents. My own heart was made glad last year when I received the following letter:— “DEAR BROTHER: We were indeed thankful for your kind remembrance and enclosures. We thank you for the cordial expressions that we greatly appreciate, because we know they come from a good and true heart. Our remembrance of you will always be pleasant. We wish you health and happiness.” A little girl wrote her grandma the following letter: “I have no gift to send you, dear grandma; but I love you, love you, LOVE YOU.” This little girl's Christmas message brought such tears of joy to the eyes, and such a glow of gratitude to the heart, as no gift that money could buy could ever bring. “Thy Saving Health”
By James D. Montgomery
“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; . . . that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” Ps. 67:1, 2. ALL true diet reform has its origin in the teachings of the Sacred Scriptures. In fact, every true reform must of necessity be derived from the source of all truth—God. It will be the object of this article to point out the fundamental principles of dietary well-doing as they are laid down in the Bible. The very foundation principles of all reform in diet, whether in sickness or in health, are well set forth in the following passages of Scripture: “Blessed art thou, O land, when . . . thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!” Eccl. 10:17. “Harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa. 55:2. Are not the general principles of dietetics practically covered by these texts of Scripture,—not the details, of course, but the underlying, foundation principles? The details will appear from the use of other texts as we proceed with the study of the subject. In the statements quoted above we have the following principles brought to view:— - Food should be eaten in due season.
- It should be eaten for strength, and not for drunkenness.
- Only that which is good should be eaten.
- Man should harken diligently unto the Lord.
It will be profitable to notice these principles in detail, and to apply them to every-day life:— 1. The practise of eating in due season is one of the most important considerations of the whole diet problem. What is the meaning of the expression “in due season”? It certainly signifies that food is to be taken when needed, and at no other time. Even nature itself teaches this lesson by removing the desire for food when it is not needed for the repair of the tissues. In health “the eyes of all wait upon Thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire [the appetite] of every living thing” (Ps. 145:15, 16); while in sickness “their soul abhorreth all manner of meat.” Ps. 107:18. In health the appetite disappears when one has eaten sufficiently for his present needs, and in sickness the appetite is completely removed for the time being, and the very thought of food is repulsive. Hence, we say, nature teaches and at times enforces this principle of eating in due season, and at no other time. It may take wisdom successfully to carry this out in the every-day life; but if we lack wisdom, we are invited to appeal to God, “and to learn of Christ the science of eating and drinking to the glory of God.” We can pray, as did Solomon, “Give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” Prov. 30:8, 9. From this it appears that the eating of food that is not needed and that is not used in due season leads one to deny his God, while the lack of sufficient food tends to cause one to steal and to use God’s name profanely,—the first because of the sense of well-being and comfort brought about by surfeiting, and the other because of the nervous impatience induced by poverty and consequent hunger. So, “blessed art thou, O land, when . . . thy princes eat in due season.” 2. To eat “for strength, and not for drunkenness,” one must use foods that will produce strength in the human organism. To supply energy, to generate heat, to repair tissue, to promote the processes of metabolism, is the purpose of16ingesting food. To use more than enough for this, would in a measure defeat the purpose for which food is taken, and would prove a clog, a burden, to the system. To use an insufficient quantity for the purpose would be to fail to provide necessary elements, and would impoverish all the tissues of the body. The expression under consideration, therefore, refers to quantity as well as to quality of food used. It must of necessity be so, as the correct quantity is as important as the correct quality in this matter of eating for strength. It must also include the use of foods containing the necessary elements to produce strength, as it is not possible for the system to obtain strength from foods that are deficient in strength-building elements. To make this choice wisely demands intelligence. One needs to understand the chemical composition of foods, and it is only when we are informed along these lines that we are able to eat for strength in the true meaning of the term. To eat for drunkenness, whether consciously or unconsciously, is the reverse of eating for strength. Good food in large quantities, or poor food in almost any quantity, will eventually produce food drunkenness. The definition of the term drunkenness may be stated as a condition of either stimulation or stupor. The first stages are those of stimulation, while the latter stages are those of stupor, or torpor. Hence, the habitual use of stimulating foods is a mild form of intoxication, differing only in degree from the drunkenness produced by the use of alcohol. That surfeiting, or gluttony, produces a sort of intoxication akin to that of alcoholic drinks is the opinion of most medical writers and thinkers. Milder, of course, is this poisoning, but poisoning it is nevertheless. ‘Be not’ therefore ‘among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.’ Prov. 23:20, 21. 3. ‘Eat ye that which is good.’ All foods—good, bad, and indifferent—have their advocates, though it must be confessed that some of those advocates are interested in the profits derived from the sale of the foods, rather than in the profit gained from their use. The only food ever pronounced ‘very good’ by One competent to judge, was given to man in the beginning, when all things were said to be ‘very good.’ The fare then consisted merely of fruits and grains and nuts, but was afterward made to include herbs, or vegetables, to meet the needs of man after his inglorious fall. About sixteen centuries later the use of flesh was permitted, to meet the changed conditions incident to the deluge. But this was restricted to ‘clean’ meats. No animal not called clean was to be used as food under any circumstances; neither was blood to be eaten. And later certain parts of the fat were prohibited as food, and the flesh of the beast was to be eaten while fresh. These restrictions would rob meat eating of much of its popularity were they enforced to-day as they were in ancient Israel. 4. ‘Harken diligently unto me.’ The first thing to do in any health or other reform is to harken to what God says about that reform. “More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats,
That nourish a blind life with the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole world round is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.” God's ships of treasure sail upon the boundless sea
Of love divine, of power infinite.
To change their course, retard their on-way,
Nor wind nor wave hath might.
Prayer is the tide for which the vessels wait
Ere they can come to port; and if it be the tide is low
Then how canst thou expect God's treasure-ships to see?