p. 4 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 9. (3/2/1915)

Earlier text: STORMY WIND FULFILLING HIS WORD

The Uncertainties of Evolution

By W. C. Dunscombe, M. D.

It Is Founded on Speculation — None of Its Advocates Account for Life — Admissions of the Defenders of the Doctrine — The Eye Caused Darwin to “Shudder”

By W. C. Dunscombe, M. D.

Can it be possible that the Creator was shut up to the expedient of developing man through such a creature?

Charles Darwin, who in his "Descent of Man" and his "Origin of Species" taught that man developed from a monkey

The pendulum of human thought swings generally between the extremes of enthusiastic, unreasoning over-belief, and cold, calculated unbelief. The pride of man, and his unwillingness to accept the only true way of salvation, have led him to a ceaseless endeavor to elaborate theories that shall explain the origin of life in such a way as to make man his own savior.

The Tendency to Exaggeration

In scientific as well as philosophic investigation, there is a strong tendency to strain the truth to exaggeration and over speculation. As an instance in point we may quote the announcement made by Professor Huxley in 1868, that the gelatinous matter found in the ooze of the beds of the deep seas was a sheet of living matter stretching around the globe. Many scientists welcomed this discovery as the bridge between living and dead matter. At last, they exclaimed, the miracle of creative activity has been banished. But it was soon found — and Huxley frankly admitted his error — that this shining mass of jelly was nonexistent as a widely extended sheet of living protoplasm.

Among those who advocate evolution, there are many schools, or sects, with widely differing theories; and the resultant confusion is great. Evolution presupposes existence. It must start with something which it takes for granted, out of which all other forms must be evolved. Evolution simply indicates the manner in which the transformation of different animals has taken place down through the ages. It can never explain the origin of life. Students of evolution are liable to confuse the terms “causation” and “development.” In the theory of evolution, a spontaneous power of natural selection exercised by environment is made to evolve that which lives and wills.

Connection Between Life and Death

But it has been definitely proved, as any one can observe, that there is a retrograde development of plants and animals under the influence of environment. The evolution of living matter from dead material is supposed to have occurred at some time, but this process has never been observed. Of its causes and nature, so-called science knows nothing.

With all the advance of science, and its unwearied investigations, the gap that separates living matter and dead material is as wide as ever. There is nothing known to science but shows that all life has arisen from that which has lived before.

Leaving out the power that “spake, and it was done,” life and death are as far apart as ever. Looking back over the thousands of years during which we have accurate historical records, we may frankly maintain that man and the ape have come no closer together.

The Ape and the Man

Professor Dana, of Yale, is very explicit in pointing out the following: “The existing man apes belong to lines which lead up to them as the ultimatum,—they are the highest order,—while between them and the lowest, from the standpoint of intellectual development, of human tribes, there exists a great gap. The cubic capacity of the brain of the most degenerate of human types is more than twice as great as the most developed brains of the ape orders. There are all possible gradations from the lowest limit in development of men and apes to the highest limit. But between man and apes there is a great gap which has never been filled.”

Professor Virchow, of Berlin, states that no precursor of man has ever been found,—not even a fragment of him. Such a precursor is and ever has been a speculation. We find that all the theories which contradict the Bible are mere speculations, with no substantial basis of fact to rest upon.

Even Professor Huxley, one of the greatest expositors of Darwinism, asserts that there exists no intermediate link between man and the apes.

In the Water and in the Trees

In Mr. Darwin’s writings, he has given full play to the imagination. In one of his letters to Sir Charles Lyell he wrote, “Our ancestor was an animal which breathed water, had a great swimming tail, etc.” In “The Descent of Man” we read, “Our progenitors were covered with hair and were no doubt arboreal in their habits.” In one place man’s ancestor is a water animal, and in another an animal moving around in trees.

“Probably” and “Undoubtedly”

All through his writings, there is a great tendency to clinch his statements by such terms as “probably,” “undoubtedly,” “no doubt.” Shall we cast aside God’s word for such reasoning, or shall we demand facts?

From Mr. Darwin’s book “The Descent of Man,” page 105, we read: “The most ancient progenitors in the kingdom are the vertebrata, at which we are able to obtain an obscure glance. . . . Apparently consisted of a group of marine animals. . . . These animals probably gave rise to a group of fishes, . . . and from these the ganoids . . . must have been developed. From such a fish a very small advance would carry us on to the amphibians. . . . The birds and reptiles were once intimately connected together. . . . But no one can at present say by what line of descent the three higher and related classes, namely, mammals, birds, and reptiles, were derived from either of the two lower vertebrate classes. In the class of mammals the steps are not difficult to conceive which led from the ancient monotremata to the ancient marsupials. . . . We may thus ascend to the lemuridæ; and the interval is not wide from these to the simiidæ. The simiidæ then branched off into two great stems, the New World and the Old World monkeys; and from the latter, at a remoter period, man, the wonder and the glory of the universe, proceeded. . . . If a single link in this chain had never existed, man would not have been what he now is. Unless we skillfully close our eyes, we may, with our present knowledge, approximately recognize our parentage.”

Are there no “serial” steps that lead from one to another?—There are, for we read, “We must imagine,” instead of, “We have discovered,” certain intermediate forms between reptiles and fish, and fish and mammals, reptiles and birds, etc.

Speculation Leads to Confusion

It is this tendency to speculation that creates the confusion in the religious world to-day. We do not care to know what Mr. Darwin believes, but what he can prove. As a noted critic has well remarked, “If we were to modify the ‘believes’ and ‘convinced,’ the charm of Mr. Darwin’s book would be spoiled.” It is simply Mr. Darwin’s theory, and he attempts to explain all existing facts by this theory, with such arguments as, “it must have been,” “probably,” “apparently,” “undoubtedly,” etc. By such arguments, everything in creation is explained. By such means, he invents a theory, and makes the facts fit into it.

Mr. Herbert Spencer, himself an evolutionist, in his “Principles of Sociology,” volume 1, page 93, makes one notable statement: “In considering the different types of man, it is probable that the retrogression has been as frequent as the progression.” Indeed, all the history in existence to-day shows us that most of the races of earth have at one time been in a higher state of civilization and culture than at present. Shall we not, then, take the plain statement of God’s word, that man in the beginning was made in the image of God,—that he was made perfect, and that he has, because of the degrading influence of sin, become a degenerate? We have assurance that man to-day is a degenerate, because we have had with us here on earth One born in the likeness of man, who yet lived a sinless and perfect life.

Evolution is simply a process of supporting

one hypothesis by a number of subsidiary hypotheses. The fundamental weakness of the primary hypothesis and of all the subsidiary hypotheses is that they are not borne out by facts.

I quote from Mr. Herbert Spencer: “The doctrine of evolution will help us realize primitive ideas in imagination, and then to discern them as actually existing.” But we who prefer to take God’s word rather than imagination, will demand facts instead of hypotheses.

From the evidence so far brought forward, we cannot believe that man and the apes have been brought any nearer together except by scientific “imagination.”

Darwinism Has Not Succeeded

Professor Virchow, before the German and Vienna anthropological societies, in 1890, testified as follows: “Darwinism has not up to the present time succeeded in demonstrating man’s descent from the ape or any other animal. In vain have the links which should bind man to the ape been sought,—so far not a single one has been recorded.” “The so-called ‘pro-anthrops’ (foreman) has never been found. At present we only know that among prehistoric men none have been found that stand nearer to the ape than the men of to-day.”

In contrast to the theories without facts, we have the Mosaic record, which is in perfect accordance with every known fact and every divine revelation, and which is true to our inmost convictions.

From this maze of fallacious theories we turn to the plain statement of the Scriptures, “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast”; and the miracles of Christ while here upon earth fully attest that this statement is true.

Darwin in the Fog

In attempting to explain the origin of the first living creature or cell, Darwin himself was in a mist,—a maze. In his book “The Origin of the Species,” he cheerfully concedes the existence of God as an explanation of the origin of the species. In other places he denies it, and claims the origin of man to be the result of the operation of certain laws. The plain truth of the whole matter is this: Darwin had so completely given his mind up to forming these human theories, that he had become incapable of thinking higher thoughts.

In “Life and Letters,” volume 1, page 101, he mournfully confesses, “My mind seems to have become a machine for grinding out general laws out of masses of general facts, but why this should have caused atrophy of the part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot tell.”

Feared to Trust the Monkey

In a letter to Mr. Graham he also says: “With me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of a man’s mind which has developed from the mind of lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would any one trust the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if such a mind has any convictions?”

Darwin’s disciples have adopted a more atheistic attitude than he himself. Professor Haeckel, for instance, glories in the fact that the doctrine of descent as taught by the great English scientist has banished from the universe the vaunted goodness of the Creator. Another disciple, Vogt, in his book, maintains “that Darwin’s theory turns the Creator, without any hesitation, out of doors, inasmuch as it does not leave any room for the agency of such a being. The first living germ being granted, out of this the whole creation develops by natural selection.”

Not Creators of Life

Life has been affirmed again and again to be but chemistry and mechanics. This has been asserted so often that millions of people have come to believe it. But we have yet to have proof of the first germ of life ever produced in a chemical laboratory. Evolutionists are continually making an appeal to nature’s laws as if law itself were a cause of the order of the universe instead of being an expression of that order. Law itself necessarily presupposes a presiding and regulating intelligence. In itself it can never be a cause. The term “government by law” should be rendered, “government according to law.” Tennyson has beautifully said:

“God is law, say the wise. O my soul, let us rejoice! For if He thunder by law, the thunder is yet His voice. Speak to Him then, for He hears, and spirit with Spirit may meet. Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.”

This one-sided application to the investigation of nature’s operations seems to have dwarfed Mr. Darwin’s intellect. As a student, music charmed him. In later life, he found it intolerable. Parts of his brain had atrophied from disuse. He complains of color blindness as to the existence of God.

Feared to Make the Admission

When his friend Lyell pointed out the necessity of the continual intervention of creative power, Darwin was sorely troubled, for he wrote in answer, “I cannot see this necessity, for its admission would make natural selection valueless.”

Again he said in “Life and Letters,” volume 2, page 82, “The formation of a strong variety or species, I look at as almost wholly due to the selection of what may be incorrectly called chance variations or variability.”

The Eye Made Him Shudder

But Mr. Darwin was strongly exercised about the eye and other indications of design in nature. The adaptation of the eye to its functions is so complete that in writing to Asa Gray he said, “The eye to this day gives me a cold shudder.” He also adds, “My reason tells me that I ought to conquer this cold shudder.”—“Life and Letters,” volume 2, page 275. Mr. Darwin humorously calls natural selection his deity.

Darwin’s own letters are the best commentary on his “Origin of the Species.” In “Life and Letters,” volume 2, page 315, he says, “I myself could write a more damning criticism of the ‘Origin of the Species’ than any which has yet appeared.” In trying to explain everything, his way was full of difficulties, and he acknowledged them. In another place he says, “I candidly agree with you, that the difficulties of my notions are terrific.”

Devoted to a “Phantasy”

“Often and often a cold shudder has run through me, and I have asked myself whether I may not have devoted my life to a phantasy.”—“Life and Letters,” volume 2, page 354.

In “The Descent of Man” we have the mournful confession, “I perhaps attributed too much to natural selection in not considering structures which are neither beneficial or injurious.”

Again, in “Origin of Species”: “No one ought to feel surprised at much yet remaining unexplained on the ‘Origin of the Species.’”

To crown all, when Professor Haeckel in Germany insisted upon introducing into schools a new system of thought based on the doctrines of the descent of man, Professor Virchow, the veteran pathologist, openly withstood him, maintaining the necessity of guarding against the danger of constructing systems as doctrines out of mere possibilities.

A Striking Contrast

Even Professor Drummond, the latest champion of the evolution theory, has to confess: “Darwinism has put the whole question out of focus, and it remains so at the present day. Modified on its own levels, it may be true; but allowed to stand alone, it becomes false and pernicious.” “At present there is not a chapter of the record that is not incomplete, not a page wholly finished. The manuscript is already worn with erasures, the writing often blurred, the very language is uncouth and strange.”

In contrast to this, we have the word of God, which has withstood all the criticism of all ages. Not a word has been erased, or can be erased. All the facts unearthed by scientists have only served to establish it, to prove the truth of the inspired record. It stands as a mighty stronghold, able to withstand all the assaults of the enemy.

Questions for Orthodox Jews

By Jean Vuilleumier

The Jew and the Christian Have the Same Old Testament — Why Should They Keep So Separate?

By JEAN VUILLEUMIER

As a lover of mankind, Jews included, I would like to ask all open-minded, orthodox Jews a few questions.

Why should there not be an exchange of views between Jew and Christian? Why should misunderstandings keep them aloof from each other? Christians have for 1,900 years scattered the knowledge of the true God, the God of the Jews, to all parts of the world. They have brought millions of former idolaters to exchange their gods of gold, silver, and stone for the God of Abraham and Moses, the God who created the heaven and the earth. They have translated into scores of tongues, and printed, and scattered into every land, the sacred writings of the Jewish prophets. Why, then, should Jews and Christians not seek to come closer to each other?

Of course, their modes of worship and their beliefs are widely separated. But why should it be so when both have planted the tree of their faith on the same soil, the Old Testament, which, we claim, contains all the principles and laws of the Christian religion, as well as the prophecies and types of its system of salvation?

MUCH COMMON GROUND

Do we not derive all we know about creation, the Flood, the origin of sin, and the history of God’s dealings with mankind for four thousand years, from your Old Testament Hebrew writings?

Have we not in common, as the purest expression of the moral law, the sublime

precepts of the Ten Commandments spoken on Mount Sinai and written on the tables of stone?

Do we not all believe, even with the heathen, that atonement must be made for the sin of man, although we may differ as to how God intends that this atonement should be effected,—whether by the blood of animal sacrifices, or by a higher sacrifice, of which all the victims of Israel’s ceremonial law were only a type?

Do we not all believe in the advent of a Messiah, the Prince of peace, who shall sit on the throne of David, who shall be King over all the earth, and who shall establish His kingdom with justice and righteousness forever?

THE MESSIAH AND THE PROPHETS

The only really fundamental difference between the two religions is as to whether the Messiah should first have appeared as a man among men to die for the sins of the world, or not. We Christians claim that He should, according to the Hebrew prophets. We claim that Isaiah, chapters 7, 9, 53, 61, states that fact in unmistakable terms; that Daniel, chapter 9, predicted that the Messiah should appear as man within the seventieth week of years—490 years—from the date of the restoration of Jerusalem under the Persian kings, after the Babylonian exile. This restoration, according to Ezra 7, began in 457 B. C., so that the Messiah, the Anointed One, must have appeared on earth between A. D. 27 and 34.

The first of these two dates was the very year when Jesus of Nazareth was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was put to death for the sins of the world three and a half years later, in the middle of the seventieth week. Then, according to the same prophecy, the city of Jerusalem and the temple were to be desolated by a cruel army, nevermore to be restored. All of this came to pass, to the very letter, less than forty years after the crucifixion of Christ.

With all these startling facts before us, I make bold to ask if we, as Christians, would not be guilty of sinful indifference were we not to make some efforts to bring them before our Jewish neighbors. Yea, more, is it not a duty on the part of the orthodox Jew to study into these things, with the result either of becoming a Christian himself, or else of telling us plainly why his nation—once the favorite of Heaven, once the object of the most wonderful miracles—has been, ever since the days of the Nazarene, without a country, without sacrifices, without prophets, without miracles? The greatest miracle in the history of that nation is the fact that it is a wandering, scattered, yet unmixed people among all the peoples of the earth.

The Manner of Christ’s Return

By J. W. Rich

Many Impostors Will Seek to Deceive — The Word Is Explicit in Telling Us What to Expect

By J. W. Rich

That Jesus will come again, there can be no question. That He will come personally, we need but refer to the testimony of the Scriptures. Other items relative to this coming need to be considered to distinguish it from all other comings. Among these, we wish to give some consideration to the manner of His coming.

A good portion of the Bible was written especially for the enlightenment of the people who live in the days of the return of the Son of man, hence we may with confidence expect to find answers to all our questions regarding this important event.

WILL COME IN LIKE MANNER

There is one experience recorded in the book of Acts that gives a great deal of information regarding the manner of Christ’s return. Jesus was having His parting meeting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, when, as all eyes were fastened upon Him, He slowly ascended from among them. Intently they gazed toward heaven to get a last glimpse of their ascending Lord, when, lo, clouds received Him out of their sight.

As the disciples are looking steadfastly toward heaven, two angels appear upon the scene, and tell them that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.

THEY WERE LOOKING “STEADFASTLY”

These men were privileged to see the ascension. They knew just what took place, for they were looking steadfastly upon the scene. And then, too, they were to tell others what they had seen, and what they had heard the angels say.

Jesus evidently had arranged it this way on purpose, for He knew that these same men would be called to describe their Lord’s departure, and also to tell something of the way in which He is to return. Deception might be practiced upon the people in regard to His coming, and they should know for themselves. The disciples looked steadfastly, and the Lord blessed them in beholding.

“Shall so come,” “in like manner,” and “a cloud received Him out of their sight” — plain and positive statements! Jesus Himself ascended, Jesus Himself to return!

COMING IN THE CLOUDS

Let us look up the records that some of these men have left us, and see what they have to say. Matthew was present at that parting meeting, so we shall refer to him as to what was meant by so coming and in like manner. We may have confidence in his report, and the Lord has helped him in telling it so that we could understand it. Speaking of the tribulation that was to darken the pages of history, and of the signs to be seen in sun, moon, and stars, he gives a record of what was to follow: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:30.

Clouds received Him out of sight as He disappeared, and here clouds introduce Him on His return to this earth. The glory and majesty of heaven are presented in the scene the inspired writer is now describing. Angels of heaven are with the Master; and to all heaven and earth, His second coming is the crowning work of the plan of salvation, and is attended with all the glory of heaven. Matthew has borne faithful testimony to what he had seen and heard.

From the apostle John we have a similar message. Note the striking likeness to the ascension: “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Rev. 1:7.

WILL TRY TO IMITATE HIS COMING

The instruction given in the Bible was not placed therein simply to occupy so much space, but was written for our instruction. Counterfeits were in the land in the days of the Master, and they were to continue till the very close of time. Among other counterfeits, Satan would try to imitate the coming of the Saviour, and thus deceive the inhabitants of earth as to how He would make His appearance to earth, just as He did when the Saviour was born in Bethlehem. They were led to look for Him to come in some other way; and when He did not come in the way they expected, they would not believe that He had come. With this event, however, every one will know how and when He makes His glorious visitation, for it will be of world-wide importance.

FALSE CHRISTS WILL ARISE

When Jesus was here among men, in telling them of future conditions, He told them, among other things, that there would arise false christs; and if false christs, of course their comings would be false comings. So He has given explicit directions, that we may know when the real Christ is at hand. He even intimated the nature of some of these comings. He says: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 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. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24:23–27.

Were the claims of all those who have posed as the Master recited, a long list would be produced. Their comings are numerous, and occur in about as many ways as there are men who make these claims. It is well for us to remember that there is only one true Christ, and only one correct way for Him to come. All others are false. Their claims cannot be based upon the Scriptures; hence even though they may work miracles, and show great signs and wonders, they are impostors. That is just where the Master classes them.

WHY, THEN, BE DECEIVED?

With this plain instruction, it is passing strange that so many people believed that Christ had come in a certain Western state a few years ago. A man professing to be Christ, made his appearance. Thousands flocked to see and hear the wonderful man — the Christ. Diseases were said to be healed. After being blessed, handkerchiefs distributed to those who were suffering are said to have healed the recipients, whatever ailments they may have had.

His looks were similar to those we are wont to associate with the pictures of Jesus. But whence did he come? No one responds.

How many saw his coming in the clouds of heaven? — Not a single individual. Where is the glory that should accompany his arrival?

His coming does not tally with the Bible record. Can we believe, then, that he was the Christ? Do we have any reason for standing in awe of him? Are we under obligation to pay him homage? Should we fear his mandates? Jesus told us how He would come, and to that record we must go for safe guidance.

We might enumerate other items. But why? To know the genuine, is worth infinitely more than to study into all the counterfeits abroad.

Jesus will come in the clouds of heaven, and every eye shall see Him, not in one city, state, or nation, but wherever there are eyes to see. According to the Bible record, not very many people will be expecting the Master when He does come. Dear reader, are you prepared to distinguish the genuine coming of the Son of man, and are you getting ready for that event? He has told us what we might look for as signs of that event; and along with that, He has told us to watch, lest that day should come to us while we were unprepared. The heavens will soon disclose the glory of the coming of the Son of man. “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:37.

How to Support the Ministry

By H. S. Shaw

A Definite Bible Plan — It Would Bring Prosperity to the Church and to the Individual

By H. S. Shaw

WHEN the Levitical priesthood was instituted, the tribe of Levi was set apart from the other tribes for the service of the tabernacle, and provision was made for their support by each member of the other tribes paying a tenth into the treasury for this purpose. Here is the record:

THE INHERITANCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD

“And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. . . . And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee. . . . And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, . . . I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel. . . . Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land. . . . But the tithes of the children of Israel . . . I have given to the Levites to inherit; therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.” See Numbers 18.

Here in the Levitical priesthood the Lord made provision for the support of His ministers. Notice, the Lord says: “The tithes of the children of Israel . . . I have given to the Levites.” “The tithe . . . is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27: 30. The Lord said that He had given the tithe to the Levites.

APOSTASY SUBVERTED THE PLAN

The work went on and prospered, and after the death of Moses, Joshua had charge of Israel. The record says: “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua. . . . And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. . . . And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, . . . and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them.” Judges 2: 7-14.

NEHEMIAH'S REFORMATION

Finally, after many years of captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah was raised up to restore and build Jerusalem. When he arrived, he had to institute a reform in many things; but we can only mention here the following statement from him regarding the tithe: “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe . . . unto the treasuries. And I made treasurers over the treasuries, . . . and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.” Neh. 13: 10-13.

Thus the ministers of God were gathered from their farms, and placed in the work to which the Lord had before appointed them, and the tithe was paid into the treasury for their support, according to the Lord's order.

“WILL A MAN ROB GOD?”

The church in that time, however, did not always remain faithful to the Lord's instruction, as also we too often in this age of the world fail to obey the word of God. The prophet wrote afterward, saying: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. . . . Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house.” Mal. 3: 8-10.

It is plain, from the above texts, and others that might be cited, that the tithe was used for the support of the ministry in Old Testament times. Set apart to minister in the Lord's house, the Levites had no inheritance save the tithes from their brethren of the other tribes of Israel. The Levites could not run away from the work of the Lord any more than a minister who is called of God to-day can run away from his work, and return at his pleasure.

“EVEN SO HATH THE LORD ORDAINED”

There can be no intelligent doubt that the ministers of God to-day, who have been called to dedicate their lives to the service of the Lord's house, to care for the flock, are filling a position in the church in our time, similar to that allotted to the Levites in their day. The Lord calls them, and places the burden of the flock upon them, and He claims the tithe from the members of the church to sustain them.

Our great High Priest is now ministering in the heavenly sanctuary, and His ministers in the world are serving Him as really as ever a Levite served the Levitical priesthood in the days of Israel; and the apostle, speaking on the subject, says: “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9: 13, 14.

NEED OF REFORM

Having forsaken the Lord's tithing system, the church of to-day has invented numerous plans and schemes for the support of the ministry. In her effort to sustain the ministers whom God has called to care for His work in the earth, many things have been introduced that have proved a snare to her.

If every child of God would bring a tenth of his earnings into the storehouse, as the Lord has said, there would be sufficient to sustain the ministry. There would be no need then of “Trilby parties,” “donkey socials,” “fishponds,” “ring cakes,” “church balls,” “the Gypsy dance,” and the many other inventions now employed by well meaning people to aid the church in her effort to raise money to sustain the Lord's work.

There are many pastors and people who deplore these unsanctified methods which have found their way into the church; but their hands are tied, because, having forsaken the Lord's plan, there seems to be no other way remaining for the church to sustain her needs, than to employ such schemes as may seem to be most successful in bringing means to the treasury.

MUCH EVIL COULD BE AVERTED

Much of the evil of this age might be kept out of the church, if the Lord's plan for the support of His work were recognized. And besides this advantage, there would be prosperity everywhere; for the Lord has promised that He will open to us the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there should “not be room enough to receive it.” See Malachi 3.

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. . . . And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27: 30, 32.

Continue reading: The Two Promises