Review and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 23. (12/5/1878)

Review and Herald

Dec 5, 1878

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 5, 1878

JOTS AND TITTLES.

By John Norton Loughborough

BY ELD. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

It is evident to every careful reader of the New Testament that some law of the former dispensation was abolished by Christ, while it is just as evident that there are other laws which were not abolished. To claim that the texts referring to a law that has been abolished and those speaking of a law that has not been abolished all refer to one and the same law, only tends to confuse the mind, and to present the Bible as a book of contradictory statements.

Paul inquires, “Do we then make void [Gr. katargeo, abolish] the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Rom. 3:31. Again, he speaks of the work of Christ as follows: “Having abolished [katargeo] in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” Eph. 2:15. If these two texts refer to one and the same law, then the law is abolished, and at the same time God forbids its abolition.

There are two laws mentioned in the Bible. One is a law of right and wrong, in which, as in a mirror, we behold a true representation of ourselves, and from which we learn our duty to God and men. Jas. 1:23. The other law was given to regulate the services of the typical system of offerings, and ceased to be of force when Christ was offered for the sins of men.

Some have asked, “How can we tell what law is spoken of in a given text?” We answer, By carefully noting the connection; by this means we can easily discover what law is abolished and what is not abolished. In this brief article we can only notice five different texts; these will serve to illustrate the subject.

1. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we read, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” Eph. 2:14, 15. Here a law is said to be abolished, but the text carefully defines what law, and this of itself is proof that all previously existing laws were not abolished by Christ.

The law abolished is “the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” The ordinances were the ceremonies connected with the Levitical priesthood, as may be seen from reading Heb. 9:1. The word “ordinances” in this text is rendered ceremonies in the margin. The law abolished was the law regulating the ceremonies.

Again, the abolished law occasioned an enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles. This enmity was not on account of any distinction made between them by the moral law, neither was it because the Gentile might not repent of his sins, and have remission by faith in the Saviour to come; but by the regulations of the typical system certain privileges were granted to the Jew that the Gentile could not enjoy. Even when they came up to the temple to worship, the Jew could come one court nearer the holy place than the Gentile could. In that restriction there was a literal stone wall between them, as well as a spiritual wall of distinction that created the enmity.

A careful reading of the text will show that what was abolished related to the particular form of their approaching God. This distinction is now done away, so that we can all come before him alike. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Eph. 2:18.

2. Another text in which the abolition of the law of types is introduced is Col. 2:14: “Blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Here again it is plainly specified what law is taken away. It is “the hand-writing of ordinances”—ceremonies—the law regulating the sacrifices of the past dispensation. It was against us and contrary to us, in that it would be impossible for us, in this dispensation, to conform to its requirements. Take, for instance, the command found in Deut. 16:16: “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose.” While this injunction might be observed by that peculiar people in the land of Palestine, and they might gather every year at Jerusalem, it would be impossible for men in this dispensation to go from all parts of the earth three times a year to Jerusalem; and so a command of that character, if still a living law, would be “against us,” and in our way.

Those laws requiring the sinner, when confessing his sins, to lay his hands on certain beasts, and commanding the priests to burn the bodies of these beasts in sacrifice and to sprinkle the blood before the veil of the sanctuary, would be “against us” in this dispensation when invited from every land to come humbly, by faith, to Christ, “without money and without price.” So these laws were “taken out of the way.”

The very fact that Paul is so particular to specify what laws are taken away and blotted out, is of itself proof that there are laws that are not included in this statement. To illustrate: I state that in 1878 the Indians crossed the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, made an attack upon Cayuse Station, and massacred all the white inhabitants. The very fact that I say “white inhabitants” shows that there were inhabitants there of another color; and while those they destroyed were white, it would be apparent to every man that those not white were not slain. So if laws with certain characteristics were blotted out, those not of that character remain unaffected. When we consider Paul’s conclusion from the premises stated in the above text, we shall observe that he specifies just as carefully what things are affected by the blotting out of the law. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Col. 2:16, 17.

The things mentioned all pertain to the system of shadowy offerings, of which Christ was the body. Meat and drink offerings and new-moon observances were not mentioned in the moral law, but were required by the Levitical law. The holy-day is not the Sabbath, but is the passover, as the Greek word heorte is translated elsewhere in the New Testament. The sabbath days mentioned do not include all sabbaths, but only those which are a shadow of which the body is Christ. In Leviticus 23 seven of these sabbaths are described, each occurring on different days of certain months, with meat-offerings, drink-offerings, everything upon his day, “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord.” Lev. 23:38. So we see this text clearly defines itself, as to what law is taken out of the way.

3. We have one text more of this character to notice. Paul in writing to the Hebrews says, “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” If we did not notice the connection in which this text is found, there might be some reason in the plea of the man who said, “As the priesthood is changed from the Aaronic priesthood to that of Christ, the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week to honor Christ and to commemorate his resurrection.” A careful examination of the next verses at once spoils this fine Sunday argument, and also explains what law is changed. “For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.” “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.” Heb. 7:12–14, 18.

The simple facts in this case are, the law of the priesthood required the priests to be of the tribe of Levi, of the house of Aaron; but as Christ, our High Priest, is, after the flesh, of the tribe of Judah, there is made of necessity a change of the law concerning the priesthood; and this commandment, which would now be unprofitable if it still remained as a living law, has been “disannulled.”

As the texts already noticed so clearly present the typical law, and virtually explain themselves and show us what law is abolished, we will now call attention to two other texts which as clearly speak of a law that existed before Christ came, and which was not abolished.

1. In Matt. 5:17–19, we read: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.”

A law is here mentioned that Christ found when he came, that is still to be obeyed and taught. This law is the law of ten commandments, as will readily appear as we look at his immediate illustrations of his subject: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill;” and again, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” These are two of the ten commandments. Then the moral law, of which these two commandments are a part, is to stand, every jot and tittle of it, till heaven and earth pass, and even to all eternity, as it is to stand “till all be fulfilled.” Not simply till all the law is fulfilled, but till all the prophecies are fulfilled.

This law is called “these least commandments;” least when compared with the two great commandments,—love God and love thy neighbor. Least because either of these great commandments, when separately considered, is greater than any one of the ten commandments. The law which says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” embraces the first four of the ten; and the one that says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” comprehends the last six, which relate to our duty to our neighbor.

We claim that the law of least commandments mentioned here in Matthew, every jot and tittle of which is thus to stand, relates to a law which was in writing and in the Hebrew language, when Christ came. The word jot refers to the Hebrew letter yod (י), the smallest letter of this alphabet.

A tittle is a little point used on letters; or, to state more fully, several of the Hebrew letters are in pairs, and so nearly alike that they are only distinguishable from each other, in writing, by these points; for instance, beth ב and caph כ, he ה and cheth ח, daleth ד and resh ר. A mistake in copying manuscript by which one of these was substituted for the other would make a vast difference in the meaning of a sentence, or, as the Rabbins express it, “would ruin the world.”

In a Hebrew work called “Vayikra Rabba,” it is said that should any person change the daleth ד into resh ר (achar) in the words of Deut. 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is [achad] one Lord,” he would “ruin the world,” because while achad is the true God, achar is a false god. This change would make the text declare that the Lord our God is a false god, which sentiment, if accepted, would indeed ruin the world.

“Should any one in the words of Ex. 34:14: ‘Thou shalt worship no other god [achar],’ change resh ר into daleth ד, he would ruin the world, because in that case the text would read: ‘Thou shalt not worship the only true God.’”

“Should any one in the words of Lev. 22:32: ‘Neither shall ye profane [techelew] my holy name,’ change cheth ח into he ה (tehelew), he would ruin the world.” While techelew means to profane, tehelew means to praise. So the text would read, “Neither shall ye praise my holy name.”

“Should any one in the words of Ps. 150:6: ‘Let everything that hath breath praise [tehelel] the Lord,’ change he ה into cheth ח, he would ruin the world.” The text would then read, “Let everything that hath breath profane the Lord.”

“Should any one in the words of Jer. 5:10: ‘And they lied against the Lord [beihovah],’ change beth ב into caph כ, he would ruin the world.” While beihovah means against the Lord, chiboovah means like the Lord. This slight change would make the text utter the awful sentiment, “They lied like the Lord.” Indeed it would ruin the world to teach that God was a liar.

“Should any one, in the words of Hosea 5:7: ‘They have dealt treacherously against the Lord [beihovah],’ change beth ב into caph כ, he would ruin the world. Such change would make the text read, ‘They have dealt treacherously like the Lord.’”

“Should any one in the words of 1 Sam. 2:2: ‘There is none holy as the Lord,’ change the caph כ into beth ב, he would ruin the world.” The text would then read, “There is no holiness in the Lord,”—an awful sentiment.

From these illustrations it must be apparent to all that there is great force in the tittles when the changing of one of them changes the entire sentiment of a passage.

To change the sentiment of a text it is necessary to change some of these tittles; but Christ declares that a jot or tittle shall “in no wise” pass from this law, neither by abolition of the law nor by change in the precepts. To change the fourth commandment so as to meet its obligation by keeping the first day of the week, would necessitate some very essential changes in the jots and tittles. To abolish the fourth commandment would destroy all the jots and tittles; but none of them

are to pass till heaven and earth pass, and then not to all eternity.

It seems to me these thoughts must impress all minds that the law thus spoken of is a very different one from that mentioned in the former part of this article.

2. There is another text I must notice which reduces this matter to a still finer point. The text is in Luke 16:16, 17: “The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” That the law here mentioned is the law of ten commandments is apparent from the fact that Christ immediately illustrates his subject by reference to the command against adultery. Some have quoted this text as proof that the law only existed to the time of John, and would have us understand that the people had the law and the prophets until the time of John, and that since that time we have the gospel in place of the law and the prophets. This is not the meaning of the text. The moral law of God showed the people that they were sinners. The prophets taught the people that there was a Saviour coming to take away their sins. When the Saviour came, his coming did not destroy that law nor diminish the force of the testimony of the prophets. When those things spoken of by the prophets concerning Christ were fulfilled, the prophecies were of greater force than ever before. The prophecies then became the great proofs by which the apostles set forth the mission of Christ. So, too, when Christ came, instead of relaxing in the least this law, the fact that he magnified it by his teachings, and died to obtain our pardon for its transgression, is one of the best of evidences that the claims of that law could not be set aside; and so reads this text, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” So even the little points of letters in that law are firmer than the heavens and the earth.

When Archimedes discovered the mechanical power of the lever, to express his great confidence in its force he said, “If you will give me a fulcrum to place my lever on, I will turn the world over.” This was an important if, and we will add to it another. If all the mechanical, animal, and physical powers of our earth were combined in one great human arm, they could not move the earth one inch in a thousand years, because there is no place or means of applying the power; yet the power of the Almighty has been moving the earth thousands of miles each day since its formation, in more directions than one.

The force of this text is this, that nothing short of Almighty power can take even a single tittle out of this moral law of ten commandments.

I trust we have made clear the distinction between these two laws, so far as noticed in connection with these texts, and we conclude this article by saying to those who have accepted the position of the immutable nature of the ten commandments,—

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

“PEACE AND GOOD WILL TO MEN.”

By Fanny R. Millard

WHILE the bells ring, “Peace to men,” Let our hearts an echo raise; Let us sing the song again, The song of joy and praise.

“Peace” and “good will” unto all, Love the wealthy and the poor, Love the great nor less the small, Hating sin, but not the doer.

Peace, then, like a gentle dove, Brings to us the Saviour near; And our ruling power is love,— Love for all God’s children here.

Then ring on, ring out, ye bells! Ring aloud the sweet refrain! Let our hearts the glad news tell— “Peace, good will, to men.”

FANNY R. MILLARD.

Liberty, Iowa.

ISAIAH SIXTY-SIX.

By George I. Butler

BY ELD GEO. I. BUTLER.

[Republished by request.]

In order to understand Isa. 66:20–22, we must examine the connection in which these verses occur, and they must be shown to harmonize with other plain scriptures. Any pretended explanation of an obscure passage that would conflict with scriptures that are clear and plain, would not only be a waste of time, but would lead to endless confusion. We do not appeal to such scriptures as these verses, which are admitted to be obscure by reasonable commentators, to prove our positions correct. All we shall attempt to do is to show that they do not conflict with the positions we hold as a people, but harmonize with them.

We hold, 1. That there will be signs given to show when the coming of the end is nigh. Matt. 24:3, 29–33; Luke 21:25–28; Rev. 6:12–17, and many others.

2. That a warning message will be proclaimed to the world, and that God’s people will not be in darkness as to the nearness of the end. Rev. 14:6–16; Joel 2:1; Matt. 24:33, 37; 1 Thess. 5:1–6.

3. That at the coming of Christ the righteous dead will be raised, the living changed, and all together will go up with the Lord to the Father’s house on high. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Matt. 3:12; John 13:36; 14:1–3; Rev. 15:2; 4:2–6.

4. That at the coming of the Lord, the great day of God’s wrath will come, in which all the wicked will be slain, and the earth will lie utterly desolate without a living man upon it, and remain so for a thousand years. Rev. 6:14–17; Isa. 13:6–14; 24; 34; Jer. 25:15–33; Zeph. 1:14–18; Rev. 19:11–21; Jer. 4:23–26; Rev. 20:1–6. The word here translated “bottomless pit” is the same word in the original that we find in Gen. 1:2, of the Septuagint version, which is there rendered “deep,” and is used to describe the state of our earth before it was brought into a condition of order.

5. At the close of the thousand years, the city of God is seen on our earth, having come down from God out of Heaven, and all the saints are in it; and then the wicked dead are raised to life, they come around the city, and are totally destroyed by fire rained down upon them; by which agency the earth is melted and purified, and is made the everlasting abode of God’s people. Rev. 20:9; 3:12; 21:2, 9, 10; 20:5, 6; 2 Pet. 3:7–13; Mal. 4:1; Matt. 5:5; Ps. 37.

We think these scriptures fully sustain the positions taken, though many others might be adduced; and we claim that there is nothing in Isa. 66 that conflicts with them, but on the contrary, that there is perfect harmony between this chapter and the texts here presented.

In noticing this chapter, we should state our conviction that all of it applies this side of the commencement of the gospel dispensation, and much of it to the last days. The first four verses seem to apply near the first advent of Christ, when the Jews had such confidence in the temple and the worship connected with it that they rejected Christ, neglected the most obvious duties of justice and mercy, and caused the wrath of God to fall upon them. The Lord showed that their “house” was of no importance to him; that he looked with far more interest to those who were “poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembled at his word;” and that the practice of making offerings of “oxen,” “lambs,” or oblations, which seemed to them so important as to comprehend almost the whole of religion, was no more pleasing to God than it would have been had they “offered swine’s blood,” sacrificed a “dog,” or “blessed an idol,”—things which they recognized as abominable to him,—for the simple reason that Christ had come and shed his blood on the cross, and they had rejected the only offering which God could accept, turned away from the offer of salvation, and persecuted him and his followers, and then tried to please God by practicing those rites which had terminated at the cross.

The same principle applies at any time to those who go through the outward forms of religion, but neglect the great principles of justice and mercy. God will not accept such worship. He hates it.

Verse 5 evidently refers to the last days. A class are brought to view who are hated and cast out of the society of their former brethren, who claim to be doing this for the Lord’s sake. The time when this will occur is just before the appearing of the Lord; for both classes see that appearing. The prophet says, “He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” Who will see that appearing with joy? Isaiah says in another place that certain ones will say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.” Chap. 25:9. They could not wait for anything they did not expect.

Those, then, who are expecting the coming of the Lord will be joyful when they see his appearing. Have any of this class been cast out by their brethren, who all the while seemed to think that they were seeking the glory of God? We all know this has characterized the Advent movement. A faith in the soon-coming of Christ has been enough to cause individuals of unexceptionable moral character to be disfellowshipped by our modern churches. It is said that fifty thousand Adventists left the churches in 1844, because in those churches they were not free to speak of their belief that the coming of their Lord was near. And the work of driving them out of the churches has been going on ever since. We think it is a matter of no small encouragement to this unpopular people that the prophet of God says the Lord shall finally “appear to their joy.” They can afford to be patient till that time.

Verse 7 evidently refers to the birth of Christ; verses 8 and 9 to the first resurrection, when a nation will be born at once, in one day.

Verses 10–14 give us a most beautiful description of the condition of the people of God after they are received into the holy Jerusalem. The language brings to view the same thoughts that are suggested by Paul in Gal. 4:26, where he declares that Jerusalem which is above is the mother of us all. The old city is in “bondage with her children.” There is another in existence with which we are interested. This is “above.” When we get to that, the prophet says in these verses we shall be “delighted with the abundance of her glory.” No one can read the description of it in the last part of the Bible, with faith in his heart, and not come to the same conclusion. As I proved in the first of this article, that is the very place where the righteous go at the coming of Christ.

In verses 15–18, Isaiah brings to view the coming of Christ, and the condition of things in the earth at that time; thus connecting the event with the New Jerusalem. “For, behold, the Lord will come with fire;” “for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh.” “They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens, one after another [margin], eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.” Will there be such classes alive on the earth when the Lord comes? Most certainly. A large part of the human family eat the articles mentioned. The Chinese, the largest nation numerically in our world, eat rats, mice, etc. And there is scarcely any insect, reptile, or abominable thing but that is eaten by some of the besotted inhabitants of our earth, while frogs and oysters have come to be esteemed great delicacies by some of those that call themselves the most enlightened; and the flesh of filthy swine, which is especially referred to by the prophet, is one of the most common articles of diet throughout the whole Gentile world.

We leave it to those who prize this kind of food so highly, and who persist in eating it even when it is plainly shown to be most unwholesome, to explain the prophet’s meaning when he says such “shall be consumed together.” It appears to us that those who will be saved in that day will not be found eating it.

Probably the expression, “Those that sanctify themselves and purify themselves,” refers to the lustrations and purifications so common among the heathen nations. When the prophet says in verse 18, “I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory,” he evidently refers to the same time the Saviour speaks of in Luke 13:28: “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”

The prophets plainly teach that the righteous will see the reward of the wicked, and the wicked will see the reward of the righteous. Ps. 37:34; 52:5–7; Isa. 33:13–19. When will this occur? We reply, When the city of God stands on the earth and all the wicked come up on its breadth and surround the city. Rev. 20:9. Here is where they will “see God’s glory,” and know that the Lord has told them the truth.

The prophecy of Isaiah is discursive; that is, it changes from one scene to another, at times, rapidly. And although the events brought to view may have a general relation to each other, yet they pass before the mind of the prophet in vision like a panorama. They differ, in this respect, from the prophecy of Daniel or of John, or the prophetic discourses of the Saviour, which seem, many times, to come after one another, and to connect like the links of a chain. Of course the latter are plainer and easier to follow than the former. No man can explain the prophecy of Isaiah on any other hypothesis. Commentators admit this. See closing note of Dr. Scott on this chapter. The only way we can ascertain when these different scenes apply, is to compare them with other plain texts of scripture; for the transition is often very sudden.

Verse 19: “I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.”

Smith, in his large Bible dictionary, takes the position that these names represent the Gentile world (see note on Javan), as these were the names by which they were known at the time the prophet wrote. This is undoubtedly correct.

The prophet tells us, then, that a “sign” shall be set among the Gentiles, and that those who “escape” of these nations shall go among them and declare the glory of God among them. Who are those that escape? Evidently the righteous who are saved at the coming of Christ. When are they to go unto the nations? Evidently before the coming of Christ and not after; for by the scriptures quoted at the beginning of this article it is positively proved that all the nations of the earth shall be destroyed at the coming of Christ; and verse 16 declares that God will “plead with all flesh by fire and sword.” Here, then, we see evident reference made to the warning message to go to the world previous to the Saviour’s advent.

The “sign” that is set among them is evidently a glorious truth around which those will rally who “escape” of these nations in the last day, the same, we think, as the warning message of Rev. 14:9–12, which brings to view God’s commandments and brings into prominence the Sabbath of the Lord as the one especially trampled upon. And when we take into consideration the fact that is stated in Ex. 31:13 and Eze. 20:12, that the seventh-day Sabbath is a “sign” between God and his people, it seems very reasonable, to say the least, that this is the very thing referred to in the verse before us. This warning message is to go to the world with a loud voice, and gather out those that fear God.

Verse 20: “And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in coaches [margin], and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.”

Those who shall bring their “brethren for an offering to the Lord” are probably the ones referred to in verse 5, to whom the Lord will appear with joy, while those who cast them out will be ashamed. In other words, they are believers in the soon-coming of Christ, who will be proclaiming to the world this last message, which is designed to gather out a people for God. These servants of God will go to all the nations with this truth, searching after all the precious jewels, to present them to the Lord. The horses, chariots, coaches, etc., spoken of, are the means used by them to convey this truth to different peoples and places, which will finally accomplish the desired result,—the bringing of a people to Mount Zion; not that these individuals will be carried there by them as we ride in a wagon, but they are a necessary means to gain the desired end. And how could this truth be proclaimed to all the nations without just such means? It would be impossible. In this manner every honest soul, every true member of spiritual Israel, will be sought out, and by faith will come to Mount Zion, as Paul says in Heb. 12:22, and finally will come there in fact when Christ comes after them and takes them up to the Father’s house.

I believe this to be the most reasonable view that can be taken of this passage. There are those who hold that after Christ comes this work will be literally accomplished, and that the saints will ride on mules, horses, etc., from America, Europe, and all parts of the world, over to old Jerusalem. If that is true, the Lord takes a very slow way to get his people together. We should suppose he would use the cars and steamboats rather than those animals; and we fear that some of our age-to-come friends who are accustomed to riding forty miles an hour on the cars would get tired jogging along on mules and wish they had means of conveyance as good as they had before Christ came.

The whole idea is preposterous, and we may be sure that He whom Heaven and earth obey will not be confined to such means to accomplish his work. The scene is laid before the coming of Christ, when human agencies employ such means to carry forward the work of God.

Those who are thus gathered out are represented as being an acceptable offering to God. As Paul says, “We are unto God a sweet savor in Christ.” And the servants of God are represented often as offering those whom they have brought out to the Lord.

Verse 21: “I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.” As these classes were most closely related to the service of God in Isaiah’s time, we understand he takes these terms to represent similar classes in the future state. And that such will be there, we have the positive evidence of the Bible. Rev. 20:6: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” These

are the resurrected saints. What their peculiar office is, we know not, but Isaiah and John evidently refer to the same thing.

Verses 22 and 23: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Here we have a description of the world in which those will live who have escaped out of the nations, as described above. Here is the eternal state, if there is any brought to view in the Bible, and not an age in which death occurs, as some would have us believe. They are to live as long as the new heavens and the new earth exist. And moreover the Sabbath is to be kept there. Let those who believe the Sabbath has been abolished remember this fact, that it is going to be kept in the eternal state. That does not look much as though God is sick of it already, as some tell us. We also learn that God’s people will come together every month. In the last chapter in the Bible we have the reason given. The tree of life yields its fruit once a month; and all the redeemed host come up to partake of it.

Verse 24: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” We have the scene introduced here that is brought to view in Rev. 20:9. While the wicked gather around the “beloved city,” fire comes down and devours them. All the righteous are in the city. They are immortal. The wicked are being burned “like thorns in the fire.” The righteous are no more affected by the fire than the three worthies in the “burning fiery furnace.” The Son of God was there also. He is master of the elements, and his people have no fear. In this condition the righteous “see the reward of the wicked.” As this fire is not “quenched,” that is, put out, it will utterly consume the carcasses of all those outside of the city; for there is no “carcass,” or dead body, that can exist in such a fire. Here we have the “day” that shall “burn as an oven,” of the prophet Malachi, which shall bring all the proud to ashes; and the day of God which Peter speaks of, when the “elements shall melt with fervent heat.” From this fire shall the new earth come forth, in which the righteous shall dwell. May God grant us all a place among them.

NOTES OF NEWS.

—Paris contributed $24,000 for the relief of the Southern yellow-fever sufferers.

—In consequence of a strike, 3,000 workmen of the glass factories of Pittsburgh are out of employment.

—Over 60,000 Bibles have been sent from Philadelphia to Australia and the antipodes since January.

—Of 177,936 volumes issued to the readers of the mercantile library of New York last year, 108,864 were works of fiction.

—There is a report, apparently well founded, that General Grant has been proposed for the Bulgarian throne.

—There are now over 22,286,000 more acres of farm land under cultivation in this country than there were four years ago.

—On one Sunday 7,668 children, under 14 years of age, entered the public houses of Edinburgh for intoxicating drink.

—English speculators have sold about 15 tons of stone by the ounce, as specimens of Cleopatra’s Needle, which still remains whole and unbroken.

—The Marquis of Lorne and the Princess Louise landed at Halifax, N. S., Nov. 25, and were received with great pomp and enthusiasm.

—A fire at Cape May, the attractive watering place on the Jersey shore, Nov. 9, swept over 40 acres, consuming 9 hotels, 21 cottages, about one thousand bathing houses, and a pier.

—About midnight, Nov. 25, the Hamberg-American line steamship Pommerania, from New York for Hamberg, came in collision with the Welsh bark Noel Eilian, in the British Channel. The Pommerania sank in thirty minutes. Between 40 and 50 lives were lost.

—Candahar, the objective point of the British army moving from Quettah, is a city of 60,000 inhabitants, and a place of political, commercial, and military importance. It is on the great road between Persia and Western Afghanistan on one side, and India and Eastern Afghanistan on the other.

—The Christian Weekly says: “There are intimations that Miss Hosmer, the celebrated American sculptress residing in Rome, has made a discovery which, by a novel application of the permanent magnet for a motive power, promises to make a thorough revolution in machinery.”

—The Czar presented a sword to the Ameer of Afghanistan. General Kauffman made the presentation speech, and in it assured the Afghans that Russia knows how to protect her allies from the attacks of any enemy, however powerful. Russia seems not to hold herself responsible for the General’s action in the matter.

—The Russian Greek church possesses 38,692 churches, including cathedrals; 12,860 chapels and oratories; 18,887 arch-priests, priests, deacons, and precentors; 56,500,000 members, of which 29,000,000 are women, and 27,000,000 are men. The sums received by the church during the year amount to $9,000,000.

—According to the director of the mint, during the past year $47,236,107 was produced from the mines of the country in gold, and $46,776,814, in silver. About $3,000,000 of the precious metals was used in the arts and manufactures, and about $8,000,000 was exported. There is not far from $832,443,000 of gold and silver bullion in the country.

—The papal hierarchy having been established in Protestant Scotland, a great Roman Catholic monastery has been opened at Fort Augustus in the heart of the Highlands. The site was given by Lord Lovat, and the buildings are to cost about $200,000. Schools taught by nuns are multiplying fast in Scotland; they are now found in most of the large towns. Their low charges make them popular.

—The war between England and Afghanistan has commenced. The English troops stationed at Jamrood, under General Brown, have taken the Afghan frontier fort Ali Musjid, and advanced still farther in the Khyber Pass. Below the fort, the pass varies in width from 40 to 290 feet, and the mountains on each side rise to the height of 1,500 feet. On these mountains the Afghans have collected to the number of 4,000, breaking General Brown’s communications. The Ameer is strengthening Cabul.

—An approximate statement of the affairs of the firm of Smith, Fleming & Co., of London, whose failure was announced Oct. 3, shows the gross liabilities to be $14,557,425, of which $8,132,975 is expected to rank against the estate. The assets, after the costs of liquidation are paid, will not yield two shillings on the pound. The Times’ financial column says: “One of the parties has stated that the house would have stopped long ago but for the intervention of the manager of the City of Glasgow Bank. Whoever may be responsible for it, this failure must be ranked among the most disgraceful and disastrous of our time.”

—In view of Russia’s promise to aid the Ameer in case England presses the war in Afghanistan so far as to endanger Russian interests in Asia, there seems to be some point to the following from the Inter-Ocean: “Even so conservative a journal as the Toronto Globe admits that were it not for the gravity of the situation there would be something laughable in the exactness with which Russia is said to be meting out to England English treatment of Russia during the Russo-Turkish war. The Globe holds that the obtaining of an impregnable frontier in Afghanistan is just as important to Russia as to England, and that Russia is justified in being a little exacting.”

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