Review and Herald, Vol. 32, No. 24. (12/8/1868)

Review and Herald

Dec 8, 1868

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 8, 1868

BRIEF ARGUMENTS ON LIFE AND DEATH.

LIVING FOREVER.

Shall the wicked live to all eternity? In the minds of many persons it is heresy to deny it. Yet nothing seems to be more plainly taught in the Bible than that the righteous only shall live forever, and the wicked shall die the second death. Those who object to the actual death of the transgressor do it, 1. On the ground that this destruction of soul and body in the fire of the last day, is not adequate punishment; and, 2. That the wicked have an undying nature that renders their existence as enduring as that of their Creator.

That the second death can adequately punish the transgressor is evident from two considerations, 1. It is inflicted upon the wicked in full view of the infinite reward of the righteous. They can behold something of that eternal life which they have lost. 2. The death of the transgressor involves the act, or process, of dying. Men who think it a light thing to lose eternal life and to die the second death, will certainly think differently of this matter when they shall feel in their own person, or witness in others, the anguish of the second death. “There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” in that furnace or lake of fire which shall devour the wicked. Matt. xiii; Rev. xx; xxi.

As to the undying nature of the wicked it is never asserted in the Bible. They are compared to stubble, chaff, tares, thorns, the fat of lambs, and the like, and their fate is to be consumed in the unquenchable fire of gehenna, where Christ teaches that his Father is able to destroy them soul and body.

MEN MUST EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE

TO LIVE FOREVER.

“And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Gen. iii, 22–24.

Our present state is one of exclusion from the tree of life. We cannot live forever as we are. We can reach the tree of life only by overcoming. Rev. ii, 7. Those who do not overcome shall be hurt of the second death. Rev. ii, 11. The tree of life is now in the heavenly Jerusalem. None can enter through its gates to eat of that fruit except those who keep the commandments of God. All others are excluded and left without. Rev. xxii, 14, 15, compared with xx, 9. Shall the wicked in the lake of fire and absolutely debarred from the tree of life, live as long as the righteous in the paradise of God, with free access to that immortal fruit? If man is capable of living forever without eating of the tree of life, is it not strange that the Author of his existence should have been unaware of that fact?

LIFE FOREVERMORE.

“As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even LIFE FOREVERMORE.” Ps. cxxxiii, 3.

Probably no one will deny that “life forevermore” means unending life. None can deny that the Psalmist speaks of this in very emphatic terms. It is THE BLESSING which God hath commanded. Questions. Shall this blessing be bestowed on the wicked? If the righteous are the only ones who receive it, shall the wicked who do not receive it live as long as the righteous? Shall the wicked live forevermore? Or is this to be the exclusive privilege of the righteous?

THE FUTURE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. vi, 23. Here the fate of the transgressor and the reward of the obedient are distinctly presented. The wages of sin will be paid. When they are paid the sinner will no longer be numbered among the living. But the gift of God shall cause the righteous to live an unending life. Shall sin be as enduring in its existence as righteousness? Are the wicked placed in the lake of fire to perpetuate their evil life, or to punish and destroy it? Is not the fact that the righteous receive eternal life owing to this, that they have formed a character worth preserving?

WHERE SHALL THE WICKED BE PUNISHED?

In the very place where they have sinned. This earth is the place of their recompense. “Behold the righteous shall be recompensed IN THE EARTH; MUCH MORE the wicked and the sinner.” Prov. xi, 31. “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Rev. xx, 9. The fire which devours the wicked and causes the perdition of ungodly men shall melt the very elements of which our earth is composed, and cause it to burn like an oven. 2 Pet. iii; Mal. iv. Thus the wicked are to be punished after the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen. xix; 2 Pet. ii, 6; Jude 7; Rev. xx, 9. The lake of fire becomes a fearful reality when we learn that it is our earth undergoing its final conflagration.

WHEN SHALL THE WICKED BE PUNISHED?

Not till the day of Judgment. They shall be first judged then punished. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of Judgment to be punished.” 2 Pet. ii, 9. The day of Judgment is the day of perdition to ungodly men. 2 Pet. iii, 7. “Whosoever was not FOUND WRITTEN in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. xx, 15. So it is certain that none are cast into that devouring fire till the books are examined. And verse 12 tells when the books are opened; it is when the Judge sits upon the great white throne. It is at the close of the 1000 years that the fire comes down from God out of heaven to devour the wicked. Verse 9. The tares are cast into the furnace of fire at the end of the world. Matt. xiii, 40, 50. The wicked do not go away into devouring fire till the Judge shall say, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels.” Matt. xxv, 41.

SHALL OUR EARTH BURN ETERNALLY?

By no means. The fire shall melt it. Every part of it shall be subjected to the refining heat. The fire shall devour the earth. But its elements shall all remain. When it has answered the great purpose of furnishing the fiery oven, or furnace of fire where the wicked shall receive their dreadful doom, the second death, it shall, like Sodom, be reduced to ashes by the eternal fire, and cease longer to burn. Then by the power of the great Author of its existence it shall be re-created. New heavens and earth shall exist, formed out of the elements of the old thus purged of sin and sinners, and therein shall the righteous have the promise fulfilled that they shall be recompensed in the earth. 2 Pet. iii, 10–13; Mal. iv.

SHALL THE FIRE AT LAST CEASE TO BURN?

It is a fire that can never be quenched. It is termed also an unquenchable fire. Mark ix; Matt. iii. It is also called a devouring fire. Isa. xxxiii, 14. It shall devour the chaff, the thorns, the tares, the stubble, and even the earth itself which is the seat of the fire. Matt. iii, 12; Isa. xxiv. But the very fact that the fire devours all these things is proof that it must sometime cease to burn. When they are all reduced to ashes then the fire has accomplished its work and need

not, and cannot, longer exist. It is an eternal fire, not because it shall require all eternity in the effort to consume the wicked, but because, like that which devoured Sodom, it shall be eternal in its consequences. It shall execute the sentence of the eternal Judgment. Heb. vi, 2, compared with Rev. xx, 12–15.

WHAT ISAIAH SAYS.

“Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver THEMSELVES [margin, Heb., THEIR SOULS,] from the power of the flame; there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” Isa. xlvii, 14.

Observe three things. 1. The wicked shall be stubble. This is what Malachi says. 2. The fire shall burn them. This is what John the Baptist says, Matt. iii, 12. 3. They shall not deliver themselves, or, as the margin, which is the exact Hebrew expression, has it, “they shall not deliver THEIR SOULS from the power of the flame.” This is the execution of the Judgment so pointedly brought to view in our Lord’s warning: “Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. x, 28. The fire of gehenna, having accomplished the very purpose for which it was kindled, shall also fulfill the remainder of Isaiah’s wonderful prophecy: “There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” The devouring element, having cleansed the earth itself, now ceases to exist. Destruction is now brought to a perpetual end. Let us thank God that this time shall come at last. The universe will be clean. Sin and sinners shall no longer exist. Only holy beings shall be left alive.

But may not the wicked be ever burning and never burned up? Leaving the Bible out of the account, we may say that in one of two ways this might be. 1. If the wicked can exist in the fire without its having any power upon them to burn, devour, or consume them. But in that case they burn only in appearance and not in reality. Their nature must be of a higher species of immortality than that of the righteous, for they live in the fire and excluded from the tree of life as long as the righteous who are in Paradise and have free access to that tree. 2. But there is another view of their ever burning and never being burned up. It is that they shall keep growing as fast as they burn. But where do they find food to supply the waste of the devouring fire? And where do they obtain so wonderful an immortality that it can sustain them in the midst of the fiery flame and ever renew the unceasing waste caused by the ravages of the destroying element? To state either of these views is to refute it. The unquenchable fire shall burn up the wicked. Matt. iii. It shall burn them up root and branch. Mal. iv. They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. Nahum i. The fire shall have power even upon their souls. Isa. xlvii, 14, margin. And the lake of fire itself is the second death; a sure testimony to the fact that it does not preserve alive those that are cast into it; and that none can live in the intolerable heat of the devouring flame.

If wicked men were not devoured by the fire they would be, like the three worthies, capable of walking unharmed in the furnace of fire. Dan. iv, 25. But the fire does take hold of them for they are consumed into smoke. Ps. xxxvii, 20. Men may argue as they please to prove from the smoke of their torment that they shall never be consumed. But where there is smoke there is also fire; and that fire is by that very fact shown to be in the devouring or consuming process. And let that be continued long enough there will be nothing left from the fire but smoke and the ashes. Compare Ps. xxxvii, 20; Mal. iv, 3.

The Holy Spirit has chosen such figures to represent the condition of the wicked when cast into the fire that it is impossible to believe them possessed of an indestructible nature. They are tares, thorns, stubble, and chaff. They are never said to be preserved alive in the flame, but always to perish, to consume, to be devoured, to be burned up root and branch, and to die the second death. It would be easy to say of them, were it only true, as of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that the fire had no power to singe a hair of their heads. But they are put into the fire to be consumed, and the fire itself exists for that very purpose. When that object is accomplished, the fire itself shall cease.

The Holy Spirit is capable of speaking language that can be understood. If the wicked were to be preserved without undergoing a consuming process in the fire, the Spirit of God could say so. It tells us that the bush which Moses saw “burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” Ex. iii, 2. It could say just so concerning the punishment of the wicked. It never has spoken thus in their case. Who dare affirm that that is what it means to say? It has spoken the exact opposite of this idea, even declaring that they shall be burned up root and branch in the unquenchable fire. Who dares to reverse this solemn declaration? If men would live forever they must have access to the tree of life. All others shall have the second death in the lake of fire.

THE CITY OF GOLD.

By H. A. Marionville

I have dreamed in my dreams of the city so blest, Where the heart drinks its fill from the fountain of rest, Where the wells are of jasper, and the gates do reflect The unclouded faces of God's own elect. I have journeyed afar through its portals, and lo, I reveled in joys of that dear long ago, For there did my arms in their longing enfold The friends of my youth, in the city of gold.

I have dreamed in my untroubled dreams of the night, That the glory of Heaven had dawned in my sight, And my eyes they were gladdened with visions of cheer, For a fair slumbering sister and brother were near. Through the gateway of sapphire I walked through the street, And no echo I heard from the fall of the feet Of the ones who had strayed from the dear household fold, To the beautiful city, the city of gold.

I have dreamed, and their presence to me was so real, That their kisses so warm on my lips I could feel, I have said, Fare thee well, O moments of dearth, Ye only belong to the dwellers of earth. I have dreamed of the joys of the ransomed and free, Of the chrystalline gates and the fair jasper sea, But the half of the glory will e'er be untold Of the beautiful city, the city of gold.

On that day will the joy of our hearts be complete, On the day when we walk through its beautiful street, When the fetters are broken that bind us to earth, And we taste of the joys of our heavenly birth. Then, then we no longer shall hunger and thirst, For the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, Where friendship is true, and love never grows cold, In the beautiful city, the city of gold.—H. A. Marionville.

CHRONOLOGY OF GEN. II.

By John Matteson

The following table shows how the lives of the 12 generations following Noah were shortened by degrees. Also how much quicker one generation followed after the other.

1. Shem, born A. M. 1556, was 102 years old when he begat his first son; lived 602 years; died A. M. 2158.

2. Arphaxad, born A. M. 1658, was 35 years old when he begat his first son; lived 438 years; died A. M. 2096.

3. Salah, born A. M. 1698, was 30 years old when he begat his first son; lived 433 years; died A. M. 2026.

4. Eber, born A. M. 1723, was 34 years old when he begat his first son; lived 464 years; died A. M. 2187.

5. Peleg, born A. M. 1757, was 30 years old when he begat his first son; lived 239 years; died A. M. 1996.

6. Reu, born A. M. 1787, was 32 years old when he begat his first son; lived 239 years; died A. M. 2026.

7. Serug, born A. M. 1819, was 30 years old when he begat his first son; lived 230 years; died A. M. 2049.

8. Nahor, born A. M. 1849, was 29 years old when he begat his first son; lived 148 years; died A. M. 1997.

9. Terah, born A. M. 1878, was 70 years old when he begat his first son; lived 205 years; died A. M. 2083.

10. Abraham, born A. M. 1948, was 100 years old (Gen. xxi.) when he begat his first son; lived 175 years (Gen. xxv.); died A. M. 2123.

11. Isaac, born A. M. 2048, was 60 years old (Gen. xxv.) when he begat his first son; lived 180 years; (chap. xxxv) died A. M. 2228.

12. Jacob, born A. M. 2108, was 78 years old when he begat his first son; lived 147 years; (chap. xlvii,) died A. M. 2255.

This shows that Shem, the son of Noah, lived to see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Abraham died 35 years before Shem died.

It is also wonderful to see during how many generations Noah lived. He saw 7 generations before the flood, and 10 generations after the flood. He lived 84 years with Enos the third from Adam, and 58 years with Abraham the twentieth from Adam.

JOHN MATTESON.

THE SIGN OF THE NEARING ADVENT OF CHRIST.

By Cumming

“And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. xxiv; Mark xiii; Luke xxi.

SEEING that the Saviour himself does not denounce the question of the apostles, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” as improper, nor refused an answer as inexpedient, let me proceed to adduce some of those signs about which they inquired, and which the Redeemer said would indicate the approaching advent of the Prince of Peace, and the end, not of the earth, for the earth is made everlasting as the heavens, but of this present economy or dispensation.

The great sign our Lord specially states is, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” What must fair and impartial criticism infer from these words? Just this, that as soon as Christianity has been fully addressed to every nation, not individual, the end will arrive. The words are very definite and exact; as soon as Christianity has been addressed to every nation over the whole world; not after converting every nation, for that is not said, but as a message or “witness,” then shall the end come. Up to April, 1859, 35,690,000 copies of the word of God, in 152 languages, had been prudently sown over the whole world. If I include the American Society, 160,000,000 of Bibles, in 200 languages and dialects, have been disseminated in various ways, and in recent years, over the length and breadth of the world. I do not think there is a nation or a segment of a nation, with any sort of social organization, or speaking the dialect of a language, which has not the word of God, or, at least, a portion of it, in its own tongue; so that the witness has been given though the conversion of the people has not followed from it. India, with its 130,000,000, has had the gospel preached to it as a witness; Africa, through the labors of Livingstone, and Dr. Barth, and others, has been traversed. It can be said truly that Christianity has been preached there, at least, as a witness. The gospel has penetrated even Japan. There is not a nation upon the earth, amid polar snows or under equatorial suns, that has not heard the gospel preached, and in its own tongue the word of God freely circulated; so that we may expect the blessed day soon to arrive, when, in the language of the great missionary Bishop, “—O'er our ransomed nature, The Lamb for sinners slain, Redeemer, King, Creator, In bliss returns to reign.”

America there are a million of what are called Spiritualists, who have organized a national church, which they call the church of the Spiritualists; and that they disbelieve the Bible, deny Christianity, and profess to have immediate communion with spirits in Heaven and in hell. Doesn’t this look something like the fulfillment of the words in the 16th of Revelation; “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the war of that great day of Almighty God?”

It is added to the twelfth chapter of Daniel, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time thy people,” that is, the true Israel “shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” And then he adds, “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” It is also added that “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

This last sign is striking. No mark more distinguishes the age in which we live than locomotion. If one were asked what is the passion of the nations of the earth at this moment, it would be answered, Literally running to and fro. It is not many years since men made their wills before they took a journey from London to Edinburgh, so distant was the one capital from the other, and so perilous the enterprise. Now one can leave London in the morning at ten o’clock, and partake of a not very late dinner in Edinburgh in the evening. For tens that traveled fifty years ago, literally thousands travel now. The fact is that facilities for traveling have created and multiplied travelers; till more people rush from London, on every great holiday, than rushed, probably, from all Europe a half century ago. To the iron rail are added the electric telegraph, and the ocean steamer. But while this age is distinguished from all preceding ones as the age of locomotion, the addition, “Knowledge shall be increased,” is scarcely less remarkable. Never were books so multiplied. It may be, as Solomon says, that “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh,” but certainly never were books in such demand, and never was such a supply. One can get as much for a penny now as would have cost a pound a hundred years ago. Where the few once deliciously sipped of the stream of knowledge, the millions of the people slake their thirst, and are refreshed. The assiduity, running to and fro, and increase of knowledge, is made more remarkable by the mysterious whispering wire. We can now send a message to India in three days; and from Jerusalem to London in 20 hours. Very soon we shall be able to carry messages across the Atlantic. In fact, the whole world seems by this network of wire to be rapidly becoming linked together. What is the real design? Men may intend to have ten per cent for their money; God is overruling it to promote his own grand and splendid issues, the triumphs of his kingdom, and the universal glory of the Redeemer’s name. It is of Sir Isaac Newton that the incident is recorded that in one of his works upon Daniel he predicted that for the fulfillment of the prophecies it was necessary that the means of intercourse between nations should be extremely extended, and that he had not the least doubt, that some day, through the discoveries of science, men would be able to travel at the rate of forty miles an hour. Voltaire, the sceptic, referring to this idea, said, “What do you think does Sir Isaac Newton say? He actually predicts that a day will come when people will travel at the rate of forty miles an hour. Just see,” says Voltaire, “into what absurdities the study of the Bible can drive a great and gifted mind.” Who was the fool? Ask the North Western, or the Great Western, and you will see that what Voltaire denounced as a dream of a fanatic is the sober reality of our day.

Some of the best and weightiest commentators upon prophecy think that “knowledge shall be increased,” is specially applied by Daniel to the knowledge of prophecy, for to this Daniel strictly refers. Dr. Adam Clarke, an extremely able commentator, says it means, “Many shall endeavor, as the end draws near, to search out the signs, and knowledge of the prophecies shall be increased.” Again, Dr. Gill, the ablest commentator, certainly the most learned, and one in whose commentary one may have very great confidence, says it means, “Many shall be stirred up to inquire into these things; the knowledge of this book of prophecy will be greatly increased, and things in it will appear plainer the nearer that the end comes. Sir Isaac Newton, one of the great master spirits of the world, who wrote upon the book of Daniel, said, “It is a part of the prophecy that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; but toward the end of the world the prophecy shall be so far interpreted as to convince many.”

A great number of wise, talented, and pious men are investigating this subject, and daily coming nearer to a unanimous judgment as to the position that we now occupy than ever heretofore.

One very able and highly accomplished commentator upon the word of God, writing at the close of last century, that is, upward of 60 years ago, said, “A mark of the last age will be, more books will be written upon the prophecies; and indeed,” he says, “more have already been written than at any previous time.” It is clear, if this be the application of it, that toward the end of this economy we shall hear rising from thousands of pulpits, “Behold the bridegroom cometh,” and a voice will be heard in the depths of the church, in the hearts of His people, “Behold I come speedily,” and the prayer again will rise, “Come, Lord Jesus, yea, come speedily.”—Cumming.

MINUTE MEN.

By F. C. Castle

My mind of late has been impressed with the importance of our standing as minute men in the Lord's service, ready to go at a moment's notice, cheerfully doing our Captain's bidding. How dangerous for sentinels to leave their posts, and cease to guard that which they were appointed over. The enemy may come in and do much injury to that which he is sworn to protect and defend; and how true it is that the Lord is testing the fidelity of his people, proving them, to see if they will be on time, doing every duty. I think of two orphan children whose mother was a Sabbath-keeper, and they also observed the same, and wished to do so. Yet for nearly a year they have been thrown into the world where they could not observe it. I excused myself for the time, feeling my inability and incompetency to do anything like justice to them. And the attention of others was called to their case, and how they would feel if their own children were so left, and some thought they were better off in the world than they would be with Sabbath-keepers. Are there no nursing fathers and mothers in Israel, to look after the spiritual wants of such children? With shame I confess my lack of faith in the promises of God to sustain Christ's burden-bearers. And may the Lord forgive where I have failed of bearing the yoke.

And I would fully awake to the importance of doing for Christ, as brought to view in Testimony No. 15. Why should I choose an easier path than that which my Master trod before me? Do I look for my rest here? Is it here in this life that I am to receive my portion? If so, then I am not a follower of Christ, not dead to the world. Self is not crucified, and my hope beyond this life will be like a spider's web. Awake, O my soul, sleep not at thy post. Be watchful, and be vigilant. Know the strength of thine enemy, and flee to the strong hold for refuge in the day of trouble. “Contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.” Oh! may I love the banner that has trailed in the dust almost, because the standard-bearers have fainted. But now they are lifting it high, so that its colors can be seen by all its followers, and success must follow it.

The alarm is given of the danger we are in of sleeping now when the army is on the march, that we may get so far behind as not to be able to regain our position, and others will take our place, and finally receive the reward.

F. C. CASTLE.

St. Law. Co., N. Y.

A THOUGHT.

By H. C. Miller

It is written of Jesus that he went about all their cities and villages, healing the sick. We may learn much if we follow him in those journeys, and view his manner. How different from the self-styled great doctors of the world! No agent preceded him, to post up flaming posters and lying testimonials, announcing his coming, or his arrival, and telling of the wonderful works he performed. None of this; but quietly he went about seeking to do good to all who in faith applied to him. He sought no certificate from those he cured, certifying of his wonderful powers, that he might increase his fame; but we read that “great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; and charged them that they should not make him known.” Why? Was it to make a pretense of modesty that thus he might gain a greater popularity? No; but “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying: Behold my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. . . . He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.”

He practiced what he preached. He had taught that heed should be taken that alms be not done “to be seen of men,” saying, “When thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” And when he had healed, he never afterwards boasted of his great work. Neither do we find him saying to those he healed, “Now I would like a certificate from you stating the facts in this case, and the remarkable cure I have effected.” But he charged them, “See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” Let us seek to imitate this, and give God all the glory in what we do, striving to fulfill the law and the prophets so far as it devolves upon us so to do.

H. C. MILLER.

Wise Distrust and Security

WISE distrust, is the parent of security.

“THE NEXT MOVE.”

By Editor

There is a large and growing class of people in this country in whose minds the idea of giving this nation some marked religious characteristics does not slumber nor sleep. It seems to be taking possession of them more and more fully, leading them to corresponding efforts to carry it into effect. Hence the agitation continues and increases. It shows itself in various ways. The movement on foot to amend the constitution of the United States so that that instrument shall recognize God, and the Christian religion, the agitation of the Sunday question, and the wide-spread efforts to make a profession of Christianity a qualification for office, are the surface indications of the under current. And we expect it will continue till the question is brought to a prompt and decisive issue. We regard the movement in the light of prophecy as one of the most significant events of the day, and shall watch its development with increasing interest.

A late number of the Church Union, the largest religious paper published in this country, and the organ of the union movement, which is designed to combine all professed Christians into one vast co-operative body, under the heading of “A Christian Party the Next Move,” thus openly and urgently advocates the prosecution of this work:

“A CHRISTIAN PARTY THE NEXT MOVE.—Of course it must be understood, in the order of Providence, that universal suffrage and universal fellowship must precede all other steps. After these, the next great evil to meet is the tendency to corruption. Democratic governments have no enemy more dreadful than that of corruption. It has destroyed every republic on this footstool but ours, and it has begun its work here, and fearful are the ravages. Our readers know that we go in for the largest liberty to all; but mere liberty will work no good. Liberty is French anarchy when it comes without Christ. The liberty which Jefferson, Paine, Theodore Parker, the Boston Investigator, the Radical, the Liberal Christian, and the political editor of the N. Y. Independent, claim, is a Christless liberty. We would be no better off in the clutches of Wendell Philips than in the hands of Fernando Wood without Christ. Now, by this remark we mean this: We desire to purify our government. There is no purity out of Christ. It has got to be established, this dogma, that nothing but Christ can cure our republic of all its diseases. New York will never be swept clean by women even, and we believe women to be the purest. Woman, with Christ, can do the work in an hour. What we wish to accomplish in New York is to get every one to voting, women with the rest, and this because she is the purest and the best. Then we need to combine all Christians, have for once a Christian mayor, a board of aldermen, and common council, and judiciary of Christians, and then down goes the bad, come from what source it may. These things will not come of themselves. A party must be formed. 1872 ought to give such a party prominent mention. Let some few men band themselves together, and take steps to organize a party. Do not wait for numbers. Twelve is all there were to begin the mightiest revolution of any age. Nor need these be great men. Fishermen and publicans did once; they will do again the work. We shall constantly, from time to time, dwell on this subject, until we have thoroughly tested the matter whether there is yet grace enough given to the church to take her place. If not, she must move aside, and Christ will refine and purify her until she does come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”

In connection with the above, another significant movement may also be mentioned. It is no less than a proposition on the part of the Jews to abandon their Sabbath and take their day of rest on the Christian Sunday. For this we are indebted to a Chicago paper which lately contained the following:

A COMMON SABBATH.

A writer in the Israelite, published at Cincinnati, makes an appeal to his Hebraic brethren to unite with the Christians in the observance of the same day as the Sabbath. He writes that there is no special command that the Jews shall keep their Sabbath on a Saturday, and therefore that there is no reason why the whole body of Christians and Jews may not keep the Sabbath on the same day—the Sunday. The present rule, he argues, is especially hard upon the Jews. They have to close up their business and suspend their labor on Saturday, when all the rest of the world are fully employed; and they have to close their business virtually on the succeeding day, when the other portion of mankind have their Sabbath. If one day was agreed upon, the whole civilized world would keep their Sabbath on the same day.

The writer does not say in what mode this Sabbath should be observed—rigidly, or as a day of rest from labor and recreation for body and mind. This movement for a transfer of the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday marks the progress of the world in matters of religion.

The overcomers at the close of this dispensation will be observers of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and believers in Jesus Christ. So the Jew, although he may be keeping the Sabbath, inasmuch as he does not observe the faith of Jesus, cannot be reckoned among them. Yet it could hardly be supposed that the Jew, destitute of all the vitality of genuine religion, would cling to the Sabbath, through the fiery ordeal to which such observance is to be subjected before the end. And it seems that they are even now preparing the way for its abandonment.

The religious world thus presents at the present time the following significant phases: 1, Spiritualism, with all its evil tendencies, leavening the great mass of all the popular bodies of professed Christians. 2. A deep and wide-spread effort to make Sunday a legal and national institution; and, 3, The Jews preparing to abandon the ancient and true Sabbath in favor of this professedly Christian practice. Thus the believers in the truths of the Bible will soon become a marked and distinct people. May the divine Author of all truth give them grace to stand without compromise, and without fear.

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