The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, vol. 75

August 9, 1898

“Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32, p. 508.

WE are invited by the Lord to “recognize,” as well as to receive, the Holy Spirit. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.1

The Holy Spirit can be properly recognized only by those who have received him. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.2

In the time of the “early rain” the Holy Spirit was recognized by those who received him; and it must be so in this “time of the latter rain.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.3

Whether Ananias and Sapphira had received the Holy Spirit, may be questioned; but it is certain that they did not recognize him, and therefore they thought they could render service to the Lord under false pretenses. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.4

But the apostles did recognize the Holy Spirit. Therefore when Ananias and Sapphira acted upon the false pretense which they had concerted, the apostles recognized it, not as an attempt to deceive them or the church, nor as only a wrong act in themselves, but as an attempt to deceive the Holy Ghost. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.5

The apostle left themselves, the church, and everything else, entirely out of the question, and recognized the reign of the Holy Spirit. they recognized the Holy Spirit as the great living presence and power presiding in the church and over the church. Accordingly they brought the offenders face to face with this mighty fact, and in this, with the fact that they had lied to the Holy Ghost. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.6

This is written to show what it is to recognize the Holy Spirit; and how the Holy Spirit will vindicate his own honor, when he is recognized. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.7

It shows that the Holy Spirit is able to take care of the credit of the church when he is recognized and given the chance to do it. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.8

But from the days of the apostles until now the great evil has been, and it is yet, that men insist on putting themselves forward, and undertaking to do things themselves, and making themselves the guardians of the truth and of the credit of the church; and when false pretenses were played, and lies told, it was they who were deceived and lied to. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.9

That time, however, is now past and must be past. The time is now here when the Holy Spirit must be “recognized and received” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.10

The time is now come when the Holy Spirit must be recognized as the all in all, in honor, place, and authority, in the church. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.11

And when he is so recognized, and the people are held face to face with this mighty fact, he will be found vindicating the honor of the Christian faith and maintaining the credit of the church. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.12

Thus it will be again, as at the first, that “great favor came upon all the church and as many as feared these things;” the false pretenders and lairs will be cleansed out of the church, “believers” will be “the more added to the Lord;” and “of the rest durst no man join himself to them.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.13

Thank the Lord, this time has come, and it .... well as received, and he will speedily purify the church. For it is written, and the time is now, that “the Son of man shall send forth his angels [who are the ministers of the Holy Spirit, Ezekiel 1:20; Hebrews 1:7], and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.14

Note, in this gathering they do not gather out for his kingdom all things that shall be holy and righteous: they “gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity”—all the liars, all the false pretenders, all who by their formalism without the power, are stumbling-blocks and offenders. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.15

The harvest is at hand: but before the wheat can be gathered into the heavenly garner, the tares must be gathered out; for though “both grow together until the harvest” they are not harvested together. Before the righteous can “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” there must be gathered “out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.16

The cleansing of the church can not be “by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.” It can not be by the machinery and working of men; but “by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.17

And “when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning,” then “the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon [“above”] all the glory shall be a defense [“a covering”].” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.18

This time is now. Bless the Lord! And this blessed work of preparation will be made for the church to meet the Lord, when the Holy Spirit shall be recognized as all in all, in and to the church. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.19

And when this blessed work is done, “it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living [“registered and appointed for life”] in Jerusalem.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.20

When thus the angels as the ministers of the Holy Spirit shall have gathered out of his kingdom “all things that offend, and them which do iniquity,” “THEN shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Praise the Lord! ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.21

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” And this is what the Spirit saith unto the churches. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.22

Have you an ear to hear what the Spirit saith?—If not, why? Is it possible that you are “uncircumcised in heart and ears,” so that you do not hear what the Spirit saith? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.23

O, “ask, and it shall be give you.” “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.24

And “recognize” the Holy Spirit. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.25

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our needs are to be supplied, but there is nothing said about our wants. One has truly .... A need is one thing; a want is another thing. “We want a great many more things than we need.” If we would spend more time seeking the Lord to learn what we need, we would be more contented with what he sends us. We ask him for things we want, and do not stop to think whether we really need them or not. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.26

“‘Loose Preaching’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32, pp. 508, 509.

IN a recent number of the Herald of the Coming One, Sam Jones is criticized severely because in one of his sermons he said: “God teaches us in his word that he is no respecter of persons. God loves the meanest man in the world as much as he does the best man. God loves the abandoned, wicked sinner as well as the best Christian in Nashville.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.1

The writer who takes exceptions to this statement, says:— ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.2

This is terribly loose preaching. What Universalist is there who would not gladly accept such notions? The serious thing about it is, it is not the truth. The Bible most decidedly teaches that God does love his trustful, obedient people a great deal more than he loves the ungodly ones who persist in disobeying him. There is a sense in which God does love all men, and that sense is a love of pity, a love which yearns to save every sinner from his sins; but such a love is far from being one of pleasure, of delight, of joy, such as God has toward those who obey, honor, and love him. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.3

God is a respecter of persons in a most important sense. His very character is such that he must respect his own dutiful, loving people much more than he does disobedient and wicked rebels. It is as plain as the brightest day, that Christ had far greater respect for his devoted and endeared disciples than he had for those hypocritical Pharisees who opposed him on every hand. Christ never put a premium on hypocrisy and unbelief and stubborn rebellioin. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.4

If it were true that God loves “the abandoned, wicked sinner as well as the best Christian,” then what inducement has the most wicked man to become a loving, pure, and obedient Christian? And if God loves a rebellious sinner as greatly as he loves a true Christian, then why will not God give the wicked one as much benefit and blessing as he does his loving child, who gives himself fully to God? O, it is arrant folly to suppose that God loves ungodly men with the same kind and degree of love that he feels and exhibits toward those who have penitently accepted Christ. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.5

This criticism it is that contains the loose preaching, not the words criticized. “God is love.” It is not, God loves; but “God is love.” That is what he is. And he is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. He can not be anything else and be God. but he is “the eternal God”—with him to all eternity, past and future, there “is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” He can not love one person more than another. He is the same to all people, because he is God, the eternal God—ever the same. And being ever the same, he is ever the same to all. The sinner does not know him, and does not know his love, and so loses everything in abusing his love. The only inducement the wicked sinner needs is this very fact of the love of God, because he is love. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.6

When God says he is not a respecter of persons, why should mortal man say that God is a respecter of persons? God does not love sin, but he does love the sinner. Jesus was just as willing to help the Pharisee as he was to help the beloved John. He loved them as much, for he came to die for them. He denounced their hypocrisy, because he loved them. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.7

Why were the parables of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, and the lost piece of money given, if not to teach that God loves the sinner as much as the ninety and nine that are in the fold. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 508.8

This nineteenth-century idea that a church-member is more precious in the sight of God than other people is pharisaical, and tends to discourage those who want to be saved. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.1

It is the spirit of “come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” We church members, we Christians,—we are good. The Lord loves us more than he loves you; because we are so nice. You bad, low-down, “fallen,” wicked sinners,—you become nice like we are, then the Lord will love you as he now does us. But you are too bad now for him to love you very much. This is the same old pharisaical spirit, that thinks God altogether such a one as themselves. It will never do. Christians are no better than other people, except for the love, the character, of God that is in them, and abides with them. God so loved the world of sinners, lost, fallen, wicked,—us, our individual selves,—God so loved, because he is love, and because of that only. that he is love is the only reason for his loving sinners; and that he is love is the only inducement for the winning of sinners. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.2

It may be that Sam Jones is sometimes loose in his preaching; but if he never misses the mark any farther than he did in the statement so criticized, his preaching will be the very message of salvation. Let us have more of this very sort of “loose preaching.” It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is love, and certainly showed it when he willingly gave the choicest gift of heaven, yea, when he gave himself, to save sinners. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.3

“‘When’s’ and ‘Why’s’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32, p. 509.

WHEN Christ has said, “The Sabbath was made for man,” WHY should any of his professed followers contend that it was made for the Jews only? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.1

WHEN the Sabbath was made, it was to be a memorial of God’s creative work (Genesis 2:2, 3; Exodus 20:8-11); then WHY should it cease to exist as long as his creative works remain? See Psalm 135:13. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.2

WHEN the Lord wished to impress upon man the difference between himself and the heathen gods, he always referred to the fact that he is the One that made the heavens and the earth (Isaiah 42:5; 48:12, 13; Acts 17:24; Revelation 14:7), thus giving the facts on which the Sabbath commandment was based. WHY, then, should the memorial be abolished while the facts still continued? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.3

WHEN the Israelites came out of bondage, and before they received the ten commandments at Sinai, they were told that the seventh day “is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord;” that “this is that which the Lord hath said;” and they were required to “keep” it (Exodus 16:22-30); WHY did the Lord tell them that it was the Sabbath, and require them to keep it, if it did not exist before the law was spoken at Sinai? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.4

WHEN the ten commandments were given, WHY should nine of them be of perpetual obligation upon all the nations of the earth, .... only to the Jews, and this only from Sinai to Calvary? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.5

WHEN the Scriptures plainly teach us that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16); the Deliverer of Israel from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 23:20-23; 1 Corinthians 10:4); the same One who spoke the law from Sinai, (Exodus 20:2); and the Redeemer of the world (Isaiah 43:7, 11; 44:6); WHY should not we honor him by keeping as the memorial of his creative work, the Sabbath which he made blessed, sanctified, and KEPT? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 509.6

“Chain Letters” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32, p. 510.

RECENTLY a chain letter was started by a lady on Long Island, asking for money to purchase ice for an ambulance ship. The chain is formed as follows: The first person writes four letters to four friends asking each to send ten cents to purchase ice, and also write four letters to four friends asking each of them to do the same. Each of these letters is to be a copy of the original, and each person who receives such a letter is earnestly enjoined to prevent the breaking of the chain by complying with the request; or it not, to notify the friend making the request. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.1

The first four letters are each numbered “1.” Each person who receives one of these is expected to write four letters, and all of these sixteen are to be numbered “2.” The next series of sixty-four letters is to be known as “No. 2,” and so on. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.2

Now that we have the scheme, let us consider the results of it. are they good or are they evil? Not what but good people have a part in this work, for sometimes good people do not see the results of a scheme they are asked to enter into. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.3

Though this particular enterprise was good, the great majority of the persons who are asked to write such letters, have no way of knowing the character of the enterprise to which they are asked to contribute. By sending these letters to their friends, they become responsible for recommending the person or enterprise to which they ask contributions. They endorse an enterprise they know but little or nothing about, which is morally wrong. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.4

One particularly notable thing about it is that it is a most extravagant way of collecting funds. Every person who sends ten cents is expected to spend ten cents on postage, and not less than two cents more for stationary. Thus it costs at least twelve cents to collect ten cents for the enterprise. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.5

None of the people who assist in sending these letters have the least idea of what they are attempting to do. They have no conception of the vastness of the scheme. If they had, it is safe to say that but few of them would have anything to do with it. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.6

Usually the letter requests that the chain be continued until the hundredth series. Any one who will think a moment will be astonished at the result of the scheme. When only the twentieth series is reached, the number of letters written would be 1,090,921,693,184. This would make one letter each for every man, woman, and child, in seven hundred worlds, each with a population as numerous as that of our world, and yet only the twentieth series has been reached. If each letter contained the ten cents asked for, this twentieth series would bring in $109,092,169,318.40; and would pay out $111,274,012,705.20 for postage and stationary to bring in the other. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.7

Without making any further calculations on the remaining eighty in the series of the one hundred, it is safe to say that when the ten-cent contributions should reach that series, the person who started it would be prepared to offer the full value of a world of gold like ours for every lump of ice that any soldier could possibly use. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.8

We have said enough to show that it is never safe to take for granted that seemingly the most trival things are really insignificant. We may also get a suggestion of the tremendous power of the chain of human influences and example, and what marvelous results may be attained by the multiplication of trifles. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.9

Should any of our readers receive one of these chain letters, you will do the person who started them a favor by breaking the chain. The paper that makes a note of the ice fund says that the lady has received the results from only a few of the first series, and it amounts to more than $5,000. She did not realize what she was starting, and is now kept very busy opening the letters that are coming to her. She is more anxious to have the “chain” broken than she was to start it. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.10

If you have a chain of thought or habit which draws you in the wrong direction, do not pass it on to others to help multiply it, but break it at once. Break every chain that would bind you, and be free in Christ. ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.11

“Editorial Note” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32, p. 510.

CAPTAIN PEARY speaks of the distance sound can be heard during intense cold. He says: “In the artic regions we often heard people converse in a common tone at a distance of a mile.” If the human ear can hear at that distance when the surroundings are favorable, why should we not believe that the Creator who made both the circumstances and the ear, ear, hear our voices when we come to him in prayer, though that prayer may not be heard by the human ear. Then he also can hear those foolish words we speak, those bitter expressions that give pain to our fellow men. If he hears if all, should we not take heed to our words that they be words that we will want to meet in the judgment? ARSH August 9, 1898, page 510.1