The American Sentinel 9
July 26, 1894
“Editorial” American Sentinel 9, 30, pp. 233, 234.
THERE is another passage of scripture, in the same line of things as that noticed last week, that so fully describes the present situation, in another phase of it, that it is worth noting. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.1
ALL men see the way that things are going, and they know that the times are perilous, and they resort to combinations of different sorts by which, if possible, to save themselves from results which they see must certainly follow, even viewed from the standpoint of the world. The laborers combine in unions, leagues, etc., to save themselves from what seems to them must certainly come. The farmers do the same, and the capitalists do the same. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.2
NOW, in the eighth chapter of Isaiah, this course of things is described, and the word says: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, [that is, the Lord says to us], Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.... And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.” Isaiah 8:9-17. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.3
THUS it is clearly shown that in the time of waiting and watching for the coming of the Lord, there will be this time of general distress and fear, in view of what is coming; and also this time of association and combination and confederation of many together to save themselves from that which they fear. It shows also that none of these associations, combinations, or confederacies will help those who enter into them. But the word which they speak “shall not stand;” the counsel which they take together will “come to nought;” and the combinations which they make, and even they, themselves, in those confederations, “shall be broken in pieces.” AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.4
NO, no. Confederation or association of men will not save them in this time. Every effort made in that way will only increase the trouble and the danger which they hoped to escape. This also is apparent to every one who looks at these things as they are to-day; for never was there a time in the world when there were such vast combinations of capital, and never was there a time when capital was so insecure. Never were there such vast organizations and combinations of labor, and never was labor in a worse plight. Unions, federations, combinations, will not help matters. These evils will grow worse and worse. Men themselves will grow worse and worse. 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13. And by no combination or invention can men save themselves from themselves. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.5
NONE but the Lord can save, even temporally, in this time. Therefore, in the presence of these things, when men are in fear in dread, their hearts moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind, He counsels us, “Stablish your hearts,” let your hearts be fixed, so that you shall be safe and unmoved when others are in fear and in dread. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him by your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary,” that is, for a refuge, a place of safety and security, a dwelling-place, a shelter in the time of storm. For, “he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;” and in the shadow of his wings can we make our refuge till these calamities be overpast. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.6
ANOTHER scripture in this line, worthy of note, is in Habakkuk, first and second chapters. There, in the first chapter, is related how that in vision the Lord caused the prophet to see violence and strife, grievances and contentions, injustice and oppression. “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” Verses 2-4. In astonishment the prophet inquired how that the Lord, who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity,—how he could look upon such a scene as this and not do something; how he could keep silence while there was such treacherous dealings, and the wicked devouring the man who is more righteous than he. Verses 13-15. AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.7
AFTER the prophet had presented thus his earnest inquiry, he says: “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” In Hebrews 10:36, 37, this passage of scripture is applied directly to the coming of the Lord in these words: “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.8
IN Habakkuk, the counsel of the Lord to the prophet proceeds to describe those men who enlarge their desire as the grave (which is one of the things that never say, I have enough); and who are as death, that is, will never let go that which they have gained, and cannot be satisfied. He also describes on the other hand, those who are oppressed and robbed by these, and says: “Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? ... Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?” AMS July 26, 1894, page 233.9
HERE is a description of the very things that are going on. There is a cry against the rich that there must be a more equal distribution of the good things of this world. Already the cry has been often raised, How long shall this continue? Already threats have been made, not secretly, but openly and loudly, not by the lowest of the rabble, but by men in high places, that the wealth that is so abundant and that is hoarded shall be made booty for those who have not. Booty is that which is taken away by violence, and in view of the looting that has occurred in the Chicago strikes, and other places in Illinois, this time seems to have begun. AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.1
HERE, also, is the word of a man to that effect, who, to-day, is Secretary of State of one of the States of the Union, and was such when the statement was made:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.2
I want to make a prediction. It is that there will be no overt act until the next election, then simultaneously with the returns, the flames will shoot up into the air from the Atlantic to the Pacific. AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.3
And here is another, not by a man in any official position, but one who spoke for thousands:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.4
In Massachusetts the workingmen were browbeaten and not heard. If things go on in this way, and the rich and the lawmakers turn their backs upon the poor, refusing to listen to the workingmen, there will follow an epidemic of assassination. Bombs will be exploded, and all the devices known for taking off oppressors will be the fate of our delinquent legislators and capitalists. AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.5
In view of what has occurred within the present year in Europe, it would seem that there the epidemic of assassination has even already begun, and with such a stirring up as this in the United States, with what has already appeared, it would seem also that such things could not be far off here. AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.6
AND the scripture which we are examining continued to describe this very element: “Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.” Habakkuk 2:8. If we have not now reached the time when there is violence in the city, and in the land, and amongst all that dwell therein, certainly things cannot go on much longer as they have been going since last Easter day, without bringing the country, and even the civilized world, positively to that condition. And the Lord said more than once, As it was in the days of Noah, “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” In the days of Noah the earth was “filled with violence,” and for these three months and more, continuously, violence has almost covered this land from ocean to ocean. AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.7
AND the time when this should be is also made clear by the statement that it is among the “remnant of the people.” The remnant of anything is the last portion of it. The scripture speaks of the remnant of the church and the remnant of God’s people, plainly referring to the last stage of the church and the last of God’s people who should be upon the earth,—those who shall be delivered at the coming of the Lord. But here is the remnant, not of the church, nor of God’s people, but the remnant of all the people, the remnant of the people of the earth, and that is just as clearly the last of the people that should be upon the earth. And these things which are being carried on before the eyes of all the people, this continual strife and violence that is being manifested throughout the land, and throughout the civilized world, this the scripture said would be in the time of “the remnant of the people.” Therefore it is certain that the people that are now upon the earth are the remnant, the last of the people who shall be upon the earth. “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord.” “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” AMS July 26, 1894, page 234.8
“Why They Work on Sunday” American Sentinel 9, 30, p. 236.
ADVENTISTS work on Sunday not from sheer willfulness nor merely to assert a right which they may or may not exercise at their pleasure, but because they regard it as a sacred duty to habitually devote Sunday to secular purposes; and this because they understand that the fourth commandment establishes a difference between the Sabbath and the six other days of the week, and requires men to respect that difference. To ignore this distinction between the Sabbath and the other days of the week is simply to defeat the object of the divine law, and to set up a counterfeit of the memorial which God has ordained to keep in remembrance the fact that he is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It follows as inevitably as night follows day that W. B. Capps, now in the Weakley County Tenn., jail, is there for conscience’ sake. AMS July 26, 1894, page 236.1
“Intolerant as National Reformers” American Sentinel 9, 30, p. 236.
THE Ironclad Age, an atheistic paper, printed in Indianapolis, Ind., has upon its editorial page of its issue of the 14th inst., these two notes:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 236.1
At Wilmington, N.C., one man sued another. As the plaintiff arose to testify, objection was made on account of his disbelief in a god. After some consideration by the judge, the man was allowed to testify on condition that he declared his belief in a god. To the great surprise of all present he did so. But as his non-religious views were well known, he prejudiced his case to such an extent that no conviction can be had. And such is our boasted religious liberty. AMS July 26, 1894, page 236.2
We trust that the time will come when the cheerful doctrine of eternal torture will no longer be bellowed forth at camp-meetings and other godly assemblages by insane sensational rascals. We trust the time will come when such work will be interdicted by law. AMS July 26, 1894, page 236.3
In view of the second paragraph quoted, what right has the Ironclad Age to find fault that a witness is required to avow his belief in God before being permitted to testify?—None whatever. Of course the North Carolina practice is wrong. Every man ought to be permitted to testify in a court of justice under the pains of perjury without any reference to his religious belief, and without any prejudice against him because of his faith or lack of faith; but the state of affairs that the Ironclad Age hopes to see would be much worse than the evil complained of. The National Reformers would overthrow the First Amendment to the Constitution in the interests of what they imagine is Christianity; the atheists of the Ironclad Age school would equally overthrown it in the interests of the blackest kind of infidelity, the very midnight of unbelief. There is small difference between the intolerance of atheism and the intolerance of so-called Christianity; both are utterly destructive to soul liberty, and both are from the enemy of all righteousness. That this is true is evident from the fact that the Ironclad Age takes its stand with the enemies of the Constitution which declares that “Congress shall make no law concerning an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” AMS July 26, 1894, page 236.4
“Will Congress Rest Under It?” American Sentinel 9, 30, pp. 237, 238.
THERE is upon the statute books what is known as the salary docking law, that is a law whereby a congressman absent from his seat without leave, unless on account of sickness, forfeits his salary for the time he is thus absent. July 11, Mr. Powers, of Vermont, reported to the House from the Judiciary Committee his bill repealing this salary docking law. The report ridicules the excuse for absence made by representatives in these words:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 237.1
It is apparent that the excuse of sickness is one easily made, and it is suspected that it is sometimes assigned as reason for absence without any disgnosis of ailments by medical experts. In other words, the enforcement of this section practically makes every member a pathologist on the subject of disease, which is not a qualification for service in Congress mentioned in the Constitution, and so for this reason the law is plainly unconstitutional. It is believed that each house of Congress can, by an appropriate rule, better enforce the attendance of members than by a statute operative as a penal statute and evaded by every subterfuge. AMS July 26, 1894, page 237.2
How seriously this is intended it is of course impossible to say. The idea that the law in question is unconstitutional on the ground alleged is utterly absurd. This certainly could not have been meant to be taken seriously. But is the idea that because the law is evaded it ought to be repealed any better? Scarcely. If congressmen ought to be paid for neglecting their business when they should be attending to it, then ought this law to be repeated, but not otherwise. If our law-makers are so dishonest as to demand pay for work they do not do, and so utterly lost to all sense of decency as to falsify in order to get what does not in either justice or law belong to them, then indeed have we become one of the basest of nations and a hissing and a reproach to the world. Will Congress rest under the imputation thus put upon it by Mr. Powers, or will it show itself to be clear in this matter? AMS July 26, 1894, page 237.3
“Back Page” American Sentinel 9, 30, p. 240.
THE pope has decided that burning of the dead “may be allowed under special conditions.” Upon this the Investigator remarks: “There was a time when popes of Rome decided that burning of the living was perfectly proper. Leo XIII. thinks cremation ‘heretical in principle.’ How tenderly Romanism handles dead men, but how roughly it has handled live ones.” AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.1
THE Catholic Review of this city suggests that— AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.2
Wherever there is a public library, the Catholics of the neighborhood should combine to raise a fund to contribute, say, one hundred first-class Catholic books to it. If they don’t do this, they will lose of great chance to spread knowledge of the truth. Is there such an opportunity where you live! AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.3
Protestants ought to see to it that every library is likewise supplied with anti-Catholic literature. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.4
SOME of the people of Church Hill, Md., are still threatening violence against the Adventists. Elder Horton, the Adventist minister in charge of the work there, has again been threatened with personal violence; and one night recently a mob attacked the large tent in which meetings are held, and partly demolished it. They also did some damage to the new church building, now nearly ready for dedication. They declare that the building shall never be dedicated. The Adventists are very certain that it will be both dedicated and used after dedication. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.5
ONE of the strangest things in human nature is the tendency to accept from government rights as favors, and to be devoutly thankful to government for them. Thus we find a Fourth of July orator near Lincoln, Neb., saying that notwithstanding the fact that our Government “is not as true to the Constitution as it once was,” “we should be thankful for what our country has done for us, and for the privileges still granted us.” The connection shows that the “privileges” have reference to rights of conscience, to believe and practice according to the dictates of conscience. The man who can be thankful for such privileges “granted” by government, could be thankful if he were about to be hung. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.6
If we may believe the Declaration of Independence, there are such things as inalienable rights; rights not only not conferred by government, but rights of which government has no right to deprive a single man, however humble. Among these are rights of conscience. In 1829, Hon. Richard M. Johnson said, in a report to the United States Senate:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.7
What other nations call religious toleration, we call religious rights. They are exercised not in virtue of governmental indulgence, but as rights, or which government cannot deprive any portion of citizens. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.8
This is true, but what then becomes of the idea of being thankful to government “for the privileges still granted us”? In 1827 Lord Stanhope said, in the British House of Lords:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.9
The time was when toleration was craved by dissenters as a boon; it is now demanded as a right; but the time will come when it will be spurned as an insult. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.10
But that time can never come to people who are taught that religious liberty is a privilege granted by government. It is granted by God only, and the government that touches it is a tyranny, whatever its form or by whatever name it may be called. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.11
THE Boston Investigator has this to say about the failure of the National Reformers to interest Congress in their raid on the Constitution:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.12
The God-in-the-Constitution fanatics are waking up to the fact that they were sat down upon when the Judiciary Committees of both Houses refused to submit the proposed amendment to the Constitution to Congress. After all the flourish of Christian trumpets and grand boasts of the National Reform Association that the nation was to be made a Christian nation, Congress would not even listen to the petitions asking to have the preamble of the national Constitution amended to suit Joseph Cook, Wilbur F. Crafts, Rev. Dr. George, and a few other fossilized ministers. Good-bye, God-in-the-Constitution party. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.13
As all are aware, we have not the slightest sympathy with the so-called National Reform movement; but it is bound to succeed. Whether they will yet secure the proposed amendment, we do not pretend to say; but the churches already dominate the Government; and according to the dictum of the supreme court, that “this is a Christian nation,” all that the National Reformers demand can be practically done without the amendment. We shall yet hear much more from the God-in-the-Constitution party, though in just what shape, time must reveal. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.14
THE case of W. B. Capps, the Seventh-day Adventist, now serving a sentence of fifteen months in a Tennessee jail, for doing ordinary labor on Sunday, has revived the question, Why do Adventists work on Sunday? The answer is, Believing the papacy to be antichrist, and holding the Sunday Sabbath to be the badge of its power, with Adventists the observance of Sunday would be equivalent to rendering homage to antichrist; hence their steady refusal to obey Sunday laws, and their willingness to suffer imprisonment, (as Mr. Capps is doing), the chain-gang, (as several Adventists have done), or even death itself, rather than to so much as appear to regard Sunday as other than a common working day. It is not therefore, as many seem to regard it, simply a matter of choice of days, but is with the Adventists a vital question directly affecting their salvation. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.15
THE state of mind of the rulers, in at least a part of Europe, is thus described by a foreign correspondent of the Sun, in its issue of July 15:— AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.16
The French authorities are in a state of alarm approaching panic over the warnings of fresh anarchist plots. The information has been furnished principally by London and other foreign police, and extraordinary precautions have been taken to prevent the execution of the bloodthirsty designs. These measures are so stringent that all foreigners in France are likely to suffer inconvenience. Merely stopping to admire the architecture of the public buildings is likely to lead to arrest on suspicion, as an innocent Englishman found who gazed curiously for five minutes at the foreign office on Thursday. The customs inspectors have been instructed to investigate the contents of everything larger than a small orange. The bill for the suppression of anarchy, which is almost certain to pass the chamber next week, is one of the most drastic pieces of legislation in history. I literally fulfills Macaulay’s prophecy that it might prove necessary to destroy liberty in order to preserve civilization. It almost forbids people to think anarchy. It certainly forbids them to mention it in a private letter. It tries offenders without a jury, and on conviction sends them to solitary confinement, and possibly to Cayenne. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.17
Macaulay was by many regarded as a pessimist when he predicted such a condition as now exists; but his “pessimism” was simply the result of an intimate acquaintance with human nature. But even had he been less acute than he was he might have drawn his conclusions from the Scriptures of truth. Speaking by inspiration of God, the Apostle Paul wrote: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5. And our Saviour foretold a time when men’s hearts should be “failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:26. That time of peril and of fear has come; and the next thing is the coming of the Lord. AMS July 26, 1894, page 240.18