The Signs of the Times, vol. 12

September 9, 1886

“The Lombards” The Signs of the Times 12, 35, p. 548.

THE Lombards fixed their name forever upon a part of the fallen empire of Western Rome. Lombardy in the north of Italy perpetuates the name of this nation, which at one time even spread its name over all Italy. Although in Italy was the place where the Lombards permanently fixed their kingdom, and to which their name was given, that was not their first settlement within the Western Empire. They, as well as the Ostrogoths, had been subjects of the empire of Attila and obtained their freedom, settling in Noricum on the Danube, at the death of that savage warrior. They were of Vandal blood and were the kindred of the Heruli and Burgundians. See Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, chap. 10, par. 8. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.1

“The name Lombard is the Italianized form of the national name of a Teutonic tribe, Lomgobardi, itself an Italian arrangement based on a supposed etymology of the Teutonic Langbard, Langobardi, the form used when they are first named by the Roman writers—Velleius and Tacitus. The etymology which made the name mean Longbeard is too obvious not to have suggested itself to the Italians, and perhaps to themselves; it is accepted by their first native chronicler, Paul the Deacon, who wrote in the time of Charles the Great [Charlemagne]. But the name has also been derived from the region where they are first heard of. On the left bank of the Elbe, ‘where Börde or Bord still signifies a fertile plain by the side of a river,’ a district near Magdeburg is still called the Lange Börde; and lower down the Elbe, on the same side, about Lüneburg. Bardengau, with its Bardewik, is still found; it is here that Velleius, who accompanied Tiberius in his campaign in this part of Germany, and who first mentions the name places them. As late as the age of their Italian settlement [A.D. 568] the Lombards are called Bardi in poetical epitaphs, though this may be for the convenience of metre. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.2

“Their own legends bring the tribe as worshipers of Odin [Woden] from Scandinavia to the German shore of the Baltic, under the name of Winili, a name which was given to them in a loose way as late as the twelfth century. By the Roman and Greek writers of the first two centuries of our era they are spoken of as occupying, with more or less extension at different times, the region which is now Hanover and the Altmark of Prussia. To the Romans they appeared a remarkable tribe; ‘gens etian Germans feritate ferocior’ (firerce, Germans], says Velleius, who had fought against them under Tiberius; and Tacitus describes them as a race which, though few in numbers, more than held their own among numerous powerful neighbors by their daring and love of war. In the quarrels of the tribes they appear to have extended their borders; in Ptolemy’s account of Germany, in the second century, they fill a large space among the races of the northwest and north.”—Encyc. Brit., art. Lombards, par. 2, 3. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.3

“The Lombards. This corrupt appellation has been diffused in the thirteenth century by the merchants and bankers, the Italian posterity of these savage warriors: but the original name of Langobards is expressive only of the peculiar length and fashion of their beards. I am not disposed either to question or to justify their Scandinavian origin; nor to pursue the migrations of the Lombards through unknown regions and marvelous adventures. About the time of Augustus and Trajan, a ray of historic light breaks on the darkness of their antiquities, and they are discovered, for the first time, between the Elbe and the Oder. Fierce, beyond the example of the Germans, they delighted to propagate the tremendous belief, that their heads were formed like the heads of dogs, and that they drank the blood of their enemies, whom they vanquished in battle. The smallness of their numbers was recruited by the adoption of their bravest slaves; and alone, amidst their powerful neighbors, they defended by arms their high-spirited independence. In the tempests of the north, which overwhelmed so many names and nations, this little bark of the Lombards still floated on the surface; they gradually descended towards the south and the Danube, and, at the end of four hundred years, they again appear with their ancient valor and renown. Their manners were not less ferocious.—Decline and Fall, chap. 42, par. 2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.4

When Attila united under his dreadful sway the kingdoms of both Germany and Scythia, the nation of the Lombards was certainly comprised in the number of his subjects. And although Gibbon does not mention them by name, as indeed he so mentions very few, when “the kings and nations of Germany and Scythia obeyed the warlike summons of Atilla,” to invade the Western Empire, A.D. 451-453, yet we consider it impossible that a nation so war-loving, so “fierce beyond the example of the Germans,” should have been left behind by Attila when he went on such an important expedition as this,—an expedition in which he knew that he needed every obtainable element of warlike strength. If we had no more definite account than this general narrative of Gibbon’s, we believe we would by it be justified in the conclusion that the “ferocious” warriors of the Lombard nation were numbered with the forces with which Attila invaded Gaul and Italy; and that that nation among others regained their freedom at the death of Attila. But besides this probable and just deduction, we have definite authority to this effect:— SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.5

“Attila’s sudden death, either by hemorrhage, or the vengeance of his Burgundian bride, checked the progress of the Hunnish Empire. The Ostrogoths, the Gepide, and the Langobards obtained their independence after a severe struggle, whilst the remains of the nomadic Huns were last in the rich pastoral steppes of Southern Russia.”—Weber’s Outlines of Universal History, sec. 180. [Dr. Geo. Weber was professor and director of the High School of Heidelberg, Germany.] SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.6

To show more clearly not only the position of the Lombards after the battle of the Netad, but also that of the principal nations which had been subject to Attila, we would state:— SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.7

1. On the left bank of the Danube where it flows south, Attila’s brother, Dengisich, with the remains of the Huns, “maintained his ground above fifteen years,” in a kingdom that was “confined to the circle of his wagons.” In A.D. 455, these Huns crossed the river and made an attack upon the Ostrogoths, but were repulsed by a single division of the Ostrogoths under Walamir. About A.D. 468, Dengisich, with his “kingdom,” invaded the Eastern Empire, but lost his life, and his brother Irnae led the remnant of the Hunnish nation away into the Lesser Scythia, whence their fathers had come nearly a hundred years before.”—Decline and Fall, chap. 35, par. 16; chap. 39, par. 2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.8

2. The Scyrri, whose king, Edecon,—the father of Odoacer—“enjoyed the favor of Attila,” and whose part it was in their turn to guard the royal village, remained in alliance with Dengisich for about thirteen years, when in a second bloody battle with the Ostrogoths, about A.D. 465, Edecon was killed and the Scyrri were defeated and dispersed.—Id., chap. 36, par. 29. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.9

3. The wooden palace of Attila, on the Teyss, with the plains of what is now Upper Hungary, and “the old country of Dacia, from the Carpathian hills [and after Dengisich left, even from the Danube] to the Euxine [Black Sea], became the seat of a new power which was erected by Ardaric, king of the Gepide,” and was possessed by that nation about a hundred years.”—Id., chap. 35, par. 16; chap. 42, par. 2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.10

4. North of the Gepide, and extending into “the southern provinces of Poland,” was the country of the Heruli.—Id., chap. 42, par. 2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.11

5. On the west side of the Danube, as already shown, the Ostrogoths held “the Pannonian conquests from Vienna to Sirmium,” [Sirmium was near the mouth of the Save.] SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.12

.6. On the Danube above the Vienna, and as best we can make out, possessing for awhile at least both banks of the river, was seated the Lombards, who, as we have seen, regained their independence at the death of Atilla, A.D. 458. Some time afterward, at the command of the daughter of the king of the Lombards, the brother of the king of the Heruli was assassinated while a royal guest at the Lombard palace, apparently as a suitor for the hand of the Lombard princess. This brought on a war and the Heruli were successful in imposing upon the Lombards “a tribute, the price of blood.” We know not to a certainty how long the tribute was paid. We only know that the success of the Heruli made them insolent, and that their insolence was paid for by their ruin. The narrative of these troubles and the result, is given by Gibbon in a few words:— SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.13

“The assassination of a royal guest was executed in the presence, and by the command, of the king’s daughter, who had been provoked by some words of insult, and disappointed by his diminutive stature; and a tribute, the price of blood, was imposed on the Lombards, by his brother the king of the Heruli. Adversity revived a sense of moderation and justice, and the insolence of conquest was chastised by the signal defeat and irreparable dispersion of the Heruli, who were seated in the southern provinces of Poland.”—Decline and Fall, chap. 42, par. 2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.14

This expedition carried the main body of the Lombards beyond the Danube for awhile, but the exploit only the more firmly established their power which was afterward further displayed in the extirpation of the Gepide, as will be related further on. For the present we shall merely state that, in A.D. 526-536, they took entire possession of Noricum and Pannonia, which they held till A.D. 566, when they removed to Italy and established their kingdom in the valley of the Po. The causes and the course of these events will be related in connection with the establishment of the Papacy. SITI September 9, 1886, page 548.15

J.

“The Time of the Third Angel’s Message” The Signs of the Times 12, 35, pp. 551, 552.

HAVING shown that the Third Angel’s Message ends with the end of the world, and that the events of which it speaks and against which it pronounces warning are the events which immediately precede the end of the world, we propose now to find by the Scriptures as nearly as possible the time when this message should begin. We believe that the Scriptures reveal the time, and it is only reasonable to expect that they should. For under the threat of the most dreadful penalties, the Third Angel’s Message warns all people against the worship of the beast and his image; and if it could not be known when the message should be given, or when it were given, it would be impossible for any one to take advantage of the warning and escape the judgments threatened. From this is would follow that the message could never be given, and consequently it would have been written in vain. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.1

But not so. The message was not written in vain. It will surely be given to the world. It will surely gather out a people who will not worship the beast and his image, but who will “worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters;” and so will get “the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,” and will “stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Jesus said, “The Scripture cannot be broken.” John 10:35. Then as surely as this scripture has been written, so surely will this message be given to the world, warning them against the worship of the beast and his image; and calling them to the worship of God, by keeping “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” But for such a message to be given, it must be known; and it can be known only by the word of God—the word of God must reveal the time when it is due to the world. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.2

Now let us study this point. Turn to Revelation 14. There, in verse 9, we read: “The third angel followed them.” Followed them?—Why certain angels that had gone before. The eighth verse says, “There followed another angel.” As this angel likewise “followed” some one, we must go yet farther back. So in the sixth verse we read, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” We must know then, the time of the angel of the sixth verse, before we can know the time of the angel of the eighth, or of the ninth verse; for the angel of verse 8 follows the angel of verse 6, and the third angel of verse 9, follows both these. Therefore the time of the angel of verse 6 must be known, to know the time of the third angel, verse 9. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.3

Notice again verse 6. It does not read, And I saw an angel, but it reads, “And I saw another angel.” By this word “another,” there is direct reference made to some angel or angels that the prophet had seen before. Tracing backward in the book to find what will answer to this we find none until we come to chapter 10:1, where we read, “And I saw another mighty angel.” But this text also uses the word “another,” and therefore we must go further back. So we go on backward till we come to chapter 8:13, where we read, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven.” Here the word “another” is not used, but simply, “I beheld, and heard an angel.” This, then, is the first of certain angels which the prophet saw which the language used will connect directly with the angel of chapter 14:6, thus: “I beheld, and heard an angel” (chap. 8:13). “And I saw another mighty angel” (10:1). “And I saw another angel” (14:16). SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.4

Notice further that these angels appear upon the scene in the midst of the events that accompany the last three of the seven trumpet angels. In chapter 8:2, John saw seven angels to whom were given seven trumpets; and in verse 6 he says, “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Then after the first four had sounded, this angel of chapter 8:13 appears, when the prophet says, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, which are yet to sound.” Now as this angel is connected, by the expressions used, with the angel of chapter 14:6, and as this angel appears just before the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the sounding of the fifth trumpet is a proper starting point to find the time of the message of chapter 14:6. If we can find the time of the first trumpet, we can find the time of the angel of chapter 14:6. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.5

In chapter 9:1-11 is the prophecy of the events of the fifth trumpet, of which says Albert Barnes, “With surprising unanimity, commentators have agreed in regarding this as referring to the empire of the Saracens, or to the rise and progress of the religion and the empire set up by Mohammed.” We cannot see how any one who will read the prophecy, and Gibbon’s history of Mohammed and his successors in the light of it, can disagree with the application of the prophecy to the Mohammedans. We cannot here go into a detailed explanation and application of the different points of the prophecy, for that, see the work, “Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation,” or “The Seven Trumpets,” both published at this office—we can here only notice the time referred to in the prophecy. The rise of Mohammedanism is shown under the symbol of a cloud of locusts, but in verses 7-9 the symbol if explained by the words, “The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; ... and their faces were as the faces of men; ... and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” And says the Scripture, “Their power was to hurt men five months.” Five months are one hundred and fifty days; this being prophetic time—a day for a year—equals one hundred and fifty years, during which they were to hurt men. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.6

This one hundred and fifty years is to be counted from the time that they had a king over them, as says verse 11. “They had a king over them ... whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (margin a destroyer).” For more than six hundred years the Mohammedans had no regularly organized government, and recognized no such dignitary as that which answer to the title of king. Each tribe, under its own chief, was independent of all the others and came and went as it pleased. While this was the case it is evident, and it is the fact too, that their character as “a destroyer,” was not, and could not be, such as it was after they were solidly united in one government under the sway of a ruler recognized by all. This is made more apparent when it is seen what was to be destroyed by this “destroyer.” The first four trumpets show the ruin of the Western empire of Rome, and the fifth relates to the destruction of the Eastern Empire. And it is in the character of the final destroyer of the last remains of the Roman Empire that this power acts. It was not as a destroyer of men as such, for of them it is said “that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months,” “and their power was to hurt men five months.” It is evident then that his character and work as “a destroyer,” relates to the final destruction of the Roman Empire which was then represented in the Eastern Empire with the capital at New Rome—Constantinople. SITI September 9, 1886, page 551.7

Othman was the caliph who established the organized Government of the Mohammedans, and from him is descended the name and title of the Ottoman Empire. It was under the organized power of Othman that the work of the destroyer began. In closing his account of the devastating rage of the Moguls and Tartars under Zingis Khan and his generals, Gibbon says:— SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.1

“In this shipwreck of nations [A.D. 1240-1304], some surprise may be excited by the escape of the Roman Empire, whose relics, at the time of the Mogul invasion, were dismembered by the Greeks and Latins.”—Decline and Fall, chap. 64, par. 13. SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.2

But when the decline of the Moguls gave free scope to the rise of the Moslems, under Othman, of him he says:— SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.3

“He was situate on the verge of the Greek Empire; the Koran sanctified his gazi, or holy war, against the infidels; and their political errors unlocked the passes of Mount Olympus, and invited him to descend into the plains of Bithynia.... It was on July 27, A.D. 1299, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster.”—Id., par. 14. SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.4

The work of destruction, then, which was to subvert the last remains of the Roman Empire began July 27, 1299, and never ceased till the imperial power passed into the hands of Amurath July 27, 1449. Then the first woe was passed, verse 12, and the sixth angel sounded, and the four angels of the Euphrates were loosed “which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.” This also being prophetic time each day represents a year. A year = 360 years, a month 30 years, a day 1 year, an hour, the twenty-fourth part of 360 = 15 days, altogether = 360 + 30 + 1 = 391 years and 15 days. This, from July 27, 1449, onward, gives us August 11, 1840, when the imperial power passed out of the hands of the Ottoman Emperor into the hands of the Great Powers of Europe, just as it passed into his hands 391 years and fifteen days before. Then it was that the second woe passed, and behold the third woe was to come quickly. Chap. 11:14. SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.5

Then it is between the second and third woes, in the space marked by the word “quickly,” that Revelation 10:1 applies: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud; ... and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth.... And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever and ever, who created Heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Notice that this angel refers to the sounding of the seventh trumpet as then future—“the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound.” Of that sounding we read in chapter 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.6

The kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ at the second coming of Christ. Says Paul: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, Preach the word.” 2 Timothy 4:1. When He comes, “He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Now mark, the sixth trumpet and the second woe ended August 11, A.D. 1840. Then saith the word of God, the third woe and the seventh trumpet comes quickly; and when that comes, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. This is at the coming of Christ, and the coming of Christ is the end of the world. The first four trumpets mark the downfall of the Western Empire of Rome; the fifth marks the destruction of the Eastern Empire of Rome; and the seventh trumpet marks the downfall of all empires, all kingdoms, and all nations; for when the God of Heaven sets up is kingdom, “it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.” Daniel 2:44. The woe of the fifth trumpet was called by Gibbon the “shipwreck of nations;” but the woe of the seventh trumpet will be not only the shipwreck of nations, but of the great globe itself; for in Revelation 11:19, among the events of the seventh trumpet—one third woe—are that earthquake by which every mountain and island are moved out of their places, and that great hail, both of which comes in the seventh plague, when God “ariseth to shake terribly the earth,” and the great voice is heard out of the temple of Heaven from the throne, saying, It is done. Revelation 16:17-21. SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.7

Further consideration of this subject must be deferred until next week. SITI September 9, 1886, page 552.8

J.

“Notes on the International Lesson. Jesus Interceding. John 17:1-3, 11-21” The Signs of the Times 12, 35, pp. 554, 555.

(September 19.—John 17:1-3, 11-21.)

THIS is Jesus’s prayer for his disciples wherever found in all the world to the end of time. He says, “Neither pray I for these [the eleven] alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” Here in this prayer is expressed the tender love and considerate care which the divine Saviour has for those who believe on him. Before departing out of the world he left this prayer to be recorded for the consolation and confirmation of his children who are left in the world. When his children are afflicted if they would remember more than they do this prayer of the Saviour for them, there would be more peace and comfort and joy in the Christian course. SITI September 9, 1886, page 554.1

CHRIST once said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Shall we not believe that in this sifting, in this tossing about, which Peter experienced, he was strengthened by the consciousness that Jesus had prayed for him? Certainly. But Peter is not the only one of Christ’s followers whom Satan has desired; he is not the only one who needed to be sifted as wheat; and, far better than this, he is not the only one for whom Jesus has prayed. Notice, he did not pray for Peter that he might escape the sifting, he prayed that his faith should not fail, while being sifted. Peter needed the sifting, so do we. He needed the faith to endure it, so do we. He had the prayer of the precious Saviour that his faith might not fail, so have we. SITI September 9, 1886, page 554.2

“THAT he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” Eternal life is in Christ, and that alone for those who are his. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” John 3:36. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” John 6:53. “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:11, 12. These scriptures show, and indeed the Scripture altogether shows, that there is life only in Christ. Out of him there is no life, for the wages of sin is death. But Christ died for sinners, and through faith in him there is forgiveness of sin. Without faith in him there is no escape from sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. And death is death—the second death—and not eternal life in misery. Out of Christ there is no such thing as eternal life, in misery nor anywhere else. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” And when He appears in his glory he takes “vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction [not with everlasting misery] from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9. In Christ is life literal and eternal. Out of Christ is death literal and eternal. Choose Christ that you may live. SITI September 9, 1886, page 554.3

“HOLY Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me.” It is not the Saviour’s wish, nor is it the Father’s wish that any should fall away. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. And, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.” Romans 8:32. Notice, the word is not, How shall he with him freely give us all, but it is, “How shall he not.” If God so loved us that while we were yet enemies he gave his dear Son to die for us, now, being reconciled and his friends, how shall he not with him freely give us all needed grace to keep us. Oh, how great is his goodness, and how great his mercy. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen.” Jude 24, 25. SITI September 9, 1886, page 554.4

“THEY are not of the world.” These are they for whom this prayer is made, and who can claim the comfort and the strength which it promises. For he said that in this prayer he prayed not for the world. “I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.” It is plain therefore that no one can have the world, and the benefits of this prayer at the same time, nor even off and on. We must be Christ’s. We must be not of the world. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” “The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:16, 15. Therefore, “Be no conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2. SITI September 9, 1886, page 554.5

“I PRAY not that thou shouldst take them out of the world.” No. They are the light of the world; they are the salt of the earth; they are epistles which Christ writes to the world to tell the world of him, of his goodness, his holiness, his purity, his righteousness—in short to tell the world that he is Christ, the sent of God, in whom God reconciled the world unto himself. They are in Christ’s stead in the world, for he said, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” And when Christ’s work is done for the world,—when he ceases to be priest upon his Father’s throne, and becomes king upon his own throne; when he lays off the garments of the intercessor, and puts on the “garments of vengeance for clothing;” when the cup of salvation shall be emptied, and the cup of wrath filled; when the mystery of God shall be finished—then he will appear upon the white cloud, and call to the heavens above and to the earth, “Gather my saints together unto me;” and “shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other;” then and thus he will take them out of the world. SITI September 9, 1886, page 555.1

“THAT they all may be one.” The unity of his disciples is the strong point of the Saviour’s prayer, this wish being expressed no less than five times in it—“That they may be one, as we are;” “That they all may be one;” “That they also may be one in us;” “That they may be one, even as we are one;” “That they may be made perfect in one.” Surely then the oneness of his disciples is the greatest wish of their Lord. This unity is accomplished and maintained by the Holy Spirit; as he says, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in me.” On this Paul says, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:1-6. Again, in 1 Corinthians 1:10, he says, “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” See also Romans 15:5, 6; 12:16; Philippians 2:2, 5; 1 Peter 3:8. SITI September 9, 1886, page 555.2

AND the object of this unity for which he so earnestly prayed, and upon which, through Paul, he so strongly insists, is, “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me;” and “That the world may know that thou hast sent me.” If his disciples everywhere had met, or if they would meet, the wish expressed in this prayer, the world could not deny that God sent his Son into the world. But alas, even in the very days of the apostles, there were those who loved to have the pre-eminence, 3 John 9, and from among the churches they themselves established, there should “men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:30. Jude however exposes the secret of all such things then and in all ages. “These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” Verse 19. Absence of the Spirit of Christ, destroys the unity which should characterize the disciples of Christ. For this cause Paul beseeches us to endeavor to keep “the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace;” and Jude continues, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” SITI September 9, 1886, page 555.3

J.

“Fowler” The Signs of the Times 12, 35, p. 558.

FOWLER—Died at Woodland, August 23, 1886. William Fowler, aged 82 years, 10 months, and 8 days. Brother Fowler made a profession of Christianity at the age of twenty; united with the Disciple Church, in which connection he live until about ten years ago when he accepted the truths of the Third Angel’s Message. He was ever faithful in his practice of the truth, and in his attendance on the services of the church. Unless hindered by physical disability, he was always in his place at the church on the Sabbath day, and was ready with a cheering testimony for the Master. Sixty-three years of faith in Christ is a good record. Services by the writer. SITI September 9, 1886, page 558.1

J.